DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO (MAYBE IF I USE KOTOAMATSUKAMI ON KISHIMOTO THEN MAYBE HE WOULD HAND THE IP OVER TO ME, JK)

The Lost Archives: Shinobi Chronicles I

Good Girl

It was a cloudy day in Konoha and it seemed like it was about to rain, the winds were blowing awfully strong that day as well. Inside the Hokage's office was Hiruzen and he was sitting behind his desk doing what he usually does. Paperwork, a butt load of it too and he wasn't too keen on doing it but he had to whether he liked it or not.

He sighed and took a puff from his pipe and then he heard a knock on the door. Usually, he would notice that someone was outside his office but he was too busy thinking about the amount of work he has to do that day. "You may enter" Hiruzen said to which the door opened only to reveal Tsuma Inuzuka, the matriarch of the Inuzuka Clan. She was also a Tokubetsu Jounin (Special High Ninja) of Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf Village) and a mother of two.

Tsume is a very tough woman and people who worked with her in the past described her as the following: wild, impatient, and extremely strict. But underneath all of that was a loving mother who cared deeply for her family and village.

The door opened wider to make way for her canine companion, Kuromaru. He was Tsume's canine partner, he adorned black and white fur which made him look like a wolf overall. Kuromaru was also missing his left ear and wore an eyepatch over his right eye which shows how battle-hardened he was.

"Ah Tsume, Kuromaru, it's good to see the both of you. How can this old man help you?" he asked.

"It's a pleasure to see you as well Hokage-sama, I just wanted to inform you that I have deployed a handful of our clan's members to assist in sniffing out hidden Iwagakure bunkers around the edge of Hi no Kuni"

"I see, excellent job, and thank you for informing me right away. Would that be all?" Hiruzen further asked, he also gestured for Kuromaru to come closer. Kuromaru approached the Hokage and sat in front of him

"I also have a mission report from Asuma, I saw him at the gate with his students and he asked me to give this to you. I usually don't do favors for anyone but I was heading here anyway, and he looked like he needed a break as well" Tsuma explained while Hiruzen was patting Kuromaru's head.

"I see… If that is all, then you are dismissed" Hiruzen responded

Tsume bowed and called Kuromaru's attention, the big dog then stood up and followed her outside. The door closed which left Hiruzen alone, he noticed that Tsume was in a bit of a rush and he tried his best to figure out why. After a bit of thinking, he finally remembered the exact reason why.

"Kisuke Inuzuka…" Hiruzen muttered

That was the name of Tsume's husband who died during the Third Shinobi World War and that day was his death anniversary. Hiruzen remembered reading the mission report that covered the events of his last mission before perishing in the line of duty, he then stood up and decided to look for the exact report.

After a while of digging, he was able to find what he was looking for. Naturally, it was dusty due to not being opened after thirteen years. Hiruzen flipped the folder open and began to read its contents.

Mission ID: J2-3445B

Type: Extraction

Members:

Inuzuka Kisuke (KIA)

Yamanaka Futaro (KIA)

Shinohara Tomio

Morishighe Yuji (KIA)

Hironaka Yasuo (KIA)

Status: Successful

- Thirteen Years Ago -

A young man named Shinohara Tomio was frantically looking for the team he was assigned to join by his superiors, he had difficulty in finding them due to the fact that this was his first time being deployed out on the battlefield. Tomio had no idea where to look for them but he was certain he was in the right building. He then decided to look over the scroll he received once more hoping that it would help him find his squad, Tomio suddenly ran into someone which caused him to fall on his butt and onto the floor.

"Oh gosh… I-I'm so sorry about that, I didn't mean to… Y-You see, I'm looking for my te-" Tomio was cut-off when he noticed that the man he bumped into was staring at him. Tomio gulped in response because he was unnerved by the man due to his pupils being vertical slits, it felt like his gaze was piercing him.

The man was around six feet tall, he had wild brown hair and red fang markings on his cheeks. The man wore a modified trench coat that was black in color, his coat had a hood that was lined with fur. He also wore a dark green shirt underneath his coat, and black pants, as well as fingerless gloves with metal plating sewn onto them. His choice of clothing and tall stature intimidated Tomio as a result.

"Oi… Watch where you're going will ya?..." the man replied as he bared his pronounced canine teeth.

Tomio shivered in fear which caused him to apologize more, he bowed down multiple times to ask for forgiveness but suddenly he heard the man burst into laughter. This confused Tomio as a result, he then looked up to see the man in tears. The man wiped off his tears, regained his composure, and then introduced himself.

"Relax kid… I know we are in a war but try to lighten up will ya? The name's Kisuke Inuzuka" he said to Tomio

Tomio remembered seeing his name in the scroll that he was given, he also recalled that this man was supposed to be their squad leader as well. Knowing this, Tomio then stood up straight, saluted, and then introduced himself to show respect to his superior.

