The Unknown Goddess: A Naruto Fan-fic

Chapter 24

A kunai zipped past Athena's cheek as she landed on the ground. She sighed and turned to face her chasers. It was her second day on her mission and she had run into some trouble in the form of chunin level ninja. She couldn't tell which village they were from. They had no headband and if they did it was hidden. Their ninja outfit weren't traditional and didn't belong to any of the village. Incognito to the T. Athena did not need to question them to know they were after the scroll she was entrusted with. She had noticed them following her at some point. Picked up on their chakra and determined that she was their objective. She pretended not to notice. She played the naive child. Of course at some point she had to run. Oh, but she was most definitely not running away. Athena would not run. She just ran when they started running.

Well she stopped and was facing them now. She held a neutral expression as she reached for a weapon in her pouch. They were watching her every movement.

"Don't do something you'll regret kid" the head ninja finally spoke as he spun a kunai around his finger. Athena raised an eyebrow as her hand hovered just above her pouch.

"You're just a kid. We don't want to hurt you. All you need to do is hand over that scroll" another said.

Athena knew better. They could care less about her age and experience. They would harm her. They would kill her. No one is to he trusted. No ninja is to be trusted. She must always see through deceptions. Always remain one step ahead. Always plan. Always gather information.

Her hand went into her pouch and the kunai was thrown. She reacted quickly and drew her own kunai, using it to reflect the one thrown at her. She spun her own around her finger as she drew five shuriken. She smiled, very brightly and very innocently.

"Wanna play? "

Her five shuriken were airborne in an instant. The ninja dodged only to find she was not present anymore. They were distracted for a moment. Not even three seconds. Where could she have gone?

There was a grunt as one of their comrades fell to the ground. They were on high alert. They underestimated their opponent. She may be a child but she knew what she was doing. She easily took one of them down without being spotted. Who was this kid? All they were tasked with was locating and retrieving the scroll from her. They thought it would be no trouble. The child was eight.

How wrong they were.

Another grunt and another comrade fell. The remaining three drew their weapons. They needed to locate the child quickly or their mission would be unsuccessful. They would have failed because of a child. That could not happen.

Another ninja dropped and the last two realized standing around was doing them no good but what could they do? Run? If they did they would be abandoning the mission. Maybe they could draw the child deeper into the forest. Distract and attack.

One remained. He knew there was nothing he could do. The child was fast. He didn't even see her when she struck the others.

"And then there was one"

The ninja jumped when he heard a voice behind him. He spun around weapon drawn ready to strike when Athena jabbed him in the gut before he could do much. The kunai fell from his hand and he tumbled to the ground clutching his stomach in pain. He didn't know what the child did but it was painful. He was brought down to Athena's height and she looked him dead in the eye.

"Who sent you? "

He said nothing. He would not talk. It's bad enough he failed the mission if he talked it would only make things worse. It didn't matter that he could die at any moment.