Haruto motioned for his tagalong to stop as he began to weave his illusions over the two modified shadow clones in front of them.
"Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu!"
"Magen: Niju Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu!"
Haruto smirked as he felt the second illusion snap neatly into place on top of the first one. While just about any ninja worth his salt could see through the C-rank False Surroundings Technique, the second illusion he placed was significantly trickier to detect and could only be pierced after the first illusion fell.
"That's a waste. If there are enemies around, the False Surroundings Technique will not conceal us for long in this open field," the masked ANBU complained.
Haruto fumed. It was said that Konohagakure has become rather deficient in the genjutsu department since the effective destruction of the famous Kurama clan. But never did the blond think that it was this bad.
"The illusions aren't supposed to conceal us for long. They are supposed to conceal us just long enough to allow us to avoid the first wave. I designed the mirages to offset our real positions by a couple of feet. Both illusions involve no actual changes to our surroundings, so they are very hard to detect." Haruto smirked as he saw his companion pause.
"So if the enemy attacks before breaking the mirages, they would likely hit the clones several feet away from us. So that's what the clones are for," the other ANBU finished.
Yep, it's a basic switch-a-roo plan but it was one that should work fairly well, Haruto thought. His companion, meanwhile, looked genuinely impressed by his young colleague's cleverness.
At least he isn't a complete fool. But he was still pretty foolish for telling me not to bother with making clones. How did this guy end up in ANBU anyway? Haruto could only shake his head in wonder.
"Nothing here. You?" Haruto also shook his head. It would seem that he had been overzealous. No doubt he would be expected to apologize to the stuck up ANBU captain for his previous intransigence. The young man groaned.
"We should return. The team should have completed the transaction by now." Haruto whistled to recall his clones who were scouting ahead. Unfortunately, like all clones, they didn't exactly possess the same mental faculties of the original. One of them seemingly tripped and fell, face first into the muddy wet ground. Curiously, the clone fumbled around on the ground for a minute before picking himself up.
"That's strange," the disguised blond voiced as he eyed the area with suspicion. When the clones finally moved away, the two real Konoha nin sneaked on over.
"What's that?" The two ninja's trained eyes immediately homed in on the rectangular yellow piece of paper.
Explosive scroll! Both Konoha shinobi instinctively dropped to the ground just as multiple explosions rocked their surroundings. One of Haruto's clones disintegrated under the combined assault of three Rain ninja who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The ANBU shinobi moved to attack, but his younger colleague held him back with a "let's wait and see" signal. As far as Haruto could tell, his genjutsu illusions were still in place.
Haruto and his ally slowly circled around the enemy's flank as his remaining clone put up a tenacious fight against three separate targets. When it finally went down, the three Rain ninja were fatally out of position to defend against their real opponents. Their backs were turned when the two Konoha ANBU pounced from under their genjutsu cover.
Haruto charged straight at the nearest hostile with extended ninjaken. No flash, no flare, no fancy movement, just speed and surprise. The Rain nin instinctively twisted around and practically impaled himself. With impeccable calmness and professionalism, Haruto deftly released a kunai with his free hand and slashed his opponent's exposed jugular. He was moving to his next target before the body even hit the ground.
The Special ANBU chanced a look at his compatriot and was impressed to see that he also had the upper hand. Perhaps his initial assessment that his companion did not belong in ANBU was too hasty. Expecting a quick victory, Haruto aggressively but also haphazardly attacked the last Rain nin. It proved to be a costly mistake. The Rain ninja was prepared. He refused to break and run as he adroitly engaged the Konoha Special ANBU. A momentary lapse in judgment on his part coupled with a skillful feint by the Rain nin quickly left a deep red cut across Haruto's sword arm.
The disguised blond cursed the high heavens as his trusty ninjaken fell from his hand. He hissed in pain as the seemingly superficial wound burned and sizzled while the blood began to change color.
Poison.
The Rain nin, eager to reverse the tide of the fight, pressed forward with animalistic ferocity. Haruto could have retreated and regrouped, but he did not, knowing that doing so would have left his comrade open to a fatal pincer attack. Instead, the slightly humbled and humiliated Konoha's prodigy buckled down and fought on with one arm. Assaulted by twin kunai, his arms and torso suffered numerous cuts. But his dogged defense succeeded in checking every thrust and strike aimed at anything vital.
Plus, Haruto had his one last trump card. He was a jinchuuriki. His body was furiously and successfully fighting against the foreign xenobiotic.
