The thin winding road is the only thing that stays in Akashi's mind as he slowly manages to regain conscience. Flashes of memories run through his head, a recollection of events finally enlightening him. Flames. Screaming children. Blood. So much blood. He looks at his wrists, bloody and bruised, still chained up in the same position. It feels like he's been trapped for days, weeks even. He barely manages to raise his head, his squad members positioned adjacent to him. Hana and Mina, both unconscious and barely breathing. Unlike Akashi himself, who was hanging on a wall, the assailants showed mercy towards them, instead chaining them to a bed where they lay peacefully. Despite their fatal injuries, Akashi knew there was no further harm put upon them.
They were trapped in a fortress, many nuke-nin Akashi recognised from the bingo books, taking cover inside. It seemed they all were towards a common goal, one of which Akashi was unaware of. As savage as they were, the nuke-nin were merciful enough that they were still given a bowl of rice each day. Akashi's chakra levels were still recovering, higher than they were the previous week, when they were dangerously. He let out a sigh, his warm breath appearing in the cold air. His right wrist was still partially broken, the swelling having not ceased.
A cold breeze ran through the room, all three bodies unconsciously shivering. They were still in their partially torn kimonos, the same ones they were wearing when they were captured. The fresh smell of blood still lingered in the air, Akashi barely able to swallow his saliva that gathered at the back of his throat. Their room was empty except for the bed that Hana and Mina shared, no windows on the walls, with the one wooden door being the only way in and out.
The door is thrown open with a loud bang, Akashi's senses becoming disoriented again. His eyesight immediately blurred as loud footsteps were made across the room. He could barely raise his head to look at his captor, a small bowl of rice in his hand. He recognised the man immediately, feeling something unsettling run throughout his body. Seiji Kanaki. He was only a B-rank nuke-nin, but he was know for having control over a large horde of shinobi, his fortress yet to be discovered. When they were first dragged here, Kanaki had immediately claimed their headbands, the only thing clinging to their past life.
"Pathetic," Kanaki spat in his face, traces of saliva remaining on Akashi's face. Akashi winced in pain as he was slowly let out of his chains, his body falling weakly to the floor. He clutched his wrist immediately, trying not to scream in pain. In Kanaki's opinion, it did not matter if they were in chains or not, the chakra suppressors having mostly done their job. Akashi bit his lip to prevent his tears from running down his face as Kanaki slowly tipped his head. "To think, three of their most powerful shinobi are now here. At my mercy, and near death." Kanaki smirked evilly before kicking Akashi's side, the injured shinobi barely able to mask his cries of pain, before vacating the room, the door locking behind him.
Hana was immediately at his side, gently taking hold of his wrist. "Aka-chan," She said gently, ripping the ruffle of the wrist of her kimono to use as a make shift bandage. Mina assisted her from Akashi's other side, trying to lessen Akashi's pain as much as possible.
Their restraints had shattered long ago, broken a few days ago when Hana had regained enough chakra, only giving the illusion of still functioning. Both girls looked exhausted, but Akashi knew they would remain unbothered for another four hours. The guards regularly checked on them every four hours, having been assigned shifts over the prison. They weren't the only prisoners, Mina was sure, having been able to catch a glimpse of Konoha and Kiri shinobi when they were first dragged in. They seemed to be very powerful as well, which begged the question of why they were captured. The other shinobi looked like they would pose a great threat, had they been at full strength, but they were quickly reduced to whimpers against Kanaki's horde.
As soon as Akashi's wrist had been bandaged, Mina immediately set to healing his wounds underneath his shirt. She had been doing that for ever since the restraints were broken, after every beating. Mina was relieved that neither she or Hana had been touched, but that only meant that Akashi would receive their share of beatings, being left near-death several times in one day. Akashi could barely open his mouth to consume his rice, but he tried to savor every last grain that made its way down his throat. Hana had started eating as well, giving Mina small bites inbetween their own until they were finished.
Tonight would be the night they would make their escape. The walls separating prisoners were paper thin, as they were able to hear the talk of the Konoha shinobi positioned next door. One of them had managed to send an urgent message requesting help, leading to Hana planning their escape for tonight. They would need as much strength as they could muster if they wanted any chance of getting out alive. A message had been sent back, the rescue taking place around nightfall. Hana's plan was for them to sneak out of the cell just before then, escaping in the ensuing chaos. They had come up with idea of escaping with the Konoha nin, but their nasty voices had put that plan to rest.
