Night fell, and while Saiki and the others were enjoying their earned money, delicious food, and the hot springs.
On a high ground within the Land of Steam, not far from the border with the Land of Fire, inside a newly carved hidden mountain base, a group of over a dozen ninja gathered. They exuded powerful auras, possessing dark skin and tall frames, and wore the forehead protectors of the Hidden Cloud.
"Still no contact?"
Scanning a map, a man with powerful chakra fluctuations—clearly the Jonin leader of this Cloud detachment—asked sternly.
The Cloud ninja being questioned shook his head. "After the message sent yesterday afternoon, not a single update has come through."
"Dammit, were they discovered by the Leaf?"
"Highly likely. Even with delays, the daily report should have arrived by nightfall at the latest."
Hearing this, the Cloud Jonin frowned in silence for a moment. He then pointed to Hot Springs Town, the nearest settlement, and looked at another Cloud ninja, saying in a low voice, "Asai, take three squads and head there to scout. If the Leaf hasn't noticed anything yet, take the town. The main force is already on the way."
"Yes, sir!"
Having finished his bath and relaxed his mind, Saiki, who was preparing for sleep, had no idea that he had already been set up by certain events.
It was partly their own fault for traveling so slowly; the journey had taken over ten days, and the situation hadn't been this dire when they left the village.
Otherwise, even the most incompetent officials under Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have authorized this mission.
The next morning, in the backyard of the inn, Saiki rose early to begin his daily breathing exercise facing the sun.
Exhaling a long breath of turbid air and opening his eyes, Saiki turned to look at Tsume Inuzuka behind him. "Sensei Tsume, good morning."
Tsume looked at Saiki with appreciation. Although she didn't understand exactly what kind of jutsu he was practicing, his dedication to training every morning and night for the past ten days was undoubtedly an excellent habit.
"Good morning. Are you practicing some kind of special technique? I see you never miss a session, day or night," Tsume asked curiously.
Inquiring about another person's secret techniques was usually taboo, but after spending over ten days with Tsume, Saiki and the others had learned much from her. She had taught them a great deal, and they had become quite close.
In the world of Naruto, while there is a tragic tradition of students killing their masters, there was little need for secrecy between them now.
"I suppose you could call it a form of Sage Art," Saiki replied with a smile.
Hearing this, Tsume's eyes widened in shock. "Are you talking about the kind of Sage Art practiced by Lord Jiraiya, one of the Sannin?"
What Saiki was practicing was likely much more advanced than that, but he couldn't just say so. After thinking for a moment, he grinned. "Uh, I guess it's somewhat similar!"
Tsume didn't press further. She had only asked out of curiosity after watching him train so much; being close was one thing, but prying into the core secrets of his power would be crossing a line.
She knew a bit about the Sannin's contracts with the Three Great Sage Regions. As Tsunade's ward, it didn't seem entirely impossible for Saiki to have access to such knowledge.
Still, he was quite the little prodigy. After all, Sage Arts were notoriously difficult to master.
Many in the shinobi world knew of the Sage Regions, but since ancient times, very few had actually mastered the power of a Sage.
Breaking into a hearty laugh, Tsume said, "Haha, impressive, kid! If you master Sage Arts and become famous, I'll be able to brag about being your teacher!"
"You flatter me, Sensei. I haven't even truly reached the entry level yet."
With the border in turmoil, they had no intention of lingering. Saiki had already sent a clone to buy breakfast. After eating, they promptly left the town.
Not long after they departed, the three Cloud squads arrived in Hot Springs Town. They quickly learned of the Leaf team's presence.
"Captain, should we pursue? They can't have gone far."
Looking at Toda, who was slumped on the ground, pale and bleeding from a kunai wound to his shoulder, Asai thought for a moment and gave the order: "Leave one squad here. The rest of you, follow me."
In the forest, the others were leaping between branches in the standard ninja fashion. Only Saiki moved with his arms swinging to maintain balance; in the original story, only the scientist Orochimaru ran in a similar style.
"Wait! It feels like a large group is pursuing us from behind."
By daily absorbing the natural energy of heaven and earth, Saiki had cultivated a breath of "Pre-natal Qi," granting him a sensory perception similar to divine consciousness.
Along the way, to ensure safety, Saiki would stop to sense their surroundings every few miles. He had detected chakra signatures approaching from over a dozen kilometers away.
At Saiki's warning, everyone came to a halt. Tsume Inuzuka looked at him. "Are you sure?"
The Inuzuka clan specialized in tracking, but asking a ninken to catch a scent from ten miles away was asking too much of a dog.
Saiki formed a hand seal, focused his senses, and opened his eyes. "There are nine people. Likely two squads: one Jonin, two Chunin, and six Genin."
