August, Year 015… (Nearly one month had passed since Seimei captured the spy, Akiyama Hisui)
A valley within the Land of Fire, 800 miles away from Konoha…
Crackle! Boom!
Thunder roared in the depths of the stormy cloud that covered the night sky. Slightly cold wind, carrying a hint of chilled water vapor, blew, making the leaves in the trees rustle.
The storm was brewing. Soon, the valley and the surrounding land would be drenched in cold rain, filling the atmosphere with the musky scent of fresh grass and soil.
Such weather often gives people a sense of calm.
Unfortunately, the peace in the valley was broken by the shouts of people who usually wouldn't bother lingering in the lonely valley.
"Find them, find those Konoha scum…"
"Don't let them escape. If they escape, then we are doomed."
"Widen your search range. Keep your sensory field active all the time."
"And you hunter ninjas, what the heck are you doing? Don't tell me you can't even find the traces of their tracks. If so, just tell me. I will personally dispose of you and help this world get rid of some useless trash."
An angry ninja, covered in splashes of blood, barked orders to the other dozen or so ninjas, who were searching for someone.
These ninjas moved like agile cats, covering tens of meters every second, all while trying all sorts of sensory techniques they had under their belts.
Their target had slipped away.
But they couldn't have gone far.
As long as they searched diligently, they should be able to capture them and kill them.
While the sensor and hunter ninjas were working hard, four more ninjas with powerful presence and at least a full-fledged Jonin-level chakra capacity appeared beside the blood-soaked ninja who had just barked orders.
One of them said, "Relax, Shin. We have already killed three of their companions. And we have injured the other two as well."
"They wouldn't be able to escape far with such severe injuries."
"As soon as the hunter ninjas find their tracks or blood, we will follow and strike."
Meanwhile, the leader Shin clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tsk! If not for that annoying Genjutsu and bluffing trick, they wouldn't have been able to escape."
"To think I had been tricked by a mere Special Jonin…"
"Leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
Another one of them let out a dry chuckle and replied, "We all have been tricked."
Shin retorted, "It doesn't matter. Once I find them, I will dice them up into a hundred pieces and make them fish food."
"Anyway, we shouldn't be idle either. Let's find those Konoha scum as soon as possible. If they truly slip away, we may have to abandon my mission altogether."
"And the consequences of failing this mission will be dire."
The same ninja shivered a little before replying to Shin, "Yeah."
Shin didn't reply. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the sensor and hunter ninjas and barked orders once again.
"Hurry up, you trash. Are you waiting for them to make their escape before finding their tracks?"
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In a secluded corner of the valley, two ninjas, each wearing Konoha's standard Jonin uniform and a forehead protector, were hiding while gritting their teeth.
One of them had black hair, a fair complexion, and wore a navy blue, high-collared, short-sleeved t-shirt under his standard Jonin jacket. His name was Uchiha Natsu, a 22-year-old Special Jonin of Konoha.
Beside him was another man with black hair. He had slightly tanned skin and brown eyes. He was Senju Tatsuhiko, a 38-year-old Jonin of Konoha.
And both of them were heavily injured.
The wound in Uchiha Natsu's body was still manageable. He had a deep laceration on his left shoulder and a puncture wound on the right side of his belly. The sword that wounded his belly somehow missed the key internal organs, such as the kidney, while stabbing him.
Still, he lost quite a lot of blood.
Meanwhile, the wounds on Senju Tatsuhiko's body were far more severe. His belly was sliced open, a few of his ribs were broken, and a kunai had punctured his left lung, making him feel burning pain every time he took a breath.
He had also lost a lot of blood.
"Damn it, those bastards are relentless. We need to hurry, or they will sniff us like bloodhounds." Uchiha Natsu cursed while bandaging his wound and eating a blood-replenishing pill.
He would have liked to eat a healing potion, too. But his stock was already empty.
Then he looked at his nearly listless partner and asked, "Hey, Tatsuhiko. What are you doing? Bandage your wounds, stop the bleeding, and eat your blood-replenishing pills already."