Frustrated and tired, the Rain nin never saw his opponent's supposedly disabled arm reaching for a kunai until it was too late. The Konoha ANBU plunged the weapon deep into his enemy's chest, shattering bones and piercing internal organs. The Rain ninja's high pitched shriek of horror was easily drowned out by the victor's own cry of beastly triumph. As sudden as it had begun, the battle was over. The bloody, limp body of the deceased slumped against Haruto. His hands instinctively reached forward and grasped the slim waist and gentle curves…
Wait! Slim waist and gentle curves? Haruto violently tore the mask and parts of the clothing off his opponent. Two dead violet eyes stared back at him. Her porcelain-like face was serene and flawless except for several splatters of blood. The young kunoichi was definitely older than him but not by much. She could have probably passed off as one of the better built females of his academy class and no one would have been the wiser. The thought was vaguely unsettling.
Haruto's eyes assessed the partially disrobed girl. Only now did he notice how small his formidable opponent's stature was. Sort of like him. The disguised blond gripped his injured arm.
"Are you alright?"
Haruto nodded, giving the other ANBU a dirty eye. Now he shows up. But there was no time for chit-chat.
"Yes, fine." The poison was all but neutralized and Haruto could feel his body repairing his wounds.
"But we need to return immediately! The mission is compromised!" the young ANBU stated as he started towards the rendezvous point.
Haruto paused only long enough to pick up his dirtied ninja sword from the mud. His haste was understandable, but also most unfortunate. Had he paused a while longer, he might have remembered to pluck his kunai out of the dead Rain kunoichi's chest.
"My apologies, but an emergency came up and my employer's currently indisposed. He sent me in his place to provide you with the necessary information," the young man stated cheerfully as he handed the Konoha ANBU a scroll.
Yuugao Uzuki cautiously scanned the classified scroll as Konoha's Gamma ANBU Team deployed themselves in a guarded ready stance. Their contact was supposed to be a mild and almost elderly gentleman, who worked in the Rain village's legislative department, not a smiling boyish looking young man. Said young man's jovial smile and bright hair distinctly reminded her of Haruto. Perhaps that explained her suspicion; the thought that this young man could be a disguised Rain shinobi.
No, Yuugao chided herself for being paranoid like her captain and student. Tenzou was a sadist when it came to ninja topics relating to stealth and security. It was probably why he worked so well with Ibiki and Anko. Now, there was a disturbing thought—Haruto joining forces with those two.
The blond truly was one surprising ninja specimen. Initially, the purple-haired kunoichi had been lukewarm towards the young blond. While she held no grudge against the jinchuuriki, neither did she have any particular attachment to the young ANBU candidate. Her captain had requested her aid in training the boy's kenjutsu. It was out of her immense respect for him that she had accepted. But somewhere along the way, things changed. Yuugao had come to admire and respect the young blond as well. His courage and devotion, not to mention his immense combat skills and capabilities were awe inspiring. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, that respect did not appear to be reciprocated.
"Has your employer been compromised?" the ANBU captain asked gruffly.
"I don't believe so, but Hidden Rain has stepped up its patrols recently. I was told to suggest an alternate route for your egress."
Yuugao was instantly suspicious, though she was not the only one.
"We were not informed," the captain of Gamma Team voiced harshly.
"It was a recent development. Here, it was cleared by Jiraiya-sama," the young Rain spy smoothly replied. When he readily furnished proof of authenticity from the renowned Konoha shinobi, the others instantly lost whatever casus belli they had with the proposed plan. Jiraiya-sama must be right. Haruto's teacher was less certain. Great as the legendary Toad Sannin was, he was not infallible. Yuugao knew of the disasters Jiraiya and his famous student, the mighty Minato, had helped propagate during the war. No matter what the text books claimed, no conflict that lasted over a decade could have possibly been easy or clean.
"This way."
Despite her misgivings, Yuugao was in no position to voice them, given the Gamma Team leader's intransigence. The purple-haired kunoichi could only tag along as their Rain spy led them away.
"One moment. Cat, where is your illustrious pupil?"
Yuugao blinked before frowning. "I'm not sure. He should be back by now. Something must have happened." Her heart raced at the implication.
"Like he got lost?"
Yuugao resisted the urge to retort as the ANBU captain uttered various expletives under his breath.
"Rabbit, take two men and search the perimeter."
"Something wrong?" the Rain spy asked.
"Nothing to worry about, but we'll need to wait for a while."
Their contact nodded. An unpleasant frown now mired his previously cheerful complexion. If Yuugao was not suspicious already, warning bells most certainly would have started ringing. Out of nowhere, a thick mist started forming on the periphery instantly putting the Konoha team on alert.
"What's going on?"
Everyone's attention was turned toward the mysterious phenomenon; everyone except for Yuugao, who recognized the mist and its creator. Haruto.
The ANBU from Team Alpha kept her attention centered on the suspect standing amongst them and moved to warn her comrades. Even so, she was too far away to act when their supposed confederate suddenly drew a kunai and slammed it into the throat of the person closest to him. The very much surprised, foolish and dying body of the Vice Captain of Gamma Team fell to the ground. The others barely had the time to register their surprise before the area exploded with fire and flying shuriken.
In the next instant, over three dozen hostiles materialized before the stunned Konoha task force.