A/N: Okay, like I told some of you, this is a really short chapter. It's really just to sort of wrap up the fighting, since I can't make it work out any farther. And that means we're almost done. It should only be one or two more chapters after this - of course, that's what I said three chapters ago...
Anyway, I don't own Naruto, and thank you to my reviewers: Rangerfan58, InARealPickle, sweetcandyzz, kirallie, jazzy, Auphora66, WhyMustIWrite, iNsAnE nO bAkA and Veve.
Izumo reached the message tower at the same time as the ANBU sent by the Hokage, each giving a quick explanation of the message that needed sending before dashing back out to join the battle. The hawkers glanced at each other in slight bewilderment even as they coded the appropriate messages and attached the chakra-infused paper to the bird's legs.
The effect on the battle was instantaneous – and important. Jounin and Chunin all across Konoha saw the message telling them that the enemy was among the civilian sector, and left only a token guard at the walls as the others rushed to protect their people – or destroy their enemy, as their individual personality dictated.
Though none rushed quite so fast as those Jounin who had sent young Genin to evacuate.
Those Genin had never been so glad to see higher-ranked shinobi in their lives.
-
Hinata stumbled to her knees, just outside of arm's reach of her cousin, with the children clustered in a corner behind them. Both Genin were bone-weary, bleeding from various wounds and bordering on chakra exhaustion. She cried out softly in relief as two Jounin charged into view, causing the enemy to turn their attention on the stronger opponents. Even Neji heaved a grateful sigh.
Kiba glared, muttering "it's about time" under his breath as he helped heave Lee to his feet again. Akamaru barked sharply in agreement.
Ino and Sakura sent each other grateful glances – they had been doing very well, but they were still only two young girls outnumbered by adult shinobi.
Shino nodded once at the pair that arrived at his battle, but if his teammates had been there, they would have noticed the boy's shoulders drop slightly in profound relief. The team he was working with outright cheered.
Tenten flashed a quick grin at the three Chunin who, upon arrival at her battle, did a slight double-take at her rather inventive method of shielding.
Within moments, the Genin had stepped back from outright battles and taken up the roles that they were supposed to fill – namely, evacuating the civilians that they had just been protecting.
-
Kakashi stepped casually over the body of one of the Rock shinobi, glancing up as the message changed. He raised one eyebrow in mild interest as the flashing lights informed him that Rock shinobi with green cloth tied around the arm and no hitai-ate were actually allies, but then noted it, shrugged and moved towards the next concentration of chakra in the area.
-
Iruka darted under his enemy's strike, kunai tearing into the soft tissue of the man's gut as he passed. His eyes flicked up to the sky as the message proclaiming allies among the Rock flashed, and something inside of him heaved a sigh of relief. 'If there were allies among them,' he thought, 'then maybe some of the children were protected.'
As Iruka dodged yet another earth jutsu, his enemy wondered suspiciously why the Konoha Chunin was suddenly wearing a slight smile.
-
Tsunade's sheer power had her enemies flinching back slightly well before she got into attack range. But her earth-shattering punch scattered the squad like so many bowling pins.
-
As Aoba rushed towards the nearest civilian sector, he nearly ran into a small girl with a long brown braid. He glanced at her, but her down-turned face gave him no view of her expression. He quickly directed the child to the nearest shelter, and then moved out again.
Had Aoba been paying closer attention, he might not have noticed the strip of cloth the girl had clenched tightly in one hand. He would, however, have realized that she took the road to the right – towards the walls, not the shelter.
But his mind was on the enemy shinobi, and so Ishiko slipped out of Konoha with no one the wiser.
-
But all across Konoha, the tide of the battle had turned. As Konoha Jounin and Chunin joined the battles, the Rock shinobi found themselves quickly matched, beaten back and, in some cases, rounded up. The Rock had anticipated that Konoha's army was greater than theirs, but they had thought that the advantage of surprise would even the field.
They had had no idea just how angry Konoha's shinobi would be, or how fiercely they would fight. Especially since word had spread from Iruka and Izumo, and others who had figured it out for themselves. The knowledge that the enemy had used not only civilians, but children, to gain entry into their city…
They were beyond furious. Rock was going to pay for this.