"Because it's no fun to train a genius!"
Jiraiya
It was a good thing she wasn't claustrophobic, because if she were right now at this very moment she would probably be losing her mind. Probably pull her hair out too. All around her there were about forty shinobi in total if she was counting right, Haji close to her while Hesui, the woman who she learned name was Toka, Disuke, and Ryoku were parallel to her and between them Tsugi and Osen were situated along with another ten shinobi, Hashirama and Syrus were at the very front of the helm, and Tobirama was right behind them being the best sensor he'd take center point, Usagi was close to his side keeping her eyes on their surroundings, the rest of their unit stayed in a tight formation, all the while Hitomi was successfully boxed in. Her safety was paramount more than anything.
It began to rain. It was a torrential rainfall like what would hit the Fire country every spring, instead this was just a light drizzle almost a blissful mist. Hitomi didn't mind rain when it was light like this, it was soothing and oddly tranquil. She craned her head from side to side, eyes peering into the dense trees around them, she spotted a few squirrels scaling the trees and jumping across branches, a few rabbits scurrying about on the green floor, but most of all she watched the gleeful birds enjoying the light rain shower and fluttering the feathers out to dry them, growing twice as big.
It was too cute.
Their journey would take six hours, they would be taking the main route to the Lightning country. Being such an isolated and mountainous landmass there were only a few ways to enter and exit, it was one of the many things that made it such a formidable country, but it also meant another thing.
The route was going to be plagued with shinobi. Rogue and those belonging to a clan.
Tobirama anticipated this before they departed and prepared himself accordingly. He wore his utility belt which weighed heavy on his waist, the friendly reminder it was loaded with as much shuriken and kunai he could fit, two swords were secured on either side of him and another one was slung on his back. He didn't require to knead a lot of chakra in order to sense anything, his father had focused on his gifted sensory prowess, through time and rigorous training he was able to sense a single presence miles-hundreds of miles away, and as stated before he didn't need to knead a lot of chakra. So far he couldn't sense anyone or anything aside from the critters around them, the shinobi could be suppressing their chakra, but even he'd sense that faint glimmer.
They'd have a few more miles to go before encountering any enemies. This route was peaceful for only a certain amount of length or miles, it was a road used for trade and the nomadic gypsies would take this habitually. They didn't need to worry about being killed, robbed, or abducted since everyone considered them invaluable the damiyos and the shinobi clans. However, the Senju and Subatsu weren't as gracious as the nomadic gypsies, they had many enemies respectively, and the Senju being in such a fragile state with his brother's rise to leader, it was the perfect time to strike.
Any shinobi worth their salt would launch an attack or plant the seeds to commence one in the near future.
A frown creased into his face. And his mind went back to before they departed and the addition of the Chibana and Tachibana clans entering the truce with the Hageshii. It could be sincere or just a ruse...
"Brother." Hashirama's deep voice tore him out of his thoughts. Tobirama glanced towards him, thankful for the inerference. "We're coming up on the borders, if you sense anything let us know."
"I got it." Tobirama nodded.
"That goes for everyone." Syrus announced, keeping his focus forward as the thick forest began to slowly space itself apart becoming more and more spacious until dry land began to come into view, this was definitely the border. There would be at least three clans lying in wait for them, and four more that would by all means launch an attack, having a noble with them would only increase their incentive. While pompous, they could put them up for ransom, it was a sure fire way to get money if one could successfully kidnap a noble.
The dense and lush trees of the Fire country became a second thought. The ground was hardly green, the lush vegetation wasn't nearly as prominent. The ground was a light, dirty brown. It looked very dry and barren, nothing like the rich dark brown almost black soil of the Earth country. Small mountains and valleys began to come into view, and further ahead the tips of mountains covered the entire horizon.
Hitomi was a little unnerved by the silence. Nobody spoke a single word not even a mutter. She turned towards Usagi who offered just a small smile of reassurance, Hitomi smiled back. She didn't feel any better, she felt safe, but the way the silence stretched... She could hear her footsteps. It was just too eerie. It reminded her too much of the times Haji saved her from Cho in the Lightning country. "Wah!" She yelped, shocked and frightened by the strength of the pull, she stumbled forward clasping her hand against Haji's torso.
"Brother!" She could hear Hashirama's voice boom in her ears. She dared to take a glance, and she could only see a towering branch burst into thousands of pieces like simple confetti showering the ground with tons of wood. She found herself clinging tighter onto Haji, she shouldn't have felt weird, he would be her husband after all, but she felt felt just a little awkward clinging to him in front of everyone. she felt herself being lifted and set down. "Ji-san?"
"Don't move." Haji said with a firm tone. Letting the nickname slide. "I'll be close by."
"Hyuga and Sarutobi!" Tobirama shouted. "At four o clock and nine o clock!
"Hashirama!" A loud voice boomed through the woods.
