Pokénin 021 (Pokemon/Naruto)

Jettisoning himself towards the surface, Tekai dodged left and right, evading a pair of explosive tagged kunai. 

He then swished his body like a fish climbing a waterfall, and jumped up extremely high out of the water. 

Performing a forward front flip, Tekai fell down with another axe kick right on top of his attacker. 

The ninja-this one clearly a male-didn't have time to evade, and there was nothing nearby for a substitution, but that didn’t mean he was helpless. 

Flashing a few rapid hand signs, the ninja blew out a ball of fire when Tekai was less than 10 feet away. 

Knowing it was impossible to dodge, Tekai pulled upon his dwindling chakra reserves, his anger, rage, and will to murder. 

Purple-azure dragon flames coated his leg, and he pressed into his enemy's attack. 

“Auraaau!” Tekai roared as he mustered everything he had to resist the flame. 

As his body was pushed to the limit, Tekai's body unconsciously recalled the experiment his shadow clone had conducted the other night. 

Tenketsu opening, the First Gate opened! As if a dam had been released inside his body, chakra gushed into his system, and Tekai's power briefly spiked. 

After 2 seconds of clashing against one another, Tekai won out, and blew through the fire ball as if it were no more harmful than a cloud of mist. 

These 2 seconds were enough for the ninja to twist his body, and take a glancing, crunching blow to his left shoulder. The ninja's left arm hung limp, useless now that it had taken Tekai's attack. 

Draconic flames ate away at the ninja, yet he gave no indication that the attack had bothered him, as he immediately lunged at Tekai with a kunai in his right hand. 

Feeling somewhat gassed, and expecting his kick to have finished the fight, Tekai was scrambling backwards, and exhaling ragged breaths. 

The steel blade flashed within the moonlight, and Tekai felt his life come close to ending when several white strands of his hair were felled by the kunai. 

Sweat began to accumulate on Tekai's temples, and he was considering running into the water, or taking a wide, random sweep with his staff to create some distance. 

However, such considerations proved needless, as a small speck of water no thicker than a finger came from the side, piercing a hole in the ninja's hand just as he was about to shove his kunai into Tekai's gut. 

“Sea!” Horsea triumphantly cheered as her Water Gun landed. 

Dropping the kunai, the ninja was persistent in his mission, and began reaching for his pouch. 

Tekai worried that the ninja might be trying to run at him, and detonate all his explosive scrolls at once! 

In that moment of panic, Clair came from behind, and used her whip to pull wrap around his neck. Then, with a sick twist, pulled like her whip was a rip cord. 

The ninja's head twisted 360 degrees, and his hand jerked, tossing his pouch towards Tekai as his corpse fell into the water. 

Realizing this was a chance to add some weapons to his arsenal, Tekai snagged the pouch, then turned to his teammates. 

“Good job, Clair, horsea. Now let's go!” Tekai praised, and then took Clair by the hand, forcefully taking her away from the scene, and back towards the route. 

With the ambushers identified, he now felt safe to return to the forest, and thought that they wouldn't expect him to go back to the sight of their encounter. Furthermore, he didn't want to swim deeper. They had gotten lucky with the croconaw, but who knew what else could be lurking within those depths? 

“But the enemy, now is the perfect time to deal with that nuzleaf-” 

“No arguing. I'm almost out of chakra. If we fight, I am 100% dying to the remaining ninja, his Pokémon, and that smeargle.” Tekai said, then canceled his walk on water skill, and started to swim again as this was his fastest mode of travel. 

Clair pursed her lips, thankfully done arguing. 

By the time they made it to the shoreline, the moon was high in the sky. 

‘Guess I won't be buying those shuriken tonight.’ Tekai joked to himself. 

Taking one last look back, Tekai felt his heart constrict, as the last ninja had spotted them, and was flying towards their position.

“Go, go, go!” Tekai urged, and took the lead into the forest. 

During the mad dash towards the treefort, Tekai lamented that he had no stealth capabilities. 

The dense woodland was perfect for hiding, and would be a great place to escape, or perform a counter ambush. 

Feeling the ninja pouch rubbing against his leg, Tekai began to have an idea. 

Based on the ninja’s rate of advancement, he should be here within 2 minutes. By then, Tekai would not be able to reach the treefort in time. However, he could bring the people within the fort to him! 

Running forward, Tekai pulled out the only four remaining explosive tags from the deceased ninja's pouch, and slapped them onto the tops of a few nearby trees. 

