The Shadow a Leaf can Cast
Busujima Yanagi tested the wind. Favorable, the three young Konoha child ninja had no way of knowing where she and her companions where hidden. Unless any of then was Hyuga or any other of those rule-breaking Konoha clans.
The orders where to steal back the documents and return back to Takigakure to report safely and with the minimum bloodshed. She wasn't looking foward to any of it, however she would spill no tears if an unfortunate Konoha ninja crossed path with her group, forcing them to put them down.
The Konoha ninja normally had all that bullshit about companionship and comaraderie, all over themselves. Like they where superior to every other villages, as if they didn't had their bad apples as everyone else, gladly forgetting the likes of Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi.
Or Shimura Danzou. The man responsible for much of Takigakure's perills, and de facto reason behind that very mission. He and his Anbu-Ne.
Kazuya and Ganta approached her, in silence, obviously.
"Don't be reckless, we walk as a group for a reason, don't go ahead of us" signaled Kazuya, using his fingers to pass the message.
Oda Kazuya was a gallant young ninja. If not for their intense rivalry and competitiveness Yanagi would most likely have a crush on him. She could even have one acctually, but it was hidden even from herself, bellow all anger and jealousy of how Kazuya would aways beat her and leave her as second-best at everything.
The Oda was a small clan, barely had any secret art created by their ancestors, if any. Kazuya however, was a master at chakra control, learning his third chakra elemental transformation at age 13. Now at age 14 his expertise in Water, Earth and Lightning transformations made him arguably the most valuable member of the group, tactically speaking.
He had brown eyes and hair, and weared blue and green clothes, topped by a knitted cap, above which he weared his Takigakure bandanna.
"You can never be too carefull with the Konoha shinobi. Also, the ninja we're hunting down is from clan Nara, any slip and we're all dead." Said Ganta.
Morikichi Ganta was the healer of the group. He was the best at taijutsu among all three, and also learned a bit of Senjutsu, as the Morikichi clan was the guardian of the Tiger Sallamanders back at Takigakure.
There where fewer Sallamander ninja than Konoha's famous Toads, however the Sallamanders where exceptional healers, and the Morikichi clan profited a lot from that.
Ganta had soft, wine-purple hair, with the gill face-paint customary of Morikichi clan. He weared his bandanna strapped to the arm of his deep gray and orange jumpsuit, aways ready to fight both above and bellow water, as all of his clan liked.
He was a bit of a cleaning freak tho. Bakura-sensei would aways pick on him for polishing his bandanna too much, making it so it could shine and give away his position.
It was so polished, Yanagi could see herself on it: Red hair tied up in a small, spiky ponytail, the bangs partially covering the bandanna she used in the old fashined way, on the forehead. She was dressed in the black shirt and shorts, with a creamy brown jacket above, with a small parchment rolled up and strapped to her back, which she woudn't mind having to use.
The Busujima clan was old, among the most important since the foundation of Takigakure, and with a strong kekkei-genkai as well.
Which was partially why Yanagi resented so much aways been only able to reach second-best.
"Don't you remember why the Nara are feared anyway? The Shadow Possession Jutsu? We have to stick to the shadows to move in Konoha undetected, but it leaves us exposed to his jutsu. Even if it puts us in individual danger, the mission comes first" Yanagi signaled back.
"If he know we're here and ambushes us we're already dead, and the mission is already lost Yang" Kazuya signaled, forcefully "We stick to the plan".
Yanagi flipped him off but she had to comply. Bakura-sensei put him in charge of the mission, like it or not.
The small, Gennin group drived through the threetop of the small woods in the outskirts of Konoha, bypassing the group of child ninja.
Yanagi eyed them with disdain "How can these children be called 'Ninja'? Their bandannas smell of platic toys, not a scratch on them. How can they grow into ninja that defend such big and important places like Konoha or the Land of Fire?".
The Bigger Nations didn't even had their gennin doing important or combat missions until they become chunnin. In Takigakure becoming chuunin was a big deal, Jonnin had to scrath the stuff of legend to earn their place, and in Konoha children where allowed infancy and innocence before entering the world of war.
Yanagi found it pointless, as strong as they were already, they would be stronger still if they had a training regimen like those in Takigakure, but she also found it cruel, however. She could never grasp the pain she would have to endure if she was allowed to believe in innocence before entering the world of war. There was unbearably enough pain without it.
