While Kurenai and the others were fighting, Kitazawa activated the Byakugan.
He scanned the surroundings and didn't see the Mist supply convoy's ships. Looked like they still had some time.
"Nice work," Kitazawa said, dropping the Byakugan and walking into the outpost.
Of the four Mist shinobi stationed there, three were already dead; only a special jōnin still clung to life after taking a Rasengan—barely breathing, not far from death.
"Substitute Technique (Zetsu)."
Kitazawa extended his hand. Chakra wrapped around the middle-aged ninja. A flood of information poured into Kitazawa's mind as his body shifted and morphed into the man's likeness.
"Y-you… you—" The man realized what was happening and struggled.
Kitazawa couldn't be bothered. He drew a kunai and finished him.
He put the kunai away, crouched, and pressed both hands to the ground. Earth-nature chakra surged; the floor caved in and became a deep pit.
"Use the Transformation Technique to look like the other three," Kitazawa said, tossing the four Mist bodies into the pit.
"Torune, you don't need to disguise yourself," Kabuto added after thinking it through. "Hide and support us with your Rinkaichū from the shadows."
Torune's strength was his nano-poison beetles; as long as they were deployed, he could wreak havoc without being seen.
"Okay," Aburame Torune nodded.
Kabuto, Uchiha Izumi, and Kurenai transformed at once.
"Now we wait for the convoy to dock," Kitazawa waved them over with a grin. "Sit, have some tea, clear your head."
"You're the first person I've seen this relaxed mid-mission," Kurenai said, taking the seat opposite him with a small shake of her head.
"Kitazawa-sensei's strong. Even deep behind enemy lines he can keep things light," Kabuto smiled.
"Uh-huh." Kurenai rested her chin on her crossed hands, teasing, "Is flattery part of your regular curriculum?"
"I didn't teach him that," Kitazawa blinked innocently.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Torune cut in just then, "two ships approaching from the east."
"Headcount?" Kitazawa asked, pulling out a stack of explosive tags as he spoke. He planted them in several unobtrusive corners of the outpost.
"Three jōnin, nine chūnin, four genin," Torune reported.
"That many jōnin?" Kurenai's eyebrows rose.
"Kabuto, you're with me on the three jōnin," Kitazawa decided after a beat. "Kurenai, Torune, Izumi—you take the rest."
"Yes," everyone answered together.
Kurenai still felt uneasy, but at this point talk was pointless. The mission came first.
"Torune, find a good hide," Kitazawa said after setting the traps. "We'll go welcome our guests."
[You've encountered Ringo Ameyuri—here for you.]
[Current Mission: Keep hold of Kiba.]
[Reward: +20% chakra capacity.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa made a small, surprised sound. He hadn't expected that.
Ringo Ameyuri was of the Second Generation Seven Ninja Swordsmen—her blade was exactly the Lightning Swords, Kiba, once wielded by Raiga Kurosuki.
Judging from the prompt, she'd joined the war to reclaim Kiba. Since Kiba was in his hands, he was her target.
He sifted through his memory. In the original story, Ringo Ameyuri was a prodigy with blade and lightning—no weaker than Raiga. Either way, the instant he saw the reward, he knew nothing would save her now.
The four left the outpost and headed for the shore. Moments later two large ships eased toward them.
"Did you notify them?" asked the girl at the prow.
She had long reddish-brown hair pulled into upright braids; as she spoke her sharp teeth flashed. Ringo Ameyuri.
"No," the middle-aged jōnin to her left replied. "They probably saw us early and came out to meet us."
"Relax. This is our backline," the younger woman on the right said confidently. "There's no way Konoha shinobi are here."
"Fair point." Ringo lifted her hand. "Dock. Two hours of rest."
The two ships moored, and Ringo's party disembarked.
"Ameyuri-sama," Kitazawa said, stepping up and greeting the three jōnin one by one.
In truth he only knew Ringo; the middle-aged man and the younger woman were strangers to him—but thanks to the Substitute Technique (Zetsu), their identities came naturally.
"We've got lunch ready at the outpost," Kitazawa said, gesturing. "This way, honored jōnin."
"The rest of you, eat where you are," Ringo called, then followed with the other two jōnin.
They reached the outpost quickly.
"After you," Kitazawa said, all deference.
Ringo nodded and started forward without suspicion.
"I'm smelling something odd," the middle-aged jōnin said suddenly.
"Odd?" Ringo inhaled, and her tone snapped tight. "Explosive tags!"
