A/N: I'll admit, this has been done for awhile now. I may or may not have forgotten to upload it. Blame Pokemon Go and work.
Chapter 53: Asking for It
**0836**
Her lungs filled with air as her eyes opened, but it did nothing to relieve the panic chewing on her insides. Karui and Omoi leaned back as she bolted up shaking, eyes reeling, and throat burning. Samui was seconds away from exploding into a panic attack.
"Samui what happened," Omoi asked, but Karui waved him quiet as she took a tentative step forward.
"Samui," Karui waited for a moment, "Samui." Her eyes snapped to Karui. Glistening. "Are you okay?"
Samui's mouth moved, but nothing came out. Her face tightened—vision threatening to darken at the edges again—and fought to ignore the cramping in her chest. She tried again, "I-I don't know."
"With me," Karui ordered taking a deep breath in through her nose, and Samui struggled to fill her lungs in one go. Once she managed to do so Karui continued, "Where's Sai?"
"Sai," Samui asked confused. The name sounded familiar, a face trying to push its way forward in her mind, and she looked around vacantly. "Sai…Sai?!"
Samui's eyes snapped down to the pack she'd been using as a pillow and caught the edge of the scroll they'd been transporting. She bent down to retrieve it, and in the process the dams within her broke. Her knees gave out and she collapsed to them, a sob wrenching her body as tears blurred her world. "Sai. Oh god. Oh god!"
"What happened," Omoi asked crouching beside her. The sight of his leader so vulnerable sent a wave of pebbled skin over him. "Where is he?"
"Gone," Samui said.
"Gone where," Karui asked.
"Ame."
"Ame," Omoi echoed and glanced to Karui, "Why the hell would he go there?"
"M-Mission."
"Mission? Another mission," Karui's face twisted. "Raikage-sama didn't issue in missions in Ame."
Samui's lips trembled as she stumbled over the next word, only managing it as a whisper, "Nuke-nin."
"Oh god," Karui said covering her mouth.
"Why," Omoi asked. "Why would he go rogue?"
But Samui didn't hear the question, instead hearing the hazy voice of Sai's torment soul. "Good bye my Sun, my Moon, my Stars."
Her lips tingled and she brought her fingers to them. She could feel it. The sweet residual pressure of where his lips had so desperately stolen a kiss. They were still warm.
Maybe.
No. They weren't. She was lying to herself. He'd left long ago, and she knew he had no intention of seeing her again. He ended it in one swift, bittersweet moment. Something she'd been unable to do.
"Samui, is that what I think it is…" Karui asked.
Samui followed Karui's eyes to a dark spot on her wrist. At a glance in the dawn light it looked like a smudge, but she looked closer and went numb as her soul shattered.
"No," Samui whispered bringing the small seal inscribed on her closer. Her throat closed completely and she shook her head while tears burning hotter than ever in her life cut down her cheeks. Her eyes closed and she craddled her wrist to her chest while another sob contracted her whole body.
How could he do this to her? How could he mark her with such an intimate thing?
"What is it," Omoi asked.
Karui's arms wrapped around Samui, and she looked at Omoi biting her lip. "It's the Eiketsu."
"What…" Omoi's eyes fell to Samui. "I've never heard of it before."
"It's old," Karui said. "Used during the Warring Clan era and the First Ninja War. It was a seal married shinobi would place on one another before battle."
"What's it do?"
"It disappears when the spouse dies," Samui sat up wiping her eyes. "It disappears leaving behind one final memento."
She stared at her wrist and traced the small seal tenderly. "The Last Farewell," she thought and her lips trembled despite the corners tugging up briefly. "You really were a romantic, weren't you?"
Her thumb halted its tracing, and her smile inverted. "No. He is a romantic. He's not dead yet, and I'll be damned if I let him die before I get the final word. He wants to die? Then I'll kill the bastard myself!"
Samui stood so quickly her teammates flinched, and when they tried to say something she beat them to it, "We're leaving."
Karui and Omoi shared a look and Karui said, "Okay. I'll start breaking down the tent—"
"No," Samui said slinging the pack with the seal inside onto her back. "We're leaving now."
