Chosuke knelt beside the dying samurai, tears streaming uncontrollably, "You'll be fine," he whispered, his voice trembling . "the medics will come. They'll save you. You just have to hold on.
The sarurai coughed weakly, blood staining his lips. His smile was soft, almost serene "No. boy. he murmured, his voice barely audible. "I've spent my life taking lives. This is how I want to go. Saving someone.. for once."
His eyes closed, and his chest stilled "No! No, please dont leave me!" Chosuke sobbed, shaking the lifeless body.
His grief was interupted by a deafening explosion that sent him hurtling backward.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Hitosashi standing over the remains of the samurai, blasting his body into burnt fragments. "Stop it... Don't hurt him!" Chosuke roared, rising to his feet.
He charged forward, tears of rage bluring his vision . His fist collided with Hitosashi's jaw, the impact loud enough to crack bone. Hitosashi staggered back, blood dripping from his mouth.
"You bastard!" Hitosashi screamed, forming seals with a single hand before releasing a powerful explosion that flung Chosuke across the battlefield. Chosuke hit the ground hard, his body screaming in pain. His vision blurred, and his confidence shattered "I can't do this...I'm going to die here."
He stumbled to his feet, tears streaming as he turned and ran. "Help! Someone, please help me!" he cried, his voice hoarse. His legs barely carried him, exhaustion dragging him down. He tripped and fell his face hitting the dirt as he sobbed uncontrollably.
Hitosashi's laughter echoed. "This is the great Akimichi clan? Pathetic!" The man approached, his voice dripping with mockery. "What's your worth, huh? Why do innocents die because of YOU? What purpose do you even serve other than being the reason innocents die? You damn failure!"
Hitosashi grabbed Chosuke by the hair, yanking his head up. Chosuke whimpered, unable to fight back.
"You're a joke!" Hitosashi spat, raising his hand, chakra flaring for a killing blow
Before the strike landed, Hitosashi's arm was severed in a flash. Blood spurtied as the man screamed in agony.
Shinichi stood there, his blade dripping with crimson, cradling Chosuke in his other am. His face was stoic, but tears glistened in his eyes.
"Sensei," Chosuke gasped, his voice broken. "I'm sorry. I'm weak.. I ran
Shinichi-sensei."
Shinichi placed a hand on his head, silencing him. "No, Chosuke. I failed. I failed to prepare you for this. I failed to protect the team. This isn't your fault."
Chosuke saw the storm of anger and grief on Shinichi's face as he wiped his tears. He stepped forward, turning his attention to Hitosashi, who clutched his stump and cursed Shinichi.
"You dare mock my students?" Shinichi's voice was deathly calm as he reached Hitosashi. With brutal movements, he severed the man's remaining arm,
Hitosashi shrieked, curses spilling from his mouth, but Shinichi didn't flinch. He grabbed one of the bandit's legs, puling out a crude, blunt knife from his pack.
Slowly and deliberately, he began hacking at the limb "Stopl STOP please don't!" Hitosashi begged, his voice raw with pain.
Shinichi's voice was cold. "I failed the mission. I won't fail to bring you and your partner's kekkei genkai back to the village. If I can't ensure my team's safety, I'll ensure this."
Chosuke watched in horror as shinichi methodically maimed Hitosashi, the screams chilling his soul. He turned his gaze and saw Kusuri, alive. Her laughter was manic, fueled by pain and hatred, but Shinichi walked toward her next, unflinching.
Shinichi's fury, his relentless violence, and the cold efficiency in his actions left an indelible mark on Chosuke. The horrors of a man with nothing left to lose unfolded before his eyes
Shinichi tied the unconscious Hitosashi and Kusuri securely to the back of his largest hawk, whispering commands for it to take them to Konoha alongside a detailed mission report.
The hawk spread its massive wings and ascended into the sky. He then glanced at Chosuke, who was barely standing, and helped him onto his back.
"We're heading to the village near the Land of Rivers' border. Hold on," Shinichi muttered.
