Naruto : Konoha Light

"This guy actually woke up at the last moment!" Asuma clicked his tongue in frustration, looking disappointed.

"Let's take care of the others first," Shimizu said, reaching into his tool pouch for a weapon.

"I'll handle the ones on the left."

"And I'll take the right," Asuma responded.

The lead ninja's brow twitched as he shouted, "Wake up! Quickly!"

If his teammates couldn't disrupt the flow of chakra in their bodies, he could at least try to help one of them. The problem was, he could only save one person at a time. His only hope was that his voice would trigger some kind of "bond" among them, enough to snap them out of it.

However, it was completely useless.

Before his eyes, a barrage of vacuum bullets shot toward the left while a flurry of kunai rained down on the right.

Clenching his teeth, the lead ninja tried to intercept the projectiles with his sword, all while dashing toward his leftmost teammate. He managed to get there just in time, knocking the vacuum bullets away before they could strike.

"Phew… just made it!"

But before he could even take a breath, Shimizu and Asuma launched another round of attacks.

"Damn brats! Give me a break!"

"Not done yet?"

"Are you idiots?! Wake up already!"

By the third time this happened, even he realized something was wrong.

Each time they attacked, the two brats left just enough of a gap, staggering their strikes slightly so he could barely keep up—but never giving him a real chance to recover.

"This isn't random… They're doing this on purpose!" A chill ran down his spine. Shimizu and Asuma weren't just fighting—they were toying with him, dragging out the fight until he was completely exhausted and easy to take down.

Kushina also noticed something strange.

"They've been trapped for this long… Normal genjutsu wouldn't last this long."

She glanced at Shimizu in shock.

"My little brother… might be even scarier than I thought!"

When the next wave of attacks began, the lead ninja finally snapped. His eyes turned bloodshot with rage.

"You damn brats… I'll kill you!!"

Having been forced to abandon his teammates, he was filled with shame and fury.

"Uh-oh, I think we pushed him too far!" Asuma said, though there was no fear in his voice—only excitement.

"He's an elite Chūnin, right? Time to see how strong he really is!"

Suddenly, blinding violet lightning crackled in the lead ninja's hands.

"Lightning Style: Pack of Wolves!"

A group of wolves made of pure lightning lunged forward, their jaws wide open as they charged at Asuma.

"Fast!" Asuma thought, startled. "Cloud-ninja really do specialize in speed!"

Reacting quickly, he formed a series of hand seals. Flames erupted from his mouth, colliding with the lightning wolves in a dazzling explosion of fire and electricity.

Using the explosion as cover, the lead ninja charged straight through the flames, his body scorched but his resolve unwavering.

Asuma's pupils shrank.

"He just ran through that?!"

But thanks to countless battles alongside Shimizu, he wasn't thrown off. He substituted himself out instantly.

The lead ninja wasn't done. He kicked off a nearby tree, using the momentum to launch himself at Asuma again.

"You think I forgot about him?"

A voice came from above.

"Mountain Mist!"

Before the lead ninja could react, Shimizu appeared and struck him midair.

Boom!

Like a cannonball, the lead ninja crashed into the ground, leaving a long trench in his wake.

"Shimizu's even rougher than I am," Asuma muttered. Then he turned to Shimizu. "Should we just finish him off?"

Nearby, Kushina watched in awe.

"Not bad… My little brother really is something," she thought, nodding in satisfaction.

From the dust cloud, a shaky voice echoed, full of disbelief.

"What the hell are these monsters?!"

The lead ninja stared down at his shattered chest armor.

"If it weren't for this heart protector, I'd be dead already!"

Even with the armor, the impact had nearly killed him. His ribs were cracked, and he was struggling to breathe.

"But I won't let this happen again," he muttered, forcing himself to stand. "I'll show you brats the difference between a true ninja and some lucky kids!"

"But… you were almost killed by us," Shimizu pointed out flatly.

"That was just— I wasn't being careful!"

"But… you were almost killed by us," Asuma echoed.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!" the lead ninja roared in frustration.

Furious, he lunged at Asuma once more.

This time, Asuma didn't even try to dodge. He simply formed hand seals.

The lead ninja's heart skipped a beat.

"Genjutsu!"

Panic set in as he realized the illusion was already taking effect. Desperate, he forced his own left hand to stab the kunai he had hidden in his palm into his thigh.

Pain jolted through his body. The genjutsu broke just in time for him to see—

A massive fireball heading straight for him.

His eyes widened.

"Damn it!"

Instinctively, he leaped to the side. But it was too late—half of his body was engulfed in flames.

"Unbelievable… I've been pushed this far by a couple of brats?!"

He clenched his fists in humiliation.

"If I were fighting one-on-one, this would've been easy! But those two… their teamwork is too damn good! And my teammates… still haven't woken up!!"

Meanwhile, Shimizu observed the charred enemy with an indifferent expression.

"Fire Style really is terrifying," he mused. "That should've killed him."

Realizing he couldn't win without taking out the genjutsu user first, the lead ninja made his decision.

Gritting his teeth, he charged at Asuma again.

Asuma and Shimizu immediately prepared to counter.

"Three… two… one… Now!"

But just before they could act, something flashed in the lead ninja's eyes.

A smoke bomb.

"Shit, I can't see him!" Asuma cursed.

Shimizu pretended to panic. "Oh no, I can't form seals in time!"

In reality, he was rolling his eyes.

"This idiot is trying way too hard to be sneaky."

Then he saw where the enemy was really heading—

Straight for Kushina

"Bastard! Get away from her!" Asuma shouted, throwing a kunai in desperation.

The lead ninja smirked.

Too late.

Or so he thought.

Shimizu suddenly moved forward.

Directly into his path.