Chapter Five - An Unexpected Blitzkrieg

Team Nine all stood tensely, at the ready. The eerie silence of the forest was almost overwhelming. Even worse was the noise that eventually broke it: the snorting and grunting of various deer moving in from all sides like a group of wild dogs. Eyes glowed in the shade of the trees as the team found themselves surrounded on all sides.

With a trained eye, Shikamaru surveyed the scene as his young team immediately shifted into a defensive formation. A small flicker of pride went through his heart as a teacher as the constant drilling and formations he had put these kids thorough on training days was now starting to pay off. Smirking, the jonin shoved a hand into his pocket as he looked around. "Alright team, Epsilon." He ordered as he pulled a flashbang out of his pocket, spiking the sphere into the ground with a blinding burst of light and a wilding boom.

Team Nine reacted to the code phrase instantly, following the plan and leaping up into the tree tops before the flash had even started. Just as practiced, they split into two sides and separated, watching the angry infected deer panic and descend into chaos.

"Mitsu, give us some cover." Akuma called out as he and Fu settled on a tree branch. Mitsufune was right beneath the pair and already one step ahead, moving as quickly through hand signs as she could.

"Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique)" Letting out a sigh, Mitsufune shaped the illusion around their half of the squad, making the small area where they were look like just more leaves. "So, what do you think has Sensei acting so skittish that he went with this one?"

Her question would quickly be answered by a sudden blast of shuriken coming at them. The grouping was wide, with the only one hitting them sinking into Fu's staff. "Shinobi." The young priest replied quietly.

All six eyes turned towards where the shuriken had come from, another tree near the clearing where they had found and finished off the deer. "Must have guessed where we would be…" Akuma mused, darting his eyes back to the pattern of shuriken embedded in the tree. "But now what…"

A bright light cut off the genin as a fireball sped towards the tree.

TTTTTTTT

Shikamaru and Izumi were bounding from tree to tree away from the clearing. At first, Izumi's attention was on the panicked deer from the unexpected flashbang. But it didn't take her long to notice that her sensei's attention was aimed at a higher point, and when the pair stopped her vision followed his. "A ninja, really?" Her eyes went wide in shock as the opposing ninja calmly landed on a branch.

"Well well, Kohona nin so close to the border. No doubt a scout force for an invasion." The mysterious ninja cackled, glaring at the pair with bloodshot eyes. "Leave now, or consider this an act of war against the Land of Hot Springs."

A chill ran down Izumi's spine. They were just here on a simple C-rank mission, and now they were stepping into an international incident? This was way beyond their pay grade, and the normally calm kunoichi cast her gaze to her sensei.

Shikamaru stood in his typical stoic fashion, pulling out his old battleworn lighter and flipping it open and close a few times. Most would see this as just fidgeting, but recently Izumi had come to determine it was a tic, something he did when he was processing new information quickly. After the briefist of moments, the jonin turned his attention fully to the opposing ninja. "The winds of change are moving the tides of the future." He spoke plainly, still flipping the lighter around as he awaited the response.

The brief moment of delay and slight confusion on the opposing ninja's face was all the answer they needed. On their way out of the gate, Shikamaru had beat the code phrase and it's response into his students head, the current code phrase amongst the members of the Shinobi Union to signify they came in peace. Shoving the lighter back in his pocket, Shikamaru's gaze turned to one of piercing steel. "Hn..Just like I thought." He mused aloud as he raised his other hand in half of the Rat sign.

Her red eyes awide in panic, the mystery ninja lashed out and hurtled a quick wave of kunai aimed at the genin, at a speed Izumi had had never seen before in her young career. Barely able to raise her arms in a defensive stance, she readied herself for the attack. But in an instant, her jonin-sensei appeared in front of her, expertly deflecting the blades with a kunai of his own.

Sadly, Shikamaru's sudden defense was imperfect, as two of the kunai managed to graze and cut his right arm. The wounds seemed superficial at first, but the sudden burning of the cuts followed by a quick spreading numbness told him immediately that they the kunai had been coated in some kind of poison. As his arm fell limp and the kunai he had been using to parry fell to the forest floor, the enemy ninja cackled again. "That was almost too easy." She hissed, drawing a tanto blade from it sheath at her waist. Holding the blade before her, a sickly purple fluid dribbled from it, the small drops causing the grass it hit to hiss and rot almost instantly. "Any last words, Konoha scum?"

An almost playful smirk crossed across Shikamaru's face. Between the difference in skill levels and the level of arrogance, he would guess that this opponent must be a freshly minted chunnin. A plan to win fell into place in an instant, but what kind of sensei would he be if he didn't use this as a learning opportunity? "Izumi, here is a quick lesson in advanced ninjutsu theory." He started as he raised his good arm, once again forming the half-Rat sign. "Hand signs are mearly a catalyst, a way to force the chakra to form a certain way. But if you practice a particular technique enough, you can learn to cut down on how many you need…" As he spoke, the Nara clan leader's shadow darted out from his body, mingling with those of the branches and trees until they found the target. Like an ebony serpent, the shadow wrapped up around the attacker's body and forcing her into an exposed position and wrapping around her limbs like rope.

"Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow-Neck Binding Technique) complete." Shikamaru's smirk grew wider as he watched his opponent struggle against the shadow bindings. "Izumi, would you do the honors?" He asked while looking over his shoulder.

Pushing up her trademark sunglasses, the genin nodded and jumped up just above her sensei, letting loose her own pair of kunai. With the target bound, she had not defense as the blades scored a pair of perfect hits. The kunai driving deep into the target's head and neck, one right between her eyes while the second landed a few inches lower in her windpipe. As blood sprayed from the wound like a fountain, Shikamaru released the bind. The disabled ninja quickly went limp and collapsed, falling on their own poisoned knife in the process, the final nail in the coffin.

Sighing, the jonin turned to his student to praise her, but changed his mind at the sight of her. Izumi stood perfectly still, her hands twitching as she took on an even paler tone than usual. Her body was frozen in place, arm still extended from the throw, eyes wide and distraught. Izumi was talented enough that Shikamaru sometimes forgot just how green she was, that her accuracy came from throwing at wooden and paper targets, not living flesh and blood.

"Hey…let's go find the rest of the team."

TTTTTTTT

Akuma let out a breath of relief as the flaming remnants of the fire jutsu burned away. Next to him, Fu had his hands in a prayer position, eyes shut tight as he rapidly muttered a mantra repeatedly. The three genin found themselves encased in a gold and crystalline lotus made of chakra, completely shielding them from the attack. Team Nine had heard of the Gift of the Hermit Group chakra and had witnessed Fu's constant training to develop it, but this was the first time they had really seen the fruit of those labors.

Stopping the chant, the young ninja monk lowered his hands, and the flower opened in bloom as the Hogo no Hasu (Lotus of Protection) was dropped. Shakily, Fu leaned on the trunk of the tree they were in, unable to properly use his chakra to glue himself to the branch. "I…I don't think I can do that a second time guys, sorry…." He mumbled as sweat ran down his brow, the first signs of chakra exhaustion already taking hold.

Dropping the genjutsu, Mitsufune grabbed Fu's shirt and pulled him down out of the tree. As the pair hit the ground, the kunoichi immediately rolled to the side, pulling her teammate with her. As the two teens rolled in the grass, a second fireball struck where they had first landed.

With an angry glare, Mitsufune pulled herself to her feet. "Damn bastard…" She spat as she reached into her sleeve, pulling out a kunai from a hidden scabbard. "Chucking out fire like he's from Konoha or some shit…"

On her side, Fu used his staff to push himself upright. "Well there are only five prime elements in the world…" The spiritual youth commented, taking a combative stance with his teammate. As his eyes settled on the opposing shinobi, a dark thought passed from his lips. "Where did Akuma vanish to?" Fu asked quietly. It was like the genin had vanished in the smoke, and it was not like the brawler to run from a fight.

Cackling madly, the opposing shinobi loomed closer to the two genin. His body was wrapped in bandages, with only half his face exposed, and a hitte bearing the mark of the Land of Hot Springs hung around his neck. "Little Konoha rats….oh I'm going to enjoy roasting you alive…" The lone ninja crooned, his voice dripping with insanity as he started making hand signs.

"Hey assface!" An angry voice caught everyone's attention as Akuma appeared, the smoldering remains of his shirt shedding off of him as one open hand slammed over the shinobi's face. "Hands off my teammates, fucklord." Akuma growled as he kicked himself back from the shinobi towards the other two, turning towards them with a devious grin. "Rabbit snare!"

Fu and Mitsufune both nodded in quick agreement. Shikamaru was a man of strategy and plans, and he had hammered this belief into his team. Mitsufune slung her shamisen around, the bachi appearing in her other hand with a flick of the wrist. Fu quickly pulled out a scroll from his robes and unrolled it, letting the long paper drape over his shoulders like a shawl. Still grinning, Akuma then turned his look back towards the attacker, who had by now noticed and ripped off the tag Akuma had stuck to his face with his attack. Just as the chuunin threw the tag it went off, the flashbang temporarily blinding him.

This was the signal the team had been waiting for, all three taking off in different directions. Fu dashed into the trees, popping a soldier pill as he did to try and recover his chakra. Mitsufune slid into the underbrush, strumming her instrument in a haunting cord as she focused all her chakra into the strings and sound themselves, a nearly forgotten technique she had yet to master. Akuma meanwhile strode up to the shinobi calmly, tossing out a few smoke bombs to his sides as he did, forming a narrow path of clear grass between the two.

