Two days later, a small team departed from the village on a routine mission to purchase supplies. The road ahead was quiet, but the air carried a subtle tension.
When they reached an open clearing, Izumi's Sharingan flickered to life. Her gaze swept the area from an elevated vantage point, her vision sharpening to catch even the faintest chakra signatures. She quickly identified four powerful ninja mixed among six civilians.
Izumi clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Ugh… how troublesome. I'll have to be careful not to hurt the civilians by accident."
Slamming her palm to the ground, she shouted:
"Fire Release: Exploding Tag Array!"
A ripple of chakra burst from the ground beneath her, and in an instant, dozens of Exploding Tags appeared, wrapping themselves around the legs of the enemy ninja.
She smirked faintly. "Ah, no wonder Hanzo favors this move—it's ridiculously effective."
The sudden eruption caught the enemy by surprise. Their eyes widened in shock, and two of them reacted instantly.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
"Substitution Technique!"
In a blur, they escaped the deadly trap, but the other two weren't so lucky. The tags tightened around their legs like vipers.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—!"
A chain of deafening explosions tore through the clearing. Dirt and smoke billowed upward, and the force knocked several civilians off their feet. Most fainted from the shockwave, but thanks to Izumi's precise control over her chakra, none were killed.
For ordinary shinobi, moderating the destructive force of Exploding Tags with such precision would be impossible. But Izumi, a natural master of controlled power, handled it as easily as breathing.
The client had been clear—these civilians had sided with the enemy ninja and could be eliminated without consequence. But Izumi chose to spare them. Killing noncombatants, even treacherous ones, left a bad taste in her mouth.
The enemy ninja weren't given the same mercy. The two who failed to escape were blown apart from the waist down, their lower halves reduced to shredded flesh. Even as their bodies fell, the remaining tags clung to them and continued to detonate until nothing was left but a bloody mess.
The other two who had evaded the initial trap weren't unscathed. The shockwaves caught them mid-escape, hurling them across the clearing. One screamed in agony as he landed, his body crumpling to the ground, while the other, less injured, struggled to regain his footing.
Before they could recover, Yamamoto Kawa and Akido Jiro rushed forward, kunai flashing in their hands.
"Got them!" Jiro barked.
But just as their kunai were about to strike, there was a sharp clang!—two kunai came whistling from the side, striking theirs in mid-air and deflecting them harmlessly away.
Everyone froze.
From the treeline, six more ninja emerged, their faces cold and unreadable. The two injured enemy shinobi scrambled toward them for protection.
Akido Jiro's face paled. "Wait—this many? Was this all a setup to lure us in?"
One of the enemy laughed, his tone mocking. "Hah! Did you think we wouldn't notice when someone's missing from your village? We've been shadowing your procurement runs for weeks."
From behind Izumi's group, another voice called out casually.
"Well, well. Long time no see, Hayami."
Sarutobi Muraki stepped forward, his gaze locking on the enemy jonin.
Hayami's expression twisted into pure venom the moment he recognized him. Then, unexpectedly, he began to laugh.
"Hah! I didn't think it would be you! Sarutobi Muraki—finally, my chance for revenge!" Without another word, Hayami lunged forward.
Muraki smirked. "Bold of you. Looks like the beating I gave you last time wasn't enough." In the next heartbeat, the two clashed in a flurry of strikes, their blades and fists meeting in rapid succession.
While their leaders fought, Hayami barked over his shoulder: "The three of them are yours!"
"Yes!" came the reply, and the remaining eight ninja—including the wounded—charged at Izumi's group.
Izumi's Sharingan spun, tracking every movement. "Cover me!" she called.
"Got it!" Yamamoto Kawa and Akido Jiro immediately moved in front of her, intercepting the first wave of attacks.
Izumi's fingers flew into a rapid sequence of seals. "Exploding Tag Array!"
Every last tag she had left burst into existence around the charging enemies. They scattered instinctively, but a few weren't fast enough—tags latched onto them, detonating and dropping them with pained cries.
