The village exploded into motion.
Teams Senbon and Sickle darted forward to meet the Kumo ANBU and jonin as they ran forward, weaving in between Bear and Ox's traps. When Owl had guided Sickle through them, she'd also unintentionally shown the Kumo nin where most of the traps were, making them far less effective.
"Raiton: False Darkness!" Owl cried.
A breath later, Bear yelled, "Doton: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
A lance of crackling lightning spat out of Owl's mouth towards Yugito. She leapt back, springing off the tree behind her into the air. She'd seen Owl preparing the attack, letting her move out of the lightning's path. As she soared through the air, a brown dragon made of mud surged up out of the ground to snap its jaws at her.
Yugito stared the dragon down in challenge as it soared through the air towards her. She brought her hands up in front of her in a hand sign I didn't recognize and spat at the dragon. I didn't see exactly what happened, but the next thing I knew a flaming blue mouse was boring into the head of Bear's earth dragon, melting through it and causing Bear to lose his hold on the jutsu.
I didn't see the exact details of Yugito's attack because I was too focused on my own. Bear drew her attention with his earth dragon, giving me an opening.
One of my shadow armored water clones leapt up into the air. The other clones and I whipped our shadows around us into tendrils, snapping them around to slingshot the airborne clone towards Yugito.
Yugito looked up to see the clone flying through the air towards her, she frowned in concentration.
Blue flames welled up around the woman, forming a loose cloak around her body; long claws extended from her nails.
I grit my teeth. I'd been hoping to catch her in the shadow of the armor, but I didn't know if I could get through her fire. Did she know what the armor did? If my tricks were known well enough in Kumo that people were prepared to face them, that wasn't good. Regardless, it looked like I'd have to go with Plan B.
Flames coated Yugito's arm, flowing down to her claws as she lashed towards the clone. She speared right into the armor. As I feared, my shadows couldn't hold her. As I tried to control them to trap her, they slid right off her cloak. Plan B it was.
Yugito's eyes narrowed intently as the shadow armor in front of her opened. The clone in the armor had already activated the tag stuck to its chest.
"Futton: Grease Fire!" I called from the roof of the building below.
The superheated flaming oil created by the tag on the clone's chest rapidly condensed around the water created by the clone dispelling. Yugito's eyes widened as she curled her arms and legs around herself protectively.
The sound of a great explosion tore through the air as Yugito was blasted back by the grease fire explosion. I'd curled the clone's dispelling shadow around the explosion to direct the full force of the blast into her like a chamber directs the blast that propels a bullet. This was what I'd figured out during my most recent vacation from shinobi life. I could use my water clones in conjunction with my shadow armor to make incredibly potent, directed suicide bombers. It was a crude technique, but the results spoke for themselves.
Yugito slammed into the ground, throwing up dust as her body created a crater in the ground.
Bear and Ox saw the opportunity for what it was. Ox tore forward, throwing tags attached to kunai towards the crater as Bear wove through hand signs before slamming his hands into the ground.
"Doton: Earth Prison Dome!" Bear shouted. The soil and rocks around the crater swelled up like a blanket lifted from all four corners, curling down to cover the crater beneath. The kunai Ox threw landed in a rough perimeter around the crater and activated, creating a red energy barrier. I sent two of my remaining three water clones garbed in their shadow armor towards the crater.
Before Bear's jutsu could bury our adversary, a flaming fist punched up out of the rubble. Yugito leapt out of the hole, rearing her clawed hand back as she leapt towards Ox's barrier, snarling. The barrier screamed as Yugito's claws tore into it, flickering then failing. One of my clones was in front of her the moment the barrier was down, its shadow curling around behind it to create a cannon facing her.
"Futton: Grease Fire!" I called again as the clone activated the tag on its chest.
Blue fire flared up around Yugito as the second clone detonated itself directly in front of her. She was sent rolling across the ground before she clawed her way to a stop on all fours, her hands and feet digging into the ground to stop her from sliding further. When she looked up, her teeth seemed sharper than they were before as she growled. The fire swimming around her body had formed two pointed, feline ears at the top of her head. Her eyes were glowing red.
'I'm useless against her. Joining Sickle and Senbon against ANBU. Falcon is in command.' Eagle sent us through Telepathy. She'd had her hands up in a hand sign since the start of the fight, but whatever she was attempting had obviously failed. She flickered away towards the sound of clashing steel.