"My name is Shinohara Tomio, a Chunin and an iryo-nin (medical-nin) sir" Tomio replied

"Ahhh… So, you're our team's medic then aye? That's good to know but uh… There is one thing you need to know though" Kisuke said to him

"W-What is it sir?" he asked

Kisuke then pointed at his canine companion who was sitting inside a room, "That over there is Yukimaru, she's also a part of our team. If she gets injured, can I count on you to treat her?" he asked

"I-I'll try my best sir..." Tomio replied

"That's good to know, Yukimaru is very well-behaved. She won't bite… Well, at least not that hard" he remarked

This unsettled him as a response, Kisuke noticed this and laughed. "I'm joking, I'm joking…" he said to Tomio and gave him a pat on the back for being a good sport.

"Anyway, I'll be briefing our team about the mission details. So, why not introduce yourself to the others while you wait" Kisuke said to Tomio to which he nodded in response.

Tomio then looked inside the room to see most of the team's members, he entered the room and introduced himself to the others, and the others did the same as well. And after a few minutes, they all got to know each other at least a little bit.

- A Few Minutes Later -

Kisuke and his team were discussing the operation they were about to embark on, he was at the front while the other members remained seated and listened intently to what he had to say.

"Listen up, I am Kisuke Inuzuka also known as Konoha no Kuroi Inu (Konoha's Black Dog/Black Dog of the Leaf) and I will be your commanding officer for this operation. I see that they have provided me with three shinobi for this mission which is more than enough to pull this off, before we begin is there anyone here who is having second thoughts about joining this mission?" Kisuke asked but no one raised their hand.

"Since none of y'all raised their hand, then it must mean you are committed to seeing this mission through. From here on out there will be no turning back but I digress, our mission is simple enough because all we have to do is extract the reconnaissance team that has been spying on Iwagakure's forces for the past week" he explained, one of them raised their hand to ask a question. Kisuke acknowledged this and prompted the man to ask his question.

"What's your name?" Kisuke asked

"Futaro Yamanaka, sir" he replied

"And your question?" Kisuke returned

"Where is the location of this team" Futaro answered

"Their specific location is unknown but intel suggests that they are somewhere between the border of Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village) and Tsuchi no Kuni (Land of Earth), but I have a hunch that they would be around the southwestern portion of Takigakure's territory. Intel supports this due to the presence of more than a dozen Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village) camps that are located there, another reason as to why I think they're there is because the safest route they can take back to ally territory is through Fukushima Pass. Once they have passed through there, they could simply set off an explosion and close the path using the boulders that would fall down" he explained and the members nodded in return. Kisuke then continued to explain the situation to them.

"They are deep within hostile territory which makes it difficult for us, not only because we have to do this quietly but because we have to do this quickly. The recon team contacted HQ and told them they don't have much time left, they also informed us that Iwagakure is aware of their presence. That's pretty much the only thing they told us before we lost contact with them, so the longer we make them wait the more likely they'll end up dead. This is why we only have such a small window of opportunity to do this. We only have around five hours to do this before the sun rises, and getting them out of there in broad daylight is just wishful thinking"

Another member then raised their hand to ask a question, "Name?" Kisuke asked once more

"Hironaka Yasuo, sir" Yasuo answered

"And your question?"

"How come they didn't just relay the intel when they contacted HQ and how do we know they're still alive?" he wondered

"According to them, the intel is sealed inside a scroll and unfortunately the recon team doesn't have anyone who specializes in fuinjutsu which is why we need to extract their team out of there. As for your second question, well… The funny thing is… We don't know if they're still alive" Kisuke answered which caused an uproar among the members, Kisuke then slammed his fist on the table to assert his authority.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled which caught the attention of all the members, he then cleared his throat and began to speak once more. "I do not want to hear another peep from any of you not unless I ask for it. And in case I do hear one, then Yukimaru would like to have a word with you" he said after which Yukimaru snarled and bared her sharp teeth at them. This was able to shut them up once more.

Kisuke sighed and continued to explain the details of the mission, "I know this mission looks pointless on the surface but think about it, we are currently facing a war against four other villages and it is obvious that the odds are against us here. If we do find out that the recon team is still alive, then this might be able to turn the tide of war in our favor" Kisuke stated

"And if they're dead?" one of them said

"Then we move on and return to base, that is IF we come out alive" Kisuke replied, hearing this made Tomio gulp as a response.

Kisuke then began to explain how they were going to pull this off, their team bounced around ideas and came up with fail-safes and various contingency plans in case things go south for them which caused their meeting to take a couple more hours to finish. Once their team was satisfied with their overall plan, they then prepared to gear up since they were about to head out in a couple of hours.

