Ten minutes later, drenched in sweat after searching the East District, Kazuya Haruno and Itsuki Fujiwara returned to the meeting point.
The scene that greeted them was Ryuha Uchiha sitting against a wall, out of breath, carrying a bamboo cage on his back.
His hair was disheveled, dust clung to his clothes, and the white cat inside the cage was impatiently clawing at the wooden bars.
“F-Found it…” Ryuha spoke “with difficulty,” pointing at the cage.
Kazuya Haruno froze for a second before running over to confirm.
“It really is Tama!
Ryuha, you’re incredible!
How did you find her?”
“Just luck…” Ryuha offered a “bitter smile.” “She was hiding behind a woodpile in a courtyard over there.
Took a lot of effort to corner her…”
Since he had already drawn special attention from the Third Hokage, he decided he might as well play the part of a normal Konoha genius.
Itsuki Fujiwara gave a thumbs-up in admiration.
“Seriously impressive!
We searched for ages and didn’t even see a single cat hair.”
Just then, Ryuichi Matsumoto walked over from the other side.
Upon seeing the cat inside the cage, a glint of surprise flickered in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by indifference.
“Took twenty minutes.
Mediocre efficiency,” he evaluated coldly.
“And looking so disheveled, there were clearly issues in your capture process.
Ryuha Uchiha, write a detailed report on the capture when we get back, highlighting your mistakes and shortcomings.”
“Yes, Sensei,” Ryuha replied, bowing his head in “shame.”
“Mission complete.
Returning to the village.” Ryuichi Matsumoto turned, paused for a moment, and added, “We won’t take the direct route.
Detour through the Black Pine Forest to the north.
That forest has complex terrain and occasional wild beasts—perfect for training your field movement and alertness.”
Kazuya Haruno and Itsuki Fujiwara suspected nothing and answered in unison.
Ryuha picked up the cat cage and followed at the rear, his eyes gleaming faintly behind his lenses.
Black Pine Forest…
That was a notorious lawless zone on the border of the Land of Fire—steep, treacherous terrain frequently inhabited by rogue ninjas and bandits.
A normal return route for a D-rank mission would never detour there.
What was Ryuichi Matsumoto up to?
A test?
Or…
Ryuha cast a glance at Ryuichi Matsumoto’s back.
The Jonin’s Chakra flow was steady, his heart rate normal—he genuinely seemed to be “training them on the way.”
Yet, the clasp on the Kunai pouch at his waist had been quietly unbuckled at some point.
…
Black Pine Forest.
Towering ancient trees blocked out the sun, casting dim shadows across the forest floor.
Thick layers of fallen leaves lay underfoot, soft and silent to tread upon.
The occasional caw of a crow added a chilling atmosphere to the woods.
“Watch your step.
Maintain a triangular formation, five meters apart,” Ryuichi Matsumoto ordered in a low, stern voice.
“Kazuya front-left, Itsuki front-right, Ryuha center-rear.
Stay sharp for sudden emergencies.”
“Yes, Sensei!”
Kazuya Haruno and Itsuki Fujiwara grew visibly tense, gripping their Kunai tight as their eyes scanned the surroundings continuously.
Ryuha held the cat cage, walking casually on the surface, but his Spiritual Pressure perception had long since radiated outward.
Fifty meters away, behind a tree to the left—a slightly elevated heartbeat.
Thirty meters away, in the bushes to the front-right—suppressed breathing.
Twenty meters away, in the canopy overhead—a metallic reflection.
Three…
no, four.
Ryuha adjusted his glasses, his pace unchanged.
Ryuichi Matsumoto walked at the front, his spine taut.
He had noticed them too.
Right at that moment—
*Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!*
Several sharp, air-rending whistles struck simultaneously from three directions!
Poison-laced Kunai gleamed with an eerie blue light in the dark woods, incoming at vicious angles straight for Kazuya Haruno and Itsuki Fujiwara’s backs, necks, and thighs!
“Look out!” Ryuichi Matsumoto roared, instantly spinning around to throw three Shuriken.
*Clang!
Clang!
Clang!*
The Shuriken precisely deflected the Kunai flying toward his two disciples.
However, a fourth Kunai flew from an extremely hidden angle toward Itsuki Fujiwara’s ribs—and Ryuichi Matsumoto was too far to reach him in time!
“Itsuki!” Kazuya Haruno screamed in terror.
Itsuki Fujiwara couldn’t react at all, forced to watch helplessly as the cold point enlarged before his eyes.
