Chapter Two || 第2章
Kikkoma(n) || キッコーマ(ン)
"Kikkoma has a special kekkei genkai. Storm release" Tenzou began as he and his team leapt through the shadows of the trees. The day was smeared with sunlight everywhere, as shadows and dim gleams were scattered across the overcast grounds below. "It's a kekkei genkai of lightning and water that only a select few in Kumogakure have, so I'm not sure why Kikkoma has it since he's from Amegakure.
"But in any case, the report basically summarizes that he often uses storm release, is male, about the age of thirty to forty, and a highly trained killer, but he hasn't surfaced much in recent years, so there's not much more information about him aside from that."
Kakashi and Kono nodded their heads.
"Who wants to be leader this time?" Kono asked. "I was leader last time, so I'm not keen on doing it again this time. You want to do it, Tenzou? You know a lot about this guy."
"But Kakashi knows more of the terrain," the wood-style user noted. "And he now knows all of what I know of Kikkoma. Kakashi be leader?"
"I second that,' agreed Kono.
Kakashi simply nodded his head, "Alright, but Tenzou's leader next time."
Then aside from the minimal rustle of leaves, there wasn't a single sound heard from them the entire way there.
/
Once ten or so kilometers away from the Hācho Village, the three ANBU stopped in their tracks.
"Tenzou," Kakashi began. "Use your wood clones to scope the perimeter for any chakra abnormalities in the area."
He nodded before quickly performing the appropriate hand seals, summoning several wood clones from the tree they were perched on.
Upon doing so, Tenzou gave his teammates each a wooden pill to swallow, "Take these. I can track you two easier this way. Just a precautionary measure."
Kakashi and Kono both swallowed their pills.
As if reading her team leader's mind of what he was about to open his mouth to say, the sole kunoichi took out a map of the Hācho Village from her pack before spreading it out on the thick branch.
"Thanks. We're currently here," Kakashi pointed on the map. "About eight and half kilometers from the village. Because the terrain is as mountainous as you said it'd be, we can use the basics of Formation C. Tenzou and I will attack head-on, while Kono will execute long distance chakra sensing in case the enemy has backup and handle them before they reach us. If that is not the case, which I highly doubt, then Kono will just handle long distance jutsu or prepare traps.
"In the front lines, if we can easily ensnare Kikkoma, then Tenzou, you'll use your wood-style jutsu to do so. Understood?"
Kono and Tenzou gave Kakashi curt nods, "Got it."
Tenzou suddenly tensed, before saying apprehensively, "I can't sense my wood clones."
Kakashi and Kono stiffened as well. An uncanny breeze swept past them with silence. This wasn't good. Something was wrong. That was without a doubt.
"How about your other clones?" Kono asked calmly but with a nervous edge to her tone.
Tenzou grimaced, hands together in a seal as he tried strenuously to sense his clones. "They're all starting to disappear."
Despite trying to maintain her composure, Kono bit her inner lip. This was uncalled for. They had just started surveying the area five minutes ago. How on earth did the enemy already catch onto them?
Closing her eyes, she took a small deep breath before enveloping her right fist in her left hand to sense any chakra signatures nearby. After a few seconds, she abruptly opened her eyes.
"Five shinobi are closing in on us at two o'clock," she spoke quickly but quietly.
"Tch," Kakashi narrowed his eyes onto the map- a million thoughts and plans racing in his mind. He opened his left eye, revealing his Sharingan, as he scanned the area to see how he could use his surroundings to his advantage.
"Kakashi . . ." Kono whispered warningly. "They're closing in . . ."
Kakashi closed his eyes anxiously before ordering, "Disperse, but change of plans. I'll update you two when I think of it."
And with that, the three ANBU dispersed.
/
Kono grimaced as four rogue shinobi came into the small clearing. She quickly concealed her chakra.
"I could have sworn that I sensed some people here. One of them had the same chakra signature as the wood clones," muttered one of them.
