章 81: Chapter 80
Chapter 80
Asuma sighed as Choji fell. He had improved a lot in the past half-year. The shy boy, who didn't even like fighting, was becoming more and more like a man who would do anything to protect his friends. After Shikamaru left the village, it put Choji under a lot of pressure. He wanted to join Shikamaru and fight with him, so he concentrated on training and got better since then.
Of course, six months was not nearly enough time to reach the goals Choji set for himself. And now, Choji has once again been shown his limits. Asuma knew that the butterfly form was still too much for Choji, but he also knew that if Asuma didn't let Choji do his best, he would regret it later. Choji had to see the end of his abilities.
"It was a good fight," Kurenai said, trying to console Asuma, but she couldn't hide her happiness at her team member's victory.
"For the last time, oh, forget it," Asuma wanted to remind her that Kiba was the Fifth Hokage's student, not hers, but seeing her so proud, he couldn't bring himself to say it. "I should check on Choji before Ino's match begins."
"I will see how bad Kiba's injuries are, too," Kurenai said. She was also worried about her team.
As the next match began, with Kurotsuchi and Fuu, Asuma stepped through the crowd. The stands were packed with people, and it wasn't easy to get through them. So, it took some time to reach the resting room for the genin. But when they did reach it, Asuma didn't expect to see quite a few shinobi guarding it.
Asuma wasn't used to Iwakagure's rules and the way they did things. It might have been troublesome if the participants were going to get at each other's throats after their match, but it still made Asuma uneasy to see them looking after the genin. He dismissed it for now but made sure to keep them in his mind.
Kiba was mostly fine as he was quickly bandaged and checked if he didn't have any more serious internal injuries by the medic on the standby. Choji, on the other hand, was pale and very thin. As Asuma thought, Choji had pushed himself too much. It would take time for him to recover. But he didn't look too disappointed in his loss.
"No smoking in this area," The medic warned Asuma as he was about to light a cigarette.
"Urgh," Asuma grumbled as he put down his cigarette back into the pack. "Fine. How are they?"
"They are mostly fine, this one only…" The medic didn't finish her words before a snake bit her neck, and she passed out.
"Calm down," Asuma already had his weapons drawn when Anko entered the resting room. "It is good I found you so quickly. We are leaving."
"Leaving?" Kurenai asked, confused but trusting in her friend.
"All of this was a trap," Anko replied as she went out of the resting room to drag the dead bodies of the guards back in. "Iwa and Kumo are working together. The Hokage ordered for us to secure the genin and leave."
"What?" Kiba was completely confused as he dressed up. "What does any of that mean?"
"It means that Iwa and Kumo have an army hidden inside the village and will use it against us," Anko tried to explain as quickly as possible. "Get ready. We need to escape before it is too late."
"Fuck," Asuma wasn't prepared to hear that. "Kurenai, get the genin. Use your genjutsu to trick anyone that will try to stop you. I will secure the retreat route. We don't have time to waste. Kiba, help Choji; he is in no condition to do anything. Remember don't get any attention on yourself and move quickly."
"What about…"
"Don't worry about him," Anko answered before Kiba could finish. "He can take care of himself. As shinobi of Konoha, we must follow his orders."
Asuma hoped that Anko was right and the Fifth Hokage could handle himself. Even if he wasn't the biggest fan of Kaen Uchiha, Asuma respected his strength and the way he was strengthening the village. It seems that the Fifth Hokage's new hospitals and bunkers will come in handy for what Iwa and Kumo are planning to do.
…
"Sorry about that," Asuma said as he put another shinobi against the wall after knocking him out.
There was no need to kill them yet. They were just guards, and if anyone discovered them, they would spend time trying to wake them up and questioning what happened rather than hunting them down. Asuma and Anko waited for Kurenai and the genin once they secured the exit out of the arena. Finally, Asuma could take a smoke.
"But why would Iwa and Kumo do this?" Kiba asked, still unsure of what to think about Anko's explanation. "Does this mean we are at war?"
"Yes," Anko didn't sugarcoat it. "They wanted to capture us from the very beginning, which is why we were invited to the Chunin exams."
"But why?" Kiba asked again, not able to think straight.
