"bbbbbbbBBZZZZZZTT!" Shit! Left turn. Into a tree. There's another one! No time for secrets!
I fell backwards, Tree Walking on the next branch as the giant beetle rushed through the space where my head was moments ago.
There's gotta be a hiding spot or something! They've been chasing me for what feels like hours.
Shit! I jumped off the tree and landed on the ground, barely rolling onto my feet. The place is chaos, I can barely see the others! There's just more beetles!
I dodged another by jumping over his stretched out horns, back into another tree, and started running again.
There's gotta be some way to get out! They can't cover the entire forest! What if—
A large smoke cloud went off, and all of a sudden the forest was quiet. What.
"ALL RECRUITS ARE TO RETURN TO THE CLEARING! IF YOU ARE NOT HERE WITHIN THIRTY SECONDS YOU WILL BE BANISHED FROM THE PROGRAM." A chakra-enhanced voice slammed through the forest.
I checked myself. I was tired, already running low on chakra. My heart was beating so fast I could feel it in my legs. But I was fine. No scratches on me. Weird.
Making my way over to the clearing from before, several other children came out of the woods, looking as exhausted or worse than me. I saw Torune on the other side holding on to her arm for some reason. Dear kami, it better not be broken. I highly doubt they're gonna offer medical services to us right now.
Chizuru-sensei didn't look at us once we entered the clearing, keeping her eyes on the stopwatch in her hand. "Get rid of the stragglers." She muttered to the rest of the sensei, and a few headed out.
She put her stopwatch away and addressed all the children that made it to the clearing. "Not one." She took off her glasses, her eyes closed. "Not one of you, for the entirety of the hour thought to yourselves to fight back. All of you ran. And only ran." She opened her yellow-brown eyes, and over our heads a scene played out, her eyes acting as a sort of projector.
"This is what the battlefield will look like." Above us a scene played out. It was too fast for us to see what was going on. Just blurs of green, blue and red, then a giant ball of fire. Then the ground, then grey flashes moving past, then what looked like lightning covered the scene, fizzling out into darkness.
"The battlefield, at its best, is chaos. When you are in it, your ability to envisage who you are fighting is lost. Everything you do is in reaction to something else. In war, you do not have time to think, only to do. Everything is about when and how you react. One second too slow and your efforts will cease to matter. This is why it is crucial to gain a level head when everything around you is not." Chizuru-sensei explained, her glasses back on. "Yet not one of you attacked the beetles. All of you fled the moment you tasted what being chased was actually like. None of you fought back."
The clearing was silent, no one dared to move, let alone speak. Ikkaku-sensei continued, slightly louder than her. "A ninja that acts only on fear is a dead ninja. The purpose of a battle is to fight. If you cannot do that, you are a liability. Little more than firewood to fuel the enemy's flames."
He paused, and looked each one of us in the eyes. "You will not merely be firewood. Not on my watch. I will expect you to do better starting from now on." He stepped towards us. "Every day will start like this. You are to run, and then you are to fight. What you will fight might be different from the day before, but know that if you fall behind, you will be sent back, no matter what argument you think we care about."
He rolled his neck. "Now drop down and give me a hundred."
He didn't need to yell. Everyone was already out on the floor, trying to find the energy to push themselves back up again.
He walked between the spaces. "From this point on, you will never ask questions, nor question any of our orders. Failure to do as commanded will be met with punishment, or banishment from the program."
In the corner of my eye I could see Torune struggling to lift herself back up again, her right arm shaking. Ikakku-sensei noticed the same thing. He walked over to her, and came up close.
Nonononono. "There are no exceptions. The enemy won't wait for you to recover from your injuries, so neither will I."
As the grunts and counting grew to a close, he was still there, right in front of her. Waiting. Her right arm was not a right color. Ayame, who had finished hers long ago, looked at Ikkaku-sensei with a hateful glare I didn't know she could produce.
"Eighty-nine…AKH!" She fell.
"Keep going." Ikkaku-sensei said, tone unmoving. We waited. "Keep going!" He did not.
Torune was crying by this point, to some visible disdain from the other kids. Ayame's chakra was roiling.
Torune lifted herself up with her knees, then placed her good arm on the ground, starting up her push-ups again. With one arm.
