Overdrafting the Future, Starting in Naruto

Chapter 18: First Battle!

After leaving the village, the four-person squad of Kinoshita Genichi traveled northeast, leaping through the dense forest. This was Genichi's first time out of the village, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about the scenery. The Land of Fire had countless forests like this, tall and dense.

The squad's pace was not overly fast. They rested for an hour at noon and made camp for the night in a grove by a river. At this point, they had not yet left the Land of Fire. The four split into two groups to take turns on watch duty. Genichi was with Hatake Sakumo, while Uchiha Namiichi was with Yamanaka En. The night passed without incident.

The next morning, after a breakfast of fish soup and grilled fish, the four set out again. At a little past three in the afternoon, they left the Land of Fire and entered a small country.

The Land of Rice.

It was a small country Genichi had never even heard of. The country was famous throughout the shinobi world for a particular type of fragrant rice, which was how it got its name. The Land of Rice had no hidden village of its own, so it commissioned its missions to Konoha. Recently, a group of bandits had taken up residence in the mountains, frequently coming down to plunder the fragrant rice, which led to this mission.

As evening approached, Genichi's squad arrived at a village situated at the foot of a mountain.

Upon entering the village, however, they found that the villagers were all avoiding them. A few children who peeked out were quickly scolded in low voices by their parents and led back into their rooms. Before long, the entire village looked deserted.

Uchiha Namiichi snorted lightly. "These people... they don't think we're the bandits, do they?"

Genichi looked around, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Yamanaka En said, "Captain, should we find a villager and ask?"

Hatake Sakumo knew this question had a double meaning. One was to ask in a friendly manner. The second, of course, was to ask using a clan's secret technique or genjutsu. According to the intelligence provided by the Land of Rice's daimyō, the bandits were hiding in the mountains right here.

Sakumo didn't answer, instead looking at Genichi. "Genichi, what do you think?"

Genichi said, "These villagers might be afraid of us, but they're likely more afraid of the bandits."

"The Land of Rice probably sent their own samurai before hiring us, but they were defeated, maybe even annihilated. It's possible the villagers here suffered retaliation from the bandits."

"It's also possible that among those bandits are people like us."

Yamanaka En said, "People like us? Ninja wearing forehead protectors?"

Genichi nodded. "Moreover, I'm guessing the bandits have a spy in this village."

Uchiha Namiichi immediately said, "Then let's find him and use genjutsu to get the intel."

The method was direct and completely viable. But Sakumo didn't nod in agreement. Instead, he asked Genichi again, "Genichi, what are your thoughts?"

Genichi said, "What Namiichi-senpai said is completely viable. However, we've just been traveling, and our stamina isn't at its peak."

"And we're not familiar with the situation here or the terrain in the mountains."

"Even if we get information through genjutsu, it's impossible to extract every last detail."

"So, I suggest we wait at ease for the exhausted enemy."

"We'll rest, let the bandit's spy report to them, and wait for them to come and try to kill us."

Yamanaka En asked, "And what if there is no bandit spy in the village?"

Genichi replied, "Since the Land of Rice has dealt with these bandits before, if the bandits are smart, even if they don't place one of their own men here as a spy, they would have developed a local informant in the village."

Would someone in the village be unwilling? Perhaps. But faced with the bandits' blades and threats, even the unwilling would be made willing.

As they spoke, the four had reached the end of the village. A small river came into view, flowing with a gurgling sound.

Sakumo immediately made a decision. "We'll camp here by the river and rest."

"If the bandits come to us, we'll take care of them. We'll leave one alive to interrogate for information."

"If they don't come tonight, we'll head into the mountains after dawn tomorrow."

Since the villagers were so terrified, Sakumo didn't plan on getting information from them. He could just search for the bandits' tracks in the mountains himself tomorrow.

The three genin acknowledged the order, and they set up a campfire by the small river. Genichi and En were in charge of catching fish, while Namiichi grilled them. Complemented by some soldier pills, the four ate their fill, then split into two pairs to rest in shifts.

Before they knew it, the moon was bright and the stars were few.

"They're here!"

Genichi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, was suddenly shaken awake. It was En. Genichi's eyes adjusted to the light, but he couldn't see or hear anyone approaching.

En said in a low voice, "They just came down the mountain. Eight of them in total."

Genichi nodded, then his figure flashed and he stood on the surface of the small river. He formed a hand seal.

Water Clone Technique!

The river water surged upwards, coalescing into a water clone. The clone then flashed back to the spot where Genichi had been resting against a rock. As for his real body, it was now hidden in the water.

By the campfire, En and Namiichi were still on guard duty. Sakumo lay to one side, as if completely unaware that bandits were coming to kill them.

A moment later, the light sound of footsteps came from the darkness.

"Who's there?!" Uchiha Namiichi deliberately shouted.

The next moment, the sound of something whistling through the air rang out. Several shuriken came flying, aimed straight at the four of them.

Namiichi's eyes instantly turned red. He drew his blade and deflected the shuriken. The other three chose to dodge.

"It's an Uchiha! Two of you, attack him!" a cry of alarm came from the darkness.

Two figures rushed towards Namiichi, while another three charged respectively at Sakumo, En, and Genichi's water clone.

"Die, kid!"

The man rushing towards Genichi's clone looked particularly ferocious in the flickering firelight. He wielded a long sword and also wore a ninja forehead protector, though he was not a rogue ninja. Genichi didn't recognize the symbol. But it didn't matter.

Crouching low, Genichi's clone placed its right hand on the hilt of its sword. Just as the enemy's long sword came down like a bolt of white silk, it suddenly drew its blade.

Clang!

The two blades collided and scraped against each other, sending sparks flying. After blocking the enemy's heavy blow, Genichi's clone's drawing cut continued its arc downwards, directly slicing the enemy's long sword in two. The enemy was stunned and leaped backward.

At the same time, Genichi's clone leaped forward, swiftly sheathing its blade, only to draw it again in another flash.

Spurt!

Blood sprayed through the moonlight. The enemy's eyes widened, blood gushing from his chest.

That blade... it's too fast!

As Genichi's clone landed, it immediately sensed danger. A fierce wind was howling towards it from the side. It was coming from the direction of the village! The first five attackers had come from the north; this attack was coming from the east. The enemy had split their forces.

The clone immediately leaped to dodge, but the range of the Wind Release was too large. The sharp wind scraped against its body with a hissing sound, cutting through clothes and flesh.

Poof!

Genichi's body dissolved into a stream of water.

"A water clone!"

Five or six meters away from the riverbank, a middle-aged man's expression changed under the moonlight.

The next thing he saw was a figure standing on the river's surface. A current of water was rapidly spinning and surging upwards around him, forming a massive pillar of water. For a moment, the small river's flow was actually cut off.

Rumble!

The water surged onto the riverbank, powerful and turbulent.

The middle-aged man's face changed. He couldn't use Earth Release. Faced with such a water jutsu, his only option was to leap into the air just as the current was about to hit him to avoid the most terrifying part of the attack.

His figure landed on the surface of the water, but the wave behind him crashed forward again. The man had already completed his hand seals. He opened his mouth and spat out a gale of wind, blowing the wave apart. But just then, the water behind him reversed its course and rolled back.

Caught off guard, the middle-aged man was slammed into the water. He swallowed a few mouthfuls and his whole body ached.

When the water finally settled, the middle-aged man broke the surface, only to find Genichi's cold blade already resting against his neck.

(End of Chapter)