98. Shino’s Anime Filler (OVA ), Episode 4: Mission: Protect the Waterfall Village! Part 2 (Ino)

Making my way into the Village is a simple enough task. I follow my teammates’ trail to the hidden entrance behind the waterfall, which isn’t difficult to spot if you’re looking for it. A few underwater tunnels later (with wooden nose plugs protecting my unconscious body gripped in my borrowed arms), I surface surrounded by battle.

Before me is an island bearing a giant tree. Its roots dig deep into the earth and spread wide. The entire Village sits beneath its sprawling canopy. It's a rather beautiful place. High rock walls obscure the village from the outside world. I wonder if this place was made by ninja from a previous generation?

On the shoreline, Sasuke incinerates some mooks with a Fireball jutsu streaming from his pursed lips. They scramble while screaming, dropping and rolling or throwing themselves in the lake. Their suffering doesn't affect the stone-cold badass.

Shibuki, the coward, is nowhere to be seen with Naruto probably gone looking for him. He is our client, after all. Probably a good idea someone is keeping track of him.

““Water Release: Water Whip!””

Two Water Release users draw liquid up from the lake or from canteens at their waist to catch Sasuke unawares with their whips, wielding the long, fluid cords like extensions of their bodies. Even so, Sasuke's visual prowess is almost enough to counter them both, playing with the whips like jump ropes until one catches his ankle. They bind the Uchiha scion by trapping his arms against his sides.

The first of the two is the muscular guy with the sleeveless shirt who got away from Sasuke before. The second is a young woman with short brown hair, blue dangly earrings, a white hairband, and red lipstick. She’s wearing navy pants and an open, light-blue shirt over a cream-colored tube top, bearing her shoulders along with her midriff.

“You’re not bad, kid,” the lady taunts with a teasing, sadistic grin.

“Should’ve known it wouldn’t be as easy the second time, boy,” the man says, laughing at the Uchiha scion's failure.

Nearby, another man, this one with a goatee and a bandanna, fights Kin-Kitty and Fubuki. “Hidden Waterfall Style: Watercutting Sword!”

“Ninneko Art: Cat Chakra Claws!”

“Ice Release: Crystal Ice Swallow Snowstorm!”

It looks like Kin-Kitty gave Fubuki the Ice Leech while she holds off the Jonin-level enemy with her chakra-coated claws. I'm sure she'd love to be summoning Ice swallows as well, but they've only got one Leech, and Fubuki can't Amalgamate yet.

The man wields a sword made of water, slicing through the frosty avian shuriken one at a time by exerting his advantage in raw power. From the other perspective, one could say the Ice Release is bridging the strength-gap between Genin and Jonin. The match seems dead even at first.

Similarly, Kin clashes claws against blade over and over while darting about at preternatural speeds. Her ninneko technique is surprisingly effective compared to the Jonin's vibrating water blade. The man seems shocked he can't cut through her parries, worry crossing his face as his situation grows grim, but smirks when the Uchiha boy gets caught.

“Surrender, or they’ll cut your friend in half,” he insists while batting aside more frozen swallows.

“You think we give a crap about that guy, nya?” Yeah, I should’ve guessed Kin-Kitty and Fubuki wouldn’t be too attached to Sasuke.

“Tch. Hisame-chan, Murasame-kun, drop him.”

Electricity flows through the water whips to shock Sasuke into submission. I’m surprised to see dual Water and Lightning Release users, but the technique seems like a solid combination. Despite Sasuke’s attempts to defend himself from their invading chakra with his Chidori, electricity can’t exactly defend him while he’s soaked in water. He screams, convulsing and thrashing in his business before falling limp on the ground.

“I think you’ll care more about this girl,” I say, my nasally male voice making my skin crawl as I stride onto shore with my body under one arm. Stealthy movements remove and stow the wooden nasal plugs to avoid suspicion.

“Kirisame-kun! You’re just in time to join the fun,” the man with a goatee greets me. Kin-Kitty and Fubuki both surrender instantly upon seeing my lifeless body. I don’t dare signal them and risk giving the game away. “Now, tie them all up; they’ll come in handy during the negotiation.”

As Hisame and Murasame approach my sister-wife and ally, I walk up to the man in charge. “Hey, boss, where do you want this one?” I ask, hefting my unconscious body to indicate it.