"Ninety..four.." Ikkaku-sensei said nothing, just watching.
My chest ached. My body, tired as it was, still itching to do something. I felt awful, just sitting there.
"Ninety...sev..seven…" But she.. she was actually doing it. Her tears still flowing, her face swelled up, only moving to utter her next count. But she was actually doing it.
I heard murmurs from the people next to me. They were getting unruly. But the sensei did nothing to stop it. They as well just stood there, doing nothing. I desperately tried to catch the eye of Chizuru-sensei. For what, I didn't know. It was better than doing nothing.
"Ninety...nine.." She would injure both of her arms at this rate. This had gone past a lesson. This was brutality.
She's seven years old!
I could sense Killing Intent coming from Ayame's direction, and some of the murmuring dropped off. No one was willing to fight, as tired as they were.
For the last one, Torune didn't utter her count, just lifted herself up, and fell onto the ground. The clearing was silent again.
"Next. A hundred sit-ups." Groans came almost as a chorus. They were still children after all.
"The next one I hear complaining is receiving a personal escort out of here!" Ikkaku-sensei shouted.
Torune wasn't getting back up. Shit.
I couldn't do anything. Not if I wanted to risk failing, and I couldn't do that. For all that I didn't want to fight this war, I needed to become strong, and strong fast. Performing well here could mean more favorable selections for jounin-sensei. Which, if they liked you meant they would hold off on sending you out to train you more. I needed that opportunity. Getting put with a bad team usually means you fail the test, and I can't have that. Not if I wanted to survive in this world. I need this opportunity.
I pushed my upper body up. Rhythmically, hoping the ache of my muscles would distract me from the child lying down in the corner of my vision. It didn't. Yet I couldn't close my eyes. I couldn't ignore this.
But still there was.. No way.
She was getting back up.
She was getting back up, and shifting her body to a pull up position.
And then doing them. Still crying.
My eyes felt heavier in my eye sockets. Ayame's Killing Intent still pulsed through the clearing, steady and pervasive.
We finished the exercise.
"You will head back to the barracks, get cleaned up, and sleep. Tomorrow we will outline what your regular days here will be like. For now, you are to get rest. Dismissed." Ikkaku-sensei ordered, and then left in a blur of leaves.
We were all alone. All the other sensei had left before Ikkaku-sensei did. As soon as the leaves dissipated Ayame rushed over to Torune, guarding her from the rest of the children, eyes a mad red.
I didn't have the courage to go over there, so I just sat, watching the rest of the tired children slowly leave to the bath.
"You're so strong, you know that? So strong! Way strong, you know that?"
Hisao P.O.V.
"Look. Are you sure about this? You're going to be walking right into a trap. No matter how prepared you are, it's still dangerous." I said. Our bed, comfortable as it was, couldn't assuage my worries for tonight.
Yuuna sighed. They'd had this conversation many times, usually ending in the same result. It didn't stop me from trying, however. She didn't meet my eyes.
"Who else would we send out? We can't risk sending out someone we don't trust implicitly. And right now.. Well, you know."
I bit my cheek. The tides of power inside the clan were slowly but surely shifting. He kept losing more and more supporters inside the clan by the day it felt like. Haimaru so far seemed to be the figurehead, but it was pretty much an open secret that Nobuyuki was responsible for the shift. With that, any people he trusted, and were good enough for this mission quickly started approaching zero.
Maybe it was paranoia, but they couldn't risk any sort of counterintelligence at this point in the game.
"But Shizuka-"
"Shizuka is injured." Yuuna cut me off, finally facing me. "And whatever she was before that is irrelevant."
Hanako from her place on Yuuna's side of the bed lifted up a sleepy head. "You two are still arguing about this?"
I shot her a look, and she put her head down on her palms.
"What I don't understand is why Nobuyuki is trying to push us out in the first place, and politically at that. An assassination would've been a faster, if cruder method to get rid of us. Yet he hasn't actually pushed for any major reform to justify a takeover." Aomaru contributed.
"You don't think it's personal then?" Hanako asked.
