The enemies had been defeated. The sudden silence felt deafening, broken only by the sound of Yuji's ragged breathing and the rhythmic drip of water from the arched tunnel ceiling. He looked down at what he had done.
Blood was splattered everywhere. The thick, dark red color looked almost black under the dim lantern light, staining the wet stone floor and the black clothes of the man now lying lifeless at his feet. The kunai in his hand felt heavy and sticky. He could feel the warmth of the blood seeping through his gloves. This wasn't the first time he had seen death up close, but it was the first time that death had come from his own hands. It felt... empty. There was no victory. No relief. Just a cold, undeniable finality.
A warm hand landed on his shoulder, making him flinch slightly. He turned and saw Tsukasa-sensei standing beside him, his expression calm and unreadable.
"Don't dwell on it," Tsukasa said softly, his deep voice feeling grounding in the damp space. "If it wasn't him, it would have been us. In our world, there's only that one simple rule." He squeezed Yuji's shoulder gently. "You did well. You were quick, you were decisive. You did what had to be done."
Tsukasa removed his hand. "Besides," he added with a thin smile that didn't reach his eyes, "the night is still long. Save your energy."
Yuji could only nod, his throat too dry to speak. He cleaned his kunai on the dead man's clothes with a movement that felt mechanical and detached from himself, then slid it back into its sheath.
They regrouped in the middle of the tunnel. Kiba and Masami had also finished off their opponents, though in less brutal ways than Yuji. Kiba, with Akamaru's help, had managed to disable his opponent with a series of swift attacks that broke several ribs. Masami, with Tsukasa's help, had incapacitated hers with a precise strike to the neck. Three bodies now decorated the filthy sewer floor.
No one said anything about it. There were no victory celebrations. No discussions. They just looked at each other in silence, an understanding woven between them. They were no longer children playing war games in the academy yard.
"Kiba," Tsukasa said, breaking the silence. "The scent. Is it still there?"
Kiba nodded, his face pale but his eyes focused. "Still there. Stronger now. Straight ahead."
"Alright. We continue."
They started walking, then running again, moving deeper into the underground labyrinth. The sound of their hurried footsteps echoed off the walls, creating an atmosphere of simmering silence. Every shadow seemed more threatening, every drop of water sounded like an enemy's footstep.
After what felt like an eternity, Yuji felt it again. Something different. Through his invisible sensory mist, which now spread out before them like an unseen spider's web, he detected presences. Not just one or two. A lot of them. Maybe twenty, or thirty people. They were hiding behind stone pillars and in the alcoves of the walls in a large chamber ahead.
And they were holding weapons. Not just kunai or standard swords. Yuji could feel the different shapes of metal—cleavers, iron pipes, even a few small axes.
At the same time, Kiba also stopped, his hand raised. Akamaru growled softly, the fur on his neck standing on end. "A lot of them," Kiba whispered, his nose twitching. "I can smell sweat, fear... and alcohol. A lot of it."
They all stopped behind a bend in the tunnel, just before entering the large chamber.
"These aren't shinobi," Yuji whispered, relaying his analysis to Tsukasa. "I can feel their movements and postures. They're untrained. They're clumsy. But there are a lot of them." He had speculated. This wasn't an elite hit squad. This was a gang. A group of desperate men. The homeless, the petty criminals, who had been recruited to do the dirty work.
"A cannon fodder army," Tsukasa muttered, his eyes narrowing as he peeked around the corner. "They're being used to wear us down before we reach the real target. A cheap tactic, but it can be effective if we're not careful."
"We don't have time to fight them one by one," Kiba said. "We have to break through!"
"That would waste too much chakra and stamina," Yuji countered. "We need a way to neutralize them all at once."
That's when Masami stepped forward. "Let me handle this," she said softly, her calm voice cutting through their debate.
She opened one of the small pouches on her belt and took out a small, dark glass bottle. Inside the bottle was a pale purple powder with a fragrant scent. Even from a few feet away, Yuji could smell the faint aroma of lavender.
Masami uncapped the bottle. She didn't throw it. Instead, she poured a small amount of the powder into her palm. She formed a simple hand seal with one hand.
A very gentle and controlled gust of wind came from her mouth, not strong enough to make a sound, but enough to lift the fine powder in her palm. The powder, now infused with Masami's chakra, flew forward, drifting past the corner and into the large chamber like a swarm of invisible insects. The purple particles swirled in the air, spreading to every corner of the room, shimmering faintly under the dim lantern light.
It was lavender powder, of course. But Yuji knew it was more than that. It had been concocted with other calming herbs, and then amplified with Masami's chakra. Its effect became much stronger. It was the perfect sleeping agent, dispersed through the air.
They waited in silence.