"We meet again, Senju and Subatsu!" A firm voice shouted straight after the first.
Tobirama immediately tensed, his ruby eyes snapping all around him as fifty shinobi surrounded them. Hyuga and Sarutobi? He glared for a second, clasping the hilt of his sword and drew it with no hesitation.
Two men stood at the helm of their respective groups. The first was a tall and lean built man with a light complexion, his hair was unkempt and hung to his shoulders and was a dark brown, his eyes were sharp and a lighter shade of brown. He wore the traditional armor of the era, his was a dark almost blood red emblazoned with the Sarutobi crest. The second man who was by all means the leader of the Hyuga wasn't as tall as Sarutobi, he was just a few feet shorter with thick dark brown straight hair that fell all the way to his tailbone, he wore the traditional robes of the Hyuga over which he wore dark gray armor. The veins around his eyes bulged and the infamous Byakugan glared mightily.
"Sasuke and Daiki?" Hashirama peered at the dark haired man. "What's the meaning of this?"
"There were Sarutobi shinobi killed recently..." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "They were found near your compound!"
"The same goes for you!" Daiki turned his glare onto Syrus. "I've got reports that Hyuga are turning up dead around your compound."
Syrus scoffed. "My father nearly drove your segregated and deluded clan into extinction, I thought you'd learn not to tread near us." He remembered Tsugi, Hesui, Osen and all the older shinobi and kunoichi telling him while he was growing up about those fierce and long fought battles. His father had went on a months long campaign to eradicate the Hyuga from the face of the planet and drive them out of their domain. Many were lost in the battle on both sides, but the Subatsu ended up being the victors, the Hyuga's compound at that time was burned to the ground, and anyone wounded or captured was beheaded and their heads were put up on stakes far from their compound.
It was a warning. Stay away.
"That demon! He almost drove us." Daiki spat. "He didn't do too well, though, seeing as we're still here."
"Don't act like you care." Syrus spat venomously, hated beginning to leak into his voice. "Your women are nothing but property to you, you segregated your own clan and branded them with that curse." It was taboo to speak of the Hyuga forcibly binding their own and dividing the clan into a main branch and side branch, it was said to prevent civil war within the Hyuga, but Syrus wasn't stupid. The Hyuga were ignorant and stuck in the old, keeping their women weak and stupid, subservient to the men, dividing themselves into a main branch and side branch. It was sheer lunacy in Syrus's eyes. A clan divided is a clan that will never be able to stand. He remembered his father's first lesson, those very words. And, his father was right a clan divided is clan that will never be able to stand.
He had half a mind to reprimand Syrus for some of things he was saying, but he had to keep his focus on Sasuke and the shinobi surrounding them. "I can assure you..." Hashirama said, keeping his eyes narrowed on the tall man. The Senju weren't in an alliance with the Sarutobi, they were one of their main enemies alongside the Uchiha. But, Hashrama made sure the old ways were abolished when he became clan leader, there just wasn't mindless killing because they were from opposing clans. Nor was their slavery. "My men wouldn't attack without a good reason!"
"Bullshit!" Sasuke snapped, drawing his sword out in one fluid motion. "You Senju lie..."
"You shouldn't be snooping around our compound." Tobirama said sharply. He didn't care for the Sarutobi, they were never their allies or even close to that, they still allowed slavery and polygamy within their clan-Sasuke had four wives the last time he checked, sired four sons, and was buying concubines for his oldest son, monogamy was not a regular practice. It disgusted him, since his brother became eligible to become leader slowly the boisterous Hashirama changed everything-slavery was abolished, there were no more handmaidens, everyone pitched in on their work including the two of them. And, he knew for a fact the Subatsu just like them practiced monogamy and there was slavery wasn't tolerated. "Get out of the way, we're not here to fight." He would avoid bloodshed, for Hitomi's sake, and because Hashirama wanted to avoid it at all costs. This was Tobirama's only warning.
"No." Sasuke stated firmly. "You've got something we want."
"Are you deaf!?" Usagi snapped irritably. "Get your asses on out of here."
"I want princess Hitomi." Daiki finished, leveling a glare with Sasuke, he was actually after all of them, but Hitomi being present was a good bonus. "'I'll steamroll through everyone present if I must.
Haji chuckled, the pompous and arrogance of the Hyuga never surprised him.
Hashirama creased his brows. "I'm warning you, I want to avoid bloodshed at all costs.
You don't scare me Senju!" Daiki sneered. "Hand. Her. Over."
You're forcing my hand." Hashirama pressed his lips into a thin line, nobody was backing down and he had no intention of going along with their half cocked plan. "Okay then, have it your way!" He drew his katana, keeping his massive cleaver blade in its seal for now, and clasped it with his hand. "Hitomi-hime-chan stay put no matter what happens." Hashirama told her, staring into her eyes. "Do you understand?"