'Scorpion, Crane, on me.' Falcon sent, flickering off the roof he was standing on. Scorpion and Crane followed right after him. They were engaging her in melee.
'Fall back! Engage at range!' I sent desperately. Either they didn't listen or my warning came too late.
Yugito exploded forward, pouncing off the ground to meet them. Scorpion tried to parry her claws with her sword, but the flaming claws burned right through her sword like it was butter, allowing Yugito to score a deep gash through her chest. Crane moved over Scorpion to cover her, punching a kunai towards Yugito's head. Yugito's spine curled backwards as she leaned away from the strike. She spun with her momentum, hurling a kick towards Crane's stomach. Claws like those on her hands grew from her feet, tearing open Crane's stomach as her strike connected, spilling Crane's innards onto the ground.
Falcon had used the time Crane and Scorpion bought him to get behind Yugito. He struck towards Yugito with his sword – the blade was coated in churning water from a technique I didn't recognize. Before the strike could connect, it was stopped by a fiery, blue limb. A long tail had grown from Yugito's back to intercept the sword. The fire of the tail and the water coating the sword clashed, mist hissing into the air as they tried to overcome one another.
Yugito whirled on Falcon, striking towards him with the claws on her hand. Moments before she would have carved into Falcon's face, her flaming claws were stopped dead by a hand coated in singing lightning. Owl lashed towards Yugito's face with her other hand, conjuring another chidori as she did. Yugito flipped backwards, knocking Falcon's sword aside with her tail as she dodged Owl's strike. She landed right beside one of my clones.
"Futton: Grease Fire!" I called, detonating the clone as it activated the tag on its chest.
Once more, Yugito was blasted backwards, though this time she flipped with the blast, rolling only a moment before she landed on her feet. She was getting used to my trick.
Wolf dashed through the street between Falcon and Owl to retrieve Scorpion's unconscious body before flickering back to safety where she could begin healing her. Two of her teammates were on the ground, but Wolf only took Scorpion. Scorpion was dying, but I could tell she was still holding on to life. Crane was dead the moment his guts spilled out of him. There was nothing either I or Wolf could do for him now.
'Badger, we need more clones. Your attacks are most effective against her.' Falcon sent me with Telepathy.
My attacks may have been the most effective of what we had, but they really weren't doing all that much damage. Yugito's cloak was shielding her from any debilitating effects. Sure, she was being blasted around, but it wasn't amounting to much.
My lips pulled into a determined line beneath my mask. Be that as it may, it was still the best option we had currently. I wove through hand signs. "Suiton: Water Clone." Three more clones rose up at my side, each of them was covered by shadow armor.
I felt the strain on my chakra as I controlled them forward. Maintaining shadow armor wasn't all that intensive for me anymore. Maintaining four separate armors simultaneously while rapid-firing Grease Fire on water clones I had conjured was starting to take a toll on me though. Really, the issue was the water clones. While I could use fire and water jutsu, I was still pretty mediocre with them. My control with my Boil Release and my shadows was near-perfect, making the chakra cost to use them minimal. My water and fire jutsu were an entirely separate matter. Each water clone I'd made sapped away the chakra equivalent of three boil release techniques. I'd been born with a substantial amount of chakra and had grown that chakra through rigorous training, but I still had limits, limits I was reaching fast.
If I made it out of this mess in one piece, I really needed to get someone to teach me the kage bunshin. Hopefully that technique wouldn't be the massive chakra sink water clones were for me.
A rhythmic rumbling sounded from Yugito as she slowly stood to her full height. She was grinning, looking up to where I stood on the roof. "You're not half bad. The aesthetic is good too. You look like a shadow of death."
"You wouldn't happen to be reconsidering your stance on your surrender, would you?" I called, willing to talk as long as she wanted if it bought us a little more time. I'd been keeping a rough measure of the time elapsed since the start of our fight. It had been almost three minutes. If my estimate was close to accurate and Tiger and Cheetah didn't encounter any problems, then we just had to last for a little under five minutes longer.
She bared her teeth in challenge. "Not a chance."
'Bear, now!' Owl screamed through telepathy, including all of us in the message to let us know something was happening. I certainly had no idea Bear was up to something until Owl's warning.
The ground beneath Yugito collapsed in on itself. Yugito lost her footing as the firm earth beneath her turned to rubble.
My clones charged forward, Owl and Falcon running ahead of them. Both of Owl's hands were coated in a chidori, and Falcon's sword was once more a whirlpool of water.