"We can't wait here more than a few minutes."
"Those traitorous bastards…dare to conspire against us with the ninjas from the other elemental nations."
Hearing this, Senju Tatsuhiko opened his drooping eyes and smiled, "Yes, give me a minute, please."
Uchiha Natsu sighed. "Seriously now. You are supposed to be the older one. Why do I have to look after you all the time?"
"Finishing mending your wounds, okay? I will send the intel to Konoha in the meantime."
With this, Uchiha Natsu wrote a letter using a secret code and used the Summoning Jutsu to summon his ninja cat.
Poof~
A black ninja cat came into view. The cat looked at its surroundings before fixing its gaze on Natsu. "You don't look good, nya."
Uchiha Natsu smiled bitterly, held a letter in front of the cat, and said, "Yeah, I had some trouble. Can you deliver this to the Hokage? It's urgent."
The cat grabbed the letter and stuffed it inside its belly pouch. "I will. But after I am reverse-summoned, it will still take me two hours to reach Konoha, nya. Hold on, okay?"
Uchiha Natsu fell silent.
His summoning partner, Kuro, would take two hours to deliver the letter to Konoha. And it would take around five more hours for Konoha's reinforcement to reach their current location.
No. The time could be shortened if he and Tatsuhiko ran toward Konoha. As long as the enemy failed to catch up, they could survive.
But would that be possible with their wounds? They didn't even have healing potions anymore.
His group started this mission with a team of four.
Apart from him and Senju Tatsuhiko, there were two other comrades, each was an Elite Chunin.
But those two fell in the battle.
After all, the opponent had six full-fledged Jonin-level ninja and sixteen other ninjas with the average combat ability of a Chunin.
He and his teammates killed one full-fledged Jonin and four Chunin from the opponent's team before making their escape.
And the cost of escape? The lives of two comrades with whom he had spent two years.
Now, only he and his team captain, Senju Tatsuhiko, remained.
But his captain, who had looked after him for no less than ten years since his Genin days, was too injured to run for a long time.
Uchiha Natsu closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Let's try everything to escape. But if we are destined to die, I will die fighting. Let's have one more battle alongside my comrade. Uchiha Natsu thought inwardly.
Even if they died, the intel must reach Konoha's higher-ups. Otherwise, Konoha, his home, would be in trouble. The enemy nations must be plotting something sinister.
The intel had to reach Konoha.
Natsu smiled at his summoning partner. "I will be fine, Kuro. I will try my best to survive. So, please deliver the message as soon as possible. I have even prepared a unique fish dish for you at home, my treat for all your hard work.
Kuro looked worried. "Don't give up, Natsu. I will bring reinforcement in a jiffy."
Natsu patted Kuro's head, "I trust you will."
With that, Kuro nodded and disappeared with a puff of smoke.
Seeing his cat disappear, Uchiha Natsu turned his head toward Tatsuhiko. "Senpai, did you finish bandaging your woun-"
Then, he abruptly stopped.
He saw Senju Tatsuhiko lying on the ground, staring at the overcast dark sky with unfocused eyes.
Natsu called again. His voice trembled. "Tatsuhiko-senpai?"
Tatsuhiko still stared at the sky before responding in a weak voice, "Ah! Natsu-kun? I am sorry. I just feel so weak right now."
"My body…my body doesn't seem to respond to me well anymore. My head feels light."
"I don't think I can accompany you any longer. I am sorry. You have to face the danger alone."
Natsu looked at the weakened Tatsuhiko and stayed silent. A deep sense of sadness came over him. He felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart, suffocating him.
Tatsuhiko finally glanced at him, "This is farewell, Natsu-kun. Please fight, survive, and live on."
Natsu's emotions were in a mess. Sadness overwhelmed him as his two-tomoe Sharingan activated involuntarily.
Tatsuhiko closed his eyes. His breathing became fainter with every passing second.
"I hope…I will…be…able to meet my family…and friends…over there…in the Pure La…"
And before he could even finish his word, Tatsuhiko's breathing stopped.
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