Training with Haku was becoming my favorite activity during this war. This was mostly because her Ice Release and my Crystal Release worked in quite similar ways, allowing us to teach each other a lot.
Thankfully, Zabuza stopped the sex jokes quickly, likely due to his focus on helping Haku with Hiramekarei.
In the meantime, I concentrated on performing my Bankai techniques faster. I had a feeling that Zabuza was traumatized the first time he saw Senkei. A massive dome created from thousands of pink-glowing swords that perfectly locked me in a duel with my opponent.
On the other hand, Haku was genuinely curious about my Crystal jutsu, and in exchange, she shared a few of her Ice Release techniques with me. I even attempted to teach her Crystallization, or Iceification in her case.
The name might still need some work.
I was tempted to just call that jutsu 'Logia' and call it a day, but since Hinata already named hers as Lightning Body, I was probably too late.
One thing I learned from Haku was the creation of mirrors and lenses, which I had struggled with earlier. She, on the other hand, could do that quite easily but had trouble because her Ice was much more brittle than my Crystals.
I had a feeling that complete mastery over Ice Release would make it quite similar to my Crystal Release, although it would likely repair itself with chakra instead of growing.
Fortunately for me, I was getting much better at activating my techniques faster, making it viable to try to pull them off in a fight.
—
Almost half of May had passed, meaning that Zabuza and Haku should be hired by Gato in about two months. I wanted to wrap things up before that became a problem; I would hate to have to kill Zabuza for hurting my cute little sister.
The best part about Senkei so far was the ability to weave sealing formulas through the entire dome. My favorite one restricted any outward expression of chakra, effectively forcing pure taijutsu or kenjutsu fights, while inhibiting ninjutsu and genjutsu. I would need to test it against other fuinjutsu and senjutsu, but considering how rare masters of both arts were, I was quite happy with my creation.
I felt ready to take on an army. While it was unfortunate that people had to die, I would rather see the enemy side suffer than mine.
Around this time, Yagura reappeared, less inclined to gloat and more prone to firing Biju bombs at anything that moved. The reason for this was evident to the survivors: Yagura was missing his right arm just above the elbow. It seemed my last attack had injured him almost as badly as his had injured me.
This showed me that I should be able to match him better next time. We both went in blind, but I was now on a more level playing field. I had seen his trump cards, while he had not seen mine yet.
I examined the crystal lens in my hand closely, ensuring it was made to perfection. Allowing myself a small smile, I knew it would help me create many jutsu in the future; unfortunately, I had no time to start experimenting now that I was still in an active warzone.
"What do you think, Haku?" I asked the slightly older girl, who looked at the lens with appreciation as she created her own from Ice for comparison.
"I... think it's good," she pondered while comparing the two. "How's your progress on the mirrors?" she inquired, making me shake my head.
"I couldn't focus on them much... I don't think I'll be remaking your Ice Mirrors any time soon." I chuckled; that jutsu is dangerous. The only downside to it being Haku's hesitation to kill.
Nothing prevented her from launching large Ice jutsu directly from the mirrors. Not to mention, she was almost as fast as my Hirnekyaku when jumping between the mirrors. If she truly wanted someone trapped inside to be dead, there was little they could do. I could see why Zabuza believed Haku was stronger than him, even if I didn't completely agree.
Haku would only be stronger than Zabuza when she stopped holding herself back. She reminded me a lot of Hinata in that aspect. It took me years to get Hinata to stop subconsciously pulling her punches against me, and I was certain she would hold back against enemies when fighting them. I could only hope she would stop holding back if her team was threatened.
"And you? How's your training with the Spike Enclosure?" I asked Haku in return. I had taught her that jutsu as payment for helping me make the lenses.
"Quite good... It's quite gruesome, though," she sighed, and she wasn't wrong.
The spikes absolutely gutted anyone unlucky enough to be hit by them. I had a feeling she would be splitting those spikes into thousands of needles for suppression instead.
It wasn't like Haku never killed, but her morals were clearly stricter than mine; she avoided killing if possible. I, on the other hand, sought a clean end to the fight, no matter the state of my enemy after I was done.
I decided to end our training there, uncertain of when I would be called into action again.
—
"That sword of yours is quite scary, kid," Kurama's voice came through the connection, an astute observation, if I do say so myself.
"Kurama... it's nice to hear from you," I responded with a smile. "I thought you gave up on me after I lost to Yagura."
"I was thinking," came the fox's reply. "Have you felt it? The moment Isobu's chakra made contact with you?" His voice was measured but I could hear the barely contained anger behind it. It seems that Isobu and Yagura might also be under genjutsu in this world.
"Honestly, I was more focused on the pain of having my guts removed... and then immediately fainting," I chuckled as I took a seat inside my tent, ready for Kurama's observations.
