Chapter 34

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The Chase

Ta no Kuni, a land converted and utterly consumed by the desire, the need to grow things. And just as the Land of Vegetables lived up to its name, so did Tori no Kuni.
They were absolutely everywhere, there wasn't a single tree, nor a single bush that didn't have at least one. Every order of bird seemed to be represented whether they be Anseriformes or Accipetriformes and everything in between

"Why are there so damn many of the things?" Shinsuke complained as he was forced to duck under yet another low flying Pigeon. "D'ya know, there's an old story about Tori no Kuni," Kurotsuchi said, "The story goes that years ago an elderly Daimyō and his wife loved birds so much that they spent fortunes on importing a mating pair of every bird species they could get their hands on. After they'd both died, their son who didn't care much for birds simply released them all.

"And since then, they've been breeding non-stop."
"That story sounds really familiar," Naruto muttered, not quite able to put his finger on why. "The story comes from an old children's book Naruto-san," Kitsuchi said, remembering his wife reading that exact book to their pink-eyed daughter.

The Blonde clicked his fingers, "Ah, yes, that was it."

"I'm surprised you know of it, Naruto-san. It's not exactly a well-known story east of Tsuchi no Kuni." Naruto strangely wasn't forthcoming with a reply as he looked away bashfully. "Why Naruto-san. Are you prone to enjoying a good children's story?" Kurotsuchi asked with a thin grin on her lips. Naruto's silence continued as he suddenly realised how interesting the hills off to their right were. It was definitely only a coincidence that he was looking away from everyone else.

'Kami sake Naruto, why are you embarrassed by one of your childhood hobbies?' Tri wondered. He distinctly remembered the bottom shelf of the bookcase in Naruto's room been crammed with storybooks. That bookcase might have been gone, replaced by a larger one with the books moved to Minusha's room but he knew Naruto still enjoyed reading one occasionally. He just couldn't understand why it embarrassed him.

Shaking his head at the strange revelations of the past day or so Kitsuchi turned to the Iwa teams sensor. "Sukauto-san,[1] have you come across anything?" The Chūnin in his early twenties shook his head, "Nothing sir, not a single chakra signature except for ours."

The tall veteran sighed in frustration, it was now nearing a day since they'd turned eastwards. Tri's two summons would come and go every few hours, relaying more up to date intelligence back to them. Since then they had again changed their direction of travel, turning more to the North-east. Tri assured them they were actually closing the gap.

"Perhaps we should pick up the pace Kurotsuchi-san?" he heard Itachi ask his daughter, the young woman nodding her agreement, the twelve Ninja and three Ninken kicking up a gear or two. A short time later they were re-joined by Muninn who after a few moments perched on Tri's shoulder flew off again. "Tri?" Itachi asked, "We're still on the right course," he relayed.

It would be another two hours when the sun was highest in the sky signalling the arrival of the afternoon when Huginn returned. By now they'd all learnt to watch Tri's facial expressions so their collective interest spiked when it suddenly changed. They all waited for him to speak, "Our quarry has rendezvoused with an Ame squad."

That brought their group to a halt. "How many and how long ago?" Itachi immediately asked, a serious edge coming through in his voice. "They rendezvoused with a squad of four about an hour ago. They appeared to have been waiting for them."

"So this operation was planned out," Kitsuchi concluded. "It would appear so," Itachi agreed.

Turning back to Tri, "How far from them are we?" Tri was silent a few moments as he waited for Huginn to tell him, "They're a few miles east of us," he answered. "Are they still moving?" A few moments more silence, "Yes but they're not in any rush."

With a nod of understanding Itachi knelt down, pulling a map from one of his pouches, unfolding it he lay it flat on the ground. "Ok, we're about twenty miles into Tori no Kuni, it's about eighty miles to the Ishi no Kuni (Land of Stone) border," he explained as everyone crowded around the map. "And from there it's about another eighty miles to the Ame border," he added tapping Ame no Kuni (Land of Rain) on the map with a finger.

"Kurotsuchi-san, how good is your team's stamina?" Itachi asked after a few moments of quiet. "A-absolutely fine," she spluttered as if Itachi had made a rude remark. The Uchiha just ignored her defensive response. "Because I'm thinking we use the distance remaining to our advantage and we wear them down. Make them run non-stop the entire way to Ame no Kuni. Then with ten, maybe twenty miles to go we pounce."