I scoffed. "No, it's definitely personal. The looks he sends me every time we meet eyes are evidence enough." I stroked my chin. "So he has some sort of motive that targets me specifically, but I might not be his major target. Wait no, I still don't see it." Figuring out Nobuyuki's reasons, sans just being power hungry, has been a pastime for many months now. And a distraction, I just realised. I sent a mood of annoyance across the telepathic link to Aomaru. We would have words later.
Hanako raised her head slowly, moonlight just bright enough to highlight her orange fur. "What if he's trying to push out the Head family in general? Get rid of us, and start a new one. Or just.. Have just the clan council be the acting power."
I frowned. "That's ridiculous. It would weaken the clan significantly, inside and out. We're at war. We can't afford to look weak now of all times. Nobuyuki of all people knows that."
"Yes, but if the motive is personal.." Hanako insisted.
I sighed. "We're not getting anywhere with this. We need more information, see how deep this really goes."
"Which is why it's crucial for me to go tomorrow." Yuuna insisted. She put a hand on my arm. "I know it's risky, but you've gotta trust me alright? There's a lot more at risk here than just me." Our kids, went unsaid. It didn't need to be.
I acquiesced. "Just be careful. Please." Her eyes burned into mine.
"Hey! I'll be with her, so she'll be fine. When have you ever known me to let you down?" Hanako boasted.
"Last week. I asked you to bring Arata, and you brought me that Torune girl instead. By her collar. Did you know how long I had to apologize to the Akimichi for that one?"
She shot me a grin. "She volunteered! I couldn't say no!" That's Yuuna's partner alright. Never any question on that.
"Yeah right she did." I smiled.
"She did! I swear it on my-" I tuned her out, shifting in bed so I'd lie down, and closed my eyes.
"Hey, you even listenin' anymore? He ain't even listenin' no more. How rude."
Arata P.O.V.
"Tell me. What use does a kunai have on the battlefield?" Chizuru-sensei asked. I assumed it was rhetorical. Her voice was chakra-enhanced so you could hear it from just about anywhere. "In truth, most genin could easily dodge a barrage of these in succession. So why employ a weapon with such a significant miss rate?"
You know, every time adults in this world start using big words like that I really wonder if any of these kids are even absorbing half of what they say.
The thought made my mouth quirk up a bit, just enough to distract me from the ache in my hands and arms. We've been practicing kunai and shuriken throwing for about two hours now. Nonstop. Targets were dispersed randomly around the forest area we were in, and if the sensei didn't see you throwing any, they'd throw some of them your way. Sometimes they did it anyway, just to see if we could dodge them. Practice ones of course.
"The answer is simple. Chakra. Your most valuable resource on the battlefield, nevertheless crucial is not food, water, or medical aid. It's chakra. And jutsu takes chakra. Most ninja, using solely jutsu in an encounter will run out of chakra in less than ten minutes. Battles in wars can take days. You need alternatives."
She threw a shuriken in her hand to deflect a stray kunai coming for her face. "Know this. Even if only one in a thousand hits, you have time. Statistics from the Second War showed that almost 35% of injuries were directly from thrown weapons, more than any other type of injury. Do not underestimate their power."
Which, I guess made sense. Putting it in RPG terms, most ninja are glass cannons. High speed and attack, low defense. A kunai to the jugular, no matter who you are, results in death. Well except for Orochimaru. Or Hidan. Or Sasori. Or- You know what, never mind.
A flash at the edge of my vision took me out of my muse. A shuriken was headed suspiciously close to Torune's head. Ayame deflected it with a kunai before I even raised my hand. Her Killing Intent was perfunctory at this point, its effects waning by the day. Her anger at the situation didn't abate, though, and there were several close calls where I had to reel her back in.
It had been a week since our first day. After everyone had left a medic came over and looked at Torune's arm. He didn't do too much so I assumed the damage wasn't extensive. At least, I could hope. She seemed fine, but you never knew.
Since then, we tried to keep Torune as close to us as possible. Bullying in the ninja world is no joke. Being a.. less than favored person in my clan certainly opened my eyes to that. I sometimes forgot we lived in a conformist society, no matter how individualistic Konoha tried to portray itself as. If a large enough group of people disapprove of something, the rest would be remiss not to follow along, and probably worsen the situation. The several ruined clothes and missed meals from my earlier days attested to that.
