It had been a half a day since the two teams had left Konoha, with Guy leading it happen been running and jumping almost non stop much to the annoyance of everyone minus Lee who was doing what he could to attempt to race Guy to their objective. By sun down the the team arrived at the village near the border between the lands of Fire and Hot Water, the Village Chief greeted the group of eight a smile on the older women's face. "Welcome to our village, no need to explain anything your Hokage already took care of everything and sent ahead on why you are here." she clapped and the cart with two oxen was rode out towards the group.
Guy smiled and gave them a thumbs up, "Thank you very much for watching over the goods for us, we will take our leave."
The Chief frowned, "Are you sure? It's almost night fall wouldn't you like to stay the night here?"
Hitomi rubbed the back of her head, "I'm sorry ma'am but this mission is time sensitive so we have to keep going." she answered as she bowed.
After some parting words Hitomi took the reins of the cart as the oxen marched forward away from the village, Toshiro was walking next Hitomi as he looked up at his Sensei. "Where did you learn to do this?" the young man asked.
Hitomi smiled, "This isn't the first time I had a mission like this so I made sure to learn the basics of controlling animals hooked up to carts." She tapped the space next to him he thought for a second before climbing up. "Listen Toshiro I trust you to be able to work with Neji on this mission, I don't know what happened between you but right now that doesn't matter. On a mission your life could be in his hands and his in yours at anytime and you need to work together."
Toshiro looked down before turning back to Neji, sure he felt awful for shouting at Neji when he met up with the others but still he was partly conflicted. "I will try my best Sensei." he mumbled.
Hitomi patted the young Yamanaka's head, "Here, just in case I want you watch me with the reins and then take over."
Koji was walking next to Neji as he looked to him, "So what happened between you and Toshiro?" he asked.
Neji exhaled as he looked at the Uchiha, "Thinking about it I believe I know what he means, during the Academy I noticed that he was being bullied by a pair of brothers. Toshiro would always come to me to fight back...it's a tough lesson to learn but he had to learn to stand up to them on his own, so I turned my back on him. We are all destined to things at birth and if Toshiro is to stop being weak he needed to stand on his own."
Koji was silent he looked to Toshrio now in control of the cart thinking he might have figured out why Toshiro even didn't like him, he remember those two bullies and he never did anything about either. "You are wrong Neji."
"What...?"
"You said we all have a destiny when we are born, I think you are wrong because if that was true then why would Toshiro have overcome those bullies, wouldn't he just be a punching bag to them like he was 'destined' to be?" Koji argued in a hushed voice keeping this talk between him and Neji.
"Who's to say me pushing him away wasn't his destiny?" Neji asked back.
The duo were at a stalemate and both stopped their conversation since is was going in circles, ahead of the cart Tenten and Riku were walking behind Guy who was doing his best to keep an eye out. Tenten broke the silence between the two girls, "So what is your team like?"
"My team? Well Hitomi-Sensei is wonderful, she helps us out whenever she can and I watched some of her Earth Jutsus and they are really powerful, Toshiro is a nice guy once you get to know him...unless you are Koji...and I guess Neji as well." She rubbed the back of her neck, "I guess he has something against people's who name ends in ji." she joked. "Then there is Koji, he is a a great teammate. I know I can trust him and Toshrio to always have my back. What about your team, they all seem nice."
Tenten huffed, "Guy and Lee are always like this with their games and insane training, Neji thou is just so awesome!" she declared stars in her eyes.
Riku laughed softly, "Come on Lee and Guy can't be that bad."
"Keep on your toes Lee." Guy stated as Lee was going past them walking on his hands, the two girls just kinda looked at him. Lee flipped back onto his feet as Guy lifted his hand, the cart came to a halt as a gust of wind sweeps over the tall blades of grass on each side of the path, a lone figure stood before them. A dull gray cloak around him with a hood pulled up, his yellow eyes stared at the group before him. Hitomi walked up besides Guy and nodded. "Team you Six are ordered to keep the mission going, you will meet with the Kumo ninja's. Neji I trust you to take charge of this."
"Hitomi-Sensei..." Riku spoke softly as she looked at the cloaked figure.
"Don't worry Riku we were expecting him, you three will work with Neji, Lee, and Tenten even without Guy and myself. Just follow the plan we will keep this guy busy." She smiled "Toshrio remember what I taught you."
"Yes Sensei." Toshiro answered as he looked to Neji. "Make the call Neji."
"We move now." Neji ordered.
Lee and Koji took the front now just in case the cloaked man made a move as they moved down the path, Tenten leap on top of the cart with Riku. "Byakugan." Neji activated his dojutsu not letting the guy out of his range.
Guy lifted a finger and pointed at the cloaked figure, "You can try to stop this Tadashi but Kumo alright knows of the mission, you can't spark a war this way."
Tadashi simply smiled, "You really think that? There are plenty of ways to start a war fool." he slowly drew a kunai, his eyes focused on Hitomi. "Plenty of ways." he repeated himself as he charged forward at the duo, Guy leaped up as Hitomi quickly did her hand signs and finished by slapping both her hands to the ground. "Earth Style: Earth Wall." Normally a defensive wall but Hitomi used it to push Guy up higher into the air as he let gravity accelerate him as he held out his leg.
"Dynamic Entry!" Guy shouted with the added height from Hitomi his kick would easily break the guy's jaw, as his feet made contact thou Guy could feel his leg pass through him prompting him to adjust his leg for a hard landing. He pushed himself off the ground and landed next to Hitomi.
