8. Sacrifice -

The remaining seven ninjas were running down the path desperately trying to find an exit, thinking the two intruders were trying to catch up to them. They didn't know that Ryouma was the one that was trying to find them. Their surroundings were mostly crates, so it was most likely that this was the Fruit ninja's storage area. The seven thought the barrier was still there, not expecting Hayoto and Daichi to win, so they decided to only proceed in the opposite direction. After a half-hour of running, the seven came up to a giant door, with three platforms in front of it. On the sign it said, "If three people were to stand on these platforms, one per platform, this door would be locked. Once the three steps off, for whatever amount of time they stayed on the platforms, the door would remain locked. Don't trick the platforms by putting objects replications on them. The platforms will know.

"We could do this to stall the two people who are chasing us," suggested Genta.

"But, who would stay," Jin replied.

"I'll stay!" Marumi said cheerfully.

"I guess me and Genta should stay too," Jin said.

"Kakashi, Shizu, Tetsuma, Chouko," said Genta. "You guys have to hurry up and get past that door. "We will stall."

"But what if you guys die?" asked Shizu.

"We won't," replied Marumi.

"Trust us," said Jin.

"Now go," said Genta. He opened the giant door and shoved them through it. He, Jin, and Marumi quickly stepped on the platforms, locking the door.

Kakashi pounded on the door. "Hey, open up!" he yelled. "We can't leave you guys there."

"Yes, you can!" yelled Marumi back. "Now hurry up and go!"

Kakashi gave up, again, and the four of them started to run along the only path they could.

Ryouma was running down the narrow path that the seven ninjas were previously running down.

Back at the giant door, Jin asked, "You do know we most likely won't get out of this alive?"

"Yeah, we know," said Genta. "But it's pointless for all of us to…" He didn't want to say what would mostly happen to them.

"Well, we have to make the most out of our final moments!" yelled Marumi cheerfully with a smile.

"In case we don't make it out alive, I have to give you guys this," said Genta sadly. He hugged each of them.

Jin only received the hug. Once Genta let go, Jin started staring at the ground. Marumi returned the hug, and was trying to act optimistic about their hopeless situation.

Ten minutes passed and no one had come.

"Do you think we should step off of the platforms so we could have a chance of surviving?" asked Jin.

"I guess we should," replied Genta. "It seems that he isn't coming."

"But what if he is?" asked Marumi. "We've only been here for ten minutes, so if we get off now, he might be able to catch up to them."

The three didn't know that Ryouma had caught up to them and was reading the sign as they spoke. "So these three stayed behind to save their friends," he thought in his head. "They're idiots." That girl said that it's been ten minutes so I need to lure them off the platforms."

A puff of smoke appeared in front of them and when the smoke disappeared, they saw Ryouma. Out of instinct, Jin threw a kunai at Ryouma, which made his jump a couple of feet away to dodge. "Run!" he said. "I will handle him."

Genta and Marumi were about to stay, but quickly remembered that they would die if they stayed on the platforms any longer, so they might as well leave, but before Marumi left, she ran over to Jin and grabbed him by his hand, pulling him along with her. The three ran as quickly as they could, but Ryouma was too fast. He was catching up rapidly.

"Split up," said Genta. "That's the only way we can stall long enough for at least one of us to make it back to the door and escape."

Jin and Marumi nodded as they reached a crossroad created by the crates. They all took a different direction. Ryouma caught up to the crossroad and took the path Jin took.

Jin kept running down his path, until he saw that it was a dead end.

"Crap!" he said as he stopped running.

Behind him was Ryouma. Jin jumped onto one of the crates and said, "Triple Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He created three clones that all jumped off the crate to the other side, placing them out of Ryouma's view. He followed and couldn't remember which Jin was the real one. He summoned mud creatures that attacked the clones. As they approached the three clones, Ryouma realized there was only three. From behind him, Jin appeared out of nowhere.

"What!" yelled Ryouma. He jumped up, but Jin managed to slash his leg with a kunai. Ryouma landed on top of a crate, clenching his wound that was dripping blood.

"My invisibility technique is really useful," Jin said. The technique is a Jonin level rank technique, showing Jin's skill.

Jin's clones were destroyed and he was grabbed by the arms by a mud creature, and Ryouma jumped down from the crates.

"You bastard, you hurt my leg!" yelled Ryouma to Jin's face. "You're going to be the only one to get killed." Ryouma pulled a kunai out, preparing to stab Jin in the face, when a voice said, "Confusion Mist!" a mist appeared out of nowhere and consumed Ryouma, Jin, and the mud creatures in side the smoke-like mist. Ryouma and Jin started to fell dizzy and Marumi jumped into the mist, pulling Jin out of the mud creatures' hands and pulled him with her again, since he was still dizzy from the mist.

They stopped after ten minutes of running. The two looked at their watches realizing the door was open now.

"The door's open," said Jin.

"I hope we find Genta there," said Marumi.

Marumi started walking in the opposite direction of the door.

"Marumi, why are you walking that way?" asked Jin. "It's the other way. I memorized the path we took."

"Oh, I knew that," she said. A sweat drop formed on the back of her head.

She started walking in that direction, but Jin was hit by something, sending him flying into some other crates. Ryouma appeared out of nowhere, since he had used an invisibility technique, and placed his hand on Jin's forehead as Jin was struggling to get up. He fell back down to the ground.

Marumi was still wondering, thinking Jin was also running close behind her, but her pants were caught on the edge of a crate.

"Damn these super long boy pants!" she yelled. "I'm never wearing these again!"

She pulled hard on the pants, ripping off a small portion of them, sending her falling onto the ground. She stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes, only to see that her head was level with Ryouma's neck, since he was standing right in front of her. She fell back onto the ground.

Genta was spying a couple of feet away and saw that Ryouma put Jin's and Marumi's into a jar. "If the souls are in a jar, that means that they can still be alive if their bodies and souls are still intact," thought Genta. "I have to go save their bodies."

"Falling Fist!!" yelled Genta as he jumped from the air and hit Ryouma with the resulting shockwave.

Ryouma was sent flying into a nearby crate and Genta grabbed his teammates' bodies. He flung Jin over his left shoulder and Marumi over his right shoulder and ran as fast as he could. He made it out of Ryouma's sight and laid their bodies inside a circle created by crates. He then attempted to fight Ryouma.

"Roaring Fist!" yelled Genta, punching Ryouma into the nearby crates, but Genta was then grabbed by mud creatures who managed to restrain him from moving. Ryouma got up and went over to Genta. He performed the soul extraction technique causing Genta's body to fall limp. The mud creatures released him and Genta's body hit the ground with a dull thud.

"Fine I'll kill you as well as that brat," said Ryouma to a soulless Genta. Ryouma took out a kunai and lifted his hand up to strike.

"Ice Slash!" yelled Kakashi striking Ryouma's hand and sending the kunai flying into the air.

"Eagle!" yelled Tetsuma, creating an eagle that pecked at Ryouma.

Shizu and Chouko entered the scene.

"We've finally caught up to you two," said Chouko.

"Genta!" yelled Shizu at Genta's body.

"So that's you little friend's name," said Ryouma. "All of your friends tried fighting me but couldn't do shit; so what makes you think you're going to win?"

"Nothing," replied Kakashi. "But that doesn't mean we won't."