(Welcome back! This is the Third Chapter of a new 5 Part Arc. The criminal is fast, but are ninja faster? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
The four Genin race after the fleeing criminal, determined not to lose track of him. He leads them on a winding path through the town, trying every trick in the book to lose them. Cutting through buildings, making quick and unexpected turns, causing objects to fall in their path. But the Leaf Ninja stay on him like a pack of wolves homing in on the scent of a tasty meal. Soon the gambler sees that his tactics aren't going to work so he exits the town and makes way towards the beach.
"This guy is pretty fast, but it looks like we are keeping up with him," Shun pants as they chase down the target, the excitement due to an anticipation of battle showing on his face.
"Why is he heading towards the ocean?" Rame Tsu questions from the rear of the formation as the terrain switches from dirt to sand.
"He could have some sort of ship docked somewhere for a quick escape," Naoko suggests.
"But right now we aren't near any ports," Shun says as their target turns and they chase him along the beach.
"It's possible he has a hidden ship, but I have a feeling that he has a different plan," Kuroda mentions, not elaborating on what his thoughts are.
"Well, whatever," Shun replies, "Tousen-sensei is catching up to us and once he is here we can really get going."
All of a sudden they run into an extremely dense mist. The wet dew clings to them, making their skin feel sticky and impeding their movement. The air is thick and moist, a ghostly grey blanket sweeps over the area making the visibility horrendous. The group comes to a stop, not being able to see where their target went. They instantly put their backs together and draw kunai so they can guard in case of an attack from any side. Strict training and drills from back in the academy days has allowed them to execute this movement without even needing to speak.
"I know this Jutsu," Kuroda says, instantly recognizing it as the Hidden Mist Technique, "I think we can say for sure that we are dealing with a ninja. We need to get out of this quickly."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Rame Tsu complains, "I can barely see two feet in front of me!"
"Wind Style: Air Bullet!" a familiar voice shouts. A concentrated burst of wind tears a hole through the mist. More small bursts follow until the mist Jutsu has been cut down to size and practically all of it is gone. Tousen quickly runs over and joins his young students.
"Great timing, Sensei," Shun says, his expression now eager knowing that they can't fail now that their team leader has joined them.
"That is a pretty cool Jutsu you have there," Kuroda praises, a hint of envy mixed into the compliment.
"It is one of my specialties," Tousen boasts, "I learned it from an ancient…"
"We don't need to hear the story again," Naoko interrupts, "Get focused! The enemy could still be nearby."
Indeed the gambler is nearby and the misty cover soon dissolves around the criminal, showing his form. He wears a dark brown shirt and slacks with a grey cloak. The hood is up over his head, covering most of his sharp white hair and barely showing his green eyes. Instead of moving to run away he is simply staring at the group with an annoyed expression upon his face.
Tousen acts quickly and uses hand signs before announcing, "Water Style: Syrup Capture Field!" He spits out his chakra infused water over a wide area in front of them. The gambler is taken off guard and the syrup washes over his feet. He attempts to move, but the syrup is highly adhesive and he is trapped within it.
Before anyone else can move Rame Tsu hits the enemy in the chest with two superbly aimed shuriken. However, the gambler turns out to be a Water Clone and splashes onto the ground.
"Over there," Shun shouts as he points, seeing the gambler sneak into a nearby cave. The team quickly moves to follow him in with Tousen taking the lead, followed by Shun, Kuroda, then Naoko, and Rame Tsu in the rear.
"This place is pretty big, maybe we should split up to track him down," Naoko suggests as they run past the dark cave walls, her eyes alert for any hint of movement. Light inside the cave is scarce, but so far it just seems to be one long passageway with an occasional tunnel jutting off in a different direction. But the smaller tunnels have low ceilings and walls so close together that only an animal could pass through them.
"Not a good idea," Kuroda advises, "This might be a trick to split us up and make us easier targets. It happened on my last mission."
"I agree, it is best if we stay together," Tousen nods, giving a vote of confidence to the new addition.
"I placed markers at the entrance, so we'll know if he tries to go around us and escape," Rame Tsu reveals.
"Good thinking," Tousen compliments, "Now everyone be on guard, there could be traps in here."
"I think I just saw something move up ahead, Sensei," Shun says, "We should hurry before we lose him."
"You should give up," Shun calls as Team 15 and Kuroda finally corner the gambler in a large cavern, "You have nowhere left to run."
"If you surrender and come with us quietly you won't be harmed," Tousen offers, not really expecting the criminal to accept.
"Who says I was running?" the gambler replies as he places his hands together. He is instantly surrounded by smoke, and when it clears away a young woman is revealed. She has deep blue hair down to her shoulders and wears a blue tank top and a light-brown skirt. Her expression suggests that everything is going according to plan.
"Wait a minute," Tousen says immediately recognizing her, "That is Kasumi Momochi a Jonin from the Village Hidden in the Mist."
"That is correct," Kasumi replies, "And you are…?"
"She doesn't recognize me," Tousen complains as he drops down into a squatting position and sulks.
"What a failure," Rame Tsu sighs, her hand covering her face in shame.
"You're so pathetic," Naoko adds, tired of her mentor's overly dramatic outbursts.
"Everyone be on guard," Tousen warns, reflecting the seriousness of the situation as he stands back up, "She may look young, but she is a child prodigy and extremely dangerous. Some of our sources even predict that she will eventually be named as the next Mizukage."
"What? Really?" Naoko inquires with excitement.
"Even if she is an enemy, it is still cool to know that a woman will become one of the rulers of a ninja village," Rame Tsu secretly thinks.