A few seconds later, Yuji felt it through his sensory mist. The movements in the room became slower, more sluggish. He could feel a collective confusion as the gang members began to yawn, rubbing their eyes. Then, one by one, they started to fall. Some slumped against the walls. Others just fell forward with a soft thud. In less than a minute, almost all the presences he had felt had vanished, replaced by the silence of dozens of sleeping bodies.
Almost all.
Two of them didn't fall.
Yuji could feel them clearly. Two presences that were still standing tall in the middle of the room. They wavered for a moment, but then they stabilized themselves. One of them was of normal size. But the other one... Yuji felt that person had an incredibly strong physique. And he was taller than anyone Yuji had ever "felt" before. Very tall.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Yuji's heart began to pound, this time not from the adrenaline of battle, but from a cold anticipation. This was it. This was no longer cannon fodder. These were probably Akane's actual kidnappers. And he, or they, were waiting. Waiting for them.
"Two left," Masami whispered, confirming what Yuji had sensed. "My powder didn't work on them."
"They must have high resistance," Tsukasa muttered, his sharp eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.
He took a shuriken from his pouch. Without warning, he threw it deep into the darkness.
Shhh...
The shuriken flew silently through the room filled with sleeping bodies.
And then, they all heard it.
CLANG!
The sharp, clear sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the tunnel. The shuriken had been parried.
The enemies didn't move. They just stood there, at the other end of the large room filled with sleeping bodies, waiting with the patience of a hunter. So, Team Eleven advanced slowly, their careful footsteps echoing softly in the quiet tunnel.
As they stepped into the chamber, its contents became clear. Inside, sure enough, were dozens of people lying on the wet stone floor. They were emaciated, their clothes tattered, some of them not even wearing shoes.
At the far end of the room, on a slightly raised stone platform, the two figures were now more clearly visible under the dim lantern light.
The first, who seemed to be the leader, was a very tall and thin man, making him look like an elongated shadow. He wore a tight black suit from head to toe, his face even covered by a black cloth mask, leaving only two eyes that glittered with a cruel amusement. Behind his back, tied in a long leather sheath, was the hilt of an unusual weapon.
Beside him, stood a much smaller and stockier man. He also wore black, but his clothes were filled with so many pockets and pouches all over his body that he looked like a hedgehog made of leather. His face was also covered, but he stood with a slightly stooped posture, as if always ready to serve his taller partner.
"Ah, the saviors have finally arrived!" The tall man's voice sounded, hoarse and full of a lazy sarcasm. He laughed, a dry, unpleasant laugh that echoed in the damp room. "You came for her, didn't you?"
With a theatrical gesture, he pointed down, to the side of his feet.
Yuji's eyes widened. There, lying on the cold floor, was Akane. She was unconscious. Her usually neat hair was now disheveled and wet, sticking to her bruised face. There was a long scratch on her cheek, and her lips were swollen and bloody. Her clothes were torn in several places. They had tortured her.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO AKANE-SAN?! YOU BASTARDS!"
Kiba's enraged roar exploded in the room, making some of the sleeping people stir restlessly. He would have shot forward if Tsukasa hadn't quickly placed a strong hand on his shoulder, holding him back.
The tall man snorted, completely unintimidated. "If she had opened her mouth from the beginning, she wouldn't have ended up like this," he said lightly. "She was very stubborn. Kept talking about honor and family secrets. So boring."
"Stubborn," the smaller man echoed like a parrot, nodding quickly.
"We would have loved to drag the old geezer himself," the tall man continued, his hand reaching for the hilt of the weapon on his back. "But he was always in a crowd. Too many witnesses. So it was a hassle." He drew his weapon. It was a sword, but unlike any sword Yuji had ever seen. The blade was long and thin, and made of dozens of small, interconnected metal segments, making it look like the spine of a metal snake. The sword had countless fissures along its blade.
"However," the man continued, his smirk audible in his voice, "if this woman stays here a little longer, her dear father will surely lose his patience and come looking for her, right? And at that point, he might be more willing to open his mouth than this brave daughter of his!"
Then, without further warning, the man unleashed his sword. With a single flick of his wrist, the segmented blade shot forward like a whip, extending to an impossible length. Its sharp tip lunged at all of them!
The four of them leaped in different directions to dodge. Yuji rolled to the side, feeling the wind from the blade pass where he had been standing moments ago. The sword hit the brick wall behind them with a loud crack, sending shards of stone and dust into the air.
"You're quite fast!" the man exclaimed, retracting his sword, which shortened back to its normal form. He stayed where he was, not moving from Akane's side, letting his weapon do the work.
Then, he swung his sword again, this time in a wide horizontal arc. At the same time, the smaller man beside him moved. His hand shot into one of his many pockets and with a single swift motion, he threw a handful of senbon.