"It's a risky assumption to base a plan around Itachi-san," Kurotsuchi said pouring water on it, "You're hoping they'll run out of stamina before they reach safety," she added. "You could always artificially increase the distance they have to travel," Suzushii contributed, "Elaborate," Itachi asked. "Instead of allowing them to run straight to Ame no Kuni, make their path of least resistance curve all over the place, a few miles to the North-east here, South-east here et cetera.

Itachi found himself nodding approvingly, "I like it. Anyone fancy guessing how much we can extend their distance to travel?" he put to them all. "Perhaps another 50, 60 miles," Hana answered, Tri quickly agreeing with her.

Ok, to get them changing directions you need to be ahead of them, how are you achieving that?" Kurotsuchi asked Itachi who simply pointed at Tri, "He can do that."

"We need to keep up so how do we ensure we don't tire ourselves out?"
"They don't need to see us Suzushii. They just need to know someones after them, we don't need to make the changes of direction with them, so our route is shorter than theirs," Itachi explained. "We'd need to make the pace relentless, if we let up they'll likely realise what we're doing," Naruto added.

"Does this plan meet with your approval Kurotsuchi-san?" Itachi asked the pink-eyed Jōnin. "Yes but there are two notable details we need to sort first. Firstly where do you intend to engage them?" He looked back down at the map, it was far from a ground survey but it did at least possess some details denoting terrain.

"Do the terrains of Tsuchi no Kuni and Ishi no Kuni differ much?" he asked the Iwa Shinobi. They all shook their heads, "No they're pretty similar," Kitsuchi answered. "Tri, you can make more Kage Bunshin than all of us, can you scout out a battle site with them? Somewhere that inhibits their ability to manoeuvre but allows us to utilise our larger numbers." He nodded his understanding.

"Ok, the second point?"
"Us, or more specifically my squad crossing into Ishi no Kuni." Itachi's eyes furrowed then widened as he jumped from confused to realisation, "Oh, of course, you and Ishi don't get along do you." Kitsuchi snorted, "That's an understatement."
"How heated is it?" Naruto asked. "There's still the occasional border clash every year or two."
"The only thing preventing a war is Ishi and Suna's defensive agreement," Kurotsuchi added.

"Because it would eventually drag Konoha in right?" Suzushii surmised. "More than that, our planners estimated it would eventually drag every great nation in. Konoha and Suna would beat Iwa, shifting the balance of power to them and away from Kumo and Kiri so they'd get involved just to keep the status-quo," Kitsuchi elaborated.

"Well. How do we, ya know. Not do that?" Shinsuke asked. All twelve of them were quiet as their minds all went to work processing the issue. "I think I've got an idea," Sukauto said, everyone turned and listened in.

"This mission, it's a joint mission right, equally lead by both villages?"
"It is," Kurotsuchi answered nodding, "Ok, so let's say for the sake of appearances when we cross in Ishi no Kuni that we, as in the Iwa half 'surrendered' our half of control over the mission? "So as far as Ishi is concerned, it's a Konoha led mission. It just so happens they've hired an Iwa squad to assist them because they know the region better." Itachi thought a few moments, the back of his thumb tapping against his chin.

"Ok, our half of the mission could become the primary goal. We just don't mention the Iwa half of the mission and if they do somehow know, we just spin it as a coincidence." Turning to face the two members of the Tsuchikage family, "What do you both think?"

Father and Daughter looked at one another, both asking each other the same question with their eyes. Both turned back to face him, "Given the time constraints we have to work with, we'll agree to go with Sukauto's plan," Kurotsuchi said for them both, Kitsuchi supportively nodding twice.

"Let's get to it," Itachi declared.

"Do we have to move so slowly? Couldn't we, shouldn't we go faster?" Dorobou asked the Ame Shinobi around him. Aoi sighed in an attempt to alleviate his annoyance, Dorobou had been skittish the entire time, the fact that he'd successfully stolen the Iwa Tsue was the only thing that stopped Aoi from simply strangling him. At least that way he'd shut up.