They also had no idea of where they would go once they escaped. The local town was quite a distance away, some of the guards complaining of the three day trek. They had no village left to return to, their small village being reduced to cinders during the ambush. Not to mention, they didn't know if they were near Kumogakure no Sato anymore, or if they were still in Kaminari no Kuni. Their village had stayed neutral throughout all of the shinobi world wars, so why had they been destroyed.
"We've only got around a half hour before night falls," Mina whispered as she inspected Akashi's back for any more damage. She had managed to close most of the scars, although there was a burn mark from when one guard had gotten a little too immersed in his beating. She had done a decent job, considering that Akashi was the usual medical-nin within their team. Her once elegant face was now distorted, her hair tied in a messy ponytail. Her skin which was once as smooth as porcelain now appeared sickly, her usual purple dress full of tatters. Hana was no different. Her hair was still tied in her usual pigtails, but they were mostly stained with blood while her kimono bottom had been reduced to an asymmetrical tear that barely covered her left knee. Her ribbons had retained their shape in her hair, reinforced by the senbon hidden inside.
"Right, we need to be ready by then." Hana agreed quietly, feeling her chakra run through her body once again. The chakra suppressors had been destroyed the day before by Mina, having been overloaded with too much chakra which left her almost deathly sick throughout the night. They had to keep their chakra suppressed as much as possible or they were to be killed, as was the case when there was an attempted prison break around a week. The three shinobi had not participated, instead choosing to remain in their cells while the escaping shinobi were promptly slaughtered by a wave of kunai, leaving their corpses on display to discourage anymore escaping.
"We must leave." Akashi breathed out slowly, already making his way to his feet. He managed to take one step before almost falling over, Mina moving to help him keep his balance. Hana remained stone faced as she pulled a senbon from her hair, slowly picking the lock until she heard a quiet 'click'. Hana poked her head out, analysing the long, narrow hallway. It was mostly empty, save for the stack of crates located near the cell containing the Konoha nin.
She mentally planned their route in her head, furrowing her eyebrows. Their first stop was to be the armory which was located on the other side of the prison, furthest away from the prison. If they had their weapons, their chances of escaping would be even greater. When they were first ambushed, they had managed to decimate a good twenty shinobi before their weapons were stolen. Even then, it had been an hour long fight which the assailants had only won due to their numbers, and the three's waning chakra. Mina had been the first to go down, barely able to keep with the sword strikes before succumbing to her wounds. Akashi had surrendered next, having been knocked out of the air during one of his potential Fūton jutsu. He had landed in the middle of a large group, quickly being beaten down by the enemy. She had been the last one captured, unable to fight anymore by herself, surrendering herself willingly, especially after seeing the state of her teammates.
Her fingers clenched the door knob in anger as she poked her head out, the hallway remaining deserted. They had a lot of time before the next shift, but not enough time before the fortress was to be attacked. She could feel her chakra heating in anger at the actions of her captors, but she tried to force herself to remain calm so they would not be detected. There were also two sensor-nin present inside the fortress that would have to be taken out, in order to conceal their detection. The hinges of the door almost betrayed them, managing to remain mostly quiet as they snuck out of the door and immediately hid behind the crates. Hana's heartbeat betrayed her calm exterior, already setting off her mind at an alarming rate.
The dim light would manage to mostly cover their escape as the slowly made their way down the hallway, channeling extremely small amounts of chakra into their feet to reduce the sound of their footsteps. As long as they managed to be consistent with the amounts the channeled, they would remain undetected by the sensors. The entire infrastructure of the fortress was extremely well done. The floors were smooth concrete while every door seemed to be made of flexible metal, akin to the type blacksmiths were used. The fortress had taken a while to fully develop, how it had managed to remain a mystery to their bordering shinobi villages, Hana didn't know. She couldn't hide her looks of amazement as they explored the interior.
Throughout the facility, it seemed that the dim lighting stayed consistent. The hallways echoed as well, so they made sure to keep their voices to a minimum as they traversed throughout the building. The echoes had come in handy when guards had patrolled their areas, easily informing the three of their presence before quickly disappearing down another hallway. They passed numerous torture rooms, their screams sending chills down Mina's body as she struggled to assist Akashi. Hana had led them to a medical ward just as she signaled for them to stop, dragging them inside an empty room.
