In the dim light of the forest, Tatamima kicked off a thick trunk, leaping from branch to branch. From his blind spot, a wooden kunai hissed through the air. Rotating mid-flight, Tatamima parried the projectile with his wooden sword, but the momentum forced him toward the forest floor. He corrected his posture just before impact, landing safely and ducking into the hollow of a massive root.
"Sakumo still has the edge in weaponry and sensory perception," Tatamima breathed, catching his breath before darting back into the shadows.
The three of them were in the middle of a large-scale mock battle. They had dispersed into the forest to prepare, and once the timer started, the rules were simple: capture, surrender, or incapacitation meant defeat.
Right from the start, Sakumo had ambushed him. Tatamima had been confident in his hiding spot, but the suddenness of the attack threw him off, forcing him into a defensive retreat. No matter how deep he ran or where he hid, Sakumo pursued him with relentless precision.
Tatamima was the descendant of the Uzumaki, a clan famous for their immense chakra. Combined with his direct Senju lineage, his latent reserves were staggering. Among his peers, no one surpassed him; even among the adult shinobi of the Hidden Leaf—the strongest village in the world—few could boast such a high volume of chakra.
However, for a "Sensor" like Sakumo Hatake—someone naturally gifted at detecting and tracking chakra—Tatamima was like a lighthouse in a dark sea. His position was always clear.
Meanwhile, Ina lurked in the shadows, hoping to play the scavenger and pick off whoever survived the clash between the boys. Unlike Tatamima, she was a master of stealth. Tracking her was an impossible task even for someone as talented as Sakumo, let alone Tatamima.
The Yamanaka clan specialized in sensory skills and concealment. While Sakumo was a genius, he was still young and lacked the refined techniques Ina had been drilled in since she could walk. For a Yamanaka, concealment wasn't just a skill; it was the foundation of their Mind Body Switch Jutsu.
That was why Sakumo had prioritized taking out Tatamima first.
Ina was invisible, but her physical combat skills lagged behind. If Sakumo could force her into a direct confrontation, he would win easily. His only concern was her signature technique, which allowed her to hijack a target's body. It was a terrifying ability, far more dangerous than simple Genjutsu. However, it had a long cast time and left the user wide open if it missed.
To a Sensor like Sakumo, Ina was just a girl who was very good at hiding. As long as he stayed alert, he wouldn't lose to her. On the other hand, Tatamima was a different story.
Against Sakumo, Tatamima usually relied on a war of attrition, using his massive chakra to launch a barrage of attacks. Eventually, the fight would turn into a brawl. Tatamima's goal was to trap Sakumo within range of his Ninjutsu, while Sakumo tried to bleed Tatamima's stamina dry before that happened. Usually, Sakumo won those exchanges—but Tatamima's "infinite" chakra meant he was never truly out of the fight.
The dynamic was a perfect triangle: Tatamima struggled against Ina's hidden strikes, Sakumo tried to eliminate the powerhouse Tatamima, and Ina wanted to wait for both boys to exhaust each other.
"No choice. I'm just losing ground like this," Tatamima whispered. "Time to show them my trump card."
The stalemate that had defined their training for months was about to end. Through countless defeats, Tatamima had developed a weapon specifically to break this cycle.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
While sprinting, Tatamima wove the signs and spun around mid-jump. He exhaled a concentrated stream of water that struck the ground and defied gravity, surging upward into a circular barrier. The wall of water deflected Sakumo's incoming kunai and momentarily obscured Tatamima from view.
In that split second of cover, Tatamima's fingers flew through a new sequence of signs.
Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey—
***
As his consciousness began to fade, Sakumo was struck by pure shock. He couldn't understand what had happened. The roles of predator and prey had been reversed in an instant.
When did he become a Sensor? Sakumo wondered. He had relocated immediately after throwing his kunai, waiting for the perfect moment to counter-attack, but Tatamima had found him effortlessly.
Usually, when Tatamima got frustrated, he would just start spamming Water Style in every direction, hoping for a lucky hit. Sakumo had expected the usual Shadow Clone zerg-rush. He had prepared for it. He had even been winning more often than not lately.
He had been overconfident. While Tatamima was firing Jutsu in the "wrong" directions, a group of Shadow Clones had manifested and launched a coordinated Water Dragon Bullet directly at Sakumo's hidden position. Before he could retreat, Earth Style walls had risen to block his escape routes, and several Tatamima clones were already waiting for him in the only remaining gaps.
It stung to lose, but Sakumo couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement for his friend.
I hope he tells me how he found me... Sakumo thought, before drifting into darkness.
Seeing Sakumo get washed away by the Water Dragon, Ina knew she was in trouble. Normally, this was the point where she would use a distraction to land a Mind Body Switch and win.
"I knew it," she muttered. "You're too stubborn to keep losing the same way forever."
Tatamima had gone from using raw power and wide-area attacks to using "sharp," focused techniques. He was now a formal apprentice of Tobirama Senju and a junior disciple to Hiruzen Sarutobi; Ina hadn't expected him to have hidden this level of growth for so long.
Up until today, Tatamima had relied on basic Earth Walls and Fireballs that were only dangerous because of their sheer size. Now, he was using directional, high-velocity Jutsu with lethal intent.
Ina looked over at the unconscious Sakumo. Tatamima was a kind boy—he was the Hokage's grandson, yet he never bragged. He treated Ina's tendency to cry with a gentle patience that she appreciated. But seeing how he had just dismantled Sakumo...
