"Only one day left until our arrival."
Li Shang observed the horizon from the top of a tall tree, his gaze fixed and serene. Below him, the group rested in a clearing, surrounded by the soft sound of the wind and the rustling of leaves.
"This mission is so boring." Naruto grumbled, lying on his back, swinging his legs as if boredom were torture.
Li Shang descended silently, landing a few meters from the group. "If you have energy to complain, then you can use it to move. Let's go."
"Ugh... you're worse than Kakashi-sensei." Naruto huffed, but quickly got up.
The group formed up. Li Shang took the lead, his Tenseigan eyes sweeping the forest ahead, every detail revealed in his vision. Sasuke followed close behind, alert and silent. Lee kept pace alongside Naruto, while Sakura and Tenten covered the rear.
They crossed the forest at a constant speed, with no signs of resistance. Everything seemed calm — until Li Shang suddenly stopped and raised his hand, signaling for silence.
'Enemies... but this man... his energy is strange. And this armor... he doesn't look like a shinobi.'
Li Shang's gaze narrowed, analyzing further ahead. The chakra around that stranger was dense, but irregular, pulsing artificially.
'Three miles away... a ship is approaching. What kind of technology is this?'
He touched the small communication device and spoke clearly:
"Enemy ahead. He's alone and doesn't seem strong. Naruto, Sasuke, and Lee, advance. Sakura, Tenten, cover. I'll monitor the approaching object."
The group obeyed instantly, even without understanding how Li Shang could see so far.
A few seconds later, as they emerged from the dense forest, the enemy appeared — a young man with silver hair, white and blue armor that emitted a soft glow. In his right hand, a blade.
"Who are you?" Naruto shouted, without hesitation.
The man did not answer. Instead, he raised his sword and a green aura emanated from his body, the ground vibrating beneath his feet.
"So that's how it is..." Sasuke murmured, activating his Sharingan.
Lee positioned himself in front, determined.
The impact of the first blow was deafening. Lee landed a spinning kick directly on the chest plate of the armor, but the enemy did not move an inch. The green energy of the armor completely enveloped him, dissipating part of the impact.
"Impossible!" Lee recoiled, panting.
The strange knight advanced with speed. The blade sliced through the air, releasing a wave of energy that tore the ground like an invisible blade.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.
But the Uchiha was already in motion. His Sharingan spun, and he dodged at the last second, forming hand signs quickly.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
The gigantic fireball roared forward, hitting the enemy squarely. An explosion lit up the field, but when the smoke cleared, the knight was still standing — the armor pulsed, as if absorbing part of the flames.
Sasuke frowned.
Tenten launched a shower of explosive kunai, and Sakura prepared a genjutsu, trying to catch the enemy after the explosion.
Naruto clasped his hands in a quick seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Dozens of clones appeared, advancing like a wave.
The knight raised his arm, and a retractable shield formed, protecting him from the explosion, and raising his sword, a wave of crystalline energy expanded, destroying a dozen clones instantly.
'This energy... it's not normal chakra.' Li Shang watched everything from above, his eyes analyzing every flow. 'It's... similar to Yuan Qi.'
In the field, Sasuke and Lee returned to the offensive.
Lee opened the Second Gate and disappeared from common sight, reappearing behind the enemy.
Sasuke, at the same time, concentrated chakra in his legs, moving in sync.
"Chidori!"
Lightning and wind collided. The sound of thunder echoed across the plain, and the knight's armor finally gave way — green cracks spread across his chest.
Naruto seized the opening. "Rasengan!"
The blow hit the enemy head-on, sending him several meters back. The impact raised a wave of dust and debris.
Silence reigned for a few seconds.
"Did we get him?" Sakura asked, tense.
But Li Shang, watching from above, narrowed his eyes. 'No... he's still intact.'
The dust dispersed. The knight slowly rose, now revealing tighter armor, his gaze cold. The green energy flowed again, more intensely than before.
"Impressive..."
The knight advanced again, his sword slicing through the air with superhuman speed, the metal vibrating with power. Each blow left trails of energy, and the ground cracked beneath his feet. Naruto and Sasuke retreated, trying to reorganize their formation.
"This guy never gets tired!" Naruto shouted, narrowly dodging a cut that left a deep mark on the ground.
"He's being fueled by a strange energy." Sasuke replied.
Li Shang kept his gaze fixed in the distant direction — the vessel he had sensed earlier was slowly approaching. The energy of that ship was strange, pulsing as if something alive inhabited it. Still, his attention alternated between the horizon and the fight before him.
The knight spun his body and, with a powerful blow, knocked down two of Naruto's clones at once.
But, at that instant, he made the mistake that would define the end of the combat.
From the beginning, Sakura remained motionless in the rear, seemingly just observing. She had knelt in the field, tracing seals, her chakra precisely controlled, invisible to ordinary eyes.
Li Shang noticed the slight tremor in the air, the subtle chakra spreading through the environment. 'Ah... so that's what she was doing.'
The moment the unknown concentrated energy in his sword for the final blow, Sakura's seals glowed pink.
"Genjutsu: Blood Mirror."
The world collapsed. The trees twisted, the ground opened in red cracks, and the sky filled with flaming eyes. His mind was enveloped in a terrifying illusion. He saw his own body disintegrating and his energy being devoured by shadows.
"No... this is impossible!" he shouted, trying to break the illusion. The strange knight's heart raced erratically, his real body beginning to fail under the influence of his own fear.
"Now, Naruto!" Li Shang ordered.
Naruto emerged from the smoke, spinning chakra in his hand.
"Rasengan!!"
The blow hit squarely in the abdomen. The energy spread, breaking the light armor. The knight was thrown meters back, falling unconscious, his armor cracked and smoking.
Silence fell over the field. The leaves swayed gently in the wind, the smell of burnt energy still lingering in the air.
Naruto looked at the unconscious enemy. "I think this time it was for real..."
Sasuke crossed his arms, but did not deny it. "It was a good combination."
Li Shang walked calmly to where he lay fallen. His Tenseigan eyes still glowed slightly as he surveyed the field and, especially, the ship approaching in the distance.
'The real enemy is still coming,' he thought, but maintained his serenity.
He knelt briefly, checking his pulse. "Still alive. Tenten, use chakra containment seals on him."
She ran, while Sakura finally stood up, sweating, but with a discreet smile.
Li Shang looked at her, genuinely impressed. "You were one of those who advanced the most with training, Sakura."
She blinked, surprised, blushing slightly. "Oh... I just used what I learned."
"Right," he replied with a small smile.
His words left the girl silent, but pride shone in her eyes.
Li Shang then raised his face to the horizon. The vessel could now be seen slowly approaching — a giant mechanical structure.