"Sensor-nin, opposite room." Hana whispered, peeking out to look at the shinobi in the other room. He was alone, tending to a cut on his finger. Akashi had recovered enough that he could move on his own, himself and Mina taking up positions on either side of Hana. "Capture on my command." Hana peeked into the hallway once more before raising her two fingers in a salute. Mina and Akashi wordlessly moved into the room catching the sensor-nin unaware and silently laying him on the table while Hana shut the door. The sensor-nin tried to struggle until Hana pulled out some senbon and held them threateningly close to his neck.
"What should we do with him? Kill him?" Mina asked, her eyes glaring down at the man dangerously. The sensor-nin cried out silently, shaking his head incessantly in fear. Mina had seen this man before, as she had been dragged past the torture rooms. He had been clothed in medical scrubs while a fatally injured shinobi had been left at his mercy. She watched in horror as he took delight in the scars he made with his scalpel, tearing of bits of skin until the victim had died from external bleeding. The shinobi's death didn't stop the sensor-nin from stabbing his heart with the scalpel anyway, taking delight as he bathed himself in blood.
Akashi watched wordlessly as the sensor-nin attempted to silently plead for his life, Mina refusing to let up her dark glare. No words managed to leave his mouth. Hana did not answer Mina's question, stabbing him in the side of the neck with one of her senbon, sending him into a near-death state before Mina disposed of his body in a nearby barrel. They looted the drawer inside the ward, able to scavenge some soldier pills and snacks which they ate quickly to regain more energy.
Their escape was running smoothly for the moment, dispatching the odd lone guard here and there to assist in the ambush in the coming minutes. Akashi let out a relieved sigh when they finally managed to locate the armory, forgetting the situation and running carelessly towards the door. Hana and Mina froze as Akashi's footsteps echoed loudly throughout the hallway, making the nearby guards run towards the end of the hallway.
"Prisoners!" One of the guards shouted, both of them running forward until they had come to a stop just in front of the three. "You should be in your cells-" He barely managed to finish his sentence before a body was flung through the window towards them, knocking them painfully into the wall. The three shinobi quickly ran into the armory, finding their respective weapons and jumping out the window into another area.
"The gate's been breached!" A voice managed to yell before a choking sound was heard. A fire had already broken out in the facility, clinging to the surrounding trees. Akashi felt sick as the clangs of metal could be heard in the distance, an odd taste in the back of his throat. Screams echoed from around the corner, Akashi clutching his head in pain as he tried block out the invasive noise. Mina throws his small frame over shoulder as Hana leads her down another corridor.
The torture room in front of them looked as if a whirlwind had destroyed the entire room. There were shinobi engaging in battle, both sides getting the upper hand on one another. At this distance, it seemed they would be safe from the conflict, until a few eyes were turned towards them. Shinobi from both sides had made moves to attack them, moving forward speedily.
"Get Aka-chan to safety." Hana took up a position in front of her teammates, Mina nodding and taking cover nearby. Hana made sure they were out of harms way before turning towards her attackers. A Konoha-nin made the first move, running and throwing his fist in front of her face. Hana promptly dodged, driving the rounded edge of her staff barreling into his stomach, before sending him flying away with another clean hit. His teammate ran up immediately after, raising his sword and bringing it down powerfully. Hana sidestepped the blade quickly before slamming her staff into the side of his head, sending him into a nearby bookcase, a cloud of dust raising upon impact. The remaining two nuke-nin attacked her at once, trying to gain an advantage by attacking both sides at once. She jumped above them, before reappearing beside the attacker nearest to her, knocking him right into his partner.
It seemed the rest of the fighting shinobi were paying them no attention, too absorbed in their own battles. Wordlessly, they traveled through the corridors until they came to a large foyer where there were lots of small battles being fought again. "Look, over there!" Akashi pointed towards where a yellow flash was weaving his way seamlessly throughout the multiple battles, dispatching enemies almost instantaneously.
