17 Chapter 16

Chapter 16

It was agonizing to wait and do nothing. Utakata and his team were in position, laying low and waiting for the enemy to leave their post and attack the shinobi of the Mist. Once they were lured away, they would move to take the fortress. Utakata felt restless. So many things could go wrong, but he had no control over them. He had to lay low and wait.

There were more of the Cloud Shinobi than they had expected. The Mist forces were outnumbered at least three to one. They had to hide in the distance, away from the Cloud sensors, and plan a way to attack. Mist didn't retreat, or they couldn't. Everyone knew it would be a hard battle, and most of them wouldn't make it, but Mist didn't accept retreat or surrender.

Utakata sensed everything around him. He could feel dozens of shinobi guarding the fortress and a dozen shinobi more inside the fortress. There were quite a few behind the fortress, too. The defenses were tight but not unbreakable. Utakata was sure that they could do it. But it will come at a price.

When the shinobi from the Mist determined their attack plan, they shot out at the enemy. Utakata didn't watch the battle but used his senses to see when the battle was dragged away from the fortress. Everything was going according to plan. The Cloud shinobi were distracted and focused on the bait.

Yet, Utakata knew it would not be enough. He felt the Mist shinobi dying out fast, and they couldn't drag the Cloud shinobi far. But still, the Cloud was concentrating on the Mist shinobi, not expecting anything. Maybe their commander wasn't very experienced or didn't think much of the Mist. He has sent most men away from the fortress to attack the Mist.

"We are moving out," Utakata's commander said as he saw a path left for them.

Speed was essential for this mission. They had to go in before the enemies outside realized their existence. Utakata and his team were briefed on it many times, and now the situation was even more perilous. There was no room for failure. Especially for Utakata, he had to prove himself to the village. Show that they didn't make a mistake by creating him a jinchuriki.

They moved as fast as they could. Before the shinobi inside the fortress realized they had come, the Mist commander burst through the gates, attacking them with powerful water jutsu. The rest followed soon, using everything they had to kill their enemies as fast as possible. Utakata didn't know any powerful jutsu, but he used his tanto knives and steel wire to trap one shinobi before cutting him apart.

"Three minutes," The commander said. "Take explosive tags and set this fortress ablaze."

Utakata could already feel shinobi approaching from a distance, so he knew that those three minutes were a generous offer. He took his explosive tags and quickly placed them around the base of the buildings. Nobody bothered to look for an excellent place to place the tags; with the number of tags they had, the fortress would go down anyway.

As soon as the three minutes were up, Utakata didn't waste time and ran out of the fortress with half of the explosive tags still in his hands. Everyone thought the same as Utakata, as they soon gathered outside the fortress, and the enemy was approaching fast. The Mist shinobi didn't hold them back for as much as they wanted, but they had to work with what they had. There wasn't much of the Mist shinobi left after these few minutes.

"Seal release," Commander made a hand sign and called, soon after the fortress blew up, and the mission succeeded.

As the blinding light descended upon everyone around the fortress, Utakata used it to attack a few of the closest Cloud shinobi. In five seconds the explosion gave him, Utakata managed to at least knock out a few shinobi by using Rapid Fire Garp jutsu, for he knew that now every Cloud Shinobi would attack them. But Utakata knew it would only buy him a few seconds.

Utakata could feel about a hundred shinobi around him, preparing to take revenge on them for destroying their fortress. The Mist shinobi didn't need to wait for the Commander's order to turn back and flee. After all, their mission wasn't to kill them but to destroy the fortress. And with the mission successful, they had no reason to stay here any longer.

Utakata ran with the others as fast as he could. He could feel Cloud Shinobi going after them and Mist Shinobi dying behind him. Utakata should have expected that this mission would go this badly.  It was a valuable fortress for the Cloud. Of course, they would have more shinobi around it than usual. There was no way a mission he was sent to would be a simple one.

…

Utakata could barely breathe. He managed to gain some distance by using steel wires behind him to stop the Cloud shinobi, even for a bit. But he was running out of it. Still, he managed to escape them far enough not to be able to sense them, so for a bit, he was fine. He could rest and continue to retreat to the Land of the Water. At least the mission was a success.

"We are all going to die," One of the last seven shinobi from the Mist left said. "The Commander is gone. We will follow soon after him."

Utakata wished he could ignore them, but they were loud. His commander died, knowing they would all die if someone didn't stay behind to hold the enemy back. The commander knew that there wasn't anyone willing or strong enough to stay behind, so he did it himself. It was a logical decision, and he didn't seem to care if he lived or not.

"Shut it, you damn pleb," Utakata recognized Kazaki's voice, the boy who annoyed him in the boat to the Land of Lightning. "If anyone is going to die, it is you, not me. I will not die."

