Sai dodged the kunai and leapt backward to avoid the attack of the other man pressing in on him. As he flew, he pulled out his scroll and brush.
Art of Cartoon Beast Mimicry!
The two tigers outlined in his black ink drew life and charged toward his enemies.
That’s probably the end of that, he thought, but his hope was betrayed.
A kunai pierced the forehead of one ferocious attacking tiger, turning it into a spray of black ink, while the target of the other tiger deftly evaded the beast’s jaws, leapt onto its back, plunged a kunai into its throat and returned it to ink.
Sai gasped. They were stronger than he thought.
Having defeated his tigers, the enemies came at him again without dropping into any kind of defensive posture. One of them launched kunai and shuriken, and when Sai dodged these, the other jumped at him.
It was a simple combination play, but because the attack was so on point, Sai couldn’t even find the thread of a counterattack.
He threw a smoke bomb at the ground. Smoke billowed out accompanied by an explosive pop. He hurriedly stepped out of the smoke and started drawing a new picture on his scroll.
As the smoke gradually cleared away, the enemy readied their kunai and braced themselves for his attack.
The first tigers Sai had drawn rushed toward the enemy. These tigers were smaller than the other two. But he had increased their number to six.
Some ran with heads low, some leapt up into the air; the unpredictable movement confused his enemies.
Now that there were more tigers, his opponents seemed to lose the initiative.
All right! Kunai in hand, Sai flew into the maelstrom of battle. First, this guy…
He went after the closer man with his kunai.
But in the next instant, his enemy’s chakra doubled, swelling up like a sudden flame to envelop his entire body like a robe. The explosion of chakra turned two tigers to ink with the sheer force of the change.
Sai’s eyes flew open.
These two weren’t just fairly decent ninja. Given the amount of chakra on display, they could easily be jonin class. But what surprised him more than the sudden burst of chakra were the chakra robes blanketing their bodies.
Is that…a tail?
The light purple chakra cloak had grown a tail about thirty centimeters long.
But that was as much observing as he got to do.
Slipping through the attack of the tigers, one of the ninja closed the distance between him and Sai. Before Sai even had the chance to blink, he was tangled up in some close-range martial arts fighting. He exchanged punches and kicks and kunai with his enemy.
The other man abruptly bent over and swept his legs out. On the receiving end of the sweeping kick, Sai tumbled to the ground.
The enemy was on top of him immediately, plunging his kunai downward. Unable to dodge, Sai watched the tip pierce his chest. Instantly, his body turned back into ink.
Having used his ink self as a pawn, the real Sai appeared and threw himself into a counterattack. He danced through the air to land a solid kick on the back of an enemy still bewildered by the abrupt disappearance of his clone.
A perfect hit. His enemy went flying, tumbling to the ground several meters away. He then pulled himself to his feet, but didn’t move to counterattack. Instead, he leapt backward and started to run away. The chakra increase gave him swift feet.
Go after him, or… Sai’s eyes flew to his other opponent.
Apparently, being left alone to take on four tigers was no easy ride. His enemy appeared to have defeated two of the inked beasts, but the remaining two had him pinned to the ground. The chakra robe had disappeared.
Sai gave up on the fleeing man and walked over to the man pinned to the ground.
Belly to the earth, the man turned his face to the side and let out a pained groan. Beneath the mask, Sai could see eyes glaring at him. But those eyes also contained a hint of fear.
“Who are you?” Sai asked.
The man didn’t answer.
“If you answer honestly, I’ll take that into consideration when deciding what to do with you after the inquiry,” he said, but that was just bait. Sai had no authority alone to decide what to do with the man.
“R-really…?” the man said, hoarsely. Which was followed immediately by a strange cry of “Oh!” and his eyes flying open.
The man’s entire body was quickly racked with convulsions, so strong as to almost break free of the tigers pressing him down.
“What’s wrong?!” Sai returned the tigers to ink and crouched down beside the man.
His breathing was shallow and growing distant. He was trying to say something, but his voice didn’t quite become a voice; it was simply a creaking sound in his throat.
“Hey!” He reached out to touch the man and understood the danger. On the nape of the man’s neck, a pattern like Sanskrit characters popped up.
Crap, this guy’s—
Sai leapt backward as if shoved by an invisible giant as the man’s body exploded, blood and flesh and bone scattering.
Sai quietly let out his breath in the place where he landed.
It wasn’t at all unusual for a ninja who had fallen at the hand of an enemy to end their own life to avoid having their information stolen by the enemy through torture or visual jutsu. There were also some who feared dissection after death and chose to die in an explosion instead.
Of course, Sai thought resignedly. Doesn’t look like this is going to be an easy case.