"Maybe he was more frustrated than he let on," she whispered, her lip twitching as she watched the soaked, white-eyed Sakumo twitching in a puddle.
Seeing dozens of Shadow Clones beginning to fill the forest to find her, Ina promptly raised both hands in surrender.
***
"Is he okay? His eyes are rolled back," Ina asked as she emerged from the trees.
"Uh... I hope so," Tatamima replied, scratching his head. He walked over to retrieve Sakumo, feeling a bit guilty. He knew he had overdone it in the heat of the moment.
They built a small campfire using a minor Fire Style Jutsu to dry Sakumo off. The two of them sat there, staring at their muddy, pathetic-looking friend.
"Oh well," Ina said, taking a long drink from her canteen. She looked at Tatamima. "So, when did you learn all those new tricks?"
"Recently."
"Liar. We've practiced together plenty of times and you never used half of those."
"A ninja's gotta have secrets, Ina."
"Fine. But secrets don't work on me. Tell me, or else—!"
Tatamima knew the Yamanaka specialized in mental arts. He knew she could probably peek into his mind if she really wanted to. Though she wasn't the type to do that to a friend, Tatamima had a habit of spoiling his friends—partially due to his doting grandfather, and partially because his mind was that of a mature reincarnator. He tended to treat his peers with an adult's indulgence.
"Fine, fine," Tatamima sighed.
"And I bet I know how you found Sakumo," Ina added, her eyes gleaming. "You used a Summoning, didn't you?"
Tatamima's heart skipped. He had hoped to keep his new contract a secret to maintain a tactical edge. The Yamanaka sensory skills are no joke, he thought.
"Don't worry, I won't tell Sakumo," she laughed.
Tatamima let out a long breath. "How did you—"
"The chakra felt different. More... natural? Animalistic? Plus, I knew you were looking into Summoning Jutsu."
Tatamima pouted, embarrassed that she had seen right through him. He stood up abruptly to hide his reddening face. "Listen, you!"
"Wait—" Ina's face suddenly went pale. Her eyes darted around the forest, her body beginning to tremble with genuine terror.
"Ina? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout—"
"No," she whispered, her voice shaking. "This is... this can't be real."
"What's wrong?" Tatamima asked, his tone shifting to immediate concern. He put an arm around her shoulder.
"Someone's coming," Ina gasped. "And they're... they're strong. Really strong."
"Sakumo, how long have you been awake?" Tatamima asked.
Sakumo was sitting up, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs. "Just now. I can feel it too. An eerie chakra is heading straight for us at high speed."
"We have to run!" Ina cried. "They're way out of our league!"
Sakumo shook his head grimly. "We won't make it. Not all three of us. They're already too close. We have to fight."
Ina looked paralyzed with fear. Tatamima couldn't sense the chakra, but he could read his friends' expressions.
"It's definitely an enemy?" Tatamima asked.
"Yes," Sakumo replied. "The movement is too deliberate for a traveler. It's a ninja."
"And they're radiating pure killing intent," Ina added.
"I see," Tatamima said, standing tall. "Understood. I'll handle it. You two get out of here."
Tatamima didn't fully grasp the scale of the threat because he wasn't a Sensor, but if his friends were this scared, his choice was clear.
"But—"
"Ina, use your stealth to retreat and get reinforcements. Sakumo, you protect her."
"We should go together!" Ina argued.
"If I stay with you, my chakra will lead them right to you," Tatamima said with a small smile. "Besides, maybe it's just a hunter or something."
"No it isn't!"
"Trust me. I'm the grandson of Hashirama Senju."
Sakumo looked at Tatamima's face and stood up with a heavy heart. He grabbed the protesting Ina. "Understood. We're going. Tatamima... there are six of them. Be careful."
"I'll bring the adults back, I swear!" Ina cried.
"Just don't be late," Tatamima joked.
Sakumo suppressed Ina's protests with a firm grip and vanished into the brush. Tatamima stood alone in the silence of the forest. The wind rustled the leaves.
"I came looking for the Hokage, but I find only a child," a voice said.
It was a low, nasal voice. A tall man stepped out from the trees. He wore grey and black gear, his face partially obscured by a mask. He looked suspicious, but more importantly, Tatamima recognized the insignia.
"That forehead protector... you're a ninja from the Hidden Waterfall."
"And you... you're related to the Hokage, aren't you? Your chakra is quite similar. I suppose I made a mistake."
"My apologies, Lord Kakuzu," one of the man's subordinates muttered, appearing behind him.
"It matters not," the tall man, Kakuzu, replied.
"I am a direct descendant of Hashirama Senju," Tatamima declared.
"Is that so? Then perhaps you can take us to see him. We'd like to do some... sightseeing in the Leaf."
"You brought a six-man squad through the woods to 'sightsee'?" Tatamima countered. "Reinforcements are already on the way. You can tell your story to the Leaf's elite."
The air around the man changed instantly. Tatamima felt a crushing pressure on his chest, forcing him to take a step back.
"Lord Kakuzu, we can't afford a scene right now!" a younger ninja said, dropping down from the trees to intervene. The other four hidden ninjas stirred. They were worried about their comrade's safety—they knew how short Kakuzu's fuse could be.
The young ninja was talented, perhaps even strong enough to hold his own against someone like Hiruzen Sarutobi. But he had made one fatal mistake: he had underestimated the man he was working with. He assumed that even a teammate with a temper wouldn't kill his own kind in the middle of a mission.
It was a logical thought. But logic did not apply to Kakuzu.
A spray of blood and flesh painted the trees red. The explosion of violence signaled the true beginning of the battle.