'That...' Sabuko gulped, staring at the glint of the Mist ninja's sword. 'Looks fucking sharp.'
Sweat beaded on his forehead as he took another step back.
"W-why?"
"Because someone paid us good money for you, you little shit."
"I'll..." Sabuko swallowed. "I'll give you the money I get from this missi—"
"DON'T FUCK WITH US!" one of them bellowed. Sabuko flinched.
"We've been tailing you for weeks. We're getting what we were promised. And if you don't resist..." The Mist ninja brought the blade up to his face and gave it a lick.
"I won't use this. Too much."
"Since you've been an especially annoying target."
'I need to run.' Sabuko's eyes were wide, unblinking. 'I need to run. This isn't funny.'
Another step back.
"Don't even think about running, you shit," the other one said, and Sabuko froze. "Or I'll cut your legs off. We're both faster than you."
'This is REALLY not funny.' Sabuko's leg trembled.
'I don't have a plan. These are GROWN ninja, probably chūnin or jōnin. I beat Bolo after a whole day of planning, and I was counting on him not trying to kill me. On him only attacking once.'
'All I did this month was get beat up! I don't have a plan for fighting fucking trained killers...!!'
'FUCK!'
'FUCK!!!'
Sabuko clenched his teeth. 'I just wanted my mommy harem. Why does this universe wanna FUCK ME OVER for it?!'
They stepped closer.
Then—FWING. Something whistled through the air.
"KUNAI!" one of them warned, leaping aside as it shot past from behind Sabuko.
"RUN, ORIGINAL!!"
'!!!'
It was another clone, one of the ones that had been searching for the cat.
"RUN!!!" it screamed again.
Sabuko spun around and sprinted toward the village.
"TCH!!" one of the Mist ninja growled. "I'll deal with his shitty clone. You go after the original!"
"GOT IT!"
'Run...!! Run...!!' Sabuko sprinted as hard as he could. 'RUN... HAAAH... RUN!! TO THE VILLAGE!'
Then the Mist ninja dropped down from the trees right in front of him.
"GOT YOU," he growled.
Sabuko skidded to a halt, nearly tripping, as the ninja raised his gleaming sword.
"JUST FOR THAT," he said, "I'm cutting your arms off!"
He swung at Sabuko's torso.
'I'M GONNA GET CUT!'
SWING.
---------- MEANWHILE ----------
The Hokage's office was unusually quiet.
"Outside the village," Meatball began, "you ninja have enemies."
Guy and Hiruzen both looked at him.
"How do you know he's safe? That he hasn't been taken?! It's been over three hours and he's not back!" Meatball yelled.
His wife stared at the floor, clutching her skirt, her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
Hiruzen smoked his pipe in silence.
Then Guy grinned.
"My student will return. He's more than capable, just the way he is."
"...This ninja nonsense again...!"
"I beat him up meticulously this past month," Guy went on, as if he hadn't heard.
"And the whole time, I took special care to make it look like young Sabuko wasn't improving at all. The point was to show him, when it really counts, that he's far more special than he realizes."
Guy turned to face them.
"Sabuko thinks he's made little to no progress."
"But that's because every single day..." His voice dropped almost to a whisper.
"I increased my speed. Almost exponentially. To the point where I had to open the second gate just to train him."
Hiruzen's eyes snapped to Guy.
"So whatever enemies SOMEONE may have SENT after him," Guy said, turning his glare on Meatball, "are in for a VERY YOUTHFUL surprise!"
Meatball flinched slightly.
---------- BACK TO SABUKO ----------
SWING.
'Huh...?' Sabuko watched the sword coming at him.
'Why is this guy...'
He simply ducked, and the blade passed over his head.
'...so damn slow?'
The Mist ninja's eyes widened.
'He dodged? Lucky brat.'
He swung again. Sabuko leaned back, and the tip whistled past his nose.
'Again...?'
A third swing, a horizontal slash. Sabuko hopped back, landing lightly on his feet.
'What the hell...? He's just a genin brat! Why can't I hit him?!'
"STAY STILL, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
Slash. Slash. Thrust.
Sabuko sidestepped, ducked, and twisted away from each one.
"You bastard!" The ninja leapt back and hurled three kunai. Sabuko simply leaned out of the way of every single one.
'Wait. Wait wait wait.' Sabuko's eyes tracked the blade as the Mist ninja dashed at him again.
'I can SEE it. I can actually see it coming. It's like... compared to Guy, this guy's moving underwater.'
'Is this...'
Gulp.
'...Is this dude actually just really weak?' Sabuko deadpanned.
The ninja overextended on a lunge.
"I'LL CUT YOU UP!!"
His gut was wide open.
'So now I just...' Sabuko remembered Hinata's punching drills. 'Feet planted. Hips. Shoulder. One-two, right?'
THUD. THUD.
Two quick jabs sank into the ninja's stomach.