"Guy what happened I didn't see him replace himself and that is no clone." Hitomi locked eyes with Tadashi as she reached for a kunai now.
Guy held up his hand, "A straight up fight isn't going to work, I think I figured out what is going on."
The Genin escaped the battle without the guy even trying to get them, Tenten had a telescope out and was trying to keep an eye out for Guy or Hitomi. Neji finally stopped the cart, "We need to let the oxen rest." he ordered his Byakugan as well watching for anything that could be an attack on the six of them. Their rest was cut short as three more people approached them, all of them in the same outfit, a light blue armor, full masks covering their heads each one with a marking on them. Ichi, Ni, and San. One of them slammed their hand against the ground as a large hand made of stone shot forward aiming straight for Riku, Ichi focused on her pushing her further away from the rest, Tenten was the only one to get to her as Ni reached Koji and Lee, and San closed in on the cart.
Toshiro leap off the cart as the man swung a large hammer down at him, Neji followed up and quickly aimed to strike at his chakra points but as if he knew who he was fighting he pushed off as Neji began to spin about to use the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation but stopped himself once the man had backed off. Neji could see thanks to his Byakugan that where he struck at with the hammer now had a paper bomb attached to. Toshiro shoved Neji out of the way both were close enough to the shockwave that they had been slammed to the ground. Neji was still out as Toshiro struggled to his feet, holding his left shoulder with his right hand. San was walking forward slowly almost as if he was savoring the kill Toshiro backed away at first drawing the man closer, once he had stepped over and pass Neji he made a handseal with his one good hand. Causing the man to stop ready for whatever this Yamanaka could do, "Look over there a distraction!" he shouted pointing with his hand behind the man." Toshiro couldn't see his face but he imagined an annoyed face under the mask.
Suddenly Neji shot up, quickly he struck the man, "Four palms! Quickly he struck the man four times before sliding to the other side "Eight palms!" Another suddenly strike of eight hits each one striking a chakra point in his body, "Sixteen palms!" A hard strike forced the man to his knees, "Thirty two palms!" the man was leaning back almost knocked out. "Sixty four palms!" He ended it with a final strike to the mans heart sending him flying backwards into the hillside.
Toshiro smiled, "I tried to warn you."
Riku held up her hands as the large earth hand came barreling towards her, Tenten however struck Ichi the one controlling the hand once her bow staff hit him it broke his focus as the stone and dirt hand stopped and fell to pieces. Riku glared at the man before running up next to Tenten sliding under her staff and kicking the man in the side of the knee allowing Tenten to open two of her scroll unsealing several kunais as they struck the man, Riku lifted her hands and placed them together. Ready to use her Wind Style Dust Storm jutsu, the wind around her speed up as she placed her hands together a strong gust shot forward striking the man in the center of his chest driving some of the kunais in further. The man slumped over not moving as Tenten and Riku looked over ready to help out the others.
Lee and Koji were in the midst of their fight with Ni as he held back the two fighters, Lee tried to sweep kick the man only for him to leap it and punch Koji knocking him back. Lee recovered and charge forward throwing two quick punches but the man dodge them again no matter what combo of taijutsu the pair were throwing the man was avoiding everything. Koji and Lee put some distance between them and the armored fighter. "Koji we haven't landed a blow on him at all." Lee exhaled as he gripped his arm.
Koji nodded at his friend's word and watched the man, "What about a misdirection?"
Koji pulled Lee in close and whispered his plan, Lee nodded and got behind Koji, ready he finished his handseals and began to breath fire at Ni. After a solid fifteen seconds he stopped his attack with Lee rushing up behind the flames, so close he could feel the warmth of the flames, the second the flames ended Lee struck not giving the man a chance to reacted. "Leaf Hurricane!" Lee quickly feint with a high kick only to really strike with a strong low kick knocking the man back. Koji leap over Lee and landed with his knee in the man's neck.
Both teams reunited by the cart, it was wreck but they could carry the goods. A mist now covered the area the genin all stopped they could feel the air was heavier now and someone was here, behind Riku another man slowly pulled itself out of the ground in silences it lifted the blade over his head. Koji noticed, fear took hold of him, fear for Riku he didn't know what took over his but he ran towards her. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion the man began to swing his blade down, Koji now was in the way. The blade struck his shoulder, Riku turned to see Koji his face looking at her his eyes now red.
Neji and Lee struck first with Neji striking three of his chakra points and Lee forcing the man's elbow up dislocating it, Tenten and Toshiro both struck with kunais to the stomach of the man, and Riku kicked the man back. Koji looked around confused everything looked so different now he could see chakra now and it was colored. "Did...did I awaken my Sharingan?" he mumbled softly to himself, he felt so strange the feeling was powerful but it was draining he wasn't sure how much use he would be in another fight.
Clapping began to echo in the mist as the cloaked man from before walked out, "I'm surprised you Six are still alive my children normally kill their playthings by now, but now the fun ends."
"Where is Hitomi-Sensei?!" Toshiro demanded.
"And Guy-Sensei!" Lee added his hand out ready to fight this man as well.
"Oh they are around, but that is of no worries for you. Ichi, Ni, San, Shi awaken." the man ordered as he held out his hand, slowly the other four they had fought despite the injuries began to twitch and contort strangely slowly getting back to their feet, Tadashi smiled as he looked at the six. "A shame it looks like Kumo betrayed you, killing not only one of the few survivors of the Uchiha clan but also the Granddaughter of the Third Hokage."