Hitomi felt a chill echo through her, Hashirama radiated warmth and love, call her a naive hopeless romantic but Hashirama was just so sweet. But, now he was radiating with so much power, he was like a mountain. "Y-yes." She found her voice, just barely.
She couldn't believe her eyes or her ears. Everyone had been standing tense, and all at once everyone just erupted in blades, shuriken, and kunai. She barely traced Tsugi cutting down one Sarutobi shinobi only to fend off two Hyuga at once, Toka was dashing in and out of the hordes paralyzing a few with genjutsu and stabbing them clean through the skull. A blood curdling scream shook her to the core, she even flinhced, her heart skipping six beats. She spotted Usagi felling three men with ease, the last one letting out that ear piercing scream. She wanted to crawl into a ball and hide, the screaming intensified and the ear shrieking grinding of steel grew incessant. So much animosity, anger, and hatred... Why did these clans have such resentment? The Era Of The Warring States was all too real for her... Now she seen why Haji was so adamant she not go out roaming before.
Another shriek tore through her, and she snapped her head to the owner, watching a Senju shinobi stagger back blood pouring from the wound on his arm, Hashirama was quick to dash towards him cutting down the Hyuga before he could connect with the fatal palm strike, the tan skinned man dashed back towards Sasuke slamming his sword into the older man's pushing against him for supremacy. She tore her gaze from their stand off, eyes darting to Syrus who was in a deadly whirlwind of blows with Daiki, she grew frantic searching for Haji. She felt relief and despair as she spotted him, tearing through one Hyuga opening up his entire torso. She covered her mouth with her hands, and felt tears pricking in her eyes. She couldn't stand blood or death.
"Sasuke, enough!" Hashirama shouted, scarcely ducking under the man's blade, jumping back and sliding to a stop. "This is senseless!"
"I beg to differ." Sasuke relaxed but remained poised. "You've got a little princess with you that I want."
"You leave her alone." Hashirama's gaze darkened. He wasn't a merciless killer, but he wouldn't allow someone like Sasuke to have Hitomi. He was not suited at all. He already had four wives and was beyond promiscuous. Hitomi would be Haji's wife in the end, it was already decided and he supported it. He felt his anger start to bubble just slightly as he fended off the precise and swift strokes of Sasuke's blade parrying, ducking, and blocking them, he surged his chakra through his coils and into his arm and wrist, slamming his blade sharply against Sasuke's once more, sending them both sliding back. Sasuke recovered quickly, snapping his head as he heard Tobirama's battle cry and the sharp sound of flesh being torn through, another comrade of his falling to the ground before Tobirama dashed away fending off ten shinobi at once with Tsugi and Hesui close by.
"Don't be so stingy." Sasuke remarked.
I'm tired of playing these games... Hashirama scowled, slamming his hands together in the snake seal.
A sharp and sudden burst of chakra forced both men to turn, Hashirama jumped back while Sasuke slid away both avoiding the giant fireball as it tore its way through the ground exploding in a cloud of steam and smoke several feet away as a torrent of water collided with it rattling the landscape and sending steam in every direction drawing everyone's attention towards the sudden explosion. "I knew that was your chakra, Hashirama!" The tall Senju narrowed his eyes as his former friend and rival, Madara stood within the desolate landscape his hair billowing behind him, Izuna was at his side, with Mikito and Souji just a few inches in front of the two.
"I wasn't expecting Tobirama to do that." Izuna remarked with a small smirk, lowering his arms from and separating his hands so they no longer formed the Tiger seal. "Heh, this could play into our advantage. What do you think brother?"
"Now's not the time for your quips, Izuna." Madara said.
"Mikito!" Syrus made his presence known, landing a few feet from Hashirama. "You've got some gall showing yourself so soon after our last clash."
"Your arrogance never ceases to surprise me, Syrus." Mikito said sneering at him and narrowing her eyes, drawing her sword in one fluid motion. Madara had changed their direction on a seconds' notice she had asked why, he was vague with the reasoning, as in no answer at all, but it only took her three seconds to pick out hundreds of chakras in one area and six of them were brilliant compared to the rest. "That has always been one of your severe flaws."
"It's better than a bleeding heart!" Syrus scoffed.
"Uchiha! And the Domou!" Daiki snarled, glowering at Madara. "What are you doing here!?"
Izuna smirked, amused by the anger radiating off the leader of the Hyuga. There had been many times in past before he was born when his father would routinely go out on sweeping attacks focusing on three clans sometimes six and the Hyuga were among them, even the Uchiha leader before his father-Genza Uchiha-would do these routine sweeping attacks to assure their borders were secure. This built more than an enmity between the Hyuga and his clan, it was almost as bad as their enmity with the Senju. "We happened to be in the neighborhood and it'd be rude not to stop by."
"I could smell a stench, I didn't think it'd be some Hyuga." Souji remarked coldly, eyes darting towards Haji. Their eyes met, it was time to finish it from the last time.
