Satoru raced to the northern gates of the Daimyo's capital at lightning speed. Tenzō was already waiting there, his figure tense like a drawn bowstring.
"Good, you're here. Let's go! And let me briefly restate the essence of our mission," the senior shinobi looked sternly at the young man. "A certain important figure from the Hidden Cloud Village scheduled a meeting with his spies three hundred meters north of the city walls. We've already eliminated his two agents."
"One was called Jizo, the other disguised as a doctor," the experienced ANBU operative continued, enunciating each word. "Our task now is to use the Transformation Technique, approach the target unnoticed, capture him alive, and, crucially, extract any information from him about the Hidden Cloud's plans. Clear?" Tenzō looked appraisingly at his partner.
Satoru nodded confidently.
"Of course, it's perfectly clear, Tenzō-san. No need to repeat the same thing twice; I wasn't born yesterday."
Tenzō had once led the Twelve Ninja Guards organization, and Satoru was its current leader. So the address "senpai" (senior comrade) was quite appropriate and showed due respect.
"Good. Then we transform," the former Guards leader instantly took the form of the killed spy Jizo, while the young shinobi turned into that very traitorous doctor.
Exchanging quick, understanding glances, both shinobi used the Body Flicker Technique to silently move to the designated meeting spot. A light breeze rustled the leaves of the trees surrounding a small clearing. Satoru and Tenzō froze, turning into statues, their senses sharpened to the limit.
Not much time passed before a dark figure emerged from behind the trees. It approached swiftly, and soon the stranger stood right before them. His face was hidden by a mask, but his dark skin and powerful build unmistakably marked him as a ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Well, you two worthless scum, any success with the mission?" The arrival's voice was low and commanding, laced with undisguised contempt.
Satoru, whose role was to speak first, had already prepared his line.
"The entire top of the Land of Fire is poisoned," he said, trying to imitate a fawning tone. "Most of them are already bedridden and can't get up."
"Very good," the cloud ninja nodded satisfied. Then his head snapped toward Tenzō, who had taken Jizo's form. "And what about my special assignment? That kid named Satoru… is he dead?"
Tenzō froze for a moment, as if searching for words.
"No," he replied curtly.
"I thought so," the Cloud shinobi snorted. "If that guy were really killed, I'd have heard by now. So why is he still alive?" He stepped forward, his figure radiating threat.
"That guy isn't easy to deal with," the disguised Tenzō replied. "Plus, he's very smart."
"Smart? Ha-ha-ha!" The cloud ninja suddenly burst into loud, mocking laughter and with one lightning-fast move did a backflip, leaping a considerable distance away.
At that instant, numerous shinobi burst from the dense forest on all sides. Their forehead protectors bore the symbol of the Hidden Cloud Village. No doubt—their masquerade was exposed.
"What does this mean?!" Tenzō asked sharply, his voice no longer imitating Jizo.
"Our spies from the Cloud Village regularly send us information via special messenger lizards," the dark-skinned warrior explained with a smug smirk. "If messages stop coming, it's a sure sign they've been caught. So we decided to play ahead and preemptively clear any ambush you might have set here."
"So stop hiding like cowardly jackals! Who are you really?" the leader of the cloud ninja demanded.
Satoru and Tenzō exchanged glances. There was no point in continuing the masquerade. Simultaneously dispelling the Transformation Technique, they faced the enemy in their true forms.
Seeing Tenzō and the young shinobi from Konoha, the cloud leader couldn't hide his surprise.
"So that's it… The former head of the Twelve Ninja Guards and Konoha's Supernova, Satoru in person. No wonder those two losers failed the mission running into you." It seemed this cloud ninja was well-informed about his opponents' strength and reputation.
"What are you planning, ninja from the Hidden Cloud?" Satoru looked challengingly at the man before him.
"'Ninja from the Hidden Cloud'? Not quite accurate," the stranger smirked. "I am Shi, ANBU Captain of the Hidden Cloud Village! And the third strongest shinobi in our village after Raikage Ei himself and the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, Killer B! And today, you two important figures will be captured alive by me!" With these words, the warrior who called himself Shi exuded incredible confidence.
