บท 67: 67. Hogging All Glory

(Guys, we are out of the top 10, Give me your Powerstones, It's our last week in less than 30 days section.)

The clone raised an eyebrow. "I'm the little boy who's about to save your career. Follow me."

Without waiting for a response, the clone took off down a side street, using his knowledge of the village layout to navigate towards the nearest evacuation point. After a moment of hesitation, the three ninjas followed, their faces red with shame at being shown up by a child.

As they moved through the village, the clone efficiently directed civilians towards safety, disarmed traps left by enemy ninjas, and even managed to take down a couple of Oto genin who thought they could ambush the group.

"Wow," the bowl-cut chunin said, watching as Sora's clone effortlessly dodged a kunai before knocking out the attacker with a well-placed water jutsu. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

The clone shrugged. "Oh, you know, here and there. A little training, a lot of reading, and a healthy dose of being in places I probably shouldn't be."

The newly promoted jonin nodded sagely. "Ah, yes. The traditional shinobi method of 'learning on the job'. I remember my first... wait a minute." He narrowed his eyes at the clone. "Just how old are you?"

"Old enough to know that your flak jacket still has the price tag on it," the clone replied with a cheeky grin.

As the jonin spluttered and frantically tried to remove the tag, the moustached chunin stroked his impressive facial hair thoughtfully. "You know, kid, you remind me of someone. Red hair, cheeky attitude, way too skilled for your age... you wouldn't happen to be related to Kushina Uzumaki, would you?"

The clone blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected that name to come up. "Uh, not that I know of. Why do you ask?"

The chunin chuckled. "Just a hunch. She was a real firecracker, that one. Always gets into trouble, but with the skills to back up her attitude. You've got that same spark."

Before the clone could respond, a commotion up ahead caught their attention. A group of civilians was huddled in an alleyway, cornered by a pair of Suna ninjas who looked far too pleased with themselves.

"Well, well," one of the Suna ninjas sneered. "Looks like we've found ourselves some easy targets."

His partner laughed. "Yeah, this invasion is almost too easy. These Konoha weaklings can't even protect their own civilians."

Sora's clone felt a surge of anger at their words. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, placing himself between the enemy ninja and the civilians. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" he challenged.

The Suna ninja looked at each other before bursting into laughter. "And who's going to stop us? You, little boy?"

The clone smirked. "No, not me." He formed a quick hand sign, and suddenly the alley was filled with identical red-haired boys. "Us."

The Suna ninja's laughter died in their throats as they found themselves surrounded by a small army of determined-looking children. Before they could react, the clones attacked en masse, a whirlwind of tiny fists and feet that quickly overwhelmed the unprepared enemy.

In a matter of moments, the Suna ninjas were trussed up like holiday turkeys, their eyes wide with disbelief at having been defeated by a group of children.

As the original clone began ushering the civilians towards safety, the three Konoha ninjas who had been watching the spectacle approached him.

"That... that was incredible," the bowl-cut chunin said, his voice filled with awe.

The moustached chunin nodded in agreement. "Kid, I don't know who you are or where you came from, but Konoha is lucky to have you."

The newly promoted jonin, having finally removed the price tag from his flak jacket, cleared his throat. "Indeed. In fact, I think it's safe to say that you've shown more skill and quick thinking in the past ten minutes than many chunin show in their entire careers."

The clone rubbed the back of his head, a bit embarrassed by the praise. "Thanks, but I'm just doing what any Konoha ninja would do. Now, shouldn't we be focusing on getting these civilians to safety?"

The three ninjas straightened up, looking properly chastised. "Right you are," the jonin said. "Lead the way, young man."

As they continued their evacuation efforts, the clone couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. He might be young, he might be small, but he was making a difference. And really, isn't that what being a ninja was all about?

Back with the original Sora, Gamahiro was making swift progress towards the academy. As they bounded over rooftops and dodged enemy attacks, Sora couldn't help but notice the looks of shock and disbelief on the faces of both allies and enemies alike. After all, it wasn't every day you saw a giant toad leaping through the village with two children on its back.

"You know," Hanabi said, her Byakugan still active as she scanned their surroundings, "when I imagined my first real battle, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Sora grinned at her. "Oh? And what did you imagine? Heroically defeating enemy ninja with your gentle fist while adoring crowds cheered your name?"

Hanabi's cheeks tinged pink. "N-no! Of course not! I just... I didn't think I'd be riding a giant toad with my rival while trying to save our classmates from enemy ninja."

"Life's full of surprises," Sora shrugged. "Besides, isn't this more fun?"

Before Hanabi could retort, Gamahiro's voice rumbled beneath them. "Heads up, kids. We've got company."

Sora and Hanabi looked ahead to see a group of Oto ninjas racing across the rooftops towards them. Leading the charge was a kunoichi with long, dark hair and a maniacal grin that promised pain.

"Well, well," the kunoichi called out as they drew closer. "What do we have here? A couple of lost children and their pet frog?"

Gamahiro bristled. "For the last time, I'm a toad!"

Sora patted the giant amphibian's head reassuringly for the nth time. "Don't let her get to you, big guy. She's probably just jealous because the only thing she can summon is a bad attitude."

The kunoichi's eye twitched dangerously. "You've got a smart mouth, brat. Let's see if you can back it up with action!"

With that, she launched into a series of hand signs. "Earth Style: Stone Spikes!"

The rooftops around them erupted into a forest of sharp stone protrusions, forcing Gamahiro to leap erratically to avoid being impaled. Sora and Hanabi clung tightly to the toad's back, their eyes wide as they narrowly avoided being thrown off.

"Okay," Sora admitted, his voice a bit shaky. "Maybe antagonizing the crazy lady wasn't my best idea."

Hanabi shot him a glare. "You think?"

As Gamahiro continued to dodge the onslaught of stone spikes, Sora's mind raced. They needed a plan, and fast. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"Hanabi," he said urgently, "I need you to use your Gentle Fist to disrupt her chakra flow. Can you do that?"

Hanabi nodded, her expression determined. "Of course I can. But how am I supposed to get close enough?"

Sora grinned, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Leave that to me and Gamahiro. Just be ready to strike when I give the signal."

Before Hanabi could ask what he meant, Sora had already formed a series of hand signs. "Colliding Waves!"

A torrent of water burst from Sora's mouth, far more than should have been possible for someone his size. The powerful stream swept across the rooftops, washing away the stone spikes and forcing the Oto ninja to scatter.

"Now, Gamahiro!" Sora shouted.

The giant toad understood immediately. With a powerful leap, he propelled himself directly towards the enemy kunoichi, who was still recovering from the sudden flood.

As they soared through the air, Sora turned to Hanabi. "Get ready!" he yelled over the rush of wind.