Another shuriken made it close to Torune. I batted it away this time. Ayame was fuming at this point.
"Guys.." Torune said, looking at the ground guiltily.
"Keep practicing, Torune. We'll handle it." I tried to sound reassuring. I hoped it worked.
Three minutes later, another shuriken was headed for Torune. Ayame slammed it away with her kunai.
"RRRAAAAAAA!" Ayame flew, monkey stance already in place. Shit. Not good.
I heard a crash from the direction the shuriken came from, and raced over. Torune followed me.
I found Ayame hunched over some boy, holding a kunai to his throat, only held at bay by the boy's arms. They were shaking, and he wouldn't hold for long. Four more children behind him rushed to come to his aid.
I made eye contact with Torune and veered to the left, quickly going through hand signs.
Tigeroxdograbbitsnake- "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" A gust of wind just strong enough to stall their approach slammed through them. Tsume had warned me against trying to learn two nature transformations at the same time, but a few of the wind jutsu just seemed too attractive to pass up, and most lightning jutsu were too chakra intensive to be viable this early on. So, as she would put it, fuck it.
Just after my wind stopped them in their tracks, Torune's Multi-Sized hands slapped them away. Two of them managed to dodge, and jumped backwards. The other two weren't so lucky and slammed against tree trunks.
The distraction was enough for the boy to wriggle out of Ayame's hold and run back to his friends. Just then, two more showed up from the sides. One of them looked vaguely familiar. Red eyes, messy black hair.
"Genma! Stop running and let me tear you apart!" Ayame screamed savagely.
The boy who ran from Ayame seemed a lot more confident surrounded by his other friends. "I really don't understand why you stand up for her, Ayame-chan. Scum like that don't deserve to be ninja."
Ayame seemed ready to pounce again, despite the amount of children who looked ready to fight. Six turned to seven as another entered the field. A few of them I recognized from our Training Ground group. That was.. disappointing. Ayame just seemed to turn more mad at the sight. I didn't know a child this small could unleash this much Killing Intent.
Another one came through to the front, making eight. His blue hair and lazy but observant eyes were familiar to me. "You know the rules Ayame. Shinobi Rule #25. A shinobi must never show their tears."
"Asuma!" Another wave of Killing Intent. "I don't care about the rules! Call back your cronies before I burn them to a crisp!"
Shit. Where are the sensei? Chizuru-sensei was near not five minutes ago. I stretched my chakra sensing. There were more children at the fringes, mostly watching and staying well away. No sensei. Not good, not good, not good.
No matter how skilled for her age Ayame was, three against eight is never good odds. Especially against older kids who have more chakra. Suddenly I wished Shiromaru was here. We hadn't gotten the Gatsuuga down yet, but he would be helpful all the same.
"Just try it." Asuma challenged, palming kunai in his hands.
The time for talking was over, and everyone prepared for battle.
"Caged Mice." Ayame called out, lining out our battle strategy. We had trained together of course. Practiced for scenarios like this. The plan would be incredibly risky with this many people, but there was no time to argue logic right now.
Kunai and shuriken unleashed upon our spot, and we dodged each in three different directions. Ayame ran straight for Asuma, who had begun a sequence of hand seals.
I didn't get to see much more, as two chased after my position. Some rando and a Hyuuga. Not ideal.
Forsaking Four Legs for right now, as it wouldn't have much use against a Hyuuga, I threw my own kunai and shuriken and watched them split.
"Four!" I heard amidst the sounds of fighting. Already? Ok then.
Surprisingly, the rando got to me first, and I had to dodge his leg coming for my skull, which put me right in the Hyuuga's path. I jumped over him, and deflected the shuriken he threw at me while in mid-air. I retreated again, this time in the opposite direction, back to the beginning, then to the side. I retreated into a tree just long enough for them not to see me.
Hmm. The Hyuuga would be a major problem for this plan.
"Bestial Illusion: Doddering Haze."
Both of them stopped chasing me for a few seconds, just long enough for me to throw some dirt into the Hyuuga's eyes, eliciting a yell from him. "Three!" I heard.
I darted away again, into another tree, hoping it would hide enough of my body.
