"I'm in position, Alpha Tango, over."
A young boy peeped around a tree trunk.
It was Saika. His blond hair was swept back by his headband.
"Copy that, Alpha Tango. I'm in position also. Bravo Tango, over."
Whispering to Saika through her Den Den Mushi, the young Pandora also got into position.
The red flower in her pink hair is worn today because of the special occasion. Today was her 14th birthday.
Pandora lay prone on the forest floor concealed by some bushes.
"Copy that. Charlie Bravo, what's your status?"
High in a tree, overseeing the operation, was a bored Musashi Raito. A dashing young man with sharp eyes, he was much too qualified for a mission such as this.
"Uhhh, Charlie Bravo in position. I see the target!"
The eager young Bakato amateurishly ruffles through the bushes. Luckily for him, the target did not notice.
"Don't be hasty, Charlie Bravo!" Saika barks at his fellow squadmate.
"Relax, Alpha. I got this."
Pandora cringed at the thought of that idiot saying 'I got this'. Just for once, she wanted Bakato to follow the plan.
Bakato peered through the thick of the leaves and swallowed hard. The target was in his sights.
"Not yet, Charlie. Not ye-"
The orders of Musashi Raito did not get through to Bakato. Before anyone could react, Bakato had leaped from his hiding spot.
A four-legged animal raised its head in alertness, catching sight of Bakato's red hair.
It sprinted into the forest with great speed and agility.
"Drat!" the beast slipped Bakato's grasp. "Change of plan!"
"That idiot!" Pandora lamented.
"Tch." Saika wasted no time improvising. He was quick to begin the chase.
'Ugh…'
From his position high above the forest, Musashi Raito massaged his temples. The loud voices coming from his Den Den Mushi were starting to give him a headache.
'What was the point of the code names?' he thought, chuckling to himself and surrendering to his fate.
Then Musashi Raito snapped back into being a sensei, "Teamwork…" he calmly reminded them.
"Roger that, Sensei!" Bakato was running through the forest in hot pursuit.
Every time he almost catches the beast, it turns the corner at a sharp angle. Despite Bakato's elite training, he struggled to match the agility of the beast.
Once again the beast got within Bakato's grasp. But this time he wasn't looking up, and thus ran into a branch.
'OOF!'
The impact damn near knocked Bakato out, yet Bakato made a quick recovery.
He wasn't going to fail this mission.
The beast jumped through some bushes into an open clearing in the forest.
Pandora and Saika close into surrounding positions in a strategic fashion.
Bakato ran straight through, with a voice full of determination he shouted
["KAGE-KAGE-NO…"]
He brought the index and middle fingers of both hands together in a cross.
["BUNSHIN!"]
Clouds of smoke puffed in the air.
Swiss company wandered the forest aimlessly.
Lost in a sea of leaves.
"I'm telling you, We've seen this tree before!" Swiss shouted.
"What are you talking about? They all look the same!" Grit riled back.
"Hey man, fuck you! Racist bastard. Can't you see every tree is special?"
"… Can you two keep your voices down?"
The soothing calm of Jinzo's voice did little to hide its embarrassment for being subjected to the tomfoolery of his companions.
"Guys, I'm starting to get seriously concerned now. What if we get lost in here forever? I hope you like eating tree bark." Swiss half-joked.
That's when they stumbled upon a clearing in the forest. The patch of grass was a welcome intrusion into the endless labyrinth of trees.
"Okay, we've definitely not been here before!" Swiss concluded, looking around.
"Gee, how did you figure that?" Grit replied.
Their long walk through monotonous nothingness came to an end.
For trouble was coming their way.
"Meow!" A black and white cat came sprinting out from the bushes and into the clearing.
"Nani?" the cat quickly hid behind Swiss.
When it rains, it pours.
["KAGE-KAGE-NO-BUNSHIN!"]
On hearing these words, Swiss company saw a cloud of smoke puff from the bushes.
Out came ten identical young Ninjas with red hair.
They came out of nowhere. They came with fighting intentions.
"Huh?" Jinzo took hold of the hilt of his sword.
"Ducuplets?" Swiss couldn't believe his eyes at the many identical enemies.
But Grit was a soldier, ready for anything. His body moved before his brain could compute.
He planted his foot forward, unbuckling the Demon Slayer from his back.
With one mighty swing, he sliced all ten of those ninja in half.
*POOF, POOF, POOF!*
Those bodies did not splatter into the blood and gore you would expect from being hacked in half.
All that came was a puff of smoke, then the bodies were gone.
