Naruto: The Shattered Eyes

Suguru wanted to push Team 8 to their limits. To do so, he had a specific scenario planned out for each genin. 

All that was left was execution.

'Shadow Clone Jutsu,'

Split into four, Suguru and his clones grinned. With a face in mind, they changed the seal they were making.

'Transformation Jutsu,'

With a puff of smoke, they donned different faces and figures, each mundane in appearance and bearing no special traits that could identify them.

Existences who were as plain as paper.

Suguru and his clones looked at each other. Their previous grins morphed into different expressions, mimicking the presence of different personalities. He had to make things believable for the genin.

'Otherwise, what's the use of donning a disguise?' He chuckled.

And with a nod, he and his clones flickered rapidly to their destination.

***

"Khhhk!"

A terrified hiss was sucked out of Kiba's lungs. The feeling of cold steel piercing through his flesh was an unnerving dullness. Muscles were torn and blood began to flow.

Kiba knew then that his speed would be impaired if he didn't deal with the wound.

"Kiba!"

"Kiba-kun!"

The yelps from Shino and Hinata rang in his ears. However, despite his weary state, he bore through the pain.

"I'm okay!" His voice was almost a growl, "We need to focus on the enemy!"

Hearing his words, Hinata and Shino nodded. Figures began emerging from the shadows, lightly illuminated by silver moonlight.

Four in total.

"Che," Kiba clicked his tongue, "I was right."

As the figures emerged, Team 8 got a glimpse of their faces. A sense of dread fell upon them. Each one was brimming with a full tank of chakra.

"Yo, brats."

A woman was the first to speak, cocky in her smile and arrogant in her posturing. In her hand was a spinning shuriken. A playful gesture, unlike the situation at hand.

Her eyes scanned Team 8, flashing as she noticed their headbands.

"Konoha, huh?" Her smile seemed to widen. "I guess I'll give you guys a chance to live."

A chill ran through Team 8's spines. The sadistic tone in the woman's words delivered an accursed foreboding.

The woman gestured to her three companions.

"Choose an opponent to fight. If you beat them in combat, I'll let you live."

Now, her smile was a full-on maniac grin.

"If you lose..."

She drew her kunai against her own neck, drawing blood. The villainous glint in her eyes was terrifying.

"You get the point, right?"

—Gulp.

Nervous eyes gazed into each other just then. Despite the bloodlust that engulfed their forms, their minds were strong enough to keep their bodies standing. It looked like all of Team 8 did not fancy playing a death game.

"W-What if we refuse?"

Kiba was their spokesperson. He struggled to get the words out.

Suddenly, the woman squinted. Her previous smile deteriorated into a deep frown.

"You think you have the right to refuse?" She spat out her words. "I've changed my mind."

Looking at her companions lingering in the shadows, her eyes flashed with annoyance.

"Take one each. Kill them."

Team 8 tried to hide their fear, donning a grim expression. Their bodies bent like a coiled spring, ready to react to their enemy's charge.

Then, a flicker of movement was caught within Hinata's Byakugan. Vividly crimson eyes appeared within her gaze despite the monochrome backdrop.

An amassment of chakra within those eyes made her heart skip a beat. Red dust had begun to manifest around her without her knowledge.

'Genjutsu: Shinrakugan,'

***

While Hinata stared into the air in a daze, a barrelling freight train of a human charged straight into Shino while a fireball honed into Kiba. With each genin forced to react to the sudden stimuli, they were each thrown in different directions.

Suddenly, the battlefield was fractured into three parts.

The frown on the woman's face dissipated into a neutral stare. Suguru's personality bled through.

Eyes gazing forward with great intrigue, and Sharingan spiraling within his irises.

'Genjutsu for Hinata, Taijutsu for Shino, and Ninjutsu for Kiba... A very basic but very effective exploitation of their current weaknesses.'

Suguru still vividly remembered the Taijutsu training arc that Shino had once undergone. He wanted to stimulate this potential so that Shino could bloom much earlier than in the original.

Hinata, on the other hand, needed a little scare. Although the Chuunin Exams would eventually help shift her mentality... What would happen if it happened now?

As for Kiba... Well...

Suguru's clone was cracking his knuckles. He had a little beef with the Inuzuka clan. After all that training that Hitomi had put him through using that beast of a ninken, he held grudges.

Finally, there was someone who he could use as a valid punching bag.

'This is for character growth.' Suguru's clone was rubbing his hands, approaching Kiba with a menacing gait.

"You're from the Inuzuka clan, right?"

His first words made Kiba step back in fright. The devilish smile on his face, along with the scars littered across his skin was a terrifying sight.

"Y-yeah?" Kiba mustered a reply, "And what of it, huh?"

Suddenly, Suguru's clones formed several seals. Kiba's eyes widened in fright. The speed in which Suguru formed his seals was something he hadn't seen before.

"I have a grudge." Suguru's answer was simple.

Then, he breathed out flames.

'Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!'

A narrow blaze surged forth like the breath of a dragon. Flames flowed, and Kiba had no choice but to retreat in a hurry. The edges of his hair were singed, and Akamaru was left yelping in the heat.

"Damn! Hot!"

Obviously, the fire was hot. However, this made Kiba realize that his opponent was keeping him at a distance.

'To make sure he has time to weave seals...' He thought, trying to find a way out.

He did not want to fight.

No...

He could not.

In the distance, he could see Hinata standing still and Shino turning into a ragdoll. These guys were stronger than their previous pursuers — not just because of the earlier ambush, but because of their strategical prowess.

'They did good, splitting us up,'

Kiba's mind spun. However, he wasn't going to be given time to think.

Another searing flame was headed straight for him.

'Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!'

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