Escort Mission (3)

The forest seemed to hold its breath as Genji's sharp eyes scanned the "Chimei" clan members. His Metal Resonance ability hummed faintly, revealing the subtle shifts of metal beneath their clothing. Senbons and shurikens were not weapons the Chimei Clan used. His suspicions solidified: these were impostors, shinobi from the Kaonashi Clan.

He moved closer to Yumi, his voice barely above a whisper. "They're Kaonashi. Eight shinobi. Strongest is chunin-level, like you. We're outnumbered, but not outmatched"

Yumi's expression hardened, and she replied just as quietly, "Wait for my signal."

But Genji didn't wait. If the impostors made the first move, it could spell disaster. He acted.

"Wait-", Yumi exclaimed, but Genji was faster.

As the woman pretending to be Chimei Ino extended her hand to Yumi, Genji leaped forward, his hands forming seals. "Sonic Hell Labyrinth!" he shouted, his voice slicing through the quiet tension.

The genjutsu erupted around the impostors. Invisible, deafening sound filled their ears, overwhelming their senses with distorted shrieks and whispers. Several dropped to their knees, clutching their heads, some gasping for air, while others staggered in confusion. Even the Level 36 shinobi flinched, their composure faltering.

"Now!" Yumi shouted. "Take them down!"

The squad sprang into action.

Yumi lunged at the disoriented Level 36 shinobi, Ino. Her chakra-infused katana glowed as it cut through the sound barrier she had hastily erected, leaving a deep gash in his side. She staggered but managed to retreat, hhereyes blazing with fury as she was still affected by the genjutsu, dulling her senses.

Taki took advantage of the chaos to bind two lower-level shinobi with water tendrils. They thrashed uselessly as he formed seals. "Suiton no jutsu: Aquatic Shackles Jutsu [D]" 

Two chains of water sealed their movements almost immediately.

Eiji, wielding raw strength, barreled into another group of shinobi. His strikes were clumsy but devastating, breaking bones and weapons alike. Followed closely by Sakura, they decimated their way through the enemy ranks, most of the shinobi not even detecting their presence, their minds entrapped into the powerful genjutsu.

Meanwhile, Genji focused on maintaining the genjutsu, weaving through the chaos with precision. He reinforced the illusion on the Level 36 shinobi, ensuring their disorientation lingered. As Yumi pressed the advantage, Genji turned his attention to another threat.

A shinobi broke free of the genjutsu and charged Genji, their hands weaving seals. "Sound Blade Technique [D]" A crescent wave of sharp, resonating sound shot toward him.

Genji countered instantly. "Wind Wall [D]" He slammed his palms together, creating a swirling barrier of wind. The sound wave dissipated harmlessly against it.

The shinobi wasn't finished.

He flickered behind him with a Body Flicker, aiming a kunai at his back, but Genji had trained with Sakura for a while now. Although close combat was a weakness of ninjutsu experts like himself, he possessed a few trump cards to save himself from a flurry of attacks and ambush.

Parrying the strike with a short sword, he awkwardly deflected the enemy blade to the side, and riposted by sending two wind shuriken

[Futon no jutsu - Vacuum shuriken [D]]

But the enemy dodged one of them, the other slashing through his side. However, the strike only helped angering the man and make him even more oppressing. 

Genji's biggest mistake had been to let the man come into the close range combat zone. As the man aimed another kunai at his throat, Genji sighed.

[Kinzoku Kyomei - Metal Resonance [B]]

He had initially wanted to hide the bloodline release for as long as possible. After all, it was an extraordinary jutsu that could make anything metallic vibrate under the right frequencies, a weapon that could be used in kenjutsu, ninjutsu and even at sensing enemies from afar. 

However, lacking any means of defense, his instincts kicked in, and scraped together metal pieces on his vest and iron guards to create a floating piece of metal, preventing him from dying.

"Kinzoku scum," the shinobi admitted, startled by the infamous bloodline release, "But you lack expertise in the ability of yours"

"Good thing I don't rely on it" Genji shot back, forming seals. "Sonic Labyrinth [D!"

Sonic labyrinth had never been a jutsu aimed at killing enemies. It disoriented enemies, and depending on the difference of mental resistance, the jutsu could affect them more or less. Previously, Genji had only allocated small amount of chakra in the jutsu to affect as many enemies as possible, but after the fight, he had been forced to cut the connection.

Now, however, with only one enemy to target, the effects were demultiplied.

The shinobi tried to throw shuriken, but only one of them grazed Genji. The others were way off target.

Genji grimaced but held his ground.

He inhaled deeply, focusing his chakra. "Wind Breakthrough!" A massive gust of wind erupted from his palms, slamming into the shinobi onto a tree. As they were in medium distance, barely ten meters away from each other, the already-injured and defenseless level 20 shinobi crashed onto a tree, his bones cracking under the pressure, his torso lacered with wounds. He dropped to the ground, dead. 

The battlefield was rapidly tilting in the squad's favor. Yumi and the others had neutralized most of the lower-level shinobi, leaving only the Level 36 Kaonashi standing. Bloodied but defiant, she formed seals with blinding speed.

Sound Cage Jutsu [C]

A dome of vibrating sound waves expanded outward, trapping Yumi and Eiji inside.

The vibrations distorted their movements, leaving them vulnerable. The enemy chunin closed the distance, and pierce Eiji's heart with a fist enhanced with chakra. It was a precise, almost surgical strike that left Eiji helpless.

But Genji wasn't done. He darted to the edge of the dome, his hands forming seals.

Wind Wall [D]

He directed a concentrated burst of wind into the dome, destabilizing the vibrations and creating an opening for Yumi.

Yumi didn't waste it. With a roar, she surged forward, her katana blazing with chakra and vibrating at high frequency from the clan's bloodline release. One precise slash severed the shinobi's defenses, and another brought him to his knees. One last thrust pierced through her heart.

The battlefield calmed down almost immediately, replacing the huge commotions by a large, eerie silence.