Deep in the Forest of Death, two competing squads faced off.
On one side stood a strange ninja wearing a black robe and an odd hood, with crisscrossing tattoos covering his face.
Beside this ninja stood a motionless humanoid puppet.
The puppet was not particularly well crafted. In fact, it was rather ugly.
Yet this strange pair left the three young Konoha ninja opposite them hesitating to advance.
The boy with inverted triangle markings on his face said quietly:
"Kankuro, one of Sunagakure's three direct-line Sannin. He specializes in controlling mechanical puppets."
Beside him, a mysterious boy wearing a high-collared robe and sunglasses said quietly:
"He isn't much to fear. His two teammates are the troublesome ones."
"Kankuro's teammates, Gaara and Temari, probably aren't far from here."
"Here's what we'll do! We can't waste too much time here."
"Kiba Inuzuka! Take Hinata Hyuga and leave first. I'll hold Kankuro off, and we'll meet up afterward."
Kiba Inuzuka was quite displeased and said:
"Shino Aburame, stop trying to play the hero. If we leave, we leave together. If we stay, we stay together."
"It's just Kankuro! With all three of us working together, I refuse to believe we can't take him down!"
A timid little head peeked out from behind Shino Aburame.
She was a very pretty girl, though her white eyes looked rather incongruous.
She was Hinata Hyuga, the future heir to the Hyuga Clan's main family.
However, at this point, there was an enormous gap in strength between Hinata Hyuga and Neji Hyuga.
Their talents differed greatly. By comparison, Neji Hyuga seemed more like a direct-line heir to the Hyuga Clan.
Aside from her inherited dojutsu, the only skill Hinata Hyuga could barely take pride in was taijutsu.
Thus, in this three-person Konoha squad, Hinata Hyuga was merely a