As the rogue chuunin's eyes cleared, a melancholy tone playing in the wind as the light started to fade to dusk and dark clouds of smoke billowed around him. He could feel the threads of a genjutsu affecting his senses, but they seemed to be coming from everywhere, a massive uncontrolled and unfocused technique. Suddenly, his attention was caught by the shock of a pain in his stomach, the same androgynous genin who had blinded him was now sinking their fist deep into his gut. Then just as quickly, they backstepped into the darkness.

Hissing, he drew a pair of kunai. It was impossible to aim in this illusion, but he could still fight. Barely was he able to catch the genin dashing in from the side, constant darting attacks in and out of their view. Though he was able to defend himself, he was constantly being kept on the back foot, a stalemate as he was unable to get his own blow in either.

"Have to admit, that illusionist of yours is pretty talented…" The rogue called out tauntingly. "But a technique like this has to be affecting you too, that's why you can't get a good hit in to take advantage of it." In the gloom, he could barely see his attackers glare, confirming his suspicion. So all he had to do was wait out the illusion and they would all be easy pickings.

But still the attacks came, quick and powerful blows, dashing in and out of the amplified smoke. Any swing he took of his own just caught smoke and mist, driving his anger. Wanting to end this farce, the chuunin started working through several handsigns when a realization hit him: He had no idea where the pesky genin was. Missing the other two made sense, after all they were outside the sphere of the illusion. And by now he had figured out its borders were that of the smoke clouds made by the initial smoke bombs tossed, just being warped and used for the genjutsu. But the other one, they were in the illusion with him, and yet he had no idea where they were. No sound, no smell, not even the flicker of chakra. It was as if they had completely disappeared.

"Kodoma Style: Tetsuzanko."

And then suddenly, there they were. Like a mad hare, they had dashed out of the darkness, appearing before him so quickly, he could barely cognate a response. Then, using all that momentum, they kept going and slammed their shoulder and back square into his chest and stomach. The chuunin was sent flying back, far enough that he was slammed outside of the smoke and darkness….only to feel the dry embrace of a scroll wrapping around his body.

"Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer…" A calm voice mused from behind him as a scroll tightened around the chuunin's body, pinning his arms to his sides. Pain ripped through his body as the words on the scroll lit up and the entire paper electrified, dropping the ninja to his knees as the jutsu trapped inside was released.

Letting out a breath, Akuma let out a series of snaps, giving Mitsufune the signal to stop playing, allowing the thick smoke to finally clear. The three genin gathered around their unconscious prey in exhausted congratulations. "Dude, Fu, that scroll of yours packed way more punch than I thought." Akuma grinned and playfully punched the bookish shinobi in the arm.

"Thanks…" The monk stammered shyly. "There is a surprising amount of overlap between copying sutras for meditation and writing fuinjutsu, so it was actually pretty easy…"

"Fucking vermin…" A pained voice broke up their celebration as the captured chuunin started to writhe in the scroll that surrounded him, his body twitching from the multiple shocks still corsing through his system. "As soon as I get out of here, I'm going to slit all of you from crotch to mouth and dance in your entrails. Oh and I'm going to have extra fun with you, girly…" He ended with a hiss, his exposed eye looking straight at Mitsufune.

Akuma and Fu both instinctively shifted back into combat position, but the kunochi's hands quickly found their way on the boy's shoulders. "Go find the other two, I'll clean up here." Mitsufune calmly stated. Akuma wanted to argue, but there was a coldness and steel in her gaze he had never seen before, and a deep primal voice in his stomach told him not to question her.

TTTTTTTT

Shikamaru and Izumi dashed through the trees, dealing with the occasional wild deer as they searched for the rest of the team. After some time, they finally caught sight of a bruised and tired Fu and Akuma high up in a tree, filling the sensei with a mix of joy and dread.

"Glad to see you two got out, but what happened to Mitsufune?" The Nara clan head asked as the four rendezvoused on the ground. This was supposed to be a simple mission, and it had already gone south eight ways from Sunday. The idea of also loosing one of his students was more than he could take right now.

"She sent us ahead to find you, Sensei." Fu replied, pointing behind them to the clearing their fight had taken place in. But as they all looked in that direction, they were met with the ninja in question walking out from the trees. Fresh blood painted her kimono as she handed a round object wrapped in Fu's spent scroll to their jonin.

"Sorry for the wait everyone. Shamisen string wasn't the best choice so it took longer than I thought." Mitsufune stated calmly as Shikamaru felt the package, confirming his suspicion that he was now holding a second head of a shinobi. This day just kept getting more and more troublesome.

AN:

Kodama Style: Akuma's personal style of taijutsu, emulating the forest spirits of the same name. It combines inner style techniques from such schools as bajiquan and xingyiquan with the near-instant movement speed of the shunshin.