Amateurs. Utakata could tell that all of them were inexperienced and unfit for such a mission. It was clear that Utakata should have failed the mission. Someone who didn't like him has given him the task. With wrong information, inexperience, and foolish teammates, the mission was in jeopardy from the beginning. Yet someone had put him on this mission, and Utakata could guess why.

"Hey! You monster," Kazaki turned to Utakata. "Someone must stay behind to hold the Cloud back for us to leave. Who is better than a monster like you to do it?"

Utataka concentrated on his senses but couldn't sense anyone close. They still had time, but he could tell that most of them were exhausted and lost hope. The pressure was too much for them. The Cloud would catch up to them sooner rather than later. Kazaki was right; someone had to stay behind and ward the enemy off.

"I remember you," Utakata replied. "You are the kid I sliced the eye off in the academy."

"You saying you have forgotten me?" Kazaki was enraged.

"Of course, I would," Utakata replied calmly. "It had been years since the academy. I haven't thought about you since I left for my first mission. But you haven't forgotten about me. You kept thinking about me like some loser."

"What?" Kazaki didn't take Utakata's words well. "How dare you call me a loser? You are nothing. A no-name low life that was made a monster. Without the six tails inside you, you have nothing. Your life means nothing. You should be happy to sacrifice yourself for someone like me."

"But my life means something to you, as you can't forget me and think about me even after all those years."

"How could I forget you after what you have done to me?" Utakata knew that Kazaki was just a kid who knew nothing. "It is time for you to repay for what you have done!"

"What have I done?" Utakata asked, seeing Kazaki was about to attack him. "I took your eye, yes. It was probably painful, wasn't it? But in return, I gave you a lesson. A lesson to not screw with me."

Before Kazaki could do anything, Utakata moved. Utakata hit Kazaki's neck with his hand. As Kazaki tried to counterattack with a kunai in his hand, Utakata took his hand and twisted it, making Kazaki drop his weapon. Utakata didn't stop yet. He kicked out Kazaki's leg before stepping hard on his ankle. Everyone heard a loud crunch as Kazaki's ankle broke.

"Stop it!" Kazaki's two friends came before Utakata to interfere with him.

"Good, I thought one wouldn't be enough," Utakata said as he quickly knocked them next to Kazaki. "This is real life, boys. Your clan means nothing. Your name means nothing. What matters in this world is your skill and strength. While I don't have a clan or a name, none of you have any skills. I have been on plenty of missions and killed plenty of shinobi to know that you amount to nothing, Kazaki."

"You pay for this," Kazaki said through gritted teeth.

"No, I won't. You will be forgotten. Nobody will even ask what happened to you. No one will care that you died today."

"What do you mean?" Utakata could see that Kazaki had realized what would happen to him but still couldn't believe it.

"We need someone to stay behind," Utakata replied.

Taking all the steel wire he had left, Utakata took Kazaki and his friends and tied them to a tree next to each other. Then Utakata started placing the explosive tags he had left from the mission around the area. He ensured they were hidden well and couldn't be discovered with a simple glance. Then he tied his steel wire so the enemy would trip on it when they realized what had happened to them.

"Stop it! It will kill us, too," Kazaki said.

"Then you better warn them before it is too late," Utakata covered Kazaki's and his friend's mouths.

Unbeknownst to them, Utakata used explosive tags to cover their mouths. Utakata knew that Kazaki would try to warn the enemy as he didn't want to die. So, when the enemy rips the tag from his mouth, it will explode, creating a chain explosion. Utakata was sure the enemy would be curious why some Mist shinobi were tied up like this.

"I would advise you to forget what you saw here," Utakata then turned to the rest of the shinobi, who stood shocked. "If the village finds out about it, you will all be killed because you didn't stop me. But I am a jinchuriki, so they won't be able to kill me, at least for a while. So, if you want to survive and keep living, let's go and remember Kazaki as a hero who decided to stay behind and protect us while we ran away."

Utakata could tell that the rest of the shinobi, with him, understood what he meant, and they didn't care about Kazaki or his friends enough to stop him. They seemed even more relieved by Utakata's actions and followed him as he ran towards the Land of the Water. Utakata was proud of his plan and hoped the trap would get some of the cloud shinobi.

It might not be able to kill many, but Utakata wanted to injure them more than to kill them. If the Cloud shinobi have too many injured, they might have to retreat to try to save them. If they died, it would only anger the survivors more. They would have more reason not to give up on the chase and try to kill them.

After Utakata and the rest of the survivors got a fair distance, they stopped as they heard a loud explosion. Turning back, they could see a portion of the forest burning. Smoke was reaching the clouds from the fire. Utakata smiled and continued to run. Utakata hoped it was good enough and had bought them enough time to escape.

Utakata didn't want to take a mission like this again, but knowing Mist, it would happen again and again. And he couldn't fail, as it would mean his death, but the more he succeeded in those kinds of missions, the more he would get them. It would never stop, and Utakata could do nothing about it.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.