- Somewhere West of Takigakure –

(5 Hours Left)

"I swear to Kami, the barrier team is fucking incompetent. They had one job and they blew it, and now we're the ones who have to clean up their mess by finding those damn tree-huggers" an Iwagakure shinobi said to his partner, and his partner nodded in return. Both men were unhappy due to being forced to clean up another division's mess.

"*sigh* I agree Kei-san… They get to stay at the base where it's safe and more comfortable yet they still failed to do their damn j-" the man's sentence was cut-off when he suddenly heard something.

He heard a nearby bush rustle; the man then informed Kei if he heard it too. His partner replied that he didn't hear anything, "It's probably just the wind, relax…" Kei replied.

Perhaps his partner was right, it was probably just the wind. The man felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his head, he decided to take out his towel from his pocket to deal with it. He wiped off his sweat with the use of his towel and then he heard the same sound again, this time it sounded closer. This made him a bit paranoid which caused him to address the situation by grabbing Kei's attention.

"I heard it again… I swear I'm not making this up" he said

"*sigh* We would have sensed a chakra signature by now if it was an enemy shinobi, but have you sensed anything yet?" Kei asked

"W-Well… No" the man returned

"Exactly, so shut up and keep moving. I just want to finish our patrol and head back to camp" Kei said to his partner

The man sighed and decided to drop the subject, he thought to himself that he was being a bit too tense during their patrol. He then mused the idea that maybe getting a good night's sleep would alleviate his paranoia, the man then finished wiping off his sweat and returned the towel back inside his pocket. But suddenly a hand emerged from the darkness and covered the man's mouth which prevented him from making any noise, the man tried his best to yell out to his partner but his mouth was covered by a rag.

*Mumbling sounds*

No matter how loud he yelled, all he was able to do was create inaudible sounds that his partner couldn't hear from afar. The man was starting to have trouble breathing due to the rag covering both his mouth and nose, this then forced him to inhale air through the rag but that was a blunder on his side. He also noticed that the rag smelled a bit odd, it was only then he realized that the rag was laced with an unknown substance. As he inhaled through the rag, his eyelids felt like they were made of stone due to the fact that they were getting heavier and heavier.

"Shhh… Sleep…" the stranger said to the man, he began to feel drowsy and sleepy as time passed by. The man tried his very best to remain awake but all his attempts for futile until finally, his eyes closed and the man was knocked out.

Another stranger emerged from the darkness and helped him drag the man's body back into the shadows, after which the man was nowhere to be seen again.

Kei continued to walk without noticing a thing, he then decided he wanted to smoke for a bit just to pass the time. He took out a stick of cigarette from his pocket and placed it in his mouth, Kei then fished for his lighter as well. Once he found it, he began to light his cigarette only to find that his lighter was almost out of juice.

"Damnit… Fuckin piece of shit is almost empty… Oi Hisao, lend me your lighter will ya?" Kei said to his partner that was no longer there. He continued to try his best to light his cigarette using the remaining fluid inside his lighter but he wasn't able to because the damn thing won't light, Kei was beginning to get frustrated because of it. He then noticed that he hasn't received a response from his partner yet, Kei was just greeted by silence. Kei then thought that Hisao might have not heard him, "Hisao, would you lend me your ligh-" Kei said as he turned around only to find himself alone in the forest.

"Ha ha… Very funny Hisao, get the fuck out of wherever you're hiding man. I swear if this is a prank of yours, I'll kick your ass" he said out loud only to receive no response. He then felt a drop of liquid on his shoulder from the sky, Kei thought to himself that it was probably about to rain.

"Come out already you bastard, I think it's about to rain. We better get back to base or else we'll be stranded here all night" he stated but Kei noticed that something was off, he was expecting more raindrops to fall from the sky but he felt none.

Kei then thought that sap must have dropped on him, he brought his shoulder closer to his nose to smell it. The liquid smelled foul, and there was no way it was tree sap. In his mind, it smelled more like saliva.

He looked up only to see darkness, and suddenly he saw beaming red eyes. Kei quickly grabbed his sword to defend himself but it was too late. The beast dropped down on him and went straight for his neck, it clamped its jaw around him and quickly ended the man's life before he was able to make a sound.

"Good girl" a voice said

"What do we do now Inuzuka-san?" another voice asked

"We should be able to probe the other guy's mind, perhaps he has valuable information we can use. Tomio, inform Futaro that he can begin his jutsu. You and Yasuo are our lookout in case more Iwagakure shinobi come our way while Yukimaru and I will keep guard while Futaro does his thing" he ordered to Tomio, he then saluted and did as he was told.

