The Sannin Skirmish (4)

Third Tsuchikage is known to have several offspring. No, he doesn't claim a harem but like the Third Raikage, he too, adopted a simpler manner of sowing his seeds far and wide to keep his heritage intact in times of war.

Unlike the well-known brutal treatment that Third Raikage places upon his children, however, Third Tsuchikage's competition isn't internal but an external one. With the first Tsuchikage being their Grandfather and the Third being their father, they are expected to be great.

To stand out from the masses be it in terms of looks, disposition, skills, talents, and luck.

The leader of the second division of Explosion Corps— Kuroi, is one such individual. His life... is filled with success. From affinity to the Kekkei Genkai— Explosion Release to attracting his father's attention and then being placed a commander of this division in his early 20s.

Leading four shinobi in their distinct Iwa attire consisting of red tops and trousers covered by brown flak jackets, Kuroi eventually came to a stop and viewed the gigantic lake from a distance.

The perimeter of Takigakure is obviously heavily guarded even if they cannot see a single shinobi. But it would take more than a few Shinobi to intimidate the Explosion Corp of Iwagakure.

Despite their Kekkei Genkai and two distinct use that can be differentiated as long and short-distance combat, they have supplementary abilities that makes a team stronger.

Sensory skills, trap making, experience in other nin, tai, and genjutsus. Not to mention their teamwork built over years of service.

Yet, what DID intimidate the Iwa team is that giant lake around that giant tree.

Aside from having a hidden entrance, Takigakure can be considered a bit 'open' without any necessary fences but that is because like many other shinobi villages, Taki, too, has its defenses laid on its naturally gifted terrain— the large lake.

'We don't have any adept fuin masters here but our cooperation with Kumo will help us with that' Kuroi narrows his eyes and waits silently in the dead of the dark. As many suspects, there is still a level of cooperation between the Third Raikage and Tsuchikage. But this layer of cooperation is flimsy. And the Shinobi need to be cautious no matter what so tensions ran high within Kuroi's team.

'Although we have specialized Fuinjutsu experts, they are needed to be kept safe and train other talented shinobi so that our last Jinchuriki doesn't encounter a mishap... just what kind of policies is Kumogakure on? To send a team of Fuinjutsu shinobi... who most likely aren't core to the village's framework...'

A pang of envy grows in Kuroi's heart. Like many of his recent missions, this one is undocumented, too.

On the surface, until the official start of the war, all Shinobi villages must keep a peaceful gesture and 'protect' each other.

But... Kuroi cares nothing about that.

'If I can capture Third Raikage's son... Not only will the secret of full-body Lightning Chakra Flow be ours but also the secrets to their recent growth!'

Seconds turn into minutes and the moment the Kumo team is late by an entire minute, Kuroi grits his teeth, "We are retreating!"

His team offers no suggestion or rebuttal and follows the order to a T. Yet, as they are retreating safely, the sensor of the team makes a gesture that stops others in their tracks, and the entire Explosion Corp wears a heavy look of caution.

The team of five enters their well-practiced battle positions.

Kuroi and another 'close-combat' shinobi adopt the front position with the other two securing their backs. Meanwhile, the one in the center unzips his pouch and pulls out a clay 'doll' in the shape of a thumb-sized eagle.

Without speaking much, this shinobi injects his chakra into clay shaped like an eagle, and it expands with a plume of smoke. Jumping on the white clay eagle, the man controls it somehow to fly high in the sky. During the moment of flight, Kuroi and others focus on their teammate but seeing his flight uninterrupted, they feel relief and a little cautious at once.

They don't need to communicate with words. At the moment, the shinobi in the sky is the team's greatest scout, and completing his task dutifully, he tosses out another item made out of clay. This time, it's a swallow that quickly flies in a peculiar direction...

The direction of the enemies.

Of course, this is also a method that brings awareness to the enemy that they are found but that matters little as Kuroi and others turn their position and give chase. Their scout has different clay dolls for different origins of enemies so if it's just a swallow doll, it means that even the scout isn't aware of the identity of their opponents or where they hail from.

*Fwip*

Alongside the sharp cutting noise of the wind, a pair of hands almost pitch-black under the soft glow of the moon cut into the clay eagle before stabbing into the flying shinobi as Kuroi and others watch in shock. After all, the speed of this attack is unlike they have ever seen before!

*Zap*

Their surroundings illuminate with Kuroi's sharp instincts kicking in and his entire body suddenly... explodes.

From head to toe— to the very tips of his hair.

*Booommmmm*

No doubt such a loud clamor will attract quite a bit of attention but it was either this or death.

And Kuroi chose the former.

Although naked, Kuroi barely looks hurt in any manner as his team, too, was quick to protect themselves the moment they witnessed an arc of blue lightning heading Kuroi's way.

"So, it's as predicted," Kuroi states grimly while glaring at the beast of a man standing not far from him with a cloak of lightning surrounding him— Not-A.

"Sharp as always, Kuroi," Not-A barks with a gloomy expression as the explosion Corp of Iwa is surrounded by four more masked shinobi that have the kanji of 'Hidden' plastered on their masks— The Fuin Corps.

The two groups stare each other off tensely for a minute before a strange noise enters their senses.

*Tssss*

"Aaaghhh!"

Not only Kuroi but everyone else including Not-A jump. However, a few of them fail. The soles of their sandals and their feet corrode into a mess of blood, leather, and flesh with their bones melting soon after and eating up their entire bodies!

Both the specialized team suffer in an instant!

The ground they were once standing on is now a goop of acidic cyan-tinted slime and the few trees on which the Fuin Corps stood are no better.

More decisive than his team, Kuroi quickly casts another explosion on his left foot which is being eaten up by the slime but this doesn't make things any better as he lands away on one foot to find a punch lashing against his skull at lightning speed.

