'Shit. Sora, hang in there just a little longer…'

[Battle Instinct activated.]

[Damage Taken: -12 HP]

[HP: 293/340]

A single second of hesitation cost me — I took a hit I couldn't dodge.

'Two' punched me squarely on the left side of my jaw, causing me to stumble to the ground.

"Fair enough." I spat onto the ground.

"Gahahah, finish him off, Two! Or else I'll finish him off as soon as I get out of this thing," said the assassin, slashing at the roots binding him.

"Renji, help Sora! Their weapons are poisoned!" I shouted.

"I know, damn it. I'm trying," he replied through clenched teeth.

The whole situation was very strange. Although they were clearly not stronger than us, they seemed tireless, driven by a thirst to finish us off at any cost.

"Mokuton: Curved Spear."

A spear rose from the ground and quickly reached my hand. I wasn't very used to using this type of weapon, but I was eager to show off a few new tricks.

"Uhhh, now he's resorting to dirty tricks… be careful not to get hit!!" the man trapped in the vines shouted mockingly.

I completely ignored him and advanced toward the masked ninja, aiming to strike him in the chest with the spear. With precision, he drew another kunai hidden under his poncho and tried to block the attack, but failed.

As soon as the spear met the kunai, its sharp tip split in two, passing through the blade and piercing the man's mask.

Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds as the mask fell. The man beneath it had completely purple skin, as if he were being suffocated by a rope, and his eyes were dripping with a black liquid I couldn't identify.

'What is this…?' I looked at the scene in disgust.

The ninja continued to strike in my direction, but the blows seemed meaningless, as if he were blind and had lost his aim. I glanced at the mask on the ground.

"Renji, aim for the mask!" I shouted.

It could've been luck or coincidence, but I had to test my theory.

As I shouted those words, I ran toward Sora, who had just been hit again by one of the poisoned attacks.

'Hang in there, please…' I thought as I ran toward her.

Renji, while fighting, heard what I said and began to attack the henchman's face with his sword. The enemy instantly shifted to a defensive stance, protecting his mask at all costs.

I was right — the mask was definitely the weak point of those ninjas, and what made them act tirelessly.

When I got close enough, I made roots trap that ninja, and then Sora managed to land a blow on him, knocking off his mask and causing him to start acting clumsily like the other one.

As soon as he was no longer able to continue attacking efficiently, Sora relaxed her body and fell to the side, looking like she was about to faint at any moment.

I held her, preventing her from falling, and noticed her skin darkening around her wounds.

"Hey, Sora, don't pass out, okay?!" I said, trying to keep her on her feet.

She didn't seem to have the strength to speak or respond, but her eyes remained fixed on me, as if she had understood the message.

"That's right, don't close your eyes… I'll get you out of here," I said, lifting her onto my back so we could escape.

Renji managed to do the same with that ninja and was finally able to approach us.

"Shit, what was that—... Sora?! She's in worse shape than I thought..." he said, seeing the state of our colleague.

I gave a nod.

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Ah... no... you shouldn't have done that... He... He's NOT going to like that you destroyed his creation. You do realize what you've done, don't you? GAHAHAHAH!" the killer shouted, laughing hysterically at the end, looking both angry and scared.

The man had broken free from the roots that bound him, and suddenly his gaze shifted completely.

A heavy silence hung in the air as the aura around him grew even more oppressive, making us feel like ants about to be crushed under a human foot.

'Was he hiding his power all along?' I wondered, completely frozen.

"We have to run, now. I don't know what he's planning, but it's definitely not natural," Renji said, trying to pull me and Sora back while analyzing the situation with his Sharingan.

When he started walking toward us, our sensei appeared in front of us using the Shunshin no Jutsu.

"Riku, Renji, take her straight to the hospital. I'll handle this."

"Sensei..." Renji seemed slightly relieved to see him finally arrive.

"All right," he said.

Tetsu-sensei looked extremely serious, unlike his usual self.

"Well... Tetsu. I didn't expect to find you here. That explains their skill," the assassin said.

"Satoshi..." Tetsu replied.

But we didn't stay to hear the rest of that exchange—we left for the hospital as fast as we could.

'They know each other... But I doubt Tetsu will have any trouble handling him,' I thought as I ran.

*

When we were near the edge of the forest, Renji was the first to speak.

"What were those ninjas? Were they being controlled or something?"

"I think so, Renji. That's why they started acting that way when we took off their masks..." I replied, still a little pensive, trying to make sense of everything.

"Were you hit too?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"They didn't land a clean hit, at least not with their blades... But Renji..."

I stopped among the trees.

"Riku, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Tetsu-sensei may be strong, but there was something off about that guy... He wasn't there by chance, and he definitely wasn't working alone. I'm not going to take any chances — I'm going back to help him."

I said, taking Sora off my back and waiting for Renji to catch her.

"Take her to the hospital. You're faster than me anyway."

He seemed like he might argue, but Sora managed to say a few words.

"Be... be careful..." she said, trying to smile.

I smiled back and nodded.

"I hope you guys wrap this up soon... I hate not being able to join in these fights," Renji grumbled, putting Sora on his back.

Renji then made hand seals, and Fuuton chakra began flowing through his legs, boosting his speed.

He then headed toward the hospital.

'Be careful,' I thought as I watched them leave.

"I'm really curious that Satoshi knew sensei... I'm not letting that go," I muttered, heading back to the battlefield.

In the distance, I could already hear the clash between the two — the sounds of impact and the rustling of shaken trees told me the fight was getting brutal.

"So he really was holding back this whole time... He's going to regret underestimating us."

As I got close enough to see through the fog, I saw Tetsu with his Byakugan activated, effortlessly blocking Satoshi's strikes.

'I need to act at the right moment. Tetsu definitely knows I'm here,' I thought, noticing the smile on his face.

....

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