32 Secret Base 1

In front of their eyes, the man they'd known as Tendai for the past two days began to peel off the skin off his face, revealing a completely foreign person. His figure also changed as the chakra surrounding his body dissipated in an instant.

"Transformation Technique, a skin mask, and a light touch of genjutsu... you're quite adept at blending in. Sadly, your acting skill isn't up to par."

"Tch-!"

The man pulled out a kunai, and then rushed toward Kurenai. The woman was about to parry when he suddenly made a somersault above her head, arriving right behind Hinata in the blink of an eye. The tip of the cold blade was pressed onto her skin.

"Don't you dare get any closer, or this girl will die!"

"Hmm... what a classic development."

Kurenai didn't seem to be fazed at all. She leisurely strolled over toward the man, who grew more panicked when he saw that his threat had no effect to the Jonin.

"W-what are you doing?! I'll really kill the kid!"

"Go ahead."

Her steps turned faster instead.

"Damn you! 'm not messing around!"

In his panic, the kunai pierced deep through the girl skin, drenching the dirt ground with fresh blood. Even so, the other kids merely stared at him, while a sly smirk appeared on Kurenai's face.

"As long as it's for the completion of the mission, we will give up everything. Even our life. Isn't that the way of a shinobi?"

"G-guaah!"

The man fell to the ground, cowering at the approaching woman.

---

"So that's Miss Kurenai's genjutsu... was that how we looked like when we got caught in it?" Kiba murmured.

"...Possible."

The kids were still perched up on the trees as per Kurenai's order. She had simply told them to watch from above. At the moment, Kurenai was facing the man alone while the latter was sprawled on the ground after making some pointless gestures as if he had sliced someone with his kunai.

Soon, several shadows flickered in from the direction of the town. Atsushi had arrived with Hyoumaru, Seki, and three other Chuunin in tow.

Upon seeing the man's dazed look, Atsushi let out a deafening laugh.

"As expected of miss Kurenai! I'm impressed."

"You're finally here. I thought you're addicted to acting like a drunkard. The Third's definitely going to be interested to hear that you drink during a mission."

"S-spare us, please... we need to do that to confirm our suspicion..."

He made a wry smile as his team surrounded the trembling man.

"So? Any info about his identity?"

"Nothing much. Either he's a missing-nin, or just a mercenary shinobi from an obscure village," Atsushi replied. "Yoshifumi's coming in a few hours. His team is more suited for interrogation. We'll just leave it to them."

While the two were talking, Hyoumaru and his team was about to apprehend the man when suddenly he stabbed the kunai in his hand onto his own shoulder. The dazed look in his eyes disappeared at once.

"Drat-!"

"Kuh... don't think I'll go down that easily!"

He pulled out two wooden blocks from his robe, the 'wind' and the 'moon' pieces. With a poof, the paintings turned into a pair of doves, which quickly flew away to different directions.

Using the momentary confusion, the man slipped out from the encirclement, and then blasted off as if his life depended on it.

"Goddamnit! What are you guys doing?!"

"Apologies, Sir. We'll chase him at once!" Hyoumaru bitterly glanced at the fleeing doves. "What should we do about the paintings?"

"Tch! Split into two teams, then retrieve those paintings back! Seki, you're coming with me. We're the fastest ones in the unit, so we'll chase that man!"

"...Yes, Sir...!"

"Wait! I'm coming too!"

As the two was about to take off, Kiba suddenly called out to them. Before he could move any further, however, Kurenai had grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Kiba, stop messing around. Giving chase to an active ninja is a dangerous task. You guys are not ready yet!"

"Teacher, I've memorized his scent just now. I'm currently the best choice for tracking him, right? Let me go with them!"

Woof!

Akamaru chimed in as well.

"This..."

Even if he was just a young kid, as an Inuzuka, he was extremely gifted in the field of tracking. That was an undeniable fact. Kurenai didn't doubt his abilities, but still...

"Let him come, miss Kurenai," Atsushi commented. "He's already a Genin. Excessive coddling will only hinder his potential. Besides, we're there to protect him in case something happened."

Faced with the boy's determined gaze, Kurenai's resistance finally crumbled.

"...Fine. Shino."

"Understood."

One of Shino's kikaichu leaped off his finger, landing on Kiba's coat.

"Don't push yourself. If you really have to fight, leave it to Atsushi and Seki. Contact us through Shino's insect if you need help."

"I know, I know! Jeez, Miss Kurenai, you're even more of a worrywart than my sis!"

The Chuunin's face contorted as they tried their best to stiffle their laughter. Of course, Kurenai didn't fail to notice that. When they caught a glimpse of her worsening expression, they quickly leaped away, unwilling to suffer under her fearsome illusion.

