Naruto's here. Everything's gonna be fine.
Kakashi's on his way. Hiruzen will sort this mess out. Mei-sama's in the field.
Everything's…
*Crack!* Naruto knuckles my skull, snapping me out of my daze.
"What the fuck, dude? You sick in the head?" he yells, shaking me by the shoulders.
My vision clears, ears buzzing back to life. The world slams into focus—gunfire, smoke, and the stench of blood.
Naruto's eyes dart somewhere beyond me. "Get down!" he roars.
I hit the dirt, mud smearing my face. Bullets scream overhead, chewing through the air.
"Put up a wall something, basterd!!" Naruto orders.
I flash through hand signs—[Earth Release: Mud Wall]. A thick barrier erupts from the ground, shielding us. He summons ten clones, each one vaulting over the wall with a battle cry.
Smart move. Best way to counter automatic rifles? Throw bodies at 'em.
Yeah… I'm fucked.
My head's a fog, thoughts sluggish like I'm wading through syrup.
"Hey! That guy's bleeding out! You gonna do something?" Naruto shouts, his voice cutting through the chaos.
The reek of blood, smoke, and gunpowder burns my nostrils worse than a rotting corpse. I fumble in my pack for a first-aid kit while Naruto drags Kankuro closer to the wall. My hands come up empty—shit, where is it?
Naruto grabs my collar, razor-sharp edges biting into his fingers. Blood drips onto my shirt. "We're under attack, goddammit! Get your shit together!" he snarls.
"Bastard, I'll say this once in your worthless life: you're the coolest person I know! So start acting like it, or I'll kill you myself!" he spits, inches from my face.
"Cooler than Kakashi?" I ask, half-dazed.
Naruto pauses, actually thinking it over.
We don't have time for this. Another barrage of bullets rips past, pinging off the wall. We huddle tighter, and I pour chakra into the barrier, reinforcing it against the onslaught.
I'm kind of a wuss, I know, but this is pathetic. When did I turn into some kidnapped princess waiting for a rescue?
I grab Kankuro's arm, checking his pulse. It's there, faint, but he's not breathing. I press my ear to his chest—air's trapped in his lungs.
Quickly, I jab his chakra points and punch a small hole in his chest. Air hisses out, and he gasps, chest heaving. I start slapping his face until his eyes snap open, wild like a drowned man's.
"Did I die?" he croaks.
"Close," I mutter.
"You done with your hocus-pocus?" Naruto asks, crouched beside me.
"Yep."
"We gotta move. Gotta take out the spawner."
"What spawner?" My eyebrows shoot up.
"I dunno… something called a Heavenly thingy that sends shit to places?" Naruto says, scratching his head.
"The Heavenly Transfer Jutsu?" I blurt.
"What the fuck is that?" Kankuro coughs, still catching his breath.
"It's a technique to send inanimate objects across distances at the speed of light."
"Yeah, that's what Kakashi said! But they rigged it to send humans," Naruto recalls, eyes lighting up.
"He told us to destroy the device spewing shinobi with machine guns?" I deadpan.
"Yep! S-rank!" Naruto flashes a thumbs-up, grinning like a maniac.
I sigh. Here we go again.
I glance at Kankuro. "It was an honor, Captain," I say, offering a handshake.
He takes it, smirking. "Honor babysitting ya."
Kankuro scoops up Gaara and hops away, vanishing into the chaos.
I turn to Naruto. "Let's get this done."
---
According to Naruto, fifteen shinobi, including ANBU, are in the field. Wounded candidates are holed up underground, while able-bodied dropouts from the Chunin Exams and twenty other chunin defend the tower. The Kage are out there too, but something's keeping them occupied.
Whatever it is, it's not our problem.
Our job? Advance under fire, destroy the enemy's reinforcement device, then regroup with Kakashi, who's on the same mission. Advanced sensors in the tower detected five spawners. The jounin trio are handling four, leaving us—two genin—to tackle the last one.
That's the gist, anyway.
"Why not just break the barrier?" I can't help but ask.
"I don't fuckin' know! Kakashi made me leader, so do what I say!" Naruto jabs a finger into my forehead.
Glad I got some sleep last night.
"Alright, Leader, what's your grand fuckin' plan?" I ask, crossing my arms.
Naruto shrinks back, caught off-guard. We're perched on a high vantage point, safe for now, overlooking the battlefield. I catch a glimpse of the enemy's machine guns—nasty, cobbled-together weapons spitting death.
