**(10 minutes earlier…)**

Kaida stared intently at his enemy, knowing that Ryota and Yomi would struggle to handle six Chunin by themselves. Despite telling Yomi to run in times of danger, the numerous variables at play worried him. He didn't want to imagine what would happen if she couldn't escape or if an enemy ninja managed a surprise attack.

Although Kaida was up against a Jonin with far more battle experience, his mind was focused on one thing: *Finish the fight as fast as possible and go help your friends.*

But The moment he spotted the enemy from his perch in the tree he forcefully supressed all extra thoughts going in his mind and decided to fully focus on the battle ahead,

After formulating a simple plan in his mind, he threw a kunai fully coated in fire chakra, the aim was directly at the centre of the heart, something which would surely kill the jonin if landed. but His intent wasn't to land a hit but to create a distraction, an opportunity for a real attack.

As expected, the ninja sensed the kunai and dodged it. Kaida used that split second to appear behind the ninja with a wind-enhanced instantaneous movement and slashed downward with his fire chakra-coated sword. the attack was so fast and unexpected that Kaida was sure it would land, because even he himself will not be able to dodge such an attack, if the situation were reversed,

But, He was shocked to see the ninja dodge the attack with astonishing speed. What could have been a lethal blow only left a single wound on the Jonin.

'Well, he is a Jonin; I shouldn't have expected to kill him in one strike,' Kaida thought.

He began forming a fireball, and that's when he made eye contact with his enemy. The ninja suddenly started making hand signs. Although Kaida didn't need hand signs to create a fireball, it still took him two seconds to fully form and release it. He quickly completed the fireball and hurled it at the ninja.

Though the Jonin saw the fireball heading his way, he didn't evade or stop his hand signs. Just before the fireball was about to hit him, a *puff* of smoke appeared, and a massive smoke wall emerged in front of him, revealing an armadillo-like creature as the smoke cleared.

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'Damn, now he has a defense-type summon too. This just got trickier,' Kaida thought.

"Ugh, that hurts. Why the hell did you summon me, Kazuki?" the summoned creature grumbled.

"Toshi, this is important. The boy in front of us is strong; he's already injured me. We have to get rid of him at any cost. Just protect me the best you can, and I'll focus on offense," Kazuki replied.

Kaida wasn't about to let them form a plan. He quickly used wind instantaneous movement jutsu and appeared behind Kazuki. Knowing that a fireball was too predictable and that the enemy now had a shield in the form of his summon, Kaida unleashed several wind blades aimed at both Toshi and Kazuki. He was confident they would be hit since both were distracted.

But Toshi sensed the attack and used his shell to protect both himself and Kazuki. Kaida's wind blades were strong enough to slice through a one-inch-thick steel plate, but they couldn't penetrate Toshi's chakra-hardened scales.

Realizing that Toshi was hardening his scales with chakra, seeing such a defensive move, Kaida clicked his tongue as he anticipated a prolonged fight. He used wind instantaneous movement jutsu to create some distance between them. He quickly made a shadow clone and sent it toward Ryota and Yomi's location. Since the clone had 15% of his chakra, Kaida was confident it could handle the situation. Or at least become distraction in case the situation became too dire

Now, he could fully focus on his own fight. He used wind instantaneous movement jutsu once more to close the distance to Toshi. Knowing that his jutsu couldn't penetrate Toshi's defense, Kaida decided to rely on kenjutsu instead.

He coated his sword with fire chakra and engaged Toshi in close combat. Toshi defended with his claws but couldn't fend off all of Kaida's attacks and was slowly accumulating wounds.

Kazuki wanted to attack Kaida, but Kaida always positioned himself so that Toshi remained between them. Whenever Kazuki tried to create some distance, Kaida seized the opportunity to attack him.

Within just five minutes, Toshi was covered in minor injuries, even if he was covered in scales all over his body and was using Chakra to harden them further, Kaida was somehow able to chip those scales slowly, and during all this Kazuki hadn't landed a single blow on Kaida. Kazuki was certain that if Toshi weren't there, Kaida would have killed him already.

*Boom.*

Suddenly, a red smoke signal rose in the distance—a clear order to retreat from their leader. And since it was red, it meant their leader had no chance to escape himself.

"Toshi, I'm retreating. Just hold him off for a while, and I'll unsummon you once I'm at a safe distance," Kazuki said.

"Okay, but don't expect me to sacrifice my life to stop him," Toshi replied.

"Don't worry; I have no intention of killing you now that you're running with your tail between your legs. If you want to run, then run fast," Kaida taunted with a smirk. And a condescending look on his face, like he was looking a worm wriggling to save his life

Kazuki was angered by Kaida's words. It was a massive blow to his ego to run away from a boy One third of his age, especially that look making him feel like shit, he was very much tempted to show why he was a jonin, but he wasn't going to let his pride endanger his life.

Even though Kaida said he wouldn't attack, Kazuki kept Toshi summoned as he ran 2 kilometers away from Kaida. Meanwhile, Kaida and Toshi remained locked in a standoff, both ready to attack or defend at a moment's notice.

Once Kazuki was at a safe distance, he unsummoned Toshi, not wanting to lose his partner. He then continued running toward their temporary base. Now that their mission had failed, they needed to report back as quickly as possible.

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