A/N: We are back! Welcome back to Guardian of the tailed beasts. As you all read in the last chapter, our little rescue operation is about to start. And here, we will go through it. And of course, we have some action for you. Well, lets get on to the chapter without further ado. Happy reading.
CHAPTER 32: THE RESCUE OPERATION
*The night the rescue operation was to take place*
Just as Kahyo had suggested, all the members of the Hotaru/Koyuki rescue squad converged at the secret and dilapidated store room in the castle, going through the sewage systems of the city.
The ice release user had fixed herself quite well from her fight with Naruto and Hinata. Luckily enough, she didn't have any major fractures on her bones, the blonde not fighting with the intent to kill definitely helped as well as her impressive agility.
Before they stormed the prison though, she laid out a map.
"The rebel forces led by Sandayu are mostly former soldiers of the Yukigakure army under the previous Daimyo, they had this map of the castle, please take a look and memorize it. I am afraid while we are escaping, we won't be taking the same route as the one we used for infiltration." Kahyo cautioned and suggested in a low tone. They had the time and temporary safety, since this particular storage room wasn't guarded at all.
"Understood." Utakata commented as he and the rest of the squad all attentively looked at the blueprint and memorized every single detail they could.
"It seems that the path we took to this place is the only one that can be used for stealthy infiltration." Hinata commented and the rest all nodded.
"All the other paths in and out of the castle pass through watch posts, we are bound to be spotted. The most efficient way to carry out this operation is to return through the sewage system." Shino stated.
"I am well aware of that, however if we do so, while we might succeed, the enemy will discover this path. I was hired initially to scout out and slip vital information to the restorationists while also aiding the launch of the counter-coup to retake Snow from Doto. The princess's capture occurred as the finer points of my commission was being written and negotiated, so her liberation was added to the job as if it had always been the plan…but it creates the single greatest opportunity to enable the restoration movement's success. A prison break would cause Doto, most of his army, and the most powerful of his lieutenants to pursue to recapture his niece at any and all costs…allowing us some amount of control over the battle and to draw the enemy force away from the castle and allow for the rebel forces to storm the castle and take over it through this path while we create a distraction. Failing that, the rebels intend to destroy the castle, to send the message that Doto's hold isn't absolute. The rebels are numerically and technologically weaker, however they can prevail against the royal army if they strike while the loyalists are in disarray from the prison break and our infiltration." The ethereal woman suggested.
"Shock and awe." Naruto commented with a foxy grin.
…Of course, this was the way Kiba and Gai preferred as well and they all grinned.
"We will have to do some heavy lifting though." Kahyo cautioned again.
"Leave that to me, madam." Gai said grinning and pointing his thumb towards himself.
"I can deal with multiple strong opponents as well." Commented Utakata.
"If you are both that confident about it, then we should simply breakthrough the main entrance by blasting it open." Kahyo commented dryly with a smirk that suggested it was a joke.
"Ah the springtime of youth…I will shatter all that stands in the way of our success." Gai commented, trying to keep his tone low.
Kahyo raised a brow and smirked a bit harder believing it to be a joke.
When Gai made no attempt to prove it was such Kahyo dropped the smirk in confusion and looked at Naruto and the others.
Naruto shrugged and gave a gesture that Kahyo interpreted as him silently affirming Gai's confidence as truthful.
Utakata nodded.
Kahyo looked at Gai who smiled widely, with a bright flash of light reflecting off of his pearly white teeth.
Utakata and Kahyo couldn't help rolling their eyes a bit, but they knew that if they needed to be flashy, Gai was the man for the job.
And with that their strategy meeting was concluded.
Here it needs to mentioned that, Kahyo had also mentioned about the former Daimyo's final wishes as well as how the 'treasure key' for which Doto was after Koyuki's life was as per her suspicions a key to a chakra powered generator that could bring spring to this ever-snow-covered kingdom.
