Recommended story: 'Herald of the End' by Mach Farcon

Chapter Thirty-Five

Night came and Kushina stood guard, refusing to let any enemy sneak up on them tonight. Despite having a full day to recover, Sakura still felt completely drained, only managing to feed herself by dinner. No one was sure on why it was taking so long for her to recover, though they suspected that her pregnancy might have been a primary factor. Not that anyone actually said it in those words. So while everyone did want to return to the Elemental Nations quickly, they knew she would not handle the journey in this condition. Especially considering that on the trip to Alfheim in the first place she had gotten hit by a Pretan.

'I wonder if that could also be affecting her.' Kushina thought. 'I don't know how understood Pretans are, so maybe the claims of them draining years off your lifespan aren't as accurate as everyone makes them sound. They still are dangerous either way.'

She looked behind herself, seeing everyone resting comfortably. She knew that they were already pushing their luck by staying here another day, so tomorrow morning they would have to leave and get back to Midgard regardless of the dangers.

Far away from the campsite, but getting closer, the group of dark elves were still heading towards the world tree. They were well rested, having taken some time during the day to recuperate when they could go no further, and now were hoping to find their quarry before the night ended. Otherwise they were better off waiting for the next night and they'd have to resume the chase. Sure their leader was confident that they could still fight during the day but the troops were not.

Following behind them was a lone succubus, her body getting weary but her spirit resolved. 'I can't let them get to Aunt Kushina. But I can't keep up this pace much longer. They're faster than I thought, it's taken everything I've had just to keep up without being spotted. At this rate they'll get to Aunt Kushina and cousin Naruto before I can get to the World Tree Root. Even if I get there first, I'll be too tired to do anything about it.'

Losing some altitude, Ursha allowed herself to land on a tree branch, sighing with relief at the opportunity to rest her overused muscles. Sure succubi manipulated the wind to assist in the flying, but that didn't mean they just drifted like kites, they were still required to keep their bodies active to give themselves momentum and thrust.

'There's only one thing I can do to help Aunt Kushina.' She thought, breathing deeply a few times. 'I've got to slow down the dark elves. If Aunt Kushina is still in Alfheim, I've got to buy her time to get back to Midgard. Then I can get away from the dark elves and follow her there. I'm sure I can find that place she talked about. Konho, or whatever it was called.'

When it came to combat or anything related to the battlefield, Ursha was sadly at a disadvantage. Her mother and grandmother had made it clear that a princess's place was in the castle, not the war zone. Kushina was the obvious exception due to her essentially being lost from the family for so long. And considering her natural gift for speed, not related to her actual Gift, Ursha was encouraged to escape a fight rather than engage it.

This time though she'd have to do the opposite.

'Think, what would Aunt Kushina do?'

Pausing to think, closing her eyes, Ursha tried to recall all the stories Kushina had told her as well as any advice she may have given her. It was difficult to pick up on anything specific that would help, and she was quickly realizing that even if you had heard about a fight that didn't mean you could recreate it yourself. But one thing her aunt had told her came to her, making her smile and open her eyes.

"No plan ever survives contain with the enemy. I may not be a fighter, but no one can ever plan around my powers."

Feeling encouraged, she took to the air again, ignoring the ache in her wings and worked to catch up to the dark elves. She got above them and slowly and quietly descended to get closer.

'I didn't want to do this earlier because I was worried it would help them more than hurt them, and it would exhaust me sooner. At this point I can only hope the shock value does enough if nothing else.' She told herself, taking a deep breath then pointing a finger at the lead elf. "Random!"

The shoes on the dark elf suddenly untied and even burst at the seams, literally falling off his feet in pieces. Doing so while moving causing the dark elf to stumbled and fall over on their face, and several other dark elves inadvertently tripped over him and fell too. Two succeeded in moving to the side in time and stopping themselves, coming closer to see what had happened.

