Chapter 21: 21 Not quite home yet.

I had thought that we would be returning to Konoha, since one of our squad is out of commission and something around a quarter of the ANBU present are, how to say... no longer present.

But I was proven wrong when a few days after handing in my report, 81 ANBU show up to the base to replace us, and instead of going home, the remaining 26 of us were re-grouped and sent on patrols.

Thankfully Wolf wasn't completely heartless, and ???????????? explain why we aren't going back just yet.

It seems, that with Sakumo moving here, the higher ups are worried someone will use this as an opportunity to breach our borders.

So, we have a week of patrols before we go home.

My squad, instead of just having a new sensor assigned to us, got split up, since more combat and stealth specialists died than sensors it does make sense.

Still, it is slightly annoying, because I ????????, as I keep being reminded, a child, which makes it understandably difficult for my 'peers' to treat me as such.

Bear and Hound both understand that I'm not 'just a kid' and that I can hold my own without being a burden.

Well unless we're doing a lot of running, which is basically what patrols are and let me tell you, having to be carried around certainly doesn't help with earning respect.

My new temporary team consists of Hawk, who I remember from my recruitment was the sensor who found me, so at least she isn't dismissive of my stealth if nothing else.

The other two, are Coyote and Croc.

Apparently, he isn't good enough to earn the rest of his animals' syllables, heh.

Though he does have a nickname, Coyote was more than happy to tell me. He may not expect much from me, but it seems he isn't the type to ignore an opportunity to annoy his friend.

According to Coyote, Croc has been hospitalised more times than any other ANBU presently alive, earning him the moniker of 'Hard to Kill Reptile' that some Medic-nin apparently called him.

Anyways, Croc is built like a tank while Coyote looks like a humanised slender man. They are such opposites that I wouldn't be surprised to find out they're twins. Since twins are either identical or opposite, at least in my limited experience.

Right now, it's the final day of our patrol, I'm running unassisted at the moment, and right as I'm thinking about how we will be home soon, is obviously when Murphy decides to reel his ugly mug as Hawk stops on a branch and starts rapidly signing to us.

????????????????????????????????, ????????????, ???????????? ????????????????????????, ???????????????? ????????????????????, ???????????????????????? ????????????????, ???????????????????????? ????????????????????????, ???????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????.

And she points in a direction that a brief glance at the sky tells me is likely North-north-east.

The last enemy squad I faced was also a six man and they were Iwa, thinking as much I sign back.

?????????????

????????????????????????.

After a brief signed convocation about how we are going to engage, they turn to me, I might not be as good as them, but that doesn't mean they want me to die by doing something I'm unprepared for.

I tell them about my prior experience with Iwa, and how I'm confident I can take one of them out before the play even begins.

Croc and Coyote (Double C's) seem sceptical of my claims but calm down when Hawk vouches for my stealth.

We spend a moment then talking strategy and debating who I should take out first.

Any of the Jonin would be the normal choice, but if the Chunin is a sensor like Hawk suspects then taking him might be the better choice.

The convocation doesn't seem to be going anywhere, whilst are quarry most definitely ????????, so I decide to voice a compromise, or rather, sign a compromise.

Since I won't have the opportunity to stalk them and wait for an opening, what with there being a sensor and all, instead I will simply rush in, with the others a few beats behind me.

By the time the sensor notices my team, I will already be taking someone's life. Hopefully at least.

My compromise is that I will target the sensor, however, if, when I arrive the sensor seems young and inexperienced, then i will take a Jonin instead.

My argument being that an inexperienced sensor probably won't be able to act fast enough to warn his team of their impending deaths during the fight.

The others accept my compromise, and after getting the exact direction from Hawk, I'm running full speed and full stealth.

If this was my old squad, we probably wouldn't be able to take five Jonin and a Chunin support, since only Bear was really experienced.

However, in this squad, it's more like having three Bears, so with the element of surprise, I think we stand a decent chance.

As I rush towards the enemies and they come into sight, I see what I think is fair to assume is the Chunin, since he's looking vaguely in my direction, with a confused look on his face, he really is green.

That was a pretty hypocritical thing of me to think.

Ignoring my thoughts, I focus on the squad in front of me, I only have less than a second to pick a target, and scanning those present, I see one of the Jonin matching the Chunin's line of sight suspiciously, and since he's experienced enough to know when a sensor has noticed something even when they themselves don't, I decide to pick anyone else.

Don't want to risk them surviving, after all.

Lining my sights on the nin farthest from the experienced guy, I briefly lament that he is on the opposite side of the group as me, until I see the Chunin's expression change and assume that's him sensing the others, so using his distraction I Kawarimi (God I love this jutsu) with a leaf near my target.

I draw my Tanto and right as the Chunin shouts something to get the attention of his team, I use the opening he just gave me as everyone's eyes turn to him and swing my tanto at the neck of my target.

The fact that I still have to jump a little in order to decapitate people really makes me want my hormones to hurry up.

Thanks to the Chunin getting everyone's attention, no one even saw my kill, they only noticed when they heard the sound of his head hitting the ground, shortly followed by his body.

Spinning to the souse of the sound, they see nothing but a corpse, as I left as soon as I finished my swing.

The guy I took note of recovers almost instantly and shouts to his team.

"Enemy attack!! Formation A!"

