Chapter 28
AKIHITO SHIRAHOSHI
Akihito and his men raced through the countryside as they headed straight for the border of the Mahiro lands.
Shinohara-san rode with him as Tachiayama-san had moved towards the central flank, leading the army there.
Trenches had been dug as the Mahiro men huddled back behind wooden barricades, as Akihito kicked his horse lightly, making it go faster as he pushed himself down.
"Shinohara-san," he commanded, and the old man nodded.
"Leave it to me," and with that, he pushed himself further, as he reached for his blade as he took out his sword, and swung it wildly.
"Ninpo: Dragon's scythe," and with that, a massive blade erupted from his blade, cutting through the air and the wooden fortifications to force them to go into the trenches.
"Forward!" he shouted as he pulled on the reins and made his horse jump over the initial line of enemy forces, as arrows bounced off the armor on his horse. As he was in the air, he pushed himself off the horse as he gripped his blade, and pushed chakra into it.
"Ninpo: World Cleaver!" he shouted as he swung it with all his might at the row of archers aiming at him, and even though few realized the danger they were in and tried to get away.
But they were too late.
CHING!
His attack cut through them, cleaving the initial two rows of men into two and dyed the whole ground red as he landed on the ground and began moving forward once more.
Shinohara-san was in command of the army and would be able to lead the men adequately, but this time, they had to bring down the enemy guard towers rather quickly, and she rushed towards the massive wooden structure, evading and cutting through the small number of men that got in his way.
The guards around the station realized the futility of their struggle yet still grit their teeth as they lunged at him.
"AHHHH!" as one of the men brought down his sword, he evaded to the right, quickly slashing across his gut before parrying the next one strike and using his foot to push him to the ground, as he kicked away his blade.
They tried to attack from behind, but he was father, jumping to the right as he sheathed his blade.
"NINPO: Wind Cutter!" he said as he blade gleamed a gentle green as a slash cut through the three men.
Akihito looked around and saw his men breaking through the enemy lines; the enemy centre had fallen, and his cavalry had emerged victorious with what seemed to be minimal losses.
The battle strategy had been somewhat dangerous, yet they couldn't afford to lose men so early into the war, for that was bad for both morale and logistics.
He looked ahead and could see the last of the two men stepping back in fear as they realized that they had lost the battle, and as he twisted his blade, they dropped their weapons and began to run away towards the distant fortress, which was their primary target.
The massive watch tower was now without any protection, and he took a deep breath as he pushed back his sword into the sheath and pushed his chakra into the blade. Despite the liberal use of chakra, the truth was that he was being very careful with the amount he used, for he knew he couldn't push himself to dangerously low levels in this case, for the war was not going to stop anytime soon, and though his forces were strong enough losing him would be a disaster for them.
"Ninpo:..." he began as the sword began to glow, and he dug his feet into the ground, and then it happened, as his senses screamed at him, and he rotated on the foot and pushed his blade out with all his might
"....Word Cleaver!" he shouted, as he swung it at the air, and a massive slash erupted through the air, blowing away the kunai headed his way and cleaving a man ten paces behind him into two.
"Shit!" he heard the man gasp, as the blade cut him into two, as Akihito saw his form shift in a puff of smoke, as instead of a regular Mahiro soldier appeared a masked nin, the ceramic mask shaped in the form of a peacock.
And then, before he could process it all, he felt his hair prick up once more as he jumped to the side and saw half a dozen senbon hit the ground just where he had been standing, as he felt another person rush towards him.
He raised his sword and blocked the Kunai attack. Another masked nin appeared in front of him, and his heart raced.
"Shinohara-san!" he shouted for help as he pushed back the nin, and deflected the senbon aimed at him, unsuccessfully as one of them escaped his defense and hit his thigh. Making him wince in pain.
And then, before he could react, he felt another presence behind him, and then before he could turn to face it, he saw light glimmer behind him, as lightning flashed right infront of his eyes.
