Akai and her senpai Hanasaku Yusuke are sitting together with several other Grass ninja of different rank near the outskirts of the village. They can't do anything but wait for the war to come to them. The sound from the bamboo forest not too far away tells them that it won't take long before that happens. Grass and the back up team from Konoha were in an disadvantage from the start and no one thought that them fighting in the forest would end the battle; no, it will surely reach the city once again.
"It's coming closer." Yusuke comments.
The heavy vibrations in the ground are enough for Akai to believe his statement and nod. She was worried that working with her senpai would be a problem since she doesn't know him that well but everything is professional and goes on smoothly. Yusuke seems to be a Jounin in his early twenties that were told to stay to protect the village due to an injury on his leg. We don't have a lot of warriors ready here, only injured and tired ninja…Akai calculates. All of our power is out there fighting so if it fails, and if they attack the village as I'm sure they will…we won't have a good defence at all. A deep breath leaves her slightly parted lips as a new wave of chakra from the forest pushes them backwards. This will probably be a hopeless fight.
"Our first priority is to protect the village and its citizens." Yosuke says out loud so everyone can hear him. "We will fight to protect only."
"Senpai…" A Genin approaches him. "There isn't any chance at victory, is there?"
Akai tenses as the question is voiced and she faces her senpai in wait for his response. It's clear that Grass can't win this fight, not without sacrifices and great losses, but it's still too early to give up in her point of view.
"We're facing an enemy greater than ourselves and there wasn't much hope to begin with." Yosuke starts with a firm expression on his face. "But even the tiniest village can throw a whole army to the ground due to its choice of strategy. Look in front of you; we have the enemy in our forests, a forest that's foreign to them."
The Genin, and several others who are listening, seems to understand what Yusuke is trying to say them. Akai feels how her own negativity fades as she starts to see what advantages they have against the sound.
"We have a splendid strategist from Konoha with us who has formed the plan together with Yamamoto-sama… who will lead us to maybe not a victory, but a way to survive this threat in the best way possible. I personally believe that we can win, I do."
What Yusuke said makes him grow as a Jounin in Akai´s eyes. It touched her heart deeply. He seems to tell no lies and is able to see both the threats and the possibilities in battle at the same time as he makes the lower rank ninja regain the will to fight again. The tension fades a little and the scared Genin is able to relax.
"Did that sound ok?" Yusuke whispers with a smile, he makes sure that no one else hears it.
"You did great, senpai." Akai grins. "A really moving speech."
"Hehe…" He chuckles.
Akai moves along with him as he walks around to check on all the shinobi under his care. Yosuke seems to be a man that really cares about the ones under him no matter who they are or how strong they are. The fact that he acts the way he does towards her shows his trust but also will to get to know her more. A leader must know the skill of the ones under him to be able to fight properly in a pinch. Since Akai has been in Konoha for some moths the two of them hasn´t been able to meet.
"Is your injury alright?" Akai asks him.
"It's just an old one that didn't get the time to heal properly, it doesn't affect me but was enough to make me stay behind. How about yours?"
"I´ll manage,as I said, but I need to be careful not to reopen the wound. I can fight but I don't know my limits."
"I´ll keep an eye on you and I want you to step back when you reach that limit or when I tell you to. We can't let you—"
"I won't become a hindrance and if I do I´ll get out of the way, I understand."
The way Akai responds make Yusuke smile broadly.
"I wonder why we haven't fought together before." Yusuke smiles.
"Who knows." Akai shrugs her shoulders as she returns the smile.
Shikamaru can already feel how he and the rest of the Grass shinobi are losing to the Sound. It was inevitable but happens too soon to his liking. It's hard for him to act like a leader when they're fighting in a place that he doesn't know as well as he would want to.
"Tsk!"
Shikamaru makes a irritated sound as he notices how more enemies are gathering around him and the few Grass ninja that stayed by his side. The fact that the Grass ninja are a lot less skilled than Konoha warriors is crystal clear and Shikamaru comes to wonder how people can call Grass a shinobi village at all at times. The strategist sighs as he has to cover one of the Grass Genin´s back when an enemy charges. The Sound ninja attacks as if he thinks that he already won and that makes it easy for Shikamaru to ruin that thought. With a simple twist of his arm Shikamaru grabs the attacker and makes him turn in mid-air before he's thrown into several bamboo trees close by.
"You have to watch your backs!" Shikamaru orders them.
