Yohei's team had no idea they'd already been made.
Two kiloters away, the Sand four-man squad was still debating what to do with them.
"Fumi, you sure? Are they the ones we're looking for?"
The team captain's voice was tight. These guys were bait—equipped with a sensor specifically to draw out the high-value Leaf teams that had been tearing up Sand's rear lines for weeks. Between Minato and Taiichi using Flying Thunder God, Sand command had already lost face. Now regular teams were getting picked off too. Enough was enough.
The sensor ninja opened his eyes. "I can't confirm they're the elite ones, but they're definitely scouting. They never ntioned any high-priority targets."
The captain didn't hesitate. "Report their position to the pursuit teams. We keep moving. No point risking ourselves on a maybe."
Minutes later, two elite Sand squads led by Jonin changed course and moved to intercept.
The ambush ca without warning.
Wind Style: Great Sickle Weasel!
A roaring storm of wind blades tore through the trees straight at Yohei's group. Explosive tags on kunai followed right behind.
Yohei reacted first but had no defensive jutsu ready. He was about to activate Susanoo when Kakashi lunged forward and slamd his hands to the ground.
Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!
A thick wall with a snarling dog-head relief shot up just in ti. Wind blades slamd into it, followed by the dull thump of exploding tags. The wall held.
The team reacted fast. Saori grabbed Rin and pulled her back while launching a string of lightning orbs into the storm. Kakashi and Obito broke left while Yohei went right, all of them moving with practiced coordination.
The Sand Jonin leading the ambush had expected an easy kill. When he saw five teenagers instead of hardened elites, he'd already written them off as easy prey. That mistake cost him.
Yohei activated his Mangekyo the second he cleared the wall. The pinwheel spun. Susanoo's power flooded his body. His next strike sent the enemy Jonin stumbling backward, barely able to raise his kunai in ti.
On the other side, Kakashi and Obito worked like a machine. Kakashi's short blade knocked the Sand ninja's guard wide open. Obito slipped past and opened the man's throat in one clean motion.
Saori's lightning orbs exploded behind them, paralyzing the last two Sand chunin long enough for Kakashi and Obito to finish them off.
The entire fight lasted less than ten seconds.
The surviving Sand Jonin finally realized he wasn't facing rookies. These were the elite Leaf team he'd been sent to hunt. And now he was the one being hunted.
He backed off hard, blood running down his arm, and yanked a signal flare from his pouch. A crimson streak shot into the sky with a piercing whistle.
Yohei's right eye twitched violently. A cold, heavy pressure slamd into his gut.
"Kakashi! We need to move—now! Sothing's coming!"
Kakashi didn't question it. He trusted that feeling. They grabbed their gear and ran.
Less than a minute after they left, two full elite Sand squads appeared at the clearing. They took one look at the bodies and the flare trail and imdiately gave chase.
Yohei and Kakashi knew they couldn't outrun them forever. They created shadow clones on the move and left them behind as rearguards.
The clones bought them ti—precious minutes—but it cost them. Both Yohei and Kakashi burned through massive amounts of chakra. Even with the special soldier pills Taiichi had given them, the fatigue was starting to show.
For two days they ran, fought, set traps, and doubled back. They used every trick they'd learned in the Academy and on the battlefield. But Sand kept coming. More squads joined the hunt every hour.
By the end of the second day, the team was ragged. Cuts, bruises, and deeper wounds covered all of them. Rin was doing what she could with basic dical ninjutsu, but she was running on fus too.
They had nowhere left to go. Sand forces were closing in from every direction.
Yohei kept his Mangekyo active more than he should have, scanning for any opening. Kakashi's Sharingan was spinning constantly. Obito was unusually quiet. Saori's lightning crackled around her like a nervous habit. Rin stayed close to the group, eyes wide but determined.
They were out of tricks.
And the Sand hunters were getting closer.
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