Companions

Uzumaki Hane soon calmed down. Now he had to rendezvous with the others. Before splitting up, the three of them had agreed on a meeting place.

Uzumaki Hane leaped onto a branch and began jumping from tree to tree. At first, he was a little scared and didn't dare go too fast, but years of ninja training had ingrained the feeling deep in his body. He went faster and faster, and as he watched the scenery rush past and felt the cool wind on his face, he experienced a sense of exhilaration unlike anything he had ever known.

Half an hour later, Uzumaki Hane arrived at the rendezvous point, where his two teammates were already waiting. One was Hyuga Tanaka of the Hyuga Branch Family, a cold man with a stern expression. But after spending enough time with him, one would discover that he was cold on the outside and warm on the inside. The other was Yamano Koromo, a gentle, sweet-looking girl.

Uzumaki Hane landed in front of them. Yamano Koromo asked worriedly, "Hane, are you all right?" Hyuga Tanaka also looked at him.

"I'm fine," Uzumaki Hane said. "We have to hurry and leave, or they'll catch up to us."

"Okay," Hyuga Tanaka and Yamano Koromo said. The three of them prepared to leave.

Just then, a figure flickered through the branches and quickly appeared before Uzumaki Hane and the others. The newcomer was a burly man with a vicious face. "You can't escape," he said. This was Umino Ta, the ninja they were supposed to kill on this mission. But Uzumaki Hane and his teammates had fallen into his trap, and he and a group of nearby bandits had caught them off guard, forcing them to flee in disarray. They hadn't expected him to catch up so quickly.

"Do you have any Chakra left?" Uzumaki Hane asked. Tanaka said calmly, "I can handle another fight. Hane, I'll go in with you. Koromo, cover us from behind." "Okay," Uzumaki Hane and Yamano Koromo said in unison. The three quickly threw several Kunai, then Uzumaki Hane and Tanaka charged at Umino Ta.

Two Kunai appeared in Umino Ta's hands, and he quickly blocked the incoming weapons. He then hurled the Kunai in his hands at Uzumaki Hane in the middle, before becoming a series of afterimages and appearing in front of Tanaka. Another Kunai was already in his right hand, and he slashed it toward Tanaka's neck.

Facing Umino Ta's attack, Hyuga Tanaka immediately activated his Byakugan and assumed a Gentle Fist stance. He dodged the Kunai, then rained blows down on Umino Ta with his palms. He stepped back, and Yamano Koromo, at the rear, threw two Kunai that passed right under his arms and flew toward Umino Ta.

Meanwhile, Uzumaki Hane made no attempt to block the two Kunai speeding toward him. As they pierced his body, he quickly turned elemental, absorbing them both. His hands didn't stay idle either: he quickly threw two Kunai of his own, sending them under Tanaka's arms toward Umino Ta in a perfectly coordinated attack.

Four Kunai pierced Umino Ta's chest. "Did we win?" the three said in unison. They had just used a combination attack they had devised together, and it had taken them a long time practicing to achieve such coordination.

Bang! Umino Ta vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving only a piece of wood with four Kunai embedded in it. "Substitution Technique?" the three shouted in unison. This is bad, they thought. Hyuga Tanaka pushed his Byakugan to its limit, then suddenly shouted, "Watch out, Koromo! He's behind you!"

Yamano Koromo looked behind her. Umino Ta had appeared there without her noticing, a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes. He gripped a Kunai in his right hand and thrust it viciously at her back. His killing intent had frozen her in place, and for a moment, she forgot to dodge.

Seeing that Yamano Koromo was about to be hurt, Uzumaki Hane felt a sharp wrench in his heart and instinctively cried, "No..." His body moved out of his control, appearing behind Yamano Koromo, and Umino Ta drove a Kunai into his chest.

As soon as Hyuga Tanaka spotted Umino Ta, he charged toward him. Unfortunately, he was at the front and couldn't get there in time. Seeing Uzumaki Hane stabbed in the chest to save Yamano Koromo, he cried out in anger, "Hane, no..." He rushed up to Umino Ta and shouted, "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" This was the strongest move Tanaka had mastered. Although he had only grasped the bare basics, he managed to use it now, striking Umino Ta frantically.

Bang! Umino Ta vanished again, leaving a wooden log behind. Hyuga Tanaka used his Byakugan to scan the surroundings and said gravely, "Another Substitution Technique. I didn't expect him to be so skilled at it." He then asked, "Koromo, how is Hane?"

Meanwhile, after Uzumaki Hane was stabbed, Yamano Koromo hurriedly turned around and caught him in her arms. Crying anxiously, she said, "Hane, don't die! What will I do if you die?"

When Uzumaki Hane had stepped in front of Yamano Koromo, he had realized that this was probably the original owner's lingering consciousness. But he had long since decided to become the Uzumaki Hane of this world, so he would naturally accept all of his feelings.

He had quickly turned elemental when Umino Ta stabbed him in the chest, and the Kunai hadn't hurt him at all. Uzumaki Hane had deliberately covered it with his clothes, not wanting anyone to learn about this ability too soon. Hearing Yamano Koromo say something so much like a confession, he felt a little awkward. After all, he wasn't really Uzumaki Hane, and those memories were more like a dream to him.

Yamano Koromo had been too worried to think straight, but she soon noticed something was wrong. Uzumaki Hane's wound wasn't bleeding. She reached out and pulled the Kunai free, only to find that the part that had entered his body was gone, as if something had melted it.

What's going on? She had clearly seen that the Kunai was intact just moments ago, so why was part of it missing now? She figured Hane must have done it. Since he hadn't said anything about it, she believed he would tell her someday. Yamano Koromo didn't press the matter, only saying with a hint of annoyance, "You're fine, so why aren't you getting up?"

Once Yamano Koromo pulled out the Kunai, Uzumaki Hane knew he had been exposed. Hearing her words, he got up somewhat awkwardly.

Just then, Hyuga Tanaka's voice reached them. Yamano Koromo was a little angry and said nothing, so Uzumaki Hane could only answer awkwardly, "Tanaka, I'm fine."

Hearing that Uzumaki Hane was all right, Hyuga Tanaka finally relaxed. "Be careful," he said. "We don't know where he's hiding."

The three quickly formed a circle, watching their surroundings warily.

"Tanaka, didn't even your Byakugan find him?" Yamano Koromo asked.

Hyuga Tanaka said grimly, "This is trouble. He may have trained to counter the Byakugan. He's probably no ordinary ninja; he could be a spy from another ninja village."

Suddenly, a voice came from underground. "Heh heh heh, you still have time to chat?" Umino Ta swiftly emerged from the ground in the middle of the three.

Time seemed to stand still. The three turned to see Umino Ta grinning viciously as he drove a Kunai into Tanaka's back. Then he quickly formed Hand Seals. "Earth Release: Rock Concealment Technique!" Umino Ta vanished into the ground.

Uzumaki Hane caught Hyuga Tanaka and asked anxiously, "Tanaka, how are you?" Yamano Koromo watched worriedly from the side.

Just then, Umino Ta appeared behind Uzumaki Hane and sneered, "You still have time to worry about your companion?" He drove the Kunai in his hand viciously into Uzumaki Hane's back.