Chapter 22: A Gamble of Luck
Uchiha Kagami did not give chase because he couldn't. Had Biwa Jūzō and the others pressed their attack for just a moment longer, Kagami would have been in grave danger. As it was, twin trails of viscous, black blood streamed from his eyes.
"Is the strain still too great?" he muttered, the golden Susano'o flickering out of existence. He pressed a hand over his aching eyes. The toll on his ocular power had been immense; his vision was already blurring, his eyes unable to sustain the Mangekyō's demand any longer.
The fleeing Swordsmen, meanwhile, were overwhelmed with relief. Who could have imagined Uchiha Kagami possessed such a terrifying technique? Had they not fled when they did, none of them would have survived that colossal skeletal entity.
"Send the intelligence back to the village. Describe everything in detail," Jūzō ordered Fuguki Suikazan, his voice strained.
Fuguki didn't hesitate. He unsealed a scroll and began writing furiously. Once finished, he slammed a palm onto the ground. A small, weasel-like summoning creature appeared. Fuguki handed it the scroll, and with a nod, the creature vanished in a puff of smoke.
As for Akatsurugi, the five Kiri pursuers were closing in. Through his shadow clone's dispersed memories, he knew they were still on his trail. Having gained a significant lead, he used the time to set traps.
Between tree branches, he strung nearly invisible chakra wires connected to explosive tags. He scattered many such small, deadly surprises along his path, hoping to buy precious seconds for his escape.
The series of explosions that echoed behind him confirmed the traps had been triggered. However, his pursuers were elite, likely Jōnin. Killing them with simple traps was a fantasy, but slowing them down was still possible.
His mind, however, was only half on his own escape. The other half was with Uchiha Kagami. How is Sensei faring?
"That Konoha brat is fast, and he's using shadow clones to split up. Should we divide our forces?" one of the Kiri ninja asked, frowning from his perch on a branch.
The team leader, a seasoned Jōnin, wrestled with the decision. Konoha shinobi were notoriously capable. Judging by the brief skirmish, their target was at least Jōnin-level himself. Dividing their force risked being picked off one by one. Even all five of them together had failed to subdue him cleanly. To split up now would be tantamount to suicide.
A Jōnin's life was not so cheap.
"No," the leader decided firmly. "We gamble. We pick a direction. If we catch him, we catch him. If not, we turn back."
With the order given, they consolidated and chased as one unit. Akatsurugi, who had hoped his clones might draw off at least two pursuers, felt a wave of frustration. His plan to isolate and eliminate a smaller group was foiled. One against five remained an unwise proposition. The only option was to keep running.
"Incredible luck! After them!" the Kiri leader laughed, a note of grim triumph in his voice. They'd gambled on one path out of several and seemingly chosen correctly.
Akatsurugi cursed his own misfortune internally. Some luck. The Kiri bastards must have horseshoes up their asses.
Seeing the distance shrink, Akatsurugi felt a growing pressure. Should he create more shadow clones? The chakra drain was significant.
As he debated, a volley of shuriken and kunai whistled through the air from behind him—dozens of them. Dodging laterally would waste time and allow his pursuers to close the gap completely. Not dodging would turn him into a pincushion.
He had no choice. He maintained his forward sprint, twisting and weaving to avoid the worst of the projectiles. For those he couldn't fully evade, he willed parts of his body to transform. Arms, torso, legs—they became intangible flame as the metal weapons passed harmlessly through him.
"What?! Am I seeing things?" a Kiri ninja exclaimed.
The others shook their heads, equally stunned. They had seen it too. The shuriken had phased right through the Konoha ninja's body.
"A Kekkei Genkai? Like the Hōzuki clan's Hydrification?" another ventured.
The group fell into a tense silence. They'd never heard of a similar bloodline limit in Konoha. But the shinobi world was vast and full of mysteries. This discovery elevated Akatsurugi's value—and the urgency of his elimination. A Kekkei Genkai user could not be allowed to mature.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!" Akatsurugi crossed his fingers. Three more copies of himself materialized and bolted in different directions ahead.
"Damn these Konoha clones!" one of the Kiri ninja swore. Telling the real from the fake was notoriously difficult with Konoha's version. A few kunai were thrown experimentally, but the clones nimbly dodged, leaving the pursuers with the same dilemma: split up and risk everything, or stick together and possibly lose him.
"Ah, hell with it!" the leader grumbled, relying once more on sheer luck. They picked a direction and poured on the speed. When the figure ahead didn't dissipate after a considerable distance, the Kiri ninja exchanged looks of disbelief. Was their luck really this insane?
Akatsurugi was cursing every deity he could think of. This unlucky? Are the Kiri cheaters? It's like they have a homing beacon on me!
He refused to believe there was a sensor-type among them. They were too rare to waste on chasing a single Chunin. But luck was a fickle thing. When it turned, it turned completely. He felt the world itself was aligning against him.
"It is fate! Konoha ninja, prepare to die!" the Kiri leader shouted, almost marveling at his own improbable fortune. He made a mental note to visit a gambling den at the first opportunity.
Ignoring the taunt, Akatsurugi crossed his fingers again. "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
Four more Akatsurugis appeared. The Kiri leader was speechless. Again with this shit?! He and his team immediately hurled another storm of shuriken, determined not to let the clones scatter.
Amid the whirling cloud of steel, Akatsurugi and his clones dodged and weaved. Several clones were struck and vanished into puffs of smoke. Akatsurugi grimaced; the Kiri team seemed to have a bottomless supply of weaponry. It was all money, and he was the one running low.
"I can't keep burning chakra like this," he sighed, watching the enemy close the final stretch of distance. His brow furrowed in determination. His hands flew into a long, complex sequence of hand seals as he spun around, running backward.
Seeing the elaborate seal sequence, the Kiri ninja immediately slowed, their expressions turning wary. Two of them began their own seals, preparing water walls to block whatever large-scale technique was coming.
But Akatsurugi said nothing. He completed the final seal, paused for a dramatic half-second... and then turned and resumed his frantic sprint.
The two Kiri ninja who had wasted chakra on defensive jutsu stood baffled, their unfinished water walls collapsing. They had been bluffed.
"He tricked us!" one of them snarled, fury warring with humiliation. The chase resumed, now fueled by a fresh wave of anger.