Her warning barely fell when the outpost erupted like a volcano; flame billowed everywhere, swallowing them in a sea of fire.
"Move!" Ringo flickered away with a Body Flicker.
The middle-aged jōnin reacted well, flashing through seals to spew a high-pressure jet that doused the flames. Only the young woman, standing closest, took the full blast and was hurled away; she lived, but the left half of her body was charred black.
"Aaagh!" she screamed, clutching her shoulder.
The commotion from the tags had the other Mist shinobi dumping their cookpots and rushing over.
"Go!" Kabuto barked, and the other three moved.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" Uchiha Izumi arched back, vomiting a tide of fire that became a wall in front of her. The charging Mist shinobi skidded to a stop.
"Monster Strength!" Kurenai flashed to the nearest enemy. One punch. The man reflexively kicked; his right leg shattered with a crack and he screamed as he flew.
"Secret Technique: Poison Cloud!" Hidden, Torune clapped both hands; swarms of Rinkaichū swept out, slipped under the cover of the firelight, and descended on the distracted Mist ninja.
Chaos exploded.
"I'd like an explanation," Ringo said coldly.
She and the middle-aged jōnin flanked Kitazawa left and right. Kabuto stepped up with a single stride, squaring off with them.
"Because we're Konoha shinobi," Kitazawa said with a smile, dispelling the Substitute Technique (Zetsu).
"You're… Kitazawa?" Ringo gave him a once-over, excitement flashing in her eyes.
"You know me?" Kitazawa raised a brow. He didn't recall ever meeting her.
"Your face has been circulating through the Mist these past two days," Ringo said. After Kitazawa's raid on their outpost, survivors had sketched him, and with Ao pushing it, his file spread through Kirigakure—standard practice for all great villages. Konoha, for its part, had flagged Kisame Hoshigaki as a priority target thanks to Kitazawa's report.
"Hand over Kiba and I'll leave you a whole corpse," Ringo said, licking her lips.
"Don't get cocky, Ringo," the middle-aged jōnin warned. "He did kill Raiga."
"Tch. If he weren't a few years older, Kiba would've been mine from the start," she scoffed.
"Arrogance—the genius's curse," Kitazawa said, drawing Thunderclap. "This is Kiba reforged. If you want it, come take it."
"Gladly!" Ringo drew her blade and was on him in a flash.
The middle-aged jōnin moved to help, but Kabuto cut him off. He could only shout, "Watch his Water Release!"
"Uchiha Style: Gale Sword!" Kitazawa blinked to Ringo's rear; Thunderclap thrummed, launching a blazing arc of fire.
Ringo's face tightened, but her response was instant. Dazzling lightning poured from her blade; she snapped around with a slash. Fire met lightning, sparks and thunder bursting in all directions. Kitazawa pressed; Ringo sprang back, each step gouging deep prints in the ground. She finally accepted that Kitazawa hadn't killed Raiga on luck alone—but she still brimmed with confidence. Her wrist turned; lightning swelled on her sword and three lance-like bolts shot down the blade toward Kitazawa.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!" Kitazawa stamped. The earth cracked, dirt and stone blasting outward. Ringo's heart lurched; she pulled back immediately.
Konoha Body Flicker—Kitazawa scattered into leaves and slipped past the three bolts. Midair, he raised Thunderclap.
"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"
A thunderbolt crashed from the sky.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Ringo snarled, furious that he was using Kiba against her.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Gate!" She formed a seal and leapt; electricity cloaked her from head to toe—and her sword as well—as she lunged, thrusting straight at Kitazawa.
"Lightning Release: Chidori!" Kitazawa formed a one-handed seal. The shriek of a thousand birds filled the air. Lightning pooled in his left hand as he met her head-on.
Boom!
Ringo felt her blade jolt; numbness shot up her right arm. The force drove her back even faster. She slammed into the ground, both legs burying into the earth and leaving a deep crater.
"Chidori?" she thought, rattled. Mist intel had said Water Release was his specialty. This Lightning Release was no worse than hers—and he even knew Hatake Kakashi's famed Chidori.
Ringo drew a long breath. Her pride wouldn't let her retreat—and based on that exchange, she still had a path to victory.
"Lightning Blade Art: Depth Charge!"
She stabbed her sword into the ground and poured lightning into it. In an instant, lightning geysered outward from her in every direction, penning Kitazawa in.
"Uchiha Style: Sword Jump Blaze!"
Before the twin bursts reached him, Kitazawa flickered toward Ringo. Heat bled off Thunderclap; a layer of fire roared to life along the blade.
