Due to the large group fleeing from Morino, the majority of the capital soldiers followed them. Only a handful were left to attack the remaining rebels, and they did their best to fend off the attacks until the soldiers either retreated or died.

As soon as the attack concluded (and scouts determined that the perimeter was free of spies), Shizune got to work ordering around the remaining medics. The wounded were to be treated immediately, and everything destroyed was to be remade again.

Hideki had been hiding with Daitan, keeping the children busy from freaking out. As soon as the attack concluded, Karin found him and asked him to help out with the wounded. Daitan, concerned, offered to follow (having some medical knowledge herself), but was asked to stay for a while longer until a few others could relieve her of her duties. Not fifteen minutes later, a medic fainted from overexertion and she was called in to help, some of the healing civilians watching the children as she rushed about.

Hideki was shaken as he worked alongside the medics, his hands shaking as he called healing chakra to them.

Karin noticed this and pulled him away, grabbing a cup of water and all but demanding he drink it all before he tried to get back to work.

He drank it all slowly, his eyes far away and hollow - but once he was done, his hands didn't quite shake as much. She coached him through some breathing exercises and once he was calmer, she gave him back to the medics.

Hinata watched all of this with Aika at her side, the woman looking worse for wear.

"I wish I could do something substantial," she sighed. "I was never taught anything except for some rudimentary medical techniques."

Aika shakily nodded, her pale face and rapid breathing making the girl look at her in concern.

"Are you alright?" She asked, reaching for her. Her skin was clammy and it made her recoil.

Aika pointed to her heart, her lips morphing unintelligible silent words before her eyes rolled back into her head and she dropped.

Hinata yelped, trying to catch her. "Help! She's fainted! I need some cool water!"


Meanwhile, the other group had taken pause in a little grove of trees.

Tsunade glanced around at her shinobi. "Alright, so the plan is to take the detour to Konoha. That'll shave off a substantial portion of our trip and we'll likely get there by midnight."

"Roger that, ma'am," one of them said, the rest nodding in acknowledgement.

A kunai whizzed past them, and she cursed. "They've caught up. We need to get going!"

Suddenly, arms clamped onto hers, and before she could break herself free, she was dragged back against a soldier's chest.

"Go, get out of here!" She screamed as the last of her group hurried away.


Meanwhile, Karin and Shizune had warned the villagers, and the surviving head of each family - some being sons, others being fathers, and many more being mothers or children - gathered their families together into the safe basement they'd stayed in. She and four other attendants went back and forth, getting water, some getting food reserves from anywhere and anywhere they were stashed at, others taking care of injuries, and one who dedicated himself to watching over the small children as their parents, grandparents, or siblings worked.

It was quite a sight to see everyone - from the elderly to small children who couldn't be any more than four or five - rushing about, trying to care for those still alive and wounded. Some children had tears in their eyes as they worked, understandably frightened and traumatized, yet they didn't stop working, even as their little hands trembled.

Karin took a moment to glance back at him. A fresh-faced teenage recruit, only fifteen, Hideki was cheerful and kind, especially to the children of each village they sought refuge in. He was a perfect match to this kind of work, busy consoling a badly-wounded child while Daitan hurriedly stitched up the large gash in her arm.

The poor boy had been through so much, but he'd soundly amazed the others at how positive he was being in the face of a situation this dire. He'd told and retold his personal journey many times, often recounting some of the happier stories he remembered, such as his father's proposal to his mother. He cried every time he told those stories, still, even mere months after being effectively orphaned, but even then he never stopped smiling.

Usually at Daitan's side, he was content to sit with the children, some of the younger ones sitting on his knees, most often one of them asking about his necklace. He was now talking animatedly to the sniffling little girl getting stitches, probably telling a story - and if Karin knew him as well as she thought, he was probably telling them the story of the three Sannin - one he claimed was his favorite story to tell. Sure, it was quite outdated (given Orochimaru's status as a traitor and a psychotic scientist with a mind for the macabre), but the children didn't need to know.

She cracked a tiny smile upon seeing him chuckle at her wide brown eyes studying him as he gestured with one hand. "His dreams aren't ill-fit; he would make a perfect father someday."

Turning away, she focused on the task at hand. She was still holding a silently-crying woman's arm as one of her colleagues wrapped it again. She'd broken it during the pillaging and was still healing. Her incredible misfortune had seen her break it again, in a different spot this time.

"We got any more clean bandages?" Another called out.

"There should be some in my pack over there," Karin replied, pointing towards their supplies. "It's the one with the berry stain on the front."

Now subconsciously distracted from her task, she found herself listening in to Hideki's story.

"And then Jiraiya-sama defeated the last villain with his greatest technique!" His voice was exaggeratedly dramatic. "After the battle, he took his friends Tsunade-sama and Orochimaru-sama out for a celebratory dinner at the village they saved."