"Alright, kid! It's up to you now!"

"Ou! Follow me!"

<Imitation Beast Ninja Art: Four Legs Technique>

With his speed greatly enhanced by chakra, Kiba darted off toward the direction of the man's scent, followed closely by Atsushi and Seki.

---

"Damn! That guy really can run!"

The three had caught up with the man halfway through, but he somehow had managed to run even faster than before. They could tell that he was already on his last legs, though.

"Seki! We'll go around and try to catch him by surprise!" Atsushi commanded.

"...Understood!"

Atsushi and Seki split off from Kiba, leaving the boy to keep pressuring the fugitive. It didn't take long before the two showed up on both sides, forming hand seals in blinding speed.

<Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall>

The earth rose to form a high wall right in front of the escaping man. Unable to control his movement due to his excessive fatigue, the man rammed straight at it, breaking his nose.

"...Got him!"

Seki quickly swooped in to tackle down the man, finally ending the long chase.

"Phew, I haven't run that far since my academy days!" Atsushi wiped the sweat off his neck. He then grinned widely at Kiba. "You're not bad, kid! How about doing missions with us later when you've become a Chuunin?"

"Well... I'll think about it," Kiba laughed wryly. "By the way, where are we now?"

They didn't pay much attention to their surrounding during that frenzy chase, but it seemed that they had crossed over the entire northern region of the Land of Fire.

"It's all thanks to this bastard!" Atsushi gave the writhing man a kick to the face, making him faint.

"Oh, great! Now we have to carry him back!" He gave him another kick.

"...Captain, you're the one who knocked him out..."

"Meh, who cares! You carry him back!"

"...I knew it..."

Defeated, Seki could only let out a sigh. Nevertheless, he still followed the order and halfheartedly carried the man like a sack of potato.

"Say, Inuzuka boy, how far d'you think we're from the town?"

"Not sure. Think we've gone pretty far."

He had long since lost track of his team's scent. That means the distance wasn't anything to scoff at.

Atsushi shrugged.

"Nothing we can do about it. Let's go. Can only hope we can return before dawn."

"...Agreed..."

As they were about to move out, an explosion occurred right behind the earth wall that they had raised. What followed was a cacophony of battle noises with steel clashing and jutsu firing one after another.

A figure was abruptly thrown over the wall. For a moment, they seemed to be unconscious, but then they suddenly turned around in mid-air and landed right in front of Atsushi and the group.

"Eh?"

Kiba touched his hood. There was a trace of red splattered on top of it.

"...Are you from Konoha...? What are you doing here...?" A raspy voice rang in their ears.

Under the moonlight, they could finally see the gray suit and flak jacket, as well as that distinctive porcelain mask with the shape of a bear's face covering the figure's face.

"Y-you're an Anbu!" Atsushi muttered. "What's going on?!"

"Save the question for later... we're under attack...!"

Several more shadows leaped over the wall as well. When they saw the group, their hands formed various seals before they fired all their jutsu in one go.

Scorching blast of flame and cutting jet of wind shot out one after another from their mouth. The two elements converged, creating a devastating inferno that threaten to turn everything into ashes.

However, the Anbu had made a move of their own. Lifting their mask slightly upward to reveal their mouth, their hands then moved to make barrage of seals ending with a Snake sign. And then, they exhaled.

<Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave>

A torrent of water blew out of their mouth, raising like a tsunami to collide with the incoming flame, stopping it from coming closer. Thick vapor quickly covered the entire region as a result of the confrontation.

The attackers were shocked silly with the Anbu's display of skill. One person alone was enough to counter their combined jutsu... wasn't that a bit too overpowered?

Not to mention, because of the thick vapor, they couldn't see their target anymore!

<Wind Release!>

One of the attacker blew out a strong gust of wind, pushing the vapor away. However, their target was no longer there, as well as the other three people they had seen previously.

What a blunder!

"Find them, quick!"

The shadows leaped off one after another, desperate to find and kill that slippery intruder.

Meanwhile, Atsushi and his group was running along the forest with the fugitive on Seki's back.

"...Leader, is that officer going to be fine?"

"We have no choice! Staying back there will only drag him down!" Atsushi remarked. "Our best bet is to inform Konoha and send backup as soon as possible!"

Seki nodded. Although he was worried for his fellow shinobi, he also knew the limits of their abilities. This was the most proper thing to do.

"...Haaah... this is turning into a major drag... right, kid? Eh...?"

He abruptly stopped.

"What is it?" Atsushi halted as well. When he looked back, he suddenly noticed that Kiba was no longer with them. Cold sweat drenched on his back as he glared at Seki.

"...B-but he was right behind me just now..."

"..."

Godamnit!

