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A flash of red filled his vision.
The sharp, metallic stench of blood rushed straight into his nose.
This was the first time Leo had ever killed someone.
He froze for a split second.
The next instant, a blade slashed across his view.Kakashi's White Fang short sword cut down the charging enemy like a gust of wind.
"Don't space out!"
He barked the warning and darted off toward the next target, sword still dripping.
Leo snapped back to himself.
Right—this was a battlefield.You space out, you die.
Fortunately, Kurenai's genjutsu and Kakashi's blade work were keeping enemies off him long enough for him to adjust.
Leo steadied his breath.
"Kakashi—work with me."
"…?"
Kakashi didn't quite understand what Leo planned, but he knew exactly how he wanted him to cooperate.
He started forming hand signs.
Lightning Release: Ground Current!
But before Kakashi even finished the sequence, Leo beat him to it.A torrent of water blasted out of his mouth, surging forward like a sudden flood.
The faster enemies flickered away with Shunshin.
But some weren't fast enough—they were caught full-on in the wave.
And then—electricity hit the water.
"AAAHHH!"
Screams crackled and broke apart as the paralytic current ripped through the trapped ninja.
Leo had already disengaged the jutsu.
The attackers were fast and ruthless—so ruthless that when their own people were stunned and helpless in the water, their first instinct wasn't saving them but—
Shhk!
A rain of steel needles shot out, puncturing the bodies of the immobilized men.
Leo and Kakashi immediately replaced themselves with substitution logs and slipped away with Shunshin.
When the area finally went quiet and they came out again, the attacker was already gone—vanished without a trace.
Shizune stared from a distance, stunned.
She'd had only a vague sense of Leo's ability before, but now…
No wonder he was Jiraiya-sama's student.
That speed—that water release—
"At this level… he must've trained water jutsu for years, right…?" she murmured.
Kurenai shot her a sideways glance and sighed."He learned it in half a month."
"…Huh?"
Shizune looked like she'd just been hit by a genjutsu.
Half a month?Impossible.Most chūnin couldn't pull off something like that.
Kurenai sensed the surroundings for a moment.
"They retreated fast. Let's go check on Leo and Kakashi, make sure they aren't hurt."
"O–oh, right!"
Shizune snapped out of her daze.Everything had been so overwhelming she'd forgotten this was still mid-combat.
"Kakashi! Leo! Are you two okay?"
Kurenai and Shizune ran over.Kurenai was still carrying Leo's leg weights—they were heavy as hell.
"We're fine. Shizune, can you check if any of these guys can still be saved?"
Ahead of them, the five men who had been shocked were now lying limp on the ground.
"Mm."Shizune nodded and headed behind the ruined wall where the bodies were.
Leo and Kakashi flanked her, guarding her in case one of the attackers was playing dead.
Unfortunately—
After checking several bodies, Shizune shook her head."All of them already stopped breathing."
"The needles were coated in poison."
A few seconds later she paused again.
"This one's still barely alive. I need to treat him immediately!"
"I'll go get Lady Tsunade."
Kakashi sheathed his blade and turned to run back.
If they saved even one alive, they might get some intel.
Shizune hesitated, then said nothing, focusing all her effort on keeping the man alive and trying to extract the toxin.
But—
She still hadn't mastered Fine Extraction yet.
A few seconds passed before Jiraiya and Kakashi arrived. Tsunade stayed further back.
One glance, and Jiraiya said—
"Stop wasting chakra. He's already gone."
He crouched beside the body, then looked up at Leo.
"You and Kakashi fought them directly. You know their techniques and patterns best. What do you think? Where are they from?"
"Their style and methods feel like Sunagakure. But I don't think it's actually them… They shouted earlier about taking us hostage to trade for someone, but with skills like this… they don't feel like random rogue ninja."
Leo said what he was thinking.
It didn't add up.Suna took heavy losses in the Second Great War—their core force was still recovering.
And besides, the Third Kazekage was alive and well.Initiating conflict with Konoha right now would be nuts.
Jiraiya sealed the bodies into a scroll.
"We'll take them back and let specialists inspect them. Maybe they'll find something."
He couldn't figure it out either.
Outside, Tsunade asked calmly, "So? What's the situation?"
"Hard to say. Doesn't look like rogue ninja. Could be some other village trying to frame Suna, get us fighting," Jiraiya replied.
Kakashi agreed.Their attack pattern was too obviously Sand-like, which actually made it suspicious.
But—
Leo suddenly realized something.
He raised a hand.
"Sensei."
"Speak."
"We only just arrived in Tanzaku today. And this is just a C-rank mission. The River Country barely has any real ninja, and Hirakawa Ken isn't anyone important."
Leo glanced at Tsunade, voice cautious."Is it possible… they were after Lady Tsunade?"
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched.
"Kid. You think trash like that could take me?"
"Definitely not. But Shizune might be a different story."
Leo's words came slowly at first, then became clearer and clearer.
"I've heard some things… You've been traveling for over a year now. I'm guessing you owe more than just the Aohagaki gambling house, right?"
Tsunade's face darkened.
Great.Her one hobby—somehow everyone knew.
She shot Jiraiya a murderous glare.
Jiraiya read it instantly and frantically waved his hands."I didn't say anything!"
"So what? You think they wanted to grab Shizune to force me to pay up?"
"Could be something else," Leo added."Like forcing you to work for them, research jutsu, or teach them medical techniques."
After all, they hadn't captured the wandering samurai earlier.The attackers might have learned things from them.
Tsunade fell silent.
It wasn't impossible.Most people didn't know her situation, but Shizune traveling with her definitely made her a vulnerability.
Jiraiya's expression hardened." Tsunade, Leo's not wrong. You know your own situation. You need to think seriously about Shizune's safety."
"L–Lady Tsunade…"Shizune's face went pale.
Was Tsunade going to send her back to Konoha?
"Shizune, maybe you should return to the village for now."
"Tsunade, you traveling alone is dangerous too," Jiraiya added, his tone firming."You should come back as well. Just treat it like a visit. I'll have the old man investigate what's going on. Once everything's clear, you can leave again."
Tsunade hesitated.
She'd been out of the village for more than a year.Day to day, it was usually Shizune taking care of her.
If Shizune left…
She wasn't exactly confident she'd manage well alone.
"If Shizune returns, she won't be placed back on missions immediately, right? What then—send her back to the Academy?" Leo asked quietly.
Jiraiya flashed him a discreet thumbs-up.
Smart kid.He was playing Tsunade perfectly.
Shizune might be her assistant on the surface, but in Tsunade's heart, she was basically family.
Her safety—and her future—mattered to Tsunade.
Tsunade shot Leo a sharp look.
She had to admit—
He'd hit the mark.
"…It's late. Whatever we decide, we're at least staying the night in Tanzaku."
"....."