Yugito's tail batted away a kunai trailing a tag thrown by Ox as she found her footing, ready to face the nin charging towards her. At least, she was.
The ground beneath her heaved and crumbled once more, causing her to lurch forward just as Owl and Falcon made it to her. Even off balance, she was still able to spin out of the way of Falcon's sword. As Owl moved in to take advantage of Yugito's unsteady feet, Yugito's tail whipped around to bat her hand to the side. Her clawed foot followed, aiming for Owl's midsection.
My clone arrived, interposing itself between Owl and Yugito. Yugito's kick landed on my clone. Once more, her fiery cloak prevented my shadows from grabbing a solid hold of her, and I decided to use the opportunity I had rather than fight my shadows through her armor, likely giving her time to recover.
The shadow armor around my clone curled to direct the blast away from Falcon and Owl into Yugito as the clone activated the tag on its chest.
"Futton: Grease Fire!" I called. I could feel my chakra getting dangerously low. I couldn't keep this up much longer.
Yugito was blasted back, sent sprawling and clawing across the ground. Owl and Falcon followed right on her heels. As one, they struck towards Yugito with their Chidori and sword respectively.
Yugito's tail rose up to block Falcon's sword. A second tail sprouted from her back to meet Owl's chidori moments before it would have impacted. Yugito looked up at them, lips pulled back to reveal fangs.
A ninja wire looped around her neck from behind as Bear exploded out of the ground. He pulled on the wire, yanking Yugito back. As Yugito staggered, Ox threw a tag at her from Bear's side.
Yugito whipped around, moving with the wire towards Bear and Ox, claws reaching.
Another one of my clones interposed itself between Yugito and my teammates. She tried to pull out of her attack, but her momentum carried her into my water clone as its shadow armor curled around it to direct the blast.
"Futton: Grease Fire!" I yelled, huffing as my chakra grew dangerously low. I had maybe one or two of those left in me, then I was done. I popped a storage seal and tossed a soldier pill into my mouth, breathing deep as I felt my chakra swell. I needed the added firepower right now. I could have dismissed my armor to conserve chakra, but that was a monumentally stupid idea against a jinchuriki. She was fighting two ANBU teams at once and didn't have a scratch on her. If anything, it seemed like we'd only succeeded in pissing her off.
"Congratulations," Yugito said, standing to her full height as blue fire swam around her body, two tails snaking through the air behind her. "You've officially made me try. Not many people can say that. I'll make you a deal. Give me the princess," Yugito pointed at Owl, "And the rest of you are free to go."
"What is your interest in me?" Owl asked.
Yugito grinned, showing off razor-sharp teeth. "I know what a Hyuga smells like, princess. Now, do the honorable tree-hugger thing and sacrifice yourself for your teammates. That's what you leaf nin are all about, right?"
"Unfortunately, the terms of your surrender are unacceptable." I called out before anyone could get any ideas. There was no fucking way I was letting Kumo take Misaki. "Is there anything you would like to offer in exchange for us showing mercy?"
Yugito's lip pulled up as she turned to look at me. "Did I touch a nerve, shadow man? Don't worry, I'll make sure she's well taken care of. Shit, she'd probably be happier in Kumo. You limp-dicked leaf nin have no idea how to please a–" Yugito leapt backwards as Owl's chidori tore through the air towards her face. Yugito's claws rose up to block Falcon's sword as he followed Owl's lead.
An idea came to me as Owl and Falcon engaged Yugito in melee, Ox and Bear supporting them from range with jutsu, kunai and shurkien.
'On my mark, all of you get as far away from Whisker as you can. Bear, destabilize the ground beneath her again if possible.' I sent to everyone, conjuring another shadow clone and wrapping it in armor so it could join the others. I felt my chakra reserves tank as I conjured the clone. If my plan didn't work, I wouldn't be in much of a state to fight anymore.
'I need fifteen seconds.' Bear sent back immediately.
I took a deep breath as I ordered my last two clones forward. This would either work, or it would blow up in my face, potentially literally. My clones arced around Owl and Falcon, moving to either of Yugito's flanks as they charged towards her. Yugito's claws and tails dueled with Owl's chidori and Falcon's whirling water sword. It was clear Falcon and Owl were both tiring. Yugito would get a lucky hit on them soon.
'Ready.' Bear sent.