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his words make them snap into action, quickly forming a relatively small circle, with the sensor in the middle, who proceeds to point out the arrival of my squad, as they rush in, immediately casting fire Jutsu once they see the grouped formation.

The Iwa-nin make a wall of earth to defend themselves, followed by exploding the wall outwards like buckshot.

I grab a kunai and wrap an explosive tag around it, thinking that it would be best if they weren't in formation I throw the kunai at the chunin's feet and move around, circling them for another opening, the resulting explosion doesn't hit anybody.

But that's fine, it did its job and as I see Coyote and Hawk engage two of the Jonin, while Croc holds of the other two, I note happily that my teammates don't waste the opportunity.

Since they've clearly left the Chunin for me I rush him, hoping for another quick kill. I don't get what I want however, as he blocks my blade with a kunai, looking surprised at his own reaction times himself.

Guess now that he's on edge, he's taking his senses much more seriously that trying to rationalise it.

Is this how the bad guys in Shonen feel? when their enemy suddenly gets better mid-fight?

Dismissing my thoughts I bounce back from my opponents' parry, as he stares at me, his face goes from panicked to confused, as he takes in my height no doubt.

Do steroids exist here?

"A kid? Whatever I won't hold back even if you are a kid! Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!!!" [Doton: Doryūsō]

After shouting his lungs out, he slams his hands on the ground, which then twists as two spears of earth are launched at me, which I effortlessly dodge, seeing as it was such a predictable trajectory.

A beat of silence passes as I don't move or speak, before being reminded that my teammates are still fighting but an explosion of to the side.

But seriously. Is this guy actually a ninja?

Whatever, it's not important. Putting away my tanto I pull out a pair of kunai and charge headfirst to my enemy, Just before I'm in striking distance, I make a clone overlapped with me, then when my clone swings for his face I throw one of my kunai at his, so that they impact as if he was actually hitting my clones kunai.

It's not a deception that can hold up for more than an instant, but an instant is all I need, as when the kunai left my hand, I myself crouched low and stabbed into his Achilles heel, cutting the other one too as I brought my blade back and the Iwa-nin collapsed to his knees with a pained shout.

Before he has a chance to grab his bearings, I drive my bloodied kunai up under his chin and into his brain.

Taking my kunai back and taking stock of my surroundings, I ignore the cooling body as I see how the fighting has developed.

Coyote and Hawk seem to be at the advantage, while Croc, who is not only outnumbered, but also fighting the guy I took note of, is clearly having a much harder time staying alive, and looks pretty worse for wear.

Now I have to decide who to help, on one hand Croc obviously is the only one that actually needs help, but on the other hand, I'm not confident I can take a Jonin who's adrenaline is pumping by surprise just yet, especially with that guy there, and with how the other two are already winning, my addition would likely bring that fight to a close pretty quickly, thus letting us gang up on the other two, saving Croc better than I could do so myself.

Decision made, I rush towards Hawk and Coyote, drawing another kunai, and as soon as I reach the fight, I immediately start launching all the kunai I have at the two Iwa-Jonin.

Since I'd probably just get in the way in a fight like this, this is all I can do.

However, it is plenty enough, since a moments distraction is enough to be fatal in fast paced fights like this, where tens of moves are exchanged every few seconds.

My teammates immediately take advantage and push the Iwa-nin harder, Coyote managing to use a moments distraction to move his arm so fast it looks like it teleported inside the Iwa-nin's chest.

Almost at the same time Hawk uses a different strategy and, through a feat of prediction that Impresses me immensely, she made an earthen pillar, like a blunt spear, hit the Iwa-nin from the direction he was moving to dodge my kunai.

The result of which was my kunai burying itself in his temple.

????????????????, ???????????? ???????? ???? ???????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????? ???????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ????????????????.

Before they really get a chance to catch their breath, I speak hurriedly.

"croc needs assistance"

Without so much as an acknowledgment they both sprint over to the only still ongoing fight, probably not wanting Croc to visit the hospital again.

Still, I am the last to arrive this time, and proceed to do as I just did with my dwindling kunai supplies.

With the number advantage, the fight quickly turns in our favour, though the Guy does manage to get a few hits in on Hawk, but they both eventually fall to a systematic dismantling that shows just how long these guys have been a team, with how well they work together.

The fight over we take a moment to breathe, before Coyote and Hawk rush to Croc, checking if he's going to die.

I decide to ignore the camaraderie in front of me, and instead focus on our surroundings, making sure Hawk doesn't miss anything while she's distracted.

Croc certainly looks like shit, but miraculously none of his wounds are over any major organs or arteries, or at least not in a way that will be fatal any time soon, after bandages were applied.

Hawk is also moving with a limp and had to bandage up, but me and Coyote are mostly ok.

We decide that it's fine to end out patrol a little bit early and after collecting all of the bodies, and probably most of the kunai (Me and Coyote did the collecting after Hawk gave us the scrolls required) we headed home to Konoha, or, more specifically, to the hospital in Konoha.

The run back was slow, and we stopped a few times, though not for me this time.

I even jokingly suggested to Croc that I return the favour and carry him, obviously I wouldn't have, he's like four times my weight, but the joke got a few quiet chuckles and raised the mood slightly, so I count it as a win.

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A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

It is 01:36 as of finishing this chapter and I really should sleep if i dont want to accidentally become nocturnal again >.<

Edit: it's 12:41 and i just got up 40 minutes ago

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