"AGHHH!" the nin behind him collapsed to the ground in an instant, his arm cut off, showering him with blood when the yellowish blur vanished once more, and then a sound of painful screaming came from behind him, making him look back and he saw the dead body of the masked nin trying to attack him lying on the ground, as a new person stood over it.
He was dressed in a blue uniform with the iconic jounin flash jacket, and his bright yellowish hair stood out as the man titled his head and looked at him with those piercing blue eyes of him, looking through him as if all his secrets lay bare in front of that piercing gaze.
Akihito didn't miss how the man's gaze lingered on his sword for a second more before it shifted to his face.
"I believe you must be Lord Akihito Shirahoshi, the jito of Shinoi and the commander of the attacking army?" he questioned, and Akihito nodded.
"Indeed, I am," Akihito replied as he sheathed his blade, already having an inkling of what was set to happen.
"I am..." and Akihito cut in.
"I know who you are, Namikaze-san," Akihito cut in and saw the man's features soften as he nodded.
"Good, then I am afraid that I will need you and your forces to pull back from these lands," he replied, just as he had expected.
According to the laws, if a lord or his retainers were found guilty or suspected of acts of a treasonous nature, as in this case when the man sought the aid of shinobi to kill him, the shinobi village in question was bound to intervene, and stop the act.
Then, the lands of the said lord were sealed and went under the supervision of the Fire Temple until the daimyo of the land decided on their fate.
"I shall give my command," he said as he turned to face his men.
"And my lord," the yellow haired shinobi called from behind, making him turn back to face him.
"When the war is over, I believe you and I need to sit down for a talk," he said, and Akihito nodded.
"I believe the same," and with that, he turned away and looked towards his men and shouted with all his might.
"EVERYONE!!!!!! THE BATTLE IS OVER!"
0000
DANZO SHIMURA
Danzo Shimura sat in his house as the skies turned dark, and the night spread its fleeting arms. The whole village mourned the loss of the daimyo, yet those old enough and smart enough to realize the implications of his death held their breaths as they waited for the news about who would rise to the throne next.
For while the daimyo held little control over the affairs of a hidden village, one would be foolish to ignore their importance. Leaf had been blessed with daimyo mindful enough to work hand in hand with a kage rather than those of some other villages, such as Kirigakure and Kazegakure.
And then suddenly, he felt the seals around his house trip, as he felt the chakra signatures of ROOT operatives guarding him vanish one by one, as his house was surrounded by two dozen or so chakra signatures, two of which he recognised rather quickly.
He reached for his cane and was up on his feet as his heart raced.
It couldn't be, he thought as he moved towards the door and slid it open and was greeted by the sight of the Senju Princess standing outside his house along with the leader of the Konoha's Police force, and leader of the Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha as bodies of his nins lay there on the ground, some dead others immobilized.
"What is the meaning of this!" he shouted, as he stepped out onto the porch, as he looked the Senju Princess in her eyes.
"Do you have any idea that what you are doing is treason?" he threatened, as he let go of his own chakra and focused it onto the blonde infront, yet Tsunade didn't shift as she continued to look him in the eye, unbothered by his allegations and prowess as he looked on impassively.
"Shimura Danzo," she finally opened her mouth as her own chakra roared forward, clashing against his with all its might.
"By the treaty signed between the First Kage and the Daimyo, I declare you a traitor to Konoha and the land of fire," she roared, and he felt himself still as his eyes narrowed.
He was right. This was about that.
"Stand down...." she roared as his grip over his cane tightened, as her chakra overpowered his own and clashed with the walls of a wooden house, cracking the very ground and his house as she finished ominously.
"....or Die!"
Before he could say anything or do anything, someone else appeared, their chakra roaring like no other, overpowering even Tsunade's as a tight and sharp voice cut in.
"What is going on here?"
Hiruzen was here!
0000
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