Using the distraction, Ursha pointed both index fingers on either side of the group from her perspective. "Random."

Some wind blew by, a gentle breeze, and from within the forest out came a small group of deer, looking at the dark elves curiously.

"This is fortunate, now we won't have to run anymore." One of them said, coming closer and seeing the deer were not weary of them.

'Damn, I've got one more try, then it'll just get worse.' Ursha thought, some sweat starting to drip down her forehead. This time she settled for one index finger and pointing at a tree. "Random."

The tree suddenly transformed into a whole new plant. This plant resembled a cardon cactus the size of a gorilla, with branches bearing a fruit resembling purple banana bunches. Some brambles were growing around the trunk, likely from a separate plant, and the thorns looked worse than the cactus needles.

This time the dark elves got defensive, back on their feet and drawing their bows. Two got on the deer and made them stay rather than run off.

"We've got a magic user nearby." One said, looking around.

"Is it Kushina?" One asked, getting their bow ready.

"No, this is not Kushina's magic." One of them said, this one standing in a way where Ursha could see their face. The face was normal, attractive in fact if Ursha was honest, with brown hair held back by a blue headband and tied in a ponytail. They wore what Ursha was taught to be a ranger outfit, sleek and dark with leather pads at the elbows, knees, chest, and the side of the hips. A quiver was slung on their back with a visible strap on the front and singe shoulder pad on the opposite side of the quiver. Nothing stood out about this dark elf at all to Ursha, though the look in his eyes was more hostile than she was used to seeing.

"I've seen Kushina's magic with my own eyes. Whoever did this is a pathetic amateur. Who else would think a fruit tree would hurt us?" The dark elf added.

Ursha huffed. 'Well it's not like I intended that outcome.'

The dark elf got the bright idea to look up, but Ursha had already moved into the cover of the trees. She was breathing heavily, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle the sound, and wiped some sweat off her forehead.

'Damn, now they know I'm on their trail and they've got a way to get to Aunt Kushina more conveniently. My Gift really is a hassle sometimes.'

The dark elf looked like they suspected something was in the canopy, but one of the other elves decided to go to the fruit tree and pick out one of the purple bananas. Before their fingers could touch the rind, the bramble below suddenly lashed out like a tendril and wrapped around their legs, cutting through the fabric of his pants and digging into his flesh. He yelped and tried to back away, the bramble holding tight, forcing his companions to cut him loose without getting caught by more bramble themselves.

Seeing this made Ursha smirk. 'And sometimes it's very lucky for me.' She leaned against the tree, feeling overwhelmed. 'I can't go on. I've exhausted myself chasing them and I've used most of my mana trying to delay them. I can either keep delaying them, risking my life more and more each time, or...' She looked at her index finger, and slowly pointed it at herself, then put it down. 'No, I'm not that desperate yet. I just need to rest.'

She closed her eyes, unaware that the dark elves had patched up their wounds and rode the deer away.

The first light of dawn was approaching, merely peaking over the horizon. Tsunade woke up first, odd for her since years of drinking and leisure and getting old (not that she'd admit to that last excuse) had taken its tole on her. Even as a medic and hokage she had insisted on being allowed to sleep in a little for anything except a dire emergency. But now, being a succubus, she felt rejuvenated, so waking up early didn't feel like her body punishing itself anymore.

Stretching and getting up, Tsunade looked around and saw everyone else still asleep. Everyone except Kushina, who was being vigilante yet looked like she was about to fall over. "Have you been awake all night?"

"Someone had to." Kushina replied, sounding like she wanted to yawn.

"Get some sleep."

"I can sleep when we get back home."

Tsunade huffed. "To get home we have to travel through that weird tree realm again, right? You're the only one who knows how to navigate that place. We can wait a few hours for you to get some rest. Because I'm sure as hell not going to risk you falling off a branch and landing in some other world Kushina. Now close your eyes and get some sleep, or I'll close them for you."

