"Kurenai-sensei!"
Naruto's shout cut through the silence of the house. Kurenai, who was reviewing a map on the dining room table, straightened up abruptly, her hand instinctively moving to the kunai pouch on her thigh.
Naruto burst into the main room, his breathing ragged. His wide eyes searched for hers with a desperation that needed no words.
Kiba and Hinata, who were checking the outer perimeter, entered when they heard the shout, followed closely by Shino.
"What's wrong, Naruto? Did you see something?" Kiba asked, with Akamaru growling softly at his side. "An enemy?"
"Panic is an inefficient response," Shino added with his usual calm. "Naruto, specify the threat."
Naruto ignored them. He approached Kurenai, pulling her a step away from the group and lowering his voice to a tense whisper. "It's Sakura. She's in danger. I can feel it." He paused, swallowing hard. "We have to go. Now."
Kurenai watched him intently. There was no hysteria in his voice, only absolute certainty. She nodded once. She turned to the others.
"We're leaving," she announced.
"What?" Kiba protested. "What's he talking about? We haven't seen or heard anything."
"Kiba, Hinata, Shino, prepare to evacuate," Kurenai ordered, ignoring the question.
"Evacuate? Just like that?" Kiba insisted, pointing at Naruto. "He hasn't even said what's wrong. What if it's a false alarm?"
"This isn't about what you hear," Kurenai replied. "I trust him. Now move."
Her tone left no room for argument. Kiba scowled but turned to gather his gear. Kurenai addressed the family, who was watching the scene with growing alarm.
"Tsunami-san, Inari. Take only what is essential. We're leaving in two minutes."
"No!" Inari shouted. "We can't leave! This is our home!" He stood in front of Kurenai, his fists clenched. "Running away is what they want! My grandfather didn't run! He stayed!"
"Inari," Tsunami intervened, her voice trembling. "Please, we have to listen to her..."
"No! I'm sick of being afraid of them!" the boy retorted, slamming his fist on the table.
"These walls are a coffin if Kakashi's team was intercepted," Kurenai said, her voice hard and direct. "If they're in trouble, the enemy is stronger than we thought, and their rearguard will come for us. Staying here is waiting to be executed. Your only chance is to move with us. Understood?"
The logic was brutal. Tsunami grabbed Inari by the shoulders, and the boy reluctantly nodded.
"Kiba, help Tsunami-san with a bag, only the essentials," Kurenai continued. "Hinata, one last quick look outside, tell me if there's any immediate movement. Shino, watch the back door."
In less than a minute, they were gathered at the door.
"Kiba, you and Akamaru cover the rear. Your nose is our best alarm," Kurenai ordered as they left.
"Got it."
"Hinata, you're up front with me. Byakugan active. I want three-hundred-sixty-degree coverage. Look for any chakra flow, any movement."
"Yes, sensei."
"Shino, left flank. Spread your kikaichū. A fifty-meter detection perimeter."
"It will be done," the Aburame replied. An almost inaudible buzzing intensified around him.
"Naruto, you stay in the center with the family. You're their last line of defense."
Naruto nodded, his expression grim.
They left the house and entered the forest. The air was humid and stuck to their skin. The silence was absolute; there were no birds or insects. A silence that set their nerves on edge. The path narrowed, forcing them to march in single file next to a swamp covered in tall, green reeds.
Kurenai looked at Hinata. "Anything?"
Hinata shook her head. "I don't see any chakra flows, Kurenai-sensei. But the stillness isn't natural. I see birds in the trees. They're completely motionless."
"Understood. Keep reporting."
Naruto walked beside Tsunami and Inari. He could feel the fear coming off them.
"Mom, are we going to die?" Inari whispered.
"No, sweetie. They're protecting us," Tsunami answered, though her own voice trembled.
The urgency for Sakura was still there, a constant pressure in his chest. He looked at Kurenai's back.
"Sensei... Do you think Kakashi-sensei is okay?"
"Kakashi is one of Konoha's best jōnin," Kurenai replied in a low voice, without turning. "Our mission now is to ensure he has support if the situation gets complicated. Focus on the now, Naruto. On protecting those beside you."
He nodded, clenching his fists. "Yeah."
At the rear, Kiba stopped suddenly. Akamaru whimpered, a low, mournful sound, the fur on his back raised.
"What is it, boy?" he whispered. He crouched down to examine the ground. "What is...?"
His foot brushed against something. It wasn't a root. It was an almost imperceptible touch, followed by a tsss, the sound of a wire pulling taut.
"KIBA, GET DOWN!"
Kurenai's shout was an explosion. She had noticed Kiba's sudden stop. In the same instant, she felt a wave of killing intent erupt from the reeds to her right. There was no time to think. She launched herself backward and tackled him hard, sending them both rolling into the mud.
A whistle cut through the air right where Kiba's neck had been a split second before.
ZZZIIING!
The sound was followed by the sharp crack of three small trees falling on the other side of the path, sliced cleanly in half.
Silence.
Kiba stayed on the ground, panting, staring at the fallen trees with wide eyes. A cold sweat ran down his back.
"Thanks... sensei..." he managed to say.
"Get up," Kurenai said, standing and helping him to his feet. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah... I think so," he stammered.
Her face was a mask of calm, but her red eyes were burning. She turned toward the reeds.
"Come out," she ordered, her voice low and dangerous. "Show yourself."
