Chapter 185: Ghosts in the Mist (Part-7) [The Real Stone Shinobi]

Chapter 185 - Ghosts in the Mist (Part-7) [The Real Stone Shinobi] In the swamp where Kakashi and Tenzo had collected the Leaf agents before, the Hidden Leaf team led by Kakashi arrived once again. The swamp was as silent as before and the stillness broken only by the quiet splash of their landing. But they weren't alone for long. Almost as soon as they touched down, the attack came from all sides. Waves of kunai and shuriken sliced through the air toward them, but the entire combat unit reacted in sync. Each member turned to cover one side, weapons flicking up, parrying and deflecting the projectiles with calm precision. In the center of the formation, Utakata moved last. He flicked a silver coin high into the air, hands already moving through a string of seals. His fingers blurred until the final seal locked, and the air shifted and the barrage stopped as suddenly as it had begun. A lone hooded figure stepped out from the tree line, tossing up another silver coin in response. He mirrored Utakata's signs, then both men tossed their coins to the other side. When the coins landed, both parties glanced at them, nodded once, and dropped the tension a notch. The hooded figure spoke first, voice low but clear, "There were too many of us gathered here. To avoid alerting Mist shinobi, I took the liberty of holding some back at scattered points. I am Handler M-5." Utakata didn't seem concerned. He simply nodded, voice even. "It doesn't matter now. This location's already blown. And it seems the guests have arrived too." Almost as if on cue, multiple flickers flared on either side of the swamp. On the right, a tall, auburn-haired woman stepped forward, striking in her blue dress that didn't seem to belong in a battlefield. Behind her, at least twenty shinobi in Mist headbands formed up, each one ready for combat at a moment's notice. On the left, a different figure stepped out, it was a tall man in standard Kiri ANBU gear, an ANBU mask marked with the Mist symbol hiding his face. Two long, bandaged items hung at his hips, and a bulky, rolled sleeping bag was strapped across his back. Behind him, another twenty Kiri ANBU stood like silent ghosts, waiting for an order. Before anyone could say a word, a young voice drifted out from somewhere deeper in the trees. The tone was almost mocking. "What is the meaning of this, Mei Terumi? It was agreed with the head of the Terumi clan that his daughter would come here to discuss our future cooperation, but you brought so many ANBU ninja. Was it all a ruse by the Mist to lure out our shinobi?" The swamp fell dead silent. A second later, a crushing wave of chakra flooded the clearing, pressing down on every Mist shinobi on both sides. It was so heavy that the swamp itself seemed to groan under the weight. Several of the Mist shinobi buckled slightly, beads of sweat forming on their brows. The Leaf side moved instantly and taking advantage of the frozen moment to slip through the trees, collecting every hidden agent. Utakata signaled Yugao with a sharp nod, as she guided the small group as they ghosted back toward the base with the gathered handlers in tow. Mei Terumi raised her hand slightly. With a subtle gesture, the pressure lifted, and the Mist shinobi behind her drew ragged breaths of relief. Her eyes narrowed, scanning the treeline for the source of the voice. "You Leaf shinobi are always quick with your tongues," she said coldly. "As soon as you see your situation turning bad, you try to sow discord between factions?" She turned her sharp gaze to the ANBU captain opposite her, lips curling just slightly. "Let's deal with these insects first and then we'll sort out the rest, alright?" Before the Kiri ANBU captain could speak, the same young voice echoed again, laced with a casual bite. "What, now that you see a good man you want to seduce him instead of fighting the Mizukage's dogs? The daughter of the rebel leader is really fickle." The voice paused a beat, then added with mocking finality, "By the way, we're not Leaf shinobi. We're proud Stone shinobi. Be sure to remember that." Mei responded with a blank stare, her lips twitching into a faint smirk. "I didn't know that Kakashi Hatake, the Leaf's scarecrow, had defected to the Stone Village." Before Kakashi could even open his mouth, Ren flickered in front of the Leaf shinobi and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Damnit, Kakashi, why can't you get a normal haircut? What's the point of wearing that mask if your porcupine hair gives you away every time?" The surrounding shinobi shifted uncomfortably as they turned to look at the newcomer standing on the water. Short. Clad in a sleek ANBU vest that screamed 'I am special'. Bright blue hair that stuck out like a sore thumb. Short. Ren didn't look much like an ordinary Leaf ANBU at all. Mei snorted slightly, folding her arms below her chest. "You don't get to say that, Blue Menace. The Leaf must be feeling bold, sending both Kakashi Hatake and Ren Takahashi this deep into enemy territory." Her gaze slid past Ren, landing on the Kiri ANBU captain opposite her. "I'll say it again, let's deal with these foreigners first and handle Mist business later, in the Mist itself." But Ren cut her off before the ANBU ninja could even grunt a reply. "Raiga Kurosaki, don't listen to her. These are the proof their people demanded as a sign that we really want to help them deal with the Mizukage's dogs." Ren brushed a hand across his storage belt. A moment later, bodies started falling into the swamp water with dull splashes, one after another, each body marked clearly as a shinobi of the Mizukage faction. Then, as if to put an exclamation mark on the point, Ren reached in again and pulled out the body of the elder he and Four had captured earlier, dropping it right on top of the grisly pile. Fortunately, he'd remembered to grab that old man's corpse before he'd left the base otherwise, words alone wouldn't have done much to prove their side. Raiga's killing intent spiked the second his eyes landed on the bodies. His gloved hands clenched at his sides as he glared at Mei and her group. "The Mizukage was waiting for you bloodline clans to crawl back and apologize and instead you bring in outsiders to butcher our shinobi?" A flicker of calculation flashed through Mei's eyes as she looked at the corpses, she could see they were all from the Mizukage's side, but she kept her gaze steady on Raiga as she said evenly, "Believe it or