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“We were just looking for Boruto,” Inojin lamented, looking down at the scene below. Mitsuki was talking with an older, white-haired man who, by the looks of it, knew Mitsuki personally.
“But, instead we wind up stumbling onto something real bad.” Shikadai finished, eyes glued to the interaction as well. His Nara mind was already analyzing the situation and putting together a strategy.
“So what now?” Inojin asked, his expression growing wary. The conversation wasn't loud -it was rather calm, but actually- but it left a weight in his bones.
“Well, first we have to-” Shikadai stopped, and Inojin tensed as cold finger came to rest at the back of both their heads. 'We couldn't even sense him!' They thought, silent panic sinking in.
“Move, and I’ll kill you.” It was a simple statement, but the way the man ("Mao", though they didn't know the name yet) said it -the slight pep of the last words, the spoken threat mixed with the silent promise of quick fulfillment- keptthe two boys in place.
Shikadai and Inojin shared a careful glance from the corner of their eyes. The words ‘What do we do now?’ flashing between them.
A ruffle of fabrics broke the suffocating moment, heralding Mitsuki’s arrival as he gracefully pulled himself onto the roof’s edge with an elongated limb.
Inojin and Shikadai stayed silent, with the cold fingers still pressed to their heads making it easy. More so when the use of a shunshin signaled the arrival of the other man, who was without a doubt a skilled shinobi.
Inojin’s sensor abilities, while still tense under the chilling finger, picked up a faint disturbance. 'Are there two chakra signatures coming from that man? Clones don’t have a different chakra signature from the original.' He thought to himself. Within sensing, he'd never hold a candle to his mom, but even he -no, every sensor worth their salt- could tell when there were multiple chakra signatures present. He tried to focus on the two foreign signatures, but wasn't able to separate them enough to be sure. It was as if they were two machines built from the same blueprint, but who each had seperate, minor adjustments.
“Quit messing with them. They’re my friends.” Mitsuki said, his voice even despite the situation.
“Oh, I know that,” the men to the side answered. “But he doesn’t.”
Silence stretched as realization dawned. ' "He"? Was the man who was talking to Mitsuki reffering to the clone? But, that doesn't make sense! Clones should have the exact same memories as the original. But if he referrd to it as 'he'...' Their stomachs dropped as the realization dawned on them. This wasn’t one man and a clone, like they’d thought. These were two separate men. Both of who were very real threats.
“Oh, by the way, Mitsuki,” The man spoke up again, his voice shockingly casual.
“This is the one I was just telling you about. My twin brother, Maogetsu Hozuki.”