Chapter 85
Where was he? He didn't know.
Where were they? He didn't know.
All he knew was that he was tired. Sweat drenched his clothes; it wasn't even warm. And the moment he stopped moving, he could feel the chill settle within him. But he couldn't stop sweating, as every bit of energy he had was burned away as he ran.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He was only here on behalf of his village. All they had to do was just loiter around and make themselves a nuisance to Kusagakure. They told them that once the Konoha shinobi showed up, they should get into a disagreement with them, and that's it.
That damn Iwagakure. He couldn't even believe that he trusted those scumbags. At first, he thought, like everyone else in his village, that they got lucky. But now they realized that they were inserting themselves into a fight that they had no right to be in.
Those bastards were using them. He should have realized it; no, it wasn't his job to do so. It was his leader who should have realized that fucking with Konoha wasn't something they ever should have done.
Yet, they couldn't refuse Iwa's deals. The support they would give them was worth more than five years of their budget. And it wasn't just money, but also connections and other deals that were offered to them. All of it was just to get a bit roundy with Konoha.
They were only tree huggers, after all? After the Third Hokage took over the power once again, all he did was try to make peace offers to every village. He heard how he forgave Suna after what they did and how much he sacrificed to keep peace with Kumo. They were toothless tigers. Right?
Out of the thirteen that were with him, only he was left now. Because those damn tree huggers took the rest of them. They were no toothless tigers; they were monsters. There was no disagreement with them. Once they confirmed who they were, it was all over.
"Huff! Huff!"
It was hard to breathe. The border should be closed, right? He didn't think he had it in himself to run any further. But just remembering how the rest of his team got taken out made his legs move. What was it again? Oh, right, because they attacked what they thought were bandits.
It wasn't their fault; they didn't even have time to explain themselves. All they did was take a job, like they always did. They took jobs from Kusagakure at a cheaper rate and literally invaded their land. But they didn't hurt any of their shinobi.
It sure worked nicely as they planned. They were told that they had to get Konoha involved in this. And they did. And now they were fucked. It must have been a trap. Konoha saw right through Iwa, and now the weaker ones paid the price.
Before they realized it, their team leader had been taken out. Then they quickly realized that there was no reasoning with those damn masked shinobi, nor was there any fighting them. They were just little ants compared to these monsters.
So, they ran. The Land of Earth was not that far away. If they could cross the border, they would be safe. The moment they entered the woods, they realized that there was little chance of their escaping.
They ran. They weren't some children. They didn't trip over their feet even when they were afraid and panicking. They were fast, as the elites of their village should be; there was no way they would be slow. So why? Why could they not outrun them?
They didn't even notice when one of them was just gone. They didn't have time to look for him or even think about what happened to him. He was gone. That was all they knew, and that was all they needed to know to keep running.
But every time they turned their head back to check on the ones behind them, another one of them would be gone. Without a sound. They just vanished into thin air, lost among the trees. It shouldn't even be possible for any of them not to see or hear anything.
They were elites, trained to watch their backs every three seconds to the point that it was ingrained in them. So how could it be that a dozen of them missed one of them being whisked away? And after missing the first one, they were even more careful. More alert. More ready. And yet now he was alone.
Where were they?
Where was he?
Was he closer to the border? Or were they closer to him? He was the second in command. An elite, the prodigy that his village was so damn proud of. Now he knew he was just a big frog in a small well.
"Fuck! Come out and fight me!" He wanted to cry, but he had to settle for screaming, holding on to at least this much of his dignity. "Damn you all!"
He should have told his crush about his feelings. Somehow, that was all he was thinking about right now. His legs moved, but he knew he was done for. He could feel the cold emitted from those damn monsters. The cold stares followed him; he was sure of it.
And the only thing he could think of was how sweet it would have been if he had told his crush about his feelings. He only regretted that. He was going to die without even being able to know what it felt like to kiss the girl he loved.
He always told himself that he would confess to her when he got promoted. Well, he was now a Jonin. One of the youngest in the history of his village. Respected by everyone, even the leader of his village. He fought life-and-death battles countless times, and yet he was still somehow terrified to confess his feelings.
And now he could only imagine how sweet her lips must have tasted. How warm and gentle her hands would be. How happy he would be if he were held by her. He could have thought about it all in his last moments, but he could only imagine it all now.
"Come on! Let's dance, you damn bastards!"
He didn't know where he was. At some point, his legs gave up, and he fell to the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet, but he knew it was too late. So he screamed at the shadows surrounding him.
His eyes moved from one shadow to another. He spat out the bile that had risen through his throat. Even if he were to die today, so be it. He would die cursing them all. Iwa and Konoha, he didn't care. He would not stop cursing them both, even after he breathed his last.
"Hahaha." But all he could do was laugh as slowly white masks appeared within those shadows.
How many were there? He had no idea. They were demons. Monsters that emerged from darkness. And he was just a child who fell into a nightmare. He couldn't even move, no matter how much bravado he gave off.