not, we're not the ones who brought them here." Ren, who was now sitting cross-legged right on top of the swamp water as if it were dry ground, cut in again with a casual wave. "Hey, big guy, now that we know that these people are crooks, we don't want to work with them anymore. We're happy to deal directly with you instead. Appropriate payment, of course." Both Mei and Raiga turned to glare at Ren, who just shrugged, looking far too comfortable for someone about to get caught in the middle of a bloodbath. Then without another word, as if they'd both reached the same conclusion, Mei and Raiga launched forward at the same time in a coordinated, deadly strike aimed right at the Leaf shinobi. Ren let out a quiet sigh, rising from his lazy perch on the water. He turned back to the others with a half-hearted wave of his hand. "I'll handle the lady. Kakashi, Weasel, hold the big guy. Sensei, Tenzo, clean up the fodder would you." He paused, glancing at Tenzo in particular, voice flat but pointed. "And Tenzo, don't be a hero, alright? No showing off." Tenzo looked at Ren and understood what Ren meant. There was no guarantee they'd kill every witness here and if even one Mist shinobi went back to report that Konoha had produced another Wood Release user, the entire continent would panic. The last thing they needed was to kickstart the Fourth Shinobi War by accident, but then he thought about who his leader in the mission was and couldn't help but feel that the reason of the Fourth Great Shinobi War might just be this blue haired menace. He breathed out, steeling himself as the swamp filled with killing intent on all sides. "Got it. No showing off." Just as the two sides were about to clash, Ren made multiple clones that appeared around the Leaf shinobi in an instant. Each clone grabbed a Konoha operative, hauled them onto their shoulders like sacks of rice, and spun on their heels as wind chakra visibly swirled around their feet, wrapping up their limbs in faint currents of cutting air. Thunder cracked above the swamp with a deep, rolling boom that made the humid air feel like it might burst apart. Every shinobi present whether Mist, Leaf, or otherwise felt the hair on their necks stand up at once. Even the Kiri ANBU and Mei's elite squad paused mid-charge, their eyes instinctively flicking to the sky, completely forgetting about the Leaf's sudden retreat. Hovering overhead, the clouds churned with violent force as if nature itself had decided to get involved. Ren's mocking voice echoed across the now-unnaturally silent swamp. "Keke... you idiots really thought we'd fight you in an open swamp, outnumbered, with no plan? How cute." No sooner did his words fade than the sky split open and a massive dragon-like beast made of pure lightning crackled into form, scales flickering in and out of existence as thunder boomed across the waterlogged ground. Ren's [Lightning Style: Kirin] descended with terrifying speed. Mei's eyes narrowed in an instant as her instincts kicked in before her mind could catch up. She flashed through hand seals so fast her fingers blurred, slammed her palm to the swamp water, and roared, "[Boil Release: Mist Veil Shield]!" Massive volumes of the swamp water instantly vaporized into a thick, dense fog. The hot mist wrapped around her squad like a giant cocoon. The moment the Kirin hit, the mist acted as a barrier as lightning couldn't travel cleanly through it, and the natural dispersion gave her squadron just a tiny window to escape. Mei flickered out of the impact zone, her beautiful dress singed at the hem as she reappeared in the trees, her huge chest heaving. Raiga, on the other side, barely hesitated. He ripped the bandages off the two long, slim blades strapped to his waist, revealing the twin blades, each blade was double-edged, with upward-curved prongs near the tip and base, and smooth brown hilts set into round grey tsuba. Sparks snapped across the metal as he slammed the swords together, generating a wild, swirling ball of lightning between the blades. As the Kirin's energy barreled down on him, Raiga sucked in a breath, legs buckling under the raw force above. Then, with a shout, he wrenched the blades upward, hurling the condensed lightning back toward the sky in a desperate counter. For an instant, the Kirin split apart at the belly where Raiga's blades tore through it, forcing the lightning to arc back into the storm clouds. It wasn't perfect as it couldn't stop the full blast, but it bought him just enough time. Raiga vanished with a flicker, leaving only scorched ground where he'd stood. A few seconds later, the swamp quieted. The last echoes of the Kirin's impact faded, replaced by the hiss of steam rising from blackened water and scorched trees. Mist rolled back over the marsh as the survivors or what was left of them came into view. Mei scanned the damage first. Most of her squad lay scattered like broken dolls, some dead outright, others mauled beyond recognition, and the ones who still breathed twitched and spasmed helplessly from the raw lightning still dancing through their nerves. She drew in a steadying breath, eyes calm despite the carnage. She met Raiga's stare across the ruined clearing. He glanced at his own side, taking in the mangled ANBU behind him. The casualties were even worse for his group and the swamp stank of burnt flesh and ozone. Mei's voice broke the quiet first. "We didn't invite the Leaf to meddle in the Mist's affairs. And," She paused, dense chakra vibrating around her shoulders as she glared at the clearing, "we would never, ever accept the help of the Blue Menace." She moved briskly through what was left of her squad, weaving quick hand signs. Water clones formed beside her in quick succession, picking up the shinobi who were still alive and gathering the dead into bundles for retrieval. Raiga didn't bother with any words as he just glanced at the corpses scattered around him, gave Mei one last unreadable look, and flickered away into the mist without so much as a farewell. ~~~~~ {You guys thought you'd see a big fight so soon? How cute~} {Also, don't ask me about the spy signs and things like that, I'm not some super secret government agent here to keep track of your reading preference (or am I?) Anyway, I just used the best I could come up with and it isn't really important anyway so forget it.} {If you want, you can support me on pat-reon} { h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n } {You know what else} {280 Stones = Extra Chapter} {STONES!!!!} {Also,