It had been three days since their departure from Kirigakure and the two mist-nin had been making decent progress. Two days by ship and one and a half days over land. Most of that had been spent in silence though Chōjūrō didn't mind as he hopped from tree limb to tree limb just a few paces behind Koga.
The swordsman guessed that they were only ten or so miles outside of Konoha, but didn't know. Koga had been keeping off the road that connected Konoha to the Great Naruto Bridge. Chōjūrō wasn't sure if he was expecting trouble or just paranoid. He briefly considered asking the wolf-eyed man, but decided against it.
It wasn't from a lack of interest so much as a lack of spine. Despite Koga's insistence that they were at least equal in power, Chōjūrō couldn't help but feel like there was a huge difference in their strengths. At the very least, he felt excited about the trip to Konoha though. He had never been in the village itself before. He asked Koga what it was like, but to his surprise Koga had never been there either. Koga even went so far as to explain he hadn't seen much outside of that village they had found him in.
The shark-toothed-nin smiled a little at the thought. Maybe Koga was just as nervous and excited as he was. After all, he had been keeping off the roads and was slowly picking up the pace as they neared the village. He had to admit. He also took comfort from his comrade. The man had proven to be a skilled sensory-nin, on par with the Inuzuka, but with even better wolf-like hearing. That and Koga looked a lot better sporting the gray flak jacket of Kiri and hitai-ate tied around his right left shoulder.
The swordsman was stunned from his thoughts as Koga came to an abrupt stop and held his fist in the air signaling an immediate halt. Chōjūrō barely stopped in time coming up right next to Koga and almost spilling off the branch. Just before he slipped he channeled chakra to glue him to the branch and despite the strain it put on his shins to stop so suddenly he had done it.
He glanced at Koga questioningly, but the man didn't return the gaze. The wolf-nin kept looking dead ahead into the forest and was standing completely still. Chōjūrō wanted to ask what was going on, but Koga hadn't dropped his fist. That and the man's wolf-ears twitched like he was scanning for sound. Then there was the constant sniffing of the wolf's nose.
After what seemed like an eternity Koga turned his attention to Chōjūrō and began to speak, "There are about fifteen shinobi approximately a mile in front of us in a wide screen ambush formation. The forest is unusually still as well," Koga explained dropping his fist and seeming to analyze the information.
"Leaf-nin?" Chōjūrō asked his voice only wavering a little. His hopes were dashed as Koga shook his head.
"I doubt it. They are almost ten miles out from the village. They wouldn't have a guard force that heavy this far out, especially in peace time. And even if they were, the ambush screen they have set up still would make me pause," Koga answered sniffing the air some more.
"Do you want to investigate it?" Chōjūrō asked feeling a little light-headed at the sudden change in their situation. Koga didn't answer for some time seeming to scan the forest.
"No. They are all at least Jonin strength. Such a wide net too," Koga tensed a little as his nose seemed to pick up something. "There is blood on the air. A little fresh. I think they just got into position. Maybe eliminated one of Konoha's long range patrols, I can't be too sure, but I doubt they had time to set up traps."
"W-what do you want to do?" Chōjūrō asked, his voice but a whisper.
"That patrol will eventually be expected to check in, but I don't know Konoha's standard response time to a missing patrol, especially in peace time. That is if the blood is even from a Konoha patrol. This position is too exposed as well. I say we double back a few miles and try to circumvent their screen," Koga suggested as he began to check all of his gear.
"Yeah, I like that idea," Chōjūrō nodded feeling a little confidence seep into his body.
"Okay, then that is what we are going to do," Koga agreed, "Now I don't think they are onto us, but if they have sensed us, they are probably going to pursue. The way that screen is set up and where, I am sure they intended to ambush us specifically. If they start pursuing us we will be in trouble so prepare for a skirmish."
Chōjūrō quietly pulled his sword from his back and began channeling his confidence. With his free hand, he pushed his glasses into a firmer position on his nose feeling his body begin to tense with apprehension.
"Ready?" Koga asked rotating on the branch and preparing to double back. Chōjūrō did the same and gave a nod. "Go!" Koga quietly commanded leaping into action. The pace was a little faster than the one they had used to approach, but not too much. They had barely moved a hundred yards though before he heard the wolf-nin cuss under his breath.
"They are onto us, pick it up," Koga yelled as he massively increased the pace of their flight. Chōjūrō tried to match the pace the best he could traveling at top speed, but the wolf-nin had proved faster. Still, Koga seemed to sense Chōjūrō had reached his top speed and slowed to match the pace.
Chōjūrō could feel his heart begin to pound in his chest both from the exertion and the fear of being chased by a superior force. Then there was the fear of not knowing. He couldn't tell if they were outrunning the pursuers or not. Koga's sensory capabilities were vastly superior to his own. From the way Koga began gripping the hilt of his katana though and the sweat that began to pour down his cheeks Chōjūrō began to fear the worst.
