84 Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Long hours went by as Asuma ran, trying to catch up to the rest. Part of him was worried sick; the other part was relieved that he hadn't caught up to them yet. It meant they made a bit of distance from Iwa. But with Choji injured and Kiba in that condition, they wouldn't be able to go much faster. And Asuma still glanced back, waiting for the old man or the Hokage to be running right behind him, but he saw neither.

"What is that?" Asuma asked as he saw a bright light coming from Iwa.

Even when they were a fair distance away, the light was clear to him and the rest. It only lasted for a moment. It must have been quite a jutsu to create something like that, and Asuma hoped for the betterment of his village that it wasn't directed at the Hokage. Losing him now would be a devastating blow to Konoha. A blow they probably wouldn't be able to recover in time to prepare for the war.

"I found them," Torune Aburame said as his insects returned to him. "Let's go; they are close."

Asuma nodded; there was no time to think about something he had little knowledge of. He needed to concentrate on what was in front of him. He was responsible for bringing those children back home, and failure was out of the question. The hardest part would be crossing the border of the Land of Earth.

Shinobi will undoubtedly patrol it, and the patrol will be tighter than ever before. Either way, they would need to break through it, no matter what. Still, Asuma felt confident in doing so. The genin were all talented and strong enough to hold on to their own. And he had Torune Aburame and Fu Yamanaka. As well as Anko and Kurenai.

"How much further?" Asuma asked, as he still couldn't see the rest of the team.

"Right before us," Torune replied, and indeed, a second later, the air changed, and like a veil, it was moved to reveal Kurenai and the rest of them.

"Genjutsu," Asuma could only smile at how brilliant Kurenai was to be able to hide in plain sight. "How is everyone?"

"Fine," Anko replied, but she didn't look fine at all. "Sakura managed to patch Choji up. And he rested for enough time to be able to move on his own. The rest of us are still strong enough to continue, even if Kurenai just spent a bit of her chakra reserves creating genjutsu to hide us. How about you?"

"As you see, I am completely fine," Asuma reassured them as he looked around. "Let me guess, we are at the border."

"See that hill," Kurenai pointed in front of us. "We need to climb over that to reach the Land of Grass."

"And I know for a fact that there is quite a presence of Iwa shinobi in that country," Anko added. "And Kaen had warned all of us not to go near to the Land of Rain."

"Damn it," Asuma didn't know why the Hokage had forbidden them to do anything in the land of Rain, but he wasn't about to question it. "To go through the Land of Waterfalls would take too long. Well, we have no other choice. We will have to break through everything that is awaiting us in the Land of Grass."

Anko nodded in agreement. But even if they had set a course, they needed to prepare a plan for tackling the obstacles before them. There were eleven of them, including the genin. So, the best course of action would be to make a formation. He and Anko were in front as they were more capable of frontal attacks than the rest.

Asuma set Kurenai at the back to hide their tracks and cover them if anyone was following them. Torune and Fu are at the sides as support. At the same time, the children would be in the middle, ready to aid any side but away from danger. It was the best they could come up with right now, and splitting up wasn't an option.

…

The rocky terrain didn't make for easy traverse. And knowing what awaited on top of it didn't make it easier. Torune's expression as his insects returned to him didn't give much relief to Asuma. He wasn't prepared to lose even one of the genin or his comrades. So, he will have to do everything he can to protect them.

"How many?" Asuma asked as Torune kept silent.

"Forty-two," A dozen more than Asuma expected.

"Once we break through, we can't stop moving," Asuma said in the last warning. "Be prepared. Don't stop even if you are tired or are injured. Stopping your movement will be your death."

It was too early for them. This war shouldn't have happened. The children should have learned the ways of the shinobi world bit by bit and not been thrown into it like he was. But he had no time to hesitate and worry about them. They were strong and smart. They would survive and find their place in this world. Asuma's job was to help them on the way.

"Well, big guy," Anko slapped Asuma's shoulder. "Let's do our job."

He took only one last look at the rest of them before nodding to Anko. With his trench knives drawn, Asuma was the first to get over the hill. Surprise was a weapon he had to use to win this battle. Before they could realize they were attacked Asuma would already be in the middle of their ranks. Speed and precision, that was what he was taught.

They were young, some only teenagers, but Asuma couldn't waver, and his knives cut their necks like he did with everyone else. While Asuma was in close-quarters combat, Anko supported him with mid-range attacks. Once their full attention was upon us, Torune moved in, his insects poisoning everyone they could.

"Fuck, fuck. Fuck!" These were the last three words of a young man as Asuma's knife pierced through his eye.

They were close enough to him now. Spitting out ash from his mouth, Asuma gnashed his teeth and the flint in them ignited the ash. It wasn't an instant death. They burned alive, screaming and looking for a way out. A way to survive. But all they found was poison from Torune's insects or kunai from Anko. Maybe they would die faster that way, without too much suffering.