Clone Jutsu. A clone rushed out of the tree, and thankfully they followed him instead. "Two!" The clone shouted, me following a safe distance behind their chase of him.
Reaching the same place we were at the start, I sensed Torune on the other side, with Ayame's clone already heading for the middle.
It was actually working!
"One!" Ayame's clone yelled, making up the quartet.
I sneakily paced over to Torune, hoping Ayame would be able to follow the cue I left her.
A bunch of kids, having already cut through the clones looked confused at seeing each other so bundled up together. And then they realized.
Ayame rushed up to us just as they started spreading out again. Torune was already through the hand seals.
"Earth Style: Giant Pillar Jutsu!" She pushed up a pillar of earth under us, lifting us about ten meters from the ground.
"Kai!" Ayame sounded out at the same time, and the forest filled up with ash. She had planted a tag seal on the Four count if all went right. She spent a good amount of time filling up the tag seal with her ash, since she couldn't form a cloud big enough on the fly with her amount of chakra.
But wait. This is too much. Way too much. She actually wants to kill them?! No, it's still too thin, and they've spread out enough. Thanks to Asuma probably.
She ran through the hand seals. Do I stop her? This may be the only chance we have, but I can't allow her to do this, even if they'll likely come out of it alive they'll still have some major burns. That moment of hesitation cost me, as she took a breath and got ready to spew.
"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
Just as the first hint of ash came out of her mouth, a hand snaked out of the pillar we stood on and uppercutted Ayame in the mouth. The genjutsu unravelled just then, and the girl with red eyes and black hair came to stand between us.
That's Kurenai! Torune took her in her giant hands, and threw. Hopefully that would put her out for a while.
Suddenly, the pillar shook.
They got to us already? Crap. "We're sitting ducks up here!"
"We gotta do something!" Torune shouted.
"Arata! Lightning rod it! We'll jump!" Ayame ordered. I nodded.
People were running up the pillar. I had less than two seconds.
"Lightning Release: Depth Charge!" I chanted, just as they jumped, and the pillar shook and broke apart, lightning travelling down and down. Everyone jumped off before the electricity got to them.
We landed in a tree, just south of our opponents. We were lucky with that one. Because they're such a big group coordinating and strategizing is going to be much harder, which is likely what saved us just now. They're not approaching now, fixing their earlier mistake.
"Turtle, turtle, turtle, turtle!" Ayame repeated, getting more frantic and less angry. We retreated, then kept going south.
I took out the last of my kunai and handed a few to Torune. They're coming now.
"Two from each side, one is going around." I told them, sensing our opponents movements in the forest.
I checked myself. "Chakra levels? I've got a little over half." I asked.
"Half." Torune managed to get out.
"A third. The ash had to not hit us." Ayame said, a bit sheepishly.
Well shit. "I'll take ranged, then." Not my favored position, but it would have to do.
"Guys… I appreciate it, but you don't have to do this for me." Torune stuttered.
"Yes we do! We're always here for you. No matter what, right Arata?" Ayame said.
"Of course." I resolved myself. If there was one Leaf value I could agree with, it's standing by your comrades, no matter what. Though it's kinda ironic that we're fighting for that against them.
Also where are the sensei? We've been running for a while, and we haven't run into anyone at all yet. The forest is big, but not that big. Speaking of..
"Incoming. All of them." I reported.
We stopped. Torune went through hand seals. "Earth Release: Castle Protection." An earth structure a few meters high and wide formed around us, finishing with putting a ceiling over our heads.
"What next?" I asked Ayame, hoping the desperate tint wasn't noticeable.
She opened her mouth to answer.
Hayama P.O.V.
"We have to do something!" I shouted. Anko, Hyuurou, Tomoe. None of them were doing anything! They were just watching!
"They're—They're older kids! We can't fight them. And they're right anyway." Anko stuttered out.
I—I couldn't actually believe it. I couldn't! "You're just gonna let them fight on their own?! They're our friends! We can't leave them!"
I had never shouted like this to anyone, ever. But right now, I really didn't care. I turned to Tomoe. "When you told me to avoid Arata because he was mean to you I believed you! But you lied to me, and then I forgave you! And—And now you won't go help me?!"