The combined attack forced them to separate further. Yuji had to jump back to avoid the sword's slash, while at the same time deflecting several senbon with his kunai.
The tall man continued to swing his sword mercilessly, its flexible blade dancing in the air like a deadly snake, hitting pillars and walls, keeping them constantly on the move, giving them no chance to regroup or plan an attack. Yuji, who had been training constantly with Iruka, found himself struggling just to avoid the attacks. The speed, range, and unpredictability of the weapon were on a completely different level.
Finally, Tsukasa-sensei decided enough was enough.
"You three, distract the small one!" he ordered. "I'll handle the tall one!"
With that, Tsukasa shot forward. He didn't run straight. He performed a series of acrobatic movements, leaping from wall to pillar, avoiding every incoming sword slash with incredible agility. While in the air, he threw three spinning shuriken, not at the tall man, but at his smaller partner.
The small man reacted quickly, parrying the three shuriken with his own kunai. But it was a diversion.
As Tsukasa landed lightly on the ground, his hand briefly touched the wet stone plain.
The floor beneath the two men suddenly turned to mud. And from the mud, a series of hard mud bullets shot towards them. The attack wasn't designed to kill, but to disrupt.
The two men were forced to jump back to avoid the attack, and in the process, they were separated.
Yuji saw the opportunity. While the tall man was still in the air, he spewed a high-pressure stream of water from his mouth.
The man just laughed in the air. With a lazy slash of his whip-sword, he split Yuji's water jutsu in two, not even leaving a scratch on the blade.
But Tsukasa had anticipated that. He took advantage of the moment the man was still in the air and his attention was diverted by Yuji's attack. His hands were already forming a different seal.
The tunnel ceiling above the tall man, which was still made of the same solid material, suddenly moved. Several sharp rocks protruded downwards with terrifying speed, crashing down on the tall man.
BOOM!
An explosion of dust and small debris filled the air, hiding the man from view.
"Now!" Tsukasa shouted.
But the second man wasn't idle. He threw more senbon, this time in much larger numbers. And Yuji could see it clearly, each needle was coated with a thin, sharp layer of chakra, making it faster and deadlier.
Kiba used his spinning claws to block the barrage of senbon, creating a shield of chakra that deflected the deadly needles.
"YOU GUYS GO FORWARD!" Kiba shouted at Yuji and Masami, his adrenaline finally taking over completely towards the tall man. "I'LL FINISH THIS ONE!"
With that, he and Akamaru moved forward together, towards the cloud of dust where the tall man had fallen.
"KIBA, WAIT!" Tsukasa-sensei shouted, realizing his student's recklessness. He had no choice but to follow the boy, providing cover.
Kiba, who was now near the dust cloud, didn't stop. He and Akamaru jumped and began to spin, turning into ferocious twin drills. "GATSŪGA!"
The senbon throw from the small man was unsuccessful. The barrage of needles was deflected by Kiba's powerful spin. From within the dust cloud, the tall man's long, flexible sword shot out, narrowly missing Kiba. But Kiba's Gatsūga didn't hit him either.
After landing on the ground with a thud, Kiba was still in an attacking position, slightly off balance. And from within the dust, a foot appeared with lightning speed and kicked him hard in the ribs.
CRACK!
Yuji heard the sound of a cracked rib even from his distance. Kiba was thrown aside like a rag doll, hitting the tunnel wall hard before falling to the floor, unmoving.
Kiba's cry of pain echoed for a moment in the quiet tunnel before he fell silent, his limp body slumping against the wall. The tall man, now fully out of the dust cloud, grinned cruelly. His unmasked face was now clearly visible—gaunt, pale, with an arrogant smile that seemed to be permanently etched on his thin lips.
"One down," he hissed, his cold, narrow eyes fixed on Kiba's unmoving body. "Three to go."
He raised his whip-sword, ready to continue his attack on Kiba and end it all. But before he could take a step, Tsukasa had already moved forward.
A thick, rough block of stone erupted from the ground right between the man and Kiba, blocking the man's attack. The whip-sword hit the stone shield with a loud crack, sending sparks and stone fragments everywhere, but the shield held.
"Trying to protect your little friend?" The man laughed, his voice hoarse with anger. He retracted his sword. "In that case, I'll just destroy everything!"
He stepped back again, and this time, he swung his sword ferociously in a wide, uncontrolled arc. He was no longer just aiming at the shinobi. He was slashing blindly towards the side of the room, towards the bodies of the people still fast asleep from Masami's gas.
The long blade was like a scythe of death. It cut through the sleeping people mercilessly. Some of them screamed in shock as they were woken by a sharp pain, only to immediately lose their lives as the sword tore through them. Blood sprayed, staining the already dirty brick walls.
