Ino's POV (Bandit Camp - Land of Fire)
"Alright, I'm going in. Make sure to watch my body, Neji!" Ino added as she relaxed her stance for her family's famous jutsu.
"Of course."
With that, Ino nodded and called out. "Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
She suddenly dropped limp, caught by a ready Naruto. The portly bald man rose slowly. His movements were awkward and unsure for a moment. Before, he seemed to relax slightly. "This guy is one sick bastard." She said in the man's voice. "Glad we're taking them out." Naruto nodded at this, summoning ten clones who all became kunai. Ino grabbed these and stashed them in the man's pockets. They all nodded as the Ino-possessed man walked off towards the entrance. Naruto and Kakashi both disappeared as they went off to their positions.
Neji stashed Ino in a space in a bush. He sat close by, not close enough to where if he was engaged, they would hurt or discover Ino. Team Seven was prepared.
X-X
Ino walked towards the main entrance, giving her best impression of a drunken limp. A building built of various chunks of wood roughly stuck together greeted her as the guard nodded her inside the shoddy wall. Inside were rough benches and bars indicative of a meeting place of sorts. The men inside were drinking, smoking, or gambling with reckless abandon. It was odd to think they somehow beat back a squad of soldiers. But perhaps they simply underestimated them. The battle, even between shinobi, was unpredictable.
Ino wasn't bothered as she marched between tents of bandits. Similar to their main hub near the entrance, the men were either partying, fighting, or preparing for future conquest. She felt a grim satisfaction in knowing their day would be ruined soon.
Having memorized Neji's rough map, Ino headed straight for the tents containing their arsenal and potential victims. In front of the grouping was a duo of guards. The two were drunk and unattentive, barely reacting to her presence. The bandits surely thought this deep within camp security was unneeded. Despite the meager attempt, it did complicate things. She briefly considered how to handle things but decided they would need to go. The man she was possessing wasn't very fit. But even with his dilapidated body, she could muster good kunai throws. These being the real deal, they both pierced their throats accurately. The first one immediately dropped. Likely, the blade had managed to sever his spine, killing him instantly. The second was a more gruesome death. The man's throat was slit by the blade. Not allowing the man to call for help. He could only breathlessly gurgle as he bled out. Ino could feel something inside her grow cold at the merciless killing, but they had prepared for this for years. She didn't flinch as she drugged the corpses inside the two tents. Laying her lethal explosive trap at both entrances. Her training worked well, and it was time to free the prisoners. Hopefully, only necessary blood would be spilled today…
?'s POV (Nearby Kakashi)
"Men," A voice whispered to six others. "Our target is directly in front of us. One Kakashi Hatake, the Master of One Thousand Jutsu, the Copycat Shinobi. A full-on fight is risky, so we'll wait for our chance. We will wait for him to engage the bandits. While they won't offer us more aid, the bastard will lower his guard while engaging with the sheep. That will give us a decent chance. Now, our target is powerful, absurdly so. So don't play around. Kill this bastard before he kills us. Understood?" They all nodded.
The captain's face grimaced at the lack of self-concern. He had no doubt that seven Jounins might be able to kill even an elite Jounin. But there was no doubt several of them would die. His sound shinobi training suggested one or two would live, which was acceptable. But he loved his men. He feared they were being led by him to their deaths. Disobeying would merely lead to his men killing him and proceeding anyway. The only solution was to lead these men into killing a legend. What a sick joke…
?'s POV (Nearby Naruto)
"Are they sending all three of us for him?" a young woman with long black hair that reached her thighs and was tied at the end asked. She wore sound fatigues, which had a snakeskin pattern for her pants and scarf, as well as a tan sleeveless vest. Kin Tsuchi was the latest kunoichi raised from Orochimaru's Sound.
"Seems harsh to me personally. But it'll be fun killing him either way!" A young man answered her. He had long, spiky, unruly hair that stuck straight up. He wore a forehead protector mask. In addition to the sound fatigue over it, he wore a tan one-piece with the kanji for death on it three times. Zaku Abumi was here as well.
"It is what it is. Don't play games; we have something to prove here. So this short clone runt has to die." Dosu Kinuta answered. He was shorter than the other two and was hard to describe. His head was almost completely wrapped in bandages. He wore the same fatigues as the others. The only difference is the gray long-sleeved kimono and a straw rain cape. "Remember what the file said; this clown is a nobody. From a fallen clan, low Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu skills. As long as we play it smart, easy kill.
Neji's POV (Outside of Bandit Camp - Land of Fire)
Neji's eyes widened significantly as he saw four people creeping in at the edge of his vision. As he expanded his gaze, he saw that they were all about to be ambushed. "AMBUSH!" He called to the clone of Naruto before destroying it. Ino awoke and jumped up.
"It's an ambush. As I was walking through the camp, I searched his mind. Shinobi are coming to kill us! The people inside are mostly innocents, with some bandits sprinkled in! This is all bait! We're the hunted!" Ino called out desperately to the Hyuga.
"Some of that is news. Unfortunately, it gets worse. We are being approached by four shinobi. All of them seem to be high Chunin to low Jounin level." Neji said grimly. "It'll be an uphill battle…" Luckily, around twenty clones gather around them. New orders are seemingly being dispensed among them. "Ino stick with me and the clones. We just have to stall until Kakashi gets here."
"R-right," Ino said; she was undeniably nervous. Neji wanted to reassure her. But to be honest, he knew they were in trouble.