Kaito leaned against a tree, his breath labored, the poisoned spike still lodged in his shoulder. His mind raced, replaying the ingredients Yuma had listed. Through the haze of pain, he realized some overlapped with the antidotes Satoru had given him.
'If the poisons share common properties, maybe...' Kaito thought, his trembling hands rummaging through his pouch. He pulled out a vial containing a murky liquid, its label nearly worn off. The antidote wasn't perfect, but it was his only chance.
Without hesitation, he uncorked the vial and drank it, gagging as the bitter liquid burned his throat. He smeared a bit around the wound for good measure, praying it would slow the poison's spread.
"I'll survive," he muttered, though his voice faltered. "I have to."
Forcing himself upright, Kaito stumbled toward the border. Each step was agony, his body growing heavier with every passing moment. He clung to a faint hope that the border patrol might have a medical-nin.
Coughing violently, Kaito spat out thick, dark fluid—things no one should ever see outside their body. His vision blurred, and his legs wavered.
'I can't stop,' he reminded himself, but his thoughts grew jumbled. His surroundings became a blur of green and brown as he trudged forward, barely aware of the passage of time.
Eventually, his body betrayed him. His legs buckled, and he collapsed face-first onto the ground. Darkness encroached as his breathing slowed.
Kaito's mind drifted into an abyss, the pain replaced by numbness. He couldn't tell how long he lay there, motionless and alone, the forest silent except for the faint rustling of leaves.
---
Satoru perched on a thick tree branch, his eyes scanning the area below. After finishing the electric fence, he quietly rejoined Reiko. She asked, "What's next?"
He glanced at her and replied, "We'll start with stealth. Reduce their numbers before we're forced to fight head-on."
Reiko smiled, impressed. "You've got a knack for planning. Most guys would just charge in, hoping to look cool."
Satoru chuckled, watching as she unrolled a scroll and summoned her insect puppets. The segmented bodies and lifelike movements were fascinating, and he couldn't hide his amazement. He handed her a few vials of poison. "These might help."
"Thanks," she said, examining the bottles before glancing at his sword. "Nice blade. Custom?"
He smirked. "Gift from my girlfriend." Without waiting for her reaction, he activated his invisibility jutsu and leapt into action.
Reiko rolled her eyes. "Show-off," she muttered, directing her puppets toward the camp. The insect-like constructs moved silently, creeping into tents and delivering poison to unsuspecting bandits.
Satoru, slipped through the shadows, dispatching guards with ease. He avoided detection, blending seamlessly with the darkness.
Reiko targeted those who were already drowsy or resting, ensuring her puppets' actions appeared inconspicuous. The poisoned bandits slumped over, their companions assuming they had simply fallen asleep.
By the time an hour passed, their efforts had culled nearly 20% of the camp's combatants. Satoru crouched in a dark corner, wiping his blade clean, and moved to meet with Reiko.
"That's a decent chunk gone," he said. "Now comes the tricky part—taking out their mid-level fighters without raising the alarm."
Satoru and Reiko regrouped at the treetop, their faces tense. "Whatever we do," Reiko urged, "we need to act fast."
Satoru peered down at the camp and noticed a group of bandits had finished packing and were waiting for others. "They'll notice their missing comrades soon. Once they do, the element of surprise is gone."
Reiko nodded, her tone firm. "Then let's unleash chaos while we still can."
Satoru glanced at the electric fence he'd set up earlier, watching as a bandit touched it and was electrocuted into unconsciousness. "At least that's working." He handed Reiko nearly all of his paper bombs. "Use these with the puppets you don't mind losing. I'll draw them together."
Reiko smirked, quickly attaching the bombs to her puppets. "You better not mess this up."
Satoru formed multiple illusory clones and, using Texture-Surprise, transformed them into bandit lookalikes. The clones strode into the camp confidently, blending seamlessly among the bandits.
"Hey, you ready to leave?" one of the bandits called out to a clone.
The clone froze before bolting in the opposite direction, prompting the bandit to chase him. "Hey! Get back here!"
He stopped short when he saw more clones wandering around, each mimicking a confused bandit. The real bandits began questioning one another, creating a chaotic buzz throughout the camp.