"I believe my brother and his jinchuriki are being controlled." He went straight to the point. "The chakra I felt interact with yours had an unnatural flow; it reminded me of—" He stopped himself, but I was pretty sure he was referring to Madara and how it felt to be controlled.
"If they are both under control, I'll probably have to break them out at the same time," I pondered, unsure if that was even possible for me. Both Yagura and Isobu have massive amounts of chakra; the genjutsu powerful enough to control them might be too strong for me to break.
"If you can do it while they are trying to kill you, then yes," Kurama confirmed, much to my mild discomfort.
"Do you think I can?" I asked before I could stop myself, wincing at the question. I had already survived him at his strongest; or at least close to it, and I should have an advantage now that he's missing an arm.
"That, kid, I do not know. But I would appreciate it if you tried." I nodded at his request. Of course, I'd try. It would be the quickest way to end the fight if I was successful.
"I'll see what I can do... just don't blow me up if I have to kill Yagura," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Isobu will reform if you kill his jinchuriki. It may not be a pleasant experience, but he will live, and he will be free," Kurama's answer was pragmatic. However, if I correctly read his tone, he'd prefer it if I could break the genjutsu instead.
—
My conversation with Kurama was cut short by a messenger. Mei wanted to see me, and I had a feeling I'd soon be sent out on missions.
I entered the commander's tent and found Mei looking probably the best I'd seen her. Most likely because, for once, she wasn't returning from a fight against Yagura.
"Yo. Heard you called," I said as I came to a stop before the large table, which displayed a map of the Land of Water.
"You're early. I thought my messanger would have to drag you from training," she chuckled, quickly organizing the few smaller, more detailed maps she had.
"Last day of taking it easy as per doctor's orders," I retorted, but there was no bite in it.
"Good. You'll start proper rotations to the front lines tomorrow." She informed me, finally putting me into the direct combat situation.
"Glad to hear that. Took you long enough," I grinned playfully. It was time to push the front lines.
"To be fair, you were here for five weeks, three of them unconscious," she fired back immediately, and she had a point.
"But now I know you can hold your own... that you can help us win," she conceded, her smile unwavering. She then became more serious and pointed out one of the larger islands in the south that was still contested territory.
"The Daimyo sent his samurai. A large part of his personal army. We are constructing a fallback line on the closest islands, but we need to hold it until we can evacuate," she explained, indicating the smaller islands to the south where new battle lines were being created.
"I see. You're consolidating. That island used to belong to Yagura, so you're not giving up any core territory..." I studied the map, noticing that the front lines were noticeably shrinking, especially in the east and south, getting closer to the main island of the Land of Water.
"Yes. It is much harder to land troops on islands than to take contested territory, and right now, our numbers can't hold that island any longer." she confirmed shortly, although I could see she was annoyed to give up any progress, however minimal it might be.
"Zabuza will be dispatched later today; you will join him tomorrow morning. Between the two of you, holding should be manageable, even against superior numbers," she declared, making me pause for a moment.
Zabuza was already either the second or third strongest member of the rebel forces, if I didn't count myself. Having both of us on the same battlefield would definitely be overkill. Mei clearly wanted the tactical withdrawal to go smoothly.
—
The next morning, I set off towards the frontline by myself. The other reinforcements had been dispatched with Zabuza the previous day; I was held back only because of doctors' orders.
As I approached the frontline, I expected to find it tense. The evacuation of people via naval vessels was ongoing, but the atmosphere in the camp was still charged. When I finally found Zabuza, he seemed dazed, perhaps deep in thought, and he didn't appear to be pleased with the reports he was receiving. It was still difficult to read his expressions.
"Reporting for… whatever this is," I said as I entered the commander's tent, which was more like a hole in the ground in this case.
"Ah, you're here earlier than expected, kid," he replied, not even looking up from the reports.
"That bad, huh..." I commented. He snorted but without any hint of humor.
"The Daimyo is definitely going all-in. From the reports, he's committed over half of his standing forces to Yagura's cause… some twenty thousand samurai." He gripped the paper tightly in his hands. Those numbers were staggering.
While samurai may be weaker than ninja on average, they were still chakra users, even if most only reached genin levels of proficiency.
"That's... a lot," I said, pausing for a moment. "Do you think those samurai will be sent here?" His expression spoke volumes. While they may not send all of them here, even a few thousand genin-level fighters would make the extraction painful.
"Sounds like we'll need to evacuate on foot if that happens..." I pondered, disliking the thought of marching people over open ocean, where ambush could come from any direction. Especially considering Yagura's forces still included Hozuki clan members. An ambush from even a few of them could easily result in heavy casualties among the thousand ninjas we were evacuating.