Yukimaru approached Kisuke and sat down beside him, he began to scratch her head and pat her as well. Yukimaru wagged her tail in joy as a response, Kisuke went down on one knee and fixed her collar.

"Looks like we're going to have to replace your collar girl, what do you think?" he asked Yukimaru, she barked at him and told him what she thought.

"I mean yeah it still works, I'm just saying that your collar has seen better days is all" Kisuke explained, Yukimaru barked once more and this made Kisuke chuckle.

"Yeah yeah… We'll get you a black one, do you want a leash as well?" Kisuke asked and this made Yukimaru growl in return, she began to gnaw on his arm playfully to show that she was against the idea of getting a leash.

"Haha I'm just kidding girl, I know you don't like leashes plus you're already a big girl. And big girls don't need leashes don't they?" he said while squishing her face. Yukimaru barked at him in joy and wagged her tail, Kisuke smiled back at her and continued to pat her head while they watched over Futaro.

- An Hour Later –

(4 Hours Left)

Futaro then opened his eyes and turned his attention towards Kisuke in order to inform him of his findings. Kisuke noticed this and waited for him to come closer, "So?... What did you learn?..." he asked

"You are right about them being around the southwestern sector of Takigakure, they have sent multiple pairs of shinobi to scour the area to look for the recon team" Futaro informed Kisuke, he was glad to learn that his educated guess was right and he tried his best not to smirk because of it. He then looked over to Yukimaru and ordered her to call back Tomio and Yasuo, Yukimaru barked and did as she was told.

Moments later, she returned back with both men. Kisuke stood up and dusted himself off, he then asked the both of them if there were any enemies nearby.

"We spotted two more pairs while we were out there, one was heading towards Kusagakure and the other was heading north" Yasuo explained

"Okay good, we need to get a move on before sunrise. We still have enough time to work with" he stated

"But sir… What about uh…" Tomio said as he looked at the man that Futaro probed earlier. Without hesitation, Kisuke took out his tanto and buried it inside the man's neck thus ending his life. This shocked Tomio, the fact that Kisuke had no qualms in killing a man in his sleep unsettled him quite a bit.

"I know I know… It may seem harsh but I'm doing him a favor here, he'll suffer much worse if his superiors find out what happened to him here. Plus I killed him in his sleep so that he won't feel a thing" Kisuke explained, hearing his answer was able to put things into perspective for Tomio as a result.

Team Kisuke then continued their journey to reach the area where the recon team was probably, they remained hidden and kept their presence concealed so as to not bring any unwanted attention to them. If they get caught then their whole operation is blown and all hell will break loose.

As they made their way to where they needed to be, they passed through a large portion of the forest. And while they were doing that, they remained silent and only engaged when it was necessary. This whole ordeal took another hour for their team to reach their destination which leaves them with three hours left to play with, time was running out but Kisuke was certain they could pull it off.

- Southwestern Sector of Takigakure -

(3 Hours Left)

Now that they were there, the only hurdle they had left was finding the recon team but their team had no idea where to begin searching not until Kisuke was able to come up with an idea. He then approached a corpse of an Iwagakure shinobi they killed not too long ago, he got down on one knee and analyzed the corpse's flak jacket. Kisuke noticed that their flak jacket was made of a different material, he tore off a piece of the jacket using a kunai and took a sniff to check if his theory was right. After smelling the piece of fabric, he smiled and dropped it to the ground.

The other members were confused about what he did, why the hell would he smell random things all of a sudden, and for what purpose. Kisuke then approached Futaro and ripped a piece of his flak jacket using the same kunai.

"What the hell?!..." he reacted

"Keep quiet, I'll be borrowing a piece of your flak jacket for a bit" Kisuke said as he called Yukimaru to come to him, the big dog obliged and approached Kisuke.

"Here girl, smell it" Kisuke told Yukimaru to which she began sniffing the piece of fabric that she was given, the other members were still in the dark as to what Kisuke was doing.

"I'm sure all of you are wondering what the hell I'm doing so I'm going to explain myself, the reason I smelled the flak jacket of that corpse over there is to check if their jacket is made of a different material from ours. And I was right, they are made from a different material that is probably more abundant in their territory. With that being said, I tore off a piece of your flak jacket and gave it to Yukimaru so that she could track down a similar scent and hopefully it would lead us to where the recon team is at right now. This might not work because there is a possibility that the recon team got rid of their vests for some reason, and if that's the case then we're out of luck" Kisuke explained to his subordinates to which all of them nodded.

"Alright girl, you got the scent?" Kisuke asked Yukimaru, she barked at him in return. "Okay good, here you can have it back" Kisuke said as he threw the piece of fabric back to Futaro but he didn't bother catching it anyway.

"Lead the way girl" Kisuke then told his dog. Yukimaru then sprinted in a certain direction, he then told the three of them to follow him and that they should keep up because Yukimaru runs fast.

