Naruto - Squad Thirteen's Journey (In Character)

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Neji turned his attention to the arriving people. His comrade Mitsuhide, their employer Takumi and his body guard Zero. Neji was not aware that Takumi had s personal body guard but it made sense. An important businessman like himself always had to make sure he was protected. It didn't look like his bodyguard was a shinobi though. Most likely just a strong man who knew how to wield a sword. Another person to help was never a bad thing, if they ran into some bandits he would probably prove tovbe helpful. If they were attacked by other shinobi though the man might just get in the way. Nonetheless the man was going to be going along with them and overall that was fine Neji thought to himself.

Neji quickly looked through his bag to make sure he had everything he needed. Extra clothes, food, water and the assorted ninja told and weaopns. He had evey thing he needed "yeah I'm all good here sensei, let's get going shall we?"
 
"Alright then we're all prepared to go then let's move out immediately! The sooner we get that tunnel finished the sooner we can get back home." Mitsunari proclaimed loudly as Mitsuhide grinned ear to ear as Mitsunari led the group forward his coat fluttering in the wind behind him. He couldn't help but feel like they were going to be on a brand new adventure even if the mission itself was mundane the possibilities where endless! It was something Mitsuhide enjoyed more than anything, a challenge, because challenges made you grow! Grow in so many ways and forms! Teamwork would be essential to success in any situation but maybe they could foster some comradely among them even if one was nothing more than an arrogant Uchiha. He had SUCH a large future ahead of him he just couldn't help but think that this first step out of his comfort zone out of the hands of his parents and most of his teachers would be a good one. What was in store for them in the future? He couldn't only speculate but Mitsuhide was optimistic and his confidence unwavering as he followed their sensei close behind the village fading into the background as they quickly disappeared onto the trail towards the Land of Rivers.

====

Meanwhile....

"Sir...we've spotted the man you've been looking for." commented a young ninja as he bowed before his superior. A man whom had been the idol of his career for so long. Ever since they had abandoned the village this one man had taught him so much. The commander of the rogue ninja sat before his comrades his cold face looking at them as he let an unfamiliar chuckle breach his lips. "It's been so long since I've seen him I wonder if he would recognize me? I wonder if he even remembers my name? Heh no matter it makes no difference in the end. But I would prefer to see if he is still as capable as he used too be. We'll see if destiny would see us clash one more time. Go Ougi and take Marx with you. Test them I would see if he is even worth it." the man said as the ninja known as Ougi bowed his chains rattling around him as he stood up. "Of course sir I will make haste." the ninja said vanishing in a moment as the elder ninja laughed quietly and shook his head. "Let's make a show shall we?" the ninja said silently to no one as he was alone in the dark hidden fortress he called his home for the past ten years. He leaned back on his chair wondering, considering, and waiting for things to happen. It wasn't like he was in a hurry after all. It was only a waiting game.
 
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"Yes sir," Atsuki responded affirmatively in response to the rhetorical question, eagerly - well as much as Atsuki could be considered eager- following his sensei out of the gates. He was at the back of the group, for tactical reasons of course. His techniques were better suited for use at range, after all. Having a vigilant rearguard like himself was also ideal. As they crossed the threshold of the village, the young Uchiha reflected on his current sense of adventure turning within his body. After all, this was their first long-term excursion out of the city! There was so much to look forward to, and, as much as he'd like to say he's more mature than everyone else, it seemed even novelties like this were able to influence him like an average youngster, if only to a lesser and slightly more ambition-charged extent. As far as leaving the comforts of home for an extended time went, he didn't mind it. In fact, he felt more comfortable out here in the field; he was free from the burdens of home-life, and there was nothing to worry about besides the people next to him (which, to be frank, was still quite a lot to worry about). As challenging as the following days might be with only these people around, he would be fine. Probably.

He didn't look back at the village as it disappeared behind them.
 