'Though if they remove the snow cover in its entirety, then their shinobi, who always rely on snow would be rendered powerless…even after all that has happened…is it truly right to reject so much of your history for the sole purpose of embracing a new path? Or is it just denying something that you wish was never part of you do to the bad times it brought upon you? Shinobi are valued for their combat abilities…but with that value diminished…it would be just like Kiri was during the days before the Blood Mist with the Yuki clan and all other families and bloodlines assimilated into the village by conquest: no matter the talents and abilities we possessed, no matter how high we rose, we were expendable pawns to be thrown away at the convenience of our betters. A Snow without Winter risks becoming a peaceful counterpart to the caste system that defined Kirigakure for the decades between its founding and Yagura taking over.' The ice release user thought to herself as Gai raised his fist with the conclusion of their little strategy meeting.
Kahyo was still lost in thought as she remembered a saying that defined the bulk of human history: 'When the Ignorant act on their fears and hatred, the result is a tragedy of their own making.'
"Yosh! Youthful comrades, let's let this depressed land enjoy the springtime of youth! Charge!" The youthful taijutsu master declared, keeping his voice uncharacteristically low though, making everyone present there (both physical and metaphysical) surprised that the green beast of Konoha could be subtle when he wanted to be.
Without wasting too much time dwelling on that point though, everyone charged in the direction of the prison.
Hinata had already identified the number of shinobi in their path and their positions.
Kahyo took the lead and upon the Hyuuga girl's indicated directions, launched senbon, laced with knock-out drugs, taking out the guards without raising any suspicion. Those who managed to avoid Kahyo's merciful attacks for whatever reason were soon faced with a much more final fate as Gai and Utakata took a slight detour and stealthily came from their backs and snapped their necks.
Within 10 minutes the whole team was before the doors of the prison cells inside the castle.
"How many inside, Hinata-chan?" Naruto whispered.
"Seven, each guarding one cell but three guarding the cell with Koyuki-san and Hotaru-san." Hinata whispered back.
The two guards at the gate to the prison were already taken care of with Kahyo's senbon being used to put them in a death like state.
The team knew that they were going to make some noise at some point. The noise was going to be the signal for the rebels to break into the castle. They had entered the sewers half an hour after Kahyo, Utakata, and the shinobi from Konoha had.
They were just waiting for the chaos to begin.
The team stood in contemplation for a few minutes as to what to do. They needed to enter through that metallic gate. They could take their time and pick the locks, the mechanisms of which looked quite complicated, or they could blast it open and make a flashy entrance into the prison.
They didn't have much time; the sunrise was going to be in three hours and they had a lot to do. Obviously brute force won over stealth. Everybody stepped backwards as Gai stood before the great door of the prison and let forth a great yell that was almost a war cry that caused the Snow Ninja to notice and raise the alarm.
"YOSH! LET MY YOUTH SCORCH THIS LAND INTO SPRING! FIRST GATE, SECOND GATE, THIRD GATE, FOURTH GATE, FIFTH GATE, SIXTH GATE; OPEN!"
The green aura of evaporating sweat glowed like a beacon amongst the white of the snow.
Gai shifted to a battle-ready stance and all held their breath.
"MORNING PEACOCK!" Gai bellowed as he threw a punch, the air began to burn as a massive punch of fire was generated through sheer friction and it hit the prison door with so much force that it was blasted open.
Follow up punches were thrown at the bewildered guard stations that were in disarray trying to figure out what the hell was used to hit the gate.
It (the gate) was made of the same technology as the chakra absorption armour…it should be impervious to damage from ninjutsu. To them, they had just seen a Ninjutsu technique tear through it like tissue paper.
Utakata and Kahyo rushed in followed by Shino and Kiba while Gai, Naruto and Hinata stayed at the door to cover their backs, prepared to stop any snow ninja trying to get past them into prison.
They didn't have to wait for long, several converged upon them.
Gai, already with his sixth gate open, burst into action and blurred into the mass of snow ninja converging upon them. It was a curb stomp, regardless of whether they wore chakra armour or not. The green blur went into them and then many of them began flying in random directions before smashing into the walls.
The rest that Gai hadn't hit saw the two teens standing before the prison gate and dashed towards them.
The young couple smirked and formed Rasengans in their hands and dashed forward.