"TRAP!" Kazuya yelled, out of nowere, interrupting Yanagi's thoughts.
Immediatelly she extended her arms to both sides, and red bubbling ropes of chakra extended from her palms, coiling quickly between the threes around her and reaching to grab her partners out in the air, keeping them to have to land and trigger any trap.
Yanagi quickly scanned the area, looking for enemies or signs of the trap.
"Oh, you're good" a soft, high-pitched voice sounded from somewhere unseen.
The voice of a child.
"Reveal yourself!" Yanagi tried, not really with hope that whoever it was would show up.
"Sure!" beamed the voice again.
In the branches of a three not 10 meters away from them, a young girl walked into vision.
She weared a red scarf, long pants and a jacket decorated with ladybugs, despite the slightly hot day, as well as a airman helmet with goggles, that hidden her eyes.
"Don't underestimate her guys, she might be small but she is of clan Aburame. Be alert to her little bugs crawling into you" Said Kazuya.
"Silly! I don't need them to reach you" The girl beamed, while a cloud of bugs started to form around her "Mister Shikatsu will be very pleased when I turn you down for him".
Yanagi was closest to the girl, so she dropped her companions a line back for safety, and prepared to defend herself.
She used the seals to the fire jutsu to keep the bugs away, but the girl was faster: "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!".
But instead of her mouth, the bugs gathered together, almost momentaniously, lauching a big ball of fire into Yang's direction.
The red-haired ninja completed the jutsu on time however, and her own fireball kept her safe.
"Ha! Got you!" The girl beamed.
Yanagi immediately felt her body crawling with bugs.
She had landed exactly in the very three that Kazuya signaled as having a trap, which was the bugs.
"Yeah! Aburame Shinobu got one! If that won't earn me the right to do the chuunin exams I don't know what will!" she smiled.
Yanagi couldn't contain her laughter. She closed her eyes and held her belly at the intensity of it.
"What is it? Are they playing and tickling you too?" the small girl asked.
"You can never be a Chuunin, that's insulting" Yanagi said at her, grinning all over her face.
"What?" the Aburame girl said, finally realizing thar her bugs where all falling dead from Yanagi's body, she finally felt the rush of chakra emanating from her.
"Takigakure has to make do with whatever scraps you leave behind, our Academy Kids are superior to your avarage Gennin, don't insult me by telling me that you can beat me and qualify for Chuunin after that" she said as she let out a surge of chakra in her aura, just to add to the effect and scare off the little girl even further.
"But, my bugs..." she said.
"I guess my chakra was just too much for them" Yanagi said.
Shinobu quicky realized that, whatever the reason, the bugs wouldn't work on that girl. And the Fire Style channeling wouldn't work too, she could counter that in a pinch, very easily.
But her partners however...
Yanagi saw Shinobu looking past her, to her partners "Oh no, you won't get to them, I won't let you get to them. I guess you ninja playtime is about to be over. As well as your life."
That made Shinobu tremble.
"Or maybe your life can be over, Takigakure Gennin" said a new voice.
Yanagi looked back, to the source of the voice, frightened.
Ganta was trembling, struggling, holdind a kunai, pointed to Kazuya.
"He got me" said him.
A few branches above, a ninja, with the featureless Anbu-Ne Uniform standed at the same position Ganta was, his face hidden with the white, blue and yellow drawned face adorned with fangs, the Leaf Symbol displayed in the forehead.
"Surrender now, And I will grant you a quick death. I have enogh info about your village, torturing you for more shall not be necessary. Your pain will be determined by how much you struggle" he said, and a few seconds later added "Good job distracting them for me, Shinobu, you are dismissed".
They couldn't have that, the only chance was to defeat the Anbu-Ne guy, but that wouldn't be possible if the lightweight called for reinforcements.
Yanagi and her companions exchanged looks in a matter of seconds, immediately knowing what to do.
She turned to the girl again, extending her arm and lauching a surge of chakra, that immediately shot the girl while she turned back to flee.
The Anbu guy didn't expected that, but even less than that, he didn't expect Kazuya to stab Ganta in the shoulder, before he could retaliate in the hostage-dynamic.
Ganta yelled in pain, but free from the Shadow Possession Jutsu, he could immediatelly summon his senjutsu chackra, changing his appearance, making his facepaint turn to actual gills. This would immediatelly started to heal him, as the Tiger Sallamander's powers started to kick-in.