"Souji."
"Haji..."
They were already at each other's throats along with Izuna and Tobirama, the battle erupted and all sides flung themselves at each other.
"Don't play coy with me, Uchiha vermin!" Daiki snapped, gesturing for his men to get ready with a simple wave of his hand. "No matter, you're all going to be dying shortly."
"I've heard enough, Hyuga." Madara spat disdainfully, fingering the hilt of his brand new sword. He was looking forward to admiring and testing it later on, but this was the perfect opportunity to do just that. "Stay out of my way if you wish to live!" Madara roared dashing right towards Hashirama, his eyes blistering clash commenced, speed against power, strength against capacity, will against will. The terrain tore and the landscape shook as their battle grew more vicious many times they were forced from each other to take on a horde of other shinobi, but quickly resumed their battle tearing and spinning across the terrain. Branches rapidly sprouted out from the ground towering and coiling high into the sky quickly being drenched in ferocious flames and being blown apart.
"Funny seeing you again, Mikito!" Syrus shouted as he beamed straight towards her. She offered him no verbal response and instead slammed his fist right against his before they shot off trading and exchanging blows. The fight erupted before, but now it exploded, it was a giant frenzy of fists, feet, swords, kunai, and shuriken. There was no specific one person against one person, everyone clashed, dispersing across the terrain and recommencing their deadly dances until they were mere blurs and flashes of color and sttel. It was crazy but beautiful, hectic but orderly, abrasive but graceful.
"Izuna!" Tobirama roared, ruby eyes glinting as he slid back letting the momentum carry him until he came to a stop. He was always expecting an attack from the Uchiha and now by extension the Domou-but he hadn't anticipated an attack coming during their trek, they were miles from the Grass village at least two days travel. He narrowed his eyes, Madara must have put some speed on to make it here, he was spiteful in that sense. He shifted his feet, raising his blade up and across his face stopping Izuna's slash, the impact cracked the ground which they stood, Tobirama surged forward pressing Izuna back with a staccato of stabs, he swiveled around a stab from the Uchiha and spun to face him. Suiton: Suirei kabe!
Katon: Kasai masshÅ!
Several. No dozens of ninjutsus were fired off at the same time almost in unison starting with Haji and Souji, then, Izuna and Tobirama and it followed shortly with everyone else. Wood, fire, earth, water, wind, and lightning raced towards each other in endless waves of power and force, their chakras all flaring like beacons as the landscape was wracked with shock waves a cloud of smoke and ash stretching up hundreds of feet above them pushing dust and debris shot in every direction-the power of ninjutsu could never be undermined or underestimated. All of the battles dispersed each clan breaking off into opposite directions using the cover of the smoke and debris to cover their departure as they sped off into the forest or across the desolate landscape until they faded into the horizon. In the center of where the attacks clashed was a large crater that was at least twenty feet deep and forty feet wide a fine cloud of smoke and steam hung above it making the bottom hard to spot.
Syrus coughed lightly, fanning his hand near his face where dust had gathered from the ground, and ran a hand across his mouth looking at his blood from a punch to the face Mikito landed to his kick across her ribs. "Hashirama!" Syrus called, craning his head towards his direction spotting the tan skinned Senju meters away sheathing his katana back into its scabbard. I have a feeling we'll be meeting again, soon...
"I'm alright." Hashirama called back to him, making his way towards him, eyes flicking onto his brother. "Tobirama?"
"They're gone." Tobirama told his brother. He was able to sense their chakra still, but it was quite a distance away from where they were now. His focus turned from the battle onto Hitomi, with breakneck speed he turned his head back towards the last place he saw Hitomi spotting her a few feet away with Senju shinobi and Subatsu shinobi boxed around her weapons still drawn and at the ready, Tsugi and Osen were nearby while Ryoku was several feet in front of himself swiping his blade to the side before sheathing it. "They're about thrity miles away now and moving steadily in that direction, we should be alright." Tobirama explained, he knew Hashirama was referring to the Uchiha and Domou for the most part, but also the Sarutobi and Hyuga. "We can't afford to make anymore stops." If this was going to be the norm then they'd need to keep moving even at night.
"I know." Hashirama nodded. If this situation was anything to go on the longer they say still the sooner some clan was going to intercept their path. And, more over than that point was the fact that there wasn't a village within thousands of miles. It was one barren stretch of land, mountains, and valleys. "Is Hitomi-hime-chan okay?" Concern flashed through dark eyes.
"She's fine, just a little shook up." Usagi informed him.
"Good." Hashirama was visibly relieved. He didn't wish to see Haji lose Hitomi before she even became his. "Let's move with hast, I want to avoid another scenario like this." And though it'd be close to impossible to avoid it, he wanted to hold off until Hitomi wasn't present with them. Her eyes were still so bright and pure, she didn't know the horrors of this war-torn world, and he didn't wish that upon anyone. It just made him more firm to see this era of violence and bloodshed come to an end. "Watch out for that crater."
