Kyuushin's sudden shout startled everyone. Nawaki and Minato were fine, just feeling a bit tired from the monotonous journey. However, Grand Craftsman Sekine and his apprentices slumped to the ground, panting as if they had just completed a high-intensity workout.
"Quick, form a protective formation!" Kyuushin reacted immediately.
Although they didn't know what was happening, Kyuushin's command made the two spring into action. The three once again formed a triangular formation to protect Sekine and his party.
"What happened?" Nawaki asked, his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"We seem to have been going in circles," Minato, now clear-headed, also noticed something was amiss.
"Yes, it's a genjutsu," Kyuushin confirmed.
In fact, he had already recognized the jutsu: Genjutsu - Sly Mind Affect Technique, which makes the target unknowingly wander in the same place, thus exhausting their stamina. It was a jutsu favored by Amegakure ninja. Kyuushin's earlier worries had come true, though he didn't know why they were being targeted. But it was too late to dwell on it; they had to focus on the enemy at hand. The three formed their defensive line, secretly vigilant, and each took a soldier pill. Facing ninja from another village for the first time, even Kyuushin was a bit nervous.
It seemed the hidden enemy realized their genjutsu had been broken. They formed new hand signs, and in the next second, seven or eight dark figures darted out, silently launching an attack.
Seeing the figures approaching, Kyuushin instantly recognized the jutsu. "It's still genjutsu. Be careful, these are Haze Clones. They'll split when attacked, but they don't have any offensive capabilities. Watch out for attacks from the shadows."
Hearing that their strategy had been deciphered, the Amegakure ninja no longer hid and jumped out directly. There were three of them, dressed strangely and covered from head to toe. Even though it wasn't raining, they wore straw hats and carried several umbrellas on their backs.
Seeing the hidden enemies finally reveal themselves, Nawaki was a bit impatient and was about to charge, but Kyuushin held him back and instead addressed the Amegakure ninja.
"Why are you attacking us Konoha ninja?"
"Our target isn't you, but him," the leading Rain ninja pointed at Sekine. "If you hand him over, I can let you go."
Kyuushin neither agreed nor refused, but continued to ask, "Was the person at the tavern yesterday one of yours too?"
The leading Rain ninja's killing intent flared. "The more you know, the faster you die!" Seemingly realizing that Kyuushin's team wouldn't abandon their mission, he stopped talking nonsense and directly threw the umbrellas from his back.
"Ninja Art: Shower of Senbon!"
The umbrellas in the air instantly opened and spun, and thousands of senbon hidden inside shot towards them. These senbon were infused with chakra and could be controlled. Kyuushin keenly noticed that while most of them were aimed at the three of them, a very small portion were shot towards Sekine. If they all dodged, the craftsman would surely be injured.
Kyuushin shouted, "Dodge!" Nawaki and Minato instantly used the Body Flicker Technique to avoid the attack. But while he told them to dodge, he himself didn't. Instead, he gathered chakra in his hand and slammed it into the ground. Under his precise control, a stone wall instantly rose, firmly shielding him and Sekine. The next moment, dense senbon pierced the stone wall, but they were unharmed.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!" Nawaki, who had just dodged, naturally wasn't idle. A stream of water he spewed from his mouth shot towards the Rain ninja, moving extremely fast. It struck one of them, sending him flying several meters away, his life uncertain.
"Hoihara!" one of the other Rain ninja exclaimed.
Seeing that one enemy had been eliminated, Kyuushin knew to press the advantage. "Minato, stay with Sekine. Nawaki, let's go." As he spoke, he used a Body Flicker and appeared next to the leading Rain ninja. Before the ninja could react, Kyuushin unleashed a Monstrous Strength punch. However, when it connected, it passed right through him, hitting nothing. Just as his punch missed and his body lost balance, a figure suddenly shot out from the ground, attacking him with a kunai. It was the Haze Clone technique combined with the Earth-Style Subterranean Projection Jutsu.
Since Kyuushin understood their tactics, how could he forget this combination? The Kyuushin struck by the kunai instantly turned into a puff of smoke and vanished. The Rain ninja was shocked, but it was too late. A sharp flash of a blade came from behind, piercing him clean through. Kyuushin had already used a Shadow Clone while behind the earth wall. The one that attacked was just a decoy; the real killing blow was already hidden.
The Rain ninja he killed was likely the leader and the strongest of the three. Of the remaining two, one had been knocked out by Nawaki's ninjutsu, and the other was no match for him either. As Kyuushin finished his opponent, Nawaki also dealt with his.
After the enemies were defeated, Kyuushin told Nawaki to finish them off while he approached the downed leader. Kyuushin's previous strike had avoided vital points, only incapacitating him. "Tell me, why are you targeting Sekine?" he asked.
Unexpectedly, the Rain ninja suddenly exerted force, fiercely crushing a bottle hidden in his hand, and loudly roared, "For the Land of Rain! For the leader!" After the bottle shattered, a cloud of blue-purple smoke instantly spread out. The Rain ninja, who had been roaring one second, fell silent the next as the mist enveloped him. The smoke spread extremely fast, and before Kyuushin could react, it enveloped his body as well.
Minato, who had been watching closely, was instantly shocked. "Kyuushin!"
"Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't be that careless," a voice came from the side. Who else could it be but the real Kyuushin? "It was just a shadow clone," he explained.
The blue-purple smoke gradually dissipated. "Too bad, we didn't find out their objective," Nawaki said, walking over after finishing his task.
Minato also sighed. "I can't believe our first mission involved a ninja attack. But this way, our mission rank will change, right?"
Kyuushin nodded. "Exactly. If enemy ninja are involved, the mission rank starts at B-level." As he spoke, he went to Sekine's side. After some rest, they had recovered some of their stamina. "Sekine-san, do you know what's going on?" Although he didn't have much hope, he still asked. As expected, the craftsman shook his head.
"I just saw the Rain ninja's reaction. It's clear the person we met at the tavern yesterday knew something. Unfortunately, it's too late now," Minato said.
"It's not too late," a familiar voice replied. "I've already captured him."