"GET BACK HERE YOU IGA DOG!"
That was what one of the men shouted out, While Akira was making her way to somewhere deeper into the forest.
She wanted to use the terrain to help her and if possible the local wildlife!
Akira threw a couple more rocks as hard as she could towards her chasers.
This time, however, one of her pebbles ended up hitting something rather significant as a loud grunt followed~.
"GuOOOH! Kill that bastard! shit my left nut!"
The last part was a mutter but thanks to the darkness and location it was enough for everyone to hear it.
That was purely accidental, but it was still funny to hear it!
Meanwhile, she breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth to keep control of her breathing.
The character was still didn't have any 'skills', so right now Akira was using her knowledge and habits from when she was escaping her bullies.
When in a forest, never run upright make full use of the bushes and trees to lose your pursuers.
Before you ask, Yes, she was running using the 'naruto' style.
But it was working well, the only problem was the two extra weights that got brushed by the bushes and made it hard to maintain her balance!
On the bright, Akira was able to lose them, after an hour, she now hiding up in one of the trees, breathing heavily from the escape, her skin glistening from the sweat while maintaining her vigilance.
The girl was taking slow breaths to lessen the noise one makes when gasping for air.
These are men that managed to harm an Iga ninja, so they should have tricks of their own.
Their angry voices sounded farther away, but the bushes some distance below rustled causing her to prepare to run again, this person had a Wakizashi strapped to his side while holding a bow and arrow as his eyes scanned his surroundings.
Luckily for Akira, it was currently dark and the tree she chose had a lot of leaves that blocked out any moonlight!
The Future Kunoichi slowly drew the rusty blade taken from the patient in the cave.
The archer wore no armor, just a hat that looked like a boat, and padded clothes that wouldn't hinder his aim, he looked like a typical Japanese archer of this timeline.
The man grumbled.
"I told them to slow down, but Noooo, one of the idiots went ballistic when his brother lost one of his testicles from that sneak attack from the Iga rappai." (A/N old term for shinobis)
That wasn't exactly true, sure the rock might've busted it up, but since they assumed the attacker was an Iga rappai, they believed that the hit wasn't as simple as it seemed, as those of Iga tend to use all sorts of tools much more so than others!
The archer's eyes looked around with every step.
It turns out his buddies had left him.
Whether it was an accident or not, this might be the best time to deal with one of them.
The man continued to grumble as he reached the location right under where Akira was, who was almost hyperventilating due to adrenaline, and this was going to be her first enemy to kill.
Thankfully, her excitement didn't pull the archer's attention to the branches above and the man was too busy grumbling to himself which lowered his vigilance even more.
Due to how realistic things felt, for a moment, Akira paused, thinking along the lines that she was going to kill someone!
It was hard not to think that as the realism of the game worked well in tricking the gamer's mind, even now her heart felt like it was about to explode and the burning sensation in her lungs felt so real that it felt like Akira was living as another person in this world.
But that stray thought quickly disappeared as the man was within range and about to leave it.
All thoughts of not doing anything to the man or not killing him already brought about some dark ideas as to what COULD happen if she was the one to fall.
If this person wasn't taken care of, it'll bite her in the ass later.
Thus after taking one deep breath and then holding it in, she tightened her hands around the rusty ninjato grip before quietly falling off the branch.
It was almost natural for her one moment before she felt the disturbing feeling of her blade digging into the flesh of the clueless man.
"Huehlak?"
The man reacted with a huh at first, but the sudden damage to his brain changed his words to a more strange sound as death quickly followed.
Through the top of his head, the blade entered, and out of the chin, the tip exited.
The man turned rigid as her weight was still light enough not to cause him to collapse as the man's body reflexively resisted her drop on him.
It was quick, and it was painless before she placed one foot near where the blade punctured through before pulling as the body fell to the ground.
Blood dyed her body and clothes red, as her stomach churned from the feeling the blade gave her before, and the odd thrill that filled her body at this action made Akira disgusted with herself.
But she quickly shook her head of those thoughts and collected her spoils before the blood attracted the other men or the animals, all while resisting the urge to gag.
With an oak short bow, and 44 arrows, the man had some 'mon' on his body, giving Akira a total of 27 mons.
She stripped him of his outer clothes taking the bloodstained top, his hakama, then the straw sandals.
Akira didn't bother taking any of the man's underwear, nor did she collect the hat, as it had a clan logo on it.
It had a representation of a Roxanne Autumn Bellflower, and this was the Kouka insignia.
That would explain their unbridled hostility towards the Iga clan members!
"I need to get out of here fast!"
Akira muttered under her breath, finally understanding how dangerous this was for her now.
Kouka ninjas were part of the leading clans in the shadows.
With one of their nicknames being 'Wind demons,' they attack as swiftly as the wind leaving only death and fear behind in their wake!
But the only group that could rival them was the Iga clan, which specialized in taijutsu and weaponry!
At least that's what most of the books said about these two groups being here in this game, there was a chance of it being very different.
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In the Distance, on top of one of the highest trees that acted as the best vantage point, two individuals were wearing dark garbs as they keenly watched the 'exploits' of the retreating girl.
One of them spoke with a deep and gruff tone.
"This one seems like a promising seedling, is this child one of the reserves?"
A cold feminine voice replied.
"Yes, she is the one that was given to that herbalist Jin as a 'thank you' for saving our younger generation from the epidemic over a decade ago."
The man nodded, then added.
"If she manages to escape and reach back to her hideout, send her an invitation to the clan. We'll need all the help we can get to deal with the Kouka bastards and their lackeys."
The woman asked.
"And if she does otherwise?"
The man simply stared at the woman for the dumb question with an obvious answer.
She bowed her head while replying.
"Understood."
Then her body disappeared from that location, being more than a few meters away, heading closer to the 'promising kunoichi.'
The man muttered to himself.
"Our clan has no use for weaklings and cowards!"
He snorted and then left the area.
As for why the man had set such a condition?
With them being up in one of the highest trees, the two shinobis got a clear view of just how bad the situation was for Akira.
It wasn't that they lost her, but rather they had fully encircled the girl's location and were about to begin their assault at the cost of one of their weak links!