Snow's chakra armour had no answer to the Fourth Hokage's prized jutsu. Naruto and Hinata destroyed the armours of the soldiers with Rasengan and then would knock them out with taijutsu, goken for Naruto and Jyuuken for Hinata.
*Meanwhile, inside the prison*
Koyuki and Hotaru were jolted awake from their sleep due to the sound of an explosion. They saw the guards before their cell rushing.
"What was that?" The famous actress said in bewilderment. She knew that Sandayu and the rebel army didn't have the strength to infiltrate Doto's castle and orchestrate a prison break. "What is Sandayu thinking? They will all die like this; they don't have the power to fight Doto's forces…" The snow princess muttered in an odd combination of nihilistic defeatism and something that seemed close to genuine concern.
Hotaru for her part kept quiet and nervously waited for those who had infiltrated the prison.
Suddenly the two prisoners heard something along the lines of "Gatsuga!", then a massive clang followed by a guard flying away and slamming into a wall. Then they heard some screams and sounds of powerful hits.
The sounds of struggle soon died down though and rapid footsteps approached their prison cells.
Hotaru's eyes lit up and teared when she saw the familiar face.
"Utakata-sensei!" She cried in joy as the Rokubi jinchuuriki appeared before her cell. He didn't waste a second and slung a precise burst of acid at the bars, corroding them quickly before a simple blast of water eroded the corroded metal down into dust. Hotaru couldn't contain her excitement and jumped onto him.
"Utakata-sensei! I…I…was…" She couldn't utter the words. The Rokubi jinchuuriki rubbed her back.
"I am sorry. I have been keeping you at an arm's length for too long. Please forgive me. I was being a coward…but now I want to accept you fully, in whatever way you want me to as a teacher, as a l-…whatever you want. Please forgive me and let me make it up to you." The dark-haired man pleaded, making Hotaru cry.
"I-I am so happy. You came for me…I love you, Utakata." She said in tears.
From behind his door in the mindscape, Saiken loudly cheered and yelled.
Utakata growled something at the slug which had him retreat back into his enclave.
"Tentatively: good to know, we'll discuss this after this is over." The Rokubi jinchuuriki responded embracing the girl tightly despite the words of neutrality.
Koyuki blinked for a few seconds. "So, it was her rescue that arrived. I don't know what to feel." She uttered as she saw what she believed to be a mid-battle declaration of love going on right before her…the actress and writer in her pleasantly surprised that fiction could actually represent reality, or reality could delve into fiction like moments in such a time.
That was until a woman with dark curly hair showed up.
Koyuki felt slightly disturbed as the masked woman stared at her in a confused manner for a moment before speaking
"Princess Kazahana. Are you alright?" She asked and Koyuki dumbly nodded.
Koyuki was surprised that the masked woman stood there expecting her to free herself of the leg and wrist restraints that had been forced onto her.
The masked woman seemed to have a realization, and actually moved to help: "My apologies…I sensed something and made an assumption."
Koyuki watched as the woman placed a hand on the restraints and frost rapidly generated and froze the metal.
A moment later, the masked woman ripped both of the restraints off the princess-turned-actress.
Though strangely enough, the frozen metal didn't actually bother Koyuki.
Questions for later: "Who are you?"
"Kahyo. I am your escort, here on behalf of Sandayu-san and the rebel army. Originally hired to aid your reclaiming of the nation, before it was discovered that you had been seized." Kahyo stated as Koyuki stood up and walked out of the cell, this was all happening so quick that she didn't have any words to respond.
"Utakata-san." Kahyo turned to the embraced unofficial lovers and coughed. "While it is a very heart-warming scene, we don't have much time." She said with a half-embarrassed tone. Utakata and Hotaru separated with heavy blushes on their faces. "Let's get moving."
As Koyuki followed Kahyo, she saw two Konoha genin fighting with two guards, she almost screamed when a swarm of bugs came out of the dark-haired boy's sleeves and went inside the armour of a guard. The guard screamed and screamed and struggled in vain, before falling down unconscious, probably dead.