She didn't wait for them, using her chakra to push herself into a dead sprint. Moments later Omoi appeared beside her, looking for the first time in his life irritated. "What are you thinking?"
"We're going to deliver the seal like we were ordered."
"And then?!"
"Go to Ame."
"You want us to go rogue," Omoi shouted despite the breakneck pace.
"No. I'm going to Ame. You go meet up with Raikage-sama."
"I'm not going to let you do this," Omoi said and met the scathing glare Samui shot at him.
"Neither will I," Karui said appearing on Samui's other side. "We'll go together."
Samui blinked—then glanced at Omoi to see a look of unyielding determination on his face. He nodded at her before gritting his teeth and pushing ahead to take point.
"You realize we'll be a full half a day behind him, maybe more since he can fly," Karui said.
"I know," Samui said.
"We'll just have to push ourselves to make up for the difference," Omoi called over his shoulder.
Samui's teeth clenched and she focused on pumping more chakra into her legs, "Omoi…Karui…thank you."
***5 HOURS EARLIER: 0333***
"How much money do you think Uzumaki-sama will pay us," Akido asked over the radio seal. His squad had drawn the short straws and wound up with perimeter duty.
Sai's pen halted and his lips twitched down.
"Don't care," Shindou answered. "As long as we get these damn seals released I'll consider the payment made in full."
Ignoring the chilling, damp air signally his proximity to Ame, Sai finished his sentence and then placed his journal into a seal in his hand.
"Well I do," Sojin said. "God the girls at the Scarlet Roof are going to love me."
The wind whipped Sai's hair back as he looked down at the Hyuuga camp he'd been circling for the past five minutes. With every second that passed, he became less impressed with the men for failing to notice him.
Shindou snorted, "Maybe if you actually had some skills with women you wouldn't have to spend all your money on them."
"The fuck's that supposed to mean?"
"Anyone can buy women," Shindou said. "Real skill is picking them up."
"How is buying a hooker on the corner any different from renting one at a hotel," Sojin asked, and Akido's snort echoed in response.
"Something you'd like to add, Ramrod," Shindou asked.
Silence.
"Akido," Sojin asked.
Again only silence responded, and as Sojin and the others at camp stood to investigate, fifteen heads turned with Byakugans activated to the sound of movement in the underbrush.
"Your situational awareness is pathetic," Sai said emerging from the trees.
He smirked behind his old Root mask at the frustrations on their faces as they tried to see behind his mask. Jihibiki had shown him a dojutsu disruption seal before he left, the very same etched into the Night Angel masks, and he'd applied to the one he wore now. He came to a stop several paces away, and evaluated the men in the way they reacted to the giant serpent painting that slithered past him and coiled itself between him and the group.
"Who are you," Sojin asked.
"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to," Sai said.
"Then why did you attack us?"
"I'm disappointed with what I've seen, so we're going to have a little…remediation."
"With all due respect, sir," Shindou said. "We're in the middle of a mission."
"Trust me when I say I don't want to do this anymore than you do," Sai shrugged. "I was under the assumption I was getting trained, seasoned, professionals. But you know what they say when you assume—you make an Ass out of U and Me."
"You really think you can take us all at once," Sojin asked.
"The sad part is you think you can," Sai said.
"Sir, I must advise against this," Shindou said raising his hands.
"Noted and disregarded," Sai answered. He unclipped his battle scroll and set it on the ground, "For fairness' sake I'll not use my prepared jutsu."
Sojin looked eager to fight, but when he glanced at Shindou he calmed slightly. "You may goad us all you wish sir, but we're not attacking. Not while we're on a mission. I believe this is a bluff anyways."
"You're sorely mistaken if you think that," Sai's eyes flicked to his serpent and it burst into ink, revealing Akido and the four others unconscious. Sai then reached into his pouch and pulled out a seal. The very same one Naruto had shown them saying, "If that's not enough motivation then the last man standing will receive the key to your prison."
Sai flickered out of existence a second before a Vacuum Palm fired from Shindou blew a crater where he stood. Everyone strained their Byakugan, pushing their eyes in vain to see a man they had no chance of detecting.
