"Give us your scroll," demanded one of the male genin, flanked by a nin-dog that growled menacingly. A quick observation suggested that he was likely from the Inuzuka clan.
Renjiro, maintaining his calm demeanour, responded with a raised eyebrow, "How sure are you that we have the scroll you're looking for? We might as well have the same scrolls as you."
The tension in the air thickened as the genins from both teams exchanged wary glances.
Renjiro furrowed his brow, realizing that the situation had escalated quicker than he anticipated.
"Don't worry about that, we already know she has it," another girl, sporting the Byakugan, said while pointing directly at Aiko.
Aiko sighed. In hindsight, Renjiro lamented not putting the scroll in a storage seal. It would have been a strategic move to avoid unnecessary confrontations like the one unfolding before them.
Recognizing the increasing hostility, Renjiro turned to his teammates with a subtle nod, a silent signal understood by Aiko and Hiro.
The trio moved in a synchronized manner, creating some distance between them and the opposing teams. Renjiro, confident in his abilities, decided to take the initiative.
Performing the necessary hand sign, Renjiro unleashed his favourite technique, the Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu. He anticipated the element of surprise, hoping to deter any potential attackers.
However, to his shock, a girl from the opposing group swiftly jumped in front of him, mirroring his jutsu with equal mastery.
"Not so quick, Renjiro-kun," the girl countered with a smirk, effortlessly evading the impact of the two Fireball Jutsus.
The air crackled with the intensity of dual fireballs, creating a brief moment of tension as the fiery orbs faced off.
Renjiro, maintaining his composure, locked eyes with the girl who mirrored his jutsu. "Well, this is unexpected," he muttered.
It seemed the encounter in the Forest of Death was about to take a more intriguing turn.
The girl's attire accentuated both practicality and agility, a short-sleeved grey dress with slits on either side for enhanced mobility, secured by a black belt. Her long black hair, adorned with bangs, framed her determined expression.
As Renjiro observed the Sharingan within the girl's eyes, a realization struck him. 'I should have known why she looked familiar,' he thought to himself.
'Good thing it is only one tomoe, otherwise this would have been a hassle.'
Renjiro considered himself fortunate. While he wasn't about to underestimate her abilities, this detail provided a potential advantage.
The other genins from both teams did not stand idly as they all moved towards Hiro and Aiko. Renjiro spoke as he retrieved his Bō from a storage scroll.
"It should only be fair to know your name since you already know mine."
With a nod, Amari introduced herself, "I am Uchiha Amari. Nice to finally meet you." As she uttered those words, two shadow clones materialized by her side, each moving directly towards Aiko and Hiro.
It was quite clear that they were heading to reinforce her fellow genins when fighting against Hiro and Aiko.
'Two can play that game.' Renjiro thought as he made three shadow clones. One to intercept Amari's shadow clones and two to help his teammates.
Amari already knew that it would be an uphill battle for her since Renjiro's Sharingan was far better than hers as it had two extra tomoes. She wanted her fellow genins to quickly knock out Hiro and Aiko so that they could all take on Renjiro.
Without much talking, they both moved towards each other and the clash transitioned into a taijutsu fight.
Renjiro's proficiency with the Bō granted him an initial advantage in the duel against Amari.
As Renjiro unleashed a flurry of strikes, Amari swiftly dodged and parried, demonstrating her agility and the precognitive abilities granted by her Sharingan.
Despite Renjiro's onslaught, Amari's movements seemed almost prescient, enabling her to evade the majority of the blows.
As the combatants weaved through the dense foliage, Renjiro's clone engaged Amari's shadow clones, each movement calculated and precise.
"You're skilled, Amari, but let's see how you handle this!" he exclaimed as his Sharingan glowed momentarily as he unleashed his Sharingan's genjutsu, hoping to gain more advantage in the physical exchange.
Amari, however, was quick to react. She adeptly disrupted her chakra flow, countering the genjutsu.
In a bid to turn the tide, Amari swiftly performed a set of hand signs, her Sharingan glowing intensely as she executed the Windmill Triple Blade technique.
Three Windmill Shuriken spun in the air, their blades glinting dangerously as they sailed toward Renjiro. The wires attached to the shuriken trailed behind, controlled expertly by Amari.
Renjiro's keen perception allowed him to anticipate the incoming threat, but the precision of Amari's technique made it challenging to evade entirely. As the shuriken approached, Renjiro and his clones dodged and weaved, trying to outmanoeuvre the deadly projectiles.
However, Amari's mastery of the technique became apparent as she manipulated the wires with finesse.
The spinning blades began to encircle Renjiro, creating a deadly dance of sharp edges. The wires tightened, and with a swift, controlled motion, Amari skillfully bound Renjiro, containing him.
"Impressive move, Amari. But how long can you keep up? Your chakra is already waning."
As the windmill shuriken returned to her hand, Amari found herself ensnared in Renjiro's cunning strategy. The disruptive nature of her chakra because of countering the genjutsu, combined with the pressure of the ongoing taijutsu engagement, made it increasingly challenging for her to maintain her focus. She eventually fell into Renjiro's Genjutsu.
Amari struggled against the genjutsu, her Sharingan attempting to pierce through the deceptive technique.
However, Renjiro's skill in genjutsu proved formidable, and despite her efforts, Amari succumbed to the mental assault.
As the genjutsu took effect, Amari's movements faltered, and her eyes lost as she lost consciousness.
Renjiro observed the outcome, surprised at how swiftly the confrontation had concluded. "Well, that was easier than I expected but I should have settled this sooner," he remarked.
Amari should have been a genin for far longer than he was, so he expected more from her.
Renjiro quickly approached Amari's unconscious form and placed a seal on her forehead, his chakra drain seal.
It was a precautionary measure to suppress any potential threat should she regain consciousness ahead of schedule.
Satisfied with his preparations, he turned his attention back to Aiko and Hiro.
Surprisingly, Hiro had managed to deal with his opponents efficiently. Aiko, on the other hand, had effectively ensnared a group of genins in a genjutsu, preventing them from interfering.
The other genins they fought had nothing special other than the fact that besides the Hyuga girl and the Inuzuka boy, there was a Sarutobi and Shimura boy and a Senju girl among them.
Renjiro took a moment to assess the situation,
"Great job, both of you. Looks like we won't have much trouble collecting the scrolls we need,"
Together, they began searching through the possessions of the unconscious genins. After a brief but thorough search, they discovered three Heaven scrolls. Two were neatly stored in storage scrolls, while the third was clutched by the Inuzuka boy who had initially confronted them.
Renjiro eyed the scrolls they had gathered,
"What do you think, should we take all of them?" he suggested.
Renjiro was petty enough to take all the scrolls as he thought that it was only fair to prepare to lose your scroll if you were ready to steal scrolls belonging to others.
However, both Hiro and Aiko seemed to disagree. Hiro shook his head, "That might be pushing it. Let's not stoop to their level. We'll take the one we found on the Inuzuka and leave the rest."
Aiko nodded in agreement, "I think Hiro's right. We can't control what others do, but we can choose our own path. Taking all the scrolls would be too much."
Renjiro sighed "Fine, let's do it your way. We'll stick to the one scroll we found," he conceded.
As the team departed from the encounter with the other genin groups, Renjiro meticulously removed the chakra drain seals he had placed on the unconscious foes.
With the seals taken care of, the genin trio hastened their pace towards the finish line of the Forest of Death.
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