"How can that be?"
Hearing this, Shizune and Genhai, who had been excited about completing the mission, felt their hearts hammer against their ribs. Shizune let out a small gasp of terror. Fear gripped them tightly, and even Tsume's expression became grim.
If she were alone, Tsume might have a chance to escape, but with the children, it was impossible.
She glanced at Shizune and Genhai's fearful faces, but when her eyes landed on Saiki's eternally calm expression, a strange sense of security washed over her.
She had her suspicions, and she had seen him kill a Chunin in an instant, but as their teacher, Tsume felt conflicted about placing her hopes on a student.
She knew she shouldn't, but right now, it was their only chance. Ten kilometers might seem far, but to a ninja at full tilt, it was only a few minutes away.
"Saiki, what do you suggest?" Tsume asked.
Saiki said in a low voice, "I think we should do this, Sensei: I'll have my clones protect Shizune and Genhai while they escape first. You and I will stay behind to buy time."
"No! I'm not leaving!"
Despite their age, they all knew what staying behind meant. The moment Saiki spoke, Shizune—scared as she was—refused to abandon him.
"Boss, I'm not running away either," Genhai stepped forward.
Seeing them acting as if they wanted to die together, Saiki felt truly speechless. He laughed. "What are you thinking? I'm telling you to leave so you don't get in the way. You think I'm volunteering to die for you?"
Seeing Saiki could still laugh at a time like this, Tsume's heart lightened. "Are you confident?"
"Absolutely."
After much persuasion, Shizune and Genhai finally left with Saiki's clone. Saiki and Tsume then set up a few traps to slow the pursuers.
"Are you really sure about this?" Tsume asked, her nerves visible.
Saiki comforted her with a grin. "It's fine, Sensei! My only worry is the fight ending too quickly!"
Though he was usually cautious, Saiki possessed a strange confidence. As long as he wasn't facing an elite Jonin or a Kage, and as long as they lacked intel on his powers, he could wipe out a group in seconds.
Soon, the enemies arrived.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The encounter began with a baptism of explosive tags. The forest ahead erupted in flames, though unfortunately, Saiki's team had been carrying very few tags.
However, several Cloud ninja, soot-covered but otherwise unharmed, quickly appeared before Saiki.
Seeing Saiki standing there so brazenly blocking their path, while even Tsume Inuzuka had stepped aside to prepare for combat, Asai felt a surge of insult. "Brat, were those your traps?"
Looking at the burly Cloud ninja before him, Saiki sighed with a tone of regret. "Ah, what a shame. Not a single one of you died."
"Brat! You're dead!"
They were here to exterminate them anyway. With only two people left and the others having fled, Asai wasted no more words and gave the order to attack.
"Kill him!"
People are often at their most vulnerable when they are attacking. Just as they were about to pull out more tools and explosive tags to finish off Saiki and Tsume:
"Forty-Point Fleur: Clutch!"
Within Saiki's field of vision, in an instant, arms sprouted from the shoulders of every single ninja. They seized their targets by the back of the head and the jaw, giving them a violent twist.
CRACK!
That familiar sound of snapping bone echoed out. Six Genin, unable to offer even a shred of resistance, had their necks snapped by Saiki in the blink of an eye.
"What?!"
The moment the arms sprouted from his shoulders, Asai—who had been expecting to see Saiki blown to bits—reacted instantly. The two Chunin did the same.
Cloud ninja focused heavily on physical conditioning, and their bodies were incredibly tough. Though they might not know high-level techniques like the Lightning Style Chakra Mode, their standard Lightning Style training gave them reflexes far beyond those of ninja from other villages.
Back in Konoha, Saiki had easily killed the elite Sand scout because the man had underestimated him.
While these Cloud ninja also underestimated Saiki, their specialties were different. Their resilient bodies and lightning-fast reflexes gave them the split second needed to counter the move.
Accompanied by a violent surge of Lightning Style chakra, Saiki was forced to release the technique.
The Flower-Flower Fruit was powerful, but it had a weakness: the sprouted limbs were only as strong as the user's base strength, and any damage they took was reflected back to the main body.
Regrettably, Saiki couldn't cultivate Armament Haki; otherwise, the technique would be flawless.
However, Saiki had a feeling that if the "Pre-natal Qi" he cultivated reached a certain level, it could serve a similar purpose, providing absolute defense against all forms of interference.
Unlike Asai, the two Chunin didn't have their necks snapped, though their necks were still painfully strained.
Seeing Saiki's attack, Tsume Inuzuka finally understood the bizarre death of that elite Sand scout she had found.
But there was no time for contemplation. Seizing the opening Saiki had provided, Tsume and her ninken, Kuromaru, unleashed their family's secret technique: "Fang Over Fang!"