"I'll send clones across the field with the chunin. You sneak along the ravine to the east, get to the spawner, and destroy it," Naruto orders.
Huh. Solid plan.
"Kakashi said there's a chakra battery in it. Blow that, and it goes kaboom," he adds, mimicking an explosion with his hands.
Kakashi knows a *lot* about these things.
"Guess we'll save that for last," I say with a smirk.
Naruto's grin stretches ear to ear, loving the idea of a big boom.
"You'd better come back alive," he says, gripping my shoulder.
"'Course. I'm the coolest person you know," I reply, flashing a thumbs-up.
Man… I'm scared shitless.
"I wish Sakura was here," I mutter out loud.
"Goddamn it…" Naruto winces.
"Perhaps I can assist," a calm voice says from behind.
Neji steps forward, his Byakugan faintly glowing. "I may not be as skilled at infiltration as Haruno-san, but I can provide cover if things go south."
I pull out a scroll and unseal a long, sleek rifle.
"What the fuck is this?" Naruto asks, eyes wide.
"Sniper rifle we nabbed from that puppeteer during the exams," I remind him.
I hand it to Neji. He holds it like it's a live snake, clueless.
"Pull the bolt first," I point.
"Like this?" *Kachik.*
"Yeah, you're a natural. Now push down the safety." *Click.*
"Pull the trigger."
*Clack.*
It's unloaded, obviously. I slip a bullet in, aim at a black-clad gunner, and fire. He drops like a rag doll.
"Uchiha-san," Neji says, his eyes glowing like twin moons. "What *is* this?"
I grin. "Sniper rifle."
Neji feels the barrel's heat, aligns his eye with the scope—no instructions, no practice—and holds it like he was born for it.
I nod to Naruto. "Neji, you watch his back with that thing. Get him out of any mess," Naruto orders.
Neji cocks the rifle. "Consider it done," he says, voice steady with newfound confidence.
"Alrighty," I say. "Let's move."
---
The sky darkens, heavy with the threat of rain, casting a grim shadow over the war-torn forest.
I slink through the mud along the ravine's edge, each squelch swallowed by the distant roar of battle. The ground trembles every time that bizarre machine hums to life, a pulse that sets my nerves on edge.
A platoon of soldiers leaps across the swollen river like rabid dogs, boots splashing in the muck.
What's their deal?
They're brimming with chakra—raw, sloppy energy—but move like drunken brawlers, no grace, no finesse.
I'm sprawled here, barely cloaking my chakra, and these idiots can't sense me. Pathetic.
Their firearms are like Picture an AK-47 and a stan gun had a bastard kid—crude SMGs at best. The recoil's so wild they're spraying bullets like confetti. Accuracy is Nonexistent. But that fire rate could shred a chunin caught off-guard.
What are they doing here?
Then… something *weird* happens.
"Gonna get that kid this time," a man growls, his hoarse voice scratching at my memory like a ghost.
"Ooh, mate, the one with the exploding axe?" another asks, voice dripping with twisted glee.
"I'mma rip his tongue out and feed it to the dogs," a third snarls, venom in every word.
No firearms on these guys. Just chakra and bad intentions.
"Let's focus on the mission. That was just a brat… probably dead by now," the calm one says, cold and steady.
"My arse he is! That runt was an Uchiha. He won't die that easy," the angry one spits, words slicing the damp air.
"Yeah! Let's beat his ass! I wanna see the look on his face when we meet again!" the cheery one chirps, practically bouncing.
What the actual fuck?
Are they… the same three from before? I still got their blood and guts caked on my clothes! What in Kami's name is happening? This is *insane*!
I crane my neck to glimpse their faces. Those masked visages are tough to make out, but something's off—subtle differences in their silhouettes, like warped shadows.
"Oi!" one shouts, pointing right at me.
"Hey! It's the kid!" the cheery one whoops, flinging his arms up like he's at a festival.
"Kill him!"
*Shit.* Spotted.
*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
Three bullets, three bodies. They drop like sacks of rice, blood pooling in the mud.
I glance at the foliage where the shots came from. Can't see him, but Neji's there, Byakugan locked on like a hawk. I flash a thumbs-up, feeling his curt nod in return.
Time to get serious with stealth and stop testing my backup. A Hyuga sniper? *Terrifying* thought.
Both sides have monsters in this warzone.
"Don't give away our position," I sign, fingers sharp and deliberate.
