Chapter 3.

- Damn it! Need to find a suitable meeting place! We will not have time to prepare a normal ambush, but we must set a few traps.

"There is a fairly large clearing to our left, which will have enough room for maneuvering to use strong techniques," Hyuuga replied. - Get there quickly. There are only seven enemies. Three of them are at the level of an average jonin, the rest are at the level of an experienced chunin. Judging by the behavior and movement of the bodies of our opponents, three of them are used to acting in a team, and the rest are singles.

- How many ninjutsu specialists? Linley asked as our group jumped through the trees in the right direction and one of her students left disguised explosive seals behind him, covering them with an illusion.

Of course, this is just my guess, but the fact that the papers with the explosion seal were disappearing right before our eyes, merging with the color of the bark, only reinforced the assumption.

- Three! Another medic or genjutsu specialist, and the rest are likely contacts. Everyone has a tanto with them.

"But Kiri shinobi don't use tanto!" the jonin exclaimed.

- We will worry about this later, - the commander snapped, - when you fight, be careful - one of them has just gone underground and continues to move in our direction!

- Kiri knows Doton!? - quietly surprised ma. "Something is not clean here...

Jumping out into the open space, our squad ran forward a little more and stopped, stood in a semicircle, putting obvious hand-to-hand fighters in the center, and placing everyone else on the sides, except for Senju, who stopped a step away from us. Ma handed me over at the first sign of danger.

- Senju-san, we will take over the main battle, and you cover clients and support from afar, acting as a reserve if the need arises.

- Will be done! Team, stick together and demonstrate everything I've taught you!

Yes, sensei!

- You know what to do, - nodded his jonin, - attention, they will appear now. If possible, we will try to do without a fight, but at the first sign of a threat, we strike to kill!

It was at the moment when he finished speaking that I began to feel the shinobi approaching us, both through the trees and underground. The Inuzuki dog growled softly and tensed. Quite unexpectedly for me, there was a quick flash of chakra, and then an explosion, then another, merging into a whole cannonade. After one of the explosions, the source of chakra closest to him stopped and began to weaken

- Gotcha! One had his leg blown off by an explosive seal! Yonshi slammed his fist into the palm of his hand.

Glancing at Hyuuga with a frown, Ma squeezed my hand reassuringly before whispering,

"Ryuu-chan, can you hang on me by yourself without support?" I'll need my hands free just in case.

Nodding, I pulled myself up a little in my arms and wrapped my legs around my mother at stomach level, mentally praising the physical exercises that had begun, which included stretching, as well as the fact that Saya kept herself in shape and did not differ in large physique - thanks to this and such a four-year-old child like me could comfortably wrap his legs around her slender waist. I clasped my legs together to make sure I was holding on securely, whereupon Ma removed her hands and jumped slightly to check. I kept calm.

- Great! And don't forget the rules!

- Yes, ka-chan!

While we exchanged a couple of phrases, the pursuers caught up with us and landed on the other side of the clearing. And judging by the slight hitch, they expected us to be smaller. This means that the sensor they have is able to distinguish only the very presence of chakra nearby, but not the number and strength of each shinobi.

"Who are you and why are you persecuting us," Hyuuga took advantage of the pause. - Kiri has nothing to do in the territory of the land of Fire, so it's better to leave in an amicable way, otherwise your village will be responsible for the consequences!

It's strange that he started the conversation instead of punching right away. Or is he just afraid to be the first to start a conflict between the villages? But his little speech did not impress his enemies. The one that felt the strongest took out two pieces of paper from the pocket of the uniform and threw a quick glance in our direction, nodded.

- Take Senju and Uzumaki alive, kill the rest, - the enemy leader commanded, and this phrase served as a signal to start the battle.

- Ryu, eyes! - commanded ma, taking a kunai in her hands and squatting slightly, spreading her legs a little wider, preparing to jump in any direction.

Obeying the order, I closed my eyes and immediately began to saturate the shirt with chakra. Even if I'm not able to see the entire battle, I doubt that my gaze at that age is even able to follow the speed of a normal chunin's movements, so I had to rely on the senses of the sensor and hearing. However, the sounds of impacts, the clanging of weapons and other signs of combat nearby were interrupted every few seconds by explosions and waves of hot air.

- Rin! Damn! Senju swore at the same time as another painful scream, and with a slight surge of chakra, she simply disappeared, appearing in the middle of the fight.

- Cato: Ko... "BOOM"!

- Gatsuga!

- Doto... "BOOM" "BOOM"!

Along with the chakra flashes from the fight that almost blinded my senses, the names of techniques flew and given the complete absence of water techniques, while even one of Rayton was used, all this led to serious concerns - Kiri shinobi mostly used large swords and water techniques, but not fire or earth ones. Trying to figure out what was happening around us, I somehow lost sight of the seventh shinobi, who took advantage of the dive and, as a result, paid attention to another source of chakra under my feet only when we were about five meters away.

- Below us! I almost yelped, instantly covered in cold perspiration from fear.