My clones both sprinted towards Yugito from opposite sides.
'Back away now!' I sent with telepathy, already weaving through hand signs for my jutsu.
Yugito's eyes darted around, concerned as Owl and Falcon suddenly disengaged her. The ground beneath her destabilized once more as Bear pulled whatever trick he'd used before. Yugito was faster to recover this time, only off her balance for a moment, but that was all I needed.
My clones leapt over the unstable ground from opposite sides of Yugito, their shadow armor curling around them into semi-spheres, activating the tags on their chests as they did. The two clones were impaled by either of Yugito's arms as she held them out to either side, but the water they were made up of was still under my control as it scattered, and the semi-spheres that made up their armor had connected, trapping Yugito in a sphere of darkness.
"Futton: Grease Fire!" I called out, controlling the water left by the clones to press down over the flaming oil of the tags. This time, the blast wasn't directed anywhere; it was trapped in a sphere of shadows.
I felt as the sphere of shadow was rent apart by the extreme pressure of the explosion, but the sphere had served its purpose in focusing the entire might of the explosion into Yugito. Steam rose where the sphere once was, obscuring my vision.
I was huffing, visibly exhausted now. I'd put everything I had into that jutsu. It wasn't enough.
Emerging from the steam like a demon stepping forth from the ashen pits of hell, Yugito strode forward. The flames around her were wild and untamed before, now they were sharp and focused, hugged close to her body like a coat. I saw strips of black in the blue flame of her coat at different points along her body, the most noticeable being three whisker-like lines under each of her eyes. Beneath the blue flames, rivers of red fluid flowed down from her forehead and ears. Her jacket and the undersuit beneath it were blasted away in places, revealing more patches of blood. Despite her injuries, Yugito still seemed unbothered, confident.
"What's your name, shadow?" Yugito called, sounding ready to take on the world after tanking what was probably the most destructive attack I'd ever unleashed.
"Badger." I said in between breaths, once more willing to let her talk if it let me catch my breath and bought us some more time. I'd lost track of how long we'd been fighting. When would Tiger and Cheetah get back? Would they get back at all?
"Not what I meant, shadow, and you know it. Obviously you're a Nara, but I'm not exactly sure about your first name."
"Tell you what, you surrender like a good pussy cat and I'll tell you."
Yugito started chuckling. "Man, I may actually regret killing you. You're fun." All the humor vanished from her face as her features turned impassive. "But war's war. It's been fun, shadow, princess, nameless mooks with shadow and princess, but I think it's time that I stopped playing with my food." The flames surrounding her body swelled, billowing side to side behind her like a haunting wraith as they grew into the air.
'All teams, full retreat! Full retreat! Whisker unleashed! I will stall as long as I can!' Falcon broadcast with Telepathy. He took small, measured steps back towards Crane's body and stooped down to retrieve a seal in Crane's hip pouch. He popped the seal, retrieving a second sword. He held his sword and Crane's spare in either hand as he walked towards Yugito. Both blades swelled with his whirlpool effect as he stared Yugito down.
In the time he'd done that, Konoha ANBU had flickered in around me. All of Team Fist seemed to be uninjured, but we were the only ones. All but two members of Sickle were missing – Fox and Sparrow were the only ones left. Senbon was also missing two members, but they weren't down nearly as many men as Sickle was. Wolf was carrying Scorpion in her arms. Scorpion was in rough shape, but she would live if we somehow managed to get out of here. Crane still lay unmoving on the ground in front of Yugito.
Two Kumo ANBU, the silver-haired woman and the man with red eyes flickered behind Yugito, the rest of their number nowhere to be seen. It seemed our ANBU gave as good as they got.
'Leave now!' Falcon shouted with Telepathy. He took a stance, readying his two swords.
In front of him, Yugito's form was still growing. I lost track of her body as the fire enveloping her grew to titanic size. A feline face peered out through the flame as a facsimile of paws and tails took shape in the azure inferno.
'On me. We run to the border.' Eagle broadcast with Telepathy. I shot one last look at Falcon's back before I turned to join her.
'Konoha nin nine-hundred meters and closing!' Owl sent to everyone. By the way Falcon twitched, I assumed he heard it too.
'How long–'
'Four-hundred meters and closing fast!' Owl interrupted Eagle's question.
The whirlpools raging along Falcon's swords died. He leapt backwards, joining us on the roof of the barn as we all took up defensive positions, shielding Wolf and Scorpion as well as they could.