"So they have a sensory-type ninja," Kono mused. "Interesting, but for a guy like Kikkoma to have such a 'tool' at hand is unnerving."
She narrowed her eyes at them as she did a head count. This was weird. There were supposed to be five of them. Where was the fifth?
Using her sensory techniques, Kono scanned across the clearing before gasping. On the other side of the clearing, someone with an unknown chakra signature was lurking directly behind Tenzou.
Maintaining her calm exterior, she quickly grabbed three senbon, ignited them with chakra, and propelled them briskly towards the adversary's vital points.
It was only once she negated the contender that Tenzou realized the enemy was there. Before the foe fell from the treetops, Tenzou quickly caught him and propped the him on the bough. He checked for the enemy's vital signs before giving Kono a quick glance.
He was dead. Kono grimaced once again. It couldn't be helped. Better his life than Tenzou's.
Kono briefly gave Tenzou a look, as if to ask him which one of the four rogues down below was the target.
The wood-style user performed several hand seals before something appeared on the bark of the tree branch I was perched at. Tenzou created what seemed like a small clone resembling one of the shinobi in the clearing.
Kono narrowed her eyes at the man. He fit the description Tenzou gave. He looked in his mid-thirties, if not a little more; had dark brown hair with a few random streaks of white highlighted in them; blue and brown heterochromatic eyes, and a large scar etched across his right cheek. He toyed with his scratched Amegakure headband around his waist. He murmured something too quietly and warily for her to hear, and his teammates immediately nodded their heads before suddenly disappearing.
The kunoichi grunted, an action foreign from the usual unflustered composure she had, before she instantly turned behind- kunai in hand as she stabbed the air.
"Khn-nnh," a choke was heard. The enemy suddenly became visible behind her as he began to cough up blood.
She quickly secured his vital points before propping him up against the tree branch. She'd deal with the body later.
Kono then turned her attention back at the clearing where Kikkoma stood before gasping. Tenzou was now dangling in the air at a chokehold- his airways barely open enough for him to breathe.
She tensed, her hands immediately hovering over her leg holster to grab several senbon. Suddenly, Kono felt a familiar chakra signature appear behind her.
"Didn't expect Tenzou to get caught," Kakashi muttered, musing of another plan. "Already set up traps underground and disabled the others. Just one off step and he's trapped."
"Mind you," Kono voiced. "We need the guy alive."
Kakashi gave her a sarcastic look, before replying tonelessly, "You don't think I know that?" It was more of a statement than a question. "That's the chief focus of this mission."
Kono paused before continuing, "I mean Tenzou."
Kakashi sweatdropped, ". . . at least clarify . . .?"
He returned to a more serious mode, before saying, "Here's the new plan, we-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Kono had already thrown her senbon to knock out Kikkoma, immediately rendering him unconscious. Within seconds, 'Kikkoma,' in fact a clone, disappeared in a puff of smoke. As if in sync with what Kono was about to do, Kakashi quickly teleported into the clearing to catch the falling Tenzou before, in a flash, teleporting back to the branch Kono was at.
Using the basic medical ninjutsu she knew, Kono swiftly scanned Tenzou's body for any abnormalities as she quickly stitched up the several scars scattered across her teammates' body.
"He'll be fine," Kono said simply.
After a brief pause, Kakashi narrowed his eyes into the shadows contemplatively, "He's toying with us. His subordinates are weak in general, but, he . . . he's just toying around with us. It's like he knows every move we're making and sacrifices his subordinates to 'appease' our plans- to make it seem like our plans are somewhat working.
As if to verify Kakashi's hunches, Kikkoma re-appeared in the field.
"You're right, Kakashi of the Sharingan."
Under his mask, Kakashi's eyes widened. Aside from scanning the area earlier, he hadn't really used his Sharingan, and aside from using the dōjutsu in front of Tenzou and Kono, he didn't show anyone here yet that he possessed it. So how was Kikkoma able to know?
