Be right back.
-Thirty minutes later-
Pov: Red Mask.
*Woosh-* *Slam!*
"Back already? Didn't you three leave just over an hour ago?" One of the Chunin looks up and asks.
"Get ready to defend- one ninja incoming, they killed- they killed him... I-" I struggle to get the words out and drop my brothers corpse, his head rolls as I let out my emotions.
"I need healing! Internal injuries, my lungs aren't looking- so great" My brother grunts and pushes past the chunin.
"Get him a healer!" The Chunin shouts and looks over the corpse.
"His master isn't going to be happy about this- where is the enemy? How far? Who is it?" He asks me a barrage of questions.
"Five- ten minutes behind us, a kid around ten years of age... wearing pyjamas and no shinobi gear. Don't get into close combat with him, use genjutsu and ninjutsu. Take one of your summons out and send a message, I will draw his face and information" I bring out a scroll and fumble for drawing implements in my bag.
I sniffle and take a breath, ensuring I stay focused.
"Five of us to defend should be enough" He stands up.
"You only have three? What of your Jonin leader?" I ask.
"He said he would be back soon, I am unsure of how soon" The Chunin shakes his head.
I shake my head and draw as quickly as possible- the team is informed and my brother is healed enough to survive all within five minutes.
"We have some time- let's set a trap" I get up and hand over a small scroll with all the details of our enemy written down.
That Chunin summons a messenger bird and takes away the scroll- I start unpacking wires and explosive tags that the team then sets up in one spot.
"I'll cast a genjutsu on him- let's place them all in the same spot, take him out on a bet" I suggest.
"I'll take that bet- it feels we need to get a good hit in while he is distracted, and our best chance of that is with this" My brother nods in agreement.
I look at the other three.
One medical ninja, more of a poison expert than anything however.
A water jutsu user like my brother.
And a taijutsu focused chunin.
"How many bombs do you all have?" I ask.
"We are a supply team- that crate over there is meant to be delivered north, we also have a few more scattered around here..." The Taijutsu shinobi tells me.
"Well I will pay for the damages, open that crate and set up all the paper bombs we have" I tell him.
My ears twitch and I look into the distance.
*Wooosh!*
"He is coming- no second ideas, place all the crate in the centre of the camp and scram!" I yell and flicker above the camp, performing a few signs.
*Whoo-*
I push my palms forward and snipe a genjutsu into his mind as he runs for us.
The illusion of me struggling to carry both brothers as he succumbs to internal injuries plays out- leaving me open for an attack.
*WOOSH-*
The enemy rushes through the bushes and immediately drop kicks the illusion without hesitation.
*BANG-!* *BOOOOM!!* *BAM!*
Smoke bellows from below and even rushes past me with intense heat as I back away further from the blast.
Hopping from tree to tree I manage to escape the vanishing cloud of smoke.
*Crash!* *Thunk!* *Boom!* *Crack!*
A few trees fall down in the blast and I scan the area as the smoke clears.
"We killed him?" Black mask asks in a chipper tone.
"I don't see a body..." I mutter.
"Did you expect to see one? You used an entire crate of explosives... what am I going to tell the Mizukage when this shipment is undelivered..." The Taijutsu Chunin groans
"That it was worth it- now let's clean up the area" My brother commands.
I take a breath of releif, after waiting for him to suddenly appear and now knowing he hasn't.
"Right. Let's clean up... and form a report on this" I nod resolutely and look at my brothers corpse.
...
"We need to fish out his sword too" I note.
I walk over to the explosion as the dust settles and look around some more, before heading over to my dead brother and dragging him a small distance from camp to begin cleaning him up as the others go about camp.
I spend about twenty minutes ensuring that his body is clean and presentable- before unrolling a scroll and sealing him away.
*Poof!*
...
Just like that all my troubles fly away.
An abusive shit head his entire life and then suddenly he stops existing on some random B-rank mission- barely a name to his killer and certainly nothing left of him.
I was always living in his shadow- always seen as the most worthless brother... yet today I wasn't.
If he hadn't died- this would have been perfect! Finally... genjutsu was the answer to the problem and not just some inconvenience to the enemy or decoration to my brothers slaughter.