"HURK...!!" The Mist ninja staggered back, clutching his gut. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!!"
'That actually landed?!' Sabuko blinked.
The ninja came at him again, harder and faster now, the strain plain on his face.
He tried a flipping kick, vaulted over Sabuko's head, circled behind him, then dashed in from a new angle.
Sabuko slipped away from every attack and answered with the most basic strikes Hinata had taught him.
Gut. Side. Thigh.
"URGH!!! YOU FUCKER!!"
'This doesn't make sense...!' the ninja thought. 'I've got years on this brat! Since when do Konoha genin move like this?! No, forget that, HIS FATHER SAID HE WAS WEAK EVEN BY GENIN STANDARDS!'
Sabuko slipped under a swing. Dodged a shuriken. Ducked a kick.
Then, a flash.
Lee, sweaty and grinning, coaching his clones on the training field. "Plant your foot, Sabuko-kun! Then turn your whole body into it! The power comes from your hips!"
'So I just plant it here...' Sabuko dug his left foot firmly into the dirt. 'Twist my body while raising my leg, and—'
BAM.
His shin cracked straight into the side of the ninja's head.
The Mist ninja's eyes rolled. His body went rigid for a second.
Then he fell flat on his face, the sword clattering beside him.
"..."
'Bro what.'
Sabuko stared down at him. The ninja groaned into the dirt, twitching, but didn't get up.
'Bro WHAT.'
He looked at his own leg.
"WHAT?!" he blurted.
"Original," a voice said behind him.
Sabuko whipped around.
'BRO WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...'
His clone was dragging the other Mist ninja behind him, dazed and groaning, his face covered in bruises.
"Took a whole lot of hits, but he went down. Damn," the clone said, panting. "Guess like the anime, they're just kinda weak here too."
Sabuko blinked.
"S-STILL!"
---------- BACK AT THE HOKAGE'S OFFICE ----------
"My star pupil, Lee, asked me why I forbade him and Hinata from sparring with young Sabuko," Guy said.
"It's because I wanted Sabuko to see for himself just how explosive his growth has been."
Meatball glared daggers at Guy.
"And if SOMEONE did attack him," Guy said with a smirk, glancing at Meatball again, "I trust young Sabuko to walk in here and tell us himself."
'That bastard...' Meatball narrowed his eyes. 'Does he know?'
Guy, meanwhile, calmly watched the office door.
'His physical ability has improved, yes.' His eyes narrowed, and his arm twitched almost imperceptibly.
'But young Sabuko... the reason I let you go is because I've seen and heard of your unusually high mental toughness.'
He gently rolled his shoulders.
'So I trust you'll finish this quickly,' he thought. 'Or their experience will get the better of you.'
Guy shook his head.
'BELIEVE IN YOUR STUDENT, GUY!'
---------- BACK TO SABUKO ----------
"Ah...?"
"Ori...gi...nal..." the clone choked out. The Mist ninja he'd been dragging had driven a blade straight through his neck.
POOF. The clone dispersed.
Then sharp pain shot up from Sabuko's foot.
A stab.
The Mist ninja on the ground had stabbed his foot.
Sabuko looked down.
Blood trickled out around the blade.
"YOU... LITTLE... SHIT... YOU'LL PAY... FOR THAT... FUCK THE DEAL...!!" the ninja growled, clutching his head.
"!!!" Sabuko raised his other foot to stomp on the ninja's head.
But the man had already leapt away, scrambling over to his partner.
"You... you fuckers...!!" Sabuko muttered.
"Hehe..." the one who'd stabbed him panted. "Should kick in right about now. Seeing how deep I stabbed him."
'Kick in...? Kick in wha—'
BADOOOOM.
Searing pain tore through his entire body.
Sabuko couldn't breathe. He clutched his foot.
"AHHHHHHHHHK...!!!!!!!" he screeched.
'POISON. NARUTO. MIST NINJA. STABBED HIS HAND. KURAMA. I DON'T HAVE KURAMA. I'LL DIE. NO ANTIDOTE.'
'DIE.'
'DIE.'
'DIE...!!'
"Grrr...!!! FAAAAAU... AHHHHHHHH...!!!"
They snickered in the background as blood sprayed from his foot.
'FIRE. CUT OFF. LIKE IT'S ON FIRE AND BEING CUT OFF AT THE SAME TIME. GRRRRR... AAAAAAHH...'
His voice strained.
"Sheesh, look at it gush," one of them chuckled. "Is a foot even supposed to do that?"
"Maybe I nicked an artery... kekeke... With the venom working, call it a bonus..."
"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...!!!!!! AHHHHHHHRGH!!!!!!!!!!" Sabuko screamed his throat raw.
The other one sighed.
"Still, isn't that a sensation-nullifying venom? Why's he screaming so damn much...?"
"He's a kid. Probably just a bitch about seeing his own blood... I'll go shut him up."
"!!!"