"I didn't see that there." Syrus quipped, oddly finding himself amused. He stopped, noticing Hashirama had his gaze all around them. He knew the exact words that were going to come out of his mouth, and it was the respectable thing to do. And, he wouldn't argue against it.
"We need to bury the dead." Hashirama said with a solemn expression. "It's the least we can do... Nobody deserves to be left on the roadside." It was normal for the Senju to gather their dead and take them back to their compound to give them a proper burial. Not all clans did abide by this rule and many left their fallen comrades on the roadside. It was the ultimate sign of disrespect and dishonor in the Senju clan, and at one point in history this was punishable by death or banishment. Hashirama didn't agree with the penalty of death. But, he did fully agree that it is the ultimate the sign of disrespect and dishonor. "Did you guys notice anything strange?"
"There were far too many Hyuga and Sarutobi for them to be out on a simple mission." Haji answered. "Assassination or otherwise, it is something else."
"Buy, why?" Usagi was baffled. There wasn't anything out here, and the Hyuga were possibly contracted by the Lightning damiyo, but nobody just hauls around fifty or more men." Usagi stated very dryly. In this era-thirty seven was the minimum, forty was the max. There were special three, four, five, and sometimes six or seven person teams. They had forty or so at this moment in time. Which would be the norm. This reminded her way too much of Cho's reckless actions before she ended his life. His explanation was getting money by holding Hitomi for ransom, but it just didn't add up, he was going near the village's walls, at times going into the village or sending his men into it.
It was like they were after power. Sheer power. There was no sense to it.
"For now let's focus on what we know." Syrus interrupted her train of thought drawing her to the present. "We need to bury these bodies and then work our way to Hitomi's home village. There isn't another village or settlement for more than 1000 miles from this point." He hid his anxiousness well, if they were doing these kinds of attacks... Then it could only mean they were after power. The damiyos could very well start turning into casualties of war. Nobody had fifty men with them, not even he was that stupid or bold, that would only mean that they were preparing for a long term conflict which would last months or years. If both Sasuke and Daiki had roughly fifty or more men with them that meant there were at least four hundred or more back at wherever they set up camp. Perhaps camps. And, there could be even thousands total.
Hashirama nodded in silent agreement, he was unsettled.
Yuko sputtered. Coughing. Retching. Gagging. She wasn't sure what happened, she was standing one second and the next she was flying across the scorching sand. Her skin wailed in protest. She hated sand. She really really hated sand. She had enough sand for a lifetime. She was positive she swallowed some sand, she could taste the grainy texture on her tongue and sticking to the roof of her mouth. She dared not to swallow unless she wanted to swallow more sand. The pain from the strike that knocked her down still pulsed through her, despite this she tried to fight off the man grabbing her only to get a crushing blow to the same spot. She had been taking small, discreet sips of water trying to work the sand out, but it was proving to be a futile task, though her throat wasn't so dry and itchy.
She didn't move after that. She could distinctly hear Ahiko calling her name in the distance, it grew louder and it grew fainter, until it vanished altogether and she was only greeted with the hiss and chatter of the sand being crunched and her own gags as she fought the sand from her mouth. She felt a pang of worry and hurt no longer hearing Ahiko's voice or feeling her presence, had she left her? She immediately thought no, Ahiko would never do that. She had to stop being so cynical.
Yuko could no longer ponder on this. Her eyes flitted open and she took in her new surroundings. Naturally there was sand, but there were several light but durabl tents set up around a fifty yard perimeter, there was a small fire going in the center of the encampment where dozens of men enjoyed food and drink laughing and arguing just the same, it was all in good fun, alongside the fire were buckets presumably filled with water to be boiled or wine to be consumed. She took note there were more than three hundred and fifty men altogether and they had to at least be ten or twenty years older than her at the very least. The youngest she guessed was fourteen judging by his appearance. "What is that?" The question made Yuko bristle. That. It was as if she were an object and not a person.
"An Uchiha brat." Her captor chuckled.
"Uchihas don't have red hair. That's an Uzumaki trait. I told you to lay off the sake three hours ago! Sasuke-sama will be checking in here any day now."
"It isn't exclusive to the Uzumaki." Her captor seemed to flinch from the tone and glare, but managed to say at least that.
"She has the Sharingan." Yuko glared at the next man she seen, he was about thirty four years of age and had spiky brown hair that fell to his shoulder blades, and a lean but dense build. Next to him stood an aged man he was clearly in his fifties his hair was long and gray, but his build was strong. His eyes bored into hers, and for the first time in a long time Yuko felt small. She also knew that it was this older man and not the younger one that snapped at whoever was holding her. It was strange seeing such an old man on the field of battle, normally they would retire or go on the council to offer their insight and wisdom. And, just the way he was looking at her, it was as if he was seeing straight through her, as if he knew her her entire life. "Put her in one of the tents with a chakra seal, you can never be too cautious with an Uchiha." And, again Yuko bristled. Uchiha, it was her surname, but it wasn't her name, and again she felt like nothing more than an object.