"They wanted hostages," Asuma told him. "You are all heirs to your respectful clans. They thought they could use you against Konoha. And more importantly, they wanted the Fifth Hokage. I should have tried to investigate the village more. If I had seen what you did, Anko, everything could have been avoided."
"I'm not so sure about that," Anko replied as she looked around the area one last time. "They have hidden quite well. Probably only the higher-ups and those joining the forces knew about Iwa's plan. They had their eyes on you the moment you came to this village. If you were discovered snooping around, there is a little chance you could have escaped them."
That might have been true, but Asuma still thought that he should have done more. He just could have never expected something like this to happen. It was one thing to declare war against Konoha so blatantly and another for Iwa and Kumo to join hands. Has Orochimaru distracted them so much that they had not been able to see this coming? Or did Iwa and Kumo hide it so well?
"We here," Kurenai finally arrived with the rest of the genin. "I put the other genin in genjutsu. They don't even know that we are gone. But it is only a matter of time before others discover our absence."
"Good," Asuma finished his smoke as he turned to look at the genin. "The situation is bad. We are in a foreign and hostile village. Our only mission is to escape. If we must fight, we must do it quickly and without exhausting too much of our energy. This is the real deal. We don't have time for you to question what or why things are happening. You are only to follow our orders and don't question them. If you understand, let's move."
With everyone nodding their heads, Asuma led them out of the village. Choji and Kiba were out of commission; Choji could barely move, and Kiba was injured and tired already. So, Asuma could count only on four genin. Still, having Hinata with them was a blessing. With her eyes, she quickly determined if the path was safe or if they should avoid it.
They made quick progress without causing any commotion. With Kurenai genjutsu, they were able to trick any shinobi that came upon them. But luck was a finite thing, and sooner rather than later, it would run out. In the end, when they were about to reach the gates and didn't have any other way to get out, they were stopped. Even with Hinata's warning, it was unavoidable.
"Isn't it too early for you to leave?" Samui from Kumo, with a dozen Iwakagure shinobi, stood in their path.
"Asuma-sensei, more are coming from behind," Hinata warned them.
"We have urgent orders to return home," Asuma said as he lit a cigarette. "I don't see why you should stop us."
"You know well why," Samui replied as she drew her tanto sword.
Asuma sighed, knowing he couldn't avoid a fight now. He had heard a few things about Samui. She was a close confidant of the Fourth Raikage and very skilled in kenjutsu. And the rest of Iwagakure shinobi didn't look like pushovers. It wouldn't be a simple fight, but he couldn't drag it either, as more of them were coming to stop them from leaving.
"Kurenai, Anko, take the genin with you." Asuma had no choice but to stay behind and hold them off while the rest of them escaped. "When I give you a signal, go past them."
"Do you think I will let that happen?" Samui didn't seem to intend to let any of them escape.
"You will have no choice but to let it happen," Asuma replied as he took the last poof of the smoke as his cigarette crumbled into ash. "Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning"
Asuma spewed a stream of chakra-infused gunpowder from his mouth, which surrounded the area. Since the gunpowder was composed entirely of ash, it stayed in the air around them like a cloud, which Asuma used as a smokescreen. Kurenai and Anko quickly used it to lead the genin out of the village. While the Iwagakure shinobi quickly made their way out of the ash as fast as possible.
Samui was the first one to go after Asuma's head. Her tanto was next to Asuma's neck when he blocked her blade with his knives. Her strength has surpassed Asuma's expectations, but it was nothing compared to Kisame's. Asuma could easily push her back and dodge the attacks from the other shinobi surrounding him.
"Leave him to me. Go after the children," Samui ordered as she tried to pressure Asuma.
"I don't think so."
While the trail of ash was still coming from Asuma, he gnashed his teeth, creating a spark that followed the trail of ash. The smokescreen he created to hide Kurenai and the others turned into fire. It wasn't strong enough fire to harm anyone, but it was enough to halt the pursuers in their tracks. A few more seconds were all that was needed for Kurenai and the rest to escape through the gates.
"Tch," Samui motioned her arm for some of the shinobi to follow them. "They won't get far."
"They will be fine," Asuma replied as he continued to exchange blows with Samui.
Asuma believed that Kurenai and Anko were more than capable of taking care of anything that might come their way. As long as Asuma could hold off most of the Iwakagure and Kumokagure shinobi from following them, there was nothing to worry about. Asuma's exchange with Samui was interrupted by an explosion coming from the arena and then the soon-following commotion.
