Naruto: Reaching the Stars

The 'Anbu' spoke in a relaxed, yet sharp tone. "You brats have no idea what you're getting yourselves into," he said, his voice calm yet laced with threat. "I'll give you one chance. Surrender now, come with me quietly, and no harm will come to any of you."

Kisuke’s thoughts raced, panic creeping in. ‘Damn it… this bastard wants to take all of us.’ His heart pounded as doubts flooded his mind. Had standing up for Minato been a mistake? If he hadn’t interfered, would Yoruichi and he be caught up in this? What if—

But it didn’t matter now. The Root ninja wasn’t letting any of them go.

He desperately tried to think of a way out. Fighting didn’t seem like an option—they were just academy students, and this was a seasoned ninja.

‘If he’s with Root, he’s not just some Genin. Is he a Chunin? A Special Jonin? Or worse, a Jonin?’

None of those scenarios looked good. They were hopelessly outmatched.

“Kisuke!”

Yoruichi’s sharp voice cut through his frantic thoughts. He turned to see her staring at him, eyes fierce. “Snap out of it! We need you here, focused. Stop overthinking!”

His eyes widened. The playful Yoruichi was gone, replaced by someone who looked just as scared but wasn’t letting it freeze her.

‘A kid like her has more courage than me,’ Kisuke thought bitterly.

Without warning, he raised his hand and slapped his own cheek, the sound sharp and startling. All eyes turned to him in disbelief.

The Root ninja narrowed his eyes. “Have you regained your senses, kid? Since you seem like the leader of this little group, what’s your answer?”

The Root operative didn’t want to attract the attention of any ninja who might be training nearby. That was why he was trying to take them without causing a scene. But if they refused to comply, he’d have no choice but to subdue them, even if it meant injuring them.

Kisuke kept his gaze locked on the man, his mind racing. In a low whisper, he spoke to his friends. “Listen up. Minato and I will try to hold him off.”

“hey, What about me?” Yoruichi whispered back.

Kisuke’s tone grew firm. “Yoruichi, you have the most important role. You need to get out of here and find a ninja. Bring them back to help us.”

“What? No way! I’m not leaving you two behind!”

‘I don’t have time for this,’ Kisuke thought, annoyed by the situation.

“This isn’t a joke.” He glared at her. “This guy is at least a Chunin. I don’t need to explain how strong that makes him. Even if the three of us fought together, we wouldn’t stand a chance. All we can do is buy time. But if you manage to bring someone strong enough, we might survive this.”

“But why me? You’re the weakest of the three of us, so you should go!”

Kisuke’s eye twitched at being called the weakest, but he swallowed his pride. “His main target is Minato. He won’t let him escape. And you’re the fastest of us. It’ll only take you a few minutes to find help.”

“"But I..." Yoruichi began, but Kisuke cut her off sharply.

“Stop acting like a spoiled brat. Do you want to get us killed, or are you going to help us survive?”

“Yoruichi, please,” Minato added, his voice urgent.

Yoruichi clenched her fists, her lips pressed into a thin line. She hated the idea of running away, leaving her friends behind. But Kisuke's words echoed in her mind. She wasn’t just running—she was going for help. And if she didn’t, they were all dead.

With a reluctant nod, she finally agreed. "Fine... but don’t you dare die before I get back, okay!"

“As if I'd end up here,” Kisuke replied with a smirk. He glanced at Minato. “Be ready on my mark. Minato, cover us.”

Minato nodded, gripping his kunai tighter.

Kisuke then took a step forward, walking toward the Root ninja. His heart pounded, but he kept his expression calm.

The Root ninja watched him closely. “So, what is your decision?”

Kisuke forced a smile. "We don’t want any trouble with you, ninja-sama." He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "We’ll cooperate….in a million years.”

As he spoke, three small balls appeared in his hand, hidden from the Root ninja’s view.

The Root ninja took another step forward. "Good. Then let’s—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Kisuke hurled the three balls at the ground with a swift flick of his wrist. The spheres exploded on impact, releasing a thick cloud of smoke that quickly enveloped the entire area.

“Now!” Kisuke shouted through the smoke. Minato immediately sprang into action, hurling a barrage of kunai and shuriken toward the Root ninja’s last known position, while Kisuke moved to the side, aiming to flank him.

The Root ninja cursed, taken aback by the sudden cloud of smoke. Hearing the hidden weapons slicing through the air, he quickly jumped and began forming a series of hand seals. His chest swelling before he unleashed a Wind Jutsu that blew the smoke away and cleared the area.

The swirling wind swept through the smoke, dispersing it and sending the kunai and shuriken clattering to the ground.

As the smoke cleared, the Root ninja landed on the ground, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed the area. His gaze hardened with irritation at the two academy students who dared to attack him, but then he noticed something that made his eyes widen slightly. 

“Where’s that little girl?” 

At that moment, Minato pulled out his own smoke balls and hurled them into the ground. The spheres exploded, creating another thick cloud of smoke that enveloped the area once more.

The Root ninja cursed under his breath, his vision obscured once again. “Damn it!” he growled. “where the hell did they get their hands on ninja tools. These kids are more trouble than I thought.” 

Typically, only a ninja is allowed to carry smoke bombs and explosive tags due it danger. He read Minato file. He was just an orphan. How did he get his hands on 

‘and that little kid, did she ran away.’

That was a bad news for him. Lord Danzo ordered him to bring Minato without causing a scene, but if he allowed that little girl to get away and somehow got reported then he failed his mission 

‘i can't allow that.’

Forming a series of hand seals, he took a deep breath and spat.

“Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!”

The force of the Jutsu teared through the smoke, scattering it like fragile leaves in a storm. The sheer pressure of the wind whipped around the area, uprooting small shrubs and sending debris flying.

Kisuke and Minato struggled to maintain their footing, shielding their faces from the wind. Once they saw themselves about to fly away, they stick their Kunai on the ground to stabilize themselves.

The smoke they used to cover Yourichi escape vanished in an instant. But it didn't matter as it already did its job. Yourichi was nowhere to be seen.

“Dammit.” the root cursed after he didn't see the little girl. He had no doubt that she left to bring help which meant even if he captured the target, his mission will be considered failure. He thought. ‘no, I can't allow that to happen.’

Forming a seal, a puff of smoke erupted and a shadow clone appeared beside him. “ You know what to do.”

The clone nodded and turned back heading toward konoha as it was the only place that girl could ask for help.

“Dammit, we can't let him follow her.” Kisuke eyes widened, not expecting the ninja to be quick witted and used a clone to chase down Yourichi. No matter how fast she was, she was no match for this ninja and would soon catch up to her.