The walls of Kusagakure and the watchtower at the exit were already in sight, but there were flickering Kakkō and many figures, indicating that a tight defense had been set up.
The shouts of the pursuers behind them grew closer, forming a pincer movement. For I Fūgetsu's squad, carrying the unconscious prisoner Fang and the nearly incapacitated Vortex mother and daughter, to force their way through would be tantamount to suicide.
"Captain! The front is blocked!" Tetsuo roared, using the Earth Style Wall to deflect several Kunai and Shuriken fired from behind.
I Fūgetsu glanced at the defensive line ahead and the increasingly close pursuers behind her, and made a decision in an instant.
He looked at Tetsuo, the most burly man in the group, and said rapidly, " Tetsuo! Use that one! There's no time to hesitate!"
Tetsuo's expression hardened, and he nodded heavily. "Understood!" He bit his thumb hard, his hands quickly Hand Seals, and then he slammed his palm heavily on the ground.
" Summoning Technique!"
Bang! A huge plume of white smoke exploded, accompanied by a low, rumbling sound, like rocks grinding together.
As the smoke cleared, a huge, strangely shaped creature appeared before them.
It has a flat head similar to a pangolin and thick, grayish-brown scales covering its entire body like granite, but its body is unusually robust. Even more peculiar is that it has a huge pouch on its abdomen covered with tough leather, which is now slightly open, exuding the scent of earth and minerals.
"Great! It's a ' Pouch Rock Beast '! We're saved!" Aoi exclaimed, clearly recognizing this rare Summoning Beast.
"Quick, everyone, get into its belly pouch!" Tetsuo shouted to his teammates, directing the Pouch Rock Beast to lower its body. "This thing can burrow! This is the only way out!"
The situation is critical, and there is no time to think.
" Arai, you lead the prisoners forward!" I Fūgetsu ordered.
Without a word, Arai hoisted the unconscious Fang and was the first to crawl into the warm, dark entrance to the belly pouch. The inside of the Pouch Rock Beast's belly pouch was more spacious than expected, seemingly possessing some kind of elastic space.
" Shira, take them inside!" I Fūgetsu looked at Shira, the Karin he was carrying, and the girl he was supporting, Uzumaki Megumi.
Without the slightest hesitation, Shira pulled the still slightly struggling Karin closer to her, protecting her head, and bent down to slip inside.
Although Karin's mother was terrified, she was also half-pushed into the sac by Aoi under I Fūgetsu's unquestionable gaze.
" Tetsuo, you control the Summoning Beast! Kui, cover the rear! I'll be the last!" I Fūgetsu quickly gave the orders.
Kui quickly set up several delayed -Explosive Tag traps around the area, then also burrowed into the bag rock.
Tetsuo followed closely behind, and finally I Fūgetsu. Before entering, he glanced back at the Grass Ninja pursuers who were already dozens of meters away, his eyes cold, and then he disappeared into the entrance of the Pouch Rock Beast's belly pouch.
The leather pouch on the belly of the Pouch Rock Beast quickly closed, plunging the inside into darkness and silence. Only the rapid breathing and heartbeats of the beasts could be heard, along with the faint sounds of battle cries coming from outside.
Immediately afterwards, everyone felt a violent shaking and a sinking sensation. The Pouch Rock Beast let out a deep growl, and its powerful front paws began to frantically dig at the ground!
Hard soil and rocks are easily broken through like tofu by its sharp claws and special burrowing ability!
Rumble...
The ground shook violently as the massive body of the Pouch Rock Beast burrowed downwards at an astonishing speed, quickly disappearing from the surface and leaving behind only a huge crater that was constantly being filled with soil.
Almost the instant they disappeared, the Explosive Tag that Aoi had set detonated one after another. A dozen seconds later, after confirming that there was no danger, the Grass Ninja pursuers and the guards on the defensive line rushed to the edge of the pit. Looking at the bottomless black hole and the constantly collapsing soil, they were furious but helpless. They didn't have any Summoning Beast that could burrow underground to pursue them.
Deep underground, the Pouch Rock Beast was moving at a relatively steady pace through the hard rock and soil. Although the space inside its pouch was cramped, the air seemed to circulate through some kind of filtration system, so it wasn't stuffy.
The constant vibrations in the darkness and the screeching sound of rocks scraping together were unsettling.
Karin, terrified by the absolute darkness and unfamiliar surroundings, stopped struggling and began to sob softly. Her mother held her daughter tightly, her body still trembling.
Shira could sense their fear, but there was nothing he could do but try to use his body to separate them from the crowd.
Arai and Tetsuo guarded the prisoners warily. Aoi silently calculated their location and distance in the darkness. I Fūgetsu closed his eyes, seemingly sensing the situation outside.
It's unclear how much time passed, perhaps only a dozen minutes, but it felt exceptionally long in the darkness. The Pouch Rock Beast's movement slowed down, and finally came to a complete stop.
"Have we arrived yet?" Tetsuo asked his Summoning Beast in a low voice.
The Pouch Rock Beast responded with a low growl.
Immediately afterwards, the entrance to the abdominal sac reopened, and blinding sunlight and fresh air rushed in instantly!
One by one, the group climbed out of the Pouch Rock Beast's pouch and found themselves in a deserted valley far from Kusagakure.
Looking back, Kusagakure had become a blurry little dot among the distant mountains.
