The ninja leader, a man named Sarutobi Shino, watched the two fleeing children, Hashirama and Madara, disappear into the dense foliage.
His face, normally a mask of disciplined calm, contorted in a snarl of pure fury.
"Seeing they ignored and started running," his voice boomed, echoing through the trees, he got angry and shouted, 'Catch those brats for me! I will skin them alive today!'
Instantly, the five remaining ninjas sprang into action.
They were all hardened veterans, their movements honed by years of brutal training.
Shino's initial command sent them scrambling in a tight pursuit.
Suddenly, Shino raised a hand, his eyes narrowing as he sensed the sheer difficulty of catching two nimble, desperate children in the complex terrain.
"Stop," he commanded, his voice now a low, strategic growl.
He turned to his two most formidable subordinates, two men whose strength was comparable to high-ranking Jonin.
"You two," he said, gesturing with a sharp flick of his chin, take two people each and chase after them. Do not fail.
The two Jonin-level ninjas nodded once, their faces grim.
They immediately divided their small force, pairing up with two other subordinates.
Shino then turned his attention to the remaining three subordinates.
One of them was the man who had been severely injured by Ishiki, his face still pale and streaked with blood.
"Now then," Shino said, his gaze sweeping over the injured man and the other two ninjas, it looks like someone is interrupting our plan.
"You all follow me. We will go to the village and find the brat fast."
He then fixed his cold, predator's stare on the injured ninja.
The man visibly flinched under the intensity of his leader's scrutiny.
"And as for you," Shino's voice dripped with lethal disdain, because of you, we lost five elite of our clan, five men I will not easily replace.
If there is no 'tool' like you said, if this entire dangerous venture proves to be a fool's errand, I will torture and kill you.
The air around Shino seemed to thicken, radiating a palpable, murderous aura that made the injured man's breath catch in his throat.
The injured man shivered, clutching his bandaged side. "L-leader, what I said is the truth. I swear it. The power is real."
Shino scoffed, a short, sharp sound devoid of humor.
We will see.
With that, he turned, his two remaining subordinates falling into formation behind him, and they began their swift, relentless journey toward the hidden village, intent on capturing Ishiki and salvaging their mission.
Unaware of the danger closing in on all sides, Ishiki was working frantically.
He had managed to rally the scattered villagers and guide them toward a deep, concealed hiding spot known only to the village elders.
The panic was palpable, the fear a heavy scent in the air.
As the villagers gathered, they began to question the Chief and Ishiki, their voices laced with desperation. "Will this place be safe?" a woman wailed, clutching a small child.
The initial shock soon gave way to resentment and the desperate need to assign blame.
A man pointed a trembling finger at Ishiki.
One looked at Ishiki and said, 'Because of you, we are all in trouble!'
The murmuring started low but quickly swelled into a chorus of fear-driven accusations.
Another said, 'If we give Ishiki to them, maybe they will spare us!' They began murmuring all kinds of things: 'He brought this on us,' 'Sacrifice him and we survive,' 'He's too young to understand the danger he's put us in.'
Ishiki stood silent, his shoulders slumped, his young face a picture of shame and defeat, his head bowed under the weight of their fear.
He knew they were afraid, and he couldn't blame them, but the accusations stung deeply.
The Chief, a man weathered by hardship but whose spirit remained unbroken, could tolerate the cowardice no longer.
His voice erupted, a roar of pure frustration and fury that cut through the fearful noise.
"Stop all of you!"
He looked at the people, his eyes burning with a fierce light.
"Do you all think they will spare us if we give them Ishiki?" He waited a beat for the silence to settle.
Today they will let us go, yes. But what if tomorrow? You all know how we all lived till now.
How many people died by ninjas?
His voice softened slightly, a note of deep disappointment replacing the anger.
"Now, one of us, one of our own, stood for us, for our honor, for our right to exist without fear. And you want him dead? When did our village have cowards like you all?"
Hearing this final, stinging rebuke, the collective shame was instant and absolute.
All the villagers put down their heads, their momentary defiance replaced by a deep, communal guilt.
The Chief looked at them, his chest heaving, his patience finally exhausted.
"I lost my patience today," he said again, his voice now lower but intensely resolute.
I know we are weak. We are not a clan of warriors.
But I am not going to back down today, no matter what.
He planted his feet firmly on the ground, his posture radiating a defiant strength the villagers had rarely seen.
"I will show them what our village can do when pushed to the absolute limit.
Those who are not cowards can join me."
He looked at the fearful faces one last time, a challenge in his eyes.
"Living or dying, we will see what happens. But we will face it together."