Chp 21
We were nearing the camp now. Genma gave me basic healing treatment, while i still wasnt at 100% i could travel.
Jiraiya stood over the table, arms crossed. His long white hair fell down his back and his red haori hung loosely from his shoulders. He didn't look up immediately when we walked in.
Genma stopped a few steps inside the tent.
Raido leaned on a crutch beside him, his injured leg wrapped thick in bandages. Toboki and Goro stood behind them.
I was the last one in
Jiraiya finally looked up. His eyes moved across the group slowly. Taking inventory.
"Looks like you all made it back," he said.
His voice was casual, but his eyes were sharp.
They landed on Raido's leg.
Then the bandages across my shoulder and chest.
"Mostly."
Genma nodded slightly.
"Yes sir."
"Well don't just stand there. Let's hear it."
Genma stepped forward.
"The mission was completed as ordered. We entered the Land of Wind from the southern border and made our way to Kazahara."
Jiraiya hummed quietly.
Genma continued.
"We began targeting patrols moving through the area. Small teams. Three to four shinobi each."
"How many?" Jiraiya asked.
"Five patrols eliminated."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.
"In a week?"
Genma nodded.
"We struck fast and kept moving. No bodies left intact, minimal evidence. The goal was to make it look like something larger was operating in the region."
Jiraiya's mouth twitched slightly.
"Chaos."
"Yes sir."
Genma tapped a point on the map near the border.
"After the fifth patrol we began withdrawing toward the Land of Rain."
Jiraiya leaned slightly over the map.
"And that's when something went wrong."
Genma nodded once.
"We encountered a larger patrol. Eight shinobi."
Jiraiya's eyebrows lifted.
"Eight?"
"They were prepared for trouble. Likely Suna had begun increasing patrol sizes after the earlier losses."
Jiraiya nodded slowly.
"Makes sense."
Genma continued.
"We engaged and eliminated the patrol. However Raido was injured during the fight."
Raido shifted slightly beside him.
Jiraiya glanced at his leg again.
"Looks like they got a good hit in."
Raido snorted.
"Lucky shot."
Genma ignored him.
"After the fight a flare was fired. A tracking squad began pursuing us."
"How many?" Jiraiya asked.
"Six."
Jiraiya leaned back from the table.
"Mid chunin to low jonin?"
Goro said
"Yes sir. I sensed them about a kilometer behind us."
Jiraiya rubbed his chin.
"So you had an injured man… and a fresh pursuit team closing in."
Genma nodded.
"Yes sir."
Jiraiya waited.
Genma exhaled slowly.
"That's when Shinji volunteered to stay behind and delay them."
Jiraiya's eyes moved toward me.
"Oh?"
Genma continued.
"We moved Raido to safety and doubled back as quickly as possible."
Jiraiya tilted his head slightly.
"And when you returned?"
Genma looked at me briefly. Then back at Jiraiya.
"They were all dead."
The tent went quiet. Jiraiya stared at me for a long moment. Then he looked down at the map again.
Six wooden markers sat near the border of the Land of Wind.
He pushed them aside with one finger.
"All six?"
"Yes sir."
Jiraiya leaned back again. He crossed his arms and studied me.
I could feel the weight of it. This wasn't the playful wandering sage people talked about.
This was one of Legendary Sanin.
Finally he spoke.
"Well."
His mouth curved into a grin.
"That sounds like a story."
Genma stepped back slightly.
"Shinji can tell you the rest sir. None of us were there."
Jiraiya nodded.
"Good."
He walked around the table and sat down on a small crate.
Then he pointed at the ground in front of him.
"Sit."
I sat. My ribs still protested the movement.
Jiraiya leaned forward slightly.
"Start from when you stopped running."
I nodded.
"They were about a kilometer behind us when I stayed back. I chose terrain near the edge of the Land of Wind. Less sandstorms. Better visibility."
Jiraiya nodded approvingly.
"Good thinking. Sandstorms mess with visual dojutsu."
I continued.
"I set explosive traps under the sand and waited."
"How did they approach?" Jiraiya asked.
"Spread formation. Two left. Two right. Two center."
Jiraiya's eyes sharpened.
"Standard Suna capture pattern."
I nodded.
"They were trying to surround and pressure."
"And your opening move?"
"Explosive tags. Hit their left flank first."
Jiraiya grinned.
"Divide them early. Good."
I continued explaining the fight.
The fire jutsu.
The wire traps.
The genjutsu.
Jiraiya interrupted often.
Not to criticize. To understand.
"When the wind user attacked, what was the timing?"
"How fast were their close combat transitions?"
"Did they favor team pressure or individual duels?"
I answered everything. Every movement I could remember. Every tactic they used.
Jiraiya listened closely.
Sometimes nodding.
Sometimes frowning.
When I finished describing the final exchange he leaned back again.
"Hmm."
Silence filled the tent for a moment.
Then Jiraiya laughed. A loud, easy laugh.
"Well I'll be damned."
He looked straight at me.
"Six Suna shinobi and you walked away breathing."
He pointed at my eyes.
"And Genma tells me something else happened too."
My hand instinctively moved toward my face.
Jiraiya grinned wider.
"The Sharingan."
His eyes gleamed with curiosity.
"Three tomoe now, right?"
I nodded.
Jiraiya leaned back with a satisfied sigh.
"Well… that explains a lot."
He stood and walked back to the map.
His finger tapped the border of the Land of Wind.
"Suna likes pressure tactics. Surround, overwhelm, control the battlefield."
He glanced back at me.
"But your fight confirms something useful."
"What's that sir?" Genma asked.
Jiraiya smiled slightly.
"They rely heavily on coordination."
He tapped one of the markers.
"Break that coordination early…"
Then he flicked the marker off the table.
"…and they start dying fast."
Jiraiya looked back at me again.
"And you just proved it."
He crossed his arms.
"Not bad kid."
Then his grin returned.
"But next time…"
He pointed toward the medical tents outside.
"…try not to almost die, yeah?".