While two guards tried to attack the feral boy, who had a hound by his side that had spiky red fur and had also grown just as feral, the two suddenly joined forces and became a drill of sorts and slammed into the attacking guards, tossing them away with broken armours.
And when the group that had gone into the prison came out with the ones intended to be rescued, they saw a huge fight going on outside the prison. A green beacon was flashing through the soldiers and then many were sent flying, some were being tackled by the blonde boy and midnight blue haired girl with some sort of bluish spheres in their hands.
"What's going on!?" Koyuki mumbled out.
"The end of Doto's reign, princess." Kahyo responded with a smirk.
Just then, screams were heard from a distance.
"It is the rebels!" "They have broken in!" "Go to the east side!"
All those screams were heard from a distance and chaos began spreading amongst the ranks of Doto's army.
"Sandayu!" Koyuki called out and tried to head for the direction from where the rebels had supposedly broken in.
"No princess…We don't have the time for that. We must get you to safety first." Kahyo said grabbing Koyuki's arm.
"What are Konoha's shinobi doing here, Utakata?" Hotaru asked her travelling companion(/boyfriend?).
"They are with us, I befriended them in a very unusual way after you were abducted and they agreed to help me out in rescuing you." Utakata responded before turning to Naruto.
"Naruto, we are out, head for the gates!" He shouted getting the blonde's attention.
"Got it!" The blonde shouted back as he slammed a Rasengan into the armour of a guard and threw him away.
"Let's go, Hime!"
"Hai!"
And the young couple dashed for the gates. Gai took the rear and the entire group dashed for the gates.
As the team dashed for the main entrance, they could see rebel forces clashing with Doto's loyalists. It was chaotic to say the least.
But then some rebel soldiers were seen captured in pillars of ice raised from the ground.
"Some nerve you have to infiltrate the castle like that, pesky rats!" An arrogant sounding female voice stated.
"That's Fubuki, one of Doto's three generals!" Some rebel soldier cried out. It was obvious that they were afraid of this particular.
"Protect the princess, don't let her pass!" A voice of a middle-aged man sounded.
"Sandayu!" Koyuki cried out and tried to turn back, only to be stopped and pulled back by Kahyo.
"Princess, with all due respect, you are not a fighter. You may have strength but you clearly don't know how to use it. Asama-san entrusted your safety upon me and upon you rests this country's future. I can't allow you to rush into a battle field." Kahyo said in a commanding tone and pulled Koyuki back and almost dragged her away.
"B-But…Sandayu…he will be-" Koyuki pleaded.
"He knows the risks and chose this for himself. He loves his country and wishes for it to be free from Doto's tyranny." Kahyo said trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "Please, don't make little of his commitment and determination by rushing into the battlefield and letting yourself be captured again." The black-haired woman said again.
Koyuki stopped struggling and went ahead.
Soon enough the team was in front of the main entrance to Doto's castle, blast through and you are out. They knew though that they most likely would be fighting with Doto's commanders and perhaps Doto himself at some point. But at the moment, they needed to get their rescued comrades to safety. Kahyo froze the gate first and then Naruto slammed a Rasengan on it and the gate got dusted with the rasengan exploding.
And the group ran through.
As they ran Naruto turned to Koyuki….
"Umm…I know it's not the perfect time to ask, but umm…can I have an autograph from you later? Koyuki-san, I'm a big fan." The blonde asked making a cute face and Koyuki dumbly nodded.
"I…I guess. But please…end this hell." She pleaded, still almost a daze, struggling to catch up with the rapid change of events.
She just barely noticed the Hyuuga girl turning to the Snow Princess with her eyes activated and with a befuddled look.
Kahyo noticed it and pulled the girl to her and whispered something that sounded vaguely like: "She doesn't know. Now is not the time."
Naruto was also too focused on Koyuki at this moment to overhear this conversation: "Of course. We'll kick Doto's ass for ya! Don't worry about that." Naruto reassured with a thumbs up and a foxy grin, just then a snow ninja tried to attack him and he slammed a rasengan on his chakra armour and sent him flying.