The said man smirked, throwing his hands in the air huffing, "Hn, I know everything, Hatake. I know your teammates as well. There are three of you total, and all of you are part of Team Ro, under direct command of the Hokage. One of your teammates is Tenzou, who specializes wood release. He graduated from the Academy at the age of six and was promoted to chūnin the same year. Soon afterwards, he was abducted by Orochimaru as a test subject for wood release kekkei genkai embedding with the First Hokage's cells, am I correct?
With a simple tilt upwards of his chin, Kikkoma stared straight into Kakashi's eyes- an eerie glint plastering his eyes.
Kakashi tensed.
"How was he able to realize his location so quickly? Kikkoma's chakra didn't match up to a sensory type," he thought before grunting. This wasn't going according to plan whatsoever.
"Your other teammate is Yoshizaki Kono," he continued his monologue.
Kono stiffened at the sound of her name. This guy was skilled to know all three of their names. It didn't make sense for him to know unless he had ties to the Leaf or bugged the Hokage's office. All files regarding ANBU identities were kept in one of the most secure storages in Konoha. It was literally impossible to crack the safes or-
The kunoichi stiffened. If he was able to crack the safe to the ANBU files, then it wouldn't be surprising that he would be able to have access to the daimyo's files as well. She bit her lip. She would have to check up on the vaults again later to ensure that there were no obscure break-ins or anything of the sort, and she'd probably have to persuade the Hokage to change the locks for it too.
She glanced at Kakashi as he met her gaze, emulating thoughts and plans mentally in sync.
/
Kikkoma smirked, continuing his monologue as he used his kunai like a nail filer, "She handles the long-distance attacks for the team, but can fight decently at short-distance. She wouldn't be in ANBU otherwise. Let's see if I can remember some of the rest. Medical ninjutsu, decent weaponry skills . . .
"Just now, you set up chakra traps under the ground," he sneered. "Tch, as if I wouldn't notice. Konoha nin are so regrettably-"
"Chidori!" Kakashi leapt down from the trees, a fright of lighting at his fingertips, as he sprinted towards the enemy.
"Tch, running aimlessly towards me as if I'm weak," Kikkoma scorned with disdain. "Katon: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Out of nowhere, a powerful, flaming dragon appeared before the user before bolting towards Kakashi. Nevertheless, the grey-haired shinobi's chidori sliced through the raging fire.
The enemy smirked, before performing another jutsu, "Suiton: Tsunami."
With that, a giant wave of water appeared to usurp the shinobi.
With a single hand seal, the masked ANBU substituted himself from the wave.
Soon, the two clashed head on in close combat- kunai to kunai.
/
As they clashed, Kono began to recollect her composure. She closed her eyes.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
She then opened her eyes abruptly and carefully pinpointed the enemy's chakra points to immobilize them.
"Sixteen," she thought, reminiscing her various times at the Konoha Library. "It only takes sixteen chakra points to halt the chakra stream."
She took another deep breath before positioning her senbon accordingly in hand. As she was about to cast her weapons, Kikkoma passed out right before Kakashi. Her eyes widened before she took action.
"Inton: Chakra Barring," Kono simply stated as she landed on the ground, taking full advantage of the opportunity- the enemy now immobilized in a tight, barred chakra chamber with his hands tied.
Kakashi heaved as he nodded his head at her hinting a "good job."
She exhaled the breath caught in her throat before suddenly snapping her head at the prisoner. She could have sworn she saw Kikkoma smirk.
Kono loosened the tenseness in her body. Despite this, she still felt uneasy at how it was suddenly so easy to capture the guy . . . but maybe she was overthinking things again.
"You want the honors?" she asked.
"Isn't he already unconscious?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
Kono replied, "You can never be too sure."
He shrugged placidly, "You can do it."
And with her captain's consent, she widened the bars of the makeshift prison and chakra-punched the foe to ensure he was unconscious.