Their team sprinted through the forest and followed Yukimaru, they did not know where she was taking them but they continued to follow her nonetheless. Time was ticking and they have yet to find the recon team but hope wasn't lost yet, they still have time to wrap up this whole mission. After a while, Yukimaru stopped running in front of a cave. She turned around and barked at Kisuke, he got down to her level and began talking to her.

"Is this the place?" Kisuke asked after which Yukimaru barked at him

"Are you sure?" he said and she barked yet again

"Alright if you say so, Yasuo light up a torch" he ordered one of his members. Yasuo obliged and performed a fire-jutsu and prepared a torch to light up their way, their team then entered the cave and began to look for the recon team"

The cave was damp and it smelled really musty as well, all you could hear were their footsteps and water droplets falling on the cave's floor. Team Kisuke made their way deeper into the cave, "Are you sure they are here Ki-" Tomio's sentence was cut-off when he felt the tip of a kunai behind his neck.

Kisuke and the others then noticed that Tomio suddenly stopped talking, Yasuo pointed the torch behind them where Tomio was to illuminate the area. There they saw the person who was holding Tomio hostage

"D-Don't make a move or else he gets it!" the man yelled

They then noticed that he was an ally because he wore a Konoha flak jacket and a hitai-ate that had the insignia of their village.

"Calm down… We're Konoha shinobi and we've come to get you guys out of here. I am Kisuke Inuzuka, the commanding officer of this team. What's your name?" Kisuke said to the man.

"H-How do I know you're telling me the truth huh?!... And why should I answer your question?!" the man said frantically.

Kisuke looked at Futaro and nodded at him, "Futaro, show him" he said to him and Futaro did exactly that. He performed his clan's jutsu to share his memories with him of what happened throughout the mission. Everything he saw was then passed onto the man's mind and as a result, the man then calmed down once he saw everything.

"Now that we've proven we're allies, where are the others?" Kisuke asked but the man did not answer right away, the man was distraught and he noticed this.

"I'm Morishige Yuji. Unfortunately… I am the only one left…" he replied and Kisuke quickly understood why he was paranoid and all tense earlier. He didn't bother to know what happened to them earlier since it didn't matter at the moment. For now, they had to get out of there quickly since they only had two hours left.

"Tomio, go patch him up" Kisuke ordered Tomio

"Y-Yes sir" he replied, Tomio quickly approached Yuji and began treating his injuries. And while Tomio was doing that, Kisuke was also asking questions to Yuji.

"Do you have the intel?" Kisuke asked to which Yuji replied that he indeed had the scroll that the recon team mentioned.

"Okay good, mind if I take a look?" Kisuke asked, Yuji then handed the scroll to Kisuke. He took the scroll and examined it thoroughly, Kisuke saw the sealing marks around it and saw how complex it was.

"Damn… This is one tough nut to crack, where'd you get this?" he asked

"We stole this from one of the camps, a buddy of mine disguised himself and broke into one of the offices there. Out of all the documents there, this was the most secure. And because of it, we assumed that scroll contained something valuable. After all, why would someone go through great lengths to protect something that isn't valuable" Yuji explained to which Kisuke nodded in agreement.

"So… What now?..." Yuji asked

"Now that we have secured the intel, the only thing we have to do is get outta here. We'll be taking Fukushima Pass, we'll set off an explosive tag once we have passed through to seal off the path" Kisuke said

Finding the recon team wasn't the hardest part of their mission, no. The difficult part of their whole operation was to return to base with said intel, but that was going to be difficult due to the fact that the sun was about to rise.

"There… All done" Tomio said

"Good, we should get a move on now that you're done" Kisuke returned

As their team was about to leave the cave, they then heard a lot of footsteps coming from outside. "Shit…" Kisuke said.

"Hide, we'll pick them off once they get closer. Yasuo, extinguish that torch" he ordered him and the cave became pitch black again.

"The tracks end here" a voice said outside

"Light a torch, we're going in" another voice replied

"Watch my back" the voice said and there they saw red beaming eyes in the darkness, "THERE!" the man yelled. He was about to perform an earth-release jutsu but Yukimaru quickly pounced on the man, she sank her teeth into the man's shoulder which caused him to cry out in pain.

"GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!" he yelled in agony but Yukimaru continued to maul the man, the man's comrades were about to help but they were stopped by Kisuke and his team.

"Hijutsu: Bubun Kemono Henge no Jutsu (Hidden Jutsu: Partial Beast Transformation Technique)" Kisuke said as his left arm transformed into what seemed like a werewolf's arm, he cocked his fist and quickly slammed one of the Iwagakure shinobi against the wall.