I know I am useful.
...
To think a kid like that could do so much... barely a teenager. Is this a genius? I have heard tale of them from every village including my own... but I never saw one personally.
...
"Sir- your brothers sleeping now, healing and resting before you head off. Me and the team just woke up so we can keep a look out for you if you need to rest" The medical ninja approaches me.
"Thanks..." I wave at them.
I forgot about his injury for a moment there- he took a solid hit to the chest and suffered an internal injury? Are we fighting a Hyuga trained boy? Didn't look like one, or have special eyes to see through my genjutsu.
*Shiver*
A shiver crawls up my spine as I recall escaping death because of my genjutsu alone- had he seen through it...
Haaa- I am never wishing to prove myself again, is this the pressure that you were under all this time? Carrying the trio and ensuring victory against a foe you know that only you can face directly?
I look at the scroll that holds my brother.
...
I should rest too. Get some sleep and figure out things tomorrow.
Master is going to be pissed.
-Eight hours later-
My eyes open and stare silently at the scroll next to me- still unable to grieve properly. How do you even grieve properly?
I wish it were all written down...
... after around ten minutes I get up and stretch, I place my mask back on and gear up as I yawn.
*Clack*
My gear clacks against my belt and I exit the tent I was given temporarily.
*Shiver* *Crackle*
My heart drops. My spine shivers- and the fire crackles gently as the boy sits near it and cooks a piece of rabbit meat calmly as he seats himself next to four heads.
The three chunin- and their Jonin sensei.
"UP!" I yell and my brother immediately wakes- grabbing his mask and gear before leaving his own tent in a flash.
"You- you lived!?" I yell.
"You didn't come looking for me. So hyper focused on your personal talents that you don't branch out into basic investigation skills- don't worry, when their sensei returned he rectified that mistake and came to find me, ensuring that I was truly dead" He holds up the meat.
I- shit, I didn't- they usually handle this stuff, I am clean up!
I internally argue with myself and then quiet my brain as I take a breath.
"It was a fine battle, boring if nothing else. It did however give me the chance to test the Genjutsu skills I had been training while you two slept" He stands up and bites into the meat- tearing it off the stick.
"Hn" He nods to himself, as if complimenting his own cooking.
He went and trained? After facing that explosion? And the sat down and cooked a meal while we slept!? What the hell!?? Who is this kid!!?
"It is pretty rude to sleep in the middle of a fight- I recommend learning some manners in the next life" The boy throws the stick away and clears his throat as he enters into a taijutsu stance again.
...
I wait with confused breath- glancing at my brother.
*Wooosh!* *Swish!* *Bam!*
Me and my brother both start performing hand signs- he rushes me and I start rushing backwards as he tries to keep up.
*Bam!*
A piercing jet of water hits the boy in the side and I unleash a genjutsu onto him- I step to the side and watch as he suddenly leaps with intensity at my prior location.
I step back and suddenly a second boy runs past me with the same pace he had before.
...
Two of them?
"I messed with a few genjutsu I have seen- the clone technique and your visual genjutsu inspired my creation here. Only one of us is real, but you face two" He smirks.
Which one is which? That's easy- I am a genjutsu master, I have spent my entire life on this art and I will not be disrespected like this.
I throw a kunai to the one on the left- who leapt forward, telling my brother that he is the real one.
The other boy doesn't have every detail down- his clothes are less wrinkled and more dry... as if only being created in this environment now.
"Oh? How can you tell?" The boy responds as both suddenly rush me.
I jump up and dodge the first ones sliding tackle and ignore the other one who misses on purpose.
Who is this brat trying to fool?
"First of all- if your real you wouldn't miss an attack, secondly! I studied genjustu my entire life, I certainly know the difference!" I land and roll backwards into a kneeling squat.
*Swish- swoosh!*
I perform two hand signs and blast the genjutsu at the real boy...
*Stab!*
"Shinobi are strong- You three contend for the high ranks of your village, growing and training every day to be the best that you can be. You aren't immune to death however- a mere kunai can still pull you down, one slash across the throat can rend you useless- dead" The boy speaks, a commanding voice emanates from behind me as a kunai lodges itself in my neck.