She was hauled passed the middle of the camp and the fire brewing, towards a small tent. It was smaller than the rest, but looked much thicker than the rest. It was kind off putting. Yuko hissed as she was dropped harshly onto the floor, shooting her head up to the man that dropped and glared directly into his eyes. Unfortunately, he didn't even feel threatened and he smirked down at her showing his teeth. "What's the matter?" The man taunted. Yuko shot up to her feet, lashing out with her fist, surprised at how much speed was behind the attack. The blow connected, and she felt his bones give for a second. She yelped in pain, bending her back forward as her arm was wrenched behind her. "Yes, you are definitely an Uchiha, but it's strange you have that color of hair..." The man narrowed his eyes, slamming her onto the floor and placing a chakra seal straight onto her back before fishing out his ninja wire and tying her ankles together. "The Uchiha wouldn't be caught dead with an Uzumaki... And you are not by any means a Domou... Is it true you've allied yourselves with them.?"
Them. He said it with such hatred and disdain, but there was a hint of what seemed like fear almost terror in his voice. She couldn't quite place it.
"My name is Yuko Uchiha." She spat, clenching her teeth when her movements became slow and lethargic and she felt her coils constricting. Well, there goes that idea...Yuko struggled to move her arm, but she had some assistance from the man as he pulled on the ninja wire tied to her ankles, forcing her back into an arch , and tied her wrists together interconnecting the two strands of wire tying the knot super tight forcing Yuko to bend sharply one last time. Yuko forced herself to make a small movement, regardless of what it was. She only managed a small wiggle on her stomach before losing any drive and stamina to keep going.
"Not a name befitting for a Shinobi.." The man sneered at her. "Answer my other question."
"If I don't?" Yuko challenged with a poisonous glare, if looks could kill...
"Why don't we find out?" The man smirked as he pulled out a kunai, the tip was so sharp the air and light practically bounced from it. He took her silence as a no. She was defiant enough to challenge him despite being in her current position, so he knew the kunai isn't what made her silence herself. Smart girl, but emotional and impulsive. "I take your silence as a yes, there have been rumors circulating like wildfire but I didn't want to believe it..." The Domou and Uchiha stood by themselves they never had any allies. And, so that means the Senju and Subatsu have also allied themselves together... He never paid mind to rumors, but now that this was a fact... "Well, Yuko Uchiha. You won't be staying here long, as soon as we gouge out those eyes we'll send you on your way." The man said in a ghastly manner, the smirk stretched across the length of his face. Coming across Uchiha so inexperienced was unheard of, even more unheard was a female Uchiha allowed to fight and having red hair, but a shinobi worth their salt pounced on any chance. This was the perfect chance. "It'll only take us a minute and it's a relatively harmless procedure."
"You wouldn't!" Yuko yelled unintentionally, her shocked eyes darting up towards the man. Gone was her vicious glare and in its place was worry filled eyes with a tinge of fear. If she lost her Sharingan she'd have no place among the Uchiha, Izuna wouldn't have interest in her, she wouldn't be who she is as a person without them. They were a part of her and have always been.
"Naive girl." The man spar, turning to the entrance and poked his head out, turning back for a second. "The Sharingan is invaluable as is its secrets. Once we possess both we'll wipe the Uchiha clan from the face of the earth." And with that he left Yuko to contemplate her fate. There were a million thoughts running through her head and a million emotions wracking her. How to escape? She couldn't even muster the chakra to keep her Sharingan activated and her arms and legs were in binds, she was on a flat surface so no chance of rolling herself away. Great... She thought, gritting her teeth and struggling to even move her top-most knuckles. There has to be a way I can get out of this... Damn this stupid chakra seal.
Ahiko moved with the silence and stealth of a panther. She kept herself crouched and poised. Her spear resting in the crook her shoulder, and her hands calloused against the heat of the sand as she advanced closer to what appeared to be a camp. It had no effect on her, her hands and palms were calloused from years of death defying-literally death defying training, and she was trained not to let small things like extreme heat or surprise effect her, though the second one was still hard to do even to this day. Carefully, and slowly Ahiko made her way over several sand hills keeping her chakra low and movements swift, light, and flexible. She finally came upon the beginning of the perimeter camp five hundred yards away
She knew it was a live camp because there was smoke rising just so slightly above the encampment itself no doubt a fire was started to cook. And, that meant they'd be here for a long time if they were setting up this sort of camp.
