"You're here."
Kiba and Akamaru emerged from the thick mist and joined the others.
Akamaru affectionately rubbed against Naruto's pant leg, whining softly.
The group had made no effort to conceal their presence. With their keen noses, Kiba and Akamaru had easily caught the familiar scents and come out to meet them.
"What's the situation?"
Kakashi asked, his gaze passing over Kiba's slightly weary face.
"Kurenai-sensei was injured."
Kiba's expression was grim.
"Luckily, Hinata learned some medical ninjutsu over the past few years and gave her emergency treatment in time.
But Kurenai-sensei said she probably wouldn't be able to fight for three days."
Kiba briefly explained what had happened: they had encountered disguised assassins on the road, whom Akamaru's keen nose had exposed; they had used coordinated tactics against Zabuza Momochi and barely managed to drive him back; Kurenai Yuhi had been injured protecting their client; and now all of Team 8 was recuperating at their client Tazuna's home.
"That guy Zabuza is terrifyingly strong."
Still shaken, Kiba added, "But we happened to counter his Hidden Mist Technique, so he couldn't ambush us. That's the only reason he retreated."
The Hidden Mist Technique could conceal his movements, but all three members of the team excelled at reconnaissance, rendering Zabuza's ambushes useless.
Kiba and Akamaru relied mainly on their noses, Shino relied mainly on his insects, and Hinata's Byakugan could see Zabuza's chakra.
The Hidden Mist Technique's interference was completely ineffective against Team 8.
In the end, they had relied on Kurenai Yuhi's genjutsu to make Zabuza wary enough to retreat.
That surprised Naruto quite a bit. After all, Kurenai Yuhi's performance in the original story hardly made her seem like a ninja on Zabuza's level.
"Then hurry and take us there!"
Asuma was panting heavily, exhausted by the long journey.