"There are ten commandments you will live by under my leadership," Sai's voice bounced through the trees.
A grunt and cry broke the stillness, and the group turned to see Mizo and Tauro collapse with Sai standing between them.
"One: I am Vengeance, the wrathful god of combat, and I will always lead you from the front, not the rear," he stepped forward and pulled out his brush.
What followed couldn't even be called a fight, not in Sai's opinion. They were so focused on the seal, so desperate to take it from him; it was like everything they'd ever learned never existed. He ducked, weaved, and returned blows with all the leisure of taking a stroll to the café. Were they really so slow? Or perhaps he'd just gotten faster?
One came in with a double palm thrust and he caught it at the wrists, parted them, and pulled the man close.
"Two: I will treat you all alike," he planted his forehead between the wide eyed Hyuuga, "just like shit."
More Vacuum Palms fired his way and Sai disappeared with a substitution. Silence overtook the camp as a dozen men held their breaths. Their leader's voice echoed through the trees again, "Three: You'll not do anything I'll not do first, and so you will be created warriors in my deadly image."
Sai appeared and took another out with a kick to the stomach. They all scattered, placing distance between them with shouts.
Shindou came in with a palm thrust and something in Sai cracked at the laziness in the strikes. Sai twisted his body while his brush blurred over Shindou's chest, and when Sai finished rotating he faced the others holding the half ram saying, "Four: I'll punish your bodies because the more you sweat in training, the less you'll bleed in combat."
Shindou stumbled, looked down at the seal glowing on his chest, and collapsed screaming from the electricity arching across his body. Everyone took a step back, hesitation and awe shaping their usually stoic faces.
A grin formed under Sai's mask, "Five: Indeed, if you hurt in your efforts and suffer painful dings," Chakra flooded his brush and he painted the air, the ink suspending, "then you are Doing. It. Right!"
The seal flared and a blast of heavy wind blew a group of them away leaving only Sojin and three others.
"I-I can't follow him!" One of the Hyuuga's whispered.
"He's fast," the other nodded.
"More than fast," Sojin said and his eyes narrowed. "It's like he's teleporting!"
"Six:" Sai said appearing within the group and was rewarded with gasps, "You don't have to like it—you just have to do it."
His hand chopped the throat of one, and as he followed with a sharp strike to the temple he threw a back kick into the chest of the Hyuuga behind him. He heard air rush from the lungs and a second later the dull thud as the body hit a tree. "Seven: You will Keep It Simple, Stupid."
Sojin and the other came at him, their teamwork marginally better now that it was only them. Sai stowed his brush, intent on finishing the fight with his hands, and waited for an opportunity. Sojin gave a sweeping kick and Sai jumped it, his feet barely leaving the ground—enough to clear the strike—and passed the chance to drive his foot down into Sojin's knee. The other attacked in that moment, sending a Vacuum Palm at him while he was suspended in air.
"I got him," the man cried.
"Eight:" Sai whispered behind him, and the man screamed as Sai sent a vicious punch to the back of his head. "You will never assume."
Sojin stood up, tense and ready to leap at any second. "I'm the last one," he said. "But you were never going to give us the seal, were you."
"Nine:" Sai pulled out the seal, "As such you aren't paid for your methods, but for your results, which means you will kill your enemy by any means before he kills you."
Sai held out the seal, and after a tense silence Sojin finally relaxed. He approached Sai slowly, breathing hard and covered in dirt and sweat. He'd had barely plucked the seal from Sai's hand when Sai pivoted and strode away.
"You shall, in your warrior mind and soul, always remember my ultimate and final commandment," he glanced over his shoulder, "There are no rules—you will win at all costs."
Sojin glanced down at the seal activating in his hand long enough to realize his mistake. The concussion blast tore through the night, and as the echoes died Sai looked around at the bodies strewn everywhere. "These are the black ops Ten Commandments, the will of your commander, and the rules you will forever live your life by starting tonight."
Sojin awoke to a world filled with invisible mud. Everything hurt, even his eyes. Despite this he rolled to his side, groaning while he forced himself to his knees, and tried to assess his situation. Nineteen bodies lay in sleeping bags around him filling the night air with steady breathing. A promising start.
