Second Chance

Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Hell's Training Part 2
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Racing towards the fortress Kakashi couldn't help but start thinking of scenarios that could be happening and reasons why the ambush had not been spotted ahead of time when the answer hit him. Either the fortress had been rigged and fortified with seals a long time ago or one of the new enemies was at the least proficient with fuinjutsu. Cursing he sped up. Each jonin heading to a different team hoping that they would be able to save their genin.

Ino's team...

Coughing as the dust cleared Ino groaned. When they had opened the door they had not been expecting a trap to go off immediately. Thankfully Haku had managed to quick ice shield to protect them from the worst of it. Looking over at her teammates she could see that Choji and Haku were alright if not a little shaken from the trap just like she was. At least it wasn't just her.

"Is everyone alright?" Haku asked as she stood and dusted herself off. She had reacted on pure instinct. She had never been more thankful for the hellish training that Zabuza had put her through until then.

"Y..yeah.." Choji replied. Looking into the room he squinted trying to find out if there had been anyone inside or if it had been a rigged trap for any intruders done long before they had gotten there. Inside, stood a lone man watching them carefully.

"I'm surprised that you survived. That should have killed you." He mused looking more clearly at the team. 'Genin most likely. That means that there is a jonin somewhere. Interesting. There is a Yamanaka and an Akimichi but no Nara that I can see. Was there one in the class or did they not get along?' He thought. He had told the bandits that this would happen if they weren't more careful but they hadn't listened to them. Now they had to deal with pesky shinobi. Shrugging he focused on the task at hand. He didn't think that he would have much trouble with the two known ninja but the other girl was baffling him. Who was she and why was she filling in for a Nara? There surely wasn't a way that she was a better tactician or that her skills would compliment theirs more than a Nara's could there?

"I know who the two besides you are, or rather the clan and techniques that they use but I can't place you with any Konoha clan I am aware of. A Kurama perhaps? No you are to trained to be a member of that clan. They rarely if ever focus on physical training. Could you in fact be a Nara? No that can't be it either you don't have the clan crest or typical clothing choice. No feral markings of the Inuzuka clan or the coat of the Aburame. Definitely not a Hyuga and the Uchiha were all killed. That does leave the Sarutobi clan..." He mused out loud. Haku narrowed her eyes as he tried to place her and thus her techniques. 'He's good.' She thought to herself.

"Well I think that it is incredibly rude not to introduce yourself before trying to figure out who I am." Haku snapped at the man as she began to subtly analyze the room.

"Don't concern yourself with that. Regardless you will have to show me your techniques if you want to leave alive." He said as he shifted his stance and then blurred out of sight. Years of training with Zabuza to master the silent killing technique allowed Haku to quickly pin point his location as she lashed out with her foot catching him in his abdomen.

"Could you perhaps not be a genin?" He asked eyes narrowed. He had been moving at jonin level speed and yet she had caught him as if she could follow his movements.

"Be on guard. He is at least jonin in speed. Approach this if you are doing survival training with Sasuke." Haku whispered to her teammates who nodded in understanding. Taking a deep breath to focus themselves better they looked towards the enemy wearily. While they were used to sparring with Sasuke he was still leagues above them in skill. However, they were nearly relieved when the enemy started to weave seals that they recognized. Ino moved next to Haku while Choji shifted behind. Both girls flying through the same seals.