"Our mission isn't to protect," Hajime Hoshita said calmly.
"It's to prepare for the worst. If the Sky Ninja make a move, we must be ready to act."
He continued, "Secondly, if they don't make a move..."
"We are to ambush and eliminate them on their way back."
The eyes of Inuzuka Ryo and the others sharpened upon hearing this. Aburame Shino asked, "Captain, so no matter what, the Sky Ninja who came here… must die?"
Hajime nodded coolly. "Exactly."
"Remember—this is Root's doctrine and style."
"Eliminate anyone who poses a threat to the village."
"What the ANBU can't kill, Root will."
Sarutobi Toku and the rest couldn't help the chill that ran down their spines.
It was just too ruthless.
***
Up ahead, Jiraiya suddenly glanced over his shoulder, then turned to Orochimaru on his right. "Hey, Orochimaru, you've noticed it too, haven't you?"
Orochimaru replied calmly, "Most likely ANBU. Just a precaution."
Tsunade frowned and glanced back. "You think the Sky Ninja would dare attack us?"
Jiraiya said in a low voice, "They already tried stealing sealing techniques and intel on border defenses. At this point, there's not much they wouldn't do."
"In any case, we should stay alert."
Tsunade and Orochimaru both nodded in agreement.
The rest of the journey was uneventful.
By early afternoon, both squads had crossed the Fire Country's border and entered the Land of Hot Water.
2 PM.
On a wide grassy field, the trio of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru met with the Sky Ninja.
There were five Sky Ninja in total—one of whom was bound with rope.
Tsunade gave the man a single glance and immediately sneered, "As expected—completely perfunctory!"
Orochimaru said, "It's just as we anticipated."
Jiraiya stepped forward and said, "You two better not screw this up."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Relax. With Tsunade here, you won't die."
Jiraiya couldn't help but raise a single finger behind his back in response.
At the same time…
One of the Sky Ninja stepped forward, dragging the rope-bound captive toward Jiraiya.
When they were about five or six steps apart, both sides stopped.
"This is the one you wanted," the Sky Ninja barked coldly, then shoved the bound man forward—his eyes glinting with sinister cruelty.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
As the captive approached, he suddenly broke free from the ropes and lunged at Jiraiya.
"Watch out!" Tsunade shouted in alarm.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed sharply as his hands began forming seals at lightning speed.
Jiraiya, already on high alert, instinctively pushed off the ground and leapt backward, his own hands flashing through seals.
But the distance was too close. There wasn't enough time.
Then—they saw it. Smoke began to rise from the lunging man's body.
"Damn, it's an explosive tag!"
"It's a clone!"
BOOM!
Flames erupted. Smoke billowed violently, completely engulfing Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya!!" Tsunade screamed in fury, already lunging forward.
"Bastards—go to hell!!"
BOOM!
The earth exploded beneath her feet as she slammed down a massive kick, gouging a huge crater into the ground.
But the Sky Ninja leapt backward, narrowly evading the strike. With a cold sneer, he taunted, "The ones who'll die… are you!"
"No—actually, we'll leave one of you alive," he added darkly. "As a hostage."
Before his voice had even faded, the three Sky Ninja in the rear had already arrived at the front and completed their hand seals.
Gales howled, flames burst forth, and a barrage of shuriken shrieked through the air.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
In front of Tsunade, a stone wall erupted from the ground, shielding her from the furious wind, flames, and the deadly storm of shuriken.
"Tsunade, I'm fine…" came Jiraiya's voice from behind.
As the fire and smoke cleared, Jiraiya's figure emerged—battered, but alive.
"Good thing I just finished developing a new jutsu, or I'd really be dead this time," he said with a sheepish grin.
In the critical moment, he had activated his newly developed technique: Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu, hardening and wrapping himself in his hair to absorb most of the explosion's force—keeping himself unharmed.
From behind, Orochimaru said coldly, "Save the talk for later. We need to fight our way out of this first."
At that moment, two additional Sky Ninja squads appeared on either side of them.
In total, twenty Sky Ninja now surrounded them.
Although it seemed like their rear was clear, Orochimaru suspected that more were hidden in the forest behind them.
Their only hope was that the ANBU team following them might secure the retreat path.
And just then—
Within the forest behind Orochimaru and the others, four hidden Sky Ninja lay in ambush. But behind them, like a silent oriole stalking the mantis, Hajime Hoshita had already signaled to Inuzuka Ryo and the others at the sound of the explosion:
Move out!
The hidden Sarutobi Toku was the first to leap from concealment, hurling kunai embedded with explosive tags in a rapid barrage.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Explosions rang out as the four hidden Sky Ninja were forced out of their cover.
Fang Over Fang!
Inuzuka Ryo and his companion beast, Kuromaru, launched themselves into the air, striking one Sky Ninja with pinpoint precision.
At the same time, Aburame Shino's insects swarmed in a black mass, enveloping another target.
The last to strike was Hajime—yet he killed faster than the others.
The moment he leapt, his body split into three.
The Sky Ninja squad captain managed to block only one blow before his body was sliced into three clean segments and fell from the air.
By the time Inuzuka Ryo finished off his target, the three clones of Hajime had already slit the throat of another Sky Ninja.
Less than five seconds—and all four Sky Ninja had been eliminated.
His Shadow Clones dispersed, and without pausing, Hajime dashed toward the edge of the forest.
Behind him, Sarutobi Toku and the others followed close on his heels.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
The four burst from the forest into the open grasslands, where Tsunade and the others were already engaged in close combat with the Sky Ninja—too close for large-scale jutsu.
Hajime's eyes swept the battlefield and locked onto Tsunade's figure. Raising both arms, he summoned shuriken into his hands. With a sharp breath, Wind Release chakra infused his weapons, and he hurled them in rapid succession.
Two large, spinning windmill shuriken roared through the air in tandem, targeting a Sky Ninja assaulting Tsunade.
The enemy instantly abandoned Tsunade and flipped into the air. With expert timing, he passed through the hollow center of the first shuriken, then slashed upward to deflect the second with a metallic clang.
CLANG—CLANG!
Both shuriken were knocked away.
But as the Sky Ninja landed, two of Hajime's clones rushed in from either side.
CLANG!
Wielding a short blade and a kunai, the Sky Ninja managed to block the simultaneous strikes from the clones.
But the real Hajime descended from above. His blade, enhanced with Wind Release chakra, sliced cleanly through the enemy's skull, splitting his head in two.
Just then, the two clones were struck by a flurry of shuriken and exploded into puffs of smoke—dispersed by another Sky Ninja.
Hajime grabbed the body of the one he had just killed and used it as a shield to block a kunai. Then, yanking his blade free, he exploded forward with chakra-enhanced speed, dashing toward the ambusher like a thunderbolt.
CLANG—CLANG—CLANG!
Their blades clashed in a high-speed flurry, sparks flying with each blow.
Suddenly, Hajime kicked the enemy away and immediately hurled his ninja blade.
THUD!
It pierced straight through the Sky Ninja's chest.
Hajime rushed forward, seized the hilt, and slammed the corpse into another enemy with a bang.
Dropping the blade and vanishing in a flicker, Hajime reappeared behind his new target. A glowing Rasengan formed in his palm.
BOOM!
The Rasengan struck squarely into the Sky Ninja's back, blasting him into the ground and carving a large crater.
The enemy's back was torn open, spiral wounds etched into flesh and bone.
Though it looked superficial, the Rasengan had utterly destroyed his spine and internal organs. He was dead beyond any doubt.
(End of Chapter)