Makima and Samui sped through the canopy of the Land of Fire, their silhouettes blurred in the pale dawn. Branches cracked beneath their precise leaps, leaves scattering like green confetti. Makima, her red hair dancing in the wind, wore a cold smile, her golden eyes fixed on their destination: Orochimaru's hideout, nestled in a cliff a few miles away.
Samui, beside her, leaped with deadly grace, her blonde ponytail perfectly straight despite the speed. Her ample chest bounced slightly beneath her jōnin tunic, but her face remained stoic, focused. They exchanged no words, the air heavy with the weight of the mission ahead.
As they approached the cliff, a dark cave materialized, camouflaged by seals and illusions. Makima slowed, raising a hand to halt Samui.
Before they could advance, a masked figure dropped from a tree, a Konoha Anbu ninja, his black cloak fluttering like a shadow.
"Turn back," he growled, his voice muffled by the wolf-shaped mask. He tilted his head, intrigued. "A stranger and a kunoichi from Kumo? What the hell are you doing here?"
Samui gripped her tanto, but Makima didn't move, her smile widening. The Anbu narrowed his eyes, sensing a diffuse threat. He drew a kunai, lightning-fast, but before he could take a step, Makima pointed a finger. BAM!
The ninja's head exploded in a spray of blood and brains, his body collapsing like a broken doll. Samui flinched but kept her composure.
Instantly, ten more Anbu burst from nowhere – shadows emerging from trees, the ground, even the air itself. Their masks, adorned with animal motifs, gleamed in the first rays of sunlight.
One of them, a woman with a cat mask, materialized inches from Makima, a kunai aimed at her throat. But Samui was faster. Her tanto sliced the air with a whistle, cutting the Anbu's throat in a scarlet fountain. The ninja crumpled, gurgling, before hitting the ground.
Barely had the body hit the earth when wooden branches shot from the ground, a Mokuton jutsu summoned by an unseen enemy. The sharp tendrils aimed to impale the two women, but Makima raised a hand, her eyes blazing. A telekinetic wave shattered the branches into splinters, sending debris flying in all directions.
"Deal with them," she ordered Samui, her tone icy. Her gaze turned to the shadow of a tree, where she sensed a heavier presence. Yamato, she thought, a smirk on her lips. "I'll handle the big one."
She vanished in a gust, leaving Samui alone against the remaining nine Anbu. The blonde tightened her grip on her tanto, a crackling lightning along the blade, charged with Raiton chakra. Her blue eyes narrowed, and a fierce smile split her face. "Come on, you bunch of idiots," she muttered, before plunging into the fray.
The clearing around the cliff became a chaotic battlefield. The nine Anbu spread out in a perfect arc, their movements synchronized. Samui, at the center, pivoted on her heels, her tanto glinting under the lightning dancing on the blade. She was outnumbered, but she was a Kumo jōnin with Raiton affinity, speed coursing through her veins.
The first Anbu, a tall guy with a hawk mask, launched a Katon: Fireball. A burning sphere roared toward her, charring the grass in its path. Samui dodged with a lateral leap, so fast she seemed to double.
She countered by throwing a Raiton-charged kunai, which pierced the ninja's shoulder like butter, pinning him to a tree. He growled, but before he could react, Samui was on him.
Her tanto sliced his torso diagonally, from neck to hip, in a spray of blood. "One down," she spat, pulling the blade as the body collapsed.
Two more Anbu attacked simultaneously. One, with a snake mask, formed seals for a Suiton: Raging Wave. A torrent of water burst from the ground, aiming to engulf her.
The other, a small guy with a fox mask, launched a volley of poisoned shurikens. Samui planted her tanto in the ground, releasing an electric discharge that vaporized the water into a cloud of steam.
Raiton should be disadvantaged against water, but the density of her chakra was far superior.
The shurikens deflected under the shockwave, and she leaped through the mist, landing in front of the water ninja.
"Too slow!" she roared, slamming her elbow into his face. The mask cracked, and before he could retaliate, she sliced both his arms with a backhand strike.
Blood spurted, splashing her face, and she finished the job by planting her tanto in his throat.
CRACK!
The body collapsed, and she pivoted just in time to block a kunai strike from the fox-masked ninja.
"You're fast, bitch," he growled, attempting close-range taijutsu. Fatal mistake. She parried his blow, broke his wrist with a sharp move, and crushed his trachea with a knee strike.
He crumpled, choking, while she pulled her own kunai to throw it into the eye of another Anbu attempting a Doton: Mud Wall. The ninja screamed, staggering, and she leaped over the half-formed wall, slicing his head clean off. The head rolled into the mud, the cracked mask revealing a frozen grimace.
But there were still six left, and they shifted into high gear. Three of them formed a triangle, launching a Fūton: Blade Storm. Cutting gusts lashed the clearing, uprooting trees and aiming to slice her.