-Timeskip 3 days later - Mid Afternoon: Near the border of the Land of Rivers-

It had been a couple of days and not much had changed. Mitsunari had given them some pointers on how to look for some valuable herbs, and what berries were edible however he being himself tricked Neji into eating a foul tasting one that left him unable to talk for the rest of the day on the second day out of the village. The trip had been uneventful and Takumi had kept to himself not really trying to get to known the kids or Mitsunari. Zero actively refused to even acknowledge any of the ninja saying he didn't think they had what it took to be effective in the real world. Mitsuhide had taken the time when on break to focus on using his wood style to his advantage honing it slightly by trying to make his blocks of wood more flexible or shaped differently with the guidance of Mitsunari. There were more mountains and hills heading into the Land of Rivers than expected and while the trees were still here and there it was clear this wasn't the land of fire or the hidden leaf. The group was continuing walking down the road at this point finally able to find the road after they had been forced to go off path due to a cave in earlier. "I swear it was faster getting to your village than it was leaving it. This is taking forever..." grumbled Takumi in boredom as Zero grunted indifferently. He had no gripes about it but it was clear he wasn't too fond of Takumi's complaining. "It does kind suck that we had to find another route because of a cave in right? I mean we almost ran straight into a hornet's nest!" Mitsuhide said his hands behind his back as the group turned a corner. Mitsunari chuckled for the first time in two days. "Perhaps if you were smarter than Atsuki wouldn't need to watch your back." Mitsunari said sarcastically as Mitsuhide glared at him. "Hey I was just trying to search for the road! And I did help find it didn't I? So you can just screw off sensei." Mitsuhide said as Takumi grumbled some more silently.
 
A snide smile played at Atsuki's lips as their group continued on the mountainous trail. While everyone else was busy complaining or taking shots at each other, he was quietly making his way along as he had for the vast majority of their three day journey. Naturally, the reclusiveness of their clientele suited Atsuki just fine. It's not like he was here to be buddy-buddy with Zero and Takumi, and honestly, the big guy's dismissive attitude peeved Atsuki greatly. Yes, he could see how they - as relatively inexperienced genin - might not be as effective as someone with lots of field experience, but writing off their sensei? Really? Not to mention the fact the guy didn't even respond to his polite greeting in kind! Even if his wasn't all that sincere, they could at least have played nice. Fortunately, Atsuki had good enough judgment not to say something rash, but he was still smug and petty enough that he would at least keep in mind the fact that ninja were the standard international military force and not whatever kind of glorified thug the man was. As for what he'd been doing with their ample spare traveling time, he'd been absorbing the teachings of their sensei. Herbology was fine, dandy and widely applicable; it was something he'd make sure to keep in mind for later excursions. Above that though, he'd also been training his jutsu. While his mainstay of Great Fireball was very un-versatile as far as techniques went, he was still able to use their rest periods on refining his more subtle jutsu, just as Mitsuhide had been woodworking.

"I'm sure we're almost there," Atsuki butted in from his rearguard position, "Let's try not to make the remainder feel or be longer than it needs to."
 
"Hmph I agree with the kid for once. This trip is already a pain as it stands." said Zero as Takumi grunted in agreement. Mitsunari didn't respond immediately but he did stop for a moment to stretch his arms his eyes hidden underneath his eye glasses. He stood there for a moment longer when Mitsuhide asked what was up and if he needed help. Mitsunari grunted out that he was just sore from all the walking. However it was clear to Mitsuhide that he wasn't exactly telling the truth. Their sensei was as strong as wrought iron and tougher than steel he wouldn't be bothered by some walking. Maybe it was just Zero being himself or Takumi's dismissive attitude. "Come along now Mr. Kohaku we need you to be at the front." Takumi stated as he stopped and grabbed Mitsunari's shoulder. Mitsunari flinched under the hold, more out of indignation than not, but nodded and started walking again heading to the front. Zero seemed on edge too. Maybe it was because they were now entering the land of river that they feared bandits may be watching. But who knew what was what exactly?
 
