Ninja Mentor: Pathways to Power

Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Enemy Ninjas (3)

Kenji fought on valiantly. The students picked the three genin apart like a well-oiled machine, but there was a problem. The ninjas they faced –while on the weaker side of the scale– were still leagues above them in terms of chakra reserves. The students had managed to catch them off guard with their teamwork but they lacked the strength to deal a decisive blow to any one of them. Now their chakra was flagging and their main spearhead in this attack was feeling the effects of whatever this newfound power was.

He dodged another kunai before returning with a slash of his own. Kenji liked to think he was brave, but things were starting to look really bad. They had been fighting and holding on for what felt like hours at this point and their teacher still hadn't come to rescue them.

Haruka, one of the guerilla students, slid next to him after delivering a blow, her own breaths short and choppy. "Kenji, our chakra... it's almost drained," she gasped, wiping sweat from her brow.

Takumi, a front liner, grimaced as he clutched a wound on his arm. "We need a new plan," he said, desperation creeping into his tone. "We're outmatched here."

Kenji nodded, feeling the weight of leadership heavy on his shoulders. "Listen up," he called out. "We've trained for this. Remember what Mukai-sensei taught us about teamwork and strategy. We can't outfight them, but we can delay them."

"Only focus on defense."

"But Kenji, what if sensei doesn't make it in time?" Another said, voicing the dread they all felt.

Kenji clenched his fists, the green glow around him waning. "Then we'll make sure we can hold on until he does. He's counting on us as much as we're counting on him. We won't let Mukai-sensei down."

'Tch' He flinched, he could still feel the slashes that decorated his body as he moved. He observed the green glow that laced his body start to fade and flicker. He had no idea how he hadn't bled out yet but if this green glow had anything to do with it he didn't have very long left before it was almost gone. "Just where are you teacher Mukai" He mumbled through grit teeth as they fought on.

–

In the expanse of the forest, Mukai flickered through the trees without regard for his chakra expenditure. Usually, he left barely a whisper of sound as he moved, however, for the sake of his students he crashed and boomed through the forest. The world around him blurred into streaks of green and brown as he accelerated, his focus locked on. His chakra flowed unimpeded, adhering his feet to the bark as he leaped from one giant trunk to another. He grimaced as he thoughts drifted to what his students might be going through.

As Mukai rounded a particularly dense thicket, his senses suddenly screamed a warning. Time seemed to slow as he spotted the object laying on the ground. It was a spherical object wrapped in chakra, pulsating with a faint but menacing energy. The genins must have thrown it in his path, an attempt to further separate them.

Mukai's eyes widened with realization 'Is that a!-'

But his body was already committed to the forward momentum. With split-second decision-making, he attempted to alter his trajectory, trying to twist his body away from the impending collision. But it was too late. The object exploded into a blinding array of light and energy, expanding into a solid fuinjutsu barrier right in front of him.

The impact was sudden and unforgiving. Mukai's body slammed into the chakra-infused barrier with a force that knocked the wind out of him. The world spun wildly as he rebounded off the formation, his body contorting unnaturally as he struggled to regain control. Pain lanced through him as he crashed through branches and foliage, the forest itself seeming to turn against him as he tumbled uncontrollably.