He stumbled to his feet, and the dancing shadows flitting through the thicket drew his attention. He stumbled through the bushes and the sound of a fire crackling eventually overcame the ringing in his ears. His commander sat by the fire—blank mask peering into the tongues with the same amount of emotion he'd shown Sojin and the others.
"I'm impressed," Vengeance said keeping his gaze fixed on the flames. "You've only been out for twenty minutes. You should return to your sleeping roll though. We'll be leaving when the moon touches the horizon."
Sojin glanced at the moon hanging just over the land and surged his chakra. "I'm as rested as I'll ever be," he shrugged and collapsed next across the fire. "At this point I'm just hoping the ringing will stop before we get to Ame."
"I went slightly overboard, but I was making a point."
"Apology accepted."
"What apology?" Sojin's eyes locked on his commander's mask, and watched it incline. "It appears your arrogance is an innate trait. You deserved what you received—you all did. I understand the freedom may be intoxicating, but don't forget what's at stake."
"Yeah, yeah. The pregnant leader of Ame."
The sound of a tongue slapping against the back of teeth filled the space between them, and Sojin suspected his leader wore a look of disappointment behind his mask.
"If that's what you believe then our experiment is already a failure," Vengeance said.
Of all the questions the first to Sojin's lips were, "Experiment?"
"Yes. Whether or not the Hyuuga traitors were redeemable. Though it appears they are too bitter and selfish to serve a greater purpose."
"And what might that be," Sojin asked.
"To serve the Uzumaki."
Sojin snarled, "So you want to know if we'll trade one master for another?"
The fire crackled in response, and in the silence that followed Sojin felt disappointment radiate from Vengeance.
"You've been given a second chance—saved from certain execution. Offered freedom. Yet the only thing you can focus on is serving someone," Vengeance shook his head. "Shinobi serve the Hokage. Clansmen serve the clan head. Why?
"Because a leader looks after his subordinates. He does what will serve in the best interest of his followers—not himself—and for that reason they do as their leader commands. After the mission is green light, after the orders are passed down, he looks out for the best interest of his men."
Vengeance's head lifted to the night sky, and Sojin's chest tightened. "You were dealt a bad hand initially. So what? You're not the only ones. Countless others have suffered just like you—more than you. I admit you were born to a world of bad leadership, but that's changed now."
"How's that?"
"Because a true leader has reached out to you."
"You're talking about Naruto-sama." Sojin shook his head. "Why should I listen to anyone with a self entitled status?"
The moment the words left his lips Sojin regretted them. The intent that followed in their wake wasn't one promising death, but suffering and agony. But Vengeance regained his composure, and he spoke just loud enough over Sojin's heart.
"I understand you're scared."
"Who the fuck says—"
"You're lashing out—so much so that you're ignoring facts." Vengeance shrugged, "You'd never heard of Naruto before unless he was being slandered as a child, put down as a freshly minted genin, or savior of the village. Why else would you spit on someone who's raised from the pits you, yourself, were born in unless you were scared?"
Sojin said nothing and Vengeance shook his head. "None of this is important. What is important is how many of your comrades you can keep alive in the next part of the mission. That's what's important."
"You don't sound very optimistic."
"That's because I recognize a death march when I see one."
Straps tightened. Bolts slapped shut. Fabric shifted, and soft murmurs occasionally broke the quiet.
Sai watched them prepare with morose calm. All joking had ceased with his little lesson, and now only focus remained. They checked their equipment. Checked each other's equipment, and rechecked theirs again. Hands patted holsters and made dry runs for items stashed in various pockets. Limbs moved in odd ways ensuring full range of motion, and weapons snapped up into position for practice.
Sai closed his eyes and took a breath, held it, and then let it out opening them to the night sky. He stood, and all attention shifted to him. His gaze wandered over twenty faces barely visible under the canopy's shadow at twilight.
"If you're not ready now, then you'll never be," Sai said. "I won't go over the mission again because you're smart, and I know you've memorized it down to the last detail. There's only one thing left to do."