Neji was excited about the mission at hand, this was the first time he was going to leave the village for an extended period of time. He was reslly excited to get the chance to prove himself to his new squad. This mission to Neji made him feel like he was finally on the path to being a real shinobi. The first three days of their mission were pretty uneventfull. They walked and walked as they made there towards the land of rivers.

Mitsunari sensei had tricked Neji into eating foul tasting berry that left him speechless the entire second day of the trip. He would have to get sensei back for that one at some point, but that did teach him two valuable things. One would be not to always trust everything someone told you. And the other was the difference between edible berries, herbs and unedible berries and herbs.

Just like his two squadmates Neji did his own training while they had some downtime on their mission. Neji worked on his different jutsu and his chakra control. Most of the time on their trip Atsuki had been pretty while on contrast Mitsuhide was very talkative and energetic. Neji was somewhere in the middl at times he Could be very talkative and at times he could keep to himself.

All of a sudden as the six of them were walking Mitsunari sensei stopped and seem to stretch for a second. Something seemed wrong with him. Eventually he continued walking at the front of the group. Everyone seemed to be on edge a little bit as they entered into the Land of Rivers. Neji made sure his guard was up in case anything should happen.
 
As convenient as having the escortees agree with his statement and cutting off any idle chatter was, Atsuki was still not endeared to them. Unfortunately, even after a line like that, their group made little forward progress as a result of his sensei's short stretching break. It was suspicious, to say the least. Especially after Mitsuhide approached him out of concern, only to be brushed off with a half-hearted answer like walking-induced soreness. Please. That said, if Mitsunari-sensei was given pause by a reason unknown to his students or clientele, then there was clearly something wrong. Zero's now-agitated demeanor also reinforced that worrying suggestion. As the rearguard, it was his duty to make sure nothing took them by surprise from behind, so the situation was doubly inconvenient in that regard. At the very least, they weren't giving away their position with meaningless chatter, so the Uchiha could take solace in that final buffer of stealth. He looked up at the upper ridges of the mountainous area, which meant that they didn't have all the high ground. Had someone seen them already?

Atsuki continued forward as blithely as usual, yet each swing of his hands brushed his fingertips against his kunai holster.
 
It didn't take much longer down the path as they entered the entrance to a wide open glade when suddenly a twig snapped from behind them promptly Zero to throw a dagger down at the sound with surprising accuracy as he grunted in anger when he missed whatever his target was. Zero went over to investigate his findings as a disturbed looking Takumi looked on in surprise and slight panic but he remained calm. When he got over there all he saw was a large wolf cub looking up in surprise and shivering as Zero glared down at it. "Just a wolf...hmph fucking disgusting beast." Zero grumbled as he kicked at the thing sending it fleeing back into the forest as Mitsunari suddenly pulled a kunai out from underneath his shirt sleeve and quickly turned around barely dodging a kunai with a chain attached to it. Mitsunari with surprising quickness put the kunai in between one of the chain links and threw it at a nearby tree getting it firmly stuck in there. "FIRE STYLE: IMPLOSION OF HEAVEN!" Mitsunari growled as he opened his mouth and a fire storm erupted out of it engulfing a good chunk of the nearby trees and and ground nearby with searing hot blue flames. The whole area around them creaked with burning wood leaving Mitsuhide visibly stunned by the scale of the sudden jutsu that Mitsunari had pulled out of nowhere However before he could react a ninja dressed in black wearing a headband which Mitsuhide could barely make out with a long scratch mark across it came down from the sky and landed next to Mitsunari and before he could even react to it the ninja tried to round house kick Mitsunari who promptly blocked it with contemptuous ease with one arm and the mysterious ninja followed by spinning around trying to use the other leg which Mitsunari dodged again but even that was a feint as another blow came from the man's fist, covered with a nasty looking device that had been attached to his arm. There were spikes coming out from his fingers and they were dripping with a clear substance. Mitsunari flipped the man over his shoulder using the awkward hold he had on him but the man landed firmly on his feet and went for another blow Mitsunari barely dodged that one but grabbed the man's arm and twisted it trying to flip the man over but the enemy ninja was too skilled to go down easy as he flipped with it and kicked Mitsunari away as he activated an earth style jutsu sending projectiles towards Mitsunari and Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide dodged but was hit on the side knocking the wind out of him while Mitsunari blew them back with a quick wind style jutsu.