---
Meanwhile, miles away, Kaito moved swiftly through the forest. The branches whipped past him as he pushed himself to his limits.
'I can't be late,' he thought, his mind racing. 'If anything happens to Inoko, I'll never forgive myself.'
Suddenly, Kaito noticed a distinct footprint on a tree above him. He skidded to a halt, his senses sharpening. Moving closer, he inspected the mark.
The cracked bark and fresh sap suggested someone had landed here recently with considerable force. His heart pounded as he scanned the surroundings for other signs of movement.
Voices caught his attention. He quickly melted into the foliage, his green and black attire blending seamlessly with the dense leaves. Peering through the branches, Kaito saw two shinobi, their headbands clearly marked with the symbol of Sunagakure. They appeared young, perhaps his age or even younger.
Kaito's mind raced. 'Sand shinobi? What are they doing here?' He considered his options, weighing the risks of confrontation. Ultimately, he decided to observe quietly and gather information.
The two shinobi conversed casually, their tone irritated.
"This is ridiculous," one complained, kicking a loose branch. "Why does Konoha get all the missions? Even from countries like the Land of Rivers? What do they think we are, their leftovers?"
The other grunted in agreement. "It's not fair. And now we're stuck cleaning up some bandit camp because they demanded it."
Kaito's heart sank. 'A mission to deal with a bandit camp? That might be connected to what's happening near Inoko.'
Realizing the potential danger, Kaito decided to retreat before they noticed him. He shifted his weight silently, preparing to leave, but the sharp-eyed shinobi caught a flicker of movement in the distance.
"Wait!" the shinobi hissed, narrowing his eyes. "Something moved over there."
"Where?" his teammate asked, drawing a kunai.
"There!" He pointed toward Kaito's position.
Kaito's pulse quickened. He moved swiftly and silently, retreating deeper into the trees, but the shinobi were already on his trail. "Don't let him escape!" one of them shouted as they began their pursuit.
As Kaito sprinted through the dense forest, he felt a sudden sting on his leg. Glancing down, he saw a shallow cut beginning to bleed. His eyes darted back to see the shinobi closing in. 'They're using jutsu now,' he realized grimly, pushing himself harder.
Dne of the shinobi, the taller of the two, called out, "Jiro, keep the pressure on him!" He began weaving hand signs for a wind-based jutsu. Kaito quickly responded, forming his own seals and launching a fireball at him. The fire roared toward the shinobi, forcing him to leap into the air.
As the enemy tried to evade, Kaito smirked and manipulated the flames, using Inoko's Fire Style: Homing Ember. The firebal twisted mid-air, now tracking the shinobi relentlessly.
"Seriously?" Jiro growled as he was forced to abandon the chase. He flipped through hand signs to create a small wind blade to slice the fireball in half before landing.
Meanwhile, the shorter shinobi, Yuma, smirked as he unfurled a scroll. A puff of smoke erupted, revealing a puppet with gleaming spikes for hands. The puppet's movements were smooth and calculated, its hands dripping a viscous liquid. Kaito's sharp eyes caught the glistening droplets. 'Poison. Of course.'
Reaching into his pouch, Kaito quickly retrieved a packet of antidotes. He clutched it tightly, mentally thanking Satoru for the foresight to equip him with these. 'He really thought of everything' Kaito mused before snapping back to focus.
Yuma directed his puppet to lunge at Kaito, its spiked hands swinging fangerously close. Kaito leapt back narrowly dodging a thrust aimed at his torso. The puppet struck again, its clawed hands grazing a nearby tree and leaving it scarred with corrosive poison. The reprieve didn't last.
Jiro, having finally destroyed the homing freball, lunged at Kaito from behind Tackling him mid-air, they both tumbled into the forest floor Jiro smirked, kunai in hand, aiming for kaito's throat.
Kaito twisted his body, kicking Jiro off and rolling to his feet He launched a flury of smaller fireballs, forcing both enemies to react. Yuma controlled his puppet to shield him, while Jiro deflected the fireballs with wind-enhanced kunai throws.