Luckily, Ma reacted instantly, jumping back and starting to fold the seals.

- Cato: Eryudan!

The heat flared in my face and the fire technique flew straight to the place where we had just been. And right into the flames, a shinobi, who did not have time to figure out the changed situation, flew out from under the ground. The scream of insane pain was quickly cut off as an explosion occurred. The smell of burning meat that reached me almost made me empty my stomach, but with a monstrous effort of will, I swallowed and tried not to pay attention to it, not immediately realizing that the sounds were beginning to subside.

- Kaiten!

Along with a dome of chakra that I could almost feel, the last two enemy shinobi were out of order and silence hung around, interrupted only by a couple of thumps on the ground and quiet moans. Several barely audible sounds were heard, as if a weapon had been driven into something and only our detachment remained alive around. It is true that the two chunin were quite seriously injured, considering the sharp fluctuations in chakra, but judging by the use of healing techniques and the fact that that their condition gradually improved, there was no need to fear special consequences.

"Ka-chan, can I open my eyes?" I asked softly, still clinging to my mother's back and maintaining my defenses.

"Wait a bit, my dear, now we will move away from here and only then I will allow you to look around," Saya stroked my head.

- Did you find anything? Senju's voice was heard.

"No, a standard set of equipment for missions, a couple of seals of paralysis for prisoners and nothing else, not even personal items," Hyuuga replied, "only photos of you and the baby. It is quite obvious that it was you who were the targets, but the attackers did not expect to see my team.

"Damn, someone ratted us out if the attackers knew when and where their targets were going," Linley almost growled. - Seal the bodies and get out of here before anyone else shows up.

After waiting until we moved away from the place of battle, I stopped the flow of chakra, noting with pleasure that the total supply had not decreased much, opened my eyes and got the opportunity to assess the damage inflicted on our side. The jonin were relatively intact, except for some scratches and burn marks on their clothes, but almost all the chunin looked like this, as if they were first passed through a meat grinder, and then they tried to fry. One of them took care of his hand hanging with a whip, and Inuzuka held on to his right side. His ninken looked the most whole, but a few bloody stains near the mouth and on the paws showed that he also contributed to the overall victory.

"I don't like this," the jonin broke the silence, as soon as we were a few kilometers away from the clearing, "they knew approximately where we would end up, had photographs taken in Konoha and certainly weren't Kirigakure shinobi, despite the bandages!" I've seen enough nebulae in my time to recognize them.

"It is strange that they did not expect to see the second team, otherwise they would not have hesitated," the commander nodded, "it seems that the person who provided the information only knew about the team led by Senju-dono and taking into account all possible opponents, selected the appropriate group.

"As much as I hate to admit it, against the seven, we would have lost even with the help of Nara-san, and certainly would not have been able to ensure the safety of Ryu-chan," the kunoichi grimaced, "not to mention early detection thanks to the byakugan."

- Most likely, the one who sent these shinobi did not think that I would hire one team myself, and the other - oto-san, - after thinking, my mother said. - Based on this, the attack makes sense.

"Is your son really an Uzumaki?" Hyuuga suddenly asked, casting a fleeting glance at my hair, not that you could tell from the eyes themselves.

- Almost a complete copy of the father! Ma said proudly.

"Hmm... given the family ties of the clans and their hereditary traits, it is quite obvious that it was the representatives of the Uzumaki and Senju who hunted in order to get their hands on them.

Why would someone need representatives of these particular clans, he did not add, but there are really only a few options - sealing bijuu in my case or getting children with kekkei genkai from both of us. What fate would have awaited Linley is already clear to everyone, judging by the gloomy face of the failed victim.

"As soon as we get there, I'll send a message from oto-san and the Nara clan will investigate," Ma promised grimly, jumping from branch to branch.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd keep us updated," the jonin asked.

Sighing, my mother grabbed me more comfortably and with a nod, increased her speed. After the incident, no one was particularly drawn to talking and the detachment sought to quickly reach the coastal city, where we could be handed over to Uzushiogakure shinobi and thoroughly deal with the wounded.

Death on the battlefield can make an indelible impression on the fragile mind of a child, sometimes causing mental trauma, so from time to time I caught Baba's caring gaze when she turned around. Fortunately, a fair amount of cynicism and a simpler view of death were passed on to me from a past life, and training in the clan, although recently begun, and the ability to think soberly, allowed me to avoid such a fate. And I had seen corpses before, so the attack only strengthened my belief that in this world you have to be strong so that you can protect yourself and everyone you care about. And also, so that you are not dictated by the conditions under which you can live. when she turned around. Fortunately, a fair amount of cynicism and a simpler view of death were passed on to me from a past life, and training in the clan, although recently begun, and the ability to think soberly, allowed me to avoid such a fate. And I had seen corpses before, so the attack only strengthened my belief that in this world you have to be strong so that you can protect yourself and everyone you care about. And also, so that you are not dictated by the conditions under which you can live. when she turned around.