"Firstly I'm enjoying being out of Amegakure for a few days, it's nice to enjoy some sunlight. Secondly the shinobi in Ishi no Kuni are rather jumpy and charging through at full speed represents an unnecessary risk."
"But what if someone manages to pick up our trail?" Aoi snorted, "Stop worrying for Kami's sake, why do you think I had you head westward through Tsume no Kuni (Land of Claws) before looping southwards through Na no Kuni. By the time they figure out which way you went to begin with, it'll be far too late."

Unfortunately for them, neither had any idea of what was rapidly closing them down.

Trying to get the overly nervous Dorobou's complaints from his mind his hand drifted to the weapon attached to his waist. When not in use the weapon was only a hilt, as if the blade had been removed but when chakra flowed into it the blade sparked into life, a yellow blade made from Raiton chakra. The Raijin no Ken, the former weapon of Senju Tobirama.

Ame's latest recruit still looking as nervous as ever was stood next to him under a large wide branched tree, the long near five-foot staff secured over his shoulder. It was made from what he believed was a single piece of Obsidian but it was beautifully detailed. How exactly they managed to carve such detail into so hard a substance intrigued him.

His multi-month plan to 'persuade' their latest recruit into joining them and bring the Iwa-Tsue with him was a success. The success of his plan he was sure would push him up the ranks in Amegakure, he as did every Ame nin sought the favour of their mysterious leader.

A leader they all knew almost nothing about, only that his name was Pein and that his will was brought to them by his angel, an angel that Aoi guessed to be in her thirties perhaps. Whatever her age, she was a beautiful woman with blue hair and amber eyes clad from head to toe in a black cloak detailed with red clouds.

The people of Ame, civilian and Shinobi alike revered Pein and his angel. It was they who had ended the tyranny of Hanzo the Salamander.

Aoi may have been born in Konoha and therefore still an outsider to some but he had embraced Ame as his home so he too had embraced the religious levels of reverence they felt for Pein. It was appropriate really, Pein had declared himself a god and they accepted it without question.

Gods, after all, were powerful, and it would have taken someone with great power to kill Hanzo the Salamander, a man so powerful that he could single-handedly fight all three members of the Sannin to a standstill. It was Hanzo himself who had bestowed the trio of Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade with the title of Sannin.

'And speaking of the Sannin,' he thought, even though years had gone by, his mirth still knew no end when he imagined how furious Senju Tsunade must have been when she discovered the Raijin no Ken had been stolen. 'After all the weapon used to belong to the Bimbo's Great-Uncle.'

With an amused shake of the head, he surveyed his surroundings. He could see the mountain chain to the north, considered by almost everyone to be impassable thanks to its countless sheer cliffs and jagged razor sharp rocks.

But it was partly because of those mountains that they found themselves waiting under a tree. The great spires of stone prevented clouds from travelling any further north. The sun blasted deserts of Kaze no Kuni only exacerbating matters as the dry winds drove more moisture into the region and since it couldn't leave there was only one option left.

When it rained in Tori no Kuni, it really rained.

And right now, it was absolutely hurling it down. These rain showers while brief and intermittent never lasting more than ten to fifteen minutes were incredibly intense. The sound of rain striking everything felt deafening, the previously dry dirt track was now pot marked with puddles of muddy water.

Then just as quickly as it had arrived, it ended, the afternoon sun once more peeking through the clouds.

"I swear, it's as if there's a giant tap above this whole country that someone turns on several times a day," one of the Ame squad that had joined them irritably muttered. Aoi gave him a weird look, "But it rains constantly in Ame?"
"Yeah, but nothing like this. In Ame, the rain is soft and gentle on the skin. Here it may as well be hail, it's just absurd," he muttered as they got moving again.

Aoi snorted in amusement as he turned to the squad leader, "How long until we reach the Ishi border?" he asked. "At this pace, maybe twenty-five, thirty hours," was the deep-voiced reply.

Aoi blew air out of his mouth as a way of sighing. It was going to be a long, tedious and incredibly boring day. His eyes were drawn to a bird perched on a tree branch, the creature just stared at them for a few moments before it began grooming under one of its black feathered wings. He shook his head and put it from his mind.

A few minutes later the nin who'd taken point raised his arm bringing them all to a halt. "What?" the squad leader questioned, they only pointed to tall grass ahead of them. Just visible was a line of thin wire pulled across the front of the grass.