"Overconfidence and grief. A troublesome combination that got you killed, perhaps it was because you just woke up as well- but you compared a better genjutsu to a lesser one, two illusory clones and you 'made' one real with the thought that the other was worse. Shameful, shouldn't you see through these tricks genjutsu 'Master'? Hn?" The boy mocks me as I choke on my own blood.
Clones... just clones? Regular... clones?
"High chunin rank. Congratulations- despite focusing on just one aspect of combat, you managed to reach High chunin rank. Be proud" The boy tells me.
He is serious. He thinks I should be proud of my strength? With a kunai in my throat?
He isn't lying...
This- I should have- I wasn't prepared- but I didn't look for his corpse- I went to sleep! But we just got onto the boat and was able to rest after running all night- but! I was...
...I hate this brat.
---
Pov: Takumi Uchiha.
I dispel my two clones.
Took me twenty minutes to recall how they were made, the rest of the day I trained on my genjutsu defences, finding a better way to detect and purge genjutsu.
By using my sleep standing jutsu I can identify where the enemies chakra is affecting me- because it will be the only chakra moving while everything else is still.
It is very subtle- but as long as I train my chakra control and maintain my skills in it, I will be safely able to detect foreign affects on my senses and chakra.
I then developed a technique to add to my Takumi style- I shed the genjutsu by throwing it out of my body, via a similar method of application to impact returns.
I cannot return genjutsu to my enemy yet- but perhaps I can in the future, for now I merely have a solid defence and detection ability for genjutsu.
Not that I needed it- Red-mask was so shaken and confident that he let me slip right behind him and sink a kunai into his neck.
Hn.
He must have been sufficiently rattled by the start of our fight.
I look up at the last brother.
"We both know how this ends. Your the third one trick idiot without his brothers to help him make up for his shortcomings. Your brothers genjutsu kept me from killing you, do you think you can run now? That you are alone?" I mock him, to demoralize.
I smirk confidently and step forward, plucking the kunai back from his last brother left.
*Plop*
The body falls to the floor and Black mask loudly swallows his saliva.
"What does the rabbit do? When faced with a wolf?" I ask.
Truly a perfect picture- he can do nothing but wait for death.
*Step*
I take another step forward.
*Bang!*
He strikes my chest with a water bullet and I intake the impact, letting the water drip down my chest.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
He seems confident in his water bullet- capable of slinging them like kunai, but they carry much more deadliness.
*Bang!*
The impacts flow right through me- my foot prints leaving incredible dents and cracks in the ground to maximize my intimidating presence.
*Bang!*
I swipe the bullet with a back hand- and it reflects back to him.
*Bang!*
Striking him in the shoulder and cutting deep.
*Flicker!*
He sprints away- with intense speed I normally cannot keep up with.
Hn. It is why I prepared a method to get to him in case he runs away again- I pull out a folded piece of paper in my pocket and spark it with my chakra.
*BOOM!*
[Ragdoll Rush]
*Wooosh-*
I glide past him nonchalantly, for a moment time seems to slow down as my lazy eyes lock onto his terrified ones.
My smile drops as I raise my arm and pull out another explosive tag- there camp was full of these things.
*BANG!* *Ring~*
Our ears ring as he is slammed into the ground below and rolls around- I use the explosion to fly into him, which is strangely through the explosion.
An odd picture- of someone being hit by a great force and then flying into it instead of away from it.
*Wooosh....*
I place my hands into my jacket pockets and slide across the ground as I switch to Saburo's stance to ensure I don't fall over.
...
*Haaa- Haaa-*
He breathes heavily on the ground.
"High chunin. Reliance on one art, apart from that I have no notes" I place my foot on his neck and crumple my third explosive tag.
*Bam!*
The impact is converted into a slash that emits from the sole of my foot- cutting into his neck and decapitating him.
I pull out my fourth explosive tag and sigh.
Hn. This feels like cheating- yet it is an outrageously useful item to bring to a fight, granting me the impacts needed in crucial moments.
I will condemn any enemy who brings them into a battle with me for certain.
I kneel down and grab both the head and collar, dragging the body back to seal it within a scroll.
Hopefully this supply camp has a few of those around here.
---
Thanks for reading! :)