'FUCK IT HURTS. IT HURTS IT HURTS,' Sabuko thought, forming the hand sign.
'Shadow Clone—'
STAB.
A needle punctured his wrist.
'!!!'
"GRAAAAAAH...!!!!" His whole hand burned the same way, like it was on fire and being severed, as blood spurted out around the needle.
"Sheeesh, your aim's getting better. Looks like you hit another artery."
"Damn, wasn't even aiming for one. Anyway, put him out of his misery, will ya? His yelling's getting on my nerves."
The Mist ninja approached as Sabuko, writhing in agony, yanked the needle out and tossed it aside. He sank to his knees, clutching his punctured wrist in a death grip.
Between his fingers, the spurting slowed to a trickle almost at once.
"KID!" the ninja barked, raising his sword. "Cut the fucking screaming! It's a sensation-nullifying venom. It's meant to kill you, not make you wail like a little girl!"
The other one shook his head.
"Gave us a scare there for a sec... but you're clearly just a brat. Forming a hand seal right in front of your opponent? What an idiot."
"Anyway, he should be paralyzed by now. Kill him."
"With pleasure...!!"
The ninja closest to Sabuko swung again, aiming for Sabuko's neck.
'I'm gonna die. I'm really gonna die...' Sabuko thought, watching the blade come.
Beat.
Beat.
BEAT.
'Again, huh?'
The world seemed to stop.
The fat, sad gummy toy squished against the pavement flashed before his eyes.
'Well.'
'Then whatever.'
He stopped focusing on the sword.
His eyes went to the Mist ninja's crotch.
Sabuko sprang off his knees, shooting forward under the blade.
"He can still move—"
And he bit.
SCRUNNNNNNNNCHHHHHHHHHH.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH...!!!" the Mist ninja howled.
'Bite.'
Sabuko clamped his jaw tighter.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" the Mist ninja shrieked.
'HOW... DID... THAT BRAT... MOVE...!?'
"WHAT HAPPENED?! WHAT'D HE DO!?" the other one shouted, dropping into a stance from a distance.
Sabuko pulled back and looked up at the ninja hunched over him. The man dropped his sword again, but the blade caught Sabuko's back on its way down.
"Grrg...!!" Sabuko grunted as warmth ran down his back and into his pants.
He looked up.
The Mist ninja's throat was right there, exposed, as he doubled over in pain.
Sabuko's eyes went wide.
'Throat. Kill. Knife.'
He pulled out his kunai and drove it into the man's throat.
STAB.
"Gaaahk..." the Mist ninja gurgled.
'KILL.'
Sabuko dragged it all the way down to his chest. Blood poured out and drenched him.
"Dawg," Sabuko muttered flatly, eyes wide and unblinking.
"BRO!! BRO!!" the other ninja yelled from behind. "WHAT DID THAT LITTLE SHIT DO?! HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE PARALYZED, KILL HIM AL—"
'!!!'
That's when he noticed the blood pooling at his partner's feet.
The ninja finally went still.
Sabuko peeked out from behind the corpse.
'Corpse. Cover. Clones,' he thought, forming the hand seal with a shaky hand. 'Sh-Shadow Clone Jutsu.'
Four more Sabukos appeared, two on each side. All of them bloodied and wide-eyed.
Sabuko doubled over, head spinning.
'Low chakra. Kill. Kill fast.'
"WHAT THE...!?" The Mist ninja raised his sword. "YOU LET HIM FORM THEM?!"
'AND FOUR, NO LESS!?' The Mist ninja blinked. 'No. They have to be regular clones. HE'S BLUFFING! There's no way a kid like that could make four shadow clones after—'
"Kill him. Now," Sabuko growled at his clones from behind his meat shield.
They nodded and charged, their feet kicking up dirt.
'WHAT!? THEY'RE SHADOW CLONES!? WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT KID?!'
"Fuck this!!" The Mist ninja turned and ran.
'FUCK THIS. FUCK THIS! That little shit actually killed him. HOW!? He's supposed to be paralyzed!! This was a mistake! Fuck! I'll fall back and figure out how to—'
A clone dropped down right in front of him, another one of the ones that had been searching for Tora.
"AHH! WHAT THE!!?" the Mist ninja yelped.
The clone was already mid-kick.
THUD.
It connected square with his chin.
'Good thing I saw the other clone beat him earlier, or I never would've had the guts to do this,' the clone thought with a sigh as the Mist ninja dropped unconscious.
'Kick ass.'
"...?!" The clone looked up to see four bloodied clones charging toward him. "What happened!?"
"He needs to die. Move!" they all shouted.
"Wait, wait! What happened?!"
"The original got stabbed with venom," one of them said. "We're all gonna die. Let us kill him!"
"Shit...!!" The clean clone recoiled. "Maybe he's got an antidote or something on him!?"
'...'
They all looked at each other.
Their shoulders dropped slightly.
"Right. Let's look for that first."