By adding just a little chakra-but not too much-the explosive seals could have a crude timer on them. However, Tekai didn't have any practice doing this, so he opted for another method. 

Within the pouch was a string of ninja wire. By attaching it to each of the strings, he could jerry rig it to act like electrical wiring. By sending out his chakra through these wires, he could time the explosion to exactly when he desired. 

The one silver lining in this banjaxed scenario was that the amount of chakra needed to activate these basic seals was practically negligible. 

Sighing to himself, Tekai led Clair to a spot nearby that was somewhat visible, but also hidden. As a veteran horror game player, and someone who understood the basics of hide & seek, he expected this would be the first place the ninja would check. In fact, he was counting on it. 

“We'll make our stand here. As soon as they come within throwing distance, have your horsea deploy another Smokescreen.” Tekai said in a tired voice, and sat down to catch his breath. 

“It's cowardly…but if it means your survival, I don't mind. You heard him, horsea?” 

“Sea, sea!” Horsea bobbed up and down. 

“Atta girl. Thanks Clair, for all the bs you've put up with in this fight and my harsh orders. If we get through this, I'd be happy to hand over my salon voucher as thanks.” Tekai wearily looked up at her, and flashed a smile. 

“Idiot.” Clair turned away towards the moon, and crossed her arms. 

The pale reflection was cute on her chibi face. 

“Heh.” Tekai chuckled. 

“What is it now? Our lives are on the line, now is hardly the time for more jokes.” Clair said in an annoyed tone. 

“Nothing, sorry, just thought you looked pretty in the moonlight is all.” 

“Y-you-!” 

“He's here! Horsea, you know what to do!” 

“Sea!” 

A splotch of smoke filled the area. 

Yet this time, the beat of wings was nearby, and they cleared the black gas within seconds. 

“Trix, trix!” Dartrix-the owl Pokémon-hooted in joy as it spotted them. 

Flying in its wake, was the ink creature carrying smeargle and the ninja. 

“Give up, Rising Dragon. Your talents are exceptional, yet you are wasted by those who do not love you. Forced into servitude, openly mocked by your clan elders, your very life wagered upon whilst you entered the Dragons Den. The Ryu do not see your talent. But my master, he does. 

Take flight with me, serve my master, and forget about this backwater.” The shinobi spoke in a monotone-yet unmistakable child's voice-and held out his hand in an inviting gesture. 

Covered in mud and obviously fatigued, Tekai wiped his chin, and staggered to his feet. 

“Is that so? Come closer so I can see your face. Show me your sincerity.” Tekai planted his staff in the ground, and groaned in an effort to sell his fatigue, and lower his opponents guard. 

If the ninja were an adult, Tekai didn't think they would fall for such an obvious ploy, but this kid probably wasn't much older than he was. Worst case scenario, he ran back a bit, and kited around the explosive tags to force the ninja in his kill zone. But why work harder, when you could work smarter? 

However, it seemed that Clair was none too happy by his choice of words if her scowl was anything to go by. 

“Tekai!” Clair shouted in anger, and moved to step in front of him, yet he held her back with one arm. 

The harsh sting of betrayal welled up in Clair's cerulean eyes, and teardrops fell onto Tekai's sleeve. 

“...very well, but know that your companion cannot live should this occur. Will you continue?” The man's voice was cold and robotic, yet it carried with it the threat of menace. 

“Don't do this Tekai. This is not the man you are! You are a dragon. I have seen you, you are strong. Let us fight him together.” Clair urged, and shook his arm. 

“Come.” Tekai said eagerly to the ninja, and pushed Clair roughly to the ground. 

“No.” Clair gripped at her chest, paralyzed by the development. 

“Right choice.” The ninja slowly laughed, and lowered himself to be closer. However, as he drew near, he suddenly attacked. 

Eyes going wide, Tekai realized it was a ruse all along! In a twist of fate, it was the ninja who was trying to fool him, and drop his guard. 

This, of course, still brought the ninja in range of Tekai’s attack, so he didn’t panic at the fact that his attempted subterfuge had failed, and enacted his plan. 

‘Now!’ 

Tekai sent his chakra through the threads and activated the explosive tags. 

The ninja didn't even have time to react as four different explosions erupted in his NSEW directions. 

The ninja and the Pokémon accompanying him were consumed in a blaze of glory. 

Falling on top of Clair due to the concussive force of the nearby blast, Tekai began to laugh. 

