“Here’s what I want you to do.”

He didn’t like the tone in the lazy bastard’s voice, but he listened anyway.

Shikamaru might’ve been lazy, but he was a pretty smart guy when he wanted to be. Kiba wouldn’t lose much by listening to him and if he didn’t like what he heard, doing his own thing was always an option. Besides, his team needed him. Their fancy jutsu were useful on a hunting team, but his ability to get stuff done was more important when it came down to it.

Kiba smirked to himself; he could do that and then some. “I’m all ears.”

They kneeled around an overgrowth beside the memorial stone where the jonin had ordered the start of the exercise.

“Last I checked, the range on Hinata’s Byakugan is about fifty metres, give or take, but it might be more than that, so make sure to stay out of its range.”

“Do you still have their scent?” asked Ino.

“Who d’ya think I am?” Kiba rolled his eyes. “Of course, I’ve got their scents.”

She frowned. “Well, how was I supposed to know? It’s not like I keep up to date on your weird—”

“Hey.” Shikamaru snapped his fingers. “We don’t have time for this. Knowing Naruto, he’s going to erase their scents pretty quickly if you don’t go now.”

Kiba’s smirk nearly slipped off his face. His other senses were good and following tracks was second nature to him, but he relied on his sense of smell more than he liked to admit. Akamaru yipped excitedly from on top of his head and he smiled. “That’s right, Akamaru. We’ll get to ‘em before they can do that.”

He clambered up a tree trunk, using some chakra alongside his stronger-than-average nails to quickly ascend its length.

“Kiba!”

Pausing before he could take off, Kiba looked down at his teammates.

“Remember what I told you,” said Shikamaru, a serious light to his usually uncaring brown eyes. “Don’t go wild and try to take them out. You’ll… what I’m trying to say is that we don’t need you to subdue them. Track them, see if you can figure out their plans and stuff.”

“Yeah, yeah, go on.” He waved his hand lazily but stopped for a moment to give them a confident thumbs up. “Go wrap this thing up. Kurenai-sensei said she’ll treat us to something good if we win.”

Ino and Shikamaru returned his gesture and darted out of the shrub, taking to the treetops and following Team 7’s quickly cooling trail. Kiba swaddled Akamaru into the front of his tracksuit, zipping it up about halfway.

“Alright, boy.” He perched on his hands and feet, mixing his chakra. “Here we go.”

Tracking a target in a forest was difficult for most people, but it was second nature for a natural-born tracker like Kiba. The dense foliage and uneven terrain was just another playground for him to explore. He breathed in deeply, drawing the forest's myriad scents, filtering out the familiar ones until he pinpointed Naruto's unique smell.

His scent was faint, masked by the damp earth and the heavy canopy above, but it was there, a thread for him to follow—the faint but distinctive blend of miso broth and soy sauce, mixed with the sweat from long hours of work. It was an unusual combination, but it made Naruto easier to track, even in the forest’s complex environment.

The smell of freshly cooked noodles and the occasional hint of garlic and ginger were embedded in his clothing, mixing with his body’s natural musk and allowing Kiba to follow Naruto with confidence. He sprang from branch to branch with Akamaru snug against his chest.

His ninja hound’s ears twitched, picking up subtle sounds Kiba might’ve missed, but together, they were an unbeatable tracking duo. His strong nails, enhanced by chakra, dug into the bark of the trees, providing an extra grip as he swung and leapt effortlessly.

Kiba paused, crouching low to the ground as they reached a small clearing. He closed his eyes and focused on his sense of smell. The air currents carried Naruto's scent, faint but undeniable, mixed in with two others that he found equally familiar.

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They really thought they could hide from him.

“Akamaru, let's move,” he whispered and darted forward, weaving through the trees with silent grace.

He picked up the sound of distant footsteps and shifted his path, angling his path to avoid them. Naruto was clever, always unpredictable, but Shikamaru had known him long enough to anticipate his tricks. He knew Naruto would try to throw off their scent and soon enough, his ears picked up the sounds of a nearby stream.

“I’ve finally gotcha,” he murmured, his movements swift but cautious.