The same soft smile creeped back, even if for only a moment while she was still distracted from her task. "At least one of us is having fun."

"I've got a bleeder! I need those wrappings NOW!" Someone hollered, and at once her attention snapped back into medic mode.


Tsunade snarled when a soldier with wide, catlike black eyes stepped into the clearing, flanked by royal soldiers. Her wrists had long since been tied tightly behind her back, a seal on the back of her neck so that she couldn't access any of her chakra. "Dammit… without it, I can't even break the ground! Using the Byakugou wouldn't do jack shit either… ugh, I hate feeling this useless!"

"You bastard," she hissed. "So you're the one! I knew we were being trailed!"

"Of course, but apparently you didn't look hard enough to spot the spy," the brunet commented calmly. At the snap of his fingers, two royal soldiers were grabbing her by the arms. As she struggled, he came closer, grasping her chin with two fingers.

"Now, and I'm only going to ask you once," he started, staring into her enraged brown eyes, "hand over Hyuuga Hinata, if you please, and I will spare you."

"You'll never get her back if I have anything to say about the matter," she spat, twisting her face away from his grip. Unfortunately, that was all she could do at the moment. "When my backup arrives-!"

"That will simply never happen," he retorted with a shake of his head. "My superiors have already taken care of that."

"Now," he started again, taking her chin in his hand again, squeezing tighter, "I demand you to give the princess up to us."

"She was never yours to begin with!" Tsunade roared, kicking out. She narrowly missed his stomach, and he ordered two more soldiers to grab them. "She's the victim of a cycle of manipulation and power-hungry tyrants! Down with the Uchiha!"

Yamato let out a long, exhausted sigh.

A split-second later, a blade was at her throat, and his eyes narrowed. They were still too disturbing to look at, however, and she looked away, signalling something to the trees with her hand. If the event she was waiting for was coming, she hoped that they had seen it.

"I've asked you politely once," he said, the only trace of his frustration being in the way his fingers gripped the blade so hard it shook slightly. "I've tried being nice to you. I've tried making this civil enough that I won't have any stains on my record,"

He leaned in close enough to touch his nose to hers, whispering, "but I guess that's not how you want to play this right now, now is it?"

She tried to wrench her neck away, but he gripped her hair this time, forcing her head up. She grit her teeth in pain, giving him her worst glare. The helplessness was frustrating, but as much as she hated to be a damsel, especially after everything, he was really forcing her hand here.

Deep down, this was terrifying. She hadn't been completely without any of her power for decades, not since she was a little girl just starting her training with her granduncle. Her blood turned to slush at the intensity of his wide-eyed stare, his soulless black depths subtly screwing with her mind, gazing right through her. For a moment, the thought that he could read her very thoughts crossed her brain, but a second later she forced it down. Having a knife at your neck, your life flashing before your own eyes... it was more haunting than any long-distance battle wounds she'd gotten thus far.

"Now I won't ask you again." Even through his faux polite demeanor, his voice was still ice cold. "Give me the princess, and no one gets hurt."

"Never," she hissed through gritted teeth. "I'll never surrender her to you. You'll get her over my dead body."

He pulled away, seemingly stunned at her defiance for a moment, but then he seemed oddly pleased.

"That request I can fulfill," he said, snapping his fingers. At once, his men gripped her face.

"Any last words before my men put you out of your misery, rebel scum?" The man's voice was oddly light, as if having a conversation with a friend over tea.

"Yes." She spat at him, a shit-eating grin on her face. "Long live the Resistance. Long live the rightful leader! Long live Senju Hashirama!"

As if on cue, something like a bomb exploded around them, the smoke making it impossible to see.

As the soldiers broke into coughing fits in the thick smoke, Tsunade managed to get free by kicking two in the face, flipping in the air backwards to free her face from their hands. She pulled her bandana over her face and finally stopped holding her breath.

She felt someone hoist her up and race away with her in their arms, multiple shouts of anger erupting from the scene behind them. The sound of wood splintering and arrows flying made her laugh breathlessly, the nervousness swirling in her stomach manifesting itself as a trembling in her limbs.

"Boy am I glad to see you," She beamed up at the blond carrying her to safety, clutching tightly at his cloak. "Is the group safe?"

"Course they are, yeah," the young man scoffed. "Kisame and the others caught up with them up ahead."

"Are you hurt?" the flat voice of a handsome young man with hair like blood asked, catching up.

"Nah, just have a bruised ego," she shrugged. "I assume Hinoki and the others got the message."

"Not quite yet," the blond, Deidara, shook his head. "Last time I heard, Kakuzu-san was on his way to report."

"Ah, I see, I see." She sighed in relief. "Haaa, I'm exhausted."

"Sleep," the redhead advised. "We'll wake you when we get to the rendezvous point."


A/N: Please tell me what you thought!