Kagero Village

With no hesitation, the entire team fell in line behind Akata and together entered a hostile world of swirling sand where only the next twenty feet existed. Anything further ahead was hidden by a beige carpet.

In a race against time, they made a beeline straight to the outer wall of Kagero Village. For the plan to have any hope of success, Akata had underscored the importance of them capitalizing on their element of surprise.

Remembering to keep close, all of them made it across the open space and leaped over the city wall. A safety measure that'd work fine against normal bandits, but not against a shinobi force like them.

Inside the city, blaring alarms were going off in every direction.

Aware of what to do, each duo set out to accomplish what they'd set out to achieve by inflicting as much mayhem, pain, and despair as possible.

Remembering his bet with Jiraiya about who could reach the center square of Kagero Village first, Fuzen sped off at a pace barely allowing his assigned partner to hang on.

The meaningless slaughter of people unable to fight back wasn't Fuzen's ideal scenario of a good time. It was boring and held no entertainment value, unlike pursuing women. However, his competitive spirit also didn't allow him to lose against Jiraiya, and of course, the money he'd win wasn't going to hurt either. Two million Ryo was nothing to sneeze at and was comparable with the reward money of most high-level S-rank assignments. About double the earnings of what an average chunin would receive in a whole year.

To even out the competition and make it as fair as possible, Hiruzen had made sure each of them received routes of similar difficulty. Both of them would have to travel through expensive residential neighborhoods to target specific people and families, which previous intelligence had pegged as stark critics of the Land of Fire. In general, their routes had a considerably higher likelihood of encountering enemy forces.

Within a few blocks from where they had split from Akata and the rest, Fuzen found the street name they'd been assigned. Under pressure to arrive at the center square first, gravel went flying as he skitted around the corner.

Both sides of the street were lined with gated upper-class residential houses, each of them with a matching traditional architectural design.

Moving together, they broke into the first house on the left and soundlessly glided across the tatami mats until they came across three men patrolling the hallway equipped with sword and armor.

Like a haunting specter in search of revenge, Fuzen swept past them and greeted them with his 'Void Fist', carving bloody paths through their bodies. They didn't even have time to scream before collapsing into piles of flesh.

Continuing onward, the eerie pulse emitted from his fists echoed like a calling card of death for the people still around.

Pressed on time, they didn't have time to do a thorough search and was soon on to the next house. As planned, they alternated to the other side of the street, hopefully, making them slightly less predictable in case anyone went after them.

Motivated by the two million Ryo on the line, Fuzen's designated partner found his only actual job was to keep up with Fuzen, which in itself was also a challenge.

After the tenth house, the residences they entered and the people Fuzen killed began to blend. When confronted with death most people acted more or less the same. In the beginning, they would attempt to shout out for help, but after realizing none was coming, they would soon begin begging and crying to be spared, exceptions were far in between.

Leaving the destroyed sliding doors of the latest upper-class house on their bloody voyage throughout Kagero Village, Fuzen and his partner found themselves confronted by a group of Suna- and Kagero shinobi.

All ten of the enemy shinobi wore grim expressions as they drew their weapons.

"This ends here, right now! I will not allow this madness to continue any further..." An enraged Kagero shinobi stepped forward, sword raised in preparation for battle.

Behind him, two of the Suna-nins used their Giant Folding Fans to launch sharp wind current in the form of a net towards Fuzen and his partner.

Launching himself to the left, Fuzen avoided the razor-sharp wind approaching. His partner wasn't as lucky and managed to get himself sliced into gory pieces. What an idiot.

Usually, he'd just give these guys the finger and teleport away using 'Shadow Walk', however, with the chakra infused sand swirling in the air, that was out the question.

He had to go with option B instead. "Watch out!" He yelled out in warning and pointed behind them.

Taking advantage of one of them looking behind, Fuzen activated 'Black Sea' and charged directly at them. Weighed down by the sudden increase of gravity, Fuzen was able to quickly dispatch the one who'd been distracted by gouging a hole in his chest.

However, before he could move onto the next, the Kagero-nin who'd previously taken the lead slashed out with a sword coated in lightning chakra. Fuzen canceled it out with his 'Void First' but was blown backward due to the difference in strength.

Allowing the strike to carry him back, Fuzen landed on the surface of the water pond outside the house he'd just raided.

Surprised by the Kagero shinobi's strength, he accidentally lost concentration and released his 'Black Sea', removing the gravity influence upon his opponents.

Knowing he couldn't let himself be tied up in a drawn-out fight in the middle of enemy territory, he threw a kunai with a flash bomb attached. Fuzen used the blinding light that followed to gain ground and move onto the next house.

In a game of cat and mouse, Fuzen attempted to cause as much death and destruction without getting himself caught.

His only real advantage here was his speed. Without it, he'd been in serious trouble. As it were, they had nearly gotten him three times. One of them resulted in a deep cut across his chest.

Though he did manage to kill another couple of them as they clashed, another group of Suna and Kagero shinobi joined in on the pursuit of him as he passed the boundary where houses and small mansions became replaced with large apartment buildings, restaurants, bars, restaurants, and shops.

Alone and on the run, he wasn't able to be as effective as previous but he still managed to clear a couple of floors of some randomly chosen apartment buildings. However, he had to do it fast as each time he went in, he ran the risk of getting cornered and unknowingly targeted by a wide-range jutsu.

When Fuzen reached the center square, he was met with Hiruzen a couple of other groups that'd come before him. Together, they held off against a rising number of enemy shinobi.

The next group to join them was Akata. Only after that came Jiraiya and his partner.

"You cheated!" Were Jiraiya's first words.

"I did not!" Fuzen countered and puffed out his tiny chest. It tore at his wound and hurt like a bitch. "Just ask those guys!" He gestured to the group who'd been chasing him this entire time and was now battling it out with the Konoha shinobi. "They can testify on how hard I've worked."

"I'm gonna kill you, you little shit! I swear on my fallen brothers and sisters, I'm not gonna let you get away with this!" The leading Kagero shinobi who'd chased after him this entire time shouted in response.

"I don't think he likes you too much..." Jiraiya said.

"Well, I had a bet to win, what can I say? But now you owe me two million Ryo. Gimme, gimme..."

Jiraiya put on a frustrated look and whispered. "Hey, kid. Is it okay, if I write you a check?"