"The seventh one…"
Nearly an hour had passed.
Fine beads of sweat slid down Yuji's temple.
He was pressed close against an Amegakure shinobi, one hand gripping the scalpel buried deep in the man's chest. The tip had pierced straight through the heart.
At his feet lay another corpse.
A two-on-one encounter.
He had won.
To prevent the second shinobi from firing a signal flare, Yuji had stayed within arm's reach the entire time, constantly disrupting his movements. Close-quarters combat left no room to raise an alarm.
He had ambushed the first from the shadows, ending it instantly.
The second had reacted in time, but Yuji had closed the distance before he could disengage.
Even so, it had been dangerous.
Ordinarily, he would never have targeted a two-man patrol. The risk of exposure was too high. One mistake would have meant instant encirclement.
Until now, he had carefully chosen isolated targets, those who looked weaker, those patrolling alone.
But something had changed.
Amegakure shinobi had begun moving in groups, converging toward a single direction.
Too many of them.
Yuji understood immediately.
Sasori had been exposed.
He couldn't remain hidden anymore. Even distracting a handful of enemies would buy time.
At this point, he and Sasori were tied together.
There was no room for self-preservation.
Yuji pushed the body aside and looked toward the direction of the disturbance.
"The strongholds in this area hold twenty to thirty shinobi," he calculated quickly. "If they've alerted neighboring bases, reinforcements will multiply fast. This is frontline territory. Their density here is absurd."
His heart tightened. He could no longer worry about erasing his traces.
Just as he prepared to move, Arai appeared beside him.
"Mission complete. Withdraw."
His voice was sharp and unquestionable.
"Understood."
They moved immediately.
The forest blurred past as they raced forward, crossing paths with Amegakure shinobi rushing in from multiple directions.
Arai didn't slow.
He cut them down cleanly, movements efficient and decisive, no wasted motion.
This was the strength of an Elite Jonin.
The enemy hadn't yet formed a coordinated net. Their forces were still scattered.
This was the narrow window to escape.
As they approached the edge of the engagement zone, Sasori appeared from the opposite direction.
Blood stained his clothes and splattered across his face. His breathing was steady, though faint cuts marked his arms.
Nothing serious.
"Move," Arai ordered.
No further explanation was needed.
They abandoned stealth entirely and focused on speed.
The faster they ran, the slimmer the chance of being encircled.
Amegakure shinobi flanked them on both sides, shadows flickering through the forest.
"Keep going!" Arai shouted.
Yuji and Sasori sprinted ahead while Arai turned back to intercept the nearest pursuers.
...
Yuji was forced to engage twice during the retreat, driving off two attackers with quick, brutal exchanges.
Sasori's puppets lashed out, buying precious seconds.
But the difference in experience was clear.
Arai carved a path.
He chose routes that cut across patrol lines and avoided concentrated forces. Each decision shortened the distance to safety.
Gradually, the dense soil gave way beneath their feet.
The forest thinned.
Then, Sand, Gravel.
The familiar terrain of the Land of Wind.
Amegakure shinobi halted at the border, unwilling to press further.
Soon, Sunagakure reinforcements appeared to secure their return.
Only then did Yuji allow himself to collapse.
He fell flat on his back, staring up at the sky, chest heaving violently.
His mouth was dry, and his limbs trembled faintly.
The mission had felt like dancing along the edge of a blade.
One misstep, and none of them would have returned.
Even Arai, for all his strength, would have been in mortal danger if Amegakure had gathered in full force.
Escaping while cutting down Amegakure shinobi, and doing so without being slowed even a fraction, was an entirely different kind of pressure.
There was no room for calculation, no time to polish a perfect strike.
Only speed, instinct, survival.
Even Arai showed faint signs of fatigue now. His breathing remained steady, but his shoulders carried the weight of sustained combat.
Sasori's face was pale, though as always, his expression revealed nothing.
Several of his puppets had been destroyed.
Arai looked at him as if he wanted to say something, then held back.
For a shinobi, this kind of blood-soaked intensity was normal. What mattered was the result. And the result was undeniable.
Both boys had performed beyond expectations. Yet their styles could not have been more different.
Yuji was meticulous.
He observed. Calculated. Manipulated the battlefield. Every kill had been deliberate.
Had Sasori not drawn attention, Yuji could have continued hunting quietly for much longer.
Sasori, on the other hand, relied on overwhelming puppetry.
Direct. Efficient. Decisive.
But unconcerned with concealment.
It wasn't that he lacked the ability to operate like Yuji, if anything, he might have done so even better.
It was simply not his nature.
Originally, Arai had planned for a full hour of infiltration.
The mission had ended far sooner than expected.
"Twenty-one."
Sasori's voice broke the silence.
He was staring at Yuji, who was still lying on the sand.
"And you?"
"Ten," Yuji replied lightly. "Including the ones during the retreat."
He laughed.
"I won," Sasori said flatly.
He had eliminated more than twice as many enemies.
The stronghold in that sector of Amegakure had likely been wiped out entirely.
Arai spoke before the silence could settle.
"Yuji is a medical-nin. He operates under different constraints."
His gaze shifted to Sasori.
"And in terms of mission performance, Yuji's execution was superior."
Sasori's eyes flickered faintly.
"If the time had extended," Arai continued calmly, "Yuji's numbers would have surpassed yours. More importantly, in a standard infiltration mission for the village, his approach would yield greater long-term results."
Sasori said nothing. But the air around him cooled slightly.
"Hahaha!"
Yuji's laughter rang out unexpectedly.
He sat up, grinning.
"Interesting… this was too interesting."
He inhaled deeply, still catching his breath.
"This feeling… it's completely different from before."
The Sunagakure shinobi who had come to meet them exchanged confused looks.
Even Arai raised an eyebrow.
"This was just a minor skirmish," Yuji continued, his eyes shining faintly. "I can't imagine what the true elites of the great hidden villages displayed on the battlefield at the height of the Ninja World War."
Silence.
The others stared at him.
Most people would have been shaken by such an experience. Even seasoned shinobi sometimes carried invisible scars after prolonged battle.
And this kid?
Instead of fear, there was excitement in his eyes.
'What kind of child reacts like that?'
Arai let out a low chuckle.
He had been slightly worried that the mission might leave psychological scars. It seemed that concern had been unnecessary.
"Arai Sensei," Yuji said suddenly, springing to his feet, sand scattering around him. "Let's continue."
"Huh?"