He pulled out a scroll and unsealed the contents, holding them up to his bastardized group of black ops warriors. "If you're going to die—then god willing you will die free men. Form a line."
It was over within two minutes, and Sai knew over half of them were glad for the darkness to hide their tears as many rubbed their barren foreheads. His chest tightened at the residual joy in the air, but in the same breath it turned bitter knowing many of them would in fact die in a matter of hours.
"We've wasted enough time," Sai released his birds from their paper cages.
"Sir," Sojin said, "one more thing."
Sai turned to his second-in-command and nodded.
"If there's a high chance of us all dying—then please—who are you?"
Even the forest seemed to hold its breath in anticipation, and after a second of thought Sai unclipped his mask. "I told you a great leader had reached out to you. If he could, he'd be here leading you. But the higher ups have decided to lock him away in the village. So he sent his own brother to watch over you."
Murmurs and whispers followed, but Sai could sense the shift. They were still nervous, but they seemed more at ease knowing his face. Jumping onto his mount he motioned for the others to follow, and Sojin, Shindou, and Akido each took a bird. Two others, Touru and Hachibane assigned to Sai, joined him while the last bird was headed by a Hyuuga named Renai.
Gusts of wind whirled around them, and as they cleared the trees Sai activated his radio. "Control Room this is Vengeance, the birds are free. I repeat, the birds are free."
***PRESENT TIME: 0928***
"Nervous," Naruto asked as he straightened his kimono in the mirror. He glanced up and caught Sasuke's eyes in the reflection behind him.
"Should I be?"
A mirthless chuckle filled the air and Naruto said, "It might help if you at least looked a little concerned."
"How so?"
"Because if you did then I wouldn't feel so much pressure." Naruto turned to Sasuke and grinned. "It's a lot when you so readily believe I'll pull this off."
Sasuke shrugged, "I'm not worried because you're close with the Hokage. Convincing her will be easy for you. It's what you do best—getting others to understand."
"While you're faith in us is reassuring," Shikamaru said opening the door to the waiting room, "It's not the Hokage we have to convince."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Then who is it?"
"For starters the general public," Naruto said. "The Hokage words is usually law, but every now and then they need to listen to the people's voice or things can become tense and volatile."
"Then there are the clan heads," Shikamaru continued. "They'll be the toughest ones to convince and a sort of role model the public will look to."
"The problem is I may have stepped on a few toes at the last council meeting," Naruto said.
"That's putting it lightly," Shikamaru snorted. "You have no chance of the Inuzuka siding with you, and not much better with the Aburame either."
The corners of Sasuke's lips finally dipped, "So nothing's set in stone."
"Basically," Naruto frowned.
Sasuke blew out a breath and looked between the two of them. "Okay I'm feeling a little nervous now. Happy?"
"A little," Naruto smirked.
The door opened again and Ibiki stepped in with two guards behind him. "It's time."
***0930***
She wasn't sure what woke her first, the siren or the explosions. By the time her feet touched the floor though Hanshou had entered her room.
"It's begun," he said meeting her at the map on her desk. "The port is under attack. I've already ordered the evacuation of citizens in the 2000 block."
"How many," Konan asked.
"A lot. Two thousand, maybe more."
"That's…" Konan didn't know what to say: extreme, over-kill, hopeless. Each one described the situation but failed to encompass it entirely.
"I know," Hanshou said. "It looks like they've come through the water. We couldn't detect them but luckily it's slowed them down."
More explosions shook the tower and Konan turned to see a giant fireball fading in the dim morning light.
"I should be there," she said moving for the doors leading out to the balcony.
Hanshou stepped in front of her, "You'll do no such thing."
"My people are in danger," Konan shouted and flinched at the pain that shot through her lower back.
"My lady, I will seal your chakra and lock you in this room if I have to. You're in no condition to fight. You have nearly 2,000 men and women trained for this sort of event, let them do their jobs."
Another string of explosions rang so hard the windows facing the port cracked at the pressure. Konan and Hanshou eyes shifted to the water's edge, only to see the horizon turning into fire.
