Ganryu and the rest of the Mist unit had taken out the first watch tower, allowing them to push forwards into open territory that would have otherwise been treacherous to attempt if the Stone ninja had gotten sight of them, having a great vantage point to use their earth style from and trap or kill any force that came their way.
Not only would they have a great position to hold their own from, but they would also be able to send word of an attack to the other's watch towers and back to the higher-ups to coordinate a counterattack.
The unit soon reached the second watch tower that found itself in a similar position, high up on the cliffside overlooking the forest below. However, this time there was no clearing for them to worry about, meaning they could keep moving while the second squad would able to take out the security in the tower.
"Second squad, I'll leave this to you," Ganryu said, turning to a few of the more experienced chunin he had selected for this mission.
"Of course, sir." One of them said, taking his unit and breaking away from the main group.
"The rest of us keep moving towards the camp," Ganryu said, giving Kogetsu a nod before he too broke off, following the second unit to the next watch tower.
Kimimaro and the others watched as Kogetsu and his squad grew smaller and disappeared into the distance heading towards the second watch tower.
"Those Iwa bastards don't stand a chance," Koyuki said, knowing that Kogetsu would kill them all with ease.
"Yeah, those guards were only low-level shinobi anyway," Chika said.
"Don't let your guard down just yet, there could be any number of scouts or hidden units along the border trying to do exactly the same as us," Kujira said, actually making sense for once.
"Wow... That was pretty smart for you." Chika said, getting a frown from him and a chuckle from the others.
The group carried on pressing forwards through the forest and trees that lined the border of the cliffs of the land of Earth, coming ever closer towards the base camp that they were due to target.
Ganryu and the Mist forces had been sent to clear both watch towers along the border and head south towards the checkpoint. Kakashi and the Leaf forces had been sent southeast before turning west to head towards the checkpoint, while Hisen and the Waterfall units were moving in a straight line towards the camp. This way all three units would meet up around the same time, covering all angles of direction and giving them the greatest chance of at least one of them making it if another force was held up for any reason.
Suddenly Ganryu came to a halt, forcing the rest of the platoon to do the same, not sure as to what he reason was.
"What's wrong sir?" One of the older chunin asked, not seeing the reason he had stopped.
Ganryu was quiet for a moment before he spoke, feeling a tingle running down his spine.
"I just got a bad feeling all of a sudden," Ganryu replied, keeping on guard as he watched the area carefully.
Haku and the others who were towards the rear got word of what was happening and also made sure to keep an eye out and be on their guard, keeping the rear of the platoon safe from attack.
"Can you see anything?" Kimimaro asked Haku, knowing he was better at this than he was.
"No... Nothing..." Haku replied, not sensing anything out of the ordinary.
Ganryu felt the tingle in his spine fade away and seemed to relax just a little before he stood t his full height.
"Let's move." He said, getting a nod from the others before they followed him, dashing through the trees again.
"Looks like it was nothing," Kujira said, jumping off a branch towards the next tree.
"Maybe, but we should keep our guard up and plan for the worst," Rokuro said, knowing that if Ganryu felt uneasy then something must be off.
"It's not far now until we reach the checkpoint, we should be running into the other squads soon enough." Haku then said, getting a nod from the others.
"I wonder if they had any trouble..." Rokuro then said.
Meanwhile, Kakashi and the rest of the hidden Leaf platoon had been heading southeast before reaching their first checkpoint without issue.
Now they were due to head west towards the end goal where they would meet up with the Mist and Waterfall troops to carry out the mission.
Kakashi had been leading his unit and was positioned at the front of the platoon as the leader.
Kakashi was an expert tracker ninja, and specialized in many other forms, having proved that he was a very capable shinobi time and time again.
Being placed on this mission by Fugaku, the fifth Hokage had come as a surprise to him, however, he was not one to question missions that he was given by the higher-ups of the village.
Still, Kakashi had to wonder why he was the only Jonin-level ninja that had been sent on this mission, knowing that the Leaf had others that could have been sent to carry out such a critical mission as this one.
Kakashi was snapped out of his thoughts as his sense of fear suddenly kicked in, urging him to duck all of a sudden as a large sword passed over his head, instead cutting down the man who had been next to him.
"Attack, defensive positions!" Kakashi yelled, quickly jumping back as the unit behind him dashed forwards to attack, launching ninjutsu and attacking with projectiles. As had been the plan in case they came under attack from the front.
However, all of their attacks had been in vein, being slapped to the side and countered with ease before the assault unit was cut down, forcing the others to watch as their mangled bodies dropped to the ground.
"Who the hell are these guys!" One of the hidden Leaf ninja asked as he watched from the rear, seeing that a large number of their shinobi had been cut down and killed as if they were children.
"This isn't good... Those cloaks... They belong to the Akatsuki." Kakashi said, looking at both of the men standing before them already having his Sharingan out and ready.
"These bunch of wimps aren't even worth my time!" Zabuza yelled as he stuck his sword into the ground, resting his arm on the hilt of it.
Kakashi was able to get a better look at who the two of them were, recognizing one of them in an instant, but not being sure who the other was.
"That is Zabuza, a former member of the Mist village..." Kakashi said, having heard the stories of him before.
"Whatever, just don't get in my way otherwise I will kill you," Kakuzu said as he held his wrist, having a menacing look on his face from under his mask.
"I would love to see you try," Zabuza said, pointing his sword at Kakuzu in an instant, challenging him to try.
kakuzu looked him in the eyes for a moment before turning away as if he didn't care.
"Killing you would only cause me trouble anyway. Our leader has given us this mission and we will see it through." He said, not acting as he normally would due to the seriousness that Pain had placed on them.
Zabuza slowly lowered his sword before placing it over his shoulder and turning to face the Leaf shinobi again, seeing the scared look on their faces before he finally laid eyes on kakashi.
"Now there is someone worthy of fighting," Zabuza said, a smile forming on his face as he said it.
"This isn't good... These two, these two are stronger than me." kakashi said to himself, knowing they didn't stand a chance alone.
"You had better stay out of this Kakuzu. That one is mine." Zabuza said, not giving him the time of day to even look at him.
Kakuzu also recognized Kakashi and knew he was worth quite a price in the bingo book.
"Very well, just make sure to leave his body intact so we can cash him in," Kakuzu said, crossing his arms over his chest before Zabuza started walking off towards the Leaf forces.
"Besides, I could use some new samples for my collection." Kakuzu then said, looking at the rest of the cattle before them.
"Zabuza... The demon of the Mist..." Another of the Chunin said, also recognising who he was as he started walking towards them.
"Kakashi, sir. What should we do?" He then asked.
Kakashi took a moment to think about it, not really sure himself.
"I have no choice... I will hold him off so the rest of you can run for it. There is no way we can take these two on for very long." He then said, getting a surprised look from the other Chunin around him.
"But sir, there are only two of them." Another Leaf ninja said, not understanding the situation.
"Very well... we don't have any other choice. Back me up!" Kakashi said, quickly pulling out a kunai and spinning it in his hand before taking a fighting stance.
"Yes, sir!" The Chunin said as they did the same, drawing their own weapons as they prepared to fight.
"So you are going to fight?" Zabuza said, almost chucking to himself before he grew serious.
"Very well, let the fun begin!"
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That's the end of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and yes I'm sorry for the cliff hanger.
But Kakashi vs Zabuza needs it own chapter haha.
Have a great day and thank you for supporting the story!