"What the hell is their problem, sticking to us like glue?" Naruto muttered under his breath, while Sakura scanned the horizon, visibly annoyed.
In front of them stood four men, half-masked faces glaring coldly. Naruto clenched his fists and gave a provocative grin.
"Are you sure you want to mess with us?" Sakura cracked her knuckles and added, "Last chance to run, boys."
They sneered, their hands brushing the ground.
One of them, stocky and broad, charged at Naruto, his fist aiming straight for his jaw. Naruto dodged, his elbow slamming into the ninja's ribs.
A sharp crack echoed, but the enemy, tough as nails, grabbed Naruto by the collar and hurled him into a sand dune. Sand exploded around him, clinging to his orange jacket.
Sakura blocked a kick from another attacker, her reflexes sharpened by Tsunade's training. She pivoted, her chakra-charged fist slamming into the man's chest. The blow sent him reeling, coughing up blood and spit, his flak jacket torn.
"Not so fragile now, huh, pinkie?" the man sneered, wiping his mouth. Sakura grimaced. "Shut up and fight, pathetic chunin!" She dove at him, her knee aiming for his stomach, but a third ninja intervened, striking the ground.
"Earth Style: Stone Spear!"
Spikes erupted from the ground, forcing Sakura to roll aside. One grazed her arm, blood dripping onto the burning sand.
Naruto got back up and roared, "Sakura, watch out! Time to get serious!"
He formed a seal and summoned two shadow clones. "Let's smoke 'em!" he shouted. The clones charged, but one of the enemies reacted quickly.
"Water Style: Raging Wave!" A surge of water burst forth, mixing with the surrounding sand to form mud, swallowing one of the clones in a sticky whirlpool.
The other clone dodged and landed a spinning kick on the stocky ninja. The enemy blocked, but Naruto burst forward, his fist smashing into his cheekbone. A sickening crack, blood sprayed, and the chunin staggered, his nose broken.
Sakura, now surrounded by two of the ninjas, read their next move.
"Earth Style: Stone Golem!"
A massive rock monster emerged, its huge fists aiming for Sakura. She leapt, her chakra-charged punch smashing through one of the golem's arms, rubble flying.
"Naruto, cover me!"
Naruto, busy dodging a rain of earthen spikes, barely managed a glance.
"Kinda busy here!"
He formed a Rasengan, the spinning orb whirling in his hand. He feinted a frontal attack on the one who had used Water Style but swerved at the last second, hurling the Rasengan at the golem. The impact exploded the creature's head, sending shards of stone flying in every direction.
Another ninja took advantage of the distraction, using the Hiding Like a Mole Technique to dive beneath the sand. Sakura felt the ground tremble.
"Naruto, beneath you!" she yelled, trying to warn him. Naruto jumped, but too late. A stone hand shot up, grabbing his ankle and pulling him down.
He growled, punching the hand, cracking it. Sakura dove, her chakra-charged fist smashing the grip, freeing Naruto.
"Thanks, Sakura!" he said, breathless.
The enemy, now coordinated, launched a synchronized attack. One used a mix of Water and Earth Style to unleash a muddy wave, while another summoned a stone dome to trap them.
Naruto quickly formed ten shadow clones.
"Let's confuse them!" he shouted. The clones charged, hammering the dome, creating chaos.
Sakura took advantage of the confusion, performing a medical jutsu to quickly heal her wounded arm. That was the advantage of having a medical ninja on your team.
"We need to break this dome!" she said, focused.
Naruto nodded, forming a Rasengan after being healed.
"Hang on!" The chakra orb screamed through the air.
He charged, feinted a direct hit, then turned at the last second toward an exposed chunin. The impact tore through his arm, blood gushing like a fountain, his scream piercing the air.
The dome trembled, and Sakura seized the moment, her fist smashing a section open, creating an escape.
But one was still hiding underground. He burst out behind Sakura, a kunai aiming for her neck. Naruto, anticipating it, sent a clone to intercept. It took the blow and vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Not very sneaky, dude!" Naruto taunted, delivering a kick to the ninja's face. The chunin flew back, his mask shattered, blood trickling from his mouth.
Furious, Sakura charged another, her punch hurling him into a dune, his ribs cracking on impact.
The two remaining ninjas, desperate, launched one last combo. A wave of mud and a golem struck simultaneously, aiming for Naruto.
"Naruto, to your left!"
He dodged, but the mud hit him, engulfing him halfway. He growled, chakra flaring around him. A blue aura exploded from his body, repelling the sludge.
He charged, Rasengan in both hands, aiming straight at the golem. At the last second, he shifted, slamming them into the two chunins, sending them flying.
Sakura, in perfect sync, leapt, her chakra-infused fists crushing the first one's chest. Bones shattered, blood sprayed, and he crashed into the sand, motionless.
The last was quickly finished by Naruto.
Silence returned.
Naruto, panting, let his aura fade, his face dripping with sweat and mud. "Phew, that was intense!" he said with a grin.
Sakura, tending to the cut on her arm, sighed. "It's not over yet." She glanced at the bodies. "At least we cleaned up."
Naruto wiped blood from his forehead. "Yeah, but I'm starving now! How about some ramen?"
Sakura rolled her eyes, but a smile slipped through. "Move it, idiot. Let's get outta here."
They walked off, their shadows stretching across the sand, the wind carrying the metallic scent of death.