Naruto: Acursed Existence
Chapter 6 "Ambush!"
The sun rose above the gates of the Hidden Leaf village and Konohamaru and his new squad were well on their way. They were on a mission to the water country to track down and capture the kunoichi known as Veronica. The team was led by a kunoichi from the Hidden Cloud village, a jounin named Jade. Her younger brother Tae was also in the squad and was said to be a chuunin of immense power but Konohamaru was not sure how they would fare against the woman who took down his sensei with a single technique.
"We have to hurry" Jade said, reprimanding the squad on their slow pace "Reports say that Veronica left the village yesterday so we have to hurry if we are to catch up with her"
"We can't travel any faster sis" replied Tae, "we need to be cautious of traps. The Hidden Mist are said to be encamped near the hidden Leaf. If we run around blindly we might fall into a trap"
Konohamaru kept a silent vigil, his emotions were running high every since he discovered that his closest friend had been severely injured. Reports said that Veronica attacked him but the wound wasn't fatal and she was a very dangerous woman, Konohamaru had mixed feelings about the attack. Moegi was clearly upset about Iruka going missing as well as Udon's injury, she insisted she be left behind to tend to Udon's injury however Kakashi had ordered her to resume the mission.
"Konohamaru" Tae called out to him, his mind was clearly else where at the moment he had not noticed the rest of the group had stopped, "we're taking a short break, you and Moegi clearly need some rest"
"We can't stop now, we need to catch up to Iruka-sensei!" Moegi said a little too heatedly, "We can't let that woman get away!"
"Do you want to die so quickly?" Jade said in a tone that mocked no arguments, "Tae is right, we cannot rush foolishly into enemy territory"
"But they're getting further and further away from us" Moegi whined
"We don't know that Moegi" Konohamaru interrupted, "We have no idea what her intentions are, we have to tread carefully. Do you remember what Shino-sama said?"
"But Konohamaru…"
"He said that Veronica mentioned three of the great Hidden Villages were going to attack the Hidden Leaf. If what she said is true we have more than Hidden Mist shinobi to worry about"
"Konohamaru is right Moegi" Tae said, "We all want to get your sensei back to the village safely, trust me" Tae winked at Moegi again and she blushed
"That Tae." Thought Jade, "Such a smooth talker, I'm glad he's my brother since I have a natural defence against his charm"
The group settled down for a quick respite from their travels, the sun was well past it's midday peak and the group had to be on their way soon enough.
Kakashi stood before the three shinobi and looked them over, "you all have grown so much in the last few years. Not one of you resembles the child I once saw take the chuunin exams, this is why I need you now, I have an urgent mission for you" Kakashi handed the tall and mysterious Shino a scroll, "As squad leader I need you to take your team through hostile territory. You are to provide back up for Konohmaru's team since all three of you have had experience in dealing with Hidden Mist shinobi you are all best suited for this task"
"What are we to do with this scroll, Hokage-sama?" Shino asked, his speech was always fiercely polite.
"Once you have reached Konohamaru and the Hidden Cloud shinobi you are ot hand that scroll to Konohamaru and he is to open it. I have sealed it myself so none other than Konohamaru can open it"
"We're to deliver a scroll?"
"No, you are to assist in their pursuit of the S-rank villain Veronica. You have your mission, now go"
After leaving the Hokage's office Shino turned to face the other members of his team, "Looks like team 10 is together once again"
"I'm so happy to be a part of team 10 once more" Hinata said meekly
"Let's show why we are the greatest team in the Hidden Leaf!" Kiba said excitedly, "Let's hurry on, we cannot waste anytime!"
A kunai flashed past Konohamaru's face, barely giving him time to get behind cover.
"We're under attack!" Konohamaru shouted
Jade, Tae and Moegi all took cover as well. "Konohamaru, are you ok?" Moegi called out
"I'm fine, we need to find out how many there are!"
"Tae's taking care of it" Jade replied calmly
Konohamaru looked over and could no longer see Tae, he had simply vanished, Konohmaru looked confused and then Jade smiled, "Konoha's yellow flash was not the only one who could use space/time techniques"
Tae reappeared next to Konohamaru and grinned, "There is a squad of four Hidden Mist shinobi waiting ahead for us, the kunai that almost hit you was a trap set up to warn them of enemies approaching, it has some kind of beacon scroll attached to it. If it had been an actual shinobi you would have been dead"
Konohamaru disappeared in a cloud of smoke and re-emerged from behind Jade. "I learnt my lesson last time I was doing reconnaissance"
"Enough messing around" Jade said sternly, "We don't need to show off to each other. We have to figure out how we're going to deal with those Hidden Mist shinobi"
A person shrouded in shadows standing behind the group begun to laugh out loud, "You have more than Hidden Mist shinobi to worry about!"
"Who are you?" Jade demanded, drawing a katana seemingly from out of nowhere.
The man in the shadows of the trees cracked open a flare and threw it to the ground standing in the shadows with him were at least ten more shinobi. The man who spoke stepped forward, brandishing his weapon, a giant spiked club.
"Who are they?" Moegi asked Jade
"From the look of their forehead protectors… They're shinobi of the Hidden Rock village"