Moving through the forests of the Land of Fire was like nothing he had ever experienced. The other Anbu moved like shadows made flesh, leaping from branch to branch with impossible grace and speed. They barely disturbed the leaves as they passed, their footsteps silent even when landing on dead wood.
Kuro struggled to keep up. His lungs burned with the effort of maintaining their pace, his muscles screamed in protest, and more than once he nearly lost his footing on a treacherous branch. The physical capabilities of his new body were incredible compared to his old human limitations, but they were nothing compared to his teammates' effortless movement.
They covered dozens of miles in what felt like hours, the landscape changing from the familiar forests around Konoha to the rougher, wilder terrain of the border regions. The trees here were older, their branches gnarled and thick, creating a canopy so dense that even midday felt like twilight.
When they finally stopped, it was at the edge of a clearing where a small camp had been established. Kuro could see three figures moving around a fire, their Kusagakure forehead protectors glinting in the firelight. Rogue shinobi, just as intelligence had reported.
Hawk raised his hand, and the team spread out in a practiced formation. Cat disappeared into the treetops above, while Bear circled around to cut off escape routes. Hawk himself moved to a position that would allow him to strike at the leader.
"Stay back," Hawk whispered to Kuro. "Observe their techniques, their formations, their weaknesses. This is your education."
The words might have been instructional, but the underlying message was clear: 'You're not ready for real combat.'
The attack came without warning. One moment the rogue shinobi were sitting peacefully around their fire, the next chaos erupted.
Cat struck first, dropping from above like a silent predator. Her tanto found the throat of one rogue before he could even cry out. Bear charged from the opposite side, his massive frame wielding a war hammer that crushed the second rogue's defense in a single devastating blow.
The third rogue—their leader—was more experienced. He rolled away from Hawk's initial strike and began forming hand seals with impressive speed.
"Earth Release: Root Binding Technique!"
The ground erupted as thick, thorny vines burst from the soil, seeking to entangle the attacking Anbu. The technique was crude but effective, forcing Hawk and Bear to leap clear while Cat danced between the grasping tendrils.
Kuro watched in fascination and horror as the battle unfolded. This wasn't like the choreographed fights he'd seen in anime—this was brutal, desperate, and terrifyingly real. Blood sprayed across the clearing as weapons found their marks. The sounds of combat were visceral: the wet slice of metal through flesh, the crack of breaking bones, the desperate gasps of men fighting for their lives.
The rogue leader was skilled, but he was outnumbered and outclassed. Gradually, the Anbu began to wear him down, their coordinated attacks forcing him into increasingly desperate defensive positions.
Then disaster struck.
Bear overextended himself, committing too fully to a hammer strike that shattered a wall of earth but left him momentarily vulnerable. The rogue leader seized the opportunity, sending a spear of hardened earth toward the larger Anbu's exposed side.
The projectile should have taken Bear in the ribs, potentially a fatal wound. Instead, it went wide—not because the rogue had missed, but because he had spotted a new target.
Kuro had been so focused on the main battle that he hadn't noticed the vines creeping through the underbrush toward his hiding spot. By the time he realized the danger, it was too late to dodge.
The thorny tendrils erupted from the ground around him like serpents, seeking to bind and crush. For a moment that felt like an eternity, he froze. His mind went blank, overwhelmed by the reality of mortal danger. These weren't special effects or animation—these were real weapons that could kill him.
Time seemed to slow as the vines reached for him. He could see every detail: the way the thorns glistened with moisture, the ripple of muscle-like fibers beneath the plant's surface, the malevolent intelligence behind the attack.
Then Hawk was there, his tanto flashing in a silver arc that severed the vines just inches from Kuro's face. The team leader landed in a crouch between Kuro and the rogue, his body language radiating fury.
"Get back, you useless fool!" he snarled without turning around.
Kuro scrambled backward, shame burning in his chest like acid. He had frozen. When faced with real danger, when his teammates needed him to at least take care of himself, he had been paralyzed by fear.
The battle ended quickly after that. Deprived of his root techniques and facing three uninjured Anbu, the rogue leader fell to a coordinated assault that left no doubt about the outcome.