"Yes sir!"
The quick way they accepted Shikamaru as their leader shows their lack of confidence as a ninja. The frown on Nara´s face grows as he's literally forced to cover for them all the time. He makes a face as he notices how a kunoichi is being targeted.
"Kagemane no Jutsu!"
He uses his Shadow Possession technique to stop the attacker in his tracks and the girl flinches when the man behind her drops the kunai he would have killed her with if Shikamaru didn't interfere.
"I said: watch your backs!" Shikamaru repeats.
Shikamaru puts his hand into his pocket and pretends to grab a kunai and angels it towards his throat. Due to his shadow possession, the enemy caught in it does indeed have a kunai directed towards his throat and his life ends as Shikamaru pulls his arm backwards. The girl screams as the man falls to the ground as the Konoha ninja releases his grip on him. Lazy eyes stare into a pair of narrow, shaking ones as he stares at the girl to prove his point. A sound from the distance makes Shikamaru look over his shoulder and a wave of relief hits him. A grey horse is trotting his way and the man on its back is one skilled fighter. Kanaye makes his horse approach Shikamaru as he greets the foreign ninja with a polite nod.
"Nara, what's the plan?"
"Kanaye-san…great timing!" Shikamaru grins. "Nothing will work when they can´t even look after themselves!"
The quiet man on the horse glances at the few Grass ninja that fights while shaking and his dark eyes focus on the girl that's sitting on the ground due to chock.
"…I´ll take them away from here, you should continue on and I´ll catch up with you."
Kanaye offers the girl his hand and helps her up on Riku´s back behind him. Shikamaru nods since he appreciates the help.
"Hurry, I need you."
"Speed isn't a problem."
Shikamaru regards Kanaye as he exchange some words with the Grass shinobi before they speed towards the village. Kanaye isn´t a person who brag; he is fast. The way Kanaye easily took care of a situation Shikamaru found troublesome is proof of that fighting in foreign terrain is a disadvantage.
"…What a drag." He comments before he continues forward while thinking; Remember what Yamamoto said…use the terrain…Ahhhh…Impossible!
Some say: "Choose your ground
Don't go down the wrong way"
Life ain't easy
But I don't wanna be afraid
If I bend, if I break
I will learn from mistakes
Lee stares wide-eyed at Kiba as the Inuzuka grins wickedly in his direction. Oh, I don't like his expression! Kiba doesn't wait for Lee to respond as he jumps up on Akamaru´s back and charges again. Kim-Jeong smirks as the dog shinobi approaches him in an amazing speed. The Korean´s smirk grows as he pulls forth a long katana from the holder on his back.
"Katana no odori!"
Kiba´s smile fades as his target defends himself by attacking straight on. The way Jeong moves create a whirl of sharp edges makes Akamaru hesitate in the final moment, and due to a miscalculation, they cash straight into the enemy.
"KIBA!" Lee screams with fear.
When Kiba and Akamaru finally escapes Kim-Jeong´s jutsu both of them are in a pretty bad shape. Several rather deep cuts cover their bodies that may cause a severe blood loss. Kiba glares at Jeong as he wipes away blood from his cafe carelessly before he checks on his dog. Lee steps forward to protect Kiba when both Ryu and Kim-Jeong approach him.
"You two…are so finished!" Kim-Jeong smrks with wide, happy eyes.
Lee glares at them as Ryu steps forward. Ryo looks down at them with cold, emotionless eyes as he performs some hand signs before he reaches out toward Lee.
"Hikage Genkaku." He says in a deep voice.
Lee´s eyes widen as everything around him changes all of a sudden. The bamboo forest evolves into a bright light that surrounds him from every direction. A genjutsu? Is Lee´s first thought but a strange feeling inside of him makes the fuzzy brow lose his focus. Warmth that he never felt before invades his being, happiness takes him off his feet and energy floats through his veins that makes him become invincible. Winning becomes a piece of cake in the Konoha ninja´s eyes all of a sudden and he attacks the blurry image of Ryu in front of him.
"What the hell, Lee!"
Kiba stares at Lee as he rushes forward after several seconds of silence. It's like whatever the enemy tried to do didn't work at all because Kiba can't see any change until Lee jumps into the air and attacks. The older Konoha ninja´s technique has changes drastically; it's like he's saving his powers for later by attacking lazily. Ryu and Kim-Jeong evade the attacks easily but that doesn't make Lee try harder, almost the opposite.