"Kanashibari no Jutsu (Temporary Paralysis Technique)" Futaro said which then paralyzed an enemy, he unsheathed his sword and was about to land a slash on the man's neck but his blade was intercepted by the man's ally. Futaro then backed off and rejoined his teammates, the man he paralyzed was then able to move once more after Futaro's jutsu wore off.

Their enemies threw multiple shurikens at them as retaliation. Yasuo quickly ran in front of Futaro and Tomio to perform a jutsu of his own, "Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall)" he said as he formed a wall of earth to block all the projectiles that were coming their way. Yuji jumped up and performed a fire-jutsu to return the favor, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)" he spewed out a massive ball of fire at them.

Their opponents saw this and they responded by performing the Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall) as well, the giant mass of fire collided with the wall of earth. The impact caused the whole cave to shake, rocks began to fall from the ceiling and dust particles were lifted up the air. The enemies coughed cause of this, they then saw that the wall they erected cracked in the middle. Kisuke broke through the wall using two anthropomorphic canine arms, he quickly slashed them using his sharp claws thus killing them afterward.

While all of that was happening, Yukimaru continued to mangle her prey that she caught earlier. The man kept on yelling and struggling, but Yukimaru just wouldn't let go. The man then grabbed something from his flak jacket in an attempt to break free but suddenly his arm went limp, he finally died after being mauled to death by a ninken

"Are there any more?" Kisuke asked but then he noticed something roll to his foot, there he saw a scroll with something written inside. His eyes widened to see that baku (kanji for explode) was written inside, he knew that the scroll was about to unseal live explosive tags.

"EVERYBODY OUT OF THE CAVE, NOW!" he yelled to them. Each and every one of them quickly ran out of the cave before crumpled thus trapping and killing them inside. Thankfully, they were able to escape but it came with a price. Unfortunately for their team, they've revealed their position to the enemy due to the loud explosion that occurred

The man that Yukimaru mauled must have set off a bunch of explosive tags he sealed inside a scroll as a last resort to bring them all down along with him, he may have not succeeded but he did alert his allies of their whereabouts.

Sirens began to blare from the distance, Iwagakure forces are now aware of where they are. "Shit..." Kisuke said

"W-What do we do now, sir?..." Tomio asked

"We run" Kisuke answered

- Somewhere In The Forest -

Team Kisuke was running through the forest at max speed, they can't stop and they definitely didn't plan to stop as well. They have killed multiple enemies that stood in their way, it was only a matter of time before they swarmed. Kisuke and his team were heavily outnumbered, their measly group wouldn't be able to fend off the might of Iwagakure that was about to come down on them.

As time went by, Kisuke began to notice that the number of enemies they were facing was beginning to increase. It was turning into a battle of attrition, it didn't matter how many foes they cut down because new ones would just arrive and replace them. Their entire team was beginning to feel exhausted which caused them to slow down a bit, Kisuke then sensed something coming. He felt a massive chakra signature coming below them, he was about to inform the others but it all happened too fast.

The ground beneath them cracked and suddenly Yasuo and Yuji were inside the maw of a dragon made of earth and stone, both of them realized the predicament they were in but it was too late as the beast closed its jaw and returned down to the ground.

"Fuck..." Kisuke gritted his teeth but there was no time to just stand there and think about what happened. And now their team was down to four members, it pained them to lose an ally even though they didn't know them that well but they did not have enough time to mourn them lest they want to end up dying like them. They still had a mission to do, they knew that they had to accomplish this or else Yasuo and Yuji's death would be in vain.

Their team continued running and suddenly the ground began to shake violently which caused all of them to lose their footing, each of them fell down to the ground and was having a difficult time getting back up.

"Doton: Retsudo Tensho (Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm)" they heard multiple voices yell from afar, it turns out that a group of Iwagakure shinobi performed the same jutsu which amplified its overall effectiveness. Their combined jutsus were able to break up and shift the earth below, this created massive cracks and rifts that Team Kisuke had to traverse.

After a while of struggling, they were able to stand back up but then they heard the same voices from afar. "Doton: Tsuchi Zuhan Danmaku (Earth Release: Earth Plate Barrage)" they yelled, their jutsu caused the broken-up pieces of earth to be flung up into the air in an attempt to squash them.

Their team was able to dodge the first few ones but one of the projectiles was able to send them flying across the ground, all of them stumbled but they were able to recover right away. The four of them kept on running through the forest, chunks of the ground were falling from the sky, Futaro was unlucky because one of the projectiles was able to hit him which crushed him as a result.

Tomio witnessed what happened in front of him, this pushed him to his limit and caused him to freeze up completely. Kisuke noticed this and was having second thoughts about leaving him behind, he had the scroll anyway. But his moral compass was too strong which made him decide to come back for him, Kisuke began to shake Tomio to snap him out of it.