However as if this wasn't enough another ninja this one with chained around his arms and body with strange weapons that appeared to shoot kunai attached to his arms turned around and attacked Zero who impressively managed to keep up with the man. "You're strong for a sword for hire but you're still too weak!" the man shouted as he traded blows with the mercenary who barely could keep up but managed to hold his own even nearly getting in a couple hits but the other ninja was too fast. Then the man flipped over Zero's back after feinting a blow and shot a barrage of kunai from his strange weapons at Neji and Atsuki before kicking Zero in the back sending him stumbling back trying to catch himself.
 
After a bit more walking, the mountainous locale gave way to a more verdant setting. Atsuki was rather pleased with their departure from the disadvantageous position from earlier and into one more suitable for agile combatants such as they. The Uchiha was still nonchalantly on-guard, however; a simple change in scenery wasn't enough tor reduce the amount of threat in the area. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a twig snapping, but was beaten to the punch by the hired hand, Zero. For good measure, the man's knife whizzed dangerously close to Atsuki's face, which he obviously didn't appreciate. But ultimately he wasn't as upset he about this as he'd usually be; the threat just ended up being an oversized dog. It was nothing to worry about. He had to admit though: Zero's kicking it into the wilderness was a bit excessive. But the man had beaten the beast so it was his right to do what he wanted with it.

From his peripheral, Atsuki saw his sensei draw a kunai. How odd; the wolf had already been dealt with. He figured that he ought to weigh in on the situation: "Sensei, that seems a bit much for a w-" And it was then that he saw the chain shoot out from the undergrowth. Fortunately, he'd been ready for something like this, and was able to draw his kunai quickly while getting out of the way of the jonin and his counterattack. As he was the rearguard and closest to the trouble, he leapt back towards his squad to tighten their formation. He knew he shouldn't lighten his guard in a situation like this, but he was awestruck by his sensei's blue-flamed fire release and the waste it lay to the surrounding forest.

Atsuki scrunched his nose to remind himself of his position. This was no time to admire power. "Look out for survivors," he warned his comrades. Then, as if on cue, a wicked looking shinobi dropped down from the sky and began his assault on their sensei. There was little need to keep an eye on Mitsunari; he was supposed to be competent enough to handle these sorts on his own and protect Mitsuhide, who was in the closest position to him. Rather, he decided to focus on making sure that there were no other ninja hiding in the woodwork.

The Uchiha clicked his tongue in annoyance when another ninja - one wrapped in chains with... a kunai launcher? - began to attack Zero. As much as Atsuki wanted to not care about that guy right now, he knew that he couldn't afford it. Convenient, as after temporarily dealing with Zero, the man had decided to attack Neji and himself. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the Uchiha's thoughts moved at lightspeed. Thoughts like 'What can I do?', 'What should I do?', and 'How can I win?' flashed in and out of his mind as he began plotting. Then, as quickly as he had started formulating possibilities, he came to a decision: 'I need to prioritize the safety of my teammate like sensei said.' While Atsuki might not have seemed the type for a move like this, he knew full well that his larger-scale jutsu were ill-suited for a situation with allies of dubious awareness around him fighting their own battles. It was better to act as support from the time being. Besides, he had a paralysis jutsu, and if he could paralyze the enemy at the right time, he could quickly put an end to this ninja with a properly timed combination attack.

Atsuki tossed his kunai diagonally into the enemy's barrage in order to throw as many projectiles as he could off course. Immediately after doing so, he crossed the distance between himself and Neji with a body flicker. "Sarutobi! Get out of the way!" Then he drop kicked the Sarutobi heir out of the way and fell prone to the ground to avoid getting damaged by too many kunai. Sadly, he wasn't fast enough to get Neji out of the way and fall to the ground before getting cut by a few of the kunai in the first wave. Nothing too major, but his forearms and shins stung from the light cuts. Still, he picked himself off the ground. It would take more than that to beat this stubborn genin.

