The first day of the second test had come and gone. Rather than stay behind at the start to try to capture someone early, we'd used our headstart to clear over half of the distance to the other side of the valley, stopping on the other side of the river we'd seen from the top of the cliff, hiding out of sight behind a large grouping of rocks.
The Iwa team that had come first had not waited for them either. Or they might have gone for easier targets.
On our way, we'd encountered some pretty large, ravenous-looking creatures that none of us recognized, but between me being able to trap them in their own shadows and Misa giving us advance warning of their approach, they didn't pose much of a threat.
The current plan was to wait until night to make our move. We were in unfamiliar territory, and many of our enemies were Iwa nin who had grown up around these rocks and flora.
The thin trees that grew here were nothing like the thick-trunked, cloud-brushing trees that grew in Konoha. We were out of our element, and needed every advantage possible.
By travelling half the distance already, It also made it easy for us to take our hostage without giving the other team many chances to retrieve their comrade.
As for why, we did not just set traps and wait to ambush someone at the end of the line, it was because we would catch too much attention. Every team would be going there and if we targetted an Iwa team, other Iwa teams around might just start helping them.
Kenji had spent a short amount of time booby-trapping the river with explosive tags of varying yields.
We needed a living hostage to pass the test, so he hadn't used his strongest tags. We were aiming to disorient rather than kill.
Once a team made it to our position, we'd have plenty of opportunities to eliminate what targets we didn't need to pass the test, but for now, we waited. We wanted every advantage, and there was one advantage we could claim that no other team in this Exam could.
The night was on our side. Our team was perfectly suited to fighting in the dead of night. Not only did we have a Hyuga with us whose eyes would let her see as easily in the dark as she did in the light, but we had me.
I was a Nara, a Clan famed for its ability to bend the shadows to their will. Not only that, but, according to the current Clan Head Shikaku, I was the most attuned to shadows of any Nara he had ever seen.
When darkness came, my reach expanded astronomically. The more shadows there were, the stronger I was.
So we waited for night, keeping a low profile.
As the sun slowly began to disappear, Misa raised her hand and flashed through Konoha's sign language. She'd spotted enemies approaching. There were…
Eight? Eight! There were eight enemy nin closing in on us! Why didn't we hear any fighting? I silently cursed my inability to respond to her. I could raise my hands to where she could see them and ask for clarification on the enemies she saw, but if I did that, I'd expose myself.
A kunoichi deftly landed on the bank of the river opposite our hiding place. Unlike Misa and Kenji who were hiding behind a rock, I was using the Hiding in Shadows Technique, which was why I couldn't respond to Misa.
In order to talk to her, I would need to raise my hands out of the technique which would reveal my location. I could see the river from where I lay, pooled in the shadow of a thin tree.
She was wearing a red kimono with a ninjato sheathed at her side. There was a cloud headband covering her forehead; she was from Kumo. Someone who prioritized in Kenjutsu and probably samurai techniques.
The kunoichi on the riverbank looking around. After a moment, she clicked her tongue twice. Seven other figures quickly joined her on the bank.
They all wore Kumo headbands. That was why there were eight of them. Three of the Kumo teams had banded together. I recognized two of them as part of the team who had a member withdraw prior to the test.
What was their plan? Were they going to try to work together to capture an entire team and bring the three genin back as their hostages?
Not a bad plan if I was being honest. It just irritated me that the numbers advantage it abused, was pitted against my team and I.
"Where did she go, Saki?" one of the shinobi asked the kunoichi who'd landed first. He was the largest, most burly among them, his muscles bulging out of his tank top. There was a frustrated scowl on his face. "You said they came this way!"
"They did! Just give me a minute to pick the trail back up. They spent a lot of time at the river, and I'm having trouble distinguishing which tracks they left last." the first kunoichi said, her eyes fixed on the ground intently. "Stop stomping around or you'll ruin the trail."
They were tracking us then. That wasn't good. No, wait. The shinobi had said 'she'. They weren't tracking us. They were only going for one person.
From where I was obscured in my shadow, I shot a quick glance towards Misa. Her lips were pulled into a thin line. She'd heard them and reached the same conclusion I had. The Kumo nin were after her, after her eyes. We needed to get out of here.
Some spy from Kumo in Konoha might have found out about who were taking part in the chunin exams. And they might have reported it to Kumo and thus, Kumo has designed their own plan to get Misa's eyes.
If I was not wrong, these Kumo shinobi might not all be Genin, some might already be Chunin. This was going to be very troublesome.
---------Author Notes--------
You can now read 16 extra chapters of the fanfic on my pat*reon.
pat*reon.com/BoogieWoogie266
Thankyou for your support!