"Fall back! Back to the village!" As the genin joined the fight, the Iwa patrol quickly started to run away.

"Let's go, Asuma," Fu said as he joined him. "It won't be long before they realize that it wasn't them who ordered the retreat."

It was a quick fight, but looking at the genin, he could see how tired they were. They probably never had experienced such a brutal reality of the shinobi world, no matter how much they were taught it. Seeing it firsthand is a different experience entirely. Asuma still remembered the first time he learned how easy it was to kill someone and how easy it was to be killed.

"Kurenai, cover our backs, we getting out of here."

Kurenai nodded, and the rest of them returned to their formation before running into the Land of Grass. The sooner they get to the Land of Fire, the sooner they will be safe. The question was whether the Iwa and Kumo shinobi would continue to chase them even in the Land of Fire. The war had already begun, and there were no bounds they would not cross to achieve their goals.

…

Asuma's chakra was running low. They were barely able to enter the Land of Grass, but there were already too many Iwa shinobi stationed there. The whole night, they had to fight them off. One group after another. They were lucky the groups weren't bigger than twenty shinobi; otherwise, they might have already experienced casualties.

"How are you, Ino?" Asuma asked as Sakura cleaned the stab wound that Ino received.

"I am fine, sensei," She was lying; the wound was quite deep, and even with Sakura's and Hinata's use of medical ninjutsu, Ino lost some blood. "You should worry about Tenten."

Asuma looked at the burn Tenten received. They barely managed to save her left eye, but the scar on her face was permanent. Choji was by her side, and the boy was devastated; since he had barely recovered from his fight with Kiba, he couldn't do much but watch as his friends were injured. Kiba felt guilty, too, as he was the one who injured Choji.

"Torune, how is the situation?"

"There is no safe path," Torune replied with a sigh. "Whatever path we will take, shinobi are waiting for us."

"Damn it all to hell," Asuma was frustrated and tired, but he understood that the Village Hidden in Grass was helping Iwa; otherwise, Iwa wouldn't have such a force in this country. "Kurenai, how long can you last?"

"An hour at most," Kurenai said, hiding them with her genjutsu so they could treat their injuries. "I am sorry that I can't be of more use."

"No, you've already done more than we could expect," Asuma meant it; without Kurenai, they wouldn't have lasted this long. "Anko, how are you?"

"Tired," Anko replied. "But I am still capable of fighting."

"We need to consider using another strategy," Fu said from the sidelines. "The best course of action would be for a few of us to lure Iwa shinobi away while the rest escape."

"I can do it," Asuma didn't like how fast Kiba was considering sacrificing his life. "I am fast, and if I use my transformation jutsu, I will gather the most attention."

"No," Asuma quickly shot him down. "We will only consider it as our last option. And if that comes to be, it won't be you, Kiba, who will stay behind."

Realistically, Asuma knew that he could only take on another group of shinobi, and that was all. He knew he might need to decide to stay behind, but he alone wouldn't be enough, and he didn't like the idea of someone else staying behind with him. Even though they had won one battle after another so far, he never felt so defeated before.

In the grand scheme, they barely touched the bottom barrel of Iwa's shinobi forces. And there weren't any experts, just patrol shinobi. If not for Torune and Fu, they wouldn't have lasted long. Torune was able to find optimal paths, and his poison was instrumental in many battles. Fu's cunning and quick thinking saved them multiple times.

"Asuma, we don't have much time; we need to move," Torune warned them, and Asuma cursed, as it meant that more of these bastards were coming for them. "We have fifteen minutes before they reach our destination."

"We have no other choice then," Asuma said, looking at the moon hanging by its lonesome. "We will move in the fastest route. I don't care that it might be the riskiest one."

If it were his last fight, he would at least make sure that they were as close to home as possible. Anko nodded in agreement, and Genin gathered their wits and weapons and prepared, too. Kurenai, probably even more exhausted than the rest of them, released her genjutsu. With everyone prepared, they moved.

Too bad they no longer had an element of surprise, as Iwa was now organized in hunting them down. They couldn't catch them by surprise any longer, but at least they could strike first. With Torune and Hinata with them, they knew exactly where the enemy was and how many of them there were. Giving them a slight advantage, even if the enemy knew of them too.

"Here they are," Anko commended as they neared the group of shinobi running in their direction.

"Kurenai," she nodded. Then, quickly using one of her many genjutsu, she hid the genin, not to protect them but to let them strike unnoticed by the enemy. "Fu, Ino."

The two Yamanaka quickly entered the minds of two shinobi in the enemy group and controlled their bodies to stab their comrades before killing themselves. Once they entered the range, Asuma's group unleashed volleys of kunai and shuriken at them. Walls of earth blocked them. But that gave Hinata the opportunity to use her bow as she could still see through the wall.

