Naruto: The Shattered Eyes

While Suguru was in his laboratory, his active Mark of the Mirage pinged him of movement within the Valley of the End. They moved through the forest, earning a raised brow from the busy researcher.

'They're not that fast...'

Despite his high standards, they seemed to be regular shinobi. Perhaps their speeds averaged around low chuunin to high genin without any specialization in movement. Glancing at the advancing ripples on the floating blood sphere, Suguru decided to take a peek.

Chakra poured into his eyes, shattering his irises.

'Kaisugan!'

Suguru's gaze swept the land, searching for the rushing group of shinobi. With the guidance of the Mark of the Mirage, it only took a few moments before he spotted their blurred figures.

Droplets of blood glistened in the moonlight.

Familiar faces were fleeing in a hurry.

'These people...' A smirk tugged at Suguru's lips, 'Team 8, fleeing from a bunch of missing-nins. Was this in the original?'

Suguru did not think so.

His gaze continued to scan the area, peering into the distance where the trio had been fleeing from. There, he spotted Kurenai entangled with several jounin-level shinobi.

'I see,'

Amused, Suguru decided to play a little.

***

Hinata, Kiba, and Shino were fleeing for their lives. They leaped through the trees, using branch after branch in a desperate attempt to leave their pursuers behind.

Unfortunately for them, they were outmatched.

—Shiing!

The sound of an unsheathing blade sent shivers down Kiba's spine. He ducked in midair, narrowly avoiding the katana that cut through his long hair.

"Damn!" A curse escaped his lungs as a terrified hiss.

—Woof!

Akamaru was similarly terrified. All they had seen was the moonlit gleam of the blade before the shinobi rushed towards someone else.

"Hyik!"

A yelp resounded nearby, and Hinata found herself dodging as well. A cut appeared along her arm, splattering blood onto the branches she dashed past.

"Hinata!" Kiba called out, as Shino silently made his move.

Insects flooded the battlefield, rushing towards the blurry figure who flitted through the leaves. Unfortunately, his insects were too slow to catch up.

Another blade had found itself cutting through the air, aimed right for Shino's neck.

—Fwhish!

The blade cut through without resistance as another figure rushed past.

Luckily, the beheaded Shino dissolved into a mass of insects, fluttering about to find their master.

"Che,"

One of the shadowy blurs clicked their tongues. It was clear that Shino was the trickier opponent.

"Kill the girl first. We can deal with the Aburame later." Seemingly speaking into the darkness, the missing-nin gestured with his sword.

Four other gleaming blades made themselves known.

Illuminated by moonlight alone, they formed an encirclement that Team 8 could no longer flee from.

"Akamaru! We have to break through!"

Despite tears forming at the corner of his eyes, Kiba still roared in defiance. Hinata had already grown pale. Weary from the sight of her own blood and the numbing pain of poison coursing through her veins.

Meanwhile, Shino was low on chakra. This wasn't the first time he had to use his Insect Clone Jutsu. 

Their future seemed bleak, but they had to carry on.

—Swish!

The blades converged upon their lonely forms, as Kiba curled his hands into claws. Despite the darkness, he could smell his foes. Cornered, he had no choice but to bite back.

'Passing Fang!'

Kiba surged forward, meeting the blades with his body.

"Ack!"

Numerous cuts appeared all over him as he spun in a straight line. However, he bore through the pain.

"Hinata! Shino! Follow me!"

His yell was duly heard, and Kiba's teammates hurried behind the hole he had carved through their enemy's formation.

—Bathump.

Kiba suddenly stumbled. The bleeding wounds that covered his arms and legs had taken on a sickly hue.

The poison-coated blades were doing their jobs, weakening him for every injury he sustained.

Another convergence of swords would flash in the eyes of Team 8. Their lives, similarly doing the same.

That was until—

—BOOOM!

A pillar of fire erupted out of nowhere, drowning two of the missing-nin in flames. Their bodies instantly incinerated from the sheer heat.

Shino hurriedly recalled his insects, terrified of feeding them to the flames. Kiba and Hinata leaped back, their wounds singed by the heat.

It was then...

—BOOM!

—BOOM!

—BOOM!

Hinata, with her Byakugan active, caught sight of the falling fireballs. They descended from the sky, zeroing in on the missing-nins as if there was a target stuck on their backs.

Pillars of burning chakra erupted, consuming everything within their range.

Team 8 was all stunned upon the disappearance of the flames. Ashes were all that were left of their pursuers.

"What..." Kiba stammered, his hands shaking in fear. 

The bloodlust that came with those fireballs terrified him. He knew just then how flimsy his life was.

Hinata was in a similar state. Quivering in fear of the unknown. Even with her Byakugan activated, she had no idea who had released those fireballs and from where they had done it.

"Calm down, everyone. We're going to be safe... because it's clear that they're on our side." Shino spoke, gasping for breath. "If they wanted us dead... we would've been reduced to ashes. I know this because—"

"Shut up!" Kiba growled, "How are you so sure they're friendly—?"

Despite Shino's words, Akamaru was still growling. His own instincts were telling him that something was wrong.

And he would be proven right.

—Ssuk!

A kunai embedded itself in his thigh.

***

"Haha,"

Suguru's laughter was light. After all, he had moved close enough for Akamaru to smell him. Although Hellfire Artillery had amazing range, his own kunai did not have the same ability.

Thus, in order to properly mess with the young Team 8, he needed to get closer.

Akamaru's sense of smell was as expected. Furthermore, Kiba's instincts were on point.

Suguru felt that this version of Team 8 was slightly stronger than the one he knew... At least, Kiba was.

Hinata and Shino did not seem any different.

"Now, let's see..."

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