He didn't even see their bodies, still hidden within the shadows. All he had to see were those damn masks. The eyes staring at him weren't those of human beings. They glinted red. And every time he met those red eyes, a chill ran through his body. Like he was seeing death itself in them.
But for some reason, they didn't approach him any further. They just stood there, watching him menacingly. His legs, which had already given out, were still shaking. He didn't even know if it was from tiredness or fear.
"Stop right here; you are in the Land of Earth." A group of dozens of Iwagakure shinobi suddenly showed up and stood before him and the Konoha masked shinobi. "You have no right to come any further, Konoha's fools."
He almost spat out a curse as the Iwa shinobi looked down on the masked shinobi and even insulted them. Those idiots had no idea what they were dealing with. Still, hearing that he somehow managed to cross the border and was now safe made him relax for the first time in what felt like eternity.
Yet just as his heart felt lighter, he could only swallow the reality before his eyes as one of those masked shinobi stepped forward. His steps were slow, deliberate. With each step he took, his heart sank deeper into his stomach as he realized that this masked shinobi was coming for him.
"I said stop right here!" The Iwagakure shinobi were already preparing hand signs and readying to fight.
But they didn't. They suddenly stopped moving. Every single one of them. As the masked shinobi got closer and closer. He could even see the Iwagakure shinobi before him sweat, but they couldn't move or say a word as the masked man was now right before him.
A demon. He was a demon with those damn red eyes. And he couldn't do anything as the masked shinobi's hand rose, and then the demon's finger was put on his forehead. He was pushed to the ground, and then it was over.
With a blink of his eyes, all of the masked shinobi were gone. The Iwa shinobi were as confused as he was as they looked around with terrified eyes, but found nothing. Oh, he now realized what had happened. He didn't escape; he was let go.
…
Hiruzen looked at the shinobi who came from Iwagakure. He introduced himself as Natsu, a Jonin. He at first came in all arrogant and proud, holding his head high and having a smirk on his face, but now he stood before Hiruzen in silence, who did nothing but stare back at the young shinobi.
For five minutes, they stared at each other. Hiruzen had no idea what was going on. He was waiting for this shinobi to tell him why he came into his village, but he just stayed silent after introducing himself.
Now this shinobi was nothing but a puddle of sweat. And Hiruzen just continued to smoke his pipe, completely relaxed in his chair, already forgetting about the fidgeting shinobi before him and thinking how it would be nice to have some snacks.
If only he could get drunk, it would be amazing with some alcohol. His mind was filled with how it would be nice with beer, especially with tempura, as it perfectly complemented that juicy seafood covered in a thin layer of batter and then fried. Still, he missed getting drunk when he thought about it.
"Ahem." Hiruzen was brought back to reality when Shizune came in. "Hokage-sama, there is a report of our shinobi's whereabouts. As it is written here, not a single shinobi has crossed into the Land of Earth."
What was she even talking about? Why would any of his shinobi need to cross into another country? After all, most of his forces were cleaning up the house. But Shizune's words seemed to have angered Natsu, who seemed to have snapped back to reality, too.
"Bullshit, we saw it with our own eyes. There is no mistaking the Sharingan from the Uchiha clan. You made a mistake by not covering their eyes as you covered their faces. They crossed the borders illegally. This is nothing but a breach of the peace treaty!"
"What are you talking about?" Hiruzen had no idea what he was on about. "Do you have any proof of it?"
"Proof? Don't kid yourselves, we know what you have done, and you will answer for it!"
"You know what we did?" Hiruzen tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Well, it isn't about what you know, but what you can prove. So, if you have nothing to show, then I suggest you go home, child."
"You can't expect us to stay silent with such an answer; this will…" Yet, even though he said so, he completely shut up when Hiruzen looked into his eyes.
"You say our shinobi came to the Land of Earth, so what did they do?"
"Well, nothing, but…"
"Nothing?" Hiruzen asked. "So, you're suggesting that we would risk our peace for nothing?"
"Well, no, but…"
"But? But will the other villages accept such nonsense? Tell Onoki to come himself next time if he wants to accuse me of something."
Hiruzen pitied the young shinobi. It was clear that Iwagakure had just sent him out here as punishment for failing at some kind of mission or something like that. Again, they were trying something funny with Hiruzen. But those little games didn't bother him much.
"Um, Hokage-sama, how much have you smoked from your pipe today?" After letting the Iwagakure shinobi leave the office, Shizune looked at Hiruzen and asked.
"Hmm, I think probably all day since I had a lot of paperwork to do. Why?"
"Nothing, it's just that your eyes are quite red and scary, so maybe you should stop."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Hiruzen took one more puff from his pipe. "It is probably not great for my health."
And he was getting a bit too hungry to ignore it anymore. After finishing the last bit of his work for the day, he planned to visit the marketplace and find something good to snack on. And maybe he should get ramen; it had been a while since he visited Ichiraku.
He should check in on how Teuchi and his daughter are doing, too. It has been far too long, and just thinking about that girl and what Orochimaru almost did to her made him worried all over again. Hopefully, she was doing fine now.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.