"Why are you hesitating Kiba, this is child's play!" Lee laughs his way.
Kiba narrow his eyes and Akamaru whimpers at Lee´s behaviour. The Inuzuka forces his aching body to move as he gets up on his feet so he can grasp the situation better. Lee continues to enjoy the fight with a smile as he delivers kick after kick without any success, it's like he doesn't notice that he's not doing any damage. He said Hikage Genkaku…genkaku…an illusion!
"Lee, snap out of it! He has you under his spell!" Kiba growls.
After delivering a kick Lee jumps backwards to stand in front of the injured Kiba. The green beast smiles at him over his shoulders in a way that makes it seem like he has no troubles at all.
"What are you talking about?" He asks Kiba innocently.
The smile on the older ninja vanishes as Jeong cuts him over his chest with his sword. Those eyes that once held happiness widen and narrow due to sudden pain Lee wasn't expecting at all.
"LEE!"
Kiba rushes forward to catch Lee before he touches the ground. Wide eyes stare up at Kiba as Lee´s slowly returning to reality.
"Kai!" Kiba releases the jutsu that's on him. "Lee, yo! Answer me."
"Ryu´s illusions are rather cruel aren't they?" Jeong chuckles.
"What did you do to him!"
"My Hikage Genkaku and Yami Genkaku techniques can alter what you feel, how you interpreters what's around you and the mood you're in easily." Ryo explains indifferently. "I made you friend feel like we were no threat, that he was way stronger than us so he would lose due to over-confidence…like that."
"You what?"
"Do you want a taste of my jutsu, I´ll give you a chance to understand it? Yami Genkaku."
Kiba gets no chance to respond when a genjutsu is thrown his way. The last thing he hears that's truly there is Akamaru´s frightened whimper. Everything around him disappears and darkness takes its place. Oh no! I've to escape the illusion before it— The illusion takes a hold of him. His stomach grows colder for each passing second and a fear, greater than never felt before takes over. It's dark, cold, terrible and he feels like the world is going to end any minute. His body becomes heavy…A sudden pain invades him as Kiba bites himself hard in the lip to regain his senses.
"Kai! Release…!"
It's very hard for him to perform the signs, almost impossible, due to the heavy dark pressure all around him telling him to give up. We are…doomed…The thought scares Kiba as it enters his mind. I can't escape the illusion…
Akamaru growls before he throws himself at Ryo and takes him by surprise. The large animal bites his arm hard and doesn't let go. The white dog braces himself, let his fangs pierce the Sound ninja´s arm and pulls backward in sawing way. The loyal dog won't look when his master and friend are getting hurt.
Naruto and a lot of copies of him approach Sasuke slowly. Over a hundred pairs of blue eyes stare at the Sharingan wielder but that said man doesn't move an inch or even react to the disadvantage. Two of his clones prepare a Rasengan as the others charges quite impulsively at Sasuke. The clones are no match for him and all of them disappears in a cloud of smoke in no time. Naruto makes a tsk sound at this before he turns to Neji who has during all this time protected him from possible threats from the outside.
"Neji, continue on. I´ll take care of Sasuke." Naruto tells Neji.
"Hn." Sasuke smirks, he doesn't believe Naruto is able to handle him at all.
"I´ll stay around and fight of the foes threatening your fight." Neji tells him. "I´ll be around."
"Alright." Naruto nods with appreciation clear in his blue eyes.
"Don't be thankful towards me, Naruto." Neji tells him in a cold voice. "If you fail to beat Uchiha I will interfere and do it without mercy."
Naruto´s eyes widen at this because Neji makes his position very clear to the blonde. Neji is on his side and will give him a chance to settle things his way but if the battle goes out of hand he will interfere and kill Sasuke. The coldness in those white Byakugan eyes send a shiver down Naruto´s spine but he can understand where that anger come from because hey share it. Neji has never really liked Sasuke but was interested in his strength the first times they met. The Hyuuga´s dislike for the other eye kekkei genkai family grew from that point to the hate he feels today. He almost died during the mission to retrieve Sasuke from the Sound and the man he once tried to save attacked a person dear to him with the intent to kill. Neji and Naruto look into each other's eyes for a moment as their thoughts focus on the same person; Akai. As if Neji´s feelings reach Naruto a anger boils up inside of him as he thinks of how the one he now tries to save almost slaughtered a friend. No matter how much he want Sasuke back he can't forgive the man for what he has done. They are forced to break their eye contact as Neji fights off some Sound ninja that attacked from behind. Naruto shakes his head as he tries to get back to reality again as he feels how the Rasengan in his hands grows stronger.