"The future Mizukage, huh?" Kuroda ponders.
"What is the Hidden Mist doing sending someone like her to make mischief in a country allied with the Leaf?" Tousen wonders, observing her carefully for any sign of action.
"Tousen is pretty serious now," Shun thinks, picking up on his sensei's demeanor, "That means she must be really strong."
"You are pretty well informed," Kasumi says, "Although that stuff about me becoming a Kage is a bit premature. The old man won't be going away anytime soon. In any case it is irrelevant. Now that my cover is blown my mission has ended, but before I can return to my village I have to kill all of you.
Tousen steps in front, putting his arm in front of the others and announces, "All right, all of you stand back, I am going to take her on by mys…."
But before he can finish both Shun and Kuroda create Shadow Clones and jump in front to start an attack run at her.
"So eager to die," Kasumi comments to herself as she prepares to counterattack.
"Damn fools," Tousen comments as he hesitates on how to proceed.
"Rushing in without a plan, how stupid can boys get?" Naoko comments through gritted teeth, her eyes showing just how worried she really is about them.
"What do we do, Sensei?" Rame Tsu asks, turning to him for orders.
"We'll stay back here and provide support from long range," Tousen orders, "Start preparing your Jutsu."
"Right," nods Naoko as she starts making hand signs. Rame Tsu nods, slips off her backpack, and starts withdrawing things from inside.
"I want to see just how strong you really are, Kasumi of the Mist!" Shun growls as he charges in with his kunai. He lunges forward, aiming his weapon straight for her heart.
"Too predictable," she whispers as she bends over backwards and then twists in the air, landing a spin kick while they are parallel to the ground. Her kick practically tears through him and when he impacts the ground the clone instantly turns into white smoke.
"You're mine!" yells another copy of the afro-haired ninja, coming in from the side.
"I said too predictable," Kasumi repeats as she continues her rotation and smashes her knee into the boy's chin. He flies up into the air, seeming to levitate for a moment, and then falls back to the earth and then explodes into white smoke.
"My turn now," announces Kuroda as he falls down from above before she has even landed back on the earth. His falling axe kick combines his own strength with the power of gravity to produce a tremendous attack.
Yet all Kasumi does once she lands is cross her arms over each other and raise them up high. Kuroda's heel smashes into her defensively placed arms. "You guys must have something in your ears," Kasumi says with a wicked smirk on her lips.
"Impossible, she blocked my attack?" Kuroda thinks in astonishment. The attack does zero damage, and the only real affect is the ground around the Mist Kunoichi's feet sinks down into an impact crater. Kasumi quickly twists her arms around and grabs hold of the Leaf Ninja's leg and slams him into the ground. After a few seconds of lying there the clone explodes into smoke.
"If we can't hit you on our own…" Shun starts to say as he charges at her from behind.
"…Then we will just have to work together," Kuroda finishes as he charges from the front.
"You just don't learn, do you?" Kasumi sighs as she stands completely still. Both boys pull back their right arms so that their blows will have more power. When they are within range their fists fly forward, aiming for her head.
At the last second Kasumi bends forward, ducking under both the attacks. Their fists crash into each other's faces, sending them both reeling back. At the same time as she begins making hand signs Kasumi stands tall and slides over, landing a shuffle kick in Kuroda's gut and sending him flying across the cavern.
"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu," she declares once she is finished weaving. She sticks her left arm out towards Shun and a blob of water spreads out, encompassing the boy in a 360 degree cage. He is completely trapped inside her Jutsu and even when he punches and kicks the walls of the sphere it does nothing to help his situation.
"Damn, she got Shun!" Naoko yells, still in the middle of preparing her attack.
With only her right hand Kasumi weaves more hand signs and says, "Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu." A blob of water rises up from one of the puddles on the ground and morphs into a perfect imitation. As soon as it gains its final form it charges towards the remaining Leaf Ninja.
"Ninja Art: Manipulating Attack Blades!" Naoko shouts as several kunai spread out and seem to levitate in front of her. In truth the weapons are connected to her by way of a chakra thread. She sends her Jutsu flying ahead in multiple directions to try and free Shun. But the Water Clone jumps in front of its creator and uses a kunai to deflect them all. The clang of metal on metal rings out with each deflection and the attacking kunai clatter harmlessly to the ground.
Tousen takes the chance to launch his own attack. "Wind Style: Air Bullet!" he yells as he reels his head back and gathers air in his cheek. His head snaps forward and, as he opens his mouth, all the air rushes out in the form of a deadly attack. As the menacing ball of air rockets forward the water clone moves to sacrifice itself and take the attack, however the air bullet is far too fast. In the end Kasumi reluctantly pulls her arm out of the water prison so she can avoid the attack. The water falls down all around Shun, releasing him from the spherical confinement.
"I forgot about that wind Jutsu," Kasumi thinks, "I'll have to remember to watch out for it." Suddenly her water clone bursts right in front of her, scattering the liquid it is made of onto the ground.
"Nice work, Naoko," says Rame Tsu as starts hurling a huge swarm of shuriken at the enemy.
"Dammit, she was able to turn around the kunai after the clone deflected them," Kasumi thinks as she draws her own kunai and begins to dodge and deflect the wave of shuriken, "That must be the pu…"
"Don't forget about me!" Kuroda shouts as he charges at her from behind.
"Crap, how is he still conscious? I'll have to use that Jutsu then," she thinks as she begins to make hand signs.
(That is the end of the chapter, what did you think? It is Five vs. One, but which side is really the one at a disadvantage? Read the next chapter to find out. As usual, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)