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Two days later, before sunset, near Kusagakure;
Ryuu and Phoenix slowed their speed and jumped down from the trees as they neared Kusagakure. As they walked towards the guards, Ryuu whispered to Phoenix: "Keep your eyes peeled, I can feel some unusual activity in there."
"Halt, identify yourself." The Guard in front of the village gate shouted as the Duo approached.
"Anbu from Konohagakure," Ryuu stated in a blank tone, making the guard tense a bit. The Konoha Anbu are well-known for their ruthlessness and efficiency. So, he had to tread carefully
"State your business." The guard asked in a much lower tone.
"We have a message for the Kusakage from the Hokage," Ryuu said with the same blank tone.
"You can come in, but you will be escorted to see the Kusakage." The guard said as a group of Kusa shinobi appeared. Ryuu nodded before entering the village along with Phoenix and the escort.
As they walked into the village, Ryuu could feel that their shinobi were in quite the disarray, moving all over the place, with some leaving the village and some returning.
As the group neared the Kusakage building, Ryuu moved his head slowly to look to the side. While that may look ordinary, like him looking around, the Truth is that Ryuu sensed something that almost made him pause.
Ryuu wasn't looking around; he sensed something so familiar to him in that direction. A Chakra signature that had similar properties to his late older sister, Kushina. But what was weird to him his how low that person's Chakra levels were. He could sense that their Chakra capacity is very big, but seems to be running out of Chakra. Along with that, he could sense that the already low Chakra level is getting lower with this person's Chakra being forcibly taken by someone near them.
Ryuu's focus returned to where he was heading as they had just reached the Kusakage building. He made a mental note to check what that was later.
A couple of Minutes later, in the Kusakage's office;
"So, I was told that you had a message for me." Raido the Kusakage said in a calm tone as he looked at the two Konoha Anbu Operatives in front of him.
Ryuu silently retrieved the message from his belt before handing it to Raido, who took it before looking at it for a second, then opened it to read its contents. After a couple of moments, he put the scroll down before getting an empty one and started writing a reply in it.
Ryuu looked at the Kusakage. Even though he is called a Kage, He is no way near the level of the Kage of the five great villages. Ryuu had been in Hiruzen's and A's presence; Raido didn't even come close to their level. From what Ryuu could feel, Raido is a bit stronger than a normal Jonin, almost an elite Jonin, which is impressive strength considering he isn't from any of the great villages.
"Here, pass this to the Hokage along with my greetings," Raido said as he gave Naruto the message he had written.
Ryuu took the scroll and put it in his belt before turning back to the Kusakage and asking: "Is everything alright in Kusa?"
Raido didn't seem surprised by the question as he replied: "Seems to have sensed something going on, but there is no reason to worry, there is just a small issue near Kusa that our shinobi will deal with quickly."
Ryuu looked at him for a second before nodding and saying, "We will take our leave then."
Raido nodded as he watched the two Anbu operatives leave his office.
After they left for a few seconds, Raido's secretary entered.
"Tell our Shinobi to deal with Iwa's infiltration quickly. Konoha already senses something is going on, and I don't want them to know what Iwa is looking for. We acquired our alliance with them with difficulty after what Iwa did in the last war. If Konoha found out what we are keeping from them, it would be trouble." Raido ordered his secretary, who nodded before leaving.
A few minutes later, near Kusagakure;
Ryuu stooped on top of a tree just far enough from Kusa to make them assume that he and Phoenix had left for the land of Fire.
"Is something troubling you?" Phoenix asked
"The Kusakage lied. Something is happening in Kusa that he doesn't want us to know. That, along with the intel about Iwa being in the land of Grass. Something doesn't seem right." Ryuu said
"So what are we going to do now, Buntaicho?" Phoenix asked. She already sensed that there was something fishy happening in Kusa.
"Hokage-sama wants us to figure out what Iwa is doing in the land of grass, and it seems Kusakage knows and wants to cover it up. Tonight, we are infiltrating Kusa to gather intel. There is also a chakra signature that piqued my interest; we will check that out first. Tonight is a moonless night, which will give us an advantage." Ryuu said
"Rules of engagement?" Phoenix asked, but she already knows that this is no longer a regular mission. They are infiltrating an allied nation.
"Don't get spotted or captured. If you get sighted, take them out as quietly as possible." Ryuu said with a blank, cold tone.
A Few Hours later, in Kusagakure;
Night has fallen a couple of hours ago. Stars filled the sky with their sparkle more than usual due to the moon's absence. Darkness filled Kusa and the Forest surrounding it; the only light that could be seen was from the houses and the few light sources on the streets and buildings.