Atsuki drew two kunai and threw them at the guy while his back was turned.
 
After walking down the path for a while longer they entered a glass with words surrounding them on all sides. It was definetely an area that someone could set up an ambush and Neji noticed that. They heard a twig break behind them which caused Neji to take a kunai blade and have it at the ready. The bodyguard named Zero went to check it out, it was just a wolf nothing for them to worry about. Neji wasn't particulally fond of how Zero treated the wolf, but Neji was not going to say anything. He turned his head In time to see their sensei take out a kunai blase of his own which Neji thought was odd. They had just discovered that the noise came from a wolf no reason for them to do anything more to the wolf then Zero did. Neji heard his partner Atsuki speak up and as he spoke a sudden chain shot out towards Mitsunari sensei. Mitsunari quickly and masterfully stopped the chain with his kunai blade and then completelt annihilated some of the forrest with his impressive Fire jutsu. Neji was in awe at just how strong the jutsu was, but he knew he needed to focus.

Just as Neji watched his sensei start to fight the shinobi that attacked him a new shinobi appereaed behind them. Zero stepped up to the plate and rushed in to attack. He fought quite well for a swordsman but in the end was defeated. The man then decided to attack Atsuki and himself. The shinobi shot kunai out his arms towards the two of them. Neji sort of froze this was the first time he was in real combat and he could feel the killing intent from his enemy. He had never felt anytning like it before and he didn't know how to react to it. Atsuki handled the situation like a pro. He threw a kunai into the barrage to deflect a few of them. He then came in to rescue Neji as he dropped kicked him out of the way of the barrage, while falling to the ground Atsuki took a few cuts from some of the projectile. Neji fell to the ground completelty fine. If it hadn't been for his partner he may have been killed right then and there.

Neji lay there on the ground for a moment trying to regain his composure "Come on Neji it's time to MOVE!" Neji slapped himself and forced himself up off the ground. He had dropped his kuani when Astuki had kicked him. He then grabbed four shuriken out of his pouch. With two in each hand he threw them at the enemy shinobi along with Atsukis kunai hoping they would make some impact.
 
The ninja with the kunai launcher quickly slung his chains at the two boys in an attempt to follow through with his attack. The chains were dirty and covered in a strange substance as to make them harder to grab at. The attack would undoubtedly hurt really badly if it hit and would tie around them. Zero attempted to flank the man from behind and stab him but was meant with a quick and blunt attack from a copy of the man from behind and was promptly backed off as the clone attacked the man. "Children like you should be frolicking in the sun. But too bad for you, this isn't a fairy tail!" the man mocked Atsuki and Neji.

The man dodged the rough earth sent back to him by Mitsunari who in turn charged at him kunai in hand. The two danced around the field like two professional dancers in a play each of them moving in perfectly rehearsed movements. However Mitsunari was clearly the more skilled of the two as despite the man's attempts at defense was wounded as Mitsunari's kunai slashed him across the cheek and shoulder. The two stood on equal ground but even then that was not enough as Mitsunari was simply too strong for the man. However to the ninja's credit he backed off quickly before Mitsunari could sear his face off as suddenly his hand burst into flames and he tried to rip his face off with the fires. "Do you fucking think you're good enough to fight me kid? Do you even know who the fuck I ami?" Mitsunari asked the man as he laughed loudly as Mitsuhide took his chance and ran over to the man activating his Wood Release: Cutting Sabers of Wood drawing upon his Kekkei Genkai in order to attack the man. Mitsunari threw his kunai at the man as Mitsuhide made his own move. The man dodged Mitsuhide's pitiful attempts at attacking him and quickly kicked Mitsuhide in the gut and then laid him out on the ground with an elbow to the back. However before the man could react Mitsunari was on him grappling him and throwing both of them onto the ground. Mitsunari grabbed his belly as Takumi rushed over and helped him up, "Well what are you waiting for attack!" the demanded as Mitsuhide looked at him wondering what he expected but he sighed and pumped chakara into the ground around him. It wasn't exactly a jutsu so much as something that had just popped up into Mitsuhide's head but he unleashed a load of hard wood from the ground that shot out of the ground like air tight pullets towards the tumbling ninja. Mitsunari quickly turned the man around overpowering him as Mitsuhide's jutsu smacked him in the back with loud thuds as Mitsunari punched the man in the face forcing the man to break free of Mitsunari and back off into the glade itself.
 