*Clink.*
A faint metallic strike sounded.
A mere three inches from Itsuki’s ribs, that Kunai was knocked off course by another Kunai, pinning it deep into a nearby tree trunk.
Cold sweat instantly drenched Itsuki’s back.
His legs went weak, nearly collapsing him onto the ground.
Ryuichi Matsumoto snapped his head around, looking toward Ryuha.
Ryuha held his post-throw stance, his face serene.
“Nice reaction,” Ryuichi Matsumoto said, giving Ryuha a deep look before shouting, “Enemy attack!
Back-to-back defense!”
The three immediately formed a defensive triangle, placing Ryuha Uchiha in the center—after all, he was still holding the cat cage.
“Heheheh, Konoha brats…
and led by a Jonin?”
A sinister laugh echoed through the woods.
Four figures stepped out from the shadows, surrounding Team 7 in a fan formation.
They wore tattered shinobi armor, their forehead protectors bearing deep scratches across the emblems—the mark of rogue ninjas.
Leading them was a one-eyed brute with a gruesome scar across his face.
The sight of him caused Ryuichi Matsumoto’s brow to furrow tightly.
He had seen this man on a black-market wanted poster—Kiu Mikami from the Village Hidden in the Rain, an elite Chunin before defecting.
Winning quickly was going to be difficult.
Ryuichi had assumed the strongest rogue in these parts barely reached Chunin level.
How did they run into an elite Chunin?
As for the other three, they were all Genin with vicious glints in their eyes, clutching blood-stained Kunai and katana.
“What luck,” Kiu Mikami licked his lips.
“Kill you lot, and all the gear and money are ours.
Oh, and that little cat looks like it could fetch a decent price too.”
“Kiu Mikami…” Ryuichi Matsumoto’s expression darkened.
“Kazuya, Itsuki, protect yourselves and Ryuha.
I’ll handle the leader.
You three stall the other three until I finish him and give support.
Remember, focus on stalling—do not engage head-on!”
“Yes!” Kazuya Haruno and Itsuki Fujiwara answered with shaky voices, yet they grit their teeth and raised their weapons.
“Get them!”
Kiu Mikami let out a cruel laugh and lunged at Ryuichi Matsumoto first.
The other three rogue ninjas charged wild-eyed toward Kazuya Haruno and Itsuki Fujiwara.
Combat erupted instantly!
Ryuichi Matsumoto clashed with Kiu Mikami, Kunai striking katana as sparks showered the air.
Though Ryuichi Matsumoto was a Jonin, he was the sort who had scraped his way up through age and total completed missions—his actual combat capability sat at the lower end of the Jonin rank.
Meanwhile, Kiu Mikami unleashed a rapid succession of Ninjutsu to keep him occupied.
Neither could gain the upper hand right away.
On the other side, Kazuya Haruno and Itsuki Fujiwara were instantly pushed to the brink of death.
They were fresh Genin graduates.
Facing three battle-hardened rogue ninjas who fought to kill, merely parrying consumed every drop of their energy.
Kazuya Haruno’s Substitution Jutsu was seen through instantly, while Itsuki Fujiwara’s Taijutsu was completely smothered by his opponents’ reckless, desperate maneuvers.
In under thirty seconds, both boys suffered several slash wounds.
Though not deep, the bleeding was profuse, and their movements slowed.
“Haha!
Is this all Konoha brats can do?”
“Die!”
A rogue ninja grinned sadistically, swinging his katana down toward Kazuya Haruno’s neck with terrifying force!
“Kazuya!” Itsuki Fujiwara tried to leap to the rescue, but the other two rogue ninjas pinned him down mercilessly.
Kazuya Haruno’s face turned deathly pale.
The Kunai in his hand was utterly incapable of blocking that heavy, brutal blow.
“Ryuha Uchiha!” Spotting this from the corner of his eye, Ryuichi Matsumoto’s eyes flared with rage as he roared, “Use your Genjutsu on them!
What are you waiting for?!”
Ryuha Uchiha raised his head and pushed up his glasses.
Then, amidst Ryuichi Matsumoto’s desperate roar, Kazuya Haruno’s hopeless gaze, and the rogue ninja’s bloodthirsty smirk—
He slowly raised his right hand.
His palm aimed straight at the rogue ninja swinging his blade at Kazuya Haruno.
No hand seals.
No trace of Chakra fluctuations whatsoever.
He simply stared at the man calmly, as if looking at a drop of water destined to evaporate.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly in that single moment.