"Fang's Rush!"
Ringo ripped her sword free and vaulted clear of the flaming strike, then thrust with a blur aimed right at him. Kitazawa had no time to counter—
—and a second blade, Zangetsu, whistled out. Catching it in his left hand, he caught her descending sword.
Ringo immediately sprang back. After two steps she flashed through seals.
"Lightning Release: Depth Charge!"
Lightning erupted over her body again like armor. Kitazawa twitched his right wrist; Thunderclap spat gouts of lightning and he met her head-on.
Clang!
The blades smashed together, lightning screaming in their ears. With brute strength Kitazawa held her in a deadlock.
"Supervibrato Lightning Release Swords!"
In a heartbeat he lifted Zangetsu; the blade shivered at high speed and came down on Ringo's sword—
Crack.
Her blade snapped in two.
"Wha—"
She didn't finish. Zangetsu swept through and cut her throat.
The Supervibrato Lightning Release Swords amped Zangetsu's sharpness and penetration; forged from chakra metal, it was already incredibly tough. Ringo's sword was a replica of Kiba; decent material, yes, but not chakra metal. She never imagined it would break—so she died for it.
"Ringo?!" the middle-aged jōnin cried when he saw it, face draining.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!" Kabuto didn't hesitate; he spat a massive orb of wind that howled as it flew. The man's clothes and hair whipped madly; in the split second before it hit, he Body Flickered hard left. Kabuto flashed to meet him.
"Out of my way!" The man's will to fight broke. With Ringo dead and the young woman gravely wounded, he was the only jōnin left. Kabuto was strong—special-jōnin level with Wind Release—but Kitazawa was another matter. If Kitazawa could kill Ringo, he could kill him.
"Water Release: Water Fang Blade!" A rotating water knife formed in the man's right hand; he slashed at Kabuto to force him back—
—and froze. Kabuto didn't dodge. He let the blade bite into his chest; blood gushed, the water knife stalling against some unseen resistance. Kabuto's right arm snapped out, a green chakra blade slicing the man's throat—Chakra Scalpel.
"Madman…" the man choked, collapsing. He'd never expected Kabuto to fight like he didn't care if he lived.
"Why didn't you wait for me?" Kitazawa appeared at Kabuto's side and extended both palms.
"Mystical Palm Technique."
"I used Yin Healing Wound Destruction. I'm not dying," Kabuto said, face pale. "And trading myself for a Mist jōnin? Worth it."
He'd planned it out; he knew the risks. Kitazawa twitched an eyebrow. No wonder this guy became a final boss—people that ruthless to themselves tend to go far.
While treating Kabuto, Kitazawa glanced toward Kurenai and Izumi. They were strong, but they were outnumbered—ordinarily they shouldn't have been winning. With Torune, though, more than half the Mist shinobi had been quietly taken down by his Rinkaichū.
[Current Mission: Keep hold of Kiba.]
[Reward: +20% chakra capacity.]
[Mission complete. Reward granted.]
Warm chakra surged through Kitazawa; he nodded, satisfied. His Senju Chakra Mode could last longer now.
"Good enough for now. I'll finish patching you up when we're back," he said, withdrawing his hands. This was deep in Mist's backline—linger too long and reinforcements might arrive. That was also why he hadn't used Senju Chakra Mode; when it ended, the backlash would leave him weak. Besides, Ringo hadn't warranted that level.
In the original, Ringo only matched Raiga because she had Kiba; without it she was much weaker—and she was relatively young here, too.
Kitazawa walked over to the gravely wounded young woman and finished her, then took out a summoning storage scroll. Jōnin were valuable; worth bringing back. He sealed away the three Mist jōnin corpses and stowed the scroll.
"Izumi, burn the ships. We're leaving—now."
"Right." Izumi spat two massive fireballs, setting both vessels ablaze.
They withdrew at once.
Moments later, a group of Mist shinobi arrived—their leader, Mei Terumi. She surveyed the scene, her expression darkening by the second. This had to be the convoy. Three jōnin dead, including prodigy Ringo Ameyuri?
For Kirigakure, it was another heavy blow.
"From the fight marks, their opponent was a Lightning Release specialist," Mei murmured, bewildered. She knew Konoha's jōnin by reputation; she couldn't recall a lightning specialist among them. Hatake Kakashi?
"Take the bodies back," Mei ordered with a wave. "Have the Analysis Division probe their memories."
Kirigakure's analysts weren't on par with the Yamanaka, but they could still extract the broad strokes.