Amid the confusion, one bandit spotted what looked like a stray dog wandering through the crowd. Its fur was damp and glistening, a faint glow emanating from its body.
"Where'd that dog come from?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
Before anyone could react, the dog puppet exploded violently. The blast scattered razor-sharp needles, cutting down bandits who were lucky enough to survive the initial explosion.
More explosions erupted throughout the camp as Reiko's puppets detonated one by one, their deadly payloads wreaking havoc. The camp was thrown into utter disarray, bandits running in all directions, some screaming and others choking on the dust and smoke.
From the treetop, Reiko chuckled darkly. "I'd say that went well."
Satoru smirked, already preparing for the next move. "Let's keep up the momentum."
As chaos erupted, the bandits scrambled toward the exits, desperate to escape the explosions and poisoned needles. Near one of the groups, Satoru and his shadow clone appeared.
In perfect synchronization, they weaved hand signs and unleashed Wind Style: Breakthrough.
The gust blew the fleeing bandits straight into the electric fence. Sparks flew as the bandits cried out before collapsing unconscious.
The remaining bandits, realizing they were trapped by the fence, stopped in their tracks. Their initial panic faded, replaced by grim determination. Weapons were drawn, and chakra began to build.
Satoru took advantage of the chaos, tossing smoke bombs into the camp. Thick clouds of smoke rolled over the battlefield, obscuring vision. He moved like a phantom, striking swiftly and silently, taking out bandits one by one.
Suddenly, two bandits launched jutsu in his direction. Reacting instantly, Satoru activated Boogie-Woogie and swapped places with one of the attackers. The jutsu collided with its originator, knocking him out. Using the momentum of the swap, Satoru lunged forward and slashed the second bandit with Fumikage.
The smoke and debris hung thick in the air, shrouding the battlefield. Satoru slowed for a moment, breathing heavily, but his eyes widened when he noticed something odd.
Through the haze, a man wearing a distinct, unfamiliar uniform stood still, staring directly at him. Even with the smoke and Satoru's invisibility, the man's gaze didn't falter. His lips curled into an amused smirk as Satoru darted left, then right, only to find the man keeping up effortlessly.
The stranger raised a hand, forming a single sign. A powerful Wind Style jutsu blasted outward, clearing the smoke and dust in seconds. Satoru froze as the bandits, now able to see him clearly, turned their focus on him.
The man, unbothered, pulled a chair from a nearby tent. Dusting it off, he sat down, leaning back as if settling in for a show. "Well," he drawled, his voice calm yet laced with mockery. "Let's see what you've got, Satoru."
Satoru gripped Fumikage tightly, his sharp eyes scanning the twenty bandits surounding him. Some cracked their knuckles, others adjusted their weapons, and a few began weaving hand signs.
The tension was palpable as they inched closer, their confidence bolstered by their numbers. One bandit rushed in first, his fists glowing with chakra as he aimed a punch at Satoru's chest.
Satoru sidestepped and slashed with Fumikage, his blade cutting through the man's arm. A second bandit came from the side with a kunai, forcing Satoru to block with the flat of his sword. Sparks flew as the weapons clashed. From behind, three bandits unleashed a coordinated attack.
One spit out a Fireball Jutsu, another launched a barrage of shuriken, while the third followed up with a Water Bullet Jutsu. Satoru quickly swapped places with his shadow clone using Boogie-Woogie, avoiding the shuriken and causing the fireball and water bullet to collide, creating a steamy explosion.
The shockwave knocked him back slightly, but there was no time to recover. Two bandits rushed him simultaneously one aiming low with a sweeping kick while the other came in high with a fist coated in lightning chakra Satoru leapt over the kick and narrowly tilted his head to avoid the electrified punch, the crackling energy grazing his ear and leaving it stinging.
'Focus. They're trying to wear me down.'
Using the momentum of his dodge, Satoru twisted mid-air and slashed downward, cutting the leg of the bandit beneath him. Before he could land, another enemy jumped in, swinging a staff toward his ribs.
Satoru blocked with his sword, but the force of the blow made his arms ache
He was on the defensive now. A group of four bandits charged him together, forcing him to retreat. He dropped a smoke bomb to gain some breathing room, vanishing into the haze.
