Nara Kimura's eyes narrowed, wariness etched on her face. How could a boy half my age make explosives like that? And judging by the blast earlier, they weren't the kind you play with.
"You've already made your move," Raizen said casually, hands slipping into his ninja bag. "Then it's my turn."
The trio—Akamichi Uchida, Yamanaka Inoue, and Kimura herself—stiffened. Raizen didn't even flinch; he had already killed Jōnin-level enemies before, so these three "kids" were hardly intimidating.
"Inoue, Uchida—watch your backs!" Kimura barked sharply.
Both nodded, forming a defensive stance back-to-back, eyes fixed warily on Raizen.
Boom!
Raizen smiled faintly as smoke erupted around him, forming a shadow clone that lunged at the trio.
"Shadow Imitation!" Kimura shouted, squatting low as dark tendrils of shadow snaked from the ground toward Raizen.
Not today. Raizen twisted mid-air, dodging the constricting shadows, while simultaneously drawing a specially modified kunai from his ninja bag.
Uchida's massive body swelled instantly, transforming into a rolling meatball aimed at Raizen. Inoue tried to twist the battlefield with Yamanaka illusions, but Raizen's eyes sparkled with calculation.
He hurled the strange kunai toward Kimura. Oddly, the kunai didn't fly freely; a thin shadow branched out to link with the kunai, halting it precisely in front of her.
Ha… Raizen smirked. At the same time, his shadow clone sprinted at Uchida and Inoue—but vanished mid-leap.
"Disappeared?!" Kimura gasped, scanning for the ninja who had just been before her.
Then a black shadow flickered, and Raizen reappeared behind her, holding his kunai—the Flying Thunder God—to her throat. Her body stiffened instantly, the shadow technique snapping as he landed on the ground with a thud, startling the other two.
"What… what kind of ninjutsu is this?!" Kimura whispered, feeling the lethal cold of the blade. Any sudden move, and she would bleed.
"Flying Thunder God," Raizen said calmly, lips curling into a grin. "S-rank ninjutsu. Guess I'm not unjustly defeated."
Kimura's sharp mind recognized the truth in his words. She glanced at Uchida and Inoue, still struggling against Raizen's clones.
"Inoue… Uchida… mission failed. Run!" she cried.
The two hesitated, then roared, chest puffed with pride. "We are Pig Deer Butterfly! Even if we die, we die together!"
Uchida's bulky frame trembled, a mix of defiance and fear, while Inoue's eyes burned with resolve.
Raizen's mouth twitched, listening to their declarations. These three attacked me, and now they're acting like I'm the villain? Classic. Someone always shows up to declare justice, defeat me, and then bow out like a hero.
"You guys…" Kimura murmured, torn between admiration and regret. Acting rashly had cost her the upper hand, placing herself and her comrades in mortal danger.
Now, life and death balanced on a knife's edge, and there was no turning back.