"Holy shit! Grit just vaporized them!" Swiss watched in terror.
"Um, I don't think so, Swissa-.."
Before Jinzo could complete his sentence, several shurikens came hurling toward them.
With his crimson blade, Jinzo deflected them all.
"Nani?" Swiss scanned the trees for the sender of the shuriken.
That's when a kunai whizzed past his face, narrowly missing him and shaving off a single strand of his dark hair.
"Bruh!" Swiss widened his eyes as he inspected the kunai sticking out of a tree.
"Tch!"
From his hidden position, the young Saika cursed under his breath.
Pandora's reaction to her attack failing was one of initial panic.
But Bakato cared not.
The ground beneath the feet of Grit erupted. Out came Bakato, his fist raised in an uppercut.
"!" Grit was caught by surprise. He braced for impact.
That impact never came. Grit was too tall.
Bakato had not jumped out from the ground high enough. His punch falls short of Grit's chin.
'Uh oh!' Bakato is in mid-air as Grit lands a kick into his stomach.
"TROLOLOL! WHAT A FAIL!" Swiss slapped his knee and pointed in laughter.
Bakato tumbled onto the grass.
"Shit! That idiot!" Saika dashed out of his hiding spot in a panic.
Pandora was scared, yet somehow her feet made her move to Bakato's rescue also.
But there was no way they were going to make it in time.
Grit leaped forward, swinging his Demon Slayer down towards the young Bakato, who was not yet recovered from his position on the ground.
The Demon Slayer was so large and petrifying that for a moment Bakato thought it was the bringer of darkness.
Bakato closed his eyes, a smile on his face.
"NO!" Saika shouted.
"BAKATO!" Pandora shrieked.
Bakato prepared himself to die.
The last thing he thought of were the parents he never got the chance to meet.
Only that death never came.
Instead of being split in two, all Bakato felt was a gust of wind on his face, followed by the sound of blades clashing.
When he opened his eyes, the strong back of his sensei stood firm.
"Sensei!" Bakato rejoiced.
"Saved once again…" Musashi Raito sighed, his hands shaking under the pressure of having to hold back Grit.
Musashi Raito locked his tanto blade against the Demon Slayer of Grit.
"Holy crap, that dude stopped Grit with that tiny sword?" Swiss could not believe his eyes.
Jinzo giggled, "Haha, looks kinda comical."
Musashi Raito clenched his jaw and pushed back against Grit. They both disengaged from their clash.
Grit inspected the physique of the strong ninja before him. He was around the height of Swiss and did not look too strong.
And yet, he managed to block a strike of Grit, the man-powered by the intense flame of revenge.
Pandora and Saika got behind their sensei, picking Bakato up from the ground.
It was an intense staredown. The air with so thick you could cut it with a knife.
That's when Swiss broke the tension.
"Parlay! We don't want to fight!" he waved his arms around like a man who is trying to talk himself out of paying for crashing into someone's car. "We just need directions!"
Musashi Raito broke from his stare contest with Grit, "Who are you, outsiders?" he said cautiously.
"I'm Swiss. This here is Jinzo. The tall scary fucker is Grit. You?"
Musashi Raito paused for a moment. Thoughts of his late teacher resounded in his mind.
His teacher would have been welcoming to strangers. Musashi Raito wanted to carry on that legacy, but these were troubling times.
Before he could answer, however, Bakato's mouth moved.
"I'm Bakato, and I'm going to be Yokage someday! This here is Pandora and Saika. And that lazy-looking one is my sensei. Together, we're Team G! Nice to meet ya!"
The innocence of Bakato warmed Mushashi Raito's heart.
He takes another look at Swiss company, taking note of their casual attire.
He couldn't fathom Swiss, in his flower island shirt and with his circular sunglasses, could be an enemy.
"Sorry about that," Musashi Raito then said, "There has been a criminal group on the loose lately. The whole village is in high alert."
Jinzo and Swiss gasped and grinned at each other, "A village?" they both said with glee.
"Yeah! We'll show you the way!"
"Bakato, shut up!" Pandora punched the back of Bakato's head.
Saika closed his eyes and folded his arms, letting out a 'hmph' as if he was too cool for school.
"No, it's fine." Musashi Raito waved his hand casually, "I'm sure the elders will understand."
"Fucking oath! Thank you, Bakato. Thank you, everyone." Swiss bowed to Team G with respect. Jinzo did the same. Grit rolled his eyes and grunted.
Team G escorted Swiss company through the forest.
To a place of serene enchantment that Swiss would never forget.
The black and white cat following closely behind.