One of the snow ninjas, a broad-shouldered man with a scar running across his chin, stepped forward. “You must be the esteemed Amon of the Paper Lantern. We were sent by Lord Kazahana to safely escort you and Princess Fujikaze back to the Land of Snow. Is she here with you now?” The Snow ninja asked with false sincerity.
I saw Lemitsu was about to open his mouth, and I knew I had to act fast. “Lemitsu, please take the others and check to make sure we aren’t going to be attacked from behind. I don't want to be caught off guard if those bandits regroup.”
Lemitsu’s gaze flickered from me to the foreign ninjas and then back to me. A flicker of understanding passed between us before he finally nodded. “Yes, Sensei.” He jogged back down the road, gathering Moko and Rei as he went. While the eyes of the Snow ninjas followed my students, I wove the subtle hand signs for a sleeping genjutsu. The merchant family, an unsuspecting and innocent group, leaned into one another before their eyes closed in slumber.
I turned back to the man with the scar. “I am sorry, gentlemen, there seems to have been some miscommunication. I am traveling to the Land of Snow to discuss the new Daimyo with Princess Fujikaze as well as other matters.”
“Oh, that's no problem,” the leader said, a cruel grin spreading across his face. He signaled his men, who fanned out to encircle the cart where I was standing. “We will just go and take her back home. You and our lord can discuss your matters while she is safe and sound, sleeping in her own bed.”
I let out a short and cynical laugh. “Ha, that's funny. Last I heard, that went up in flames.”
“Where's the brat, Leaf scum?” A sharp, impatient voice came from the Snow ninja directly behind me.
“Ah, ninjas are often bravest when they are standing behind someone.” I turned my head slowly, meeting the man’s eyes with a bored expression. “I assume you are talking about the princess: nine feet tall, scruffy black beard, a deep scar over her eye?”
“What?! No! The princess? Where is she?”
“The princess, the princess. Oh, now I remember. Short, pigtails, with a look in her eyes like she watched her father be murdered by her own uncle. That Princess Fujikaze. I am sorry, I often get age and height confused; I think Onoki is a Goliath.”
“That is very funny,” the leader spoke up again, his voice now a low growl. “But I was ordered to retrieve you and the girl.”
I looked back at the leader, “Well, are you a glass half-empty or half-full kinda guy?”
The Snow ninja lost his patience and leaped up behind me onto the cart, drew a kunai, and placed it against my bandaged-wrapped throat. “We didn't travel across the ocean just to play your games. Give us the girl, or we'll take your life.”
I made a show of rolling my eyes. “Okay guys, you caught me. This is actually really embarrassing; you are not going to believe me, but she is already back in the Land of Snow.” The Snow ninjas looked at one another in genuine confusion, and it took a considerable amount of will power not to laugh out loud. “No, wait, she is already dead. No, wait, I have secretly been Princess Fujikaze this whole time. No, wait…”
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“Just kill him already, we will interrogate the brats.” The leader spoke up. The man behind me pressed the point of his blade to my throat and went to slash it across. However, my bandages didn't budge.
“I like to believe that Princess Fujikaze is a metaphor for lost innocence in a dangerous world.”
“Will you kill him already?”
“I am trying,” the ninja behind me responded, his face going red with frustration and effort as he continued to push the kunai.
“He is, just give him a minute.” The other three looked at each other nervously. “Oh, I think you drew blood just now!”
With a pant of frustration, the man responded, “Really?”
“No, man, I am just getting your hopes up. I am sorry, I did not actually think you would believe me.” I saw the others getting ready to move and decided now was the best time to strike. While the man was still behind me, I shot out bandages towards his teammates.
They swam through the air like eels hunting prey. The other four tried to move out of the way or strike the coming attacks, but the bandages moved and flowed towards them before lunging for the throats of the Snow ninjas. They panicked and flailed to get them off, but the bandages wrapped themselves tight around their necks.
Choking sounds escaped them while the man kept trying to stab me in the throat. Finally, I grabbed the man's hand and slowly pulled him off me while manipulating one of my bandages to slither up his arm. He tried to fight back, but eventually it also wrapped around his throat, just like his teammates.
All of them were now on the ground, writhing as they attempted to get air into their lungs. “Okay, guys, now that I have your attention, I am going to need your help with this next part.”
***
Isobe was getting annoyed. He followed the brats while his teammates dealt with the Leaf scum. Once the kids turned the corner, he jumped down behind them and watched the fear in their eyes.
The kids panicked and leaped back, even further away from their teacher, and Isobe sneered at their stupidity. He went to grab the small one with the bushy hair, but she leaped back even faster than before. The next moment, the three kids made one to two hand signs, and three genin became six, then they doubled, then they doubled again.
Isobe recognized the simple clone jutsu, but this was different. Most were clones, but some were shadow clones, and others were the real three ninjas. He threw shuriken to try to hit the real ones, but after the first time, when it hit no one, they encircled him and started throwing kunai and shuriken themselves back at him.
Isobe was not afraid of the little twerps, but they were annoying. It was not just the real ones throwing weapons at him, but all of the clones as well. Real shuriken flew alongside their illusory copies. Two dozen weapons were constantly flying at him.
This reminded him of the Yuki clan’s ice mirror jutsu. It was a poor imitation of the real thing, but the underlying concept was still there. Instead of one chunin rank ninja performing their kekkei genkai, three genin working in tandem could copy it. He could break through or even counterattack, but he would need time to see which ones were the real ones, time he was not getting as he needed to dodge a bunch of fake attacks.
If he were not inside the Land of Fire, he would have just risked taking a hit to break through their ranks, but if their weapons were poisoned, he would have a hard time finding an antidote. He just needed a moment to perform a jutsu or escape the circle of their attacks.
“Hey! What are you doing wasting your time with those brats?” Karasawa shouted from the woods. “We already caught ours.” Isobe’s teammate showed off the beaten and bloodied body of Amon. Isobe saw his chance and bolted through his encirclement while his opponents were distracted by their discovery of their fallen teacher.
Isobe had to dodge a few strikes, and one of the illusory copies managed to land a hit on him, but it did nothing. Running to cover, he turned back around to see the circle better and finally managed to pinpoint the more solid versions of the attackers. They had trapped him in a six-sided star formation with each genin facing a shadow clone of themselves.
It was a cute idea. It only works if the ones performing the plan can work well together and against limited opponents. He would not want to get caught inside it again, but he was confident he could escape it if he needed to.
“Please, I was just playing with my food. Got to have my fun when I can find it. Was their teacher really that easy to defeat? You barely look like you have a scratch on you.”
“Ha, no, we lost pretty easily,” Karasawa said with a sheepish smile.
“What?” Isobe muttered out, but before he could realize what was happening, a soft yet strong and unyielding feeling wrapped around his throat. He tried to struggle against it, but too soon the strength in his limbs gave out and darkness flooded his vision.