"Seven of them have broken away from the group and are outpacing us," Koga reported seeming to have no trouble maintaining the pace. "We are not going to be able to outrun them, but there are only three immediately behind us. The rest are wide on the flanks. Their intention is likely to harry us and slow our flight until they can concentrate maximum fighting power against us."
Chōjūrō just nodded as he began to breathe a little harder at the exertion of the pace. Koga slowed them down a little and Chōjūrō just looked at him like he was crazy.
"Their line is a little thin. If we turn around I think we stand a reasonable chance of catching them off guard. Our best chance of survival here is to throw everything we have into punching a whole in their screen. Catch, your breath and slow a little. We want it to seem like we are still on the run until the last second. Once we break through that line, don't look back and make like hell for Konoha. Once we get close we are going to raise up as much of a ruckus as we can to try to draw the Leaf's attention."
Chōjūrō nodded again gripping the hilt of Hiramekarei tightly.
"One of the three behind us broke a head a little of the other two," Koga called out quickly, "Turn on my signal." Koga held up his hand and began counting down. Five… Four…. Three… Two… One…
Koga and Chōjūrō landed horizontally on a tree trunk and threw all their might into a jump, promptly doing a complete one-eighty in just a split second. A mere three seconds after that Chōjūrō could feel the chakra signatures up ahead. Koga hadn't been kidding. They felt strong.
Suddenly Koga exploded in a burst of speed and Chōjūrō almost lost sight. A masked shinobi appeared out of nowhere, but seemed to scramble in surprise as Koga appeared in front of him. A flash of steel and Chōjūrō could only see red mist in the air as the masked shinobi fell from the treetops in two pieces.
Koga dropped back matching Chōjūrō's pace. "The two fell back. There are four altogether dead ahead. Prepare something powerful!" Koga had sheathed his sword and began flashing through hand-signs at such a pace Chōjūrō couldn't even guess what the jutsu was. Instead the swordsman began pumping even more chakra into his blade. Koga had bought him enough time for something flashy indeed.
Chōjūrō could feel his confidence soaring.
"Fifteen seconds," Koga called out. "Ten… Five…" Then Chōjūrō saw them. Four shinobi with masks on. The masks were unlike anything Chōjūrō had seen before on Anbu or hunter-nin. They were large, covering the whole front half of the enemies' heads. Instead of animals they were grotesque with horns sprouting out, giving them a demonic appearance. Then, they were engaged.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique," Koga called out and a massive torrent of water came spiraling from his mouth smashing through everything in front of them like paper. Trees exploded and Chōjūrō lost sight of the enemy as they scrambled to avoid the technique. The enemy made the mistake of being in a block formation. The front two were smashed aside by the jutsu and lost in the forest below.
Just before it hit the enemy pair called out, "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall." A massive wall of stone sprung up completely stopping the wolf-nin's waterfall technique, but Chōjūrō could see how much it had been weakened. Throwing the wrapping from his weapon he revealed a massive chakra halberd. Koga had slowed a bit seeming to look for a way around the wall, but upon seeing the weapon, formed up behind Chōjūrō instilling more confidence in the swordsman.
Chōjūrō cocked back the weapon and with a mighty swing completely smashed through the earth wall sending the two shinobi behind it flying. Koga split off after making it through the wall and cut the throat of one of the shinobi Chōjūrō had sent flying. With a gulp, Chōjūrō did the same to the other, easily cleaving him in two with the powerful halberd. That was about it though and Chōjūrō had to begin building up for another attack.
That chance didn't come as he could feel chakra signatures almost everywhere around them except for directly in front. Kunai came flying from the flanks and the two mist-nin were hard pressed to dodge the consistent volleys, but the enemy didn't seem eager to close into melee range.
"They learned from their fallen comrades," Koga said his sword now out and parrying what seemed like a never-ending barrage of kunai. "They are just slowing us so the others can catch up. We need to buy more time or we are dead." Chōjūrō desperately thought of a way out of the situation, but came up short.
"Koga, you are faster, go ahead I will hold them," Chōjūrō tried to command, but his voice wavered. The wolf-nin shook his head sharply.
"That is stupid, you will die," Koga growled. A couple of masked shinobi appeared next to Koga, and the wolf-nin began to desperately hack at them with his katana. Another volley of kunai went flying at the wolf-nin causing Chōjūrō to gasp. Drawing his wakizashi, Koga parried the kunai while he continued to fend of the melee attackers with his katana.