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Atsuki inwardly groaned at the man's words. Not because he took them to heart however, but rather because it appeared that the young Uchiha was cursed to forever deal with an endless deluge of shit-talking bandits who liked to throw projectiles. "Oh cram it, will you?" he grunted, dodging the coated chains by rolling out of their arc. He knew that he could survive getting whipped by a chain - even if it was painful - but he didn't want to see what that substance was made of. He'd already had a close call with the shuriken launcher, and fortunately those cuts weren't poisoned. He watched Zero try to take the man from behind, only to be intercepted by a clone. Drats, there went a quick win.

Atsuki looked over to Neji. Unfortunately, they didn't really have any kind of preprepared tactics, but he knew that If he could get in contact with his partner without their enemy hearing what he had to say, they could come up with a plan to deal with this guy. However, he doubted the launcher man was going to be that charitable. It seems that some things really don't change: Atsuki would still have to suffice on his own, more or less. If anything, the three fighters could work as diversions for each other and create openings to exploit. 'This is a terrible idea,' Atsuki thought bitterly before he began running to side, trying to flank the ninja himself. He drew two kunai - one of them had an explosive tag wrapped around the hilt - and moved in to engage the enemy in melee. "Neji, with me," Atsuki commanded vaguely, urging his companion to put more pressure on their opponent's other side.

Once he entered range, he threw one of the kunai directly into the air. But was it the explosive one? It was Atsuki's job to make sure he didn't have time to figure out which was which. Misdirection is, after all, a ninja's best ally. So he began an assault, attempting using his comparatively small size to get into his guard and deliver a thrust into the man's lower abdomen.
 
Neji grinded his teeth as he heard their enemies comment about how kids were supposed to be frolicking and playing but it's too bad that they weren't. "This will be a fairytale ending once we defeat you." As soon as Neji said that the enemy shot out chains that seemed to be covered in something at Neji and Atsuki. Neji quickly jumped into the air and doing some backflips hand springs to get out of the way of the chains. Neji landed on his feet as he looked over at Atsuki.

Unfortunately Neji was still new to the squad so they didn't have any plans of attack together yet. Neji knew if they could just get in sync then they could take down this guy.

Atsuki then yelled for Neji to follow him in for an attack. Neji nodded his head as he grabbed two shuriken from his pouch and started running at their enemy from the opposite side that Atsuki was coming from. Atsuki had thrown one of the kunai blades in the air and then had gone in to strike the enemy. Neji contiuned to come from the mans other side and once he made a move to dodge Atsukis attack Neji would be there throwing his shuriken at him.
 
Mitsuhide and Mitsunari both engaged the solo ninja in the glade who frantically tried to keep up with both attacks as he pulled out a kunai only for Mitsuhide to knock it out of his hands with his wooden sword as Mitsunari punched the man in the gut. In truth Mitsunari was putting up most of the work but Mitsuhide on the other hand was being a real pain and distraction by simply forcing the man to block the blows. The man couldn't put his hands together quick enough for a jutsu and all of his efforts were simply being put into defending himself from the taijutsu blows of a jounin. The man however was more clever than Mitsuhide gave him credit for as he managed to move his foot in the way of Mitsuhide as he went in for an attack and tripped up the young ninja allowing him some breathing room for a moment to focus on Mitsunari. "You're pretty good old man! Then again I should've suspected as much." the man said as he landed a glancing blow on Mitsunari before he was himself hit with a harder blow. It was followed up by a series of blows in rapid succession and he ended up being laid out in the middle of the glade as Mitsunari quickly kicked him in the head dazing him nearly knocking him out if not for the man's training. Mitsuhide stayed back he didn't want to get in the way any more than he did. He did however didn't want to leave his sensei by himself.

