26 Chapter 26 - Targeted

A couple of weeks after the second academy year started, Mikumo was training by herself today in the third training ground.

Mikumo ran around the empty dirt field surrounded by trees as she worked to finish her physical training quota.

'Hmm. It's just me today? Been a while since the last time I trained alone, usually, Kakashi always joined me at some point, and recently Kurenai has been coming as well but I guess today it's just me alone. Shinku-sensei is on a mission as well, oh well, some peace and quiet is nice as well.'

Two hours after starting her physical training regime, Mikumo finally finished and collapsed down on the dirt field, sitting to regain her energy.

"Ah~ I'm done, no energy left."

At that moment, Mikumo felt it.

'Hm? What was that?'

Mikumo didn't move and simply stayed sitting down staring into the sky.

'I know I'm not crazy, I felt someone's gaze on me for an instant there. It felt just like when Sakumo-sensei trained me in stealth and tracking, and he would glare at me to give me hints about his location. Is he back? No, he would just appear, why bother hiding? If he wanted to sneak attack me to test me, I would never be able to feel his presence in the first place.'

Mikumo started doing stretches to not seem suspicious.

'If it's not Sakumo-sensei, is it someone else I know? No way, no one I know is this good at stealth, I'd like to say I have pretty good senses after being taught by Sakumo, I doubt the average ninja could hide from me for this long, assuming they've been here from the start.'

Mikumo then stood up and continued her post-exercise stretching.

'I can't tell if they're still there or not. How can I bait a reaction out of them? How did I do it before...oh it was when I complained after finishing my training. Hmm, don't tell me it's someone hostile?'

Mikumo started sweating a little bit while holding her stretches.

'What are they waiting for? There's been plenty of opportunities to sneak attack me before if they were hostile. Are they waiting for me to start my jutsu training to learn more about my jutsu? Or are they waiting for me to tire myself out? It can't be a coincidence that this happened the one day I'm training alone. Doubt everything, trust nothing! I need some precautions. First, let's buy myself some time.'

Mikumo then started pretending to start her jutsu training as she weaved hand signs for a C-Rank water jutsu.

"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!" (Water Style: Water Bullet)

Mikumo spewed out a large quantity of water from her mouth toward the forest directly in front of her.

'If it's an assassin, the logical thing to do would be to gather as much information as possible while letting me tire myself out before attacking. I have a high affinity for water-style chakra, so I can easily create my own water to use for my jutsu considering my large chakra pool. However, most people don't know that.'

"Nice, not bad. Let's try to increase my water output today."

Mikumo said in an inconspicuous voice, not too loud, but loud enough that if someone was nearby they could hear her.

'Still, I don't know who's targeting me. This training ground is near the middle of the village, intruders can't possibly make it this far. Besides, why would someone from another village target me? I haven't felt their presence again after the first time, so they're professionals, definitely Anbu level of stealth. No one would risk sending an Anbu-level assassin to kill a civilian child, so that means it's a Konoha shinobi, which leaves me with two options. Hiruzen or Danzo.'

Mikumo then used Water Bullet again, spewing out even more water this time.

'Ayane told me Hiruzen was keeping an eye on me, which was to be expected given my talent and family background. However, I've never felt his Anbu's presence before, on the off chance that they randomly decided to be lax today, I could just ignore them, but the second option is what really worries me. If it's Danzo's Root ninja, they can only be up to no good. Are they trying to kidnap me? Or Kill me? Either way, even if there's only a 1% chance that they're here to kill me, I must treat it as an absolutely certainty.'

Mikumo then started pondering on her next move while practicing her hand signs.

"Small break and then, it'll be the final spurt!"

'Problem is, I have no idea where they are. The best way to handle this is to put them in a Genjutsu so I can safely ascertain their intentions, but currently, all of my Genjutsu require a clear target for me to direct my chakra toward. In this situation where I don't know where my enemy is, I need a long-ranged sight-based or sound-based Genjutsu. So, I have maybe five minutes to come up with an original Genjutsu? Great.'

Mikumo smiled wryly internally at her situation.

'It would be quite awkward if they weren't hostile, but if they are...'

A fire then lit in Mikumo's stomach.

'As if I'd let you take my second life! Where there is danger lies opportunity! A Pinch is a Chance! You're ten thousand years too early to mess with me!'

Mikumo's mind started working at lightspeed, combing through all of her memory of her training and past life for any bit of useful knowledge. With her mind working at unimaginable speeds, what seemed like an eternity passed after Mikumo broke out of her trance with her finished jutsu concept. Two minutes have passed, leaving Mikumo with only three minutes to discover the hand signs needed to cast her jutsu.