The castle was soon rocking with explosions, which caused the residents of the capital to step out of their homes and panic as they saw the absolute chaos unfolding before them and sirens rang through the whole city.
"We have to move away from the city, as fast as possible!" Kahyo ordered and the entire group followed, taking away from the city into the snow-covered mountains.
And they quickly dashed outside the city limits.
As they made their way, the chaos inside and outside the castle kept going. Though with the arrival of one of Doto's top three generals, the loyalists of the Daimyo began getting the upper hand.
The question inside many of those soldiers' minds however, especially those who had seen the ones bursting into the prison was that how despite being so technologically advanced, like their daimyo claimed that they were, then how had their security been breached by a couple of kids and three adults.
For the time being, the soldiers thought that perhaps those shinobi were special and would require someone more qualified than normal soldiers like them to be dealt with.
As the rescue squad moved away, they heard those on snowmobiles giving them chase. The snowmobiles had automatic kunai launchers installed upon them (possibly, or it was mounted in the forward position with controls for it installed on the controls for the vehicle) and they fired on the fleeing team with those.
They didn't at all expect those small group of shinobi to be so good at dodging though. Distance and the size of the group aided the rescue squad in avoiding casualties.
"It seems that someone has to stop and hold these soldiers. Yosh! You kids carry on, I will stop them!" Gai ordered his team.
"Got it, Gai-sensei!" Naruto acknowledged.
It needs to be noted that, after the fight at the prison, Gai had deactivated his inner gates. It would be unwise to burn himself out or try to carry on such a potentially extended skirmish while also suffering potentially severe internal damage.
Gai reactivated the inner gates, making himself a green beacon of sorts to the pursuing snow ninja, who quite expectedly converged upon him and tried to fire at him with their automatic kunai launchers and launch ice release jutsus at him.
But then the green beacon vanished into thin air, then the pursuers and their snowmobile were thrown into the air, broken and damaged beyond repair. Those who tried to take on the Green Beast in close quarters ended up with multiple bones shattered.
Gai also discovered a weakness in the chakra armours. If two armours were to come in close contact, they reacted and exploded. The green beast of Konoha took full advantage of this new discovery of his. And now, the whole area got filled with explosions.
Meanwhile in the castle, the loyalist soldiers were now backed up by not one but two of Doto's three generals. Fubuki and Mizore. The tide of battle inside the castle was now completely in Doto's favour. And the rebels' fate would be sealed when the loyalist army would bring in their large automatic kunai launchers.
But they had done their job. They had held two of the top 3 generals and had destroyed the castle for the most part and had spread chaos all around.
The gates of the castle bursting open would later be known as the first symbol of the end of Doto's reign of terror.
The rebel soldiers did their job, but they would be paying the ultimate sacrifice for the future of their country… at least most of them that is.
*Meanwhile in the mountains outside Yukigakure's capital*
The Hotaru-Koyuki rescue squad was now making their way up the hills. Kahyo during her scouting and Shino, Naruto and Hinata during their own scouting had found some hidden caves in those hills. Where they had chosen to keep Koyuki and Hotaru hidden until the battle died down. They would soon be in that location.
However, things were not going to be that simple. Why would it be?
As they made their way up the hills, suddenly kunai and bombs began raining on them.
"That's Doto's personal airship…" Koyuki muttered before cursing under her breath.
The others looked up to see the gigantic airship with Yukigakure's symbol on it.
"It's heavily armed!" Hinata cautioned looking it up with her Byakugan.
The airship continued raining a hail of kunai upon the team. They had to do something. Kahyo had an idea.
"Naruto, Hinata! Keep the princess safe and let me handle this." She called out.
"Roger that!" The couple acknowledged together. Nodding Kahyo made a mirror of ice and vanished into it.
*Inside the airship*
"The shinobi involved in your niece's escape appear to be from Konoha, my lord." The middle-aged man informed.
"Tsk! Those pesky tree huggers. They sneaked into our country like cowards and sneaked away with Koyuki. I would have had ended my stupid brother's legacy ten years ago, if not those tree hugging cowards! And now they have the nerve to strike again! I'll show those cowards how bad it is to cross paths with me, the great Kazahana Doto! I'll kill those bastards and kill that bitch." The Daimyo of Yukigakure spat, knee deep in manic rage that had come to define him in the years since his takeover. "Launch more bombs! Rain more kunai! Level this mountain!" He ordered.
