Chapter 50 : Clash

Chapter 50 : Clash

Ren's breath slowed as his eyes scanned the treeline. The forest was no longer quiet—it was listening. Every branch and shadow felt like it was holding its breath.

"They're coming," he muttered, standing protectively in front of Akane, the medic-nin. She didn't speak, but Ren could sense the tension in her posture. She was no ordinary kunoichi—he could tell that by her calm—but she wasn't meant to fight. He was.

Kaede drew her kunai with a sharp shhhk, eyes narrowing at the rustling brush ahead.

"They split up," she said. "Two will try to flank. One will come straight for me."

Just as the words left her mouth, a stone flew from the forest—fast and sharp—slamming into the tree beside her. A moment later, Ken burst out from the cover, heading straight toward Kaede.

The forest exploded into motion.

"Ren, hold that position!" Kaede shouted, already clashing with Ken in a burst of taijutsu and kunai.

On the other side, Nao and Hiro turned just in time to meet their own attackers—Kogane and Shiori.

Hiro leapt forward, intercepting Kogane mid-sprint. Their clash was quick and loud, sparks flying from their kunai. "Watch the scarf!" Hiro yelled, barely dodging a hidden blade from Kogane's sleeve.

Nao stayed behind, her breath steady. She wasn't as fast as Hiro—but she was sharper. When Shiori came for her, Nao threw two shuriken in a curved arc, forcing the girl to dodge left—right into Nao's trap wire.

But Shiori sliced through it with ease and pressed forward, grinning.

Ren held his ground. Every part of him screamed to move, to help, to run into the fight like Hiro—but he remembered what Kaede told him.

Protect the medic. Don't let anyone past you.

And then, from the side—crack. A twig snapped.

Ren turned.

Kogane had slipped past Hiro, fast, clever, low to the ground like a wolf hunting prey. Ren barely raised his kunai in time to block a strike aimed at Akane.

The force knocked him back, feet skidding through dirt.

"Tch," Kogane said. "You're not just standing guard, huh?"

"I'm the wall," Ren answered. "And you're not getting past."

Kogane smiled under his scarf. "Let's test that."

He lunged.

---

Kaede moved like wind itself—fluid, unpredictable, deadly.

Ken charged in headfirst, trusting in his durability. His grey flak jacket fluttered as he came at her low and fast, kunai flashing.

Clang!

Kaede parried with a twist of her wrist, redirecting his blade and immediately stepping to the side, circling like a hawk eyeing prey. Her eyes were sharp, calculating, but calm. Ren had once described her as someone who carried a storm inside her. Right now, that storm was starting to stir.

Ken grunted and jumped back, weaving hand signs.

"Earth Style: Mud Shot Barrage!"

Globs of pressurized mud fired from his mouth like bullets. Kaede weaved hand seals mid-dash, her ponytail whipping in the air.

"Wind Style: Gale Blade!"

She slashed her arm forward, and a compressed arc of wind tore through the mud projectiles, splitting them mid-air. Wind shrieked through the trees as her technique kept going—cutting into the earth where Ken had been just seconds before.

He'd dodged barely in time, tumbling sideways and coming up with his hands buried in the dirt.

Earth user. Close-range fighter. Defensive type.

Kaede didn't charge. Instead, she stayed moving, lightly on her feet, never in one place for more than a breath.

"Not bad," Ken growled. "A chunin, huh? But you don't look like you've killed many."

Kaede's expression didn't shift. "Killed enough."

He slammed his hands into the ground.

"Earth Style: Stone Uprising!"

Pillars of rock shot up around her in a tight ring. A trap.

Kaede jumped just in time—but that's what he wanted.

Ken appeared above her mid-air, kunai ready, gravity giving him all the power he needed.

But Kaede was faster.

She twisted mid-air, and—

"Wind Style: Pressure Palm!"

A sudden burst of wind from her hand blasted her downward like a missile. She hit the ground in a crouch, rolled, and came up with both hands already flashing signs.

"Wind Style: Dust Cutter!"

A violent ripple of wind erupted forward, kicking up dirt and slicing the air. Ken blocked with an earth wall, but it cracked under the force.

That wind… it's sharper than I expected, Ken thought, landing on the ground. She's not just fast. She's precise.

Kaede exhaled through her nose, resetting her stance. Her chakra was flowing steadily, her breathing controlled.

"I'm not here to prove anything," she said. "I'm here to stop you. Turn back."

Ken smirked. "You think I'm scared of some chunin girl with fast feet?"

"No," she said. "But maybe you should be."

- - -

Leaves rustled. The silence of the forest cracked like dry branches underfoot as Nao stood still, kunai in hand, eyes fixed on the girl across from her.

Shiori had short, jagged black hair and a fierce look in her eyes. Her Iwa headband was scratched at the edge—battle-worn, maybe a few skirmishes older than Nao. She held a trio of shuriken between her fingers like she'd done this too many times.

"You're shaking," Shiori said flatly. "I can hear it in the way your weapons jingle."

Nao didn't answer. Her heartbeat was loud in her ears, but her stance held. Calm. Watch her hands, not her eyes.

The second she blinked, Shiori moved.

Shuriken flashed. Nao ducked, rolled sideways, and threw her own kunai. It was a distraction—she reached for a trapwire hidden in the brush behind her.

Shiori smirked. "Too slow."

She lunged forward, but Nao pulled tight on the wire. A snapped branch whipped up from the ground, and Shiori jumped just in time—but it nicked her arm.

