Chapter 27: Evil Ninja

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The younger group, led by Hinata, moved ahead while Naruto and Choji protected the older group. 

During this time, Naruto noticed that Kikusuke had quietly slipped away. 

Naruto created a wood clone to help push the carts while he quickly followed Kikusuke. 

The two moved swiftly through the forest, with Naruto easily hiding his presence. 

Eventually, Kikusuke stopped and faced an enemy: Renga, the third-ranked member of the Evil Ninjas, identifiable by the strange markings on his face and the twin crutches he wielded.

Despite the formidable opponent, Kikusuke showed no fear. 

He quickly formed hand seals and activated his jutsu, "Flower Shuriken Dance." 

Countless flower petals rose, swirling like shuriken with a sharp whistling sound, attacking Renga. 

Unfortunately, Renga easily blocked the attack with his crutches, mocking Kikusuke. 

Kikusuke didn't give up and circled Renga while launching another jutsu, "Blooming Flowers." 

A rain of flower shuriken descended, covering Renga entirely. Not only were the shuriken numerous, but they also exploded upon impact.

However, Renga defended himself with a water-style jutsu, shielding him from the explosions. 

Kikusuke tried an illusion technique, but Renga quickly dispelled it with a simple release. 

In the blink of an eye, Kikusuke unleashed another attack, "Flame of Blooming Flowers," causing large flames to surge toward Renga. 

This time, Ruka, still recovering from the genjutsu, was nearly caught by the flames. 

Kikusuke's mastery of flower-style techniques was impressive, but unfortunately, fire-style jutsu has little advantage over water-style. 

Renga's water defenses protected him once more. Renga sneered, "Your flower techniques are useless against me. Now it's my turn." 

"Water Style: Water Cannon!" A powerful water jet shot toward Kikusuke, who was disheartened that his best techniques had failed. 

The attack knocked him to the ground and prevented him from moving. Renga slowly approached, ready to finish him off. 

Kikusuke closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

Just then, Naruto intervened. He leaped from the trees and kicked Ruka back, quickly dropping two smoke bombs. 

In the cover of smoke, he carried Kikusuke into another part of the forest. 

When Kikusuke opened his eyes, he was shocked to find himself alive and being carried by someone. 

Naruto set him down, and Kikusuke, still in disbelief, realized that a mere genin had saved him from Renga.

Naruto looked at Renga and said, "We were given a D-rank escort mission just to protect you from bandits." 

"But now that actual ninjas are involved, this goes beyond our mission."

Kikusuke lowered his head, knowing Naruto was right. He and Yurisuke couldn't complete this mission alone. 

Naruto explained the situation, "If you're willing to tell me everything you've been hiding, then I might consider helping you beyond this mission." 

"But you need to be honest with everyone right now." Grateful, Kikusuke replied, "Thank you, Naruto. I'll explain everything." 

Meanwhile, Naruto's wood clone was helping Choji protect the elderly group. Suddenly, a stream of water surrounded the convoy, but it soon dissipated. 

At that moment, Naruto and Kikusuke arrived. Naruto quickly realized that Renga had likely gone after the younger group and not found what he was looking for.

Concerned for Hinata's safety, Naruto rushed forward, pushing the cart at full speed. The others tried their best to keep up. 

Thanks to Naruto and Choji's efforts, they managed to catch up with the group before Renga reached them. 

Seeing Naruto, Choji, and Kikusuke arrive, the girl named Shun does not react, while Hinata barely has time to process the situation. 

However, Yurisuke approached Kikusuke and asked, "Kikusuke, did you take care of the enemy?"

Kikusuke sighed, "No, the enemy is incredibly powerful and uses jutsu we've never seen before." 

"Not only couldn't I defeat him, but I nearly lost my life. Luckily, Naruto saved me in time."

Yurisuke looked at Naruto, feeling both gratitude and guilt. On the other hand, Shun seemed indifferent, as if everything was proceeding as expected. 

Kikusuke approached Shun, saying, "We have to be honest now, or they won't protect us anymore."

