Border Breakthrough

Late at night, the six-person group was still moving swiftly through the dense jungle.

"How much farther are we from the border of the Land of Lightning, Koharu?" the young Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in a low voice.

Utatane Koharu took out the map and studied it before answering:

"We should be close. I'd guess about ten kilometers."

"There should be Cloud Ninja on lookout duty along the border. How do we break through?" Mitokado Homura pointed out.

"The Cloud Ninja on the border probably don't know about the sudden turn of events at the Alliance Conference yet, do they? Maybe we can just slip right past them," Torifu Akimichi suggested.

Koharu said, "But what if Kumogakure has already found a way to warn them?"

En said, "Then we'll just fight our way through!"

Hiruzen frowned, thinking it over as he glanced at Danzo beside him.

"Danzo, what do you think?"

"Huh?"

Danzo snapped out of his daze, looking lost.

"Danzo, why have you been so out of it? Are you exhausted?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about me."

"Then what do you think? Should we force our way through, or...?"

"You're the Hokage now! You can make these decisions yourself!"

There was unmistakable resentment and jealousy in Danzo's voice. In his mind, he had missed out on the Hokage Position because of one moment of cowardice.

He had fallen just a step behind Hiruzen, and lost the position he had dreamed of for so long.

Naturally, he was deeply resentful. It would become a lifelong regret, a nightmare that haunted him.

Hiruzen didn't press Danzo any further.

He wasn't stupid. He'd always known Danzo wanted to become Hokage too, and that was why he had competed so fiercely with him.

Now that Danzo had missed out on the Hokage Position, it was only natural he'd be a little bitter.

Once they made it through this crisis and returned to the village, Hiruzen would try to talk some sense into him.

"Mirror, what do you think?"

Hiruzen turned to Kagami Uchiha.

Kagami frowned in distress. "Should we really abandon Hokage-sama? If he were here..."

The moment they spoke of Tobirama, who had stayed behind alone to face death, everyone fell silent.

Hiruzen clenched his fingers, but put on a cheerful expression as he reassured them, "Don't worry. Trust Second Hokage-sama—he won't be killed so easily! For all we know, he's already escaped the encirclement and is catching up with us..."

The others remained silent.

They all knew Hiruzen was only trying to comfort them.

Second Hokage Tobirama had to fight the Kinkaku Force to the death to buy them enough time to escape. In his wounded state, his chances of surviving were extremely slim...

A moment later, Kagami volunteered, "I'll go scout out the border first."

"If I make it through safely, that'll prove the Cloud Ninja on the border haven't been informed. Then you can follow."

"If I get into a fight with the Cloud Ninja, use the opportunity to cross the line and break through!"

Hiruzen said, "No. That's too dangerous."

Kagami replied, "There's no time to hesitate. You've taken over as Hokage, Hiruzen. You have to make sacrifices. If you don't make it back alive, all of Hokage-sama's efforts will be wasted."

Hiruzen said, "I know, but..."

"Don't worry. My Sharingan isn't just for show. Even if we fight, the Cloud Ninja on the border may not be a match for me."

Kagami flashed a row of white teeth and gave them an easygoing smile. He had clearly made up his mind.

Tobirama had personally promoted him, and Kagami was a shinobi who had put aside his clan's interests and was utterly loyal to the village.

He wasn't afraid to make a sacrifice to protect his teammates and safeguard the village's future.

"Mirror, you..."

Koharu was visibly moved, but she didn't try to stop him.

They had come this far. Everyone was clearheaded enough to understand that some cruel choices had to be made.

"I'll go with you!" Danzo suddenly volunteered.

"Danzo, you..."

"Hiruzen, Mirror and I will hold off the enemy together. You make sure you stay alive. Don't let Hokage-sama down!"

"Mirror, let's go!"

With that, Danzo turned and left.

Whether he wanted to put some distance between himself and Hiruzen or prove that he wasn't a coward, it was hard to say.

Watching Danzo race alongside him, Kagami felt a quiet sense of relief.

"Danzo."

"?"

"I didn't expect you'd be willing to go with me."

"Hmph! I just don't want that Monkey to hog all the limelight by himself."

Danzo muttered with a pout, still bitter about Hiruzen becoming Hokage.

"Danzo, you wanted to become Hokage too, didn't you?"

"Who doesn't want to be Hokage? Too bad Monkey got the lucky break!"

"Yeah. I wanted to stay behind and hold them off too, but I hesitated. My clan's burden weighs heavily on me..."

Kagami sighed as well.

Like Danzo, he had always yearned to become Hokage.

Unfortunately, the obligations imposed on him by the Uchiha Clan had made him hesitate. He hadn't been as decisive as Hiruzen.

Now that he'd agreed to scout ahead, a small part of him was driven by guilt and a desire to make amends.

Danzo looked at Kagami, his eyes filled with a little more understanding and sympathy.

Meanwhile, the Cloud Ninja guards stationed at the border of the Land of Lightning had indeed received word ahead of time. They had laid a trap, hoping to intercept the Konoha shinobi.

Kagami and Danzo had just approached the border.

They spotted a number of Cloud Ninja closing in around them.

"The enemy's here!" Kagami shouted in warning.

"So there really is an ambush!"

"There shouldn't be too many of them. We can hold out. As long as we keep them busy, Hiruzen and the others can break through the border."

"I don't have much Chakra left."

"Neither do I..."

"Hmph. Looks like I might have to die with you."

"Danzo, if I fall in battle, please take my Sharingan back with you!"

"Mirror, you..."

"You know those Dojutsu can't fall into Cloud's hands. This is my final request. Please promise me."

Danzo stared at Kagami, a fresh surge of anger rising in his chest.

"Fine. I promise!"

There weren't many Cloud Ninja stationed in this stretch of the border—just over twenty—and they weren't especially strong. Most were Chunin.

Under normal circumstances,

if Danzo and Kagami had been in top form, the two of them could have cut right through the enemy.

Unfortunately, neither of them was in good shape now.

Or rather, all six of them had spent a great deal of Chakra fleeing from Kumogakure, and their condition had deteriorated badly.

Not every shinobi could fight for three days and three nights like Hashirama and Madara.

Even an ordinary shinobi—an elite one, even—would be doing well to keep up a high-intensity fight for dozens of minutes.

And if they used jutsu frequently, they'd run out of stamina much sooner.

As it turned out,

during the first few minutes of battle, Danzo and Kagami slaughtered their way through the enemy, quickly taking out about half the Cloud Ninja.

But as their Chakra ran dry, the two of them struggled more and more.

The wounds piling up on their bodies grew ever more numerous.

Kagami had nearly drained the power of his Sharingan, and two crimson trails of blood ran from the corners of his eyes.

At this rate, there was little chance the two of them could hold out to the end.

Most likely, they would both die in battle. There was a small chance one of them might escape.

Still, there was good news.

By drawing so many Cloud Ninja away and keeping them occupied, they had surely given Hiruzen's group time to break through.

Once they were out of the Land of Lightning, the threats ahead would be greatly reduced.

At the very least, they would most likely make it back to Konoha safely.

After all, Konoha shinobi were waiting to meet them at the border of the Land of Fire.