"Tch. Clever."

Nao didn't smile. She weaved hand signs. "Lightning Style: Static Shard!"

A crackle of chakra surged into her right palm, bright and quick, and she hurled a bolt of weak lightning toward her opponent. Shiori twisted mid-air, and the jutsu grazed her side—enough to numb her arm for a second.

Her landing was sloppy.

Nao charged in with a kunai slash. Shiori barely blocked with her bracer, gritting her teeth as her fingers tingled from the earlier hit. Nao followed up with a punch to the gut, knocking her back.

She's off balance. I can win this—

But Nao hesitated. Her strike stopped just short.

Shiori didn't.

"Earth Style: Pebble Shot!" she shouted.

From the dirt around her, three small stones launched toward Nao like bullets. Nao gasped, performing the hand signs just in time—Substitution!—and a log burst apart in her place.

She reappeared behind a tree, panting.

Her hands trembled as she whispered, "I could've ended that just now."

From the clearing, Shiori laughed—bitter, forced. "You hesitated. You're not ready to kill me. That's going to get you killed."

Nao's throat tightened. I don't want to kill anyone… but I also don't want to die. I want to live… I want all of us to live.

She stepped out again.

"No. I'm not ready to kill you," Nao said. "But I won't let you touch my team. I won't let you hurt anyone."

Shiori's smirk faltered.

Nao dropped a smoke bomb at her feet and rushed through the cover. Hidden in the gray haze, she circled around silently. I don't have to win by force. I just have to outthink her.

As the smoke cleared, Shiori stood coughing—but wary.

"Show yourself!"

"Already behind you," Nao said.

Shiori turned too late. The wire snapped again—this time binding her legs.

Nao raised her palm, lightning crackling faintly.

"Static Shard!"

It struck Shiori in the back, not strong enough to knock her out, but enough to paralyze her briefly. Shiori groaned, falling to her knees.

Nao stood over her. Kunai in hand. Breathing hard.

"…Well?" Shiori hissed. "Do it."

Nao's hand clenched.

But she lowered the blade.

"I'm not your enemy," she said. "And maybe one day, you'll be glad I didn't become what this war is trying to make me."

Shiori stared at her—confused, angry… and maybe a little scared.

---

The trees blurred as Kogane charged forward, kunai in hand, eyes burning with the sharp focus of a genin trained for war. Ren sidestepped the strike with a narrow margin, catching Kogane's wrist and twisting—only for Kogane to slam a knee into Ren's side.

Pain flared. Ren grunted, but held his grip. He ducked low and swept his leg under Kogane's feet. Kogane jumped, flipping backwards and hurling a pair of shuriken as he moved. Ren dodged one. The second grazed his shoulder.

Too aggressive, Ren thought. He's relying on speed and pressure. But he's not listening closely.

Ren exhaled slowly, crouching into a stance. He closed his eyes briefly and let his chakra expand—not for an attack, but for focus. The world sharpened. He could hear the soft shift of Kogane's foot on a dry patch of earth behind him. A twitch of breath. A rush of movement—

There.

Ren turned just as Kogane lunged from the side, attempting a quick feint and jab. Ren grabbed Kogane's arm, twisted, and dropped low, driving his shoulder into the boy's chest. They both hit the ground hard, but Ren recovered faster.

He straddled Kogane's back, forcing his arm into a lock and pinning the other with a knee. Kogane growled, thrashing.

"You can't out-brawl me!" Kogane shouted, his cheek pressed into the dirt.

"I don't have to," Ren said calmly. "I already outsmarted you."

Kogane froze—just for a moment. That was enough.

Ren glanced at the others. "Stop!" he shouted. "Everyone, stop fighting!"

Nao, her kunai raised over Shiori, paused mid-motion. Her eyes flicked toward Ren, wide with confusion.

Ken and Kaede were locked in a clash of chakra-infused fists when they heard the shout. Ken's kunai missed Kaede's cheek by an inch. She jumped back and glanced toward Ren. Ken did too, frowning.

Ren pressed down on Kogane's shoulder to keep him in place but didn't raise his weapon.

"I said stop," Ren repeated. "Something's not right."

Ken narrowed his eyes. "You think taking one of mine hostage will end a fight? Shinobi battles don't work that way. We kill or we die."

"I know that," Ren said, his voice steady but low. "This isn't about a hostage. I heard something… wrong. A presence that doesn't match any of us. There's someone else here."

Kaede tensed. "Another enemy?"

"I think so. Just before Kogane came in close, there was a brief mist in the trees—unnatural. It moved too quickly for weather. And I heard movement I couldn't trace to anyone here."

Ken's face darkened. "You're saying there's a third party?"

Ren nodded. "Possibly watching. Waiting for us to wear each other down. Maybe they were never after the medic-nin—maybe they wanted all of us fighting."

A breeze moved through the trees then—cold and silent. Kaede's fingers twitched slightly, drawing a kunai.

Kogane looked up from the dirt, his earlier defiance dulled by something else. Uncertainty.

"We didn't have intel on any others," he muttered.

"That's what makes it worse," Kaede said. "If they're hiding from both sides, they're not with us or Iwa."

A silence fell over the group—charged, uneasy.

Nao slowly pulled her blade away from Shiori. "Ren… are you sure?"

Ren glanced at her. "No. But the body mist wasn't normal. And if I'm wrong, we reset and start over. But if I'm right…"

Everyone turned, just for a moment, toward the trees.

Something shifted there.

A flicker.

Like breath in the mist.

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