Shun coldly responded, "Why? Didn't Konoha send them to help us?"

Yurisuke lowered his head and explained, "They were only assigned a D-rank mission to protect us from bandits." 

"If we had told them they were protecting a noble, the mission rank would have been A, which is beyond their duty." 

"They have every right to abandon us." Though Shun was cold, she was smart. 

After hearing Yurisuke's explanation, he realized he was wrong. 

Without further protest, he turned away, saying nothing more. 

Kikusuke stepped into the group's center and revealed, "My real name isn't Kikusuke; it's Kikunojo. Yurisuke's real name is Yurinojo." 

"And this person here is Princess Haruna, daughter of the Daimyo of the Land of Vegetables."

The elderly in the group were shocked but also delighted to be in the presence of a princess. 

Princess Haruna, however, remained cold and indifferent. Yurinojo continued, "The Land of Vegetables has been taken over in a coup." 

"The Evil Ninja Clan have bribed most of the officials." 

"The Daimyo ordered us to protect the princess, but the Evil Ninja is extremely powerful, using jutsu we've never seen." 

"They're ruthless and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Fearing we lacked manpower, we posted a mission to escort a merchant convoy." 

"But we couldn't reveal the truth because we were fleeing secretly. I'm very sorry for deceiving you."

Princess Haruna interjected, "We also didn't want you to run away when you learned the truth." 

"The strength of the Evil Ninja is far beyond anything you can handle. Even if you didn't run, you'd just be killed eventually." 

"All I care about is that you protect me. The rest of you are your problem."

Naruto couldn't stand her attitude and walked up to her, saying, "Do you think the world should just revolve around you?" 

"Just because you're the Daimyo's daughter, you think everyone has to take on your risk?" 

"Let me tell you something, that's not happening. If you keep acting like this, I won't help."

Princess Haruna turned her head away, refusing to respond. Yurinojo approached Naruto, pleading, 

"Please, Naruto, don't take it to heart. We need your help. With just the two of us, there's no way we can defeat them."

Naruto replied, "I'll protect Haruna, but from now on, you must follow my orders. That's the only way we'll keep her safe."

Yurinojo nodded in agreement.

Naruto glanced at the sky and said, "It's getting dark now, and the night won't be in our favor for action." 

"We'll rest here, and the merchants not involved in this situation should continue to avoid getting caught up in it again." 

Princess Haruna wanted to use them further, but Kikunojo stopped her. 

Seeing this, Naruto realized that someone like her wouldn't regain herself without going through certain experiences. 

Her past had skewed her view of the world, making her cold and unfeeling.

Normally, Naruto wouldn't want to get involved in such matters, but this time, it seemed necessary, especially since he still needed help. 

Haruna saw that everyone else supported this decision, so she had no choice but to step aside, putting on a facade of indifference as if saying, 

"Don't come to me if anything goes wrong." After the others left, Naruto and the rest set up tents and prepared to rest. 

Knowing there was no point in continuing her disguise, Haruna removed her men's clothes and changed back into her original attire.

Naruto glanced at her; though she wasn't breathtakingly beautiful, she had a certain charm, and her manners revealed her upbringing as the daughter of a noble family. 

After all, she was the daughter of the Daimyō. Naruto discussed with the others, 

"You guys set up traps here. If Renga catches up, Kikunojō, Yurinojō, Chōji, and Hinata will ambush him." Suppose you can take him down, great.

If not, don't push yourselves—just buy me some time."

"I'll take Princess Haruna back to the Land of Vegetables. With me protecting her, she'll be safe." 

Chōji and Hinata were confident in Naruto's abilities, but Kikunojō was worried, saying, 

"If Renga chases after you, won't the princess be in danger? If it's just you, I'm afraid—"

Naruto interrupted, "If we all stay here, we might get surrounded by the other members of the Evil Ninja. Then, we'd all be done for." 

"My plan gives you the best chance to ambush and take down Ruka since you have the numbers advantage." 

"I can get the princess to safety faster. Even if we are discovered, I can escape with her." 