Her arrows were as sharp as they were deadly. She saw through the weaker parts of the wall and pierced them, hitting a few shinobi. Tenten threw one of her scrolls over the wall and unleashed the weapons inside them at the enemy from above, luring them out of their hiding. Before they could make a counterattack, a few of them were captured by Anko's snakes and Torune's insects.

"Asuma-sensei!" Hinata yelled out. "Beneath us!"

Asuma only then felt faint vibrations coming from underground. He didn't have time to react as an earth pillar hit him, sending him tumbling into the air. Still, he refused to fall so easily; flipping in the air, he landed on his feet. The rest of the team was not faring any better. They were hit from above and below with earth jutsu.

"Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder."

Asuma had no other option but to use his ultimate jutsu to regain the advantage in their favor. Even as he felt the last drops of his chakra disappearing, he let out a furry of golden arms on the enemy. Crushing their earth defenses and bodies and at the same time protecting the rest of the team. Asuma could only sustain it for a minute, but it was enough to devastate half of the enemy group.

"Shit!" As Asuma collapsed on his knee and the team took control of the fight, he heard Torune curse. "More are coming."

Shit indeed. Asuma could only smile at their predicament. He looked proud of Choji as even in his weakened state, he fought against Iwa shinobi and protected Tenten. Sakura, who Asuma thought was the weakest link, expertly supported the others and made sure to keep an eye on them. Kiba fought like a beast without fear, with Akamaru by his side.

Ino used the poison she made to weaken the enemy. Hinata fought side by side with others, using her gentle fist to protect her comrades. Looking at them fighting so fearlessly, Asuma couldn't just give up. He took the Military Rations Pill that Choji gifted him and chucked a handful of them. He knew that the damage he would receive from it would probably end his career as a shinobi even if he came out of there alive.

As energy returned to him, he concentrated his wind chakra on his knives, Asuma jumped at the enemy. He needed to finish his fast before the effects of the pills ended. He was in a frenzy as he cut the enemy, never stopping moving, never stopping the killing. In seconds, he finished a dozen of them, giving his genin a chance to regroup. But it was not over; as Torune had said, more of the enemy were coming.

"Torune, Fu, you stay with me," Asuma said with breathless voice. "Kurenai, Anko. Go, take the children home."

"I'm sorry, but I'm too tired to run," Anko replied as he took her position next to Asuma.

"It is an order," Asuma wouldn't have it.

"Yeah? Well, too bad, I only follow orders coming from the Hokage."

"Sensei?" Choji looked devasted as he knew that he had taken the pills.

"Loss is part of being a shinobi," Asuma said, giving his student one last smile. "I know you are all strong enough to handle it. Kurenai, take them!"

"Hinata, lead the way," Kurenai bit her lip as she took one last look at Asuma before using her genjutsu to hide herself and the genin.

"If you are given a chance, you have to retreat, Asuma," Fu said as he looked at the approaching enemy. "Of all of us, you are the only one who has the highest priority."

"What are you doing?" Asuma asked as he saw some kind of a seal activating under Fu's eyes.

"Our jobs," Seals also appeared on Torune's arms.

Before the enemy came, Asuma looked in shock as six of them turned their weapons and turned to their comrades. While the enemy was distracted by their comrades, countless insects descended upon them. Asuma looked as if Fu was bleeding from his eyes, nose, and ears, sustaining his jutsu. Then Torune's arms burst into insects at flew at the enemy.

"Idiots," Anko said, but she also joined their recklessness by using the rest of her chakra to summon a giant snake. "Finish them off for us, Asuma."

"Heh, with pleasure," Asuma replied as Fu and Torune collapsed to the ground, and Anko barely held herself kneeling.

Jumping in front of them, Asuma blew as big an ash cloud as he could at the enemy. Once the giant snake cleared out of the way, he ignited it, burning the enemy. He knew it would not be over, as he saw many used earth walls to shield themselves, but Asuma wasn't done anyway. His golden hands turned red in furry as they broke through the opponent's defenses.

"Let's go, you shitstains," Asuma rushed into their ranks to finish the last remnants of them. His knives went dull from cutting their flesh and bone. But at last, he finished them all. While Asuma could still feel the effects of the pills, he thought of taking Anko and running, but that wasn't meant to be. He could see more and more coming.

"Common," Asuma said, taking his last cigarette. He wanted to taste it for one last time as a few dozen Iwa shinobi were coming at him.

He bought some time for Kurenai. He didn't know how much, but about ten to twenty minutes. It should be enough of a head start to reach the Land of Fire, but he guessed five more minutes wouldn't be too bad. As ash from his cigarette fell to the ground and Anko's summon disappeared in a cloud of smoke, Asuma prepared for his last stance.

But two shadows went past him from his back. They were fast, and Asuma didn't even realize when they came. A beast with three wolf heads crashed into the Iwa group and devoured them, while another figure ran through them, leaving limbs and heads flying into the air. All Asuma cared about was that they were on his side, and he succeeded in his mission.