"Hm,"
Suguru looked at the winding river bends, his gaze rushing past the trees and valleys. The wind swirled along these parts like a dance, bringing about the gentle caress of nature. It was quite a calming location.
He rapidly approached the settlement he had noticed earlier. His movements were swift, silent, and absent from any scanning chakra fields.
However...
"...Hm?"
Upon closer inspection, Suguru's blazing hunger was suddenly doused in cold water. He noticed a few Konoha headbands.
"Jounins..."
It seemed like the Land of Rivers had been waiting for him. Now, Suguru couldn't help but suspect a trap.
With his gaze locating the woman with the strongest chakra, Suguru's sly smile stiffened.
"Oh..."
A beast-like canine, towering over his shinobi partner, stood at attention. It sniffed the air, seemingly intrigued.
"Oh no," Suguru muttered as he hurriedly turned around and fled.
That ninken… Suguru was all too familiar with who that was. Furthermore, that stance was a bad sign for anyone who wanted to run.
"I should have maintained a cover transformation!" Suguru cursed, finally noticing the wind.
Kuromaru stood at attention. The ninken had picked up on Suguru's scent.
With no other choice, Suguru put his hands together to form a seal.
[Ram].
'Transformation Jutsu!'
He erased his scent, made a fake version of his chakra signature with the Shinrakugan, and disappeared from the senses of any approaching chakra fields.
Unfortunately, he had already left a trace. A needle in a haystack for many, but a glaring beacon for one powerful duo.
'I was careless!' Suguru felt like facepalming.
Just because the Inuzuka clan was from Konohagakure didn't mean that they couldn't be dispatched to another country! And yet, it would've been fine had it been any other Inuzuka pair.
Unfortunately, Suguru stumbled upon the worst possible group.
'Hitomi-sensei… please reconsider chasing after this dear student of yours.' Suguru pleaded in his heart. 'Handing me over to Danzo will not be a fun experience.'
Suguru thus flickered away with all his might.
***
"Ho?" Hitomi's nose twitched. "That brat…"
A cackle escaped her lips. She had been wondering where that boy had gone. With the sudden changes occurring beneath Konoha's calm surface, Hitomi had been unable to obtain information on her so-called star student.
He hadn't been seen by anyone, nor had he kept in touch with Isao and Yumiko.
It turns out that he went rogue!
"To leave the village the very moment you became a chuunin…"
It seemed like there was a need to give her star student a good beating.
Although Suguru was still a good fifty or so kilometers away, Hitomi was still confident of tracking him down.
"Kuromaru!"
—Woof!
A wild grin spread across Hitomi's face. Her long black hair swayed in the wind.
"Let's do it like old times."
Then, Hitomi's figure turned into a blur. Her speed was so great that there was no need to use the pesky Body Flicker. Instead, through beastly control over her own body, she maintained a breakneck speed with Kuromaru piercing through the air in front of her.
The duo rushed through the thin forestry, leaving all of her teammates behind in an instant. Sometimes it was Kuromari in the lead, sometimes it was Hitomi.
Suguru noticed what they were doing.
"Drafting?!" He nearly choked. A nervous laugh left his lips.
"Sensei... There's no need to go after me like that!"
Nonetheless, Suguru refused to be a sitting duck. He put his hands together and spread his chakra into equal parts.
'Shadow Clone Jutsu!'
Seven clones appeared from out of thin air. With a nod, everyone messed with their chakra signatures and dispersed.
They rushed in several directions, with one even heading straight for Hitomi and Kuromaru. At this point, hiding was useless. As long as it was Hitomi he was fighting, he already knew that he had long been discovered.
'I need to stall her at the very least... Otherwise, she will hound me to the ends of the continent.'
Suguru put his hands together.
'All or nothing.'
[Rat » Horse » Ox » Dog » Horse » Monkey » Boar » Dog » Tiger].
'Fire Release: Hellfire Artillery!'
Suguru shot a volley of condensed flames out of his mouth. They flew into the sky, leaving a long trail of fire behind. Then, as they fell, they gathered momentum.
Hitomi chuckled. Although she was still a ways away from Suguru, that didn't mean that all hope was lost. Instead, she was quite impressed.
"So it's this tactic. Let's see if you've improved, brat!"
—VWHOOOM!
Hitomi released a surge of chakra, coating her limbs in raging flames. With a punch, she hurled a huge fireball into the sky.
Flames intercepted flames, causing an explosion that alerted those roaming the surroundings.
The Hellfire Artillery did nothing to slow her down.
"Tsk,"
Suguru had to click his tongue.
"Sensei got better at the Blaze Battle Body. I can't fight her in close combat at all..."
He had no choice but to fire even more fireballs, draining his chakra until he could no longer sustain himself. With his last drop of chakra, he then weaved different hand signs.
[Snake » Rat » Boar » Tiger » Horse » Rat].
'Genjutsu: Infernal Mirage,'
Suguru then burst into a cloud of smoke.
'Let's hope that Infernal Mirage buys me enough time. After all, it's quite the subtle jutsu.'
Suguru took a moment to look back with his Kaisugan. He noticed that Hitomi had veered away ever so slightly from his position. It seemed like she was instead tracking one of his clones.
A sigh of relief nearly escaped his lungs when Kuromaru lunged in his direction.
"What the hell? Kuromaru! I still don't understand how—"
Suguru flickered as a tanto moved to bar his path. He successfully dodged the surprise attack, noting how well his opponent was hidden.
'They utilized Hitomi-sensei as a distraction!' Suguru's eyes widened. Judging from the clear orange hair, it was Yamanaka Fuu.
His brain spud rapidly. It seemed like Konoha dearly wanted him back!
But that moment of thought had been a mistake. Suguru inadvertently gave Fuu a window.
'Mind Transfer Jutsu!'
Suguru's eyes widened. His eyes met Fuu's for a terrifying millisecond.
'Vampiric Gaze!'
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