"I remember now! That guy!" Tenzō exclaimed, anxiety creeping into his voice. "He really is one of the Raikage's closest aides and one of the strongest fighters in the Hidden Cloud right now!"
"Just the two of us against a whole army of cloud ninja… chances of victory are practically zero," the former Guards leader muttered, his face darkening. "How did they slip past all of Konoha's defenses unnoticed? Was all this planned just for us two?" He couldn't make sense of it.
Satoru, on the other hand, just snorted contemptuously.
"Relax, Tenzō-san. This is just a bunch of cloud extras, not the Raikage himself. The two of us will give them such a thrashing that the sky and earth will turn upside down!" A dangerous spark ignited in the boy's eyes.
"Looks like we have no other choice," Tenzō sighed, accepting the inevitable. "I hope you're as good as you say!" With that, he charged with the young ninja at the superior enemy forces.
"Staff of Indestructible Diamond!" Satoru pulled his so-called Wish-Granting Staff from his ear and brought it down on the heads of the nearest cloud ninja.
The young man's monstrous strength combined with activated Observation Haki! Several jonin from the Cloud were flung aside, unable to even defend against the swift, powerful strikes.
"Diamond Staff? That indestructible staff the Third Hokage's summon turns into?! What a pity!" The Cloud squad leader, Shi, waved his hand irritably. "All you rookies! Deal with Tenzō! Leave this brat named Satoru to me!"
Satoru was just getting into the rhythm, scattering enemies left and right, when he noticed all remaining Cloud ninja rushing at his senior comrade. And right before the staff wielder appeared Shi. The Cloud ANBU captain's speed was astonishing; lightning discharges enveloped his body—he clearly mastered Lightning Release nature transformation perfectly, using it to multiply his speed manyfold.
"Sorry, but today you'll have to suffer defeat at my hand!" Shi measured Satoru with a predatory gaze and, pulling out a ninja scroll, summoned his weapon. The moment he gripped it, thunder rumbled in the skies, and a bright lightning bolt seemed drawn to his weapon, wrapping it in electric discharges. The Cloud lancer looked incredibly menacing and majestic.
"Taste the true Lightning Release of the Hidden Cloud Village!" With these words, Shi lunged at the young man.
"Spear that can attract lightning? Funny," Satoru said with a slight smirk as he looked at his opponent. "And you dare to play with lightning right in front of me?"
The young ninja snorted disdainfully, and his Indestructible Diamond Staff began spinning in his hands at incredible speed.
"Rumble-Rumble Fruit!" Satoru unleashed his own lightning power, and his staff was instantly covered in bright electrical discharges. Thanks to the staff being indestructible, the lightning caused him no harm.
Both opponents were using Lightning Release, but Shi was utterly stunned.
"This is ridiculous! Pup! I was playing with lightning before you were even born! I'm a shinobi of the Hidden Cloud Village! I've trained for years in the Cloud Thunder Gorge!"
"You, a snot-nosed kid who hasn't even mastered Chakra Activation Technique! Lightning at your level is nothing more than child's play for a ninja!" The ANBU Captain stopped wasting words and, swinging his thunder spear, charged at Satoru in close combat.
However, the lightning-covered Indestructible Diamond Staff in Satoru's hands was far from a toy. Thanks to using Observation Haki, the young man effortlessly dodged all of Shi's attacks, while the Cloud ninja himself was forced time and again into desperate defense against the boy's devastating strikes.
And every time their weapons clashed, Shi felt a chilling shiver run through his body, as if death itself was peering into his eyes.
"This kid... where does he get such monstrous strength?! He's just a child, damn it?!" Shi couldn't believe what was happening; it seemed completely illogical. Not only did this boy possess power surpassing his own, but his mastery of Lightning Release was simply unbelievable.
"This brat... has he already perfectly mastered the nature transformation of Lightning Release?! At seven years old?! This is absurd!"
"The power of his lightning... it's getting more and more monstrous with every strike!"
Shi gradually began to yield. His initial overconfidence and fighting spirit melted away before his eyes, replaced by confusion and creeping despair.