"Ah! What bad luck! They have a Heaven Scroll too!" Naruto said, scratching his hair in disappointment as he looked at the scroll he had taken from the Rain ninja.
Just moments before, Team 7 had used a coordinated diversionary tactic. The three Rain ninjas were knocked unconscious in a single blow, completely unable to resist.
As a result, their scroll became the spoils of war for Naruto's team. But as luck would have it, the scroll they found wasn't the Earth Scroll they needed.
"It's okay, Naruto. We have to keep looking. We'll find an Earth Scroll eventually," Sakura comforted him.
"So, what do we do with this Heaven Scroll? Should we give it back or keep it?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.
"Well..." Sakura was also undecided and looked over at the silent Sasuke.
"We'll keep it. It might be useful," Sasuke said, a slight smirk on his face, as if the answer were obvious.
"Besides, it's our prize. If they dared to come after us, they should have been prepared to have their scroll taken. Why would we give it back?"
"That's right! We won this fair and square. We can't just give it back!" Naruto clapped his hands in agreement.
"Alright, let's go. We aren't that deep in the forest yet, so there probably aren't many wild beasts around. We can leave these three to wake up on their own."
"Right."
And with that, the three of them quickly left.
Not long after they departed, three mysterious figures wearing bamboo hats arrived at the same spot.
"Hehe, a one-hit victory? These three little ones are quite capable," the leader, a black-haired woman, said, licking her lips. She looked at the minimal signs of a struggle, a smile of keen interest on her face.
"My lord, they should be just ahead," one of the subordinates said respectfully after examining the area.
"Then let's go."
"My lord, what about these three?" the subordinate asked, gesturing to the unconscious Rain ninja, implying they should be killed.
"We have more important business to attend to."
"Yes, my lord!"
"There are so many bugs in here," Naruto complained, batting away several venomous insects with his kunai.
"Hey, once we find an Earth Scroll, should we just fly straight to the tower?" he asked Sasuke and Sakura.
"You idiot, Naruto! Did you forget Kakashi-sensei told us not to reveal that we can fly unless we absolutely have to?" Sakura retorted, annoyed.
After they had learned that Goku possessed the Bukujutsu (flight technique), the three of them had begged him to teach them.
Goku, of course, hadn't held back and taught them all. However, while they were learning, Kakashi had warned them: "Do not use this technique unless it's a last resort, to avoid being discovered."
The reason was obviously to protect them. In the shinobi world, individuals who could fly were exceptionally rare.
If it suddenly became known that all three of them could fly, forget about outsiders—even people inside the village might get dangerous ideas about them.
"Haha~ It's just that these bugs are so annoying," Naruto laughed, scratching his head after being shot down.
"Hmph. Consider this part of our training. You're not scared, are you, Naruto?" Sasuke said with a smirk, knowing exactly how to provoke him.
"I'm not scared! Stupid Sasuke!"
As expected, Naruto rose to the bait, stomping his foot. He immediately declared that he would stay on the ground for the entire journey.
If any more bugs dared to come near him, he'd kill every last one. The great Naruto wasn't afraid of anything!
As they walked a bit further, still searching for other teams, Sakura's expression suddenly tensed. "Someone's behind us!" she warned.
Her face immediately paled. "And they're incredibly fast!"
A moment later, Sasuke also sensed it and spun around. Naruto reacted last, turning just in time to see the newcomer arrive.
It was a long-haired woman wearing a bamboo hat, whom they recognised as a candidate from the Village Hidden in the Grass.
But where are her teammates?
The three of them used their ki to scan the area, but couldn't sense anyone else.
'Are they hiding outside our sensory range? Or is she alone?' After exchanging a look with Sakura and confirming she couldn't sense anyone else either, Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his mind racing.
While Sasuke was thinking, Naruto stepped forward and pointed at the woman. "Hey! Are you here to take our scroll?"
"Hehe, that's right," the woman replied, removing her hat. A chilling, sinister smile spread across her face.
"Which scroll do you have?"
"An Earth Scroll," she said.
"Really? That's great!" Naruto was overjoyed to hear that she had the exact scroll they were looking for.
"Hey, Naruto, be careful. There's something off about this one," Sasuke warned. Given her speed, this person was clearly no simple opponent.
"I know," Naruto replied, his smile vanishing. He looked at the woman and said in a low voice, "I'm not letting my guard down."
He then added, "Sakura, be careful."
"Right. You two be careful, too."
"Heeheehee, it seems you're all ready," the woman cackled.
Her eyes suddenly snapped wide, and an overwhelming killing intent, so thick it felt tangible, washed over Team 7.
!!!
"This... this killing intent!"
All three of them froze, their bodies locking up from the sudden pressure.
But thanks to the two months of incredible training they had endured, their willpower was on another level.
They only stiffened for a moment before regaining their composure.
"Oh? You can withstand it?" The woman looked surprised that they hadn't reacted as she'd expected.
She knew exactly how terrifying her killing intent was; it wasn't something a few greenhorn genin should have been able to endure.
'Interesting. It seems these three brats aren't so simple after all,' the woman thought, licking her lips. Her hands blurred into hand seals. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
WHOOSH!!!
A violent gale instantly erupted, carrying enough force to uproot the towering trees around them.
Faced with the blast, Team 7 was blown backwards, their bodies nearly lifted off the ground.
"HAAAH—!!"
At the critical moment, all three of them roared as white auras of ki exploded around them, finally allowing them to anchor their bodies against the wind.
"Her ki is so strong!" Sakura said, her expression grave, now that she had anchored herself.
The moment the woman had used the ninjutsu, her ki had swelled to a level that far surpassed any of theirs.
"There's no way she's a candidate!" Sasuke said, his face just as serious. "That ki... It's even stronger than Kakashi-sensei's!"
"So what if she's strong? We're no pushovers, either!"
Naruto declared, his fighting spirit boiling as he began to remove his weighted wrist guards, his eyes locked on the woman.
No matter how powerful the enemy, he would never retreat!