บท 288: 287-Remove your clothes
Renjiro flickered next to Kakashi, his breath heavy and ragged after their gruelling exchange through the forest. Despite managing to evade A's relentless chase before Renjiro made the gate, the future Raikage's presence loomed over them like an impending storm.
"We should leave," Renjiro said, his voice a low urgency cutting through the tense quiet. His own chest heaved, muscles straining, but there was no time for respite. A was bound to recover soon, Renjiro was not oblivious to his famed durability only second to his father the third Raikage, and they couldn't afford to stay exposed.
Kakashi looked up, his eyes sharp with concern. "How? I don't think what you shadow clones are doing will keep him down for too long," he said, glancing over to where the clone battle continued, "And he could just keep pursuing us. We might end up being caught"
Renjiro clenched his fists, biting back a curse. Kakashi was right; A's resilience was astonishing, and his speed was unlike anything they'd ever encountered.
His mind raced, piecing together strategies as he weighed his remaining chakra reserves. Just then, a thought flashed through his mind, an idea that might just buy them the escape they desperately needed.
He bit his lip, already feeling the strain of his diminished chakra, but there was no other choice.
'This might be our only safe way out of here,' he thought, his resolve hardening.
Without a word, Renjiro made a hand sign, focusing his chakra into a new summoning jutsu. He bit down on his thumb, drawing blood, and then slammed his palm onto the ground with a determined grunt.
The ground shuddered as intricate fūinjutsu marks spread outwards from his hand, darkening the earth in a mesmerizing web of seals. Red and black ink-like tendrils branched out, spiralling across the ground in a dazzling display of ancient symbols that seemed to pulse with Renjiro's chakra.
Each line hummed with energy, binding the earth in a ritualistic pattern that seemed to reach into the very bones of the forest itself.
Kakashi watched in awe, his eyes widening as he took in the spectacle unfolding before him.
'What is he doing?' he wondered, glancing at Renjiro's intense expression.
Just as Kakashi was about to ask, a loud poof sounded, and a billowing cloud of smoke exploded from the seals, enveloping them both in a thick, swirling mist.
Kakashi felt the ground beneath his feet shift, an unsettling sensation that made his stomach lurch as if he were standing on water.
As the smoke began to clear, Kakashi's vision adjusted, and he realized with a jolt that they were no longer on solid ground. A cold breeze whipped around him, sending shivers down his spine as he looked around, confusion etched across his face.
'What… happened? Why am I this high into the air?' he thought, glancing to the side in search of answers.
To his surprise, he found Renjiro beside him, staring downward with a mixture of bewilderment and caution. Following Renjiro's gaze, Kakashi's eyes widened as he took in the sight beneath them.
Glossy black feathers stretched out in a vast expanse, their deep obsidian hue gleaming in the pale moonlight. Kakashi's breath caught in his throat as the realization dawned on him.
'Are those… feathers? Am I on top of a bird?'
Before he could voice his surprise, Renjiro's voice broke the silence. "Who are you?" Renjiro demanded, his gaze hardening as he peered down at the massive avian form beneath them.
When Renjiro had activated his summoning seal, he had expected to see Uno, the youngest of the lightning eagles. But as his chakra field flowed into the creature, he noticed subtle differences — the feathers were sleek and midnight black, unlike Uno's familiar grey feathers streaked with gold.
A sense of unease prickled at him. 'Did Uno change her feathers? It's been a while since I last saw her… but this feels different.'
He sent a pulse of chakra into the creature to confirm his suspicion, and a frown crossed his face. This bird didn't resonate with Uno's presence. If Uno hadn't answered his summoning, then who…?
The feathers rustled as a deep, resonant voice answered, "I am Kamiwari." The voice was rich and calm, carrying a weight of wisdom that made the hairs on the back of Renjiro's neck stand on end.
Renjiro blinked, momentarily at a loss. "Where's Uno?" he asked, a slight edge to his voice.
The massive bird's voice rumbled, a deep bass that seemed to vibrate through their very bones. "She is resting," Kamiwari replied, his tone respectful yet distant, as if he'd been observing Renjiro and Kakashi with a curious detachment.
Renjiro's mind raced. If Uno was resting, how had this unfamiliar bird answered his summoning call? He didn't have the chakra reserves to even think of summoning any other eagle — he was certain of that. The situation left him with a sense of unease.