"Hanshou," Konan's voice had lost the steel it held a second ago, "what are they attacking in the port?"
He said nothing, eyes straining as he tried to make sense of what was happening. Seconds later a ninja appeared in the doorway dripping in a mixture of rain, blood, and soot. His eyes were wild, fear and panic threatening to consume him as he gasped from breath.
"Flash," Hanshou said stepping between Konan and the ninja, his handing falling to the blade sheathed on his lower back.
"Th-Thunder," he gasped.
"What is it," Hanshou asked. "What's happened?"
"It's our ships," the man said. "All our cargo and tankers have been destroyed."
***0946***
"You've just crossed the border into Ame," Shino said.
Sai's eyes strained against the heavy rain, and through a break in the lower stratosphere's clouds he caught a glimpse of a single, concrete pillar in the middle of the road marking the border.
"Visibility is poor," Sai answered over the screaming winds. "What's our location?"
"Target is approximately sixty clicks northwest of current position," Shino answered. "Begin ascent for HAI."
"Copy that," Sai said and turned his attention to the birds flying around him. "All teams climb!"
A string of confirmations answered him before the birds shifted up and the warm humid air began to cool. With any shred of luck this would go off without a hitch. The faint echo of thunder that answered did little to ease the apprehension growing in his gut though. He glanced at his watch.
"Sir," Shindou waited until Sai turned to look at him. "What's HAI?"
"High Altitude Insertion," Sai answered.
"I don't remember that term in any textbook."
"That's because it's not. This will be the first time it's utilized."
Silence followed for a moment before Sojin said, "That's pretty kickass."
Sai grinned behind his mask, "We'll see if you're still saying that when the insertion part begins."
***0950***
"Well this wasn't what I was expecting," Sasuke muttered looking around the stadium that only few years before had served as the site for the final stage of the Chuunin exams.
"I admit I had pleaded for a public trial," Naruto said glancing at the seats filled to the brim. "But I had no idea things would turn out this large of scale."
"It works in our favor either way," Shikamaru said. He worked a kink in his neck and sighed, "God this is gonna be such a pain in the ass."
"Not to cause a distraction," Shino said causing Naruto and Shikamaru to tense, "but the mission is beginning."
Naruto turned his head away saying, "I want regular updates."
"Everything okay," Sasuke asked.
Naruto nodded, "Just getting my thoughts together."
The noise grew at the appearance of Tsunade, and during the distraction Shikamaru asked, "ETA for hitting the ground?"
"Twenty minutes."
Naruto glanced at Shikamaru whose eyes shifted up for a second before meeting his again, "That'll put us at the beginning of the first recess."
Naruto nodded and Tsunade held out her hands signaling for the stadium to silence.
"The preliminary hearing will now be called to order," Tsunade's echoed across the stadium followed by the crack of a gavel. "Uchiha Sasuke. You stand arraigned for the desertion of your village—Konohagakure no Sato—while in its services, conspiring with a known traitor of the village—Orochimaru, conspiring with the known terrorist organization—Akatsuki, attempting assassination of the Elemental Nation's leaders during a peace meeting, assassination of the interim Hokage, Shimura Danzo, and the attempted attack on Konohagakure no Sato."
The crowd around them came alive. Shouts for death, accusation of lies, and cries of dismay and outrage filled the air.
"That's all," Sasuke muttered raising an eyebrow.
"Convinced her to condense the list," Naruto said.
Tsunade's gavel rang out three times and the crowd quieted. "The evidence presented by various witnesses has been collected and their accounts recorded," Tsunade said. "After brief consideration I have decided the evidence presented warrants further trial."
"So much for Kami showing some pity on us," Shikamaru sighed.
"Uchiha Sasuke, how do you plea?"
If Naruto hadn't known any better he'd have thought a silencing seal had activated. The crowd leaned forward as one, holding their breaths to hear the words of his friend.
An impassive second passed between Sasuke and Tsunade before he said, "Not guilty."
The crowd erupted.
***0958***
"Just how likely are we to be struck by lightning," Akido asked as thunder rippled past them.
