The Day and a Half: A Blend of Routine and Suspi
For the day and a half, routiasks mingled with an uling tension.
The three Sunagakure genin showed no i in further “fri.” Even Temari, who had beeing the waters, refrained from approag again.
The Land of Fire mert, however, was an anomaly. Onown for his excessive indulgen gambling and debauchery, he now stayed fio his room, only stepping out for the scheduled meetings. His transformation into a reclusive, subdued figure was almost jarring.
Yet, despite the looming suspi, nothing happened—adding a veneer of normalcy to the situation.
For the Konoha team, this mixture of unease and vigince was exhausting. From the jōnin down to the genin, they remained on high alert for two days straight. In light of Sunagakure’s reputation for using poison, they were cautious with everything, even their water, and relied solely on ration pills for sustenance.
…
Departure Day, M at the Inn
Click.
The door to the mert’s room opened. Dressed in a loose kimono, he stepped out, surrounded by his ente. As they moved toward the staircase, he suddenly turned and fshed a strange smile at Link.
“...”
Nara Ensui noticed it as well. Exging a quice with Link, the two unicated silently through hand signals, alerting Iris and Ami.
Oside the Inn, the Sunagakure team separated aheir own way.
The remaining group tinued onward, leaving the town behind. The desert winds howled around them, obsg their surroundings as they marched in tense silence.
The former protectors, now wary of their own employer, exged no words with the stoic samurai, who had grown suspicious themselves.
The city’s silhouette shrank in the distance as they ventured into the wilderness.
By mid-m, as the sun climbed high, the sery began to ge. Crossing into the Land of Rivers, the barren expanse gave way to rolling hills, gullies, and patches of greenery.
Suddenly, the group came to an abrupt halt.
Iris and Ami drew their kunai, while Link instinctively created a shadow e and began gathering chakra to s the area. His sharp eyes fixed on the mert’s panquin.
“Sir, we—” Ensui began cautiously, turning toward the mert.
“Watch out!” Link’s shout cut through the air as he sensed an abnormal spike in chakra.
“Swoosh—thud!”
A katana pierced Ensui’s shoulder. The samurai captain, who had always been close to the panquin, now gripped the on, his face melting away.
“Thud!”
Ensui groaned in pain as he teleported backward. Blood sprayed as he clutched his wound, desperately trying to staunch the bleeding with chakra. His expression twisted in agony—something in the wound was interfering with his chakra trol, making it difficult to heal.
The injury had also rendered one of his arms unusable, preventing him from f seals.
“Creak... rip...”
As Link moved to support him, his own body strained. His muscles expanded beh his vest, and his breathing grew heavy.
“Ensui-sensei, leave this to me,” he said firmly, his voice calm but resolute.
“Link...”
The samurai captain’s flesh had fully dissolved, revealing pale skin and golden, slit-like pupils. His voice, raspy yet magic, was chilling.
“The moment I saw you, I kneere the same.”
“Orochimaru,” Ensui spat bitterly, reizing the infamous Sannin.
Link wasted no time. Swiftly f seals, he summoned his Mountain Drake.
The ground trembled as the massive creature, over teers long, materialized beh their feet. With a roar, it began to asd, lifting the group high into the air.
From below, the panquin was overturned, sending the mert flying several meters. His fate was uain, but Link didn’t spare a gnce. His focus was entirely otle ahead.
“Swoosh!”
Orochimaru hurled his katana toward the dragon.
The creature raised its head, shielding its passengers.
“g!”
The bde struck its scales but failed to pee, instead boung off with a sharp metallig. Despite this, the dragon’s pained roar made it clear the bde carried a sinister force.
With a defiant cry, the dragon spat a massive boulder toward Orochimaru.
“Thud!”
The boulder crashed into a hastily summoned Rashōmon, scattering debris into the air.
As Link prepared to follow up, Ensui shoved him aside. The katana, seemingly guided by a will of its own, arced back through the air, narrowly missing its target.
Orochimaru leapt onto the dragon’s back with eerie agility, nding with uling grace.
Ensui, his breathing steadied, tested his hand seals. Though his firembled slightly, his chakra was beginning to flow more smoothly.
The oppressive presence of Orochimaru filled the air, his slit pupils glinting with amusement.
“Release!”
Link disrupted his chakra, breaking free of the genjutsu triggered by Orochimaru’s gaze.
“Argh!”
Iris cried out, colpsing to his krapped in the illusion.
Ami trembled as she dispelled the genjutsu and immediately helped Iris, her breaths bored.
The Mountain Drake, wings beating furiously, hovered in pce.
“How iing,” Orochimaru murmured, a faint smile on his lips. His attention shifted briefly to Ensui, wary of the Nara ’s shadow teiques.
Maintaining his distance, he dismissed them as a minimal threat.
Link avoided making direct eye tact with Orochimaru. Though defeated by Itachi’s genjutsu, Orochimaru’s skill in illusions was still formidable enough to cause trouble.
Quickly f seals, Link summoned a shadow e.
The e’s shadow rose to attack, but Orochimaru’s katana fell from the sky, pierg the dragon’s bad dispersing the shadow.
“Roar!”
The dragon screamed in pain as the bde unleashed a malevolent energy, causing immense disfort despite not breaking its defenses.
Link’s shadow tis assault, engaging Orochimaru in a tense exge. However, the legendary Sannin, unbothered by his diminishing chakra reserves, remained unyielding.
As Iris and Ami prepared to assist, Ensui stopped them.
“This isn’t a fight fenin,” he warned. “Stay back.”
Meanwhile, Link maintained a cold focus, repeatedly using substitution teiques to avoid Orochimaru’s strikes.
It was clear from Orochimaru’s demeanor—
He didn’t even sider them worthy oppos.
Bleam