"How long are you going to hesitate?" Sasuke asks him in an indifferent way.
"You've waited long enough." Naruto agrees. "Rasengan!"
Blue eyes widen as Sasuke takes a hold of his arm and evades his Rasengan by throwing him towards the ground. The blue ball of chakra shrinks into nothing as the clone disappears into thin air and as the real Naruto hits the ground. Sasuke had predicted what would happen and was able to fully avoid the attack by using his bloodline. Sasuke doesn't let go of Naruto´s arm and uses it to keep him immobile on the ground beneath him. No matter how much Naruto pull and turn doesn't Sasuke´s iron grip on him loosen and if the Sharingan man wanted him dead he could kill him anytime now.
"You haven't changed." If you didn't think Naruto´s eyes could be smaller you were wrong, they narrow drastically as Sasuke, all of a sudden, sits down on his back. "You're still the same old and impulsive Naruto. What made you think you could beat me? I´ll get Orochimaru that scroll no matter what stunts you pull."
"I might not have changed but you have." Naruto comments while holding his breath.
The way Sasuke sits on him makes it very hard to breathe and it's also very insulting. A loud metallic sound tells Naruto that Sasuke has pulled forward one of his swords. A cold feeling enters Naruto and it paralyses him more than Sasuke´s weight already does; he will get killed if this continues on.
"I've changed you say? I would say that I've gotten stronger!"
Sasuke pierces Naruto´s shoulder with the sword and the young man on the ground grows silent. The whole forest seems to grow eerie silent in the next passing seconds. A pair of white narrow eyes stares at the unmoving form on the ground while fighting off an enemy.
"Naruto!" Neji calls out.
A smirk graces Sasuke´s pale face as he puts back his sword but that smirk disappears as something unexpected happens. The body beneath him vanishes into thin air and Sasuke is forced to jump back so he won't fall on his ass. A kage bunshin? Red Sharingan eyes widen as the characteristic smoke for that jutsu surrounds him but they're closed shut when a punch is delivered to his cheek. The power behind the punch sends him flying backwards but he's able to land on his feet some distance away. Naruto approaches him slowly and Sasuke calculates that the real Naruto must have hidden behind some bamboo trees all along.
"You sure have changed, the Sasuke I knew didn't underestimate his opponents." Naruto tells in a quite cold manner.
"Hn."
They both keep their distance before Sasuke charges towards him in an amazing speed. Their fist connect and send sparks flying through the air, which in its turn creates a pressure wave of chakra that makes the thin bamboo trees shake around them. Neji´s long hair floats in the air as he turns to regard the fight since several of his opponents where knocked off their feet by the mere pressure. Naruto frowns as he shields himself from Sasuke´s kick, evades another punch and dodges another kick before he attacks and it's Sasuke´s turn to evade. This goes on for a long time but neither of them backs down.
"Why are you doing this?" Naruto asks his former team mate.
The two of them stares at each other while both gives their all to get the other out of balance. None of them makes the other move one inch in the power struggle.
"You know that very well, to avenge my clan and kill my brother." Sasuke tells him.
Both of them jumps backward to avoid the other's attack and stay at a distance. Their power is almost equal so Naruto decides to try to talk Sasuke into giving up and realise that he's wrong even though he knows it's impossible.
"If you kill Itachi with Orochimaru´s help you won't gain anything! That fucking bastard is only using you!" He shouts in a ragged breath.
Sasuke stays cool as he stands there a distance away.
"What if it's the other way around?" Sasuke answers.
"Eh?" This takes Naruto by surprise.
"Nothing you say is going to change my chosen path." Sasuke change subject.
"Do you think Itachi would like that?" Naruto counter attacks verbally. "That chosen path of yours?"
"He killed my whole family Naruto." Sasuke tells the facts. "Why shouldn't I kill him? Why should I care about what he thinks?"
"He is your brother." Is Naruto´s answer. "You should talk with him first because if you do kill him, Itachi will disappear along with the answers you seek."
"You don't understand…anything." Sasuke starts to sound bitter.
"No I don't." He agrees.
