The sun hung high in the sky, with clouds lazily drifting by. It was a beautiful day.
A dirt road cut straight through the forest, stretching into the unseen distance. Along this road, carts loaded with supplies moved slowly forward.
"Sensei Aoki, we're deep in the heart of the Land of Fire. We’ve made this trip multiple times already. Isn't it a bit much to stay this cautious?" asked a boy, no older than eleven or twelve, to the middle-aged ninja leading the convoy.
Though the boy had only recently graduated from the academy, he had already transported supplies along this route several times.
At first, he had been nervous, fearing danger around every bend. But after a few trips, he had grown relaxed. After all, they hadn't encountered even a single rogue ninja or bandit, let alone enemy shinobi.
"This is wartime, Mantian. You must always stay alert, no matter where you are," Sensei Aoki replied firmly. "We are responsible for this convoy. It’s our mission to ensure these supplies safely reach the rear guard."
The boy, Mantian, sighed and muttered under his breath. His teacher always said the same thing. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Ninja always need to stay vigilant."
Still, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. In his view, his teacher was being overly cautious. He glanced toward the back of the convoy, where two other boys, his teammates, were keeping watch.
“Seriously, everyone in this squad is such a worrywart. Where’s the fun in that?” Mantian thought as he flopped onto the supply carts, staring up at the clouds. Keeping watch from above? No way. There was no chance of anything happening here!
This was the Land of Fire, after all. If enemy shinobi were to make it this far into their territory, it would mean Konoha was on the verge of collapse. There was no way that was happening.
Yawning, Mantian felt his eyelids grow heavy. “Maybe I can sneak in a quick nap. Who’s going to notice?”
But just as he was about to drift off, a shout rang through the air.
A massive explosion rocked the ground, shaking the convoy violently. Mantian’s heart leaped into his throat as he scrambled up, frantically looking around. The earth beneath him trembled, and the carts swayed dangerously.
Before Mantian could get his bearings, he felt a sudden force pierce through the air towards him. He wanted to move, but his body froze, paralyzed with fear.
The sharp clang of metal striking metal echoed nearby. Slowly, Mantian turned his head to see several kunai and shuriken lying on the ground not far from him. Someone had just saved him by deflecting the incoming projectiles.
"You little brat, die!"
A gruff voice roared from the ground ahead. A middle-aged man leaped from the earth, a cruel grin on his face, brandishing a kunai as he charged toward Mantian.
It was Sensei Aoki, shouting from where he was locked in combat. But the enemy ninja had him pinned down—he couldn’t break free to help.
The two other boys guarding the rear were also under attack, each fending off an enemy of their own. Their squad had been ambushed.
Sensei Aoki’s shout snapped Mantian out of his terror-induced stupor, but his limbs still refused to move. His breath came in short gasps, and his mind went blank as he watched the enemy shinobi close in.
If he couldn’t act soon, he was going to die.
The enemy, sensing his prey’s helplessness, bared his teeth in a wild grin. He let out a savage growl as he lunged toward Mantian like a beast hunting its quarry.
Suddenly, several kunai flew out from the forest, cutting through the air toward the attacking ninja. He was startled but quickly assessed that the kunai were slower than expected. If he just sped up his charge, they would miss him entirely.
With a fierce burst of speed, he ducked under the first wave of kunai.
Two more kunai came flying at him, faster and with more precision than the first set. Startled, the enemy ninja twisted his body to avoid them, but in doing so, he lost momentum.
The sound of kunai clashing with each other rang out, and the ninja felt a sharp, searing pain in his back. His eyes widened in shock.
Staggering forward a few more steps, he collapsed onto the ground, sliding for another meter before coming to a stop. His body twitched, but he couldn’t get up. He tried, but his strength was gone. Four kunai were embedded in his back, and they had sealed his fate.
Mantian, who had been just meters away from death, gulped and looked down at the fallen ninja. His heart pounded, and his whole body trembled. Slowly, he came back to his senses.
It was then that he noticed four figures had appeared on the battlefield.
He couldn’t help but shout in surprise when he saw their distinctive attire.
"Damn it! The ANBU have caught up to us! Retreat!" one of the enemy shinobi shouted, his voice laced with panic.
“Think you can run? In your dreams!” growled a deep voice—it was Bear, the leader of Squad Four.
The four ANBU who had appeared were none other than the members of Squad Four. The one who had killed the charging ninja with precise kunai throws was none other than Mochizuki Hui.