Tomoe flinched. "I can't.. Nobuyuki-sama would flip if he found out."
"Then don't let him find out." I rebutted.
Hyuurou stepped up. "Guys? They're leaving. I think they're getting chased through the forest? That way." He pointed to the right, where now that the ash was dispersed enough we could actually see them running that way. The big group stayed behind for a little bit, and then went after them. "Maybe we should help them after all. It'll be more even."
"And risk our necks for Arata and a weakling!? Hell no!" Anko liked to say what she felt, and usually that didn't bother me, but today it did.
I pointed at her. "Torune is way stronger than you will ever be. Even when she was crying, she did the whole thing. With one hand. And Ayame is still there! Even if you don't care about Arata you have to help them!" Anko's face clammed, but she didn't say anything.
"Fine! I'll go on my own then!" I said.
"No." Tomoe said. "You can't go on your own. You don't have your bokken with you!"
"It doesn't matter. I can still fight. I think." To be honest I was really scared. All of those older kids, and then just me..
But I couldn't back down now. Not when the people that first wanted to be my friends needed me.
Tomoe and Anko looked at each other, then at Hyuurou. He spoke up. "I think we should do it, guys. I couldn't ever call myself a hero if I walked away from this."
"Kouta.." Anko muttered. "Okay. Fine. Let's go! But don't say I didn't warn you! We just have to make sure that Nobuyuki guy doesn't find out right? Easy."
Yes! I could have whooped for joy right then, but remembered the situation. I grinned. "Alright, let's go."
Tomoe seemed reluctant, but opened her pouch all the same. She took out a few shuriken, and put them between her fingers. "Okay. Okay. He just doesn't have to find out. We can do this."
She nodded at him, and they sped off.
Arata P.O.V.
"It's not gonna hold out for long!" I shouted. "It's now or never!"
Torune nodded. "Okay, down in three!"
I went through hand seals again, hoping this would get at least one. Ayame did the same on the opposite side of me.
"Two!" The walls shook, and I knew it wouldn't hold out for long.
"One." A particularly violent lightning jutsu managed to spear through a large chunk, and a few children were already coming in.
"Now!" Just as she proclaimed that, the remaining walls pushed outwards and the ceiling retreated, allowing us a space to jump over.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets!"
We jumped through the space left behind, spewing balls of air and fire at all the encroaching children.
What we didn't prepare for was the onslaught of shuriken and kunai headed for us. I was able to stop a few with the vacuum bullets, but it couldn't block all of them. Some ricocheted off my body, leaving scratch marks. They were practice ones, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.
Shit.
I landed on a rough part of damaged earth wall, just narrowly avoiding landing on a kunai that had managed to stick in my arm.
I took it out roughly, employing more chakra to numb the pain. And yep, bleeding. My chakra sensing started going haywire all of a sudden, and black moving oh kami, bugs!
Aburame bugs encircled me, caging me. The hairs on my neck and arms started raising in alarm. Not shortly after there were more children around me. Three of them looked down at me, sneering. One of them was the Aburame, holding her arm over me menacingly.
"You almost shocked me, you bastard! I'll get you back for that now. Serves you right for sticking up for that loser." Rando from before shouted. He went through hand seals.
"Fire release—"
"Soushuriken no jutsu!"
From the trees behind me, a dozen shuriken whisked in the direction of the kids, making them dodge.
"Ha!" Just as that happened, Kouta came out of the clearing in an overhead kick, aiming for rando. He missed, just barely.
The shuriken that missed earlier then circled back around, coming straight for the Aburame. In worry, she recalled her kikaichuu to shield her.
Kouta and Anko, of all people, came to land in front of me.
"Ha! Take that sucker!" Anko yelled.
"Nice. Arata, can you fight?" Kouta asked.
I fired up the Four Legs in response. "Any more reinforcements?"
"Tomoe is with Ayame, and Hayama joined Torune." He said. I smiled. Couldn't ask for much more.
And so the balance shifts.
"Let's kick some ass."
""Hell yeah!""
A/N. Sorry for the cliffhanger. My mind is fuzzy, and I want a chapter out sooner rather than later. Trying something different with fight scenes, hoping it pays off.
Thanks for reading. Bye.
Revised 12/3/2021.