The night in the Land of Earth offered no peace, only concealed dangers. Kenji moved like a true ghost, his Jounin feet gliding over the gravel without a sound. The three heavy wooden boxes on his back were a constant reminder of the mission's importance. He had been heading south for six hours. The cold had seeped deep into his bones, and a gnawing hunger began to set in.
All the information from the one hundred clones had been retrieved. To the northwest, the chase was proceeding exactly as planned. The Hidden Stone ninja were being drawn far away from his true position. But Kenji was not complacent. He knew that the scar-faced Jounin was among them. A man like that would not be easily fooled.
He stopped behind a ridge of jagged rocks, carefully setting the boxes down. He needed to rest, even if only for a few minutes. Maintaining over one hundred and fifty clones in a single day, performing complex tasks and a lightning-fast battle, had severely eroded his chakra reserves. His body was screaming in protest.
Kenji took out a ration pill and chewed it slowly, his eyes never letting down their guard. His mind re-analyzed the entire situation. The scar-faced Jounin, his name was Ganseki. Kenji had heard of him—a tracking specialist, a master of Earth Style. Ganseki wasn't just strong; he was cunning. He would soon realize he was chasing empty prey. And when that happened...
A chill ran down Kenji's spine, and it wasn't from the night wind. It was the instinct of a seasoned shinobi. He was being followed.
Not by a large group. Just one. A single, powerful, and hostile chakra signature was approaching rapidly from the north.
He's realized. Kenji gritted his teeth. Ganseki had broken off from the pursuit team and was tracking him alone. But how? Kenji had ordered the clones to erase his tracks perfectly.
The answer came almost immediately. The ground beneath Kenji's feet vibrated faintly. A sensory ninjutsu that worked through the ground. Ganseki wasn't just following footprints; he was "listening" to Kenji's movements through the very earth itself.
There was no time to run. A confrontation was inevitable.
Kenji took a deep breath, pushing his exhaustion to the back of his mind. He hid the boxes in a narrow crevice and covered them with dry branches. Then, he formed a seal.
This time, only ten clones appeared. His chakra was depleted; he had to use them as wisely as possible.
"Nine of you, hide in the surroundings. One, with me," Kenji commanded.
He and one clone leaped onto a high ledge, intentionally revealing their position.
Before long, a large figure emerged from the darkness. Ganseki. The scar on his face seemed to twitch in the dim moonlight. He still held his enormous spiked club.
"Leaf shinobi," Ganseki growled, his voice as coarse as grinding stones. "You're good. Daring to use a hundred clones to trick us. But you underestimated my senses."
Kenji stood still, his expression calm. "You're not so bad yourself. Catching up to me alone. Do you want these scrolls that badly?"
"I want your head," Ganseki said, then he suddenly slammed his club on the ground. "Doton: Tsuchi Kairō! (Earth Style: Earth Prison!)"
The ground around Kenji abruptly surged upwards. Four massive earthen walls rose from nothing, trapping him and his clone in a square arena. This was Ganseki's signature jutsu, creating a space where he had complete control.
"Nowhere to run now, little mouse," Ganseki sneered, charging like a bull.
Kenji's clone rushed forward to block the blow. A powerful swing of the club, and the clone vanished in a puff of white smoke. But it had bought the real Kenji a precious second.
Kenji fell back, his hands rapidly forming seals. "Suiton: Mizurappa! (Water Style: Wild Water Wave!)"
A powerful stream of water shot from his mouth, aimed not at Ganseki but at the earthen wall. In the arid environment of the Land of Earth, even a small Water Style jutsu was a big surprise. The earthen wall, hit by the water, became soft and mushy.
Ganseki paused for a moment, surprised. "Water Style? In a place like this?"
Taking advantage of that moment, Kenji dashed toward the softened wall. He focused chakra into his foot and unleashed a powerful kick. The mud wall shattered, creating an escape route.
But Ganseki had anticipated it. As soon as Kenji burst out, the ground outside had turned into a swamp. "Doton: Doro Numa! (Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!)"
Kenji sank to his waist, his speed completely neutralized.
"I told you," Ganseki said, stepping out of the arena and approaching him. "In my domain, you don't stand a chance."
He raised his club, preparing for the final blow. Kenji struggled helplessly, a look of desperation on his face.
"Farewell."
The club came crashing down.
POOF!
Kenji's body exploded into a puff of white smoke.
Ganseki froze. "Another clone? Then the real one...?"
"Right behind you."
A cold voice sounded from behind him. Ganseki whipped around, but it was too late. The real Kenji—who had swapped places with the clone at the very start of the fight and hidden himself above—had already descended. In his hand was a kunai reinforced with Wind Style chakra, as sharp as a razor.
The kunai sliced across Ganseki's neck like a flash of lightning.
Blood sprayed. The giant from the Hidden Stone only had time to widen his eyes in shock before crashing heavily to the ground.
Kenji landed beside the corpse, panting. He had won, but the cost was not small. His chakra level was now at a critical low. He dispelled the remaining nine clones, recovering what little was left.
He looked down at Ganseki. A formidable opponent. In war, there are no good or bad men, only the living and the dead. Kenji retrieved the boxes, feeling their weight even more than before.
He needed to find a safe place to recover. But just as he turned to leave, a faint light flickered in the distance, in a small canyon he hadn't noticed before. With it came a sound... that seemed to be the cry of a child.
His mission was to return to the Leaf Village at all costs. Stopping for any reason was an unnecessary risk. But his conscience as a man, as a Leaf ninja who carried the Will of Fire, would not let him ignore it.
A difficult decision lay before Kageyama Kenji, one even more difficult than the life-or-death battle he had just faced.