Lake. Away from the forest. Two against three.
'Water.'
Natural counter of fire, my chakra nature.
The three enemies in front of me glared at us with caution, ready to act anytime. Minato's arms tensed up as he stood next to me, and I felt the cold breeze of wind grazing my skin.
Plop.
Few months ago, I was in a similar situation, though my ally was Gin instead of Minato, and my enemy was none other than one of the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri.
And I've been thinking: what can I do to maximize my potential while fighting on top of the water?
Kiri. Mist. Seven Swordsmen. Sword. Hide. Ninja. Deceit. Fire.
Steam.
"Minato, give me few seconds," I whispered.
"You have a plan, Akashi?" Minato replied as his eyes were locked on the front, with seriousness in his demeanour.
SWOOSH!
Subsequently, the two Iwa ninjas, apart from the leader in the center, simultaneously dashed at us with the intention to begin hand-to-hand combat.
Of course, that was a plausible strategy, especially since Minato and I have expended quite a good sum of our stamina and chakra. Using two lower-ranked ninjas to find the opening for the higher-ranked ninja to deal the finishing blow—the Iwa's way of fighting resembled Kiri's style.
Tssssss...
Yet, even with the enemies rapidly approaching us, I stood calmly, with the water around my feet generating subtle sizzling noises.
The water around me began to boil.
"...I see." What a smart man Minato was. Even without me needing to explain, he seemed to have caught on to what I was about to do, and dashed forth in my stead.
CLANG CLANG!
And now, just when Minato smoothly parried two strikes from the enemies with two kunais that he gripped with each hand, I formed a half-ram seal with my free left hand, with my eye locked onto the distant leader of the Iwa ninjas, whose hands were forming a tiger seal.
"Water Release: Water Gun!"
The sharp and fast stream of water shot out of the man's mouth, targeting me who still stood without any movement. However, before it could reach me,
"Hiding In The Steam technique."
I blasted an intense heat around myself—evaporating the surrounding water, including the jet stream of water, in one go. With a whoosh,
TSSSSSS...
the battlefield was covered by a thick layer of steam, and everyone's vision was blocked.
I lifted my hand up and pulled on the thin wire that was hooked onto my waist, and feeling my pull, Minato, who was the one responsible for connecting himself with me by wire, returned.
"Quite sneaky, aren't you?" I whispered jokingly, to which Minato responded with a smile.
'Steam won't last long. It tends to travel up, and before it fades, we have to use it to our advantage.'
Plop. Though the enemies may not know, I could hear all. The sound of plops every time they took a step, was loud and clear.
"Let's do this, Akashi." Forming a hand seal, the one that seemed different from any sign that I've seen so far, Minato said.
Taking in a deep breath, I grinned, "Yeah."
Then, the two of us began to dash within the hot steam, with our bodies covered by a thin layer of chakra to prevent the burn.
"Shadow Clone technique."
Then, with a poof, two shadow clones of Minato appeared by the side. Minato threw two smoke bombs at them, which they grabbed before dashing off the course, circling around to the enemies' back.
'So that's the hand sign for shadow clone. Noted.'
Raising Ryuma up, I swiftly slashed it to parry a greatsword that suddenly appeared above, held by the leading figure of the Iwa trio.
CLANG!
My eye gazed at the Iwa shinobi's own, which exhibited murderous intent.
CLANG CLANG!
Just then, within the thick layer of steam, two clanging noises between metals were heard, signaling that Minato's shadow clones struck two additional Iwa ninjas. The leader who was in a deadlock with me, widened his eyes, but I wasn't about to let him go.
I grinned.
'In the end, I am not a swordsman.'
To the Iwa shinobi's surprise, I let go of Ryuma.
'I am a ninja.'
PUK!
Then, I was airborne, landing a heavy uppercut to the Iwa shinobi, just when Minato appeared from my back and held onto Ryuma in my stead. I stood on top of Ryuma's blade, and used it as the leverage to propel myself to the enemy once again.
"Ugh—" Iwa shinobi let out a grunt as his lips began from my strike. With his grip still on the heavy greatsword, it was hard for him to deal with me, who was right in front of him.
PUK!
I landed a fist on the Iwa shinobi's abdomen, before grabbing his head with my hands and crushing his exposed face with my right knee. Then,
"Fuc****!!!" Iwa shinobi screamed in fury as he too dropped the greatsword, attempting to strike a blow of his own to counter me. However,
Swoosh!
Holding my right hand out as the two of us were still flying in midair, I caught Ryuma which Minato threw at me, and swung my blade—
—to my back, instead of the vulnerable Iwa shinobi in front of me.
"...How?"
The Iwa shinobi, who appeared on my back all of a sudden, let out a shock as Ryuma penetrated his heart.
The one that stood in my front, then crumbled down to the water.
"I've been in this situation for the hundredth time by now." I said calmly, "If I fall for this, I'd be an idiot."
I pulled Ryuma out of the shinobi, and he, whose body has already become chill, sank into the depth of the lake.
Splash!
Now, with the steam having been moving upward continuously, there no longer was the impairment in vision. The view of the lake was revealed once again, and the two Iwa ninjas found that they were fighting Minato's shadow clones instead.
Only now did they realize that their leader was gone.
Poof! Around Minato's clones, the smokes suddenly burst out, as if they've been dispelled. I turned my head and saw Minato, who was huffing from exhaustion.
"S-Sunada!" One among the two Iwa ninjas shouted, "Where are you?!"
Sunada seemed to be the name of the now-deceased leader.
"Dead." I replied impassively, "What else can it be?"
Two Iwa ninjas froze upon seeing Ryuma, which was dripping down the blood.
Swoosh!
Just then, from the clouds of smoke behind them, that Minato's shadow clones generated, the kunais shot out and stabbed through those Iwa ninjas' hearts.
Minato's clones didn't dispel. They produced smoke around the body by the utilization of smoke bombs, and while the enemies thought that the clones were dispelled, dealt finishing blows.
"...You got to be kidding me." The other Iwa ninja muttered with disbelief, "We... lost against two kids..."
Splash!
"F***." Watching as two dead ninjas sank into the lake, Minato cursed. That... was something that I didn't expect at all.
"Are we done?" Minato muttered with a sigh, causing me to stiffen.
"...I think you jinxed us."
I muttered lifelessly, before swiftly turning around and blocking,
BOOOM!
the huge boulder of rock that suddenly fell from the sky,
"Damn it—"
"No worries."
A familiar voice was heard, and before I ended up falling into the water, I found a hand supporting my back, and the boulder destroyed into pieces.
'...What?'
It took me few seconds to realize what just happened. White hair, two teens standing awkwardly, Minato's face brightened—
"Jiraiya-sensei!" Minato said with visible relief on his face. He placed his hand on his heart, trying to ease his heart.
"Well, you two did extremely well, but failed to realize that it wasn't fifteen." Just when Jiraiya remarked,
SPLASH!
one man fell into the water from the sky above.
"It was sixteen."
I found a chill down my spine.
"...What happened to all those other enemies?" I asked.
Letting go of my back, Jiraiya suddenly made a comical pose,
"Destroyed by this absolutely handsome Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, of course!"
This man was a monster without a doubt. I thought that it was us who needed to help him, but it ended up being the other way around.