'Damn it, they're relentless.' Kalto thought, breathing heavily He tried retreating again but realized that the two shinobi had boxed him in.
"Looks like running isn't an option anymore," Yuma sneered, his puppet advancing menacingly. Kaito's eyes narowed as he stood his ground. "Fine" he muttered. "If I can't escape, I'll burn you both to ash.
With a deep breath, Kaito weaved hand seals once more, summoning a larger, more intense fireball.
Kaito stood amidst the blazing fireballs revolving around him, keeping Yuma's puppet and Jiro at bay. The spiked-armed puppet lunged forward, its limbs spinning at dangerous speeds. Kaito quickly hurled a volley of fireballs at it, charring the wooden joints. The puppet staggered back, its movements slowing as smoke rose from its damaged parts.
Jiro, seizing the opportunity attempted a sneak attack. With a kunai in hand, he crept closer, his confidence swelling as Kaito appeared too focused on the puppet. However, his grin quickly disappeared as Kaito completed a set of hand signs.
"Earth Style: Earth Spikes!" Kaito shouted, The ground beneath Jiro erupted, and a sharp earthen spike shot up, tearing through his foot. Jiro screamed and leapt back, glaring at kaito as the impact left him in pain.
Meanwhile, Yuma unveiled two more puppets. One was a huking gorilla-shaped construct that exuded brute strength, while the other resembled a bird , its wings loaded with paper bombs. The bird puppet soared into the air, circling above as the gorilla charged toward Kaito.
Kaito grabbed one of the earth spikes he had created and hurled it at the bird. It struck the puppet's wing causing it to veer off course. At the same time, he directed one of his fireballs toward the gorilla puppet setting its thick frame ablaze.
Jiro, unable to move effectively due to his injured leg. resorted to throwing kunai and shuriken at Kato. With precision, Kaito used another earth spike as a makeshift bat, deflecting the projectiles. In a bold move, he swung the spike toward Jiro, stunning him with a clean hit.
"Let's see how you handle this." Kaito uttered, grabbing Jiro by the collar. with a grunt, he hurled Jiro into the gorilla puppet just as the damaged bird puppet came crashing down.
The resulting explosion sent shockwaves through the area, knocking Kaito back.
Yuma, protected within his tortoise puppet, emerged unscathed from the chaos. Kaito, coughing from the smoke and heat, quickly took cover behind a tree as he absorbed the flames with his remaining fireballs to minimize the damage.
Moments later, Yuma crawled out of his tortoise puppet, visibly shaken but still defiant. Before he could act, ninja wires wrapped tightly around him pinning him in place.
The wires glimered ominousily, lined with numerous paper bombs.
Kaito emerged from the smoke a kunai pressed firmly against Yuma's neck. "surrender, or this ends here." Yuma smirked, despite his predicament. With a subtle flick of his fingers, his spiked-armed puppet shifted launching a poisoned spike toward Kaito. The projectile struck Kaito's shoulder before he could react, and he stumbled back, gripping the wound as pain and dizziness set in.
"You're done" Yuma sneered. "The poison will kill you in minutes. No antidote can save you."
Kaito's breathing grew ragged, and he coughed harshly. But instead of panicking. he brought a fireball dangerously close to Yuma's face. The heat seared the air, forcing Yuma to flinch. "Tell me the ingredients for the antidote" Kaito demanded, his voice sharp despite the pain.
Yuma chuckled mockingly. "Why should I-" His words were cut short as Kaito intensified the flames singeing his hair.
"I won't ask again" Under duress, Yuma finally relented, spilling the ingredients for the antidote. Kaito jotted them down mentally, though his vision was beginning to blur. Yuma's smugness returned. "Too bad I don't have any
antidote on me. You're dead either way."
Kaito's expression dakened. "Then you're coming with me."
With a flick of his fingers. Kaito activated the paper bombs wrapped around Yuma.
As the Sand shinobi's screams echoed, Kaito used the last of his strength to escape the blast radius, stumbling deeper into the forest.