“Oh man, I bet the look on his face was priceless! Did you see the way he was trying to recruit me? Like some two-bit villain from a play! Oh geez, and you! Your acting was a peak performance Clair, I didn't know you had it in you. Just awesome!” Tekai laughed and rolled around on dead leaves. His expression was exuberant, and jolly relief filled his system at surviving the near death experience. 

Feeling a pressure on his belly, Tekai noticed the air leave his lungs, and a teary eyed mad blue haired girl staring down at him. 

‘Bro wait. Are you telling me she didn't see me put those explosive tags down???’ Tekai internally thought to himself as her sorrow and anger were just a bit too uncomfortably real. 

Thankfully Cynthia burst onto the scene a second later, dispelling this awkward situation. 

Katana in hand, Cynthia slashed around Tekai & Clair, halving every tree within a 20ft radius, and creating a wide open clearing. 

Tekai imperceptibly nodded at the maneuver. If there was anyone hiding in stealth, they would most certainly be dead at the moment. 

A second later, Garchomp erupted out of the ground, and spat out a corpse. 

Tekai's eyes widened in surprise. 

‘So there was a fourth ambusher!’ 

Tekai didn't have much time to ruminate on this thought as Cynthia put her hands all over him and Clair searching for injuries.  

“Thank goodness you two are alright. If you have any cuts, even a tiny scratch, do not hesitate to inform me. Shinobi enjoy adding poison to their attacks.” Cynthia said as her eyes scanned them from head to toe. 

Tekai wanted to feel shy at her bold movements, but the extreme danger to his life left him too tired and exhausted to care much about Cynthia's delicate, smooth hands. 

Shivering from a ticklish touch, Tekai turned to the side to hide his embarrassment. 

Cynthia didn't seem to mind, and exhaled in relief. 

The beautiful blonde ran a hand through her hair, and whilst Tekai was openly staring at her, the moonlight revealed several bloodstains on her black clothes. 

Raising an eyebrow, Tekai noticed that her katana was practically bathed in blood, what with how slick it was with the sanguine substance. 

Evidently Tekai wasn't the only target this night. 

He could only assume the dregs of Root Anbu had come to face him considering that they were young teens at best. He could only imagine what Cynthia had faced tonight. 

“You two aren't in a genjutsu, is it paralysis perhaps?” Cynthia came up close and inspected them. 

“Ah haha, sorry for giving you the silent treatment sensei, we were just stunned is all. We had just killed the last of our assailants, and Clair had fallen on top of me in these last seconds of battle. When you arrived, we were just stunned by your aura.” Tekai said, explaining the situation. 

At the same time, he lifted Clair off of him, and set her to the side. The blue haired girl hung her head low, and refused to look at him. 

“Yes, I saw the evidence. You two slew three shinobi and their Pokémon. It shames me that I didn't notice them sooner. I'm glad you're okay, Tekai, Clair.” Cynthia said, glancing around the area, never once letting her guard down. 

“Thanks for your concern, sensei. I hope Gil and Zinnia are okay?” Tekai replied with a sheepish smile, and asked about his friends. 

“They are doing well. Your magikarp arrived at my manor as soon as I had finished eliminating several squads of shinobi. Your magikarp is a real sweetheart.” Cynthia chuckled. 

‘Gil a sweetheart? Are we sharing the same planet?’ Tekai looked at Cynthia with a gaze full of skepticism. 

“Yes, he was very cuddly, and eager to get my attention.” Cynthia nodded along. 

‘Gil you bastard!’ Tekai fumed as he imagined that fishy-fish had been cuddled by Cynthia! 

“Right, well, do you think it's fine for us to return to the city, or should we stay with you?”

“I'll be reporting this incident, so you and Clair might as well tag along.” Cynthia replied. 

Tekai was going to ask about getting Gil back, when Zinnia came walking out of the forest and into the clearing. 

“Hey Clair, hey Tekai! I heard you guys fought without me! Sooo, how'd it go?” Zinnia said in a complaining tone, but then changed her anger into curiosity as fast as a man could eat a slice of pizza. 

“Karp, karp!” Gil wiggled in Zinnia's grasp, his eyes going wide, and fish lips stuck in a permanent grin. 

‘Stupid perverted magikarp.’ Tekai thought to himself with a scowl, and was quick to return Gil to his pokeball. 

“Yo, I'll catch you up with what happened later.” Tekai sighed, exhausted by the night’s events. 

“Good, we're all here. Let's return to Blackthorn.” Cynthia clapped her hands to gather their attention, then set off. 

Following after his sensei, Tekai let the worries of assassination, and murder retreat to the recesses of his mind. 

With her around, he felt safe.