It seems like the quick agreement made Sasuke think for a change and he regards Naruto with interest, waiting for him to continue talking. They are talking about a sensitive subject and a single mistake from Naruto´s part will make Sasuke furious.
"I've never had a family and never went through the loss you did but we were both alone." Naruto tells him. "The only difference is that you were alone because of Itachi and I… due to…the monster inside of me…"
Sharingan eyes widen with surprise for a moment before the man hides his emotions with his facade again. Monster? What…monster? The Uchiha has no clue about what Naruto is talking about but he wonders if it's connected to the inhuman amount of chakra the blonde has.
"And another thing… People who live only to seek revenge are nothing but a shell of their true self. What will you do when you finally killed Itachi? "
Sasuke stays silent.
"You don't know, do you?" Naruto asks him in a cruel, angry voice. "Maybe restore your clan? But will you be able to do that on your own Sasuke?"
"Shut up, Naruto." Sasuke is starting to get irritated.
"No I won't shut up! I won't listen to you any longer! It's your turn to listen to me." Naruto growls. "What kind of girl do you think would give herself to a person who is like you? Would you want your wife to be afraid of you?"
"I said SHUT UP!" Sasuke has finally lost it as he growls back at Naruto.
"I WON´T SHUT UP, DATTEBAYO!" Naruto screams in an inhuman way. "You have created so much hate and pain, Sasuke…and I can't ignore that anymore. You almost killed one of my friends…"
Sasuke looks at Naruto with rage with his emotionless facade almost breaking as the blonde tells him he has had enough.
"Don't sacrifice yourself for the sake of revenge…just like you felt when you lost your family, losing you will tear a hole in my heart and who should I kill for revenge when this will kill you?"
"Naruto, I said… STOP TALKING!"
Sasuke charges with his chidori out of nowhere and startles Naruto greatly. Blue thunder almost touch his cheek as Sasuke reaches for him but the blonde manage to dodge in the last second. Something Naruto said made Sasuke act impulsively without thinking and that makes it easy for the Konoha ninja to avoid his attacks and counter attack. The fast Uchiha turns and is about to attack again when Naruto interrupts by delivering a punch straight in his former best friend's face. The dark haired young man falls to the ground with a gasp of surprise. Naruto approaches him slowly.
"I´ll take you down." Naruto looks him straight in the eye with no fear. "That is a promise."
Black eyes stare up at Naruto when the young man´s features starts to change into something less human. A red chakra surrounds him as he slowly starts to take the shape of a giant orange fox with several long, tails.
"What… is this!" Sasuke breathes.
When there's a cloud up in the sky, I Go looking for the silver lining
Akai´s misty blue eyes twitch as she senses how a powerful wave of power is closing in on them from the forest. A fight is taking place, a very ugly fight between several skilled shinobi. Her heart skips a beat when she recognises one of the chakras as Naruto´s. Goosebumps makes the hair on her arms stand straight up. It's the same feeling she got when she first met Naruto in the bamboo forests months ago; when she managed to save him from Uchiha Sasuke. This red, powerful and…dangerous chakra… Akai breathes out slowly.
"Isozaki-san, some reports state that the wall is getting attacked by the Sound. We're needed at the South Gate." Yusuke tells her.
"Yes." Is her only answer. "We should hurry."
The two of them are quick to get up on their feet and run towards the South Gates. The ground is shaking due to the battle and Akai worries about falling when another great vibration makes a building crumble at their side. She uses her pole to knock away some falling stones as they were threatening hers and Yosuke´s safety. The muscles in her body protest at the movement of her arm but Akai ignores the pain and continue down the road.
"Yusuke-senpai, over here!" A man calls for Yosuke.
Akai follows Yusuke as he approaches some Grass shinobi near the South Gate and it doesn't take long for her to notice the danger. A lot of Sound ninja has managed to escape the forest and found the entrance of their village; they are all heading towards the gates.
"They're coming!" Someone says out loud.
I've to protect everyone. The warmth of the people behind Akai tells her of their presence and above all, about the whole village that she need to protect. I cannot fail this time! I cannot stand and watch when my village gets demolished for the second time! Akai starts running towards the gate and uses chakra in her feet to climb up so she can see the battlefield in front of her.
"Isozaki!" Yusuke calls Akai as he sees what she's doing.
"I´ll try to stop them from reaching the gates, it´ll probably just hold them off but it´ll give you some time."