Explosions echo nearby—Naruto's handiwork, no doubt. He's taken out a mortar emplacement, probably with a swarm of clones. Compared to Zabuza or Kakashi, these grunts are hogwash. With my spare food pills and explosion tags, he's spamming clones like a one-man army.
More blasts shake the forest.
What the fuck is he doing? Sending *suicide bombers*?
I gave him the rest of my food pills and explosion tags, so he should be able to spam clones for a while. Don't mind if I take my *sweet* time tinkering?
######
They did teleport in, that much is clear.
But here's the thing…
About a hundred enemy shinobi are creeping toward the tower, and when they die, they *respawn*. Not new soldiers—same ones, back from the dead, same grudges burning in their eyes.
Sometimes, only half a torso or a twitching head materializes, grotesque and writhing. Their comrades put the mangled ones down, waiting for them to pop back whole. It's like a sick game of reincarnation gone wrong.
"A prototype, maybe?" Neji murmurs, his Byakugan scanning the machine below—a jagged heap of scrap metal and glowing conduits, pulsing with unnatural chakra.
We're tucked in a tree right above it, cloaked in shadow. These morons parked their machine under a perfect hiding spot. They don't know this forest. That's probably why we haven't been overrun. Geography's a bitch, no matter the era of war.
"Aren't you going to destroy it?" Neji asks, rifle steady in his hands.
"Not yet, Hyuga-san," I say politely. "Observe."
He nods, pale eyes narrowing as he tracks the machine's pulses. "The rate… it's slowing."
I grin. *Gotcha.*
Neji glances upward, Byakugan catching something I can't. "Smoke signal in the sky," he says. "It reads…"
"'Keep them alive'?" I guess, rubbing my chin.
He pauses, then nods. "You're right, Uchiha-san."
"Hmm. Bet it's rigged to blow. What's it look like, Hyuga-san?" I ask, leaning closer.
"Dense chakra layer around the core. Unstable. A miracle it's running at all," Neji says, disgust creeping into his voice.
"Got experience with chakra tech?" I tease, smirking.
"The Hyuga use… various seals and tools," he dodges, smooth as ever.
"Yeah, not to mention Tenten-senpai. She's got a whole arsenal," I say, trying to lighten the mood.
"An unnecessarily absurd amount," Neji mutters, practically brooding.
I raise an eyebrow. "Your clan's all 'Byakugan and taijutsu only,' huh?"
"My techniques and Byakugan are all I need," he says, gripping the rifle like it's an insult. "This is a temporary measure. For the village."
I nod, pointing at the machine below. "Look at that thing, Hyuga-san. The world's changing. Nobody's waiting for us to catch up."
"That's for the village to decide," he says, loyal soldier to the core.
We fall silent, the distant crack of gunfire and jutsu filling the air. More soldiers respawn below, their numbers swelling.
I can't figure out how to destroy that thing without turning the forest into a crater. For now, I let it go—we're just partners for the day, not here to debate philosophy.
Neji breaks the silence. "What Hinata-sama used yesteray… that jutsu she beat me with. What was it?"
I look away, scanning the battlefield. "Shadow Clone Jutsu. Invented by the Second Hokage. Forbidden because it burns through chakra like wildfire."
"Who taught her?" Neji asks, his gaze drilling into me.
"Naruto," I say bluntly.
"Why would he—"
"Let me stop you right there, Hyuga," I cut in, dropping the honorific. "No, Naruto isn't some simp chasing a crush. He helps those who need it. Your princess probably asked him herself."
"You don't know that," Neji says, veins bulging around his eyes.
"Your choice to believe me or not," I shrug, turning back to the chaos.
"Why would she learn such jutsu?", Neji blurts with a winch.
He means why would she choose to learn the wackiest jutsu the mankind has ever invented over the ones that are perfected over a hundred years?
"Maybe she wishes something to change?" I toss out, not an educated guess—just a wild one.
"It makes her weak," Neji snaps, his grip on the rifle trembling.
"Man, if you think change is being weak, you're the lamest person I've ever seen," I say, pointing at him with a grin.
Neji's Byakugan flares, veins pulsing like he's about to turn me into a pincushion. I sit there, calm, watching the battlefield. No way I'm fighting him in this cramped tree.
Then, his chakra settles. He slumps, clutching the rifle. "Guess… I am," he murmurs, voice barely a whisper.
*What the fuck.* I know getting your ass kicked by a girl stings, but this guy's one step from seppuku.