"But sire, our soldiers are nearby, pursuing them. They might be in harm's way." The general tried to protested.
"Nadare, do you really care about them. We can always train more. Why worry?" Doto questioned with a small smirk.
"Of course, sire. My only hope is that if that coward Hatake is in this team, I would want to personally finish him and fulfil my incomplete job. That's all I care about." The general responded with a dark look and a grin.
Suddenly the whole airship was rocked and it began losing altitude rapidly.
"We have lost power! We are crashing!" Came the voices from the cockpit.
"What?" Doto shouted startled.
*Simultaneously*
The mirror of ice appeared mid-air and Kahyo came out. The mercenary kunoichi had only but a few seconds to act and that too with pin-point precision. And she did exactly that. Going through quick hand-signs, she froze the entire propeller assembly of the airship and landed herself on the frozen propeller and strengthened her ice upon it.
The airship began banking left, Kahyo wasted no time in jumping up onto the envelope, running over it, she reached for the propeller on the other side and repeated what she had done just a minute ago. And as soon as she was done, she made another ice-mirror and jumped into it. Getting back on the ground seconds later.
"That was the longest range I could teleport with the ice-mirrors" The black-haired woman commented with heavy panting as she watched the airship come crashing down. The rest of the rescue squad was nearby and they watched in fascination as the gigantic airship crashed with a huge bang and exploded into flames.
"U-Unbelievable!" Koyuki stuttered out in absolute surprise. "I-Is this what shinobi are capable of?" She asked in surprise.
"That and some more." Utakata responded.
"Hell yeah! That was awesome, Doto'd have to be very lucky to save his ass from that!" Kiba commented with a feral grin.
"No… He would most likely be safe and sound. His chakra armour can protect him from powerful jutsus. We have to be very lucky for him to die with just this crash!" Koyuki said shaking her head. "Besides, he already has the hexagonal crystal, that my father gave me. Who knows what he will do with that…" The Yuki-princess almost sobbed.
"Koyuki-san. Worry not. If that asshole survives, we will kick his ass, that's for sure. I have heard from Kahyo-san about this country and your dad's wish. I promise, this reign of terror will end today!" Naruto proclaimed with a foxy grin. Hinata smiled at the declaration too and prepared herself for the upcoming confrontation.
Kahyo stepped back a bit to join the rest of the group and waited for anyone to come out of the airship.
Meanwhile, some distance away. The fully exhausted Ame team had finally reached the gates of Snow's capital (which Doto had decided to build his personal palace away from…strategic decision or monumental stupidity, no one would know) when they heard explosions going off, a small group of people rushing out chased by Yukigakure's ninja on snowmobiles.
The jonin leader of the Ame team, Aoi caught a glimpse of the boy's blonde hair among the ones fleeing the city.
"That was the fox!" The man called out and took the blade he had stolen from Konoha by tricking his former student, Idate, the legendary Raijin, the sword of the thunder god. Lightning chakra surged through the blade, bringing it to life.
Aoi smirked as he ordered his team to give chase.
"Just you wait fox. I will take you down. I have the legendary blade of the Nidaime Hokage. I am the strongest swordsman in this world! Nothing can stop me, I will gut both you and anything that gets in my way, cursed fox!" The former runaway from Konoha said aloud, not that anyone from the Koyuki/Hotaru rescue squad or their pursuers heard him. But still, the man smirked and gave chase, followed by his students.
There was going to be more fights, this mission was not going to get over so easily.
Omake: Just trying to sleep here!
The Koyuki rescue team stood ready to break into the prison where the princess and Hotaru were held.
The door before them was the last major barrier to that goal.
The group put options to a debate and narrowed down to two options, stealth or guns blazing.
The group came to the consensus that they were short on time. Guns blazing won out.