Kushina shook her head and moved some hair out of her face. "Fine, but only because I'm too tired to argue your good point. But no later than noon, I don't care..." Rather than finish, she leaned over and shut her eyes, out like a snuffed candle.

Tsunade shook her head in amusement. "Uzumakis can be too stubborn for their own good sometimes." Stretching her legs once more, she did a walk around the campsite, seeing no danger.

Not until an arrow went past her, clipping one of her succubi wings and digging into the giant tree. She turned around, and the timing of her position was the only thing that prevented two more arrows from hitting her that time.

"EVERYONE WAKE UP! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Tsunade shouted, getting closer to the sleepers while trying to be defensive. Some reacted, but she didn't wait for them to get ready. Tsunade got ready for battle, trying to remember any of the spells that Kushina had informed her about before they departed the castle. Since she couldn't think of one, she spread her wings and took off, having learned how to fly at least. The arrows that she saw next hit where she had been standing or in the tree, but not by the sleepers.

'So they were aiming at me, but now I know where they're firing from.' She looked towards a small outcropping of rocks, big enough to hide a small group but not much more. She flew towards there, now recalling one of the spells Kushina had taught her. One that the redhead was positive the slug sannin would appreciate knowing. "DJEYYUT-GODY!"

She could feel a sensation of power building up in her right fist, very much like when she had to reinforce that body part with chakra to do more devastating hits. This sensation was similar to chakra but different still, though at the moment she couldn't exactly tell you what the difference was. Instead she lunged at the rocks and punched it with her trademark attack.

Upon contacts the rocks went boom and then there was no more anything. Pieces of stone went everywhere, and the dark elves that had been hiding behind them went away as well, just involuntarily fast.

Tsunade smiled and looked at her fist. 'Glad to see I still-' She was cut off by some arrows hitting her in the back, making her wings seize and then she fell to the ground. 'Crap, I forgot to consider some might have hidden elsewhere. Get up everyone!'

Yawning, Ursha rubbed her eyes. 'Okay, that should be enough.' Her body protested but she made it do it anyway, having enough sense to remain hidden. She opened her eyes and peered through the leaves.

Her jaw dropped when she saw the sun was up.

'Holy crap I slept all night. They could have caught up to Aunt Kushina by now.' Worried, she jumped out of the tree and landed on the ground. 'I have no choice. This is my only chance to get there quickly without exhausting myself to death. Please gods of Asgard, let this be right the first time.'

She pointed her index finger at herself. "Random."

Her vision went dark for the briefest of moment, then it returned. This time she no longer surrounded by a forest, but a swamp. The trees were definitely different and she was standing in mud halfway up to her knees.

Ursha groaned in annoyance. "Well it's not like the... wait, no I am completely positive that the next place will be worse." She pointed at herself again. "Random."

Her vision went dark, and the next thing she saw was a road in a grass valley with a stone marker directing her to a village. And in the distance she was certain she could see the top of the World Tree.

"Ha! I knew that speaking ironically opposite would work!" She remarked, before spreading her wings and taking to the air again.

After Tsunade shouted, the first to stir awake were Shizune, Ayame, and Tayuya. The kids were slowly following, with Kushina being the last to open her eyes.

The dark elves that Tsunade had missed were coming closer to the campsite. Shizune readied her senbon launcher and fired a quick barrage at them. The dark elves did not see the small projectiles in time and got hit, though sadly senbon were not lethal weapons so they only paused for a moment to remove the needles.

Tayuya followed next, tempted to openly brawl with these elves and see what her new oni form was capable of. However, she held herself back. She had a specialty after all, and she'd be a fool to not use it. So she took out her flute and began to play, working some specific hand signs into the tune. A weird greenish-purple mist came out of the end of her flute and formed a humanoid shape before becoming solid, but this wasn't like her usual summons. This one looked more like a nondescript cloaked figure, like a grim reaper without a scythe or visible face. The figure flew towards the elves and attacked them, clawing at them much like an Inuzuka would. They fended it off with their bows and a few areas, but it was like fighting smoke.

