"Pakkun, how many?" Kakashi Hatake asked while moving swiftly through the dense forest.
The small pug running at his side sniffed the air, his expression turning serious.
"Twelve."
Twelve.
Kakashi and Hisao Kimura exchanged glances. Three against twelve was not a fight, it was a slaughter waiting to happen.
If they kept running like this, they would eventually be surrounded and eliminated.
Kakashi's voice grew steady, decisive.
"Kimura, Ryūjin, the situation is bad. If we continue retreating, we will be overtaken and killed."
He took a short breath before continuing.
"The only way is for two of us to stay behind and delay them. The third person must break through and return to Konoha with the information."
Kimura nodded immediately. It was a cold calculation, but the logic was sound. Three fighting twelve head on was suicide. Sacrificing two to preserve one was their only realistic option.
The unspoken question hung in the air.
Who would stay behind?
"Ryūjin," Kakashi said without hesitation. "Kimura and I will hold them off. You break through and return to the village."
Kimura agreed.
"Even if it costs you your life, the information must reach Konoha."
Their reasoning was simple.
Both of them were full fledged Jonin. Ryūjin's known record was defeating Sarutobi Asuma. Impressive, but not enough to change the odds in a twelve man engagement.
And half a year ago, when Kakashi had worked with him during the mission to retrieve Obito, Ryūjin had only been a Genin. No matter how fast someone improved, there were limits.
At least, that was what they believed.
"Understood," Ryūjin Uchiha replied calmly. "Take care of yourselves."
From a tactical standpoint, their choice was reasonable. He did not argue.
Kakashi and Kimura stopped and immediately began setting traps, wires, explosive tags, anything that could buy time. They prepared to intercept and delay the pursuing enemy.
Ryūjin accelerated forward alone.
After creating some distance, he slowed.
Yeah right.
Letting Kakashi die here for nothing would be stupid.
He turned back silently.
Yet when the pursuing shinobi finally caught up to Kakashi and Kimura, something unexpected happened.
They did not attack.
There was a brief standoff.
Then they left.
Ryūjin, observing from concealment, frowned.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Twelve people chasing so aggressively, only to back off when they caught up?
He did not dwell on it. Since they had disengaged, he once again separated from Kakashi and Kimura and continued alone.
Not long after, chakra signatures reappeared.
Swish, swish, swish.
Figures descended around him using the Body Flicker Technique, surrounding him completely.
Ryūjin's eyes sharpened.
"So your real target was me all along."
The realization was immediate.
From the beginning, they were not pursuing the Leaf tracking team.
They were pursuing him.
Kakashi and Kimura had simply been convenient cover.
When the group caught up earlier and realized Ryūjin was absent, they had no reason to fight the other two. So they withdrew and continued tracking him instead.
Ryūjin's gaze swept across them carefully.
"You are not Hidden Mist ninja."
Now that he looked closely, none of them wore Kirigakure headbands. Their identities had never been explicitly revealed. The assumption had only been made because of the timing.
"Attack."
There was no banter.
The group moved simultaneously.
"Amaterasu."
Ryūjin's Mangekyō Sharingan flared to life. Combining it with the Body Flicker Technique, he moved fluidly through the encirclement, his gaze locking onto one target after another.
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
Black flames ignited.
One by one, the attackers were reduced to nothing, devoured by inextinguishable fire.
Eight fell in rapid succession.
Then Ryūjin stopped.
It was not damage.
It was fatigue.
Unlike Itachi Uchiha, whose body and ocular limits restricted his usage, Ryūjin's issue was simply exhaustion. His visual power had been heavily drained in a short time.
He could continue after rest.
But not now.
Seeing him cease using Amaterasu, the remaining four attackers lit up with hope.
"His eye technique has reached its limit!"
They charged again.
Ryūjin let out a cold snort.
"You think without eye techniques I cannot handle you?"
From the brief exchange earlier, he had already judged their level. Special Jonin to standard Jonin at best. Not a single Kage tier presence among them.
He no longer considered this level a threat.
Without hesitation, he opened the Fourth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
Chakra surged violently through his body. The air around him trembled.
Swish.
He became a streak of light, closing the distance first.
The clash that followed was swift and brutal.
In a short, dazzling exchange, two of the four were defeated outright. The remaining two were left gravely injured, barely standing.
Ryūjin stepped forward, eyes cold.
"Speak. Who sent you?"
He had spared them for one reason only.
Information.
Before they could answer, a hoarse voice echoed through the trees.
"Terrifying eye technique. Terrifying taijutsu. Danzo was right, you are quite interesting."
A figure stepped out slowly from the shadows.
Pale skin.
Cold, snake like eyes.
His gaze lingered on Ryūjin with unsettling fascination, as though appraising a rare specimen.
It was Orochimaru.
Ryūjin felt a faint chill crawl up his spine.
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