Gai stood before the great door of the prison and let forth a great yell that was almost a war cry that caused the Snow Ninja to notice and raise the alarm and begin converging upon the group. "YOSH! LET MY YOUTH SCORCH THIS LAND INTO SPRING! FIRST GATE, SECOND GATE, THIRD GATE, FOURTH GATE, FIFTH GATE, SIXTH GATE; OPEN!"
The green aura of evaporating sweat glowed like a beacon amongst the white of the snow.
Gai shifted to a battle-ready stance and all held their breath.
"MORNING PEACOCK!" Gai bellowed as he threw a punch, expecting a fireball to form from friction alone.
…only for absolutely nothing to happen.
'HUH' the collective witnesses mentally gasped out.
A moment of disbelief was interrupted by a puff of smoke from a summoning.
From the cloud emerged a beautiful peacock, that was clearly tired and annoyed.
Everyone just about questioned it when suddenly it slapped Gai: "GODDAMN IT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS?! IT'S 3 AT NIGHT, SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP, YOU NOISY LOUDMOUTH! IF YOU TRY USING MY POWER BEFORE MORNING AGAIN, I WILL FLAY YOU!" before vanishing in another puff of smoke.
All onlookers, both physical and metaphysical, collectively faceplanted. With some individuals faceplanting so hard that they pulled a scorpion.
Minato, Kushina, and Kurama were especially surprised as they had never seen this before in their lives.
Gai was the only one who remained on his feet. "Strange, never had that happen before outside of training. Well then, TIME FOR THE BACKUP PLAN!"
A particularly brave Snow Ninja rushed at Gai as he said that, only for Gai to grab the fool's wrist, parry their attack, and proceed to one punch the shit out the unfortunate Snow Ninja.
Gai proceeded to brace the ninja against himself, hooking one of their arms around his neck while his other held his torso up.
The Koyuki rescue team was confused by this course of action, as was the Snow Ninjas.
Gai bellowed a loud almost sincere cry of: "GET HELP!"
The Koyuki team was almost in total disbelief of what Gai had done, but were almost floored a second time when a group of Snow Ninja rushed to Gai, speaking almost as loud as the green clad madman: "We're here to help our comrade, thank you for your aid, kind stranger."
Gai almost looked remorseful as he threw his captive at the aid team which plowed them all into the prison door. "YOSH! JUST AS PLANNED!"
The Koyuki team came to a consensus that was unknowingly shared by all observers to the affair as they rushed into the prison. 'Either Gai is a mad genius or a complete moron, and I can't tell which would be better or worse.'
EN: I feel the need to share some hastily assembled history. Over a year ago, Rank and I were discussing how to go about assembling the Snow Arc. I actually copy and pasted the Telegram message log but altered our names because while Rank is fine with having his name out there, I'm not and prefer that he be the only one to know it for now. But here's the log, condensed and so left without some major context to conceal spoilers.
RANK: [5/6/2022 12:38 AM]
And with Gai I think stealth will take a bow in favour a youthful entry into the prison
[5/6/2022 12:39 AM]
Morning Peacock go brrrrr
GBAboy: [5/6/2022 12:44 AM]
Morning Peacock still asleep cause it ain't morning yet
RANK: [5/6/2022 12:45 AM]
Hahahaha
[5/6/2022 12:45 AM]
I guess we should have an omake about it
[5/6/2022 12:46 AM]
Gai launches a morning Peacock at the prison while its still dark
[5/6/2022 12:46 AM]
Nothing happens and a peacock emerges out of thin air and shouts that it's not morning yet!
…And that's the story of how this omake came to be, and a week later the Omake was written in its entirety (minus some editing to bring it to its finalized version) by the (metaphorically) cocaine addled and (quite literally) rabid weasel known as my attention span and internal muse obsessing with it and something else which we might see some time in the future. Well, that's all I got, any last words for the chapter Rank?
A/N: Nothing do add GBA, you summed it up well. I hope you all had a good time reading the chapter. The fights and the mission are far from over, we have some more action coming in soon. Thank you very much for all the love and support. See ya all in the next chapter.
RaNK001 and GBAboy313 out. Cheers and peace.