Naruto : Konoha Light

As time passed, the border gradually came into view, and the Cloud ninja, tense from their mission, finally relaxed.

"Whew, that was a close call tonight!" one of them exhaled.

"Yeah, but we made it out in one piece," another added, relieved.

"When we get back to the village, I'm drinking for a whole day and night!"

Nearby, a captive Uzumaki Kushina remained silent, her expression unreadable.

One of the ninja laughed. "See? I told you there wouldn't be any pursuers!"

The ninja beside him scowled and smacked him upside the head. "I told you to shut up about that—"

Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes suddenly lost focus, and he collapsed.

Kushina barely had time to react before she was suddenly pulled away—Asuma had swooped in, grabbing her and leaping back.

At the same time, Shimizu moved in, his blade flashing precisely as it cut through the ropes binding Kushina's hands.

Kushina hit the ground, the impact jolting her fully awake. A sharp pain shot through her body, but she forced herself to focus. Someone had actually come to save her?

She lifted her head and, to her surprise, saw two young boys standing in front of her.

"Kids... saved me?" she muttered in disbelief.

The Cloud ninja began regaining their senses. Their leader's eyes widened in shock. "A genjutsu?! Damn it, if they had attacked before breaking the illusion, we'd be dead!"

One of the ninja, still dazed, blinked as he recognized their attackers. "Wait a second... you little brats?!"

Hearing him yell, the rest of the Cloud ninja quickly recovered and scanned their surroundings. Their initial panic shifted to excitement.

"There's only two of them? Where are the Leaf reinforcements?"

Kushina turned to the boy who had untied her. "Wait... you're the Third Hokage's son?"

Shimizu said nothing, but the Cloud ninja's leader seemed to reach a conclusion.

"If we capture him, we'll be heroes!" he declared.

The moment the words left his mouth, the Cloud ninja erupted into cheers. The value of the Hokage's son far outweighed that of an Uzumaki orphan.

Asuma, on the other hand, just looked bewildered. "Wait, how did this suddenly turn on me? I barely said anything!"

Despite the situation, he grinned. "Hah! You think a bunch of second-rate ninja like you can take on me?"

He turned to Shimizu. "Let's show them what we've got!"

Kushina looked at Shimizu with concern. "Are you sure about this?"

But the Cloud ninja were already moving in. They assumed the boys were easy prey, as long as they avoided another genjutsu.

Shimizu and Asuma, however, were perfectly in sync.

Shimizu's hands blurred through seals, while Asuma threw his swords with precision, their blades glinting in the moonlight.

One of the Cloud ninja cursed. "Damn it, how does he have so many swords?!"

"They're just kids!" another growled. "Focus and—"

Clang!

The ninja barely managed to deflect the blades, but their frustration was growing.

Then, without warning—

Genjutsu: Fox's Heart!

The lead ninja suddenly found himself standing at the edge of a cliff. His heart pounded in terror, but his instincts kicked in immediately.

Genjutsu? Release!

Forcing his chakra to disrupt the illusion, he snapped back to reality—just in time to see a massive fireball barreling toward him.

"Shit!" He barely managed to roll away before it hit, but the ground where he had stood was scorched black.

Spitting out a blade of grass, he looked up in shock. "A Fireball Jutsu?!"

How could a six- or seven-year-old execute a jutsu like that so perfectly?

"This isn't right! And that genjutsu—it's a wide-range type!" He glanced at his comrades, who were still floundering under its effects.

"If Leaf has kids like this, no wonder we lost the war!"

Even Kushina was stunned. This boy she had just met—Shimizu—was far stronger than she had expected. At his age, she hadn't been nearly as skilled.

As the battle intensified, the Cloud ninja realized they had gravely underestimated their opponents.

Shimizu and Asuma weren't just kids.

They were monsters in the making.