"What was it you said, shadow? You wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept." a menacing voice said as the inferno in the shape of a monstrously large cat took a step towards us.
I felt through the shadows cast around me by my allies as someone flickered in right next to us.
"Wow. Guess I made it just in time, huh?"
I spared a quick glance at the newcomer and almost guffawed in sheer disbelief. Had I not been wearing a mask, people might have noticed the sheer shock evident on my face. I was in a situation where a giant cat kaijuu was about to eat me, yet, somehow, this was what shook me.
He was young. He looked somewhere around my age, give or take a few years. Short black hair was held in place by a Konoha headband. He wore a dark shirt under his jonin jacket and a standard Konoha weapon's pouch.
"Sorry we got here so late. The border wasn't as clear as we thought it would be." he said, stepping to the front of our group. I felt over a dozen more Konoha nin and several ANBU flicker in behind me, but I knew they were friendly so I didn't turn. My attention was on the anomaly in front of me.
"Hey, cat lady!" he called. "I don't want to fight you! Please leave!"
The great chakra beast convulsed as deep chuckling sounded around the area. "I do not blame you, but I'm afraid you must."
The man sighed. "I guess that's that then." He grinned over his shoulder at us, giving us a thumbs up. "You guys should get back to the border posts. We'll take it from here." The new ANBU and another two jonin I didn't recognize moved past us to support the young man.
'Fist, Senbon, Kunai, Sickle, withdraw. All on me.' Eagle sent with Telepathy.
The message shook me out of my stupor. I sent one last look over my shoulder before I left. A giant samurai made of emerald energy charged towards the bijuu to cover our escape.
X
'Hold!' Shisui Uchiha sent to his allies with Telepathy. HIs Mangekyou faded back to his base sharingan as he watched Yugito Nii and her allies flee, his emerald susanoo scattering against the air. He'd been fighting her for less than a minute when she suddenly turned and fled with her allies. It was as if they'd received a signal of some kind. Some of the ANBU he was with seemed eager to chase her down, but Shisui did not want to move too far away from potential reinforcements. Besides, he wasn't sure Yugito had been scared off rather than called off.
'Let them go. Return to captured post and regroup.' ANBU Leopard sent. Shisui saw several different ANBU sealing away the bodies of Konoha's fallen and the dead Kumo nin in the area.
Shisui turned and followed the ANBU and jonin who'd arrived with him to aid the isolated ANBU teams. He didn't know why they were so far north already, but they were ANBU, so they likely had a good reason that just wasn't shared with the regular forces. He was glad he made it in time to support them.
'Yugito Nii has turned back. More signatures appearing around her.' Jo, a fellow Konoha jonin, sent with Telepathy. He had the largest sensing range of anyone present, so he'd been tasked with keeping an eye on their surroundings.
Leopard held up a hand to halt everyone's movements. 'How many?'
Jo frowned. 'Forty-seven. More targets arriving.' Jo's eyes widened in shock. 'A massive Chakra signature comparable to Yugito Nii just arrived.'
'Fall back. Full speed.' Leopard ordered. Everyone flickered away after him, running back towards the border as fast as they could.
They didn't encounter any enemy nin, allowing them to make it back swiftly.
Leopard began dispatching orders, sending different ANBU in various directions to spread word of the gathering Kumo force Jo had sensed, telling them to let everyone know Yugito Nii was in the area and that Killer B was potentially sighted as well.
Shisui had a small frown on his face as he stared out from atop the border post's wall, letting his Sharingan fade to preserve his chakra. His fight with Yugito had been brief. Really, calling it a fight was being too generous. They'd postured and traded a few blows, but neither of them had truly tried to kill the other. Both of them were too focused on protecting their allies from the other. If Yugito Nii followed after them with Killer B – if that was in fact Killer B that Jo sensed – Shisui didn't know if he would be able to fight them alone.
"What is all of this commotion?"
Shisui looked over his shoulder. A blonde-haired chunin had joined him on the wall.
"There is a force of Kumo nin gathering to the north. I expect they intend to attack us and retake their border posts." Shisui explained.
The chunin huffed, turning to look to the north. "I was told that Yugito Nii was spotted in the area. Is this true?"
Shisui looked more closely at the chunin, his eyebrows furrowing. Why did the man seem so familiar? "It is. I engaged her personally before withdrawing."
"Were you forced to reveal your susanoo?"
