A/N:- A new arc has started. If you are here only for Izuna, then this arc isn't for you. This arc will focus on other characters and will move the plot forward and shed light on multiple factions from previous few arcs.

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Somewhere in a forest on the outskirts of Otogakure,

Swoosh… swoosh…

Three kunoichis wearing Konoha's headband chase after a figure wearing the headband of Otogakure.

"You won't get away."

One of the Konoha kunoichis makes some hand signs.

"Fire Style: Pheonix Flower Jutsu"

She spits out a volley of small fireballs which surround the Sound Shinobi and converges at his position.

BOOM…

A loud explosion occurs at the place of impact as the kunoichi takes out their kunais.

"On your left…" Another kunoichi warns her partner.

Swoosh…

The first kunoichi, who appears to be a part of the Uchiha clan, dodges the kunai while in mid-air.

"Not good… paper bomb!"

"Wind Style: Vacuum Blast"

The second kunoichi pushes her palm in front of her body to repel the explosion of the paper bomb.

Heh…

The Sound shinobi smirks and waves his hand, revealing a trap full of paper bombs.

"It's over!"

He clasps his palm to activate the paper bomb trap.

"Sharingan"

Ayaka activates her Sharingan as the surrounding times seem to slow down for her.

She quickly spots the paper bombs in her vicinity.

"One… two… three…

Ten…

Thirty…

Seventy…

Ninety-nine…"

Ayaka's right-hand flashes with a dark black chakra as she infuses darkness chakra.

Swoosh… swoosh…

"Darkness Release: Omni-directional Senbon Barrage"

She locks her target with her Sharingan and diffuses all the chakra bombs in a fraction of a second with her jutsu.

"DIE!"

The Sound shinobi clasps his hand and waits for the explosion.

Ah…

He waits for five seconds, but there is no explosion.

"What's going on?" The sound shinobi stares at the Ayaka in confusion.

"Gentle Fist: Eight trigrams Vacuum Palm"

Hanabi quickly approaches the sound shinobi and sends him flying.

"You two… you have pissed me off!"

The eyes of the Sound shinobi turn red as curse markings appear around his neck. His skin turns blue as scales start appearing on his body.

"It's the curse marks!" Hanabi warily observes the sound shinobi's next move.

"Have a taste of my true power?" The sound shinobi infuses a large amount of chakra near his mouth.

"Water Release: Whale bomb jutsu,"

"You talk too much!" Lightning gathers in Ayaka's hand as she hurls a lightning spear towards the sound shinobi.

"Lightning Release: Gathering Storm,"

Bzzt…

The lightning spear slices through the water bomb and lands squarely on Sound shinobi's chest, jolting and knocking him out. The curse marks around his body fade away, returning him to normal.

The two kunoichis group together.

"Are you alright, Ayaka?" Hanabi inquires with worry.

"I am alright! This much is nowhere enough to harm me." Ayaka shakes her head and focuses her attention on the unconscious sound shinobi.

"He was just an elementary curse user. Let's capture the mission target!"

The girls walk towards the sound shinobi.

Swoosh…

Suddenly, Ayaka grabs Hanabi's hand and flickers away.

BOOM…

A dust cloud rises at their previous location as a jet of water penetrates the ground, forming a crater.

"Water Release: Cold Sky water attack"

Another jet of water launches toward the girls. Ayaka pushes Hanabi beside her.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique"

Ayaka spews out a dragon of flames. The flame dragon clashes with the water jet quickly overpowering it as it continues to rush towards the targets.

"Oye… Oye!"

The attacker swiftly jumps out of the way of the dragon. Ayaka clasps her hands and detonates the dragon.

BOOM…

A layer of mist envelops the group as a consequence of the clash between two jutsu.

Swoosh…

A figure slowly walks out of the mist.

"Using a fire jutsu to overwhelm my water jutsu, you Konoha shinobis sure have some skills."

The girls focus their attention on the newcomer. The attacker is around 16 years old with short, black hair. He has green eyes with two dark violets marking under them. He conceals his head with a gray shark-like top with a hood. Appendages that resemble dorsal fins hang from the back of his jacket.

He has two upward curving lines nearing his mouth, similar to a Glasgow smile.

"It would be rude of me to return the favor." He cackles and walks towards the girls, revealing his jagged, pointed teeth.

Swoosh… swoosh…

Two more sound shinobis, one man and another woman in a similar outfit, join him.

"Iwana, Yamame… you two are late?"

The shinobi, with pointed teeth, chides the newcomers.

"Kajika… you were nearby, so it was easy for you to catch up." Yamame snorts at him.

"Hurry up, and deal with them. I have important things to do." Kajika ignores her displeased look and walks toward the unconscious shinobi.

