Noa POV
The old man in the hawk mask disappeared from our sight. I let out a long breath, but Shisui's voice cut through the air with a stern tone. "Do not lower your guard."
I stayed sharp and said, "He is old, injured, and nearly out of chakra. Does it not make sense that he would run?" Shisui shook his head. "He is an experienced shinobi. From how he attacks and adapts, I would say he has been to war before. "In war it is not only about direct combat. Sometimes you win by grinding your enemies down through attrition, and psychological warfare can be just as effective."
I narrowed my eyes as his words resonated with me. I had used similar tactics in my previous life, and I had enjoyed them then, watching an enemy suffer without laying a finger on them, watching them break apart piece by piece and their mind collapse before their body. I pushed that thought away and took a deep breath to calm myself.
I wanted to avenge Daiken sensei, but these enemies were very powerful, too powerful for the current me. However, now I knew what they could do. I could prepare for them next time. From everything I had seen, they were clearly part of some kind of organization.
Thinking of the wind attacks, I realized I had seen those jutsu before, memories from my previous life flashing through my mind. I was close to recalling who used them when Shisui suddenly collapsed with a sharp gasp, his hands covering his eyes as blood stained his palms. The Susanoo around us flickered and vanished at the same moment a vacuum bullet tore through the air toward us. I grabbed Shisui and flickered away, lightning trailing behind me as the bullet struck where we had been a moment earlier, punching a clean hole straight through the trunk of the tree directly behind us.
I stopped some distance away. "Sensei, are you alright?"
Shisui shook his head slowly. "I have used my eyes too much. Opening them again would cause internal damage that might kill me."
I took another breath, forcing myself to think ahead. A vacuum slash barreled toward us. Thankfully, Hawk's jutsu had slowed down slightly, probably because of his injury and low chakra. That gave me just enough time to dodge.
I flickered again, taking Shisui with me, heading back toward the earlier clearing as the vacuum slash tore through multiple trees behind us. Their trunks hit the ground with a heavy impact that shook the earth.
I kept flickering, pushing myself, until I finally reached the clearing and prayed that I had bought us enough time.
I immediately continued carving the seal I had started earlier and said, "Sensei, I will finish a barrier seal soon. I only need you to supply it with chakra since mine is too low. I know you used a lot already, but the little you have left is still much more than what I have."
He nodded. "Just tell me when."
I worked frantically, drawing the seal on the ground with my spear. I pushed more lightning chakra into my brain, forcing my speed and perception higher. The world slowed as I raced through the formula. Through that slow motion I saw a vacuum bullet closing in from our side.
"Now, sensei," I shouted, my voice sounding stretched and distorted in my heightened perception.
I carved the final line. At the same instant, Shisui slammed his hand onto the ground, injecting chakra into the seal. A dome began forming around us, but the bullet was going to hit before the barrier completed. I dropped down and lowered my head. The bullet passed through the space my head had filled a fraction of a second ago and tore into the dirt behind me.
The seal dome finally formed, and I collapsed to the ground. Stormdrive faded, leaving my limbs heavy and weak. I took a shaky breath. "Oh my god, that guy is relentless."
Shisui exhaled. "Yes. Now we are in a tricky situation."
I raised an eyebrow as I rested my head back. "What do you mean, sensei?"
He replied with a worried tone. "Now it becomes an attrition game. I am low on chakra and you are also nearly empty. Maintaining this barrier will drain what I have left while putting pressure on our minds. And he will keep attacking."
Right on cue, a vacuum bullet slammed into the barrier's surface, shaking it violently.
"See," Shisui said calmly, "he will keep using low cost jutsu to push us to the edge while we are forced to maintain the barrier."
I looked around, trying to sense him. "But we are two and he is just one."
Shisui shook his head. "If it were not for the genjutsu I cast on myself, I would have fainted already from the pain and strain I put on my body, eyes, and chakra system. You need to start meditating now. Try to get back as much chakra as possible, and let us hope we outlast him. He still needs some chakra to flee, so we will see where his bottom line is."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, trying to feel the world around me and gather whatever chakra I could.
