Sudden Silence

Hinata felt the world shift, revealing a different version of the reality she knew of — one where Shino was still alive, and Kiba hadn't been burned to a crisp.

'A... Genjutsu..?'

But how? With the Byakugan, she should've had a certain resistance towards the influence of foreign chakra. Falling for a Genjutsu without even realizing it was a terrifying experience.

Hinata knelt on the grass with shrunken irises and a blank expression.

Nearby, Kiba had finally dispelled the clone he had been fighting with a reckless Fang Over Fang with Akamaru. Stunned and barely alive, he collapsed onto the ground. A moment of relief washed over him when the battlefield went silent.

Shino was similarly gasping for breath. His body was bruised and battered, and he could barely stand... Which was great, considering the state of his teammates.

"That woman..!" He suddenly recalled something.

There was still someone else who had yet to fight. Furthermore, the person who put Hinata under a Genjutsu was still nowhere to be found.

He had disappeared right after his casting.

But, when Shino looked around him, he spotted no one. Even when he sent out a few of his bugs, no shinobi appeared in their vicinity.

It was as if their assailants vanished into thin air.

***

Suguru fled the scene with a confused frown on his face. Through his Kaisugan, he had monitored Kurenai's battle, and he was surprised to see what was happening.

Konhagakure's jounin was on the back foot the entire time.

Despite her prowess in wide-scale Genjutsu, similar to those of the Kurama clan, Kurenai couldn't land a killing blow.

Her opponents would weave around her attempts at Taijutsu and work together to nullify her Genjutsu. With no direct prowess in Ninjutsu, she was at a disadvantage.

'Intriguing,' Suguru thought, narrowing down the origins of his suspects. 'What are they doing? If they have such coordination, defeating Kurenai should have happened long ago.'

Instead, they were seemingly taking their time, pulling their punches, and refraining from lethal attacks.

Suguru wondered who they were.

'I'll figure out when I get there,' He thought, feeling a sense of excitement from their impending meeting.

***

Yuhi Kurenai knew that she was in trouble.

As a kunai whizzed past her face, cutting through a few strands of her hair, the trap that encircled her constricted. Slowly but surely, like a snake suffocating its prey, the squad of jounin was inching toward victory.

Weaving hand seals, Kurenai cast another Genjutsu.

However, as per usual, one of the jounin had backed out of her range. He re-entered the moment his teammates froze, and with a tap, released them from their reveries.

'I lack the speed to pick them off,' Kurenai cursed in her mind. 'That guy is so much faster than I am.'

Proficient in the Body Flicker Jutsu and naturally light on his feet, the jounin tasked with freeing his teammates was like a swallow darting in and out of the battlefield. He was an annoying existence, extremely familiar with the range of her array of Genjutsu.

It was then.

—Vwhoom!

A pillar of fire erupted, engulfing one of the jounin in raging flames.

"AHHHH!" His scream rang out through the forest.

Kurenai watched as the jounin hurried out of the pillar and rolled on the ground. His teammate hurriedly weaved the hand signs for a simple Water Release and doused the fire sticking to his body.

However...

Another pillar of fire descended from the sky.

—Vwhoom!

This one targeted the one who used the Water Release Jutsu. Just as he finished saving his teammate, he was drenched in flames.

His kindness turned into his downfall: reduced to ashes.

Incinerated.

"Who's there?!" One of the remaining five jounin yelled. 

Unfortunately for her, three more flaming pillars fell from the sky like heavenly judgment.

"Damn!"

Curses left the remaining duo's lips. Their teammates hurriedly escaped, but not without injuries. Their bodies were hideously burned, and no Medical Ninjutsu would be able to heal those scars.

"Akuta! Find them!" One of the jounins screamed, fear clearly engulfing his eyes.

The flames were extremely potent. Dense like that of a liquid.

Should those pillars strike from above once more, he wouldn't know how to survive.

"I..." Akuta stammered, releasing the seal he formed with his hands. "I can't find the person attacking us! He's probably a sensor-nin as well!"

Desperately, the jounins glanced around, allowing Kurenai to escape. However...

—Vwhooom!

A pillar of fire stopped her from escaping. Barring her path, the jounin got the message.

'This doesn't look good,'

A sudden premonition struck her heart. If there was another group of shinobi interfering, then there was a chance that her students would be discovered.

She could only hope that they were alright.

"—Hm?"

Kurenai felt a disturbance flash through the flaming battlefield. The five jounins suddenly went silent. Their movements halted completely as they stood in a daze.

Looking at them, Kurenai felt a chill down her spine.

'A Genjutsu?'

But how?

Whoever was meddling in this fight had yet to even show up. Not an inch of skin or hair could be seen, yet the five jounin were already trapped in what seemed to be a terrifyingly subtle Genjutsu.

Just what was going on?

—VWHOOOM!

Five flaming pillars fell from the sky, engulfing the vulnerable squad in incinerating heat. What was left of their bodies were the black ashes where they stood.

Kurenai was unnerved by the sudden silence.

***

Suguru looked at the devastation he had caused.

'...So I've reached the level that the main cast is at when they work together with the power of friendship.'

Reevaluating his strength, he compared himself to the strengths held by the original lineup. Given that they were capable of defeating jounins despite being at genin rank, they were outliers. And the only worthy point of comparison.

If Suguru wasn't able to outlast Naruto's thousand-strong army of clones, then he wasn't worthy of calling himself a genin despite passing the chuunin exams.

'At least I'm inching closer,'

Smacking his lips, Suguru went forward to meet Kurenai. Luckily, she got his message.

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