Damn all of this sand. Ahiko scrunched her brows in discontent. A shinobi was always trained that stealth and secrecy came first above all-the only thing that outweighed these two things was survival and the clan. It was a lot easier staying secluded in the barren woods or even treacherous mountains since there were many ravines and valleys. But, deserts were the most scare and vulnerable terrains a shinobi could embark on; there was no cover to seclude oneself and should the need for retreat come in there were no branches or water to dart to. It was more suited for full scale battles, which did happen and would often leave the sand soaked in blood for miles. She unfurled the scroll she kept under her shirt, ignoring the cloud of smoke that surrounded the item and clasped it in her right hand, her left hand retrieving an arrow.
While her sister and brother excelled in kenjutsu she excelled in the less known arts such a medicinal and herbs, kyujutsu, and sojutsu. This isn't to say she was inexperienced in kenjutsu or the other arts, but these three are where she excelled the most, and taijutsu. She had pursued the field of herbs and medicines after her mother had become sick and no medic present within their compound could figure out what was wrong, she ended up saving her mother figuring out that it was actually an antibody of what was supposed to be an antidote to one poison, but her body had a horrible reaction to it. It took half a day to expel the toxic waste and another day to prepare the right antidote-she had only been six at the time. She was praised amongst her kinsmen and the elders, her father put her on the path of medicine allowing her mother to teach her to intricacies of antidotes, potions, venom, and poisons.
She needn't any of that now. She secured the arrow against the bow and inhaled sharply, pinching her left eye shut and bringing the bow up to her side as she steadied her aim. There were no second chances when it came to the bow and arrow-kyujutsu, it'd take to seconds to retrieve another arrow and in that small gap the enemy could close the distance and slice of one's head. The bow built with tension and power as it was pulled back further and further until the tension mounted and held the arrow in place.
Ahiko let the arrow loose from its post, her body heaving back as the tense bow relieved itself of the pressure forcing it through Ahiko's body and at the back of the arrow, launching it straight ahead it a tight diagonal line. She grimaced as the arrow struck its target embedding itself into the right side of his chest, skewing its way through his body and stabbing into a bucket by the fire. She tensed, bringing up two arrows instead of one, she'd need to be quick about this before they could get a head start. Two more arrows screamed through the air one hitting its mark clean through a man's sternum and hurling him back while the other grazed another's cheek spewing blood down the side of his face. Just as she brought another arrow up a flurry of chakra signatures assaulted her. Ten, twenty, forty, fifty, sixty... Ahiko felt her whole body stiffen. Two hundred, four hundred...
She hastily sealed her bows and arrow back into the seal and broke from her cover and dashed towards the camp. She couldn't sense Yuko's chakra and that meant one of two things. The first was the most obvious she was dead and tosses away somewhere he buried in the sand, however she was too valuable to do that. The second and more likely was a chakra seal was placed on her to constantly retrain and suppress her chakra to below average levels, thus forcing her to deactivate her Sharingan. It had to be the second, the Sarutobi would be fools to simply kill Yuko. "Hey! Get out of here!" She put on another burst of speed, and jumped forward thrusting her spear forward and through her attacker's chest, it was quick and painless death.
She tore her blade free whipping her head around. Seventy at least. Her eyes flicked back and forth as she tried to get a rough total of what she was up against. It was normal for three shinobi to be camped together or traveling together, but when it got well above fifty that meant one thing and only one thing-they were mobilizing for a full on assault. It wouldn't be a simple hit and run, it'd stretch into a months' long campaign. This wasn't good, nor was she expecting this. On the flip side she appeared to have found the camp thanks to Yuko.
"Who are you!?" One of the men shouted.
"She's a Domou!" Another's voice rang out.
"Don't delay!" This one shout was all that needed to be said. Ahiko surged her chakra through her legs and sprang to the side evading her pursuers. It'd just be a matter of time before it happened. Her senses flared, and she whipped around, spotting one man honing in on her. She stabbed through his armor plating, surging forward with him still impaled on her spear. She kicked forward, tearing his body free from impalement and sending him crashing into his comrades. Ahiko spared no glance she turned away and quickly went back into her sprint. "Don't let her near the Uchiha!" She felt glares boring through her back. Shit! The Sarutobi were persistent. "She'll free the wench!"
"RAAAHHHHH!"
"What! Akimichi!?"
"Don't let them destroy the camp!"
"Kill the bastards!"
Ahiko dashed off, the echoes of battle cries and swords clanging echoed in her ears. The battle in turn started from the corner of the camp, far from where she was, but it spread out engulfing the entire camp and she found herself fending off Sarutobi and Akimichi simultaneously. She used leverage, footwork and weight to overpower the oxy Akimichi and their brunt attacks, while powerful the crisp technique and finesse of Ahiko's strokes, and she took advantage of this. Six fell to her spear along with seven more Sarutobi, the battle was starting to rage and blood pooled onto the sand as the ground echoed from thudding bodies. I need to find Yuko and get out here while I still can!" Ahiko brought forth another burst of chakra, and shot off into a wild blur. It's only a matter of time before the Akimichi use their expansion jutsu, then we'll be stuck regardless!
