Escape

I had assumed that with my Nintaijutsu and Kusama Shigeo providing support, we could at least hold out for a while.

Who would have thought that as a gust of mist drifted by, Kusama Shigeo would inhale something, his footsteps immediately faltering as he became dizzy and disoriented!

Hold your breath! I panicked and hurriedly warned him, but the enemy noticed this first, immediately shifting their focus and launching a barrage of attacks toward Kusama Shigeo!

Damn it!

Seeing several long swords thrusting toward him, I disregarded my own safety and stepped in front of him, blade in hand to protect him!

"Clang!"

Murasame lit up instantly, fiercely hacking away two daggers; one of them was even scorched black by electricity, falling to the ground while emitting black smoke!

"He's a taijutsu-type ninja skilled in Lightning Style, use Wind Style to deal with him." I heard a voice drift out from the mist, and the next moment, countless wind blades mixed with moisture flew over, instantly scattering the faint chakra flickering around my body!

Damn it, Wind Style counters Lightning Style!

Seeing Murasame's glow dim, my eyes sharpened. I formed hand seals so quickly that none of the enemies could react, and a scorching fireball appeared in the air! It tore through the mist and slammed into the crowd in an instant, large enough to engulf almost everyone!

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

I grinned, thanking my bloodline once again!

Who told you I only knew Lightning Style?

Inherited from the Uchiha clan, this is my true specialty!

"Water Style: Water Wall!"

To my surprise, an equally massive wall of water rose up the very next moment. The fireball roared as it slammed into it, but it could never pierce the wall. It eventually dissipated while spinning, releasing a massive amount of steam that made the area feel like a living hell! Everything in front of me turned into a vast expanse of white; my vision was completely gone!

Damn it, I've backfired on myself!

Amidst the mist, I grabbed the swaying Kusama Shigeo, crouched down with my sword in my right hand, and braced myself, tense to the extreme.

I knew that Kirigakure was famous for its silent killing techniques, and especially in this situation, I absolutely could not afford to relax for even a second!

Sure enough, even though there was no one in sight, I heard something sliding beneath my feet, followed by the sound of steel wires being pulled taut!

It's a trap!

I grabbed Kusama Shigeo, intending to leap away, but he let out a cry of pain! I looked down and saw his right foot had been tightly bound by steel wires, rendering him unable to move!

I hurriedly used Murasame to cut the wires, but countless more suddenly appeared all around us, closing in like a fishing net!

I had no choice but to dodge first, rolling to the side while frantically hacking at the wires with Murasame. Kusama Shigeo wasn't as lucky; he was caught firmly in the net, instantly becoming a fish on a chopping block, unable to move even a single finger!

No, this won't work!

I forced myself to stay calm, but then came the command: "Water Style: Water Snake!" Dozens of water currents coiled along the steel wires and slammed fiercely into Kusama Shigeo! He didn't even manage a scream before his head lolled to the side, and he passed out completely.

Cold sweat broke out on my skin.

This level of team coordination was definitely not something ordinary Kirigakure ninja could achieve, and it finally made me realize that I couldn't possibly defeat them.

"Take him alive."

Following the order, the mist began to swirl again. I stood in front of the unconscious Kusama Shigeo, my body already beginning to tremble slightly, the Murasame in my hand flickering on and off!

Calm down, calm down!

The teacher said that the more desperate the situation, the more you must remain calm, didn't he?

At that moment, the mist in front of me condensed into a human shape and slashed a blade down at me!

I blocked with all my might, but a crisis emerged behind me as well! Another Kirigakure ninja materialized, wrapped his arms around my neck, and pulled back with brute force!

"!"

I couldn't break free; my neck was bent backward, and the heavy pressure turned my vision blood-red—I was on the verge of suffocation! But the blade in my hand flashed with light, and dense Lightning Style currents surged along the steel, instantly spreading across my entire body. The two men were violently repelled by the electricity, landing heavily on the ground and rolling several times before their true forms were revealed!

"Huff... huff..." I stood in place, shaken, holding my sword with both hands. With bloodstains on my mouth and neck, I stared blankly at the electric arcs in my hand, momentarily at a loss as to what had just happened.

"This brat... he's no ordinary genin. Weaken his chakra first."

The sentence snapped me back to my senses. I reacted by forcefully cutting the steel wires around Kusama Shigeo, hoisting him up, and retreating into the cover of the grass hut behind me, hiding beneath a wall to catch my breath.

"Hey, Shigeo, are you okay!" I grabbed Kusama Shigeo by the collar and shook him in the gap between enemy attacks, trying to wake him up. The moment he opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of me, his expression changed, his pupils contracted in terror, and he rolled to the side, actually vomiting!

That made my heart sink completely.

He was... too terrified.

I forced myself to steady my nerves, leaning against the crumbling wall, and waited for the enemy's next wave of attacks.

"..."

—They were getting closer.