"TOMIO! TOMIO! LISTEN TO ME!" he yelled at him, this was able to grab his attention, Tomio was shivering in fear. He didn't expect three of his teammates to die instantly, Tomio then looked at Kisuke who was looking at him straight in the eye.

"SNAP OUT OF IT! THERE'S NO TIME TO PROCESS ALL OF THIS BECAUSE WE HAVE TO KEEP MOVING!" Kisuke yelled at Tomio, he then gulped, and finally, his body was able to move once more.

The three of them were running through the forest, Fukushima Pass was just a couple of meters away from them.

"THERE! I can see the pass, just a little bit further" Kisuke said to Tomio but a muddy river came out of nowhere, he recognized this technique as the Doton: Doryu Taiga (Earth Release: Earth Flow River). Kisuke ordered Tomio to apply chakra to his feet and that he should hang on to something.

"Brace yourself!" Kisuke yelled, and the three of them stood their ground. While they were waiting for the jutsu to finish, the nearby tree trunk broke because of the river which then carried its trunk with it. Kisuke saw this and ordered Tomio to jump up once the trunk is close enough but Yukimaru then started barking, Kisuke wondered why she was barking all of a sudden until he realized that one of her legs was stuck in the mud.

"Crap... Don't worry girl, I'll just grab your collar though it might hurt a bit. Just bear with it okay?" Kisuke said to her to which Yukimaru barked in return. The tree trunk was almost near them, Tomio jumped in time and Kisuke jumped up as well while pulling on Yukimaru's collar.

He was able to lift Yukimaru up a couple of inches but suddenly her collar snapped, his eyes widened and there he saw Yukimaru get carried away by the trunk. Yukimaru barked relentlessly as she tried her best to stay afloat.

"YUKIMARU!" Kisuke yelled as he followed after her, the current continued to carry Yukimaru downhill and then Kisuke heard a loud thud which was followed by Yukimaru's cry. Yukimaru's leg got crushed between a rock and the trunk that carried her away, Kisuke then made his way to come and fetch her. "Hijutsu: Bubun Kemono Henge no Jutsu (Hidden Jutsu: Partial Beast Transformation Technique)" his arm transformed once more and then he smashed the trunk into splinters thus freeing Yukimaru in the end. He then carried her on his back and returned to Tomio, the jutsu then finally ended.

"Let's go somewhere safe for now" he suggested and Tomio agreed

The two of them brought Yukimaru to a secluded area where Tomio can treat her leg, Tomio didn't waste any time and quickly worked on Yukimaru's injured leg. Apparently, her leg wasn't just crushed because there were some cuts here and there. Tomio began by cleaning up her wounds which caused Yukimaru to whimper due to the pain she was feeling, Tomio then started to disinfect it. Once he was done, he wrapped it up and made a makeshift splint for her leg. Yukimaru's leg was treated but it was nowhere close to where she could use it efficiently.

"Does it still hurt girl?" Kisuke asked her to which she barked in response

"I know I know... I'm just glad you're alright" Kisuke said to Yukimaru, she wagged her tail in response. Kisuke knew to himself that they were going to be followed because they left a trail. He looked at Yukimaru's condition as well as Tomio's state, both of them weren't in fighting condition. Kisuke began thinking for a while to come up with a plan but he wasn't able to, at least one of them had to stay behind so that one of them could bring back the intel to Konoha. He remained seated until suddenly an idea hit him, Kisuke stood up and looked at Tomio carefully.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)" Kisuke said as he created a copy of himself, his clone then performed the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) to look like Tomio.

"W-Why did your clone transform to look like me?" Tomio asked

Kisuke then grabbed the scroll inside his coat and handed it to him, "Take it" he said

"W-Why?..."

"Bring it back to Konoha, I'll keep them distracted" he replied

"I can't just leave you and Yukimaru here..." Tomio protested

"As your commanding officer, I order you to do as I say" Kisuke returned

Tomio was against the idea but he had no choice, he gulped and took the scroll from Kisuke's hands

"I'm counting on you kid" he said, Kisuke shook Tomio's hand. "It's a pleasure working with you, I hope to see you on the other side" Kisuke smiled at him, Tomio nodded and then he went on his own to get through Fukushima Pass. Once Tomio was out of sight, he then looked at Yukimaru. Kisuke looked around to see a nearby cave, he carried Yukimaru to the cave and put her down on the floor. Kisuke dropped down on one knee and started to talk to her.

