Kapitel 31: The Promise of Death and Mayhem

At the center square, Hiruzen ordered them to create a defensive line. Their job was to dig in and hold on, hopefully allowing some of those of still hadn't shown up a bit more time to arrive before they evacuated.

However, while it did allow time for their comrades to reach them, it also allowed the enemy time to do the same. And with Kagero and Sunagakure's superior numbers, if Hiruzen misjudged their window of escape, all of them could end up dead.

By Hiruzen's command, they'd split up into three circular defensive formations. Hiruzen took control of one of them and ordered Akata and Jiraiya to take charge of the remaining two.

The idea was to move independently from each other and split the enemy's attention amongst them, and if one of them were ganged up upon, one of the others under less pressure would provide help as needed.

It was a defensive strategy that favored continued mobility to avoid getting pinned down by long-range jutsu's. Solo escapades weren't encouraged.

Well versed on the battlefield, Akata led Fuzen, Koda, and the other shinobi made part of her circle through the weakest points of the enemy's formations. A job which got increasingly harder as minutes ticked by, and Kagero Village and Sunagakure shinobi got a better handle on the situation.

"Argh... No, don't leave me! Help!" One guy to Fuzen's right had a surprise meeting with two hands coming up from the ground, which dragged him down into the earth until only his head was exposed. Like this, he was rendered unable to move.

"Don't stop! Continue onward," Akata dissuaded any notion of helping him. "It's already too late for him."

An earthshattering crash sounded behind.

Turning to see, Fuzen agreed. Yup, definitely too late. There's no coming back from a pulverized head.

A giant block-like hammer made of condensed iron sand had popped his head right open. As the iron construct lifted itself back up, a bloody gooey paste of crushed bones and brain matter stuck to it.

Having noticed the Kazekage's arrival, Hiruzen relented and gave the signal for them to retreat.

With difficulty, Akata managed to reunite them with the other groups led by Hiruzen and Jiraiya so they could form a united front on their way out. Contrary to expectation, their collective numbers hadn't increased at all. Even though the occasional straggler did manage to reach the center square and join up, even more, died battling it out to buy time.

"It's time! Follow my lead! Akata and Jiraiya, watch our rear. If anyone of them pursues, keep them at a distance," Hiruzen said.

Doing as told, both of them fell to the back. Without being told to do so, Fuzen naturally followed. It'd be such a shame if anything happened to Akata's glorious ass before he'd had the chance to enjoy it. A woman like her, with a body like that, deserved to get pleasured by him at least once.

With the Hokage leading the charge together with four of his shadow clones, casting a whirlwind of fire, wind, lightning, water, and earth jutsus, enemy shinobi either had the choice of getting out of the way willingly or stay and get obliterated.

A natural prodigy hailed as a God of Shinobi, Hiruzen going all out while still in his prime, was no joke, Fuzen was impressed.

Not stopping for anything, they reached the outer wall of Kagero Village in no time.

Only a couple of enraged Kagero affiliated shinobi attempted to pursue them beyond that point, past the dark swirling mass of sand surrounding Kagero Village. Blinded by their rage, Akata dealt with them without a problem.

"Oi! Friendly advice. You should stop leering at her ass, Jiraiya. It's unbecoming and very ungentlemanlike. I honestly expected more from someone who's the student of Hiruzen," Fuzen shook his head in disappointment. "Not to mention, as you can see, she's quite experienced with shurikenjutsu. So, trust me when I say this, she's dangerous if you're not careful."

"A feisty one, eh? I don't mind a lady with a little attitude," Jiraiya winked at him.

Fuzen shook his head. "Even if they try to slice off your precious joystick?"

"My what you say?"

Fuzen wiggled his pinky so he'd hopefully understand.

"Ohh... Oh," Jiraiya nodded in troubled understanding. With a wary eye, he watched as Akata returned from her most recent appointment with one of their pursuers, both kunai she held were dripping with freshly spilled blood.

"I think that should be the last of our pursuers," Akata said. "Unless they've someone very skilled in tracking, by now, we should also be beyond the range of any of their sensors."

Behind them in the far distance through the canopies of trees, the sand dome preventing him from teleporting inside was barely visible.

They'd made it.

------------

Following their successful assault Kagero Village, exposing the citizens to the horrors of what a war against the Land of Fire would entail, the Land of Mountains was eventually persuaded to change their minds following peace talks held between the Hokage, Kazekage, and a couple of the surviving high standing members of Kagero Village.

There's something about the promise of more death and mayhem that always makes people reconsider their choices.

To illustrate their change of heart, and demonstrate they no longer had any interest in allying with the Land of Wind and engage in direct warfare with Konohagakure, an entourage of Kagero shinobi armed with weapons escorted the deployed shinobi from Sunagakure out of the village. They were no longer welcome inside.

Sunagakure's willingness to retreat without further confrontation or struggle was motivated by the promised safe return of Pakura, the Third Kazekage's student.

When they'd retreated far enough away from Kagero Village, Hiruzen had tasked Fuzen with delivering Pakura to them.

Linking Pakura's shadow together with his own, Fuzen enveloped them in dark cloaks, and with a small squeak from her, they melted into the ground and disappeared.

Locating the Sunagakure party led by the Kazekage was simple enough. Especially now that the Kazekage wasn't hiding his chakra profile anymore. From within his realm of darkness, Fuzen floated through the mysterious space following their chakra trail, and soon enough, he found himself hovering beneath their shadows.

While he could exit right within their midst, it didn't seem like the best of ideas. Instead, he chose a place further down the path they were traveling on and rematerialized there.

As he and Pakura exited, Pakura wobbled a bit before she regained her sense of balance. "Woah, what he hell did you just do? Where are we?"

With hands tied behind her back, she looked around with wary eyes trying to decipher where he'd taken her.

"I moved us from where we were before, to here. Obviously... Though, where here is, I'm honestly not too sure about."

A sensor-nin amongst the Sunagakure party had probably already noticed them, so instead of hiding, he went out into the open with Pakura in front of him.

"Wait, hold on. You're saying you can use space-time ninjutsu?"

"Your words, not mine," he shrugged. "Now, shush! Your Kazekage and his goonies have arrived. GO!" He gave her ass a light slap to send her along.

After a couple of steps forward, she stopped and turned to face him. Her intense glare made it seem like she was trying to see past the Anbu mask he was wearing. "Next time, I'll get you for all this. I promise. I will not less this indignity stand unpunished."

"Sheesh, you'll have to get in line for that. And the ass slap was for good luck only. No need to get offended."

She did not look convinced.

Seemingly unconcerned with an ambush, the Kazekage glided closer and closer on a wave of iron sand.

He was a tall man of fair complexion. With his almost eerily indifferent expression, short messy dark-blue hair, and narrow yellow eyes, he did stand out a bit. And unlike last time where he'd been disguised as a typical jonin from Sungakure, this time he wore the full official Kazekage attire with a white haori, and a pale blue full-length kimono tied using a sash.

However, once the Kazekage got close enough and noticed who'd brought him Pakura, his indifferent look saw a quick change as it shifted to one promising an unhealthy amount of violence.

Recognizing a man out for blood, Fuzen decided it was time to leave. "Aight, that's it for me. I'm outta here. Tell your Kazekage I've had fun. I'm sure we'll continue this another time."

Before the Kazekage ever got close enough to attempt anything funny, Fuzen had already teleported his ass back to Hiruzen and the others.