'This will work. Temple of Nirvana, Mirage, Phantom Blade, and my Kekkei Genkai to complete the rest. These three will be the basis for what will later become my Kyoka Suigetsu after I figure out a way to continuously maintain it without the help of a summon. Temple of Nirvana for range, Mirage for concealment, and Phantom Blade to control my Genjutsu Clone. Shinku-sensei's jutsu are really practical and easy to adjust, although Phantom Blade is meant to be a low-cost illusion for one of my limbs, due to how versatile it is, I can use it to drive complex movement for my clone.'

As Mikumo rapidly formed hand seals, as each second passed, she felt she got closer and closer to the jutsu she wanted. Her chakra wildly fluctuated in her mind, as if guiding her in the direction she wanted.

'The Kurama Clan's Kekkei Genkai sure is handy, I can visualize the effect of the Genjutsu in my mind without even casting it. Okay, this is it. The activation condition will be to look directly at my body for a few seconds.'

Finally, Mikumo summoned as much chakra as she possibly could and weaved the hand signs for her own original jutsu. Mikumo smirked as she felt how her chakra moved while weaving the signs.

'It might just be a prototype, but you should be honored to beta test my first original jutsu and the jutsu that will one day terrorize the entire ninja world.'

As Mikumo finished the last hand sign, she shouted loudly in her mind.

'Kyoka Suigetsu!'

*Ten minutes earlier*

In the forest next to the third training ground, Hinoe and Hinoto watched silently as they waited for Mikumo to tire herself out with her training. The young girl had just finished physical exercise but the two did not act.

"Ah~ I'm done, no energy left."

Hinoe's eyes flashed with bloodlust upon hearing Mikumo's statement as he grabbed unto his tanto blade. Hinoto grabbed he's partners arm, signaling that it was not time yet. With the Root's sign language, Hinoto explained to Hinoe.

'Let her exhaust her chakra first. It'll be easier that way.'

Hinoe nodded, returning to his silent watch.

Hinoto stared as intently as possible at Mikumo without alerting her to his location in order to sense any abnormalities in the girl after Hinoe's bloodlust leaked, but saw that there was no visible reaction.

Dressed in Kirigakure attire, the two had been ordered to kidnap, and if not possible, assassinate the young Mikumo Kashima while blaming it on the Hidden Mist.

The pair watched as Mikumo then proceeded to her ninjutsu training, spewing out a large amount of water from her mouth.

Hinoe then signaled to Hinoto.

'What jutsu is that? She created her own water.'

'It's just a C-Rank Water Bullet. With that amount of water, she'll tire herself soon.'

"Nice, not bad. Let's try to increase my water output today."

Although barely, the two could hear Mikumo's words. After seeing her spew out even more water than before, Hinoto gave himself an imaginary pat on the back for his patience and then signaled to Hinoe.

'As soon as she's out of chakra, we'll knock her out and take her to Danzo-sama. This training ground is too close to the village, we can't let her make any noise.'

'Understood.'

"Small break and then, it'll be the final spurt!"

The two watched as Mikumo took her break while practicing her hand signs. Five minutes later, the pair saw that Mikumo suddenly stopped practicing hand signs and stood up.

Hinoto gave Hinoe one final signal.

'She's an academy student, this next jutsu will be her last shot. You come in from the side, I'll cut off her escape from above and knock her out while she's busy engaging you.'

'Roger.'

Preparing himself, Hinoe jumped down the branch and landed without a sound behind a tree near the training ground. He watched as Mikumo did the hand signs for her Water Bullet Jutsu and spewed a huge amount of water into the forest in front of her.

'Now!'

Hinoe sprinted out from the forest with his tanto in hand. The noise alerted the young Mikumo but he didn't care.

"Who!?"

Hinoe smirked under his mask as he saw Mikumo clumsily pulling a kunai out from her bag.

Then, from above, Hinoto flew down right behind Mikumo and hammer-fisted her head right into the ground with both hands.

Mikumo didn't even make a sound as she immediately fainted.

Hinoe sheathed his tanto and came up right next to Hinoto.

"Is she dead?"

Hinoto scoffed at the rookie's question.

"Who do you think I am? The mission is completed. Let's take her to Danzo-sama now."

Hinoto picked up the limp body of Mikumo and flung her over his shoulder. Hinoe nodded and turned around to start heading back to the Root Foundation headquarters. As soon as he did, he heard a yelp from behind him.

Hinoe turned around to see Hinoto slumping down on the ground, clutching his chest above his heart.

"Hey! What happened, are you alright!?"

Hinoe ran over to support Hinoto, but as soon as he reached him, he felt intense pain in his chest. Spitting out a mouthful of blood into his mask, Hinoe looked down to see a puncture wound on his chest, right through his heart. As he fell to the ground and took his last few remaining breaths, he could not figure out who had killed him.