She tore through the tents individually. She thought Yuko would have been in the first, but she was horribly wrong there was only a stash of weapons and clothing stored. She broke away searching the second and third tents, but the result was the same there were only clothes and weapons. She whipped her head scouting the current battle for a quick second, and dashed to her right, throwing herself into the tent only to find a scroll. She had an impulse to dismiss the simple scroll as nothing, it would likely be blank or a trap, but she knew not to overlook anything. She clasped the scroll tightly in one hand, wasting no time to pocket it and tore through the side of the tent with her spear, and sliced through the next one. "Yuko-chan!" She exclaimed, spotting her friend practically hogtied, but looking no worse for wear. "Give me a second!" Ahiko bounded forward tearing the seal from her friend's back returning her strength.
"What's going on out there it sounds like battle?" Yuko questioned, gritting her teeth as Ahiko pulled a bit too tight on the wire forcing her back to bend awkwardly again. She pressed her wrists together, and threw them out to her sides splitting through the wire and Ahiko hastily tore the rest away from her ankles.
"Akimichi are attacking the Sarutobi. They're fighting." Ahiko summed it up in seven words. "We need to get out of here."
"What about-"
"I've got a scroll!" Ahiko pulled her friend up to her feet dusting her off and fixing her with a stern expression. "Let's go before the Akimichi use their expansion jutsu!"
"Right!" Yuko didn't want to encounter of those giants. She would have loved to work the kinks out from her wrists and ankles, but she had no time. She jumped through the hole in the tent right behind Ahiko, her eyes scanned the scene before her. To say it was utter carnage couldn't do it any justice. She knew the world was a terrible place, she knew this era was plagued with violence and bloodshed but nothing quite like this. Her heart hitched as she spotted four heads with dull gray eyes staring back at her, as if to torement her, blood poured out from the part of the neck that was still attached and their bodies were several yards away. Besides them were battling Akimichi and Sarutobi despite their vast numbers the Sarutobi were pushing them back, but the Akimichi were relentless and tore into their ranks.
"Yuko!" Ahiko snapped.
"Sorry!" Yuko shouted, bounding after Ahiko in a blazing sprint. Her mouth was coarse and rigid, her tongue felt so dry she swore it was going to fall of, and she couldn't get over just how dry her mouth was This was ridiculous. She put the trivial thought out of her mind as she put on another burst of speed to keep up with Ahiko-she so damn fast once she got going! Yuko spared a glance behind to her temporary prison, the battle continued to rage on growing more intense as the seconds passed, seeing two more Akimichi and Sarutobi fall with dull thuds she tore her gaze away from the conflict focusing onto the rolling sand hills. She had to thank Ahiko for saving her skin when they got back to the village, even though the curly haired girl would feel there was no need. We're comrades, I watch your back and you watch mine. She could never get over just how blunt and forward Ahiko and her siblings could be.
Ahiko slowed down her sprint into a heavy run, and slowed down her heavy run into a light jog before stopping altogether. She didn't need to pant to catch her breath since such a distance was nothing to her. She brought up one arm, wiping the sleeve against her forehead getting rid of the beads of sweat-it was still hot either way. "Okay, we should be fine here. We're a good distance away from them." Ahiko said, letting out a soft breath and turning to Yuko while fishing her hand under her shirt. "Drink." Ahiko said as she offered Yuko her canteen.
"I'm really sorry." Yuko said as she took the canteen and took a small sip of water, swishing it around in her mouth and spit it out, grimacing at how much sand was in her mouth. She took another sip, this time much more vigorously enjoying the cool liquid, it kissed her tongue and caressed the back of her throat she felt like she was in nothing short of heaven. She swallowed sharply, and took another sip this time much more controlled and graceful than before. Ahiko tried her best not to laugh at Yuko, she could be very silly, she was either apologizing for the way she was drinking the water-which would be considered very sloppy and unladylike or the fact she was captured.
"Oh, stop Yuko-chan." Ahiko waved her hand, laughing, she couldn't help it. Yuko was just so silly. "Feel better?"
"Yeah." Yuko smiled genuinely. Though she couldn't wait to get in a bath, or even better a shower! She pushed that aside for now, stepping in stride with Ahiko as they began their trek back. "What's in the scroll?"
"To be honest. I don't know." Ahiko answered, blinking owlishly at Yuko. I'm going to need to write that report faster than I thought. Ahiko mused, what was going to be, supposed to be an easy mission, was turning into something much more complicated. "I'm going to wait to open this until my brother and sister, as well as Madara and Izuna arrive. We're going to need backup." I have a terrible feeling.
Yuko couldn't hide the smile that graced her face. She'd see Izuna sooner than she thought.