Shisui's sharingan immediately flared to life as he inspected the chunin next to him, attempting to determine if the man was under a henge. The Uchiha Clan guarded their secrets jealously. While knowledge of the susanoo had spread through the Elemental Nations due to Madara Uchiha's proficiency with the ability, the Uchiha were careful to guard the secrets behind the susanoo. Few outside the clan knew of the sharingan's Mangekyou stage that allowed for the user to summon a susanoo. Fewer still knew that Shisui had awakened his Mangekyou Sharingan. It was possible, though unlikely, that one of the ANBU or jonin he'd faced Yugito with had told this chunin about his susanoo, but then why would he be asking Shisui if he'd been forced to reveal it? Shisui needed to know who he was talking to.
Shisui inhaled sharply in surprise as his eyes revealed to him the man beneath the henge. "Fugaku-sama, I was not aware you had joined the attack."
Fugaku Uchiha, still under his henge, grunted. "Officially, I have not. I was asked to remain hidden unless the situation required otherwise. The sensor reported a second chakra signature similar to Yugito Nii's, correct?"
"Hai, Fugaku-sama."
Fugaku frowned. "Shikaku was right. They lured us into their borders to deliver a decisive blow against our forces. I will need your help, Shisui."
"I am at your service, Fugaku-sama." Shisui had his differences of opinion with the Uchiha Clan Head, but he knew better than almost anyone that Fugaku loved his village. His being here proved that.
"We must order a retreat. Our shinobi will retreat back to the Land of Hot Water. With our susanoo, you and I are the only ones present capable of fighting the jinchuriki one-on-one. We will need to stall the jinchuriki long enough for word of a retreat to spread. We will buy time for our shinobi to withdraw."
"Hai, Fugaku-sama."
An ANBU flickered in beside them. Shisui turned to see a dog mask staring intently at Fugaku.
"The jinchuriki will have support from Kumo ANBU and regular forces. I will coordinate ANBU teams to support you." Hound said.
Fugaku nodded. "Good. We must spread the word to withdraw while we still have time."
Leopard flickered in next to Hound. "My team has already split up to sound a retreat. I estimate it will take five minutes for them to reach each post and another three for our shinobi to withdraw."
"Eight minutes. We can hold for eight minutes." Shisui said.
"Enemy nin one kilometer and closing!" a sensor wearing a chunin jacket called out, warning the post of the impending attack.
"Shisui, I will face Killer B. I leave Yugito Nii to you." Fugaku said, his henge vanishing to reveal his true appearance. Short-cut dark hair stood tall over a Konoha headband. The white and red paper fan that was the Uchiha clan symbol was displayed proudly on the back of Fugaku's jonin jacket. He wore a standard weapons pouch with another pouch on his other hip. Shisui could make out a storage seal underneath the flap of the second pouch.
"Hai, Fugaku-sama." Shisui said.
More ANBU joined them on the wall as the jonin beneath them coordinated the chunin and genin into a full retreat. Most of the regular forces were organized to withdraw when the enemy became visible.
Kumo nin crested a hill in the distance, lined up to cover the whole of the horizon. Their number was more than enough to overwhelm the Konoha nin in this post. The Kumo nin likely intended to move on to the other two guard posts once they finished here. At the head of the group were two figures the rest rallied behind. The first was a blond woman whose entire body was covered in wreathing blue flames. The second was a man with dark skin and white hair; eight twisting tentacles were extended from the man's back as he ran at the head of the Kumo force.
"Jonin and ANBU to me!" Fugaku yelled. "Chunin and genin withdraw!"
Jonin and ANBU leapt up onto the wall to join the slowly growing number of Konoha nin facing down the Kumo shinobi.
"Our objective is to buy time for our nin to retreat then retreat ourselves." Fugaku said, his face the picture of focus as he stared out at the approaching Kumo shinobi.
"ANBU, protect Shisui and Fugaku-sama. Jonin, cover our backs and do not let the enemy surround us." Hound ordered quickly. A chorus of affirmations rose up from the gathered Konoha shinobi, all of them facing the coming Kumo force with determination.
"For Konoha." Fugaku said. He leapt off the wall, a halo of golden energy exploding into being around him as he summoned his susanoo.
Shisui followed his Clan Head, calling forth his emerald susanoo.
The Konoha ANBU and jonin followed the two Uchiha, racing out to meet the Kumo nin in the open field.