"Kikunojō, you remember how I helped you escape, right? But I can only take one person. If there are too many, it'll slow us down."

Hearing Naruto's reasoning, Kikunojō realized there wasn't a better plan. Plus, since Naruto had already saved him once, Kikunojō trusted him. 

Yurinojō, who had doubts, was about to speak up, but Kikunojō cut him off, saying, "I believe in Naruto's strength." 

"He proved it when he saved me. It's tough for him, but let's trust him." 

Yurinojō, weaker than Kikunojō, always looked up to him, so he agreed after hearing that.

Naruto said, "Be careful, and remember, don't engage in a death match."

"My comrades' safety is more important than the mission." With that, he entered Haruna's tent and quietly took her away. 

Haruna, who had planned to flee anyway, had no concern for the other's safety. 

Seeing that Naruto was taking her to escape, she readily agreed and followed him into the night.

Naruto and Haruna escaped, leaving the other four behind to wait for the enemy. 

Renga, who had been chasing Haruna, soon fell into the trap Hinata and the others laid. 

Kikunojō and Yurinojō launched the first attack, combining their efforts against Renga. 

However, both lacked powerful jutsu, and their attacks couldn't penetrate Renga's water shield. 

They quickly found themselves in danger, trapped by Ruka's Water Style techniques.

Seizing the opportunity, Chōji entered the battle, using his giant body to crush the water prison. 

Ruka was surprised by Chōji's appearance but, confident in his abilities, didn't see Chōji as a real threat. 

At this moment, Hinata launched a barrage of kunai, some rigged with explosive tags. 

This forced Renga to leap and dodge, and he used Water Style techniques to block the attack. 

Renga found himself a little rattled for the first time but still managed to fend off the assault.

Hinata then engaged in close combat with her Gentle Fist technique, but Renga's water defense prevented her strikes from landing. 

Meanwhile, Renga's water jutsu flowed toward Hinata, catching her off guard and trapping her in a water prison. 

Seizing the chance, Renga rushed to the tent to find the princess, only to discover it empty. 

Realizing he'd fallen into a trap, he turned to see Hinata breaking free from the water prison using her Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. 

The flow of chakra shattered the prison, and Hinata was free.

Though Ruka didn't understand the exact technique, he knew about the Hyūga clan's Byakugan. 

Realizing that defeating all four opponents wouldn't be easy, Renga performed hand signs for a Water Style jutsu, intending to escape and pursue the princess. 

The four didn't expect Renga to abandon the fight and go after Haruna, and they chased after him, hoping to delay him as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Princess Haruna had already fled quite a distance. 

They would've escaped if Renga had been the only enemy, but another figure had appeared in their path. 

A large man wielding a massive chain hammer blocked their way. 

His face bore the same markings as Ruka's, and he was another member of the Evil Ninja named Jiga.

Jika swung his chain hammer and said, "Hand over Haruna, Leaf ninja. You're no match for me, so just walk away." 

Knowing that protecting her was Naruto's mission, Haruna expected him to refuse. 

However, to her surprise, Naruto said, "In that case, I'll leave her to you. Please, let me go."

Haruna reacted furiously, shouting at Naruto, "How can you abandon me?" 

"You promised to protect me! If I return to the Land of Vegetables, I'll be the Daimyō's sole heir. Aren't ninja supposed to prioritize their missions?"

Naruto laughed and replied, "In dangerous times like this, no one would willingly sacrifice their life to protect you." 

"Life is precious, and everyone only gets one. If I die, then everything's over—missions, ninja codes, none of that matters anymore." 

"As for you, a selfish Daimyō like you isn't something the Land of Vegetables needs. By your logic, running away would be my smart choice, right?"

Hearing this, Haruna was at a loss for words. 

For the first time, she began to feel she might be wrong, but it seemed too late. 

Naruto quickly turned and ran away. Watching him flee, Haruna felt regret for the first time. 

Meanwhile, Jiga walked toward her with a sinister grin. As an ordinary person, Haruna had no way to defend herself.

<End Chapter>

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