The late wife of the daimyo, Lady Yume, sat on a plush chair in her darkened chamber, drumming her long, polished nails against the wood of the armrest. She had just received the news from her spies in the Land of Hot Water—a message that sent a surge of anger through her veins.
"The entire squad? Dead?" she hissed, her voice a venomous whisper.
The messenger knelt in front of her, trembling slightly. "Y-Yes, my lady. The Chinoike clan is on the move, and the group you sent to stop them has been… wiped out."
Lady Yume's lips curled into a snarl, her eyes narrowing in fury. "How is that possible? I sent well-trained ninjas and samurai! Those worthless outcasts shouldn't have been able to resist them, let alone defeat them."
The messenger swallowed hard, his forehead pressed against the floor. "The reports say… they weren't alone. A group from the Land of Wind is helping them. A man named Shiba, along with two powerful warriors."
"Shiba?" Yume repeated, her voice dripping with malice. "Who is this fool who dares to interfere in my business?"
"I-I'm not sure, my lady. But the spies say he's powerful. He has strange abilities."
Yume rose from her chair in a sudden, fluid motion, her long robes flowing behind her as she moved to the window overlooking her estate. The moonlight cast an eerie glow on her face, highlighting the cold fury that radiated from her.
"That accursed clan has been a stain on the Land of Lightning for too long," she muttered, more to herself than to the messenger. "I will not allow them to escape my grasp. They deserve to rot in that pit forever, and I will not let some upstart from Suna undo what I've worked so hard to maintain."
She turned sharply, her eyes gleaming with dangerous intent. "Send word to my elites. I want my finest jonin-level ninjas and the most skilled samurai at my disposal. I don't care what it takes. This Shiba and his band of misfits must be eliminated, and the Chinoike clan will be dragged back to where they belong."
The messenger looked up, his voice trembling with fear. "But, my lady… is it wise to send all the ninjas to your disposal?"
Yume's eyes darkened, and she stepped closer to the messenger, her presence suffocating. "Wise? Do you question my judgment?" she asked, her voice low and dangerous.
"N-No, my lady! I only—"
"Silence!" she snapped. "The Chinoike belong to me. It doesn't matter where they run. And this Shiba… whoever he is, he will learn the price of meddling in matters that don't concern him."
She turned away, her hands clasped behind her back as she stared out into the night. "Tell my elites they have one job. Stop the Chinoike, kill anyone who stands in their way, and bring me the heads of those who dared to interfere."
"Yes, my lady. Right away."
The messenger scrambled to his feet and rushed out of the chamber, eager to carry out her orders and avoid her wrath.
Lady Yume stood in the quiet darkness, her mind calculating the next move. She wasn't just going to send any squad. No, this time she would unleash her best. The high-ranking jonin and samurai under her command were ruthless and efficient, trained to kill without mercy. They would make sure that Shiba and his companions wouldn't live to see Suna, let alone protect the Chinoike.
A cold smile crept onto her face as she imagined the look of despair on the faces of her enemies. "Run all you want," she whispered to herself. "But you cannot escape the hand of fate."
The Chinoike clan was hers. And she was going to make sure they never forgot it.
[10 minutes after]
We hadn't even made it halfway across the border when more trouble found us. It was as if the entire Land of Lightning was determined to make sure the Chinoike clan never made it out of that hellhole.
We'd barely caught up with the migrating clan when Erza spotted another group in the distance. This time, they weren't just ninjas. There were samurai too. Armored, disciplined, and carrying those deadly-ass katanas. Fucking great.
"They're not letting this go, are they?" Erza muttered, wiping sweat from her brow, her eyes narrowing at the incoming threat.
Zoro grinned, the idea of more fighting getting him all excited. "Looks like they've got some real fighters this time. This might actually be fun."
I sighed, cracking my neck as I prepared myself. "Yeah, fun. Let's just make sure they don't slow us down. The Chinoike are counting on us."
The clan had been moving steadily but cautiously, and I couldn't blame them. They were leaving behind generations of history, no matter how miserable it had been. But now, with another fucking group of enemies on the horizon, I had no choice but to deal with it.
The samurai and ninjas approached fast, their weapons gleaming in the sunlight. They were dead serious, not like the idiots we dealt with earlier. This was a proper force, sent to crush any hope the Chinoike had of leaving.
"Shiba," Erza called out, "you gonna go full power this time?"
I glanced at her, feeling that familiar twinge of power course through me. "You bet your ass I am."