The other shinobi laughed as launched a kunai over at Zero who was dealing with his clone. Zero took the kunai to the chest but he took it rather well but it was the force behind the kunai that shook him up for just a moment before the clone smacked him in the face with a chain and then gutted the man with some claws protruding from his gauntlet. Zero grunted and fell to the ground no one was sure if that blow was fatal or not but it was crippling. The real ninja meanwhile activated another feature of his gauntlet dropping a smoke bomb onto the ground it exploded immediately making the enemy ninja vanish in a white chalky mist.
 
Immediately, Atsuki held his breath, unwilling to breathe in the mystery gas. Even if it were just smoke, breathing it in wasn't good for the lungs in the long term and would probably throw him into a coughing fit otherwise, nullifying the double-edged sword of the obscuring smoke. Of course, holding his breath left him a limited time, so he charged out of the smoke cloud and into the fresh air. He had no idea where the enemy had disappeared off to, but he did know that there was an opponent in his sights, standing over the form of their comrade, Zero. From what Atsuki had recalled, the mercenary had been doing battle with a clone. That meant that the allied team was down a man, and combined with his own wounds, having to deal with a clone or multiple clones would be problematic. It would be best to deal with this one immediately.

He looked down at the kunai knife in hand. It was the tagged one, so he'd have to engage the clone in melee as well. That put him at a disadvantage, but it was an opponent he would have to overcome sooner or later. It would be best if it was on his own terms. Meanwhile the kunai he'd thrown would land on the ground in the middle of the smoke cloud. It was the untagged one. Atsuki didn't pay the situation in there any mind; Neji was healthy enough, but any dawdling would mean that Zero would be finished.

Atsuki pocketed his tagged kunai for later and drew three wired shuriken, which he launched towards the clone as he began to close the distance. Considering the original's speed, he didn't expect regular shuriken to do the trick, so he guided his wired ones in a pincer formation.
 
The enemy noticed the ninja stars coming towards him and he jumped back towards a nearby tree branch in an attempt to get away from him as he himself launched a set of kunai at the genin in retaliation for his attack. The real one quickly rushed up to Atsuki and raised his hand bring it down towards his neck, "You shouldn't take your eyes off the ball kid!" growled the man with a guttural laugh as he brought down his clawed hand for a death blow.
 
Inwardly, Atsuki was chiding himself on his stupidity for being driven to such a length, but at the very least Zero wasn't yet dead. He had succeeded in that respect. But between a barrage of kunai on one end and a charging opponent from the other, his options were running out. Was saving that ungrateful merc worth losing his own life? No, it wasn't. But even though death seemed to be upon him, there was no way he was going to let himself die here like this. He needed an idea, anything to get him out of this hopeless counterattack. He didn't have time to prepare a substitution. There was too much preparation necessary to pull that off in such a short time. Body Flicker wouldn't do anything with that line of knives heading this way. That left...

...Fuck it, he'd been no stranger to particularly stupid daring ideas today. What was one more on the list? The chakra wires disappeared in an instant as Atsuki began frantically going through all the signs of the jutsu he was intent upon. There was one second until he was done, and three handsigns to go through.

First, the method to his madness: The Transformation Jutsu was an Academy prerequisite, and practically a staple for all Leaf Village Shinobi. Most individuals knew it as a jutsu by which to simply change one's appearance into someone else. What most would forget is that Transformation allows one to shift into other things: plants, animals, objects and the like. Atsuki was going for a bird in order to fly a

...At the same time, Neji charged straight at the ninja. "Why don't you keep your eye on the ball!" he growled, charging the assailant that had abandoned him with two kunai in his hands. Of course, due to the smoke, he couldn't quite know that Atsuki had been there.