"Aren't you concerned about your Hokage?" Samui asked, trying to get under Asuma's skin. "He is done for since you left him all alone."
"If I were you, I would be more concerned about your Raikage," Asuma simply smiled back at Samui's comment. "Don't get me wrong. I don't particularly like him, like most of my comrades. But anyone who knows him knows that it is better not to fuck with him. And you and your village just managed to do that. Now, you will pay the price for it."
"Sister!" The reinforcements came in from behind Asuma; too bad they weren't here to help him.
Samui's team was quite skilled with their swords, and the teamwork wasn't bad either. It was already a bit difficult to deal with them and Samui, but he also had to hold back the rest of the shinobi from passing by him. He was in quite a pickle, as he didn't see a way he would get out of this situation unscathed. And he just started dating Kurenai—what a bummer.
"Finish him quickly," Samui instructed, as she knew what Asuma was after.
But Asuma wasn't going to let them do as they wished, so he infused his wind chakra into his trench knives. He didn't need to kill them; injuring them was even better since they would have to choose to help the injured first or pursue Konoha shinobi. But to make it more difficult for them, Asuma was sure to make them bleed.
Firstly, he caught Omoi's long sword between his knives, and exerting a bit of strength, he broke the blade in half. As Omoi backed off and Karui came to cover him, Asuma kicked the still descending half of a blade straight into Karui's shoulder. Before Atsui or Samui could retrieve her from danger, Asuma pushed his chakra through his blades and swung them.
It was the second part of his plan to create a stream of wind from his knives. Since he needed to do it fast to injure the kids, he didn't use too much power. But it was enough to leave nasty gashes and left Atsui and Karui bleeding. It was their fault for trying to flirt with my students. Asuma was sure they would be reminded of this when they tried something similar next time.
"Lightning Release: Lightning rain jutsu."
As expected from someone of Samui's standing, she was able to create multiple lightning bolts quickly that flew directly at Asuma. But she was unlucky since he specialized in wind ninjutsu. Asuma was her worst opponent, and he proved it by creating a gale of wind that neutralized the lightning. Yet, Asuma didn't have time to enjoy his small victory as a pillar from the ground smashed at him.
Rolling on the ground, Asuma tried to negate as much damage as he could. The lightning was just a distraction, and he should have known better not to take notice of the rest of the shinobi who had surrounded him. It seemed that he would have to skip a few steps in his plans and go straight to the end. If he survives this, he will have to make sure to thank Chiriku for teaching him this ninjutsu.
"Omoi?" Yet before Asuma made a move, Omoi stabbed Samui in her back with his half-broken sword.
"It isn't Omoi," Omoi replied as he swept Samui's legs, knocking her to the ground before rushing at the other shinobi surrounding Asuma.
"We don't have much time," Asuma was surprised to hear a voice in his head. "I am using mind possession to create an opportunity. There is no meaning to fight them here. Our priority is to return to Konoha."
"Ahh!" The Iwakagure shinobi started to fall to the ground as their skin turned purple.
Asuma looked as insects left their bodies and returned to the culprit. Asuma looked at three ANBU members who came with Kaen. He was happy to see them but, at the same time, worried that they weren't with the Hokage. But he didn't have time to worry about that and had to move since he had a chance to do so.
"Someone has to cover our backs." Asuma still knew that they were outnumbered and that more shinobi would come to stop them.
"The younglings should worry about themselves," The ANBU with the monkey mask said. "I started my service under your father. Do me a favor and tell him that I won't be happy if I see him any time soon. Oh, and tell that arrogant kid of our Hokage that he better kick their asses and make them regret scheming something like this against us."
"Won't at least you tell me your name?" Asuma asked, as he knew him since he was a little kid, but never was able to learn his name.
"Codename Monkey."
Asuma could only sigh as he left with the other two ANBU members. He had no time to argue. Every second was important. The three of them used all their strength to reach maximum speed. The sooner they left the Land of Earth, the better their chances were of returning to Konoha. As they made a fair distance from Iwagakure, Asuma stopped for a moment and looked back as an explosion shook the ground. A pillar of fire and smoke reached the sky from the direction of the gates. Biting his lip, Asuma continued fleeing.
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