Chōjūrō didn't have time to even breathe a sigh of relief as he became hard-pressed as well. A snarling masked-nin came bounding up behind him slashing with a kunai. Chōjūrō pivoted, turning to face him and slashed, jumping backwards from branch to branch as he desperately fended off the attacks. The masked-nin fell back under the flurry of blows and Chōjūrō, pivoted again to regain momentum. Two hemmed him in on the flanks and he lost sight of Koga in the scuffle.
Chōjūrō, desperately defended, barely able to escape being wounded. High, low, high, left, right. The attacks were coming too fast. He ducked as soon as he heard the whistling of a volley of kunai cutting the air. They were faster. Charged with wind chakra. He could feel his hair bristle as it was sliced by kunai passing mere millimeters above his scalp. It bought him space though. He swung hard with his halberd out to his left and was met with a satisfying 'thunk,' as another enemy was brought low.
A counterattack came in hard from his right, seizing the opening. He couldn't bring Hiramekarei around to bear in time. Stars flashed in his eyes as something sharp pierced his side. Chōjūrō groaned in pain, but through sheer adrenaline he had managed to bring the halberd around and fend of the attacker before the wound was deepened.
Chōjūrō's confidence slipped as four more shinobi flanked him, two on each side. He didn't know where Koga had gone. They were so fucked. His confidence slipped as he fended off another attack. His chakra blade wavered. Another attack came in from his wounded side. There was no way to parry.
Suddenly he felt the air ripple. A flash of steel and the two shinobi to his right fell away, their lethal blows falling before they could finish the swordsman. Koga was there next to him, but he didn't look any better. There was blood seeping from his brow. Chōjūrō could barely register it as he fended off another attack. That was when he felt it. Four or five of the enemy had created a screen in front.
Chōjūrō's blade shattered as did his confidence. They were doomed.
"Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave!" Koga yelled and suddenly a huge torrent of water exploded from Koga's mouth, sweeping up Chōjūrō in the process. The shinobi on the flanks were crushed under the sudden weight of the water, but it was surprisingly light where Chōjūrō was. He shot up to the surface of the massive wave and summoning chakra into his feet began to surf it with Koga.
The enemy in front immediately began scratching together a desperate defense, but it was too late as the wave slammed into them knocking them from their feet. Koga cut down two more before they could recover and the mist-nin briefly broke away from the crowd carried forward by the momentum of Koga's jutsu. Chōjūrō could hardly keep the pace with Koga though as he desperately put all his will into applying pressure to his rapidly bleeding wound.
Koga got close to him and seemed to look it over briefly, before cussing and wiping his own blood from his brow. Chōjūrō was afraid now. Koga was panting heavily and was actually slowing down more than Chōjūrō.
"I put," Koga began gasping for breath, "All I had… Into that.." They could feel the shinobi behind them closing in for the kill, but Konoha had come into sight. It was only four miles away. "Time, buy time! Tags and mist!" Koga called out pulling exploding tags from his pockets and just slapping them to trees as he flew by them.
Chōjūrō formed a single seal and called out, "Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique." A heavy mist flooded the area. The swordsman then followed Koga's lead slapping tags to trees. Explosions sounded as the tags detonated. With satisfaction Chōjūrō noted that one of their pursuers was caught in the blast, but a few more had recovered and were closing in.
The forest became deafening as tag after tag exploded leaving a trail of devastation behind them. It bought them precious seconds, but their pace was slowing considerably. Chōjūrō resolved himself falling back with Koga. The wolf-nin hadn't left him, so the swordsman would die by his side. He could feel the enemies surge in speed around their flanks. The masked-nin had to give them a wide birth as Koga and Chōjūrō took to throwing kunai to spread their tags over a greater distance. More seconds were bought, but the tags ran out.
Suddenly, their pursuers leapt further away. Chōjūrō furrowed his brow. That didn't make any sense. Then, realization struck. A small chakra signature was just ahead. A clone. It was on him. An enemy clone covered in dozens of exploding tags, fell from the tree tops within inches of Chōjūrō.
Time slowed to a crawl. He closed his eyes and could feel the air vibrate to his right. Then, he heard the crack of timber giving way under strain. A half a heartbeat later he felt someone collide with the right side of his body with tremendous force. Crack. His bones gave way under the force of the impact. He felt the humerus bone of his right arm crack. His clavicle, his ribs. The pain didn't even register it hit him so fast. Stars filled the darkness and he snapped his eyes open.
He was now a dozen yards from the clone in just a split second. He barely had time to glance over his shoulder to see what hit him and knocked him away from the clone. It was Koga, but the wolf-nin had lost nearly all momentum knocking Chōjūrō away from the clone covered in exploding tags.
"Koga!" Chōjūrō yelled as the clone exploded and flames from the blast completely enveloped his partner. The blast accelerated his free fall even more. He was out of control. The blast had knocked him into trees and he felt his body get propelled through one tree-trunk and slammed into another. Then darkness.