The moment the samurai and ninjas were close enough, I didn't hesitate. I slammed my hands into the ground, tapping into the druid abilities I'd been honing. The earth responded instantly, vines shooting up from the ground, wrapping around the feet of our attackers, pulling them back. It was just the beginning.
"Nature Style: Binding Thorns!" I growled, sending out sharp, thick thorns through the vines, skewering a few of the bastards who didn't see it coming. Blood splattered across the sand as the attackers tried to free themselves, but the more they struggled, the tighter the vines gripped them.
"Holy shit," Zoro laughed, watching the chaos unfold. "Remind me not to piss you off."
But the ninjas weren't so easy to pin down. One of them, a fast bastard, managed to leap out of the way of my vines and come straight at me with a kunai. I dodged, barely avoiding the sharp blade, and sent a burst of wind his way, knocking him off balance. He rolled across the sand, coughing, but before he could get up, I was on him.
"Druid Wind Style: hurricane Breakthrough!" I yelled, blasting him with a gust of wind so strong it sent him flying into one of his comrades.
Erza and Zoro were handling the samurai. Erza's sword clashed against theirs in a flurry of sparks and steel, her speed and strength making quick work of anyone who cross her. Zoro, on the other hand, looked like he was having the time of his life, cutting through the enemy with a savage grin on his face, his three swords moving in perfect sync.
Meanwhile, I turned my attention to a group of ninjas who were trying to flank us. Oh no, you don't.
" Druid Earth Style: Quicksand !" I slammed my hands into the ground again, and the earth beneath the ninjas began to shift. In seconds, they were sinking into the sand, struggling to get free. I watched as they thrashed, their faces going pale as they realized what was happening.
"Shit," one of them cursed, trying to form hand seals to counter the technique, but it was too late. The sand swallowed them up, leaving nothing but a few kunai and shuriken scattered on the surface.
Just when I thought we had the upper hand, one of the samurai leaders stepped forward. He was taller than the others, his armor gleaming in the sun, and his katana was drawn, the blade glinting dangerously. He pointed it at me, a look of pure rage on his face.
"You are courting death!" he shouted. "You think your tricks will save you? I'll cut you down where you stand!"
I smirked, letting my power surge again. "You can try, asshole."
He charged, his katana slicing through the air, but I was ready. With a wave of my hand, I summoned a massive wall of earth, blocking his attack. His blade crashed against it with a deafening clang, but I didn't stop there.
"Nature Style: Thorn Barrage!" I called out, sending a wave of razor-sharp thorns toward him. He dodged some of them, but a few caught him in the shoulder and leg, drawing blood.
The samurai leader gritted his teeth and powered through the pain, coming at me again with another swing of his katana. This time, I met him head-on, drawing my elder dragon bone katana and blocking his strike with a loud clang of metal on metal. The force of the blow sent a jolt through my arm, but I held firm.
He was strong, no doubt about it, but I wasn't going to let him have the upper hand. I pushed him back with a quick burst of strength, then unleashed a flurry of slashes, each one aimed with precision. He blocked most of them, but I could see the cracks in his defense starting to show.
"Is this all you've got?" I taunted, my blade clashing with his again.
He roared in frustration, swinging wildly, but I easily sidestepped his attacks, countering with a swift slash across his chest. Blood splattered onto the sand, and the samurai staggered back, clutching the wound.
"You… bastard," he gasped, his eyes wide with rage and pain.
I grinned, raising my sword for the finishing blow. "Told you. You picked the wrong fight."
Before I could strike, though, the remaining ninjas and samurai, realizing their leader was down, started to retreat. Zoro and Erza had wiped out the rest of their forces, and the few survivors were smart enough to know when they were beat.
I lowered my sword, watching as they fled into the distance. Good riddance.
Zoro walked up beside me, wiping the blood from one of his blades. "That was a good warm-up."
Erza sheathed her sword, glancing at the retreating enemies. "Think that's the last of them?"
"For now," I said, rolling my shoulders and sheathing my katana. "But we can't stay here. They'll send more. We need to keep moving."
The Chinoike clan had seen the whole thing, their eyes wide with a mix of fear and awe. I didn't blame them. Most of them had never seen this kind of fight before.
"We're almost there," I called out to the elders. "Let's not waste any more time. Suna's waiting."
And with that, we pressed on, leaving the battlefield behind us.
AN:more powers stones = more chapters please and thank you