Sai ignored him as memories of Atlas' old weather patterns in Ame flashed before his eyes. This shouldn't be happening—no accounts of thunderstorms had ever been recorded this late in the season in either the old or more recent reports. The cold air rushing down from the Misting Mountains bordering Iwa mixed with the jet stream sweeping down from the Northern Sea carrying cool, wet air. The resulting mixture produced the steady, constant rains that plagued Ame, but the cold front created always pushed farther southeast at this time, meeting the warm front over Kawa no Kuni.
"Probably a lot less likely if you shut that lightning rod receptor," Sojin snapped.
"Oi, I don't need any—"
"Lock up those lips," Sai growled and the chattering over radios fell silent.
They were nervous and rightly so. It was one thing to fly through a storm to almost certain death. It was another to fly through a thunderstorm where you could die before you even started the mission.
Something was off.
Sai glanced at his watched and then checked his compass, "Where five clicks out from the village—"
The static screamed through the radio for a moment as a massive wave of thunder rippled past them, and Sai suppressed chills as images of the Hyuuga mission jolted through him.
"All units break formation and head to primary objectives," Sai said after a second. "Rendezvous at designation white."
The birds broke their V formation as four of them split apart, each heading in a separate direction. Their targets located a kilometer outside of Ame at its four cardinal points. The last bird stayed its course, heading straight for the heart of the city. With any luck they'd reach the center within five minutes. With any luck the mission wouldn't go to shit.
Thunder roared again and Sai scowled in defiance at it.
***1003***
"Foundry is just beyond the tree line," Omoi shouted over his shoulder.
Samui didn't respond, choosing to focus on getting oxygen into her lungs and using the chakra to ease the fire in her legs. They'd taken too long getting there. The trees had shortened and thinned to the point of being unable to use them for travel, forcing them to the ground where the terrain had reared an ugly side and become a pain to navigate.
There was a shout somewhere off to their left, most likely a check point before traveling on to the Foundry. But they surged by and in the wake Samui heard muted shouts of warning. They broke through the undergrowth into a field several hundred meters long and cut low to alert the guards to anyone approaching. As it so happened, their rapid progress had caught the Foundry's attention, and a faint alarm rebounded from the walls. Twenty meters from the towering walls dozens of kunai pierced the ground in front of them forcing them to a stop.
"I'll give you one, and only one chance to come out of this alive," a shinobi shouted from the walls. "State your purpose of coming here. Do anything else, and I mean anything, and I'll have your bodies turned to mulch!"
"We're the Kumo team sent from Konohagakure with vital assets for the war," Karui answered.
There was a pause. Voices talking to each other. And then the shinobi said, "I'm coming down with my team. Move from your spot and your dead!"
Seconds later a tall, well built middle aged man with a goatee and hard eyes appeared with four others a few paces away. But Samui didn't care. What she did care about was the precious seconds burning away as they tiptoed around protocol.
"We weren't expecting you until this evening," the man said not bothering to hide his suspicion.
"We had another member, Uzumaki Sai," Omoi said. "He had a means for air transportation, that's why we made such great time."
"And where is this other member?"
Samui screamed inside, and felt the panicking clawing its way up her chest. She didn't have time for this!
"He went ahead," Karui answered. "He has another mission in Ame. We're to link back up with him after dropping off the package."
"I see," the man said. But he didn't. Samui could see it plain as she could see the clouds in the sky. He had every intention of keeping them.
"I don't have time for this," Samui said slinging the backpack off of her and tossing it at his feet. The sudden movement put them into defensive stances, and on the wall she could feel the signature of a hundred chakras being molded. "Do whatever you want with that. I have more important places to be."
She flickered away, and the man heading the ninja took a step forward, "Hey, get back here!"
"Karui," Omoi said, "follow her. I'll take care of things here."
"Don't even think about it," the shinobi said raising a kunai.
Karui moved, and the shinobi made to follow but Omoi focused his chakra and a burst of light flared, blinding everyone present and masking her getaway. The next moment a burst of pain bloomed behind his ear knocking him to the ground. His hands wrenched behind his back as shackles were placed on him.
"Should've thought this one through a little more."