"Not what I was expecting, but I'll take it." Tayuya noted, grinning. That was when the cloaked figure began to dissipate. "Crap, powerful start then just fizzles out in an instant. Just like a male orgasm."

Ayame meanwhile took out a sword and got in close, trying to move around the cloaked figure while it was still there. She used it to cut the strings, rendering their bows essentially useless. Not wanting to stop there, she grabbed as many arrows out of their quivers as she could, snapping them.

Then the dark elf that Ursha had noticed before grabbed her wrist and pulled it down, not snapping Ayame's arm but still hurting her. The elf tried to hit her with his bow, which he did but bows were not traditionally designed to be clubbing weapons so the damage wasn't as bad as he would have liked. Ayame pulled her hurt arm free and kicked the elf in the gut, making them kneel over clutching their stomach screaming.

"There, of all places you had to hit me there?!" The dark elf managed to cry out.

'Guess this one has an old battle injury.' Ayame thought, backing away just to be safe and getting out a kunai with her good arm.

By now Naruto had gotten up, followed by the others. Sakura woke up to and with the help of Ino and Moegi managed to get to her feet.

"What do we do?" Isaribi asked.

"I've got this." Naruto claimed, creating several shadow clones and having them support the adults, including Tsunade.

"I can-" Sakura started.

"You're not doing anything. Just keep your mouth shut." Ino warned.

"What's that?" Moegi asked, pointing upward. Everyone looked up, seeing something in the sky coming towards them, and tried to get defensive. They relaxed a little when they saw Ursha land, but only a little.

"Whew, you guys sure were fast." She greeted.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at your castle?" Hinata asked.

"Mom's very unhappy with Aunt Kushina but won't say why. I wanted to hear her side of the story."

"This is not a good time!" Hinata, Ino, Isaribi, and Moegi all said together.

Kushina finally was up, rubbing her eyes. "Geez, not even five minutes?" She looked around, seeing that the dark elves had caught up to them. "Okay, it's now or never. Get to the tree."

"But-"

"Get to the tree." Kushina repeated, getting on her feet.

"Do what she says." Ursha told the girls, making them go to Yggdrasil and stand close to it, but not touching it.

Kushina took a breath then expelled numerous chains from her body, going towards Tsunade, Shizune, Ayame, and Tayuya. Each wrapped around their target then yanked them towards her. She didn't go for any of the Naruto clones, but she didn't need to. Naruto saw what was happening and headed back on his own, dispelling the clones along the way.

"Okay, let's get back home now." Kushina stated.

"Won't they follow us?" Shizune asked.

"That's a risk we'll just have to take." She walked over to the tree, clapped her hands then put them both on it. "Yggdrasil WorldTree, qsuedu h'temy... zu emf zip qet... getyp degu..." She paused for an inescapable yawn, looking like she was struggling to hold her head up. "...evvudd ya Midgard."

Like the last time she did this, Kushina's hands glowed orange followed by the cracks in the bark glowing white. After a bit the glow condensed into a vertical line, and the wood moved as if a door had just been created.

"Let's go!"

Everyone hustled and moved into the door, Kushina hanging behind to keep the door open. She took a moment to look behind herself one more time, and she could see one of the dark elves rushing towards them, holding something in his hands that she couldn't make out. Her eyes involuntarily closed for a second, her hands nearly slipping off the tree, but she caught herself and forced herself to stay awake and the door open. She tried ejecting another chain, but this one lacked the momentum of the others so the dark elf was able to avoid it.

"You're not getting away from me this time Kushina!" The dark elf declared, getting closer.

Not bothering with a witty comeback, Kushina jumped through the door, thus triggering its sealing. Pushing themselves past all reasonable limits, the dark elf rushed as fast as possible, and just before the door sealed he jumped in through the gap too.