บท 8: Chapter 8

The forest was quiet, the only thing that could be heard was the rapid beating of Sumari's heart. She was hidden in a tree trying to remain as still as possible. Straining her senses to their limit she tried to locate the position of the enemy stone ninja.

It had been but a few hours after Ashidon had left when Sumari and the others noticed a large force making its way towards them. Sumari quickly had the others scatter and remain out of sight. Despite this however the enemy were hot on their tails.

No matter what they did the enemy would find them, and every time they did, Sumari and the others would run. This game of cat and mouse had been going on for three full days now, and they were nearing their limit.

'I must buy as much time as I can. Just a little longer and we'll have reinforcements.' Sumari thought, not stopping in her scan of the area. The other members of her squad were at her back and they too thought the same thing.

At the very edge of her range she felt the chakra signatures of two squads. She quickly made some hand gestures before they moved. They leapt from tree to tree, constantly scanning the area for any threats. They ran for half an hour before coming to a rest. Sumari was exhausted, her legs wobbled when she landed on a branch. Resting her hand on the tree to steady herself she looked at the others.

They too appeared as drained as she did, but she forced herself to her feet. The captain left her in charge and she didn't want to disappoint him. "Rest for now, we move again at twenty."

The others nodded and fell back, as if their legs were waiting for this command. Sumari, despite reaching her limits, remained vigilant. She leaned against a tree and closed her eyes but her senses were in constant alertness. 'Damn, why did this have to happen? Come to think of it, who's to say the captain wasn't attacked by another group. There's so much I don't know, all I can do is focus on the orders given.'

At this point her legs began trembling uncontrollably, whether it was fear or exhaustion she didn't know. All she could do was push on and maybe Ashidon would return with reinforcements in time. That thought alone kept her on her feet, it gave her hope.

"Earth style, rising spike jutsu!"

Sumari's eyes shot open at the sudden shout, she had dozed off, dropping her guard and allowing the enemy to move in unnoticed. It took a moment for her mind to catch up, yet her body was slow to respond. From beneath her a spike of earth rose up aiming to run her through. She watched the spike get closer and closer to her, it moved slowly to her, the entire world did and all she could do was watch.

'Is this the end? Is this where I die?'

Just before the spike could pearce her chest an unseen hand pulled her back. The spike shot past her as she fell onto her back. Beside her stood a crow and it simply watched her. Sumari of course could not see the creature but quickly realized what had happened.

Quickly getting to her feet she spread her senses identifying two squads surrounding her. She frantically searched for her comrades and breathed a sigh of relief when she found them to still be living. But her relief was dashed when the enemy began their assault.

"Earth style, rising stone pillars jutsu!"

"Earth style, mud wall jutsu!"

"Earth style, great mud river!"

The enemy stone nin fired off consecutive jutsus in an attempt to capture Sumari and the others. Stone pillars rose up behind them while the space between each pillar was filled with a wall of mud. Completely boxed in with only one way out, forward, the final jutsu came into effect. A massive wave of mud descended on the group.

"Earth style, mud wall jutsu!" One of Sumari's group acted quickly creating a wall in an attempt to block the coming tide. It worked but this left the group completely surrounded on all sides. Seeing this, the stone nin attacked.

"Earth style, bedrock coffin jutsu!" Six stone nin used the same jutsu to create a more potent effect. The walls of stone surrounding Sumari and her team crumbled and rushed towards them. The ground beneath their feet broke apart causing them to lose their footing. The ruble crashed down upon them while the earth swallowed them before crushing them.

Or so it seemed, with a puff of smoke the three appeared in the trees. They had used a substitution jutsu to make their escape. But that simple act left them barely able to stand. Sumari nearly fell to her knees before she bit her lip, drawing blood and regaining control of her body.

"Run!" she ordered and they ran as fast as they could. Kunei were thrown at their backs but they were batted aside by an unseen hand. They ran for hours but they lacked the strength to break free from their pursuers. No matter how hard they pushed the enemy would easily catch up.

Sumari looked at her team and saw the strain on their faces. The open mouths, the heavy breathing bordering on an asthma attack. She knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be caught. Closing her eyes she made her decision. "Well go to that alcove, it'll provide cover for our flank while we deal with the enemy before us."

The others nodded and they vered towards the alcove in question. Once there they turned to face the stone nin, weapons drawn. They were prepared to die, they had fought long enough. What followed was what could only be described as wounded animals fighting to the death. Despite the stone nin having the numbers advantage, Sumari and her team fought tooth and nail. Attacks that would have landed were mysteriously brushed aside, or Sumari and her team would suddenly be pushed aside, out of the way of a fatal attack.

Before Ashidon left he left a crow for each of them, his orders were to keep them alive. The crows were doing what they were ordered to do, they never attacked, only defended. If there was a threat to their charges then they would intervene, but that was all. They never pressed the attack, until now.

Sumari was caught out of position and failed to react to a coordinated attack. From her feet six stone spikes shot up to impale her, but she was pushed aside by a crow. However, this left the crow in the same position Sumari was in and the spikes ran it through. The crow was impaled, the spike ripping through its body, wisps of its black body fell off and before it could free itself the enemy acted. For they could not see the crow, but at this point they were aware of the presence of something protecting them.

They threw multiple kunai with paper bombs atatched to the ends. They struck true and the explosion destroyed the crow. The other crows stopped and eyed the spot their kin had perished. The battlefield came to a halt, as if everyone could sense the tension. The two remaining crows threw their heads back and screeched.

Their cry carried rage, rage at the humans who dared to kill one of their own, but there was also sadness in their as well. Most shocking of all however was the fact that with their cry, the two crows became visible to all present. It seemed that with this cry they had unintentionally revealed themselves to the world.

Everyone present eyed the crows, some starred in undisguised fascination, while others looked on in horror. Unseen by those present however was the fact that the crows began absorbing the souls of those who had been slain. When they had finished gouging themselves they expanded, but it appeared unnatural as their bodies appeared to tear at the seams. As if they could not contain the excess power.

Lowering their heads, the crows moved. They shot forward with such speed that the first of their victims couldn't react. Each crow tore the head and destroyed the bodies of the stone nin. This brought the enemy out of their shock and what followed was a bloody battle.

At the end the two crows were destroyed but not before taking over half the stone nin with them. Sumari and her team could only stand and watch, they had finally reached their limit and could only remain standing. The stone nin, having collected themselves, refocused on the three leaf ninja who had caused them so much trouble. They moved in for the kill.

Sumari smiled and closed her eyes. 'I tried my best captain, it's all up to you now.'

She dropped her kunai and it seemed to fall slowly. So too did the movements of the stone nin seem to be slowed, as if the world had held its breath in this final moment. But as the kunai hit the ground, Ashidon appeared before his team and faced the enemy nin with barely contained rage. His eyes glowed a deathly green to the point that they stood out from his skull. They could be seen from around his skin and face as if he was becoming transparent.

His building rage was like a white light and he could hear a steady ringing in his ears. Raising his hands, he spoke. "The murder has arrived."

With his words countless crows made themselves visible. Tens of them stood in the trees, around Ashidon and behind the enemy stone nin. And directly on either side of him, his two black ghosts stood.

The cry of rage that echoed from their collective beaks froze the stone nin in absolute terror.