Yusuke nods before he orders his men to step back and prepare for battle. Akai turns to face the sun as she makes the correct hand signs for one of her strongest jutsu. With a final movement does she hit the ground with her hand and the earth below the wall starts moving.
"Doton: Yomi Numa no jutsu!" Her voice echoes inside the village.
The ground moves upward in a wave like motion and sweeps the enemy army backwards toward the forest. Sweat is forming on Akai´s forehead as she controls the earth and tells it to swallow the ninja that are threatening to destroy her home. The ground cracks open as she angels her two hands downwards and pulls outward and screams can be heard as people fall into the opening. I won't make it. The thought enters her as men that she couldn't stop with her earth bending starts to climb up the wall.
"They're here now!" Akai shouts to prepare Yosuke.
A ragged breath leaves her slightly parted lips as she orders the earth to change course and move towards the wall in a quick speed. The sand hits the wall hard enough to kill some of the ones who were climbing but so hard so the wall crumbles under the pressure. A sudden change in the air alerts Akai of a man that suddenly is standing quite close to her. She grabs her pole quickly and defends herself as an outstretched arm tries to take a hold of her shirt. The narrow platform that she's standing on gets crowded faster than she had thought and a punch that connects with her chin sends her flying backwards, down, towards the others.
"Isozaki!"
A pair of strong arms catchers her just in time. Yusuke helps Akai get back to her feet but the girl's legs are shaking and it surprises him. Dark brown eyes meet her wide ones as he checks her condition thinking that she must be injured. But no wounds can be seen on her and he realises that she's shaking out of fear and exhaustion.
"They're too many!" Akai breathes.
"Numbers aren't important, you should know that." He tells her.
They are not able to exchange more words because the first ninja from the Sound army jumps down from the wall and starts charging. Akai finds herself on the ground all of a sudden as Yusuke jumps to protect her and himself from the attackers. This is not the time to feel fear or be tired! A loud, vibrating sound echoes as she gets up to her feet since she has already prepared a technique that will cause severe damage.
"Baibore-Shon no jutsu!"
The pole glows and seems to grow thicker due to the heavy vibrations and the sound alone makes some grit their teeth. Akai runs forward and uses her pole to attack the invaders. Her movements are not like they used to be; they're rusty, slow and careless due to the lack of training but she manages to knock out two or three warriors. Even though she gives it her all she can't stand the pressure around her. Akai´s breath is ragged, her body is shaking due to exhaustion and a fear is growing inside of her because the wound near her stomach is aching. Maybe her green shirt is already red by the blood of her old wound? I promised to not get in the way…Her conversation with Yosuke lingers sin her head as she draws back from the fight. The cold wall behind her feels great as she slides down to sit on the ground, hidden from the other's vision. I can't go on like this, I need to rest and then I´ll…
"Aaaaah!"
Akai throws herself to her right as a metallic weapon almost cuts her head into two pieces. Someone must have seen her crawl into her hiding place and followed her here. The pole helps her avoid injuries but an intense pain in her shoulder tells her that whoever her opponent is managed to hit her more or less. She's too fatigued to fight back properly and when her attacker prepares to finish her of Akai can't protect herself. But the pain doesn't reach her. A loud grunt tells her that someone came to save her in the last second.
"Senpai!"
"I got your back."
Yusuke kills her attacker with a simple movement of his arm and a sound tells her that a lifeless body hit the ground close to her. A strong hand grabs her elbow and she's pulled to her feet quickly. Wide eyes stare at Yosuke.
"No, I promised you to not become a burden! What are you thinking!" Akai starts to complain.
"Breaking that promise, I need you."
"What?" Akai is surprised over his words.
"More men are coming. I need you to use your Yomi Numa technique." Yusuke tells her. "Is that a good enough reason for me to save you?"
Akai snorts but can't hide her smile. She would have hated the fact that he saved her because of pity or that he underestimated her but Yosuke saves himself some trouble by telling her she's needed. Akai doesn't like to be saved but is smart enough to tell when she should be grateful.
"The others are tired and we've already lost a lot of warriors…we need to stop Sound now if we want Grass to survive the attack at all. I believe your Yomi Numa can do that, it it's used correctly."
"Tell me about it." Akai tells him. Do I have enough chakra to use that justsu?
"Yamamoto-sama is the one who requested you, so he´ll be the one talking."
Akai´s eyes narrow.