In a very small rundown hut near the edge of Kusa, A frail-looking red-haired woman let out a quiet, tired sigh as she held her sleeping three-year-old daughter while they both lay on an old and worn-out but clean futon.
As she closed her eyes to fall asleep, the only luxury she had in this village, she was dreading what tomorrow would bring.
The flimsy wooden door of the hut was pushed open violently, startling the mother and daughter duo awake.
The woman held her daughter close to her as three Kusa shinobi entered the hut while looking at her. All of them had injuries, but none were critical or needed immediate attention, just some cuts varying in size and bruises.
"We need healing, woman." One of the shinobi shouted while looking at the woman
"C..can't this wait until tomorrow. I am already exhausted from today's work." The woman said weakly with a bit of pleading in her voice.
"You are going to heal us now. This is all your fault. Somehow, your existence was found out by Iwa, and they came looking for you. And now Konoha came knocking, wanting to know what was going on." Another Shinobi said angrily as he glared at the woman.
"You either let us bite you to heal, or we will bite into your daughter." The third shinobi said with a threatening sneer, making the woman's eyes widen in horror.
"I will heal you. Just leave my daughter alone." The woman pleaded as she pulled up her worn-out sleeve, revealing an arm littered with bite marks. She then presented her arm towards the three shinobi.
"Kaa-chan," The little girl called to her mother. Even though she didn't understand most of what was happening, she knew that these bad men were going to hurt her mother.
"Don't worry, Karin-chan. Kaa-san is going to be fine." The woman said with a soft smile while looking at her daughter as one of the shinobi approached her.
Before the shinobi could reach for the woman's arm, three golden glowing chains burst through the already open door and latched tightly onto the necks of the three Shinobi.
"Wha…" was all that one of the shinobi could muster before they were dragged outside of the hut by their necks.
Soon after, the sound of flesh being cut and pierced, along with the sound of cracking bones, was heard. The woman, with her hands on her daughter's ears and eyes, looked at the open door of the hut with surprise, fear, and hope. Those chains, she knew them too well.
A moment later, a figure stepped into the hut. A black-haired man wearing a dragon mask. The golden Chains were retracting before disappearing behind his back. Behind him walked in a brown haired woman with a bird mask.
The mother looked at the man with hope and a bit of fear in her eyes. Hope, because she knew that these chains could only be wielded by one of her clansmen. Fear because she was worried that what if she was wrong, and the man's black hair didn't soothe her fear.
Ryuu stood in front of the woman and her daughter before kneeling to her level and saying in a soft, comforting voice: "I know everything is sudden, but I need you to trust me. I will explain everything, but not here. Time is running out, and we need to leave. Can you trust me?"
The woman looked deeply at Ryuu for a moment before nodding slowly, but deep in her heart, she wished she had made the right choice to trust him. Trust is something so precious and very hard to have, especially in this world where bloodshed and betrayal is everywhere. Even between family members.
Ryuu then stood up and turned to Phoenix before saying, "Carry the little one."
Phoenix reached for Karin, who seemed scared and hid deeper in her mother's embrace.
"Don't worry, sweetie. They are good people, they won't hurt you, and I am coming with you." The woman, Akari, said gently to her daughter.
She then handed her daughter to Phoenix before saying with a pleading voice: "Please take care of her."
"Don't worry," Phoenix said simply as she held the small girl tight, who was looking at her mask with curiosity.
During that time, Ryuu had filled the hut with explosive tags that were hidden from anyone entering before putting a seal near the door that would make the whole hut explode simultaneously whenever anyone entered it.
"Let's go," Ryuu said as he carried Akari before he and Phoenix disappeared in a body flicker along with the mother and daughter not before closing the hut's door.
A few minutes later;
Ryuu and Phoenix have successfully left Kusagakure and are now speeding through the forest towards the land of fire with the mother and daughter duo secured to their backs.
"What now, Buntaicho?" Phoenix asked, she didn't question Ryuu's motive on why they took the mother and daughter. She's pretty sure she knows the reason. They also completed their mission by figuring out what Iwa is doing in the land of grass. The reason is on their backs.
"We will travel until we reach Tanzaku gai, then we will rest there for a bit before moving out again," Ryuu replied, to which Phoenix nodded.
Boooom
Hearing an explosion far in the distance, Akari looked back at the fire that illuminated the sky where Kusa was. She knew that there was no turning back now. She just hopes she made the right choice for her daughter's sake and her own.
To be continued.
Guys and Gals, show me those powerstones.
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I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.
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