"It seems they're being led by the Yellow Flash himself." Mina observed, Akashi moving to stand on his own. "I'll be fine, I promise." Akashi looked more comfortable than before, looking more confident than he previously had. Mina found a side corridor, disappearing before any of the fighting shinobi would notice, Hana and Akashi following along. There were holes in the corridor, obviously made from the fight, but it looked enough to conceal them momentarily from battle. Zooming down the hall, a three pronged kunai dug itself into the wall in front of them, making them stop immediately, Minato standing with his kunai prepared in front of him.
"Are you members of this horde?" Mina signaled for the two to stay silent. "Answer me!" Minato yelled angrily, readying his signature kunai. Mina dashed forward with rapier in hand, striking Minato three times, sending him back with his kunai blocking two of the three hits. "How could you catch me off guard like that?" Minato wondered, gritting his teeth. Mina dashed forward again, feigning a forward strike. Minato made a move to block it but was instead kicked to the side, being sent into the wall.
"Let's go!" Mina yelled, sprinting down the hallway. She knew she hadn't done any real damage towards Namikaze Minato, but it was enough to buy them some time to carry on. Despite Minato's mere nineteen years of age, matching their own, he was a gifted shinobi that was feared throughout the lands. It's been said that he had joined the ANBU at age 16, proving his talent. He was an S-rank inside the bingo books. It was advised to not battle him, instead receiving orders to 'flee on sight' if they were to come into contact with him. The building shook, causing a huge rubble of debris to fall and block their path. "This way!" Mina turned into a nearby room, the three of them stopping to catch their breath.
The room was dimly lit like the entire facility, with a single flickering bulb in the center of the room. The ceiling was quite high, although there was a large hole in the roof. The drawers inside were destroyed, Akashi almost getting a splinter caught in his finger. There was another door on the other side of the room, but it was blocked off by rubble, cries of battle could be heard from the other side. A single clock hanging on the wall remained the only thing that remained unbroken. Footsteps were being made down the hallway, Hana and Mina jumping up through the hole, taking their positions on the roof. Akashi made a move to join them, but a hand grabbed his ankle and pulled him to the ground.
"I'm sorry I can't let you go," Minato's voice rang out behind him. "Shit!" Mina screamed but both her and Hana became preoccupied with shinobi jumping towards them, weapons at the ready. "We'll get you after, Aka! Stay alive until then." Akashi nodded, pulling his weapons out of his pockets, throwing knives situated inbetween his fingers. He stared at Minato, who also seemed to be studying him.
"I need answers." Minato spoke first, readying his special kunai. "And I think you can give them to me." Minato launched himself forward, moving almost instantaneously thanks to his Hiraishin. Akashi silently thanked himself for his Fūton jutsu, able to keep up with Minato despite his fast movement. Minato threw his kunai at him, Akashi reciprocating with his own throwing knives, managing to steer it off course. Minato retrieved his weapon instantly while Akashi had chakra strings attached to his weapons, the daggers flying back inbetween his fingers.
"I can't give them to you." Akashi gritted his teeth. He ran forward already picturing the battle inside his head. Minato was revered for his ninjutsu ability but Akashi's strongest suit was his taijutsu. He may not be in the best condition right now, but he would still put up one hell of a fight. Minato dashed first, throwing a punch which Akashi brushed aside, stabbing forwards with a knife in hand. Minato twisted his body to avoid the attack but was thrown into the air. He barely had enough time to catch himself as Akashi's Fūton-enhanced throwing knives ripped past him, severing his clothes and scratching his arms and legs.
"Impressive," Minato commented as he observed the daggers moving back towards their owner. This unknown shinobi was already proving to be a problem, although he is still unable to tell where his or his squad's alliances lie. If he wanted answers, he'd either need to end this battle or try the diplomatic solution. The wind shifted around him, Minato barely able to dodge the daggers coming in his direction. "Looks like the diplomatic approach won't work." Minato whispered to himself as the daggers continuously flew in his direction. He managed to find solace outside of the room, giving himself time to plan his next attack.
Akashi took the opportunity to flee the room immediately, jumping on to the brick roof where Hana and Mina had just finished dispatching their opponents. Hana had neutralized hers with her senbon piercing their vitals while Mina had been a little more savage, leaving large holes through their bodies while her rapier had remained completely clean. "Mina-chan," Akashi moved forward. Her Killing Intent was coming off her in powerful waves, her enemies unfortunately falling victim to her blood lust. It seems that her hatred for them had started to take its toll, her eyes already turning blood red. "Mina-chan," Hana came forward as well. They both put a hand on each of her shoulders, snapping her out of her blood lust.