But the respite was brief. Wind Style: Gale blast swept through the smoke, revealing Satoru mid-dash. One of the bandits smirked and launched another Fireball Jutsu toward him. Thinking quickly, Satoru used Wind Style: Breakthrough to redirect the flames back toward their origin.
The bandit screamed as his clothes caught fire, but another enemy threw a kunai at Satoru, catching him in the shoulder blood seeped from the wound, but Satoru didn't falter. Gripping the kunai embedded in his flesh, he yanked it
out and hurled it back at the attacker, striking his leg. The man fell with a pained shout.
"Keep him busy!" one of the bandits yelled, weaving more hand signs. Satoru saw the danger but was swarmed by three others wielding tanto blades. Their strikes came fast forcing him to parry and dodge. One blade sliced his thigh, another grazed his side, and the third nicked his hand.
Gritting his teeth, Satoru flipped backward, gaining enough distance to counterattack. He created a series of illusory clones with Texture-Surprise. The bandits hesitated, unsure which was real Satoru used their confusion to strike, slashing one bandit's arm before ducking under a wild punch and driving his blade into another's shoulder.
Suddenly a massive Earth Style: Rock Spikes attack erupted from the ground beneath him. Satoru leapt away but not before one spike grazed his leg, ripping through his pants and leaving a shallow gash. 'Damn it. This isn't sustainable'
His breathing grew ragged as more bandits closed in. One tackled him to the ground, driving a fist into his stomach. Satoru coughed violently, blood spraying from his mouth, but he retallated by stabbing upward with Fumikage, piercing the bandit's shoulder.
He rolled out from beneath his attacker, clutching his side as he stood. Blood dripped from multiple wounds his vision blured, "l don't care how many of you there are," Satoru smiled, "I'm walking out of here alive."
The bandits circled Satoru like a pack of wolves, their strikes leaving him no room to counter. Each attack aimed to corner him further. Satoru deflected a kunai, barely dodged a fireball, and ducked under a wind-enhanced punch that sent debris fiying. His body screamed for rest, blood seeping from his many wounds, but his mind raced.
His eyes darted to the electric fence crackling ominously in the distance. An idea sparked-a dangerous gamble, but his only chance. As the bandits charged, Satoru wove through them, avoiding their strikes by the skin of his teeth. With each movement, he subtly attached chakra strings to their bodies, weaving his plan together.
A shuriken grazed his cheek, drawing blood, but he pushed forward, attaching another string. One of the bandits, noticing his unusual movements, yelled, "What's he doing? Take him dow now" They lunged again, but Satoru leapt backward, connecting the last string to the electric fence.
He felt the stored electricity coursing through the area, a latent charge he had built during the fight. "Let's see if you can handle this," Satoru muttered, forming the hand seals for Lightning Style: Conductivity.
Electicity surged through the chakra strings, traveling toward each bandit, their bodies seized as the current overtook them, muscles spasming uncontrollably. One by one, they collapsed, unconscious, smoke rising from their scorched clothing.
Satoru fell to one knee, panting heavily, is vision swam, and his body felt like it was made- of lead. He glanced at the man from earlier-the one who had been watching the entire fight. The man stood slowly, clapping mockingly. "Not bad, kid. You've got potential."
Satoru tried to steady himself, but the man was already in front of him
"Naka," he said casually, introducing himself. Then, without wamning. he threw a punch Satoru didn't even see coming. The air was forced from his lungs as he was launched backward, crashing into a tree.
Pain radiated through his body as he slumped to the ground, unable to move.
As his vision blurred, Satoru caught a glimpse of Reiko emerging from the shadows. Her insect puppets swarmed Naka in an instant, surrounding him Satoru tried to warn her, but his voice wouldn't come.
Naka smirked, barely sparing the puppets a glance. In a burst of sheer physical power, he dismantled then one by one. his movements almostlelsurely, Pieces of wood and gears flew in every direction as he kept his eyes locked on Reiko.
Reiko froze for a split second, terror gripping her as Naka's smirk widened. Realizing they stood no chance she rushed to Satoru's side, grabbing him.
"We need to go!" she whispered, to herself.
As she bolted, carrying him on her back, she could hear Naka's laughter echoing behind her-a cold, mocking sound that made her blood run cold. She didn't dare look back, her legs moving on instinct as fear propelled her forward.