Ch429. Help or burden?

The only reason why A didn't explode in an impotent rage was that he noticed Samui pushing Mabui out of the trajectory of his deflected attack before she barely managed to evade it herself.

It was obvious the feat took a lot from the panting Samui. A was actually very flabbergasted that she managed to pull it out. She might have been a Kumo jonin but reacting to his top speed was a feat of its own.

Ringo curiously observed as Samui rescued the dark-skinned secretary of the Raikage, not reacting or trying to intervene at all. She was quite impressed with what she saw and a spark of curiosity was lit in her.

A saw Ringo's eyes linger in Mabui's direction and he didn't like it at all. A frown appeared on his face. He didn't like the red-haired bitch's attention on his lover! Nothing good could come from that!

He pushed himself back onto his feet, ignoring the sting coming from his nose and mouth, and clenched his fists in anger.

"I am here you bitch! Where are you looking!" A screamed and charged at the distracted Ringo.

Ringo used her small stature and ducked under A's swing, but she couldn't capitalize on his brief opening because A's left leg instantly sprang up, attempting to deliver a kick to her gut.

Ringo disappeared before the kick could land and reappeared a few feet away from A, her eyebrows furrowed as she wondered what got his panties in a twist.

A didn't even notice as he dashed at Ringo again, cracking the floor underneath him with every step.

This time, Ringo blocked the punch with her palm and sidestepped the following kick before she sent her own counter-kick which was promptly evaded by A and the two took a distance from each other again.

Not a split of a second later, the lightning armor's around them buzzed as they clashed once again, exchanging a blur of attacks before they separated.

This kind of exchange continued for a few rounds and it would go on for much longer if a distraction didn't interrupt them.

As A was about to rush at Ringo for the n-th time, frustrated that he still could not deliver a proper blow at Ringo but still confident because she didn't hit him either if he didn't count the earlier punch, he was suddenly stopped in his tracks when his ears recognized a familiar voice.

"Raikage-sama!/A-sama!" Two female voices exclaimed from what was previously the entrance to the Kage Box.

Both A and Ringo turned to the newcomers, A inwardly scared witless as his senses entered overdrive and zoomed on Ringo's action, while Ringo had cat-like half-lidded eyes and an amused smile on her lips.

She was happy they finally showed up.

In fact, she observed them with her sensory abilities while she fought A and knew they headed in this direction.

And to be frank, fighting A was getting a bit boring. She welcomed the distraction.

One of the two females was Mabui, Raikage's secretary, while the other was Samui, one of Raikage's guards.

Mabui clenched her fists. She seemed eager, maybe even desperate, to leap into the battle in order to help A, and only the fact she was too experienced to let her emotions rule her prevented her from rushing in.

Samui drew her sword upon seeing Ringo's attention on them... but her hands visibly trembled. She knew this battle was above her paygrade but sometimes, you simply are not afforded the luxury of picking your fights.

When Ringo saw how the pitiful girl reacted to a bit of her killing intent... okay, maybe that 'bit' was a bit too high for your everyday ninja... she was a bit disappointed. But the determination behind those clear blue eyes... now that piqued Ringo's interest further.

"You fools! What are you doing here!? Go away!" A loudly shouted, trying to make them take a hint without being too obvious so Ringo would not notice his feelings about the situation.

He really felt cornered right now.

Defending himself from Ringo? That much he could do.

Fighting her while defending his lover? He wasn't sure about that.

Funnily enough, the thought of defending Samui never crossed his mind. Nobody could really blame him for it, though. As grateful as he was for Samui saving Mabui earlier, he didn't have the leisure to be sure of his ability to protect his loved person so there was no need to contemplate his ability to choose the life and death of some unimportant guard in this battle.

As much as A tried to hide it, Ringo easily picked up on his unease but she did nothing. She simply enjoyed the emotional pressure her proximity to Mabui caused to A.

"We have come to help you, A-sama." Mabui spoke with conviction.

It had to be said, not just anyone could become the secretary of a Kage. Mabui was not some random chunin. She was actually one of the best jonins Kumo had to offer so even if she would not necessarily be able to win against Ringo in a fight, she was ready to lay down her life in order to help A.

Samui just nodded in agreement, her eyes not leaving Ringo. She was still slightly trembling but her body and mind were slowly getting used to the killing intent.

Ringo wondered about that and with a veiled smirk, she was slightly increasing the pressure. Not in a noticeable amount. Just enough that an experienced kunoichi like Samui would not just instantly get used to it while also making sure she would not notice.

She simply wanted to see how far she could push the girl before she crumbled. It was painfully obvious that from the three Kumo ninjas, the busty blonde was the least experienced.

Yet, most intriguing for Ringo.

A didn't like what he was hearing but there was no time to scream himself hoarse at them. He had a dangerous threat in front of him and even a small slip in his attention could prove fatal. As much as he hated it, there was no other way than to let them stay and fight by his side.

"Fine." He grumpily spoke, "Mabui, take care of the defense and long-range support, Samui, melee offense with me."

Of course, giving Mabui the safest job was totally intentional.

"Cool." Samui muttered, not really expecting any different. Her tone was even and dry with a smidge of emotionlessness but if one really tried, the underlying nervousness could still be heard in the woman's voice.

"Are you sure the girl can take the fight? Just look at her, she is trembling from fear." Ringo mockingly remarked while smugly grinning at A.

"She is a proud Kumo kunoichi! She will do her duty!" A bellowed.

Ringo opened her mouth in order to deliver another witty remark but she was interrupted as both A and Samui rushed at her.

They were clearly not interested in talking.

The first to enter the fight was A, simply because the man was far faster than Samui. He tried to deliver a punch at Ringo's chest, trying to distract her from Samui's attack. Just because he put the woman in a very risky position didn't mean he would not try to help ease the danger to her.

But A got a nasty surprise the second he engaged Ringo in combat.

Ringo was no longer interested in playing with A. Instead of humoring him and blocking his hits with pure technique and a bit of lightning chakra, this time she exerted a bit more of her expertise, power, and skill.

A barely saw as Ringo's body suddenly accelerated beyond his wildest imagination and Ringo's hand clutched around the wrist of his incredibly fast punching hand.

His pupils constricted but Ringo was too fast and before he could react, she already spun on her heels, using the momentum to force A's body off the ground and throwing him away.

The next thing A knew was that his body was flying through the air... before it was stopped by slamming into the wall, crumbling it on impact with a loud crash.

Unlike Ringo expected, Samui did not stop her attack just because her leader was defeated in one exchange of blows, which only made Ringo more curious about the expressionless blond.

After her throw of the Raikage, Ringo quickly drew one of her sheathed swords and quickly turned around before blocking a slash from Samui's katana, sparks flying around as the two blades ground against each other.

Ringo's lips stretched into a Cheshire grin as she measured the strength behind Samui's sword, "Don't disappoint me, Kumo girl." She whispered and that was the only warning Samui got before...