'That's dreadfully hidden, almost as if on purpose..'

The squad leader pulled out a shuriken and threw it, the wire severed, immediately a flurry of kunai shot towards them. They all dodged them with little effort. "What th…" Aoi was cut off by the snap of a branch to the left was immediately followed by an explosion. "Everyone move!" the squad leader shouted, "Move South-east," he continued shouting as they were showered in leaves, twigs and dirt.

Not fifty feet away, knelt in the long wild grass was an utterly soaked Tri, he was decidedly annoyed because he'd had no choice but to put with the rain. His clothing, his hair, both were completely drenched. He pulled out the band holding his hair back in a ponytail and instead tied it into a single tight bun after wringing the excess moisture from it.

He kneaded small amounts of Katon chakra in his stomach to help ward off the cold as he dried out. Both his summons who'd just re-joined him were looking his way, he could hear their barely restrained laughing in his mind, 'Not a word,' he mentally growled at them both.

Tri would sweep around to their left-hand side, from there he could get back in front of them when needed, all the while keeping out of sight. He was waiting for them to slow, that's when he'd strike again, just when they'd think they were safe. He aimed to wear them down mentally as well as physically. With the aid of his two Ravens he would keep them going in the direction he wished.

Muninn for the entirety of this run would remain with him while Huginn would take position on the opposite side of the Ame nin. While Tri shared a mental connection with both, it's range was limited to about 100 feet. But the connection shared between the Ravens themselves was essentially limitless. Muninn's continued presence close to him would allow him to remain in contact with Huginn via proxy. Tri had also placed a seal on both of Huginn's talons. It would allow the bird to use Tri's own chakra to summon explosive tags directly from his storage seals.

Off in the near distance he heard an explosion, 'I see Huginn's rather eager to use them,' he chuckled to himself. 'So it would seem,' Muninn said. They'd already agreed to keep them running South-east for at least half an hour before turning them North-east.

The hours ticked by as the light of day faded away to be replaced by the dull white glow of moonlight.

Behind them was the chasing pack, now never more than two miles behind, Sukauto keeping them within range as they took every measure they could to minimise the distance they travelled. The eleven Shinobi had fallen into a formation that somewhat resembled an arrowhead.

Kurotsuchi and Itachi were in the second row behind Hana and her Ninken. "Itachi-san," she said to him, "While I understand tiring them out, why not just confront and deal with them immediately?"
"You understand the importance of home field advantage?" She nodded, "Right now, in Tori no Kuni none of the twelve of us have that advantage," he began to explain.

"There's too much greenery and it's too flat compared to what you and your team are used to and there are far too few trees for what we're used to. Ishi no Kuni, however, has the rocky terrain you and your team are used to."
"But that puts you and your team at a disadvantage," Her words mixed the lines of a question and a statement. "While you are correct, six of us having an advantage is preferable to none. I don't want to risk any of us dying by rushing in."
"That's also why you had Tri-san scout out an ambush site too?"
"Yes, although I'm not sure if he realised this secondary purpose. Regardless, it wasn't necessary that he needed to."

*Boom*

They heard the muffled sound of another explosion off in the distance. "He's still enjoying himself I see," she noted, while his face didn't show it her comment amused Itachi. "He's always carried hundreds of exploding tags with him on missions but he rarely gets to use them."
"Hundreds?" a disbelieving Kurotsuchi asked. "Yep, hundreds. Remember he's already considered by some to be a Fūinjutsu master so he makes his own in bulk.

"Over-preparing for missions is standard for him, hundreds of shuriken, hundreds of kunai and that's just the regular equipment."
"Pays to be prepared," she replied before they both fell silent again.

They were approaching the third night of this mission and when silence fell over them Kurotsuchi was left with only her thoughts for company. But despite her best efforts she was struggling to focus her mind right now thanks to the distracting bangs every few minutes.

'It's going to be a long, dull night,' she thought to herself.

Early the following afternoon

Itachi one by one moved between everyone, handing each of them a very small satchel. "Itachi, what are these?" Hana asked eying the item he'd given her. "That Hana is an energy restoring gel, tear the top off and eat it." They all did as he instructed, "Oh, I should mention it tastes absolutely horrendous."

