Kurenai was forced into close-quarters combat. She did her best to use her flexible movements and force-deflecting techniques to neutralize his violent assault, but the arms she used to block still went numb. She could clearly feel the impact from every collision, like being struck by a heavy hammer.
At this critical juncture, the two figures outside the battlefield, relying on their stubborn willpower and Mamoru's previous warning, Hinata and Shino finally broke free from the Genjutsu's restraint.
"Mamoru, we'll help you!" Although Hinata's voice was soft, it was firm.
She and Shino quickly spread out, forming a tacit pincer movement to block Kurenai's retreat from two other directions.
As Kurenai was surrounded by the three of them, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. She exerted force with her toes, leaping up lightly and tapping her slender foot against a tree trunk, flipping gracefully onto a branch. Her hands rose swiftly, fingers about to weave signs.
"Get down here!"
How could Mamoru let her succeed?
Almost at the same instant Kurenai leaped, he slammed his foot into the ground, soil flying as his lunging figure instantly closed the distance, wind rising again.
Kurenai's pupils constricted as she was forced to interrupt her hand signs. She twisted her waist skillfully in mid-air, once again narrowly avoiding the fierce strike.
Crack!
Mamoru's heavy punch brushed past her, shattering the branch that was as thick as an adult's arm and wood chips fell like raindrops.
Kurenai landed lightly, and just as her soles touched the ground, several sounds of breaking air rushed toward her—it was the shuriken thrown by Hinata and Shino, who had timed their attack perfectly.
Points of cold light accurately blocked several of her key movement paths.
Kurenai immediately drew a Kunai, and with a series of rapid "clangs," she parried all the incoming hidden weapons, sparks flying.
In the moment her attention was diverted by the distraction below, the pressure from above followed immediately. She had kept most of her focus on Mamoru's movements and now rolled to the side without hesitation.
Almost at the same moment she left the spot, Mamoru used the momentum of his descent from the air to crash down like a falling star, stomping heavily onto the ground.
Boom!
Dust flew as the ground trembled.
Kurenai had already come to a stop several steps away, the Kunai she used to block the shuriken still gripped in her hand, her chest heaving slightly.
Seeing his strike miss, Mamoru didn't stop for a moment and closed in again. Every punch carried a gale that tore through the air, and every kick left a shallow pit in the ground. His offensive was like a rainstorm, showing no mercy.
Facing this continuous and fierce offensive, Kurenai could only keep retreating and dodging, using the sharpness of her Kunai to counterattack, but she had clearly fallen into a disadvantage, with fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead.
At this moment, Hinata and Shino saw their chance and attacked from both flanks again. The Byakugan was already active, veins bulging. Shino's Kikaichu (Parasitic Destruction Insects) were also quietly gathering.
Kurenai paused her feet, her gaze quickly scanning the three students surrounding her in a triangular formation.
As her gaze swept over the boy with monstrous strength who was even immune to Genjutsu, she sighed softly, but a barely perceptible smile of relief appeared at the corner of her lips. "That's enough for now."
"Take this!"
Mamoru had absolutely no intention of showing mercy to the opposite sex. He leaped forward, spun his body, and a clean 'Leaf Whirlwind' swept toward Kurenai, the leg wind sharp.
Bang!
Just as the wind was about to touch Kurenai, she dispelled her Shadow Clone on her own, her body turning into a cloud of white smoke and vanishing from the spot, leaving only a few falling leaves drifting down.
"D-did we succeed?" Hinata asked uncertainly as she looked at the dissipating smoke, her face still flushed from the intense battle.
"That's one down." Mamoru snapped his fingers, his tone relaxed as if he had just done something trivial.
To the side, Shino lightly pushed up the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and let out a nearly inaudible breath, his tense shoulders finally relaxing slightly.
—
On the riverbank, the sound of flowing water gurgled incessantly.
Kurenai sat on a flat stone, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the cool texture of the stone surface as she processed the information transmitted back by her Shadow Clone.
She murmured, her eyebrows twitching slightly with a mix of praise and confusion, "Caught it so quickly? He's quite capable. What's the deal with that kid?"
"Found you."
A crisp voice suddenly rang out from the sky.
Kurenai looked up sharply, her long hair swaying gently with her movement.
There, a youth stood suspended in mid-air, his short black hair fluttering in the breeze. He looked down from above, the Six Eyes beneath his sunglasses flashing with a cold, ghostly blue light.
"You..." Kurenai's pupils contracted slightly, her fingers tightening involuntarily. "Why are you here?"
She quickly calculated in her mind—the place where the Shadow Clone disappeared was at least five kilometers away, and less than five minutes had passed. This speed was simply inconceivable.
"Did you think I couldn't use Shadow Clones?"
Mamoru's voice still echoed in the air, but in the next instant, he appeared silently on the ground below, not even disturbing the gravel beneath his feet.
Kurenai's brow furrowed as she instinctively heightened her guard, secretly alarmed.
What kind of Ninjutsu was this flight ability?
Just how much strength was this kid hiding?
Who taught him all this?
And who is his master?
A series of questions surged in her heart, each making the youth before her seem more mysterious and unfathomable.
Seeing that Kurenai hadn't spoken for a long time, Mamoru tilted his head and couldn't help but ask, "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Kurenai snapped back to reality, her gaze fixed on Mamoru as she said slowly, "To be honest, I'm a bit surprised. It's hard to imagine you're a student who just graduated from the Academy yesterday. It seems you've been hiding your true self."
Although her tone was calm, Kurenai's heart was already in turmoil. However, this surprise hadn't reached the level of shock. After all, her peer, the genius named Kakashi, had performed even more exaggeratedly in the past.
"Well, it was school after all. I couldn't overdo it."
Mamoru stretched his arms, his joints making a crisp cracking sound. Like a cheetah ready to pounce, he entered a combat-ready state.
"Are you really coming after me alone? Isn't that a bit reckless?" Kurenai stood up, her right hand quietly forming a seal.
"Not really." Mamoru replied nonchalantly, his eyes never leaving Kurenai's movements. "I decided to come play with you after some careful consideration."
Kurenai's gaze became sharp as a blade, her voice suddenly stern. "Kid, are you looking down on a Jonin?"
Mamoru shook his head slightly, his tone turning serious as he shed his previous casualness. "You've misunderstood. I never look down on anyone. It's just that our compatibility is so poor that I couldn't help but think, 'Maybe I can defeat a Jonin.'"
Kurenai widened her eyes, her red pupils shimmering with confident light. "If you're referring to Taijutsu, I won't deny that it's not my area of expertise. But if it's Genjutsu, that's a different story. I am an expert in that field."
A confident curve appeared at the corner of Mamoru's lips. "You won't know until you try. It just so happens that I'm particularly insensitive to Genjutsu."
(End of Chapter)
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