Trusting in Ganta's powers of regeneration, Kazuya immediately rushed an attack.
He started scouting with shuriken, to move the enemy aroud the battlefield, get familiar on how he moves.
However, the Anbu-Ne agent was fast, jumping from branch to branch, trying to avoid the projectiles and stay close-in at the same time, so that his Shadow Possession Jutsu ramained viable.
Having tracked and becoming familiar with the Anbu's movement pattern , Kazuya launched a more volumous wave of shuriken, allowing him to further prepare.
"Water Style: Water Sphere Jutsu" he said at the end of a quick flash of hand signals, creating a big sphere of water, floating by his back, ready to serve as fuel for any other water style jutsu he had in mind.
With the child ninja out of the way, Yanagi focused back on helping her teamates, quickly making the hand seals, ending at the dragon seal: "Toxic Style: Hidra Artillery" said her, as four red chakra tentacles sprouted from her back, which focused on the Anbu agent immediately, shooting corrosive projectiles at him.
The Anbu-Ne felt the pressure on him, barely managed to dodge all the kunai and shuriken from Kazuya he couldn't fully evade the corrosive blasts, superfically burning his back and shoulders.
"Ninja Art: Shadow Cloud Jutsu" he said, as a cloud of darkness filled the threetop, overwhelming the three Takigakure Gennin.
Yanagi lost visual contact of the target, and even with her comrades, it was all dark.
"Watch out, he can be using this for the Shadow Possession Jutsu, be on your guard" said Ganta,
"No Ganta, if it was so, we would be already possessed, this has to be a Genjutsu" said Kazuya.
"Coward! We had him cornered, he's using it to run away!" adrenaline was high on Yanagi, she was excited for having faced a Konoha Anbu and making him flee.
"Don't let your guard down Yang, he can use this to counter attack us in any number of ways" said Kazuya "Ganta, use your senjutsu to get rid of the genjutsu, Yang, come here so we can free each other".
Yanagi quickly jumped into the side, of Kazuya, immediately putting her hand on his shoulder, trying to surge chakra into him, to break the genjutsu.
Surprisingly, it works.
The three Gennin from Takigakure see themselves free, on the exact same spot they were, with the Anbu agent nowere to be seen.
"Damnit, is he hidden? Waiting to ambush us?" Yanagi asked herself out loud, angry.
"He is Ne, we overwhelmed him and took away the effectiveness of his main tool of combat, the Shadow Possession Jutsu, confronting us in disavantage of numbers would be costly, if not dangerous. He will rush up to report, and then comeback to hound us down with reinforcements" Said Kazuya.
"He left the girl behind however" said Ganta, pointing out that the Aburame child was still in the exact place she fell when Yanagi shot her.
Luckily for her, she didn't fell off the tree, but the back of her jacket no longer existed, and her back was also a mess of blood from the acid.
"I bet he thought she is dead and didn't even bothered to check and bring back her body if so. So much for Konoha camaraderie" Yanagi said.
"She is the member of a Konoha's important clan however, even from a professional perspective where she was already dead, leaving her body behind is reckless, we could still take her back to Takigakure for study" Pointed out Ganta.
"The bastard must be confident that he will hunt os down then" Yanagi said, a thought that enraged her even more.
"Heal her Ganta, as much as I dislike killing children, we don't have time for compassion, she will be usefull as a hostage and tool of bargain, so we want her in one piece for now" Said Kazuya.
"Ok" said Ganta, quickly jumping and landing close to her "Her insects ar mad, I cannot touch her like this, gonna need you here, Yang" he said.
She jumped close up on him and coated him with her chakra, and so he could use his senjutsu to quickly start to heal the little girl's wounds.
Kazuya joined his companions on the tree "We'll have to be alert. This mission just got four times worth of mess, twice as much as we normally handle" he said "This will surely be the fight of our lives, or of the end of it".
"Should we fight really? We have a hostage, we could have a trade, surely the Aburame clan will want her back" said Ganta.
"if they even get to know about what happened to her. The Anbu Ne is well able to cover up and try to settle it themselves, if the girl dies in midst of our fight, just the more reason to attack Takigakure, everything they want" Yanagi pointed out.
"True, as strange as it sounds, we want the envolvement of the Aburame clan in this, it is our best shot to leave here alive and mission accomplished" said Kazuya "We will have to get a way to make them know of us, get around the Anbu-Ne".