Battle

The rogue ninja from Konoha were puzzled when they saw flames blazing into the sky in the distance.

"What's going on...?" one of them asked.

This is bad. The ANBU must have caught up... the lead Jonin thought.

"Run! Split up and escape. Remember, we'll regroup in the Land of Iron."

The others nodded.

This was no time to hesitate. Splitting up and fleeing was the right choice.

Just as they were about to move-

Suddenly, waves of scorching heat drew closer from the edge of the nearby woods.

"This is bad..." The three Jonin sensed the unusual chakra fluctuations.

"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"

A fireball flew out of the woods, surging straight toward them.

Seeing the attack coming, the three Jonin abandoned the Chunin and scattered in different directions.

Boom!

Before they could escape the blast radius, the explosion caught them in midair and sent them flying.

"Whew-"

They scrambled to their feet in the mud, all looking toward the site of the explosion.

At its center, only two charred bodies and a figure rolling on the ground remained.

"Help me! Help me..."

Thwip-

Before anyone could come to his aid, several kunai flew in from afar and struck the rolling figure in the neck.

He died on the spot.

"Damn it..." They looked in the direction the kunai had come from.

"Stop hiding! Who are you?" a brown-haired Jonin shouted.

Looking toward the source of the ninjutsu attack, he already knew the answer.

The Konoha ANBU. Looks like we're not getting out of this alive.

Whoosh, whoosh-

Two figures darted out of the woods and landed lightly without a sound.

"Heh, my ninjutsu packs quite a punch!" Jiraiya looked at the burning crater in the ground.

"Take this seriously..." Tsunade slapped Jiraiya hard on the shoulder.

The three Jonin froze when they saw that their attackers were two little brats.

Delight immediately appeared on two of their faces.

"So it wasn't the ANBU."

"Phew, that gave me a scare..."

But when the brown-haired Jonin saw the pair, his fear only deepened.

"These two ninja... the Hokage's students..." he murmured.

He had seen them in the Hokage's office a few years before.

The Hokage's three students had reportedly become Chunin at the tender age of nine.

If they're here now, could this be their Jonin qualification mission?

At that thought, he began considering retreat, quietly inching backward.

If the Third dared to send his students here, it meant they were strong enough.

"Jiraiya, let's finish this quickly. Orochimaru still has three Jonin to deal with!"

Tsunade swept a calm glance over the three men before them.

"Three is still a bit tricky."

Jiraiya immediately grew serious at her words.

She was right. Orochimaru had to hold off three opponents on his own.

They needed to finish their fight quickly.

He was probably waiting for the two of them to help!

"Tsunade, leave those two to me. That other one's yours." Jiraiya pointed at the brown-haired Jonin.

Tsunade nodded. Her fighting ability relied almost entirely on strength, so dealing with two opponents at once would be somewhat troublesome.

That did not mean she could not win; it would simply waste some time.

Gathering chakra in her hand, she moved and instantly appeared behind the brown-haired Jonin.

Boom-

Tsunade threw a punch at him.

"Ugh-"

The sudden attack startled the brown-haired Jonin.

He had no time to think.

He narrowly dodged just before the blow struck his upper body.

"How is this little girl so strong...?" The brown-haired ninja stared at the huge crater in the ground, his heart still pounding.

Just what you'd expect from the Third's student.

"Looks like I can't run..." He glanced at the two men already tied up fighting Jiraiya, then at the girl before him.

"Then I'll just have to fight for my life..."

With a sweep of his arm, he hurled more than a dozen shuriken toward Tsunade.

Tsunade did not underestimate the incoming shuriken, taking the attack seriously.

She sidestepped and dodged them.

As she evaded the shuriken, she kept watching the enemy ninja's movements.

Sure enough, the instant she dodged, he vanished from his spot.

"A pity. You've got strength, but far too little experience."

The man's voice came from Tsunade's left.

"Goodbye..."

A kunai gleaming coldly thrust toward her waist.

"Hmph..." Tsunade snorted.

She had already prepared for this. Her left hand shot out and clamped tightly around his wrist.

Crack- Bone shattered.

"Aaargh..."

The brown-haired Jonin had apparently never expected this, and it left him stunned.

"If you betray the village, you'd better be ready to die..."

Tsunade held his arm firmly in place, drew back her right hand, and twisted her body, driving a punch toward his abdomen.

Sharp cracks rang out as her fist tore through the short stretch of air.

Seeing the blow about to hit him, the brown-haired Jonin steeled himself, drew another kunai, and severed his trapped arm.

Once again, he narrowly escaped Tsunade's reach.

"Damn it... I got careless..." The brown-haired ninja clutched his wound in pain.

He was a sensory ninja, not someone skilled in taijutsu.

While he was still thinking, before he could react-

Tsunade attacked again.

He moved his feet and narrowly dodged another blow.

This time, however, Tsunade gave him no chance to catch his breath. She turned and lashed out with a kick.

Unable to dodge, the brown-haired Jonin barely managed to block with his remaining arm.

Boom-

An enormous force slammed into him, sending him flying. He crashed through several trees before finally coming to a stop.

"Guh!" Heat rose in his stomach, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Damn it..." After that single blow, he could barely stand, let alone fight back.

Whoosh, whoosh...

He looked up to see several kunai flying toward him.

He tried to move his right hand to block them.

Only when nothing happened did he belatedly realize.

Thwip- Metal pierced flesh.

The brown-haired Jonin looked down. A kunai had plunged into his heart.

"Phew..." Only after his life had completely faded did Tsunade let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Finally dealt with that nuisance..."

She turned and ran toward Jiraiya, who was still locked in combat with the two Jonin.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A thick stone wall rose in front of Jiraiya, blocking the enemy ninja's attacks.

"What a pain..."

Though the two sides were locked in a stalemate, Jiraiya clearly held the advantage.

The two enemy Jonin were nearing their limits, their bodies covered in wounds of all sizes.

Jiraiya formed hand seals and unleashed another ninjutsu.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"