"Sorry," Mina lowered her head, her eyes returning to their normal color. She was scared of herself when she lost herself in her rage. It seemed to be her family's curse, its power so great that it had caused her father to kill her mother. And in turn, she killed her father when she turned fifteen. Hana and Akashi were perfectly aware of what happened, helping her to overcome her blood lust. "Let's keep moving." They managed to avoid as many battles as they could, dispatching the few shinobi that happened to chance their way. There was fire encompassing the entire fortress, many rooftops and debris already set ablaze. It was difficult to see where the exit was due to the surrounding smoke, the three shinobi running blindly around the rooftops.
"K-Kanaki-sama, we're about to be overrun!" One of the rogue shinobi took up a defensive position in front of his commander, kicking an oncoming Konoha shinobi on the side of head before quickly throwing his kunai into the crowd. "We must flee if we are to survive! Both men dodged an incoming three pronged kunai coming their way, Minato appearing where they previously stood. Minato flashed there in an instant, searching around with squinted eyes. Hana managed to steer Akashi and Mina away quickly, hiding behind one of the giant bells on the top of the structure.
"Rest, we must regain what little chakra we can." Hana took three soldier pills out of her pocket, handing one to each of her squad mates, all three of them feeling their chakra regenerate instantly. They immediately ripped off any loose fabric from their bodies until they appeared as battle ready as the could be. "Okay, let's-" An explosion cut her off as the clock tower had a hole blown out of the top, a gaping hole on the side of the top level. "There!" All three pairs of eyes could see the battle taking place inside the large room. Multiple Konoha ANBU had went against Kanaki, only to be blasted outside of the whole, their bodies landing painfully on the ground with a sickening crunch.
"Now's our best chance to escape." Mina whispered, looking towards the gate where there were shinobi to be seen.
"And then what? Where would we go? I say, we destroy what remains of this fortress before we go and rebuild our lives. We cannot afford for them to do this to anyone else." Akashi said with a determined glint in his eyes. He hated it when he had to make a choice between running away and staying to fight. He cannot afford to be shy and reserved right now, he had to do something. Anything. Both Mina and Hana looked at Akashi with surprise in their eyes, not used to seeing Akashi so determined in his actions. Hana nodded while Mina leaped ahead, leading the squad into the tower.
The tower had taken too much damage, debris falling from the upper floors. They ran inside to find Minato combating five of the higher up commanders inside the fortress by himself.
"Hiden: Yūga (Secret Technique: Elegance)" Mina flared her chakra, her speed increasing greatly. She burst forward as one of the shinobi attempted to attack Minato from behind, parrying his strike with her rapier and impaling him in the heart. Her movement had left afterimages that seemed to confuse the other shinobi, making them pause in their attack. Minato turned around holding his kunai in a defensive position, holding his left arm in pain. "We're here to help." Mina told him coldly, stepping forward slowly to take up a position beside him. She crossed her arms as she eyed her enemies darkly, her rapier vibrating powerfully in her hand.
Minato didn't know what to think of this help. He had attacked them so carelessly before, yet now they seemed to be helping him? This girl standing beside him seemed like she was telling the truth, but he didn't know what to think. For now, he would have to accept the help and hope that his mission will be completed. Minato nodded at the girl, managing to take up an offensive position as well, ignoring the pain swelling in his left arm.
"Back us up. Hana-chan, Akashi-chan." Her teammates nodded their heads in understanding, taking up an offensive position behind Mina and Minato.
"Tch. Does a group of teenagers really think they can defeat us?" One of the enemy shinobi laughed aloud. His entire face was covered in large bandage, his only visible facial features being his left eye and nose, the corners of his mouth turned upwards in a smirk. His comrades laughed aloud as well, while the bandaged shinobi pocketed his weapon. "Shuji, come with me. We are to make sure that Kanaki-sama makes it out of here alive. Ikutsuki, Masaru, take care of these pests." Shuji shunshined to his commander's side, both of them disappearing on to the stairway.