Atsuki realized he'd been holding his breath, and inhaled deeply. Considering he wasn't entirely dead right now, that really stupid, really crazy thing might have worked. He blinked twice, as the realization set in. Then he began laughing inwardly as he flapped the wings of his bird form. He certainly had the Devil's luck, didn't he? Of course, he didn't know that Neji had interrupted, but he wasn't dead and that was the important part. Now with liberty of action he was deciding what to do...

He turned off the transformation to save chakra, and drew his explosive kunai. The blast from this thing would probably be able to clear out this accursed mist, and that would make things a bit easier. So he did that. He threw it away from himself (and into the vague direction of that clone) and triggered the explosion. Who knows, maybe the splash damage actually hit its target. That wasn't really the priority right now though.
 
"Earth Style: Studded Rain!" the man growled as he formed five hand signs placed his hand on the ground and his clone appearing from the mist too block Neji and kick him full in the stomach sending him into a tree hard enough to break the bark. The earth suddenly started to shatter and spike upwards like senbon needles were being sent right after Atsuki. The clone meanwhile charged at the stunned Neji with his claw hand ready to gut the young boy, the blood from Zero still dripping off the claws.

===

Mitsuhide charged in while Mitsunari was busy putting the final touches on the enemy ninja who couldn't seem to get free of Mitsunari despite his best attempts to do so. It all suddenly came to a head when Mitsuhide charged in and slashed the man's leg with his sharp wooden sword. He had been too focused on Mitsunari and it had paid him a heavy cost as the young genin caused a crippling wound to the man as Mitsunari quickly went in for the final push smashing the man's face with a fist and then kicking him in the stomach before head butting him and finishing him off with another punch backed by wind chakra straight to the forehead rendering the man unconscious and defeated. Before even a moment went by Mitsunari vanished like a whisper in the wind and the next thing Neji saw was a flaming fist smash through the head of the enemy clone in a blur of fire and sheer speed from the senior ninja. The remaining ninja simply stood in shock as Mitsunari cleaved through the rest of his body with the flaming fist as the enemy clone turned into a pile burning rock on the ground. "I didn't want to all out against you but you're playing a little too rough now. I guess you're mine now." Mitsunari said as the man attempted to back off as his smoke bomb faded around the area. The man growled as he threw his chains at Mitsunari who simply dodged them and then he attempted to shoot him with a kunai from his gauntlet only for Mitsunari to catch the kunai and stab the man in the gut with it before grabbing the man's throat. He held the man steady as he shoved the kunai into his gut and smashed the man's face with his elbow sending him tumbling to the ground blood pouring from a broken lip and nose. Mitsunari raised his hands up after using six hand symbols in the blink of an eye and formed another jutsu, "Wind Style: Burst Stream of the Lotus!" the jonin called out as he formed a ball of wind in his hand. Mitsunari held the man steady as he sent a concussive air blast directly into the man's face shattering the ground around the man's upper body and the man's body went limp as Mitsunari kicked him for good measure to make sure he wasn't faking it. "Ninja these days need to learn how to take a hit..."
 
Neji had smirked he did his job and helped saved a comrade. He was rushing in to start his assault on the enemy when all of a sudden out of nowhere he was kicked with such great force that he was sent flying into a tree. It wasn't string enough to destroy the tree but it did do some damage to the bark not to mention the damage that it did to Neji. After slamming into the tree he fell to the ground and laid there for a second as his back pulsated with pain. He forced himself up off the ground as he saw the clone running at him. His claws still dripping blood from the mercernary comrade Zero.

Neji still had the two kunai in his hands as he was about to run towards the enemy clone when all of a sudden the clone was a pile of ash. Mitsunari Sensei had taken down the clone in a heart beat and then had dealt with the actaul Shinobi himself. Neji was amazed at his speed but he was a jonin after all and he really shouldn't have been surprised. Neji looked over at everyone and looked like evryone was okay except for Zero.
 
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