The forest was alive with the sounds of birds and small animals. Kiba's senses filtered through the noise, focusing on the sounds of his quarry. Naruto was going to cross a stream to lose his scent so Kiba adjusted his path, moving parallel to the water and using the trees as cover.

The sudden silence around him made his instincts prickle. He listened intently, twitching at a faint rustling above, but before he could react, a massive shadow loomed overhead.

He’d realised he was being ambushed all too late.

With a thunderous roar, Choji descended from the treetops, his right arm expanded by the Multi-Size Jutsu. He crashed down like a living boulder, cratering the ground. Kiba dived to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed, but the force of Choji's landing sent shockwaves through the earth that threw him off balance.

“I didn’t get him!” Choji bellowed, his voice echoing through the trees.

Kiba rolled and sprang to his feet, his eyes wide with shock. “You're pretty fast!” he shouted, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Choji didn't give him a chance to recover. With surprising agility, he swung a massive arm, aiming to sweep Kiba off his feet with a growl. “Are you calling me fat, dog breath?”

“That’s right, tubby.” Kiba jumped back, but the sheer force of the wind from Choji's strike almost knocked him over. “Glad you figured it out.”

The Akimichi bull-rushed him, his right arm once again ballooning in size. Faint blue wisps coated the limb and Kiba realised that being anywhere near it was a bad idea.

“This isn't good,” Kiba muttered, his mind racing. He needed to fall back and come up with a new strategy. Akamaru barked urgently from within his windbreaker, sensing danger. Kiba put as much distance between them as possible, throwing two smoke bombs at Choji and tossing another behind him.

With the added cover, he had the advantage for now.

“He’s three metres to your right, Choji,” came Hinata’s voice from somewhere above.

He cursed, blitzing through his hand seals with a greater sense of urgency. They were meant to be the hunting team yet here he was, being hunted by his own quarry. Finishing his hand seals with determined finality, he fed Akamaru a food pill and popped another into his mouth.

The consequences would suck but he needed every advantage he could get.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head at the pleasant strength surging through his body. Kiba clenched his hands into fists, mindful of his longer claws and smirked at the visible chakra trails wafting off his body. Akamaru growled from beside him in human form, vibrating with bloodthirsty tension.

They roared in unison, launching themselves into twin spinning drills, aiming directly for Choji, who braced himself for impact. Hinata gave an alarmed cry but it was too late—she’d never make it in time.

Just as they were about to make contact, a powerful gust slammed into them. It wasn’t enough to stop the jutsu, but it knocked Kiba off course. They crashed to the ground, rolling to a stop. Akamaru returned to his dog form, knocked out cold. Kiba was in a slightly better state; he shook his head and stumbled to his feet.

Another gust of wind surged forward, kicking up debris and forcing Kiba to shield his eyes. He barely had time to react as Naruto descended from the treetops.

“Fucking hell!” Kiba growled.

He jumped to the side, avoiding another blast of wind, but Naruto was relentless. He leaned back, clapping his hands together to gather a vast amount of chakra, and threw his upper body forward, spewing an even more powerful gust out of his mouth.

It ripped through the forest, tearing at the ground, and sent Kiba crashing into a tree. He was seeing stars and by the time he managed to react, Choji was already closing in, using two massive arms to barrel through the forest. He swung one enlarged arm with incredible force, aiming to finish him off.

Kiba struggled to his feet but his entire body screamed in protest. He knew he couldn’t afford to take another hit, especially from Choji, so he slipped his fingers into the pouch at his back and removed two smoke bombs.

“Choji, duck!” Naruto's blue eyes were alight with fierce determination.

Reacting a second too late, Kiba grunted as a concentrated blast of wind landed square on his chest. He sailed across the ground, each collision rattling his very bones until his efforts to stop sent him tumbling. He tried to push himself up, but his limbs weren’t responding.

Akamaru was barking desperately, but the sound was faded, muffled by the ringing in his ears.

“Sorry, Kiba,” said Naruto, his voice echoing in the haze. “We don’t have any time to waste here.”

Choji loomed over him, his shadow casting a dark silhouette. Kiba's mind and heart raced but his body refused to respond, so he was forced to watch Choji's fist descend.

He didn’t feel its impact.