Discovered

The two merchants nervously paced forward, pretending to be unaware of those very shinobi who were rushing towards them, no doubt not to have a cordial chat over tea.

However, fortunately (or unfortunately) for them, they would not have to wait long, as it took their pursuers not even three minutes before arriving at the merchants' location.

???: Stop"

Naturally, the "Merchants" obliged.

????: "What were you doing here?"

This time, the second figure spoke, revealing that both of their pursuers were indeed kunoichi.

Neko: "We are merchants who were captured by the bandit encampment nearby, we only recently escaped"

???: "Cool. So how did you escape?"

The duo then launched into their preplanned story: One of how the bandits abandoned the area and left them behind upon realizing how they were not making enough money.

????: "Do you perhaps have any method of proving your identity?"

Guy: "Yes! We were left with our most youthful identification after the bandits said it would be useless to them."

???: "Cool. Ok, now we just need to observe to see if you have any chakra just to confirm that you are not a spy."

Neko: {Shit}

Neko: "All right, no problem. Heheheheh"

Neko: {Come on. I just need to hold them off for a little bit longer.}

Unaware of the danger that they were in the two Kumo ninja began to scan their chakra in a relatively relaxed tone.

However, upon discovering her findings, the first shinobi was jolted out of her relaxed state, a look of cautiousness on her face.

????: "Shit - Look out they are-"

However, the kunoichi would never get to finish this sentence, as whilst she was saying this, a pair of hands sprouted out of the ground before grabbing her ankles and pulling her in.

Seeing Mizuki execute a surprise attack, the other two also did not hesitate before attacking the second figure, both with their unique styles of taijutsu.

Things seemed hopeless for the Kumo shinobi.

And yet, just as she was about to get hit by both of the leaf shinobi, she finally awoke from her stupor.

"Raiton: Double Black Panther"

Instantly, the kunoichi's chakra turned into a pair of panthers, standing around four meters tall each, composed of lightning as dark as ink.

The two chakra beasts then leaped towards their prey, clashing with both of them, causing a large explosion as they all met.

*BOOOM*

The massive explosion set up a smokescreen that both teams used in order to regroup and assess the enemy.

Despite starting their battle, all three of the Konoha shinobi decided to keep up their transformations.

The chakra cost was worth it, as in the event that their enemy escaped, there would still be a chance for them to succeed on their mission.

Finally, the smoke cleared to reveal the results of the first clash.

On one side stood the three Konoha Shinobi, two of whom had slight burn marks around their arms and parts of their chests, with the black lightning even shredding parts of their clothing.

Contrarily, Mizuki was relatively unharmed, albeit slightly tired.

Still, he had a look of anger on his face.

Contrarily, the two Kumo shinobi had their cloaks blown off, finally revealing who they were, causing Mizuki to slightly curse under his breath.

The two Kumo shinobi were the first to take the offensive, as the first used her unique jutsu.

"Heavenly transfer technique"

Instantly, in a flash of light, several kunai shot towards the Konoha shinobi, with Mizuki just barely able to react via using a quick wall of earth to slow the kunai.

Still, the wall was weak and brittle, only just able to slow down the kunai and allow the group time to dodge, as the kunai broke through the wall, causing a slight cut along Mizuki's left cheek.

Mizuki: {As expected of the future Raikage's assistant. Still. It seems as if she is less proficient in the technique compared to her older self.}

None the less, even though Mabui was less powerful compared to her canon counterpart, she had reached the realm of at least a high ranking chunin.

However, she was still not the one Mizuki was the most concerned about.

Mizuki: {God damnit, why does *she* have to be here.}

Seeing her first attack fail, Mabui let loose a soft sigh as she allowed for several more kunai to be "transferred" into the sky, creating a sort of artillery barrage to rain down upon her opponents.

Neko: "scatter"

Hearing his command, the three Konoha shinobi dispersed over the forest, forced to do so to make sure that they would not be impeded by a potential kunai raining down upon them.

However, the second Kumo Kunoichi did not waste this opportunity, as black lightning gathered along the edge of her blade, which she had now drawn.

Samui: "Kuro Raiton: Flying Fang"[1]

A tendril of black lightning erupted out of the tip of her sword, rushing towards Mizuki as he was in the middle of rushing into the forest, trapped midair as the attack rushed towards him, unable to dodge.

Mizuki: "Shit"

The boy turned around whilst midair, weaving a series of hand signs before turning to face the attack.

Mizuki: "Shiroi Nensho: Viper Strike"[2]

A tendril of white flames shot out of Mizuki'smouth, creating a long snake that started there and extended to meet his attack, creating a wriggling pillar of white flames.

Instantly, the two attacks collided, creating a brilliant explosion as the white and black fought for dominance.

However, in the end, there was no winner, for the attacks dissipated at the same time, leaving Mizuki to escape deeper into the forest.

As Mizuki did so, he heard a callout from Neko.

Neko: "Fall back! We will endeavor at Point C at the Hour of Snow."[3]

Naturally, Konoha had developed a code for its shinobi to use so that their opponents could not discern what they are saying when a captain needs to deliver quick orders.

Mizuki quickly memorized the statement before continuing deeper into the forest, trying to put distance between him and the two Kumo Kunoichi.

Mizuki: "Well, it appears that we will be meeting more often or sooner than I thought . . . . Samui"

. . . . .

Upon seeing the shinobi flee, Mabui was about to rush in after them, before being stopped by Samui.

Samui: "Not Cool."

Mabui: "But Samui- we had them on the ropes!"

Samui: "True, but if we rush into the forest we would be walking right into an ambush. Not to mention the fact that your jutsu is less effective in enclosed spaces like forests."

Mabui: "Where do you think they are from?"

Samui: "Well, considering that Konoha is our main opponent in the war, I would normally say it is a no brainer, but they used earth jutsu and had kunai from Kiri."

Mabui: "Kiri? What would they be doing all the way out here?"

Samui: "I would not know. But considering we are in a world war, anything is possible."

Mabui: "And the White Flames?"

Samui: "Probably a Kekkei Genkai of some kind..."

As Samui said those words, her voice slowly faded as she began to think.

Mabui: "Samui?"

Samui: "Right. Sorry. I was just thinking about something."

Samui: {That shinobi who cast those white flames is somewhat familiar, but from where?}

Mabui: "What should we do now that they have escaped then?"

Samui: "We report to the Raikage immediately. Only he can decide what to do with the knowledge that there are spies running rampant in the Land of Lightning."

Mabui: "Right"

And just like that, the two shinobi body flickered away, leaving behind silence in their wake on the now-abandoned battlefield, with the only evidence that a conflict had ever happened being the scarred and scorched earth below.

. . . . .

[1] An OC Jutsu, Imagine Sasuke's Chidori spear, except with black lightning instead and you will have the general idea.

[2] Another Jutsu for the new flame style! Can't remember who, but somebody in the comments suggested an idea for a flame snake bc Mizuki summons them, so thanks to whoever that was! Also, my naming sense is garbage, any alternative names which I could use would be appreciated.

[3] Same thing as the last one, OC code, I'm sorry that it sounds so chuni, if you have any better ideas they would be appreciated!