He quirks a brow at me as if I’ve messed up addressing him in my usual manner, but he glances aside regardless to indicate a spot where they’re throwing the villagers to keep as prisoners. In that instant, I strike—dropping my body on the ground, I draw a kunai and stab it into the Jonin’s side.

“Gah!”

““Eh?”” Hisame and Murasame both exclaim as they realize something is wrong.

Knowing a reprisal is on the way, I release my jutsu and return to my body. It's disorienting as always, but at least I have tits again! Kirisame blinks in shock as he regains control over his limbs. It must be like recovering from sleep paralysis. He groggily gets his bearings while his boss struggles through the pain of a knife in his gut.

“S-Suien-kun, that wasn’t me! I-it’s not what it looks like!!! Hrk!”

The goatee-man, Suien, impales his subordinate with the Water blade in retaliation. He can’t afford to be cautious with an unknown situation, making this a logical (if incorrect) move. That could’ve been me still trying to fake him out—if I hadn’t released my jutsu, the backlash from Suien’s attack through the sympathetic spirit link might have really killed me.

At any rate, I managed to injure the most dangerous opponent here and got him to off one of our enemies in the process. Not bad for a Genin girl!

“Now!” I shout as I regain my senses, tapping my wrist to give the tactile signal while springing to my feet.

Karin emerges from my body to reprise her earlier jutsu, hands slapping the ground as she yells, “Wood Release: Strangling Vines!”

Tangling growth rises from the soil to envelop the minions’ legs, rooting them in place. They aren't helpless, though. The two Water users instantly draw kunai to hack themselves free. Meanwhile, this leaves Kin-Kitty and Fubuki momentarily free to attack without reprisal.

The former Snow ninja’s Ice Swallows are both individually more potent thanks to Ice Release and less numerous without her Chakra Armor. She launches half a dozen to keep Suien busy. The poor guy has to fight one-handed with the other palm staunching the blood gushing from his gut wound.

Kin-Kitty’s claws, on the other hand, are much more deadly with the Chakra Armor enhancing her available pool of energy.

Murasame attempts to defend himself with his Water Whip but, even while channeling Lightning chakra through its length, Kin-Kitty slices through it to eviscerate the man. Her fur stands on end from the brief contact shock as blood drips from her claws.

“Ice Release: Crystal Ice Prison!”

Fubuki finishes Hisame next with the last of her chakra, freezing the woman up to the waist with solid ice. She can’t quite manage a complete encapsulation without ambient snow or her Chakra Armor, but her Crystal Ice is harder than the original jutsu.

Just as Suien shatters the last frosty avian shuriken pestering him, Karin targets the man with her vines, forcing him to stay moving. That gives Fubuki time to pass Kin-Kitty the Ice Leech and have the catgirl conjure another batch of, “Ice Release: Crystal Ice Swallow Snowstorm!”

“Fuck!” Suien knows he’s in trouble, now.

I struggle to my feet and assume the stance to use my Mind Body Switch Technique. As a Jonin, he’s no doubt already put together that I’m the cause of his subordinate’s betrayal. I woke up after he killed Kirisame, after all. That means my jutsu is a major threat he must take seriously even if (in reality) I’m shooting blanks. It always takes me a sec to recover from using the possession jutsu.

He's holding his wound, dodging vines, avoiding my aim as I target him, and batting aside another wave of frozen birds when Kin-Kitty approaches with her cat chakra claws drawn. While not a Jonin’s equal in her own right, this isn’t one-on-one, and it’s barely a fight. They exchange blows several times with Kin-Kitty catching his blade in her claws. Then she scratches a line of red across his thigh while he’s distracted by the Ice Swallows.

Like a man trying to keep half a dozen plates spinning on poles while one wobbles dangerously, it’s a matter of seconds before it all comes crashing down. An Ice Swallow opens a wound on his sword arm. A vine grips him by the ankle. Fubuki isn’t out of the fight, either, throwing a kunai at the man that strikes the hand protecting the wound in his side. Then Kin-Kitty finishes this by severing Suien’s other hand as vines crawl up the man’s body to completely immobilize him.

“Looks like we’ve got this mission all wrapped up!” I say, stealing everyone’s thunder and making them groan at the pun.