The scowls and looks of general discontent on their faces suggested they'd found that out. "Eaten? Good, now I need you to return the satchels to me," he informed them. "Why?" Suzushii asked.

"Because these sachets are only available to ANBU. They're fairly expensive to make so you never got them from me, understood?" They all nodded as they quickly returned them, Itachi wrapped them all in a piece of dry cloth and set the lot on fire. "I take it the ingredient mix is a secret?" Sukauto asked, "You are correct Sukauto-san," he answered.

"It'll take ten, twenty minutes to kick in but you'll notice when it does. Hopefully, your Ninken will be ok with small food pills Hana, the sachets aren't safe for them to consume."
"No, that's fine," the Inuzuka replied.

Itachi knew he had just indirectly acknowledged his being an ANBU member to foreign Shinobi but it wasn't important right now.

As most had expected the night was dull and with little in the way of incidents. The morning was no different apart from they could see more than ten feet away again. They still heard an explosion every now and then up ahead of them.

Off to their left they heard a rustle in the overgrowth as Tri emerged amongst them for the first time since he'd left. "Clone?" Itachi asked, it nodded. "Prove it," Naruto suspiciously demanded. The clone held its hand out, a Rasengan quickly appearing in its palm. "It's genuine," Naruto informed them all, there were only five people in the world who could perform the Rasengan.

"Boss has found an ambush site about fifteen miles South-east. It's a narrow-ish valley with steep stone cliffs around most sides, there's only a single path leading through it, one way in, one way out. Once in there, they're trapped. It's also wide enough to use our greater numbers as you asked for."
"Excellent, are you staying with us?"
"Yes, I'm to guide you in."

"How are the Ame lot holding up?"
"Pretty terrible, they've been run ragged, Dorobou, in particular, looks like he's ready to drop. It was especially bad for them during the night, they couldn't see the shuriken and kunai we mixed in. They're all sporting plenty of cuts, most just deep enough to bleed a while and sting a lot

"How are you all getting on?" the clone asked. "We're doing alright, Itachi's just given us some energy gel," Kurotsuchi answered. Clone Tri raised an eyebrow Itachi's way, "Yes I'm aware of the rules surrounding their use," the Uchiha said. The clone shrugged his shoulders, "You're the one who has to explain where they went."

"Where is the real Tri-san right now?" Kurotsuchi asked. "He's already at the ambush site, he went on ahead to survey it himself after a clone discovered it this morning. He left some more clones to keep up the harassment."

"H-how much f-further?" a red in the face Dorobou asked. His chest was heaving, his heart racing. He was slouched slightly to the side thanks to a mean abdominal cramp. "Not much longer, just the valley pass to go then it's a straight shot to Ame no Kuni," a tired Aoi called back to him. If he wasn't so tired he might have actually strangled Dorobou to quell his complaining.

He'd already been forced to give him two stamina injections to stop his leg muscles from seizing up. But there was nothing he could do for the multitude of cuts they now all sported. The night had been awful for them, they simply couldn't see the shuriken and kunai coming so had to put up with the stinging cuts they'd received.

The harassment against them had been ceaseless, they'd tried several times to break in a direction of their choosing but had been forced back each and every time with only more cuts to show for their efforts.

"There's the passage," one of them called out. Directly ahead of them was a large, imposing rock face with a V-shaped wedge driven down the middle of it. Its walls were remarkably smooth, the product of deliberate carving in the distant past. The pass itself was some two hundred feet wide and around ten feet wide at the base.

They had eyes only for the exit where the passage widened out into a large open space, thus they all completely missed the disguised traps, one of them stepping on a pressure sensitive Fūinjutsu design inked onto the floor.

*BOOM*

A deep hissing sound was the only warning any could have received as a huge explosion rocked the passage. Shards of rock were sent whizzing through the air at high speed as a cloud of dust enveloped them. The shockwave blew most of them off their feet and left their ears ringing.

Aoi's senses were sluggish to return but when they did and the dust subsided he tried looking around him, what he saw was total carnage. What had once been a smooth flat wall now sported a gaping hole several feet deep, the debris of which was now scattered all around them.

The squad leader had a long thin shard of rock buried in his arm, he tentatively wrapped his fingers around the protruding piece of limestone. He took a few, short, rapid breaths and pulled hard, it's exit was followed by a spurt of blood as he tried to suppress the scream of pain building in his throat.