"Of course, we finally get to have some playtime." Ikutsuki smiled widely, his sharpened teeth making an appearance. "But leave it to Naoto-sama to leave us the scraps." Masaru complained, pulling out a sword from his pouch. "But on the bright side, maybe we'd have a good time, as long as blondie over there doesn't get in the way." Minato growled loudly, making a move forward only for Mina to stick a hand out to stop him.
"You're of no use to us if you are not at your best. Return to Akashi, he will heal you. Hana and I can take care of this." Mina sent the powerful shinobi back with a powerful glare, Minato complying due to the intense pain shooting up his arm. Akashi immediately set off to work, a green aura covering his hand before placing gently on Minato's wound, healing it slowly. Hana took out her staff while Mina readied her rapier, running her fingers along the blade.
Ikutsuki dashed forward without any notice, only for Mina to meet him halfway with her rapier, blocking his strike. "But, how?" He stuttered in belief, looking behind her to see another image of her still standing there which quickly disappeared. Mina turned her a head to the side, before kneeing Ikutsuki in the stomach, sending him to one knee while Mina returned to Hana's side. "S-so fast."
Minato's thoughts echoed Ikutsuki's sentiments as soon as she returned to Hana's side. It was similar to his own Hiraishin yet his jutsu let him enter a dimensional void that instantaneously transported himself to his seal's location, usually on his kunai. It seemed that Mina's technique augmented her natural speed to the point where she left an afterimage in her wake, similar to a shunshin yet unrestricted to a seal like himself. Although it wasn't as fast as his own jutsu, it seemed fast enough that she could use it without any preparation.
"How careless of you, Ikutsuki." Shuji reprimanded him, his exterior shifting from cheeky to dark. His eyes had changed as well, bits of red appearing inside of them. Ikutsuki coughed once more before sending Shuji a glare. "Shut up!" Shuji took a step forward, holding his sword in front of him. He moved forward quickly towards Hana, swinging his sword briskly, aiming for her neck and knees. Hana's face showed no surprise as she swung her staff in a circle, parrying all of the incoming sword strikes. Shuji immediately jumped back, adjusting his glasses on top of his head.
"Let me guess, Hana-chan." Shuji smiled flirtily, leaning on his sword. Hana looked unamused at his use of her name with the casual honorific while Mina growled under her breath. "Judging by the way you swing your staff, using it is obviously your specialty so you're compensating for your small chakra reserves which are currently almost empty. On top of that, close ranged fighters typically have no genjutsu prowess so I guess that also applies to you. But your ninjutsu levels seem to be unknown, unlike Mina-chan who wasted no time using her jutsu to attack Ikutsuki here." As if anticipating a move, Shuji held his sword up to repel a strike from Mina, blocking her rapier comfortable. He ducked to avoid her incoming kick before she jumped back to Hana's side.
"How you wound me, Mina-chan." Shuji clutched his chest dramatically, feigning hurt. Hana admitted that if he weren't an enemy, she would have considered him good looking. But unfortunately for him, he seemed to know it as well. His cocky and arrogant facade was already a major turn off. "Now as I was saying to Hana-chan. Your lack of genjutsu also implies a lack of chakra control which also means that you are not on the same level as your sister. I don't want to kill you. Truly. I don't. I want you to stay back there with your squad mate and make sure you don't get hurt. I'd hate for such a beautiful lady such as yourself to die at such a young age."
"I seem to have given you the wrong impression." Hana shook her head before appearing in front of Shuji. Said male made no move to block any strikes, instead taking a step closer until they were nose to nose. "Oh, is that so?" Shuji asked, licking his lips. Hana ran her hand up his arm, raising her head a bit until she was looking into his eyes. "I may not be on the same level as my sister," She started, moving until she was whispering in his ear. "But I definitely won't die today. Especially at the hands of the likes of you." Shuji's snapped open to see Hana disappearing in a gust of flower petals.
Ikutsuki watched his partner in shock as Shuji fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain. One moment he was speaking to Hana normally, and then the next, he fell to his knees. Shuji let loose a piercing scream that seemed to reverberate around the room. The tower continued it's shaking, Ikutsuki appearing at Shuji's side to pull him out of the way.
"What did you do to him, you bitch?!" Ikutsuki screamed in rage as Shuji's body stopped convulsing, instead falling unconscious.
