"It looks like we're headed for a fight." Fumori Masaki spoke after receiving Hyūga Kei's report on the surrounding situation. He turned to Shimura Danzō with a grim look.
Danzō nodded. "At least they didn't have time to expand the barrier. Otherwise, even if we broke through, we'd take heavy losses."
The Konoha team, made up of highly skilled ninjas, were confident despite being surrounded by the Sunagakure forces. Their strength had been proven through countless missions. There was no room for panic, only a steadfast belief in their abilities, forged under the guidance of the Second Hokage.
Hyūga Kei and the others had witnessed Fumori Masaki holding his own against the beast-formed Silver Horn, and though Suna was famed for its elite forces, none could match the intensity of that battle. Unless the Second Kazekage himself showed up, no one else would bring more pressure than the ferocious Silver Horn had.
"That's settled, then." Masaki glanced at his comrades. "We can't let this drag on. We need to break through quickly. We're close to the Land of Rivers."
"Understood," the others responded, united in purpose.
With that, Masaki gave the signal, and they began their move.
The group split into smaller teams of three, forming seven units. Masaki and Danzō each led their own groups, responsible for spearheading the assault, while the remaining four units covered and supported from behind. This formation allowed for flexibility in movement and made them less vulnerable to the wide-area wind jutsu that Suna ninjas were known for.
The Konoha ninja advanced swiftly, their coordinated movements a testament to their training. Not long after, the Sunagakure forces noticed the attempt to escape and began tightening their encirclement. Chiyo and Ebizō quickened their pace, preparing to intercept.
By the time Chiyo and Ebizō arrived, Konoha ninjas were already engaged in combat. Though Masaki and Danzo held their own, the Sunagakure forces from the desert had managed to slow them down just enough to prevent a full breakout. Chiyo quickly assessed the situation, noticing how her forces had suffered losses.
"Ebizō, we need to act now," Chiyo commanded. She recognized that the two leading the Konoha team, Fumori Masaki and Shimura Danzo, were clearly the strongest. If they wanted to stop the Konoha team from escaping, they needed to take down these two key players.
"It's Chiyo and Ebizō!" one of the weary Suna ninjas shouted in relief upon seeing their arrival.
Chiyo's and Ebizō's names carried weight. Fumori Masaki, in the heat of battle, heard the names and briefly glanced toward the two approaching figures. His eyes settled on Chiyo, her youthful appearance surprising him.
"So, you're Fumori Masaki? What's with that look?" Chiyo asked, catching Masaki's momentary surprise. Her eyes narrowed at the odd expression on his face.
"Nothing," Masaki replied quickly, a small grin forming. "I just didn't expect you to be so... charming."
Chiyo smirked. "Flattery won't get you anywhere, Fumori."
Their brief exchange barely interrupted the flow of combat, as Masaki made the first move, sending a gust of wind slicing toward Chiyo. She reacted instantly, her fingers twitching as a puff of sand exploded from the ground, obscuring the battlefield. A puppet emerged from the dust cloud, intercepting Masaki's attack with a blade, but not before the edge of the puppet's weapon cracked from the force of the wind.
Chiyo frowned. His wind-style jutsu isn't simple.
Masaki wasted no time. "Hiding behind puppets in the sand? That's pretty low."
"And slashing at someone right after complimenting them? I'd say we're even," Chiyo shot back, a smile still playing on her lips.
In the blink of an eye, the two were locked in another exchange. Chiyo's puppet fired poison needles, but Masaki remained calm, allowing his wind chakra to shield him and deflect the needles. He then unleashed a powerful wind blast, which hurtled toward Chiyo like a cannonball.
Chiyo quickly summoned another puppet to raise a shield, blocking the attack, though the impact sent her skidding backward. Her eyes darted around, searching for the next move, while one of her puppets attempted to flank Masaki from behind.
Masaki anticipated the attack, cutting through the puppet's wooden arm with ease. The finely honed wind chakra made quick work of the puppet's defenses, leaving Chiyo slightly on edge. This is no ordinary opponent. One misstep and I'm dead.
Meanwhile, Danzo was keeping Ebizō at bay. The two were evenly matched, with Ebizō using strategic jutsu to delay Danzo's advance. Danzo knew their mission wasn't to defeat Ebizō but to escape. If they lingered too long, more Suna reinforcements would arrive, and they would be in serious trouble.
The key to their escape now lay in Masaki defeating Chiyo.
Hurry up, Masaki! Danzo thought as he continued his clash with Ebizō.
Masaki understood this too. He decided to end the fight quickly. After disabling one of Chiyo's puppets, he darted forward, his speed leaving only a blur behind. He closed in on Chiyo, striking at an angle that made it nearly impossible to predict his movements.
In response, Chiyo unrolled a scroll, summoning three more puppets, which flew toward Masaki at high speed. The first two puppets tried to pin him down, but Masaki broke through their defenses, the remnants of their wooden limbs falling to the ground in shattered pieces.
But Chiyo wasn't done. The three newly summoned puppets swept in from different directions, attempting to overwhelm Masaki. His path seemed blocked from every angle, and a thick cloud of dust kicked up as the puppets converged.
Chiyo smiled, thinking she had him, but her expression quickly shifted. A figure burst out of the dust cloud—a fraction too close. Masaki's blade swiped past her neck, leaving a thin line of blood. If he had been just an inch closer, she would have been dead.
With her hand on her throat, Chiyo threw three kunai, each with an explosive tag. The explosion engulfed Masaki in flames, but Chiyo wasn't convinced he'd be taken down so easily. As the smoke cleared, she unleashed a barrage of hidden weapons from her remaining puppets, while the others fell back into defensive positions.
While tending to her wound with medical ninjutsu, Chiyo scanned the area for Masaki. That attack should have finished him, but Chiyo know better than to assume victory this early. This man... his strength is terrifying.