"...What should we do, leader? We go back and fetch him?"

"We press on!"

They were already halfway through. There was no guarantee that they could arrive on time, not to mention it would further mess the Anbu's mission. The only choice was to keep going with the initial plan.

'Don't die on us, kid! You have to survive...!'

In his mind, Atsushi lamented over and over again that Kurenai was really going to kill him when she heard about this...

---

As expected of an Anbu officer, the masked figure was proficient in more than one natures. Water Release, Earth Release, Wind Release, they fired them with apparent ease, countering their pursuers' jutsu again and again.

However, they were only one person, while the opponents kept on coming again and again. Even though they had been pumping out chakra in-between fights, it was still not enough to keep up.

Soon, their chakra molding speed dropped, just barely, but it was enough for the pursuers to notice.

"He's getting tired! Attack now!"

Five ninja rushed over toward the Anbu, two at front with their kunai on hands while the rest on the back preparing to shoot their jutsu.

At that moment,

<Beast Human Taijutsu Secret Art: Fang Passing Fang>

A pair of spinning drills arrived in ferocious speed, crashing onto the two frontal attackers and pushed them all the way to the back line, completely halting their chakra molding.

That slight opening was enough for the Anbu.

<Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique>

Opening their mouth wide, stream of water poured out like flood, rising into the air to form the shape of a dragon before coming down, maws opened wide, toward the pursuers. The strong current pushed them away, tossing them far into the woods.

"Don't get dazed, kid."

"Ah-!"

Kiba flinched, realizing that he had blanked out for a moment after witnessing such a strong jutsu. The drenched kid gingerly ran toward the Anbu, who only gave him a cold stare behind the mask.

"Why are you here? You should've retreated with your superiors."

"No, I mean..." He scratched his nose. "Don't you need help?"

"You're only weighing me down."

"Really? Seems like I've saved you, though."

"...I won't say it twice. Leave. This is a direct order."

Kiba scoffed, shaking his head vigorously.

"You're hurt, aren't you?"

That red splash from earlier, Kiba could tell from the metallic smell that it was blood. This person's blood. He'd be damned if he left an injured ally fend for themselves!

"..."

The Anbu was too tired for this crap...

"Listen, you-"

Their words were cut short as an earth wall suddenly rose up between them, cutting them off from each other. Before the Anbu could break through, more pursuers came their way, while on Kiba's side, three more shinobi with the same gray clothes and a full-face mask had arrived.

"Kid! Focus on your survival! Run if you can!"

The Anbu's voice came from behind the wall, followed by the sound of intense battle.

"Tsk, run, is it?" Kiba murmured as he scanned the opponents before him. They looked composed, clearly more experienced compared to a greenhorn like him. However...

"Let me tell ya, my clan never leaves an ally behind! I'll come to help you, so just sit there and hang on!"

Woof!

Akamaru jumped off into the air, as if responding to his courageous declaration. The green pouch around his neck slid off from the sudden motion, and revealed a small scroll hidden inside. The action briefly halted the opponent ninja from coming closer as they suspected it as a trap.

The scroll promptly rolled open, showing rows of characters forming a distinctive phrase pertaining to a certain branch of ninjutsu.

The art of seal, Fuinjutsu.

The characters began to distort, the ink blending together to form a circle at the middle of the scroll. A blinding light flashed out, and a figure was seemingly thrust out from inside the thin paper itself.

It was a brown-haired girl in a dark-colored robe. A ninjato was hung on her side, while a dolphin-faced mask was tied on top of her head slightly to the side.

"Eh?"

Kiba couldn't believe his eyes. He pulled on his cheek with all his might, thinking that it was a genjutsu cast by the opponents.

It already hurt so much, but the illusion still wouldn't go away...

"Aaaah! I'm finally out of that blasted thing!"

The girl yelled as she kneeled on the ground, panting heavily. It took her a few more minutes before she began to notice the group of strange ninja blinking their eyes rapidly in the distance, as well as the more familiar boy pinching his cheeks nearby.

"Eh? Kiba? Why are you here? Where are we?"

When he heard her muddled voice, he finally snapped.

"Why the heck are you here- No, why did you pop out of that thing- I mean, what the f- AARGH !@#$%^"

She winced at his unfolding mental breakdown. After he calmed down a bit, she pointed at the now-empty scroll rolling on the ground.

"I got stuck in that scroll..."

"HOW THE F*** DID YOU GET STUCK IN A F***ING SCROLL?!?"

The explanation was even crazier, so his mental health collapsed again.

"I-I'll explain later. More importantly..."

She slowly got up to her feet, drawing out her ninjato while pulling down the porcelain mask on her face.

The eyes behind that mask grew murderous.

"...It seems that we have guests... am I wrong?"