On the other side, Nanami ran as fast as she could, jumping from tree to tree, her adrenaline battling against her exhaustion.
She ran as fast as she could, until she almost fainted, but she had pushed herself to her limits, so she faltered and fell from the tree.
Weakened, she fell headfirst onto the ground, a fall from that height onto uneven, rocky terrain made her feel she would die right there.
If it were another time, Nanami could have adjusted in mid-air, but she no longer had the strength, tears escaped her eyes. She thought this would be her end, yet she could only think of Ryuta and Kenta. She still hadn't received any help!
Even so, she didn't feel the pain of the fall, instead, she was caught in mid-air, weakly looking at her savior. In the faint moonlight of the night sky, she couldn't even make out who it was. Instead, she used the last of her strength to say. -Help... Ryuta, Kenta, danger...
As soon as she finished, she fainted.
Karin observed the diminutive figure in her arms with surprise and confusion, Suigetsu and Ranmaru arrived soon after.
-Karin, who is this little girl?- Suigetsu asked curiously, in a light tone.
-A genin from Oto...- Karin said, looking in the direction Nanami came from. -Her team is probably under attack, you'll help them, I'll heal her first, she suffered severe chakra exhaustion, she's on the verge of death.
Suigetsu clicked his tongue, but didn't deny it. Ranmaru nodded and was the first to run away, his eyes turning red. Opening his dojutsu, he could see much further.
He soon found Ryuta and Kenta in combat. -Let's hurry, they won't last long.- Ranmaru said, quickening his pace while Suigetsu smiled, sensing that he would have another fight soon.
Karin didn't move, but placed her hand on Nanami's chest and began sending chakra into her. The girl's pale skin slowly gained some color, and soon Nanami was out of danger.
On the other side, Team Dosu was on its last legs. Ryuta was breathing heavily, his body covered in cuts. Kenta wasn't much better, even his left arm was stretched out by his side, clearly unusable.
-You fought well, now where is Tag? Tell us and we won't kill you.- Samui approached, his body slightly dirty, but not injured.
Omoi had a terrible headache, but he still managed to stay on his feet. Karui, on the other hand, had a deep cut on her left leg and was having difficulty standing, using a bandage to stop the bleeding.
-Damn it, I really want to kill those brats.- She said, angrily.
Samui just glanced at her, causing her to fall silent and click her tongue again, unconvinced.
Ryuta chuckled softly, blood escaping from his lips as he stood in front of Kenta. - If you want the Tag, you'll have to step over our dead bodies!
-That's right!- Kenta echoed, gripping a kunai in his hand and attempting to adjust his guard, his left hand hindering the process.
Samui shook her head and said. -The tag is probably with the girl, let's just deal with them quickly and chase after her.
Karui smiled, pulled out a kunai and threw it straight at Ryuta. Ryuta felt his arms as heavy as lead, but still managed to use his gauntlet to defend himself. However, Omoi had already attacked, delivering a direct cut to his back. Ryuta screamed in pain, his back bleeding profusely.
-Ryuta! - Kenta shouted, startled, running as fast as he could and lunging towards Omoi, brandishing his kunai, trying to cut him.
But Omoi sighed and simply parried the attack with his sword, before twisting it to disarm Kenta, then kicked Kenta in the chest, knocking the air out of him.
-Boy, stay on the ground, don't make our job more difficult.- Omoi said softly.
Kenta slowly regained his breath, but his willpower prevented him from staying on the ground. He looked at Ryuta, who had fainted and was still bleeding, feeling his eyes welling up with tears. He crawled over to Ryuta and positioned himself above him, looking at the three Kumo ninjas with a defiant gaze.
This earned the respect of the Kumo team, but that was it, they were there for the Chunin exam. - Let's search them quickly. - Samui said.
-Don't come any closer!- Kenta shouted, but Karui kicked him out of the way.
-Annoying brat, just stay on the ground! If this were a real fight, you'd already be dead!- Karui complained, before crouching down and starting to search Ryuta.
Kenta could only watch, too weak to stand. - Damn...
Omoi approached him and searched him as well, in the end, they both nodded to Samui. - Neither of them has the Tag, it's really with the girl.
-Alright, let's go after her.- Samui nodded and prepared to run away, but at that moment two figures arrived, drawing the trio's attention.
-Hey, hey... look what I found!- Suigetsu chuckled lightly, glancing at the Kumo team before briefly looking at the fallen pair. -Looks like you didn't kill them, which is good for you, otherwise you would have had to die here.
Ranmaru paid no attention to the three, instead looking at the fallen pair. He knew a bit of medical ninjutsu, so he quickly ran over to Ryuta, clearly the most injured.
Kenta sighed in relief as soon as he saw Suigetsu and Ranmaru. Karin and Nanami were nowhere to be seen, but at least Nanami should be alright.
-Senpais... please, save Ryuta.- He pleaded as soon as he saw them.
Ranmaru's eyes softened as he focused on healing Ryuta, he clearly appreciated this camaraderie, which left him with a good impression of this genin team.
Karui clicked her tongue in annoyance. -Damn it, more idiots have arrived.
-Karui, they're dangerous.- Omoi moved the lollipop in his mouth, while his grip on his sword deepened.
Samui narrowed her eyes and looked at Ranmaru healing Ryuta and then at Suigetsu, who was already unsheathing Kubikiribocho and attaching the fist extension.
-This has nothing to do with you, please step aside.- Samui said, trying to avoid a fight. -We just want their team's tag.
Suigetsu laughed again as he grabbed his water bottle and took several gulps. Soon his body swelled to full muscle, making him look like a small Hulk, even Kubikiribocho seemed the size of a normal sword in his hand now. -Really? What a shame, we want to fight.
With that said, Suigetsu didn't wait any longer and charged towards them.