"Yukimaru, listen to me girl alright?... I want you to stay here okay? Can you do that for me?..." he asked and Yukimaru barked

"I'll deal with the enemies that trailed us, I can't have you come with me because of your leg. So just stay there, okay?" Kisuke said to her while trying to hold back his tears. Yukimaru protested and barked at him loudly

"Don't give me that attitude, you know very well that you can't fight properly with a broken leg" He replied but she kept on barking angrily

"YUKIMARU, I SAID NO!" Kisuke yelled which scared Yukimaru, she then began to whimper as a result. Yukimaru feared that Kisuke won't return to her and that he'll end up dead.

"I promise I'll come back okay?" Kisuke said to her to which she agreed reluctantly

"Good girl" He then scratched her head before leaving.

Kisuke and his clone then ran back into the forest to face their enemies all by himself, using his heightened sense of smell. He was able to detect a dozen Iwagakure shinobi around the area, and Kisuke decided to grab their attention by making loud noises.

"OI ROCK-HUMPERS! OVER HERE, YOU BASTARDS!" Kisuke yelled from the top of his lungs, this was able to catch their attention. Slowly but surely, more and more Iwagakure shinobi began chasing him and his clone.

- With Tomio -

Tomio was sneaking through the foliage, and there he was the pass being guarded by two Iwagakure shinobi. He did not know if he can sneak past them or if he can even fight them. Suddenly, he heard yelling from a distance and he recognized it as Kisuke's voice. The two guards also heard this as well, one of the guards then listened to the earpiece they were wearing. And after a while, the two of them left and joined their allies in chasing Kisuke. With them out of the way, Tomio could now pass through without much resistance.

He checked thoroughly before leaving the bushes, Tomio then left his hiding spot once he was sure the coast was clear. He quickly ran through the pass and left half a dozen explosive tags behind him, once he was through he then detonated them which caused a large enough explosion to cause boulders to fall down and close the path.

- With Kisuke -

While he was distracting the Iwagakure shinobi that were chasing him, he heard an explosion from afar and that's when he knew that Tomio was able to get through the pass (at least he hoped he did). A smile then formed on his face but it quickly faded away when he saw that he was surrounded from all directions.

"Stop where you are, both of you are surrounded" a voice yelled

Kisuke decided to dispel his clone once and for all since it served its purpose, and his enemies were shocked to find out that he was all alone. Kisuke smirked as he threw a smoke bomb on the ground which concealed his position, "Hijutsu: Kemono Henge no Jutsu (Hidden Jutsu: Beast Transformation Technique)" Kisuke said as he transformed into an anthropomorphic canine. This granted him enhanced speed, strength, and senses, and now it was his turn to strike. The smoke dispersed and all the Iwagakure shinobi saw what he turned into.

Kisuke stared at them for a while and none of them moved until suddenly he pounced on one of them, he bit the first enemy he caught which he killed almost instantly. All of them yelled as they charged toward him, Kisuke slashed and scratched them with the use of his claws. His fangs and claws were able to cut through them as if they were made of butter, they tried to shoot projectiles at him but he was fast enough to dodge them since he was running on all fours.

This battle continued on for hours, and Kisuke slaughtered most of them in the process. He painted the forest floor red using the blood of his enemies, it was a total slaughter. But despite that, Kisuke wasn't invulnerable. He was still injured and wounded whilst fighting, his body was littered with cuts and bruises, and his back looked like it was a pin cushion due to the number of shurikens and kunais embedded in it. Kisuke panted and struggled to breathe properly until finally, he fell to the ground with a thud. Iwagakure was able to bring down Kisuke but he was still able to accomplish their mission nonetheless.

(A/N: Sorry for not uploading in a week, I suffered from writer's block and Conjunctivitis. I wasn't able to create stories both mentally and physically, I just wasn't satisfied with the stories I created these past few days since I wanted to try out something new. As you can see I made an OC character and this is Kiba's father, who according to the wiki, ran away from his responsibilities. I wanted to change that, also I took some inspiration from Sakumo and the Akimichi Clan, I made his name similar to White Fang of the Lead (Konoha no Shiroi Kiba) also the Partial Multi-Size Technique is similar to what Kisuke did, also its the reverse of what Kiba does. Instead of turning his dog into a human, he turns himself into a dog. Also, he could make parts of his body into a mix of human/canine parts so kinda like a werewolf but not really. I also wasn't able to write physically, I had to go to the doctor and have my eyes checked and the doctor advised me to take a break also my right eye was extremely swollen lately. I felt bad for not updating in a while so I decided to finish this experiment, don't tell my doctor. I will upload again once my eyes have fully healed, again sorry for the long wait. Also Ogremen, sorry for not replying right away, my eyes really hurt that time sorry about that. Anyway, I hope y'all liked this experiment of mine, it's called TLASC (The Lost Archives: Shinobi Chronicles). I hope all of you still support my fic even though I'm such an inconsistent uploader, again I apologize for that. That's all, please RnR and cheers! ^^)