I could feel from the subtle flow of chakra that the enemy's encirclement was tightening, ready to swarm us at any moment!

Here they come!

I shoved Kusama Shigeo aside, and the next instant, a dense barrage of hidden weapons and kunai rained down on the spot we had just been hiding in, shattering the dilapidated wall into pieces!

"Don't kill the injured one, use him to pin down the brat." I heard someone whisper a hoarse command from within the mist, possessing a kind of certainty that they had us in their grasp!

And so, the war of attrition began once again!

Endless hidden weapons, ninjutsu, and even genjutsu, accompanied by a barrage of feints from shadow clones.

Several times, I felt as though I were hanging by a thread, ready to fight to the death, yet those people would suddenly ease their offensive!

It was as if they were torturing me infinitely, yet refusing to take my life!

These people must be trying to capture us alive...

Damn it, damn it, damn it!

A sense of being a mere mayfly flickered in my heart, over and over again.

"Boom!"

The haystack beside me was shattered by a single Wind Style strike, scattering debris everywhere; shards sliced into my skin, but I could no longer feel the pain!

I grabbed Kusama Shigeo, dodging and weaving through the ruins. By the end, my ears were filled only with the sound of wind and ragged breathing. Blood dripped onto the ground incessantly. I was no longer sure how many wounds I had sustained, whether my limbs were still intact, or even if I was still breathing; I was simply parrying blow after blow on pure instinct!

"That's enough, close the net."

Following these words, the previously relentless attacks suddenly descended like a torrential storm!

Blood flowed more freely, and my vision began to blur. I stood swaying in front of the motionless Kusama Shigeo, swinging my sword and blocking in vain... I only knew... I only knew...

I only knew that combat-type ninja must protect medical-nin.

And that we, the ninja of Konoha, must protect our comrades.

"He's reached his limit. Don't waste time, all together now."

I seemed to hear the voice of death. Before I could react, several figures shifted behind me, and numerous hands reached for my back. My eyes darted, my will still desperate to break through the encirclement, but my body had reached its limit; I couldn't even move a single finger...

I watched the black shadows draw closer, the entire world on the verge of being swallowed by thick fog. I couldn't help but slowly close my eyes, but at that very moment... I suddenly felt a biting, cold wind.

The cold wind struck like a hurricane, instantly piercing the layers of mist. The black shadows within the fog were stirred like ink, torn apart in the wind in the blink of an eye.

"--Eight Trigrams, Palm Rotation!"

Amidst the scattered screams, I saw a faint sunbeam piercing through the mist. A pure white stream of chakra appeared in the air, forming a sphere that rotated, firmly shielding us at its center.

In an instant, I saw what was before me, yet I was nearly forced back a step by the sheer force of the wind. Just as I raised my hand to block the gale, my arm was gripped. The point of contact was ice-cold, and a voice loomed over us, dictating the direction of our escape.

"The path back is sealed. You must head east, follow the river to escape the Land of Water, and find Konoha reinforcements."

Before I could regain my senses, a force struck my back, pushing me heavily forward. Just like that, with effortless ease... we were pushed out of the circle of death from which we had been unable to escape no matter what.

In exchange, his figure stood firmly on the only path the Kirigakure pursuers could take to reach us.

The distance between life and death was truly that short.

"Run..." Kusama Shigeo caught a scent of survival; he managed to open his eyes, spoke only that one word, and then lost consciousness again.

Under these circumstances, he was actually much more clear-headed than I was.

Instead, I remained completely frozen in place. My heart understood that I should flee, but my feet felt as if they had taken root, unable to move an inch. I could only watch, dazed and helpless, as the Hyuga Boy darted and leaped amidst the blood and mist...

"Go!"

He roared at me through the only opening, turning his face to dodge a blade, and blood sprayed out instantly—from someone else—

I ran.

Carrying the drifting, semi-conscious Kusama Shigeo, I fled before the main force of Kirigakure arrived.

I had never run so fast in my life. I exhausted nearly all my chakra, as if endless ghosts were chasing at my heels. I crawled and scrambled until I reached the riverbank, then plunged in with a splash. Clinging to the other person's body in the turbulent current, I kicked toward the depths by instinct.

Then, there was only the long, freezing drift.

Soaking in the river, clutching a piece of driftwood, I felt that it wasn't my body that had gone numb, but my mind.

Then, something hot flowed from my eyes, only to be instantly washed away by the cold water.

We... we actually escaped?

After all the hardships to reach the Land of Water, we hadn't even seen the person we were looking for before being ambushed. My comrade was injured, and even the captain... the captain also...

He had also sacrificed himself to save us, his fate unknown.

I felt tears gushing out in waves, and my body grew colder and colder. Knowing I couldn't stay in the water any longer, I seized an opportunity, lunged for a deep branch on the bank, hauled myself up, and dragged the unconscious Kusama Shigeo deep into the jungle.

Just like that, we hid in terror for the entire day.

Until night fell.