"He won't," Shino said, approaching. He knelt to examine the nearly invisible wire. "The wire is expertly made. The tension was calculated to decapitate someone of Kiba's height. This isn't a makeshift trap. They were waiting for us."
Kurenai clenched her jaw. They were trapped. The enemy was a specialist who had turned the terrain into a weapon. She turned to her team.
"Team 8. Listen to me."
Hinata, Kiba, and Shino looked at her.
"Your mission has changed. You're going to break through this blockade. Hinata, you lead, your Byakugan can see the traps. Shino, your insects will clear the path. Kiba, you'll use your speed to get them out of any ambush. Your only objective is to reach the bridge and help Team 7. Ignore this enemy. I'll take care of him."
"No way!" Kiba protested. "That's suicide, sensei! Whoever this guy is, he wants us separated!"
"Sensei, please..." Hinata pleaded. "He's right. If we split up, we'll be easier targets."
"My analysis holds," Shino added. "Splitting our forces is tactically inadvisable."
"Listen!" Kurenai's voice cut them off. "This isn't a democracy. I'm the jōnin in command, and my judgment is law in the field. The primary mission is the priority, and that mission is to help Kakashi. Now do your duty. Move!"
Her words fell on them with immense weight. They hesitated, but Kurenai's gaze was unbreakable. With a final, reluctant nod, they turned and began to move carefully down the path.
Kurenai turned to Naruto. "You too, Naruto. You're the fastest. Go with them. Protect my team."
Naruto stared at her and shook his head, once.
"No."
"Naruto, don't make this harder," Kurenai said, her patience at its limit. "That's an order. Go!"
"I heard the order," he said, and took a step to stand beside her, facing the reeds. "And I reject it."
Surprise crossed Kurenai's face. "You refuse...? This is insubordination, Naruto."
"I'll take the consequences," he replied, his eyes fixed on the reeds. "Last night we talked about trust. About not leaving anyone behind. Does that only count when it's convenient? You said we were a team now. Do you think I can just leave, knowing I'm leaving you here alone? Teams don't abandon each other! My duty is to protect Tsunami and Inari, and you're part of my team now. My duty is to protect you, too."
Kurenai looked at him, astonished. It wasn't the insubordination of a brat, but the declaration of a comrade. Arguing was a waste of time.
A calm voice emerged from the reeds. "What a moving dilemma. Loyalty versus duty. A pity that both paths end in the same place." The voice continued, "The orange boy. A miscalculation. An uncontrolled variable."
A figure rose slowly from among the reeds. He was slender, dressed in moss green clothes, and wore a woven reed mask. In his hand, he held a kusarigama.
"And mistakes," the figure continued, "must be corrected."
Kurenai took a combat stance, with Naruto at her side. "You think you can take us both?"
"I know exactly who I'm dealing with," the masked man whispered. "A genjutsu specialist and an unpredictable genin. That's why the correction for the variable has arrived."
Two huge splashes erupted from the swamp on either side of the path. Gozu and Meizu, the Demon Brothers, emerged from the murky water with sadistic smiles.
The trap was a cage.
"We got here just in time for the party," Gozu growled. "Looks like you were having fun without us, Kageri."
"Two for us, one for you. Seems fair, don't you think, brother?" Meizu added, spinning his claw.
"Do what you want with the boy," Kageri replied. "The woman is mine." He lunged forward, his kusarigama whistling.
Kurenai launched herself to meet him, intercepting the chain with a kunai. Sparks flew. Kurenai tried to trap him in a genjutsu, but Kageri pulled an invisible thread at his feet. A volley of kunai shot out from the reeds, forcing Kurenai to break her technique to dodge them.
Meanwhile, Gozu and Meizu charged at Naruto.
"You move a lot for a simple genin!" Gozu shouted, swiping with a claw that Naruto barely dodged.
"You won't last long, pipsqueak!" Meizu mocked, trying to flank him.
"I've got more where that came from!" Naruto retorted, creating two shadow clones that got in Meizu's way.
Kurenai saw her chance. "Naruto, don't let them surround you! Keep them together!"
But Gozu saw the same thing. Ignoring Naruto for an instant, he charged directly at Kurenai from the flank.
"Sensei, look out!" Naruto yelled.
Kurenai spun in time to block the claw with two crossed kunai. The brute force of the attack drove her back, her feet sinking into the mud. That created the opening Meizu was waiting for. He dispatched the clones and lunged at Kurenai's exposed back. She couldn't recover.
"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"
POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF! POOF!
A dozen Narutos appeared out of nowhere, forming an orange wall between Meizu and Kurenai.
"What the hell?!" Meizu snarled, his attack thwarted. His claw tore through the first clone, which vanished in smoke, but the mass of bodies blocked his advance.
Kurenai seized the moment. She kicked Gozu in the chest, sending him stumbling back. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Naruto, who gave her a defiant grin as his clones formed a protective barrier.
"Thanks, Naruto."
"No problem, sensei," he replied. "Now let's finish these clowns!"
A tense stalemate settled in. Kurenai and Kageri watched each other, waiting for a mistake. Gozu and Meizu regrouped, their eyes fixed on the boy. And Naruto, flanked by his clones, prepared for battle.
"Finish them..." Kageri scoffed, making an almost imperceptible gesture. "Gozu, Meizu. Stop playing around. End him."
The fight for survival had just begun.