No fanfare. No trash talk.

Just death.

Without sparing Kuroi's corpse a glance, Not-A remains on move by blitzing around and looking for the shinobi who just released that corrosive slime out of nowhere.

Biting back the annoyance of losing the team and knowing he'll be likely returning after tonight, Not-A thinks for a moment and decides against meeting with the village's mercenary. With a hidden shinobi capable of causing great destruction, Not-A didn't want to muddy the waters by adding the unknown element of that shinobi.

However, with this night being full of surprises, Not-A almost roars in frustration when his footing fails to land on the branch of a tree... no... the branch moves and smacks him in the face before shattering into splinters.

Landing on the ground but not wasting another second, Not-A jumps away instantly and it's then when Karma hits him—

In the form of a punch so hard that it bypasses the defenses of his chakra kneaded into his skin and a punch so precise that doesn't hurt him but blows his lights off in an instant!

'Huff... better than killing A's kid is to capture him before letting him use his explosive seal, huh... And what better way to catch a speedster by surprise than speed itself?'

A pair of glimmering golden eyes slowly dull down to more modest amber hues. With green markings spreading from her forehead promptly inverting to form a circular and verdant green seal, Tsunade steps out from the darkness but her senses don't diminish.

Frowning for a moment, she forms a number of seals in quick succession which causes a nearby tree to blow up.

'Huh... was I imagining that? No... there definitely was someone... or something glancing at me.'

She did have to enter her Sage Mode to match Not-A in speed so she wasn't thrilled by the idea of her strength being exposed yet, in the end, she cannot do anything. If someone was spying on her and was quick enough to escape then that's that.

'This should basically mark the end of Iwa's and Kumo's cooperation around Taki for the time being. Never expected things to go this easy but that's the thing about being strong— life becomes simpler.'

She presses a few points over the bulky shinobi's body and then seals him into a stasis within a scroll Kai created. The same scroll that sealed Cerberus, too. Of course, it comes with a time limit of one month but that is more than enough.

'I should clear the battlefield before others arrive... and store Kuroi's corpse. There's gotta be a good sum on his head~ More funds for gambling~!'

As for drinking? She is thoroughly hooked on Somarasa and Kai so other drinking ventures suffered quite a bit with Tsunade's lack of interest in them.

'I also need to assist Orochi's and Jiraiya's clones until they find Hero Water... sigh, Taki cannot know that their imminent danger is reduced or we'll have no reason to 'righteously' stay here until our other objective is complete... fuck, I hate that I am so good in politics now.'

---

While Tsunade ended things rather abruptly due to her lack of interest in prolonging a fight and her sheer strength kept under the wraps for a long time now, Orochi's and Jiraiya's clones can't admit the same thing.

Limited to water release and earth release jutsu respectively, Orochimaru's clones and Jiraiya's clones struggled against the strange... well, calling this man a 'shinobi' would be an understatement.

'Then again,' Orochimaru narrows her eyes, 'Shinobi is merely a term that came to play after the warring era when those with chakra decided to reign shadows. We are researchers and academic scholars right from the moment we become a Genin... but just bloodier.'

Forming continuous seals, Orochimaru's cheeks inflate and she releases her jutsu— Water Release: Water Bullets!

Sharp, pressurized water bullets blow out of her mouth with extreme precision as they target that 'thing.'

"It may be hard to discern shadow clones but any other elemental clone is a child's play," He hums casually and extends his right hand as a whip.

Long, surgical scars litter his body from all around which are stitched by thick, dark-grey tendrils of sorts, and this man's right and left hands darken with chakra flowing through them.

'Crushing' Jiraiya's throat as he crumbles into the earth, the unknown mercenary blocks the water bullets with remarkable ease.

'Earth release chakra flow that doesn't seem to make his body heavy in any manner,' Orochimaru keeps her distance, 'It's almost too bad I cannot easily share information with the main body or risk going into Sage Mode as a mere clone.'

"I have faced many from Konohagakure," the man's pupilless green eyes lack every bit of compassion as he stares at Orochimaru's clones, "But the Sannin are the most disappointing of them all."

'Chatting? Fine by me. I can waste time all I want...' Orochimaru continues to maintain her silence. They could still hear crashing sounds not far from the distance and this man in front of them who seem to be capable enough to 'elongate' his limbs must have heard it, too.

'A few more seconds. If Tsunade chose to deal with A's son then she must have—'

*Tchk*

*Tchk*

Two sharp dark-grey tendrils spear through the back of her skull and heart as Orochimaru's clone disperses in water, too.

"Too disappointing. But I will settle for your bounties."

The man mumbles as the two idle tendrils slip back into the ground and continue to retract until they enter the back of his open ankles once more. In the depth of darkness with minimal illumination, all that can be seen through the cut-open ankles are a group of writhing, living tentacles.

***

Alternate Title: A Cruel Execution; Shinobi Deals in Precision; Willing Shinobi— Humble Scholars; The Actual Nerds of the World!; Tsunade Got That Gambling Money; Hooked on Kai and Somarasa— Orochi Following Soon After!

***

A/N: At first, I planned to have Not-A, or rather future A die to Tsunade right here but then I realized that with Sage Mode, she is far too strong to NOT capture him alive, and any Shinobi worth their salt would prefer a hostage without a shadow of a doubt. As for Explosion Corp? None of em are as cool as THAT guy!××

***

Enjoyed the Chap~? Consider supporting my works with loads of power stones brothers and sisters!

Shoutout to Levhitor, Kieta Aki, Bartek Aron, William Hallahan, and The Faraway Paladin!!

Read 30 advance chapters here—

Patre on.com/Fanharem

Join the discord for well... uh, dead chat room~

https : //discord.gg/egdFUe5