"Magen: Hanagasumi (Demonic Illusion: Flower Haze). Complete." The corners of Hana's lips quirked up in a smirk before flicking her wrist, a pair of senbon impaling themselves in Shuji's neck. Ikutsuki's eyes widened before he leaped back, senbon covering his position where he had previously been. He managed to notice Mina moving out of the corner of his eye, readying his sword to block an incoming strike only for her to reappear in front of Shuji's lifeless body. He watched in horror as his partner's body was thrown against a wall into a nearby barrel by Mina who had a sadistic smile on her face.
"We've wasted enough time here. This battle is over. Hiden: Yūga (Secret Technique: Elegance)." Ikutsuki could barely blink before his vision quickly faded away, his limp body falling to the ground.
"Your arm should b-be fine now," Akashi stuttered, letting Minato's arm go. The blonde flexed his arm, surprised to find that he could move it without any further pain. He nodded towards the brunette, thanking him silently. "I-I'm sorry about your clothes. It w-was an accident."
"It didn't seem like an accident to me," Minato mused, making Akashi look down in guilt.
"It's too soon to worry about such trivial things," Mina sheathed her rapier, folding her arms in contempt and walking towards the staircase. Akashi nodded his head slowly, putting his hands in his pockets. He followed behind Minato and Hana, forming the back of their diamond formation.
They ascended the stairs quickly, all enemy shinobi participating in the battles raging on outside the tower. There were a couple times when they were slowed down by traps, being set off by stepping on particular panels on the floor. Akashi had taken care of the incoming projectiles, deflecting them easily with his throwing knives.
"We're here." Mina halted in front of a pair of large doors. She walked up to the doors and put her ear against them while Hana turned back towards Akashi and Minato.
"How's your arm? Do you think you could handle one more fight?" Hana looked impassively towards Minato, who nodded silently. "What about you, Aka-chan? Have you regained enough strength.
"As much as I'm going to get." Akashi let loose a small grin, making his knives levitate thanks to his Fūton affinity. He had by now regained most, if not all, of his chakra reserves and was feeling in much better shape. "I'm only the support so if you get trapped, I can't exactly save you, Hana-chan."
"I'll be fine." Hana promised, flicking the youngest male's forehead. Even if their current priority was to destroy their fortress, the only way they would be able to land a hit on Akashi is over her dead body. Not only is he the medical-nin of their team, but himself and Mina are the closest people to family has ever had. They were going to make it out of here, even if it was over her dead body. "How are we looking, Mina?"
"Apart from the three commanders, there are maybe ten other ninja that will need to be disposed of." Mina channeled a little more chakra into her ear, their voices flowing into her head a little clearer. "They are currently discussing the possibility of using one of the back escape routes which is currently blocked off due to the attack. Our best shot is for us to ambush them now while they're distracted."
"If that's the case then we should separate them and take them out one by one." Minato pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it, holding it in his hand. "If Akashi were to take out the small horde of ninja, that leaves one of us for each of the commanders." Akashi nodded, taking his knives inbetween his fingers. Hana opened her mouth to object but Mina placed a hand on her shoulder, and shook her head.
Mina completely understood Hana's thoughts. She didn't want Akashi participating if he didn't have to, but they'd been left with no other choice. Hana reluctantly agreed, nodding her head in silence despite not being completely on board with the idea. She was going to have put her complete trust in Akashi's ability and hope that he makes it through.
Minato opened the door quietly, the shinobi inside paying no attention to the moving door. He managed to embed his three pronged kunai into the ceiling, flashing quickly before throwing the explosive kunai right in the center. None of the commanders managed to react in time, sending them flying in different directions with the lackey shinobi looking around in confusion.
Akashi had already jumped into action, throwing his knives into the ranks of the confused shinobi. The Fūton charged knives had already ripped through most enemies, sending them to the ground in a pool of their own blood. Only three enemy shinobi were able to avoid the incoming projectiles, jumping back a safe distance. Hana, Mina and Minato had already pursued their own predetermined targets, leaving him to combat the lesser ninja alone.
"Well look who can't wait to die." One of the enemy shinobi snarled, unsheathing his sword. Akashi's eyes turned to slit as his knives returned to his hands. "Kill him."