There Aren't Any Genin Among You, Are There?

A shrill cry rang out-the mournful screech of Chidori!

Lightning blazed in Kakashi's palm, engulfing the surrounding sea in electricity.

"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"

Asuma spat out thick smoke. The moment a spark appeared, it ignited the nearby boats.

The approaching boats had no chance to dodge. The fire steadily spread, forcing the enemy to make a choice.

Die amid the flames and smoke, or jump into seawater engulfed in Lightning Release.

Once they jumped, the paralyzed ninja could no longer control their chakra to walk on water and sank into the sea.

The only chunin who could be considered a fighting force found himself targeted by Oto Uchiha's Sharingan.

Walking across the electrified sea, Zou Hyuga finished off the small fry struggling in the water. He had failed to collect the loot on their bodies, which was truly regrettable.

Watching the boats burn on the sea, Zou Hyuga glanced at Asuma, his heart aching a little.

Those boats were wealth that ordinary people had worked so hard to create, destroyed by ninjutsu.

Oto Uchiha returned to the small boat with the chunin in her grasp as though she had caught a rabbit, and the ANBU squad continued toward the island.

The battle had been quite easy for the ANBU squad. Their team's fighting strength was probably a little higher than that of an ordinary ANBU squad.

Kakashi was a newly promoted jonin, Asuma an elite chunin, and Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha were eternally veteran genin.

Under Sharingan Genjutsu, the Kirigakure chunin revealed the number of ninja on the island and its defenses.

"Three chunin, nine genin, and a number of wandering ninja..."

Zou Hyuga rubbed his chin. Those ninja could indeed pose a considerable threat to the town, but he kept feeling that things would not be so simple.

After pondering for a moment, Kakashi spread out the map and pointed to their landing site-a submerged reef.

"Move out!"

The captain gave the order, and the boat sped toward the island, propelled by Water Release.

Zou Hyuga found Kirigakure forehead protectors on the Mist ninja who had died earlier. After exchanging a glance with Oto Uchiha, they transformed to look like members of that group.

Though there was a high chance their disguise would be exposed, it would at least make the enemy hesitate. That moment of hesitation was enough to accomplish a great deal.

Such as setting traps and planting explosive tags.

Disguised as Mist ninja, the ANBU squad landed on the reef without trouble and walked across the water to shore.

With his head lowered and his Byakugan active, Zou Hyuga surveyed the island. Its one-kilometer range of vision covered nearly half the island.

Just as the ANBU squad prepared to enter the dense forest, something stirred in the sea behind them.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

A lifelike water dragon rose from the sea and surged toward land with the roar of a massive wave.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

Kakashi swiftly formed hand seals and pressed his palms against the ground. A towering earthen wall rose along the shoreline.

"Byakugan, activate!"

Only after taking shelter behind the Earth-Style Wall did Zou Hyuga realize that the Water Dragon Bullet was not aimed at them, but at the boat near the reef.

The boat was smashed with overwhelming force, its shattered pieces floating on the sea.

Zou Hyuga looked beyond the Earth-Style Wall and spotted several figures emerging from beneath the water. They were undoubtedly ninja. Two possessed chakra at the level of jonin, outstanding even among their peers.

Sure enough, an A-rank mission was not that simple. Even this small raiding force had ninja of such caliber.

"Two suspected Kirigakure jonin under the water." Zou Hyuga paused as he discovered numerous Kirigakure ninja in the forest as well. Estimating their numbers, he said, "At least ten chunin on the island are heading this way."

Before he finished speaking, the ANBU squad retreated into the forest and drew their weapons.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha became blurs, setting explosive-tag traps rigged with steel wire throughout the forest.

"Do they really need to plant so many explosive tags? Will they even work?"

Kakashi murmured, one of his eyes now displaying three tomoe.

"They should work...!" Asuma replied earnestly, holding his Chakra Blades.

He had personally witnessed Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha wipe out a Kumogakure squad using explosive tags this way. With a carefully prepared ambush, they had even killed a Kumogakure jonin.

Kakashi nodded helplessly and leaped onto a tree trunk. "There are a lot of explosive tags. Watch yourself."

"Explosive tags...?"

Asuma was puzzled, then realized something rather important.

He seemed to be the only member of this ANBU squad without a dojutsu kekkei genkai, and the area around him was packed with explosive tags.

He was caught in a predicament. One careless move could trigger a trap, leaving him injured at best or missing an arm or a leg at worst.

In other words, he was surrounded by friendly forces, yet enemies were everywhere.

Crouching in the bushes, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha planted explosive tags, their eyes occasionally straying toward the coast.

"Oto, we've run into jonin-level enemies, just like before. If we can't beat them, prioritize Plan A!"

Oto Uchiha nodded solemnly. She understood what being a jonin meant. They were certainly not opponents veteran genin could handle easily.

After all, the gap between one jonin and another could exceed even the gap between a genin and a jonin.

Boom, boom, boom!

Using the explosive-tag traps, Kakashi swiftly killed enemies in the forest, setting off a series of explosions along his path.

Having graduated at six and become a jonin at twelve, killing had become routine for him. Battle after battle had honed his combat skills to perfection.

Grabbing a Mist ninja's headcloth, Kakashi wiped the blood from his kunai and continued tracking the other Mist ninja in the forest.

These chunin and genin were no match for him. Every one of them died beneath his blade.

Following behind Kakashi, Asuma also reaped enemy lives. Though he lacked dojutsu, he could throw his Chakra Blades to strike enemies from a distance.

Infused with wind-release chakra, the Chakra Blades could easily slice through trees as thick as buckets, and even rock.

Having finished setting their traps, Oto Uchiha and Zou Hyuga swiftly moved through the battlefield, finishing off wounded enemies while collecting valuables.

Fighting at the front was dangerous and consumed chakra and stamina. How could it compare to the comfort of following behind Kakashi and Asuma?

They were not shrinking back out of fear. They were serving as the ANBU squad's dependable support.

They were very confident in their ability to run a water-walking marathon all the way to the town ten kilometers away.

After eliminating the Mist ninja in the forest, the ANBU squad withdrew to the center of the explosive-tag formation and watched the two enemies with jonin-level chakra enter the woods.

For ninja, chakra reserves were among the hardest things to increase. Thus, the amount of chakra they possessed determined their strength to a certain extent.

Tailed beast jinchūriki were an exception, of course. Even the most useless tailed beast jinchūriki had the potential to become an elite jonin.

The ANBU squad watched the ninja entering the forest with some tension. There were only two of them, both wearing Kirigakure forehead protectors.

Strangely, neither had shown any intention of intervening while the squad dealt with the Mist ninja in the forest.

"Hah... hah..."

A few drops of cold sweat appeared on Kakashi's forehead. He recognized the Mist ninja in the lead.

That burly, orange-haired man from Kirigakure was Suikazan Fuguki, a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist whose name resounded throughout the shinobi world.

On his back was Samehada, one of the seven Ninja Blades, capable of devouring chakra.

His opponent was an elite among Kirigakure's jonin, while he was merely a young jonin himself. Even with Oto, Zou, and Asuma, they were absolutely no match for a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Worse, his opponent had a follower whose strength was unknown-a shark-faced ninja.

Without further hesitation, Kakashi signaled Zou Hyuga with his eyes, hoping he would flee as he had said he would that night and leave Kakashi behind alone to cover their retreat.

Just then, Suikazan Fuguki looked toward the ANBU squad and spoke.

"You Konoha ninja over there-there aren't any genin among you, are there?"