Just then, from the far distance, Renjiro heard his clone's voice shout, "Rasengan Barrage!" The sound carried through the night air, a fierce battle cry that reverberated across the forest.
Renjiro cringed inwardly; hearing his own voice like that was unsettling, but he knew it was necessary. The signal was clear — they had to leave, now.
Without another word, Renjiro formed a shadow clone. The clone leapt from Kamiwari's back, diving toward the ground below. Meanwhile, Renjiro turned to Kakashi, his expression serious.
"Hold on," he warned, grabbing onto the massive feathers for support as he steadied himself.
"Where to?" Kamiwari asked, his voice smooth yet commanding as he felt the urgency from Renjiro's chakra.
"To the Land of Fire," Renjiro replied, his voice resolute. "Get us back there safely."
Kamiwari gave a solemn nod, and with a mighty beat of his wings, he lifted off into the night sky. The sudden force of the takeoff caught Renjiro and Kakashi off-guard, sending them gripping tightly to the bird's feathers.
The initial ascent was rough, a jarring ascent as the bird surged through the air with powerful wingbeats. But as they gained altitude, the flight steadied, and they found themselves gliding through the cold night air.
Kakashi, finally catching his breath, looked over at Renjiro, his expression both curious and bewildered.
"Your summon?" he asked, his voice laced with uncertainty.
Renjiro glanced at him and shrugged, a faint smirk crossing his lips. "Yeah, something like that."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. For now, all that mattered was their escape.
---
Back where they just left, Renjiro's shadow clone landed with a soft thud on the edge of a jagged cliff. The deep crevice below marked where A had thrown Yano's body. The clone wasted no time, immediately summoning adamantine chains from his body.
The chains glowed faintly in the darkness, wrapping around nearby rocks and stabilizing his descent as he carefully climbed down the cliffside. After a few tense moments, the clone reached the bottom, his gaze settling on Yano's still body sprawled against the rocks.
The sight sent a flicker of discomfort through the clone's expression. Though Renjiro had never been particularly close to Yano, the sight of his broken body stirred something in him.
He knelt down, a dark thought lingering in his mind. 'It'd be valuable to study his body, to understand the Shimura clan's secrets,' he mused, recalling the techniques used by Danzo's clan.
But he knew better, after his ordeal with Ohashi's body, Renjiro had learned that bodies of significant figures like Yano often had protective seals, curses that would punish anyone who attempted to tamper with them.
With a sigh, he withdrew a scroll and unrolled it beside Yano's body, channelling chakra to seal the corpse within the parchment.
'Better to bring him back to the village than risk keeping the body,' he thought, his expression sombre as he stored the scroll safely.
Once done, the clone executed the reverse summoning, feeling the familiar pull of chakra as he appeared on the floating island. He glanced around the sprawling, misty expanse, his gaze landing on the towering figure of Tenjin, his eagle summon.
Tenjin's sharp eyes narrowed as he studied the clone. "What brings you here, Renjiro?"
The clone hesitated, glancing around before speaking. "Who is Kamiwari?" he asked, his voice carrying a note of urgency.
Tenjin chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. "Ah, so you've already met him. He is Uno's mate," Tenjin replied, his tone almost amused.
Renjiro's eyes widened, the news catching him off-guard. 'Uno… has a mate? Isn't she too young for that?' He mulled over the revelation, choosing not to voice his thoughts. He set the scroll containing Yano's body on the ground. "I'll be back for this later," he told Tenjin, before dispelling himself.
---
As Renjiro received the memories from his clone, he finally closed the three gates he had left open as a precaution. A couldn't track them now, and with Kamiwari's speed, they were almost back to Konoha.
Five hours later, dawn broke over the horizon, casting a soft golden light over the village as Renjiro and Kakashi disembarked from Kamiwari a safe distance from Konoha's gates.
They exchanged a glance, silently acknowledging the secrecy required to keep Kamiwari's existence between them. Together, they made their way into the village, heading directly for the ANBU headquarters to report to Jiraiya.
It didn't take them long to locate him, nestled in a quiet, dimly lit room within the ANBU headquarters. Jiraiya looked up as they entered, his face a mixture of relief and concern.
"What happened?" he asked, studying their tired expressions.
Kakashi silently held out the scroll containing Takata's package. Jiraiya's face darkened as he unfurled it and read its contents. Moments later, his expression shifted, his brow furrowing with a grim intensity.
Then, without a word, he looked at the two young shinobi and ordered,
"Remove your clothes."
=====
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