"Well, I guess your pink razorblades will come in handy," Zabuza shrugged. "But this better go smoothly." He added, making me wince. I was fairly certain he just jinxed the entire operation.
Not to mention that my missions rarely went according to plan, and perhaps my mere presence made them more prone to going wrong.
Night eventually fell over the camp, and nothing of significance occurred during the first day as the slow evacuation began in earnest. The ninjas would run at full speed, about ten kilometers, just to be safe. There, they would be picked up by the ships.
By evening, only around three hundred rebels remained, most of whom would be evacuated early the next morning. I periodically checked for any potential attacks, but as the night grew darker, many chakra signatures entered my passive sensing range.
Most of these signatures were weak, barely stronger than fresh genin, but it was their numbers that posed a problem. This was likely the buildup for a massive offensive. I detected around six hundred chunin-level fighters, maybe two dozen jonin, and I could only guess that over six thousand genin-level signatures were the newly deployed samurai forces.
"Zabuza, better rally the men. We've got company, and it's a big one," I called out to him. He turned to me, glancing at Haku for a moment.
"How big are we talking?" he asked, his brow furrowing as he quickly ordered a general alarm, sending a few ninjas to wake the camp.
"At least six thousand... mostly genin-level contacts. But there are about two dozen jonin and about six hundred chunin too," I reported. If he wanted an accurate headcount, it would take time. Time we might not have.
"Send a call for reinforcements! I want that message sent yesterday!" Zabuza yelled, dispatching a ninja with a hastily scribbled note. "Six thousand? You sure about those numbers, kid?" he sighed, looking equally resigned and eager for a fight. That bloodthirst within him clearly couldn't be quenched by terrible odds alone.
I extended my senses to measure the power of our opponents more accurately, reporting my findings.
"Yeah. There are a few strong chakra signatures among them too, but nothing you can't handle. I'm more concerned about the camp being overrun—" I paused as I sensed the chakra signature of our runner vanish, replaced by a flash of multiple other signatures appearing below the open sea.
"The runner was killed… most likely by Hozuki clan members in the water," I reported. It appeared we would be on our own.
"They probably think this camp still has the full force," one of the other ninjas said, clearly scared.
"That explains the large numbers. Together with the garrison of this island, they'll be easily over eight thousand strong," Zabuza nodded, brandishing his blade.
The numbers made sense; if they believed this camp was housing over two thousand, then attacking with roughly seven thousand while keeping some in reserve was not an overkill. It was intended as insurance for their victory.
The camp fell quiet for a moment, as the fires were extinguished to minimize visibility for our enemies. I had little trouble with this; my observation haki clearly showed me the positions of everything around.
"We can't go down without a fight!" a voice called out from the small garrison that remained. Cheerful shouts soon followed, with the members rallying themselves for what they likely believed would be their last battle.
The chanting then transformed into something more personal, initiated by one of the oldest ninjas present. Gradually, others joined in, their voices, amplified by chakra, resonating throughout the entire camp.
Hold on to water, hide in the mist
Fog walks beside us, on open seas
Wave follows wave, night follows day
All that the sea claims, is ours to take
I listened in and heard some rebels sing a different version of this song. The tempo and tone resembled a strange mix of a rallying cry and a sea shanty.
Raise the tide! Let it rise!
Moon above, salt in our eyes
Raise the tide! Strong and free!
Sons and daughters of the sea
The voices grew louder; this part of the song was almost shouted rather than sung. By this time, nearly the entire camp joined in.
Some bear the heat, some bear the cold
But all hear the waves, calling us home
Gifts of the deep, gifts of the shore
No tide forgets, where it was born
Even Haku joined ifor this verse, and I attempted to keep up as well. But not knowing the words proved to be quite awkward. Nobody seemed to care, though; it's not like we were professional singers anyway.
Blades may grow dull, our bones may break
But morning comes for every wake
Stand with your men, hold to the line
Sea takes us all, in its own time
The voices grew quiet as the somber ending of the song concluded, but it seemed to have greatly boosted morale. Most of the people weren't shaking anymore; they were resolved.
If there truly was no way out, we would have to hold out for the convoy that was supposed to take us home in the morning. Fortunately, we had a few tricks up our sleeves.
The rallying cries continued as ninjas jumped around the outer perimeter of our camp, placing exploding seals and other simple traps. I joined the few who could use Earth Release and helped them create a wide moat.
If we were lucky, the Samurai might not know how to walk on walls, which would slow them down. I wasn't holding out much hope for that outcome, but it kept me busy. I breathed heavily as I thought on my options, eventually deciding not to hold back anything. No matter what, I would get as many of the rebel ninjas home.
It seems that today would confirm to the world that the 'Bloody Blossom' is aiding the Kirigakure rebels.