Yuji could only stare in horror. This man... he was insane. He was killing his own comrades just out of frustration.
"Damn you!" Tsukasa shouted, genuine anger finally audible in his voice. He dodged quickly as the sword swung back towards him, its deadly blade missing his face by inches. But he wasn't fast enough. The tip of the sword managed to graze his shoulder.
Blood splattered in the air. Tsukasa winced in pain, a long, deep gash now decorating his Jonin vest.
And then, the second man, the senbon user, smiled from behind his wound. With a groan, he raised his hand. The senbon he had thrown earlier, which were now scattered everywhere on the floor and walls, suddenly vibrated. With a wave of his hand, invisible chakra threads pulled them, and dozens of deadly needles shot from all directions, all heading for one target: the injured Tsukasa!
But Tsukasa was ready. Even when injured, his mind remained sharp. He formed a hand seal.
The ground around him erupted upwards, forming a thick, sturdy protective dome that surrounded him and Kiba's unconscious body. The senbon hit the stone dome with a futile barrage of sounds, before finally bouncing off harmlessly.
Seeing Tsukasa now trapped in his own defense, the tall man turned his attention. His hateful eyes fixed on Masami.
But Masami was already moving. She took out another glass bottle from her pouch, this one containing a different, gray powder. She didn't try to spread it with the wind. She threw the entire bottle into the air, into the middle of the room.
"Get down!" she shouted.
Yuji immediately dropped to the ground. The bottle shattered in the air, and the gray powder immediately shot towards the enemy.
Then, Masami formed a single hand seal.
The powder wasn't a sleeping agent. It was explosive dust.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of small but powerful explosions occurred periodically like fireworks. The cave trembled violently, dust and small pieces of rock falling from the ceiling.
The second man, the senbon user, who was closest to several explosion points, screamed in pain as the flames engulfed him. He was thrown against the wall and lay there, unmoving.
"DAMN YOU, LITTLE GIRL!" the tall man roared in anger. Most of the explosions didn't hit him directly, but a few sparks managed to burn his clothes and part of his face.
Anger finally took over him completely. He gripped his whip-sword with both hands. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
He began to channel most of his remaining chakra into his sword. But Yuji could see it, the man had reached his limit. The sword was too big and long to be fully infused with chakra by one person. Only a few blades at the tip of the sword began to glow with a deadly blue light, while the rest of the blade remained dark.
However, that was enough. With a frustrated war cry, he launched the sword at Masami.
Masami tried to dodge, but she was too close. Her own explosion had left her slightly off balance. The sword shot towards her, too fast to avoid.
But then, something happened.
The ground in front of Masami suddenly trembled and erupted upwards. And from within the ground, Tsukasa-sensei emerged! He had used a jutsu to move underground from within his dome. He appeared right in the sword's path, his hands raised to block it with his own body!
The sword hit Tsukasa.
CRACK!
But the sound that was heard wasn't the sound of torn flesh or broken bones. It was the sound of broken stone. Tsukasa-sensei's body cracked and shattered, turning into a pile of clay and rock.
It was a clone! An earth clone!
The tall man stared in shock, unable to process what had just happened.
And in a nearby puddle of water, Yuji, who had used his jutsu to hide during the chaos, saw the perfect opening.
He burst out of the water, sliding across the wet surface right under the tall man whose attention was still diverted. He didn't try a powerful attack. He just needed a distraction. He swung his kunai upwards in a quick slashing motion.
The blade hit the man's chin. It wasn't a deep wound, but the impact was enough to make the man's head snap back and send him slightly airborne, losing his balance completely.
And that's when the real Tsukasa appeared. He burst out of his stone dome, where Kiba was now starting to come to and being guarded by Akamaru. In an instant, Tsukasa shot several ninja wires from his wrists towards the enemy who was still in the air. The wires wrapped tightly around the man's arms, legs, and body.
Then, Tsukasa pulled.
The whip-sword held by the man was very heavy, but the strength of a Jonin was more than enough. Tsukasa pulled the bound man towards him like he was reeling in a large fish. And in his other hand, a kunai was ready.
The man could only stare with wide eyes of horror as he was pulled helplessly towards his doom.
Tsukasa didn't hesitate. As the man was within reach, he stabbed the kunai. Right in the heart.
CLACK!
The sound of the kunai piercing through the breastbone was so clear in the now-silent tunnel.
Blood gushed, soaking Tsukasa's expressionless face. The man's momentum stopped completely. His eyes, which had been filled with anger, were now empty. And then, Tsukasa released his wires, letting the body of their last enemy fall to the floor with a wet, final thud.
The fight was over.