The mission was aimed at destroying a enemy supply point. It was expected to be vulnerable because a nearby base would be attacked at the same time, leaving few ninja to defend it. It turned out to be a big lie: there were over 30 ninja, and at least 5 or 8 were Chunin.
If we hadn't entered their territory to escape, used -Shadow Clones- to distract and eliminated a couple of Genin quietly, we'd be dead. Good thing we all knew the -Jutsu: Chakra Suppression-, as it was a requirement for the mission.
Even if the sensor ninjas didn't detect us, we couldn't stay here for long. I tried to think of options, but I couldn't think of any.
I fell asleep and woke up with the movement of Keiji, who started moaning. I covered his mouth.
"We're hidden inside a rock. We're clear, but we're closer to the target," I said, giving him a few seconds to process what I had said. I removed my hand from his mouth and watched his pained face as he tried not to make a sound.
"I can give you something for the pain." I pulled out a bottle of medicine and some injections. When he nodded, I injected him and watched his expression change. I gave him a moment to adjust.
I still have no idea how he caught up with us. Noticing someone behind us, I thought it was an enemy, but the sound he was making indicated he was wounded. Fortunately, I took a moment to check and we were able to retrieve it.
"Are you awake?" asked Nara, whose name I couldn't remember. It was always my weakness to remember names, especially in war. Luckily, clan people usually introduced themselves by their last name.
"Yes, and so did Keiji. "I just gave him something to ease the pain," I replied.
"Kuro?" asked Keiji.
"Yes, that's me. I also managed to run away from the attack. "What happened to you?" asked Kuro.
"You were the only ones who escaped in time. They surrounded us the instant the fighting started. I managed to escape by using most of my insects to create a distraction. A Chunin was chasing me, but I managed to finish him off. I was badly wounded and tried to continue in the direction I thought they would take. One of my insects identified a familiar scent, so I decided to follow it," Keiji explained.
"Well, it's a miracle you caught up with us being hurt like that," I said.
"Yes, and it was Byu who stopped when he thought an ally was chasing us," Kuro commented.
"What's the situation?" asked Keiji.
"Five managed to escape, and with you that makes six of us. We move deeper into their territory, we're probably less than 10 km from the target. We're all Genin, and you're out of combat. The situation is dire. I doubt the others can sustain the -Jutsu: Chakra Suppression- for more than a day. When someone can't sustain the jutsu, it will be a matter of time before we are caught," I replied.
Now that I said it out loud, it sounded worse than I had thought it would.
"We have to run away. The mission turned out to be a failure," Keiji stated.
"What a surprise, I thought with five people we'd make it," Kuro commented with a wry tone. They seemed to get along well enough to joke in such a situation.
"Escaping won't be easy, we'd have to go through a lot of their patrols."
"You could use me as bait," Keiji proposed. I understood what he meant. Carrying a wounded man could endanger whoever helps him and slow us down.
"That's not an option, Keiji," Kuro said.
"I'm a burden in this situation. At least I could be of use in some way. I could make a big explosion and draw attention to myself, giving them a chance to escape."
"Keiji, you can't be serious...", Kuro started to say, but I interrupted him.
"It would be in vain. You can barely move and they would kill you quickly. They would realize that someone so wounded making so much noise can only be a distraction," I said. "That would only put us in more danger. To get out of here we need a very good distraction," I concluded.
"What other choice do we have?" asked Keiji.
"I was thinking about the target," I said.
"Sure, if we damage the supplies, they'll think they're under attack again," he said. "Most of them would have to go back to defend it."
"The problem is how," I said.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"If I had my bugs, I could at least place -Explosive Seals- near the base," Keiji said.
"And if I had wings, I'd fly up there and drop explosive seals. But since none of those options are possible, we have to work with what we have," Kuro replied.
Keiji just grunted.
Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind. My messenger bird. I had had the idea of creating a cage with Fuinjutsu that would allow me to summon a messenger bird inside it. Ren managed to do it months later. In fact, it was an idea that even my father found very useful when I told him about it.
"I have an idea," I told them.
I can summon a messenger bird and use one of my wristbands with -Summoning: Lightning Flash Blade Creation- to put explosive seals on various kunai, although I would need chakra to activate them. Do any of you have a seal that can be activated from a distance or something similar?"
They were excited to hear the former, but the problem was the latter. -Summoning: Lightning Flash Blade Creation- is activated by touching the seal or using a minimal amount of chakra on the seal to draw the kunai.
"I could use one of my insects. I have the ability to concentrate chakra on them from a distance, though my maximum range is 5 kilometers. I think that would do the trick," Keiji said.
"I also think that would do the trick," Keiji said.
"Let's try it," I replied. "Place an insect on my wristband." An ant-sized insect landed on it. Keiji made a hand seal and a kunai came out of my wristband.
Although it was dark inside the cave, I was sure we were all smiling at that moment.
"It worked. We need all the explosive seals we can get," Kuro said.
"And more kunai. The seal can only store blades, but I can add up to 4 explosive seals to each kunai. If I add more, the seal will not be able to absorb them.
Luckily, Keiji, one of the 5 Chunin of the initial team, had a good supply of explosive seals to be used from the start, enough to fill the seal on my wristbands.
I went outside to explain the plan to Taro and the rest, after Keiji verified that there was no one around with his bugs. I also left the entrance open to let air into the cave, as it was becoming stifling. Taro forgot to leave room for air circulation, but I don't blame him; it's understandable being his first time doing caves like this.
Their faces turned from disbelief to joy. I think they had given up hope. I asked them if they could keep their chakra hidden until the evening, and they all said yes. Then