Aoi did a quick headcount, a feeling of dread building in the pit of his stomach, they were one short. "We're missing one, find him," he ordered the others as they too sought the recovery of their senses.

"Found them," one of them said shortly after. "Where?" Aoi asked arrived at his side. He simply pointed at a large slab of stone blown out of the wall, a growing pool of blood emerging from underneath.

"Ok," Aoi quietly said, "Come on we need to keep moving," he added trying to encourage the rest as he pulled Dorobou to his feet, surreptitiously checking to see that the Iwa-Tsue was undamaged as he did.

Unbeknownst to them all, however, Tri's trap was only half completed. Quietly hissing away just underneath the sandy floor of the passage was another set of explosive tags, only these were an experimental design charged with Shakuton chakra.

The gentle hissing grew louder, it took Aoi a moment to realise it was coming from beneath them, "Hurry, Move it!" he urgently shouted to them, he practically pushed two of them further down the passage.

The tags timers burnt out and they activated. There was no second explosion but the sand and stone were consumed by a rapidly expanding luminous red sphere. It glowed and pulsed with energy and the heat, Aoi had to look away, close his eyes and shield his face with his hand.

And just like that, it vanished. What was left behind was a perfect spherical imprint in the ground nearly six feet wide. Aoi had seen the sphere engulf the huge slab his comrade was crushed under and now both were gone, only a pile of ash remained at the bottom of the crater.

With there being nothing they could do for their fallen comrade they continued down the passage eventually stumbling out into the wide space at the end. "W-who's that?" one of them slurred, their glazed over eyes focusing just long enough to make out the figure of a person sitting down with the legs folded in front of them.

Aoi had been unfazed until now but who he saw on the opposite side of the clearing concerned him, he recognised them. 'I need to give the others a chance to catch their breath. It seems he's the only one here so I just have to keep him talking.'

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Minato's little baby boy all grown up," he laughed trying to put on the bravado, "A strange place for a vacation I must admit." The young man just shook his head in amusement. "Hello Aoi-kun, I do hope your people are alright, they looked a little banged up."

'That's it, just keep talking,' both of them mentally grinned.

"You also seem to be one short, did you misplace them somewhere?"

That last statement got a flicker of anger out of Aoi before he quelled it, he also chose to ignore it. "I'm sure they'll be fine. After all, they've only you to deal with then they can go home. I take it the explosive tags in the passage were you're doing?"
"Yes."
"And you're the one who's been chasing us across entire countries for the past day?"
"Correct again."

"I want his head," the Jōnin squad leader quietly growled. "And we'll take it, don't worry. Get everyone else ready, Uzumaki Tri will be hard to kill," he quietly replied holding his hand in front of his mouth to prevent lip reading.

"You know Tri-san, there's a fairly sizeable bounty on your head."
"I am aware, however, it isn't as large as the one on yours Aoi-kun," was his calm reply.

Aoi could hear activity behind him, he turned his head to see the other Ame nin all pulling weapons and glaring menacingly at Tri.

A cocky grin spread across Aoi's face, "Anyway I think that's enough talking. See, my comrades here want you dead and who am I to tell them otherwise," Aoi said they all began to cautiously walk towards Tri's spreading out as they did.

But something seemed off, Tri didn't move in the slightest, in fact, he was still grinning despite the perceived threat to his life walking towards him. "Stop," Aoi ordered holding his arm out to his side. It took the traitor a moment to realise, "Oh, of course, you're considered one of the best Fūinjutsu users in the world."

His statement made the Ame nin look at him like he was mad, How could one so young be so good at so difficult and complex a field?

Withdrawing a kunai Aoi threw it at the ground between them and Tri.

The ground immediately erupted in a series of small explosions, a multitude of small jagged shards of metal shot into the air. Had they stood on the trap they'd have been riddled with the difficult to remove metal pieces. Tri gave him a small polite applause, something that antagonised the squad leader no end.

"Why are you clapping!" he shouted, "You should be spending your final moments valiantly thinking of a way to escape."

Tri chuckled, shaking his in an exaggerative manner. "You understand don't you Aoi-kun? Understand that it's not me you need to be worried about."

End Chapter

[1] – Sukauto is the Japanese word for Scout