Konoha Forest. A group of ninjas, without headbands, pursued Jin, Minato, and Kushina, rapidly closing the distance. One ninja's hand brushed against Kushina's hair. The three turned, their faces filled with terror. The pursuers grinned.
"Shatter!" A sound like breaking glass echoed. An invisible barrier shattered, and Jin's team vanished.
Jiraiya, clad in grey armor, leaned against a tree, observing the ninjas. ANBU, clad in green flak jackets, were perched in the trees.
The ninjas stopped. "Jiraiya!" one recognized him. His gaze shifted to a man in a grey high-collared coat and sunglasses, his left hand resting on a large scroll.
"Aburame Shibi!" The Aburame clan head.
His gaze then fell upon a man in white, his eyes blank, hands clasped behind his back.
"Hyuga Yuhō!" The Hyuga clan head.
"The jinchuriki is heavily guarded," the leader chuckled, noting the three Jonin, plus the numerous Konoha ninjas. The outcome was inevitable. "You provided the information." They'd only acted after receiving intel about the jinchuriki. It was a long shot, but… what if it succeeded? Taking the Nine-Tails would cripple Konoha, giving them the upper hand in any negotiations or battles.
But it was a trap. They'd been baited.
"I didn't expect to catch so many," Jiraiya said, surprised, looking at Hyuga Yuhō and holding up three fingers—three Jonin. Chakra didn't equal strength, but Jonin generally had immense chakra reserves. "Let's see if you can handle this!"
The leader roared, realizing their mission had failed, their survival highly improbable. The battle erupted.
…
"It was a trap!" Jin realized. Only three pursuers remained; the rest had vanished. The bait was Kushina; he and Minato had been collateral damage. They'd accepted the mission today, but the preparations had started earlier. They wouldn't have been able to mobilize so many ninjas on short notice. If Kushina hadn't mentioned the mission, Jiraiya might still have assigned them this one.
"No wonder Jiraiya-sensei agreed so easily," Jin muttered. Genin normally worked on D-rank missions for at least a year. They'd only been on missions for a few months. This was a setup!
Was Kushina's kidnapping by the Kumogakure ninjas also a trap? Were jinchuriki that easily used as bait? Didn't they consider her feelings or his?
"There are only three left; the others were shaken off. Should we counterattack?" Kushina asked eager to battle.
Jin smirked. Kushina was clueless; she hadn't realized she was bait. Minato looked confused. He was also wondering about the sudden decrease in pursuers.
Jin: ( ಠ_ಠ ) Usually smart, but now… oblivious.
"No need to overthink it. One each! Kill them!" Jin stopped abruptly, a thin wire shooting from his sleeve, wrapping around a tree. He swung himself backward. One ninja, caught off guard, was kicked by Jin.
"Down you go!" Jin sent the ninja plummeting to the ground.
The other two ninjas prepared to support their comrade. Minato and Kushina appeared simultaneously, kicking them away.
Jin landed, and the ninja he'd thrown down had vanished.
"Hey! Are you a Jonin or a chunin?" Jin asked.
A man emerged from the ground, his expression amiable. "Chunin."
He actually answered. "Perfect. I need to test my strength," Jin said, drawing a kunai. His strength on paper was Tokubetsu Jonin level, but actual combat might be different. His spars with Might Dai and the others hadn't provided accurate results. They'd held back. This chunin was ideal.
Swift Step! Jin appeared before the chunin, kicking him apart. But it was all earth. Earth Clone Technique. Something emerged from the earth, causing Jin's pupils to constrict.
Burning paper. Explosive tags!!!
"Damn it! Iron Body!" Boom! Jin braced himself, sent flying backward by the explosion. He landed, motionless.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!" Spikes erupted from the ground.
Jin used his kunai to deflect the spears, sparks flying. He leaped away.
Hidden in the trees, Jin controlled his breathing, his burns minor, not affecting his fighting ability.
"This is a chunin?!" Jin cursed. He'd almost killed him! Being threatened by a chunin angered him.
A voice sounded from above. "I failed my Jonin exam." Jin's pupils constricted.
"Earth Release: Earth Prison Technique!" The chunin hung upside down, forming a stone prison around Jin. "It's over." He formed hand seals and blew towards Jin.
"Earth Release: Sand and Stone Technique!" The wind-driven stones pierced Jin.
"I…" Jin stared in disbelief, his death a certainty. Then a smile spread across his face. "Gotcha!"
"Boom!" The impaled Jin dissolved into smoke. Arms emerged from the trees, holding kunai, followed by Jin's torso.
"Demonic Illusion: Binding Killing!" The kunai pierced the chunin, who turned into wood.
The chunin landed in a tree, clutching his bleeding shoulder. He'd used a substitution jutsu but was too late, suffering a heavy blow.
Jin ignored him and looked down. An explosive tag was burning.
"Heh. As expected." Boom! Jin, using Swift Step, appeared on the ground, unharmed.
"Why are you so strong? You're just a chunin," Jin asked the chunin in the tree, puzzled. He could easily defeat Inoue, a chunin.
The chunin didn't understand, but he answered patiently. "You likely fought Konoha chunin with limited experience, mostly theorists, useless in actual combat. They might bully children, but they're lucky to survive on the battlefield." Their village had similar chunin. Combat-experienced chunin differed vastly from those who taught in the Academy. Putting combat-experienced chunin in classrooms was ludicrous.
"Thank you for the lesson," Jin nodded, turning to leave, his back to the chunin.
"What?" The chunin was confused. Why was he giving up?
Jin waved, his body angled towards the chunin. "You're already dead."
"What?" The chunin's eyes widened. He spat blood; blood flowed from his eyes, ears, and nose. "Poisoned kunai!" He reached for antidotes.
"Useless. Elite Jonin-grade snake venom. Unless a medical ninja intervenes, regular antidotes are ineffective," Jin said. Orochimaru's concoction was lethal. The man took the antidote, but it had no effect. He fell from the tree.
The battle was over.