"We're safe for now." I Fūgetsu breathed a long sigh of relief.
Tetsuo patted the thick scales of the Pouch Rock Beast, Summoning Beast let out a satisfied growl before disappearing in a puff of white smoke.
A sense of relief washed over everyone. Shira gently put Karin down, and the little girl immediately rushed into her mother's arms. The mother and daughter embraced and wept, but in addition to fear, their eyes also held a hint of bewilderment.
Even after confirming that it was temporarily safe, the atmosphere in the valley was not completely relaxed. I Fūgetsu quickly scanned the surroundings and selected a hollow with a relatively open view, backed by a rock wall, as a temporary base.
" Tetsuo, Arai, keep watch on the surroundings and set up a makeshift defensive line. Kui, contact the village immediately; we need backup. The coordinates are 'Dingdong Chicken Manboshi Mida Ohli Gei # #♞?@'"
I Fūgetsu recited a series of precise geographical coordinates, speaking quickly and steadily.
"Understood." Aoi responded immediately without the slightest hesitation. She knelt on one knee and took out a palm-sized wooden box engraved with intricate runes from her ninja tool pouch at her waist.
She formed hand Hand Seals and channeled Chakra into the box. The box emitted a faint light, and the lid opened automatically, revealing a mechanical beetle inside, its body entirely black and its carapace shimmering with a metallic sheen.
This is not a living creature, but a product of the combination of Sunagakure's Puppet Technique and communication technology— the Puppet Communication Insect.
Shira was completely dumbfounded. Wait, has the technology tree in the Hokage world gone this far? Besides the surveillance cameras that appeared during the Chunin Ninja Exams, there's this kind of thing?
Kui quickly tapped the rune plate on the beetle's back a few times, inputting the coordinates and information.
The beetle's compound eyes glowed red and emitted a very faint buzzing sound. Then it flapped its wings and took off, transforming into an almost invisible black streak, speeding towards Sunagakure at an astonishing speed.
"The message has been sent. The support team should be able to reach this area by tomorrow morning at the earliest," Kui reported, her voice carrying a hint of relief after completing the mission.
Just then, Shira, who had been holding on, suddenly swayed.
"Hey! Kid?!" Tetsuo, who was closest to him, was the first to notice something was wrong and rushed over to support him.
Shira felt as if the string that had been taut all along had suddenly snapped. From maintaining the Second Activation interception of the Fang, to Jonin two Jonin, to carrying Karin on a frantic run, and finally Chunin the jolting and suffocation in the belly of the Pouch Rock Beast...
The Seven Heavens Breathing Method- breathing exercise, operating at full capacity, was like a dull knife, repeatedly cutting into the meridians of his lungs. He had previously relied entirely on willpower and fighting instinct to hold on, but now that the crisis had temporarily subsided and his mind had relaxed, the long-suppressed, burning pain and extreme fatigue overwhelmed him like a flood bursting its banks.
His vision went black, and before he could even utter a sound, he fell straight forward into Tetsuo's arms.
Young people are great; they can fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.
" Shira!"
Tetsuo scooped up Shira's limp body, and was shocked by what Tetsuo touched—the boy was burning hot, breathing shallowly and rapidly, and there was even a trace of bubbly blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
This is a sign of damage to internal organs, especially the lungs!
"Captain, something's wrong with Shira! She's fainted!" Tetsuo shouted hurriedly, carefully laying Shira on the ground.
I Fūgetsu immediately rushed over and knelt down to examine Zi Luo. He lifted Shira's eyelids, checked his pulse and breathing, and his brows furrowed tightly.
"It's Chakra depletion and internal organ damage. The side effects of that explosive technique seem extremely severe, especially since he maintained that state for several minutes! Arai, medical kit!"
Arai quickly handed over the makeshift medical kit he carried with him. I Fūgetsu skillfully took out bandages and a small bottle of military-grade hemostatic and analgesic powder. She first treated several of the deeper wounds on Shira's body, then pried open his jaw and carefully fed him a small amount of powder mixed with water.
"He needs rest and professional medical-nin," I Fūgetsu said in a deep voice. "We must ensure his stability until backup arrives."
Nearby, Karin's mother held her daughter Karin tightly, silently watching everything unfold.
Karin looked timidly through her glasses at the boy who had carried her earlier and was now unconscious. A complex emotion flickered across her face, a mixture of fear and barely perceptible worry.
Tetsuo scratched his head, looked at the pale-faced Shira, and muttered, "This kid really fought to the very last moment." His tone lacked its usual roughness, and instead carried a hint of admiration and heartache.
Aoi silently set up an even more concealed perimeter of warning traps around the area. Arai, meanwhile, stood on the high ground, his sharp gaze sweeping over every entrance to the valley like that of a hawk.
The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the valley orange-red, and the temperature began to drop. I Fūgetsu took off her coat and covered Shira with it.
The squad, surrounded by their unconscious teammate and two rescued Uzumaki Clan, fell into a brief silence filled with exhaustion and worry in this nameless valley.
They would then spend a long night waiting for dawn and for hope of rescue from the village.
----In Chapter 44, some readers mentioned that Pakura ( Pakura ) had already sacrificed herself during the protagonist's time. I checked and found that I did make a mistake, so I rewrote Chapter 44 to show that Pakura had indeed sacrificed herself.
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