Muraki, glancing over mid-fight, raised an eyebrow. "Hmm… are Izumi's tags moving faster than before? Or am I imagining it?" He blocked another strike from Hayami and shoved him back.
As the surviving attackers regrouped, the ground beneath them suddenly erupted. Five shadow clones of Sarutobi Muraki burst upward, weapons ready. Several enemy ninja were skewered before they could even react.
The three survivors froze, staring at the identical Murakis with growing dread. Their courage faltered, and they began to edge backward.
Muraki kicked Hayami across the clearing, smirking. "After all this time, you're still weak. You can't handle me and my clones, and your men are pathetic. Jiro, the three of you each take one."
"Yes, sir!"
Izumi chose her opponent—a burly man radiating strong chakra. She grinned. "You'll do. Let's go."
The man sneered. "Hmph. Even a brat dares to act arrogant?" With a flicker, a massive sword appeared in his grip. Without waiting, he bolted toward the nearby forest.
Izumi followed, the forest canopy swallowing them both.
Elsewhere, Yamamoto Kawa engaged a thin, wiry opponent, while Akido Jiro fought a man wielding a massive shuriken. The battles split off into separate duels, Muraki's clones watching over each one.
Back in the clearing, Hayami roared, "I'll settle all my grudges today, Muraki—old and new!"
Muraki scoffed. "Let's see what you've got."
—
In the forest, the burly swordsman swung with raw power, his blade whistling through the air. Izumi darted between the strikes like a shadow, her smaller frame allowing her to slip inside his guard with ease.
"Damn you!" he snarled, slamming the sword down in a massive overhead chop.
Izumi sidestepped, her Sharingan predicting his movement with perfect clarity. As he tried to wrench the blade free for another swing, she drove her foot into his stomach.
Both blinked in surprise.
'This guy's tough,' Izumi thought. Her Senju heritage made her far stronger than she looked, yet the man stayed upright, gritting his teeth through the blow.
Likewise, the man's mind reeled. A girl that small… kicked like that? My insides feel scrambled.
He roared and lashed out with a punch. Izumi leaned away from it, her eyes narrowing as he reached for his sword again. In one smooth motion, she raised her leg high and brought her heel down hard on the blade's spine.
The weapon sank deep into the earth. The man heaved against it, but it wouldn't budge.
In that moment, Izumi twisted, slamming her other foot into his waist.
"Guh—!" Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was sent tumbling backward, clutching his side.
Even then, he staggered to his feet, stubbornly refusing to stay down.
Izumi almost admired his resilience. "You're a tank, I'll give you that."
She closed the distance in a blink, her elbow driving into his chest with crushing force. He collapsed instantly, blood pouring from his lips.
—
Meanwhile, Yamamoto Kawa and Akido Jiro finished their fights, though both were bleeding and limping. When they regrouped, Izumi was already seated on a boulder, completely unscathed.
"Wait," Kawa said, incredulous. "You didn't get hurt at all?"
Izumi tilted her head. "Huh? You sound disappointed. Do you want me injured?"
"N-No!" Kawa snapped, turning away.
Izumi leaned forward with a mischievous grin. "What was that? Say it louder."
"I said nothing! Just… patch me up already, damn it."
"Honestly…" she sighed, but her hands worked quickly, bandaging his wounds with practiced care.
Muraki's clones bound the captured enemy ninja, stacking them together like cordwood. All but one clone dispersed, leaving a single copy to guard the prisoners.
The real Muraki, still locked in combat with Hayami, pressed his advantage. Soon, Hayami was flat on his back, barely able to move.
But instead of surrendering, the jonin burst out laughing.
"Hah… hahahaha… you've forced my hand!"
He bit down sharply, shattering a capsule hidden in his mouth. In an instant, his injuries healed, his chakra flaring wildly. His lean frame swelled with muscle, his skin stretching taut over his transformed body.
The real fight, it seemed, was just beginning.
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