"Hanma… this failed product… what is even the point of keeping him alive?" He rudely kicks the unconscious shinobi a few times and drags him away like a gunny sack.

"He's escaping with our mission target!" Hanabi and Ayaka chase after Kajika.

"We are your opponents!" Iwana and Yamame block their path.

"Get out of my way!" Ayaka takes a step forward and disappears from her place.

Whoosh…

She reappears in front of Kajika while aiming a roundhouse kick for the latter's head.

"What the… when did she?" Cold sweat drips down from the forehead of Iwana and Yamame. Their eyes unable to even catch a glimpse of Ayaka's movement.

They turn around to attack Ayaka.

Bang…

Kajika raises his right hand and blocks Ayaka's kick. Fish scales appear around his arm to absorb the impact. However, the force of the kick pushes him a few meters back.

"Aww… that kind of hurts!" Kajika waves his right hand, which had turned sore from the kick.

Ayaka performs a back flip in mid-air and lands on the ground.

"You aren't going anywhere… not with him at least." Ayaka grabs hold of an unconscious Hanma.

"When did you…" Kajika narrows his eyes as he stares at his empty hand.

Hmm…

He notices several metal wires attached around Hanma's body.

"I see…" Kajika cracks his knuckles and slowly walks towards Ayaka while riling up his chakra.

"Girl! You have got some skills for growing up in a greenhouse. But you picked up on the wrong target! Initially, my mission was to aid this useless piece of trash in escaping; but now I have changed my mind. I am pretty sure Kabuto-sama will be happy with another test subject."

Bang…

Kajika kicks the ground as a water jet sprays out of his legs. He quickly closes the distance between Ayaka and smashes his feet towards her.

BANG…

Ayaka effortlessly dodges the attack while Kajika's kick leaves a crater on the ground.

"You are quick on your feet, but what about this?"

Bang…

Another Kajika appears from the side and attacks Ayaka's blind spot.

Swoosh…

Ayaka ducks down and avoids the kick. She takes out a kunai from the holster and thrust it into her other feet of Kajika.

Kajika turns into a puddle of water and falls.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet,"

Meanwhile, the real Kajika spews out a water dragon from his mouth that rapidly approaches Ayaka.

Tch…

Ayaka makes rapid one-hand signs and brings her fingers in front of her mouth.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique"

Ayaka spews out a giant fire dragon from her mouth. The fire dragon collides with the water dragon canceling out each other. Large amounts of mist and vapors cover the entire area.

Haah…

"Water Release: Drowning Murder"

The earlier puddle of water from Kajika's water clone turns back in Kajika and grabs Ayaka's ankles. It attempts to pull Ayaka into the water swamp.

Poof…

Ayaka disperses in a cloud of white smoke.

"Shadow clone?"

The water clone clicks its tongue and enters the ground.

The mist slowly disperses to reveal the real Kajika standing high up on a water pillar while surveying the area.

"Where is she? Where is that girl?"

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Meanwhile, on Hanabi's end

Hanabi confronts Iwana and Yamame on her own. Both of them make some hand signs and disappear from Hanabi's sight.

Clang… clang…

Hanabi blocks two kunais aiming for her back from behind.

'Do they take me for a fool?' Hanabi snorts.

'Using Hiding with camouflage technique against a Hyuga! Thanks to Sensei's training, I don't even need my Byakugan to see their movement.'

Bang… bang…

Hanabi uses her gentle fist to strike two palms at her invisible attackers.

Bleurgh…

Iwana and Yamame spit out a mouthful of blood and reveal themselves out of their invisibility.

"You could see us…"

Both of them stare at her with shocked expressions.

"Have you guys never heard of the Hyuga clan?" Hanabi withdraws her palm and calmly stares at them.

"You brat… I will kill you for looking down on us." Yamame bit her lip. The curse mark around the neck glows slightly.

Bang…

Suddenly, a piece of the metal ball falls in between the duo. It releases a blinding light and a deafening sound. Iwana and Yamame curl on the ground to avoid the metal.

After a few seconds, the blinding light fades away, revealing an empty forest.

"Damn! They escaped…" Yamame smashes her fist on the ground.

A few hundred meters ahead, Hanabi puffs her cheeks and stares at Ayaka.

"Ayaka chan, why did we flee? I could easily deal with them."

"No, we are not on a combat mission. We already secured the target; there was no need to embroil in a pointless fight; if we could retreat safely. Besides, I don't want to hear another lecture from Izumi Sensei." Ayaka shakes her head.

'Also, I had an uneasy feeling that someone was spying on us from nearby.' Ayaka thinks to herself.

"Yeah, you are right!" Hanabi nods as she recalls the previous lecture from Izumi Sensei.

"Let's group up with Yakumo and Izumi Sensei."

"Alright!"