A vacuum bullet hit the barrier right next to my head. I flinched hard, eyes snapping open. "This piece of shit will not let me meditate in peace, will he?"
Shisui chuckled. "I know your danger sense will keep pulling you out of it, but you need to trust that I will hold the seal active. Try to gain as much chakra as you can. Even a little might be the difference between life and death for us."
"Okay, sensei." I closed my eyes again. Another attack came a moment later, hitting the same spot as before. Shisui's voice came clear and calm. "Keep meditating. Do not worry. I am here."
I smiled faintly and focused. The sound of the random impacts began to fade as I sank deeper into concentration.
Time passed. My chakra slowly returned, though still too low for Stormdrive. Shisui suddenly shook me, his voice strained. "Noa, my self-inflicted genjutsu is about to wear off, and my chakra is too low."
I opened my eyes to see his face twist in pain before he screamed, collapsing as the seal fell apart. I caught him before he hit the ground.
A vacuum slash came from the front, augmented with wind and moving fast. I grabbed the unconscious Shisui and flickered to the side, barely evading it.
Hawk walked into the clearing. His injuries were bandaged, but blood still seeped through. He moved slowly, conserving what chakra he had left.
I wanted to activate Stormdrive, but my chakra reserves were still too low for that. Hawk inhaled, and in the next instant multiple vacuum bullets shot toward me and Shisui. I realized too late that I only had two choices. I could drop Shisui and escape, or I could stay and die trying to protect him. My body locked, my mind froze, and I stared death in the eyes, unable to move an inch when suddenly something crashed in front of us. The ground split as a massive surge of earth rose upward. Earth Release: Earth Style Rampart burst to life, forming a wall so thick it blocked our view completely. The vacuum bullets slammed into it in rapid succession, drilling deep cracks into the stone. The wall trembled, chunks flying off as slicing wind hammered it. For a moment, I thought it would crumble and bury us alive, but it held. Barely, but it held.
A blond man stood between us and the wall, his arms raised, hands trembling under the strain of his jutsu. His breathing was uneven, as if he had sprinted across half the forest. Dirt and leaves clung to his clothes, and sweat streaked down his temples. Despite the exhaustion written all over him, he looked back at us with a calm, steady expression that didn't match the clear strain on his body.
Light blue eyes. Calm and focused. Hair tied back in a short tail. His Leaf headband was tilted slightly to the side.
I recognized what he was right away. A Yamanaka.
He spoke in a tense, worried tone. "Was that a jonin you were fighting?"
I nodded weakly before my legs gave out, and I fell to the ground, my breath heavy and uneven.
Two more figures flickered beside him. One was a Nara, black hair tied lazily back, shadows already spreading across the dirt beneath him as his eyes swept the ruined clearing. Calm, methodical, and sharp. The other was an Akimichi, broader and heavyset, hands glowing faintly with chakra as he took a protective stance.
The Yamanaka said, "You sure are lucky. We would never have found you in a distortion field if we were not given an exact map location. Whoever drew it must be amazing with maps. And to use the emergency Yamanaka Network to contact us, you must know someone powerful in our clan, someone who really likes you."
He looked at me closely, then at Shisui. His eyes widened. "Is that Shisui Uchiha?"
I nodded. His teammates looked back in shock before the Yamanaka exhaled and said, "That explains it."
The Akimichi grinned. "The Hidden Cloud ANBU disappeared as soon as we got here. Must've realized he couldn't fight all three of us. Good thing too, even injured he's still a jonin. We'd probably be dead."
The Nara just shook his head while the Yamanaka smiled faintly. "Let's get you both to safety."
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A/N: We finally reached chapter two hundred. I cannot thank you enough. This story has grown far beyond anything I ever imagined, and it is all because of every single one of you reading right now. I love you all and I am truly grateful for your support in my first ever story. Watching it grow to this point is an incredible feeling I cannot fully describe. You have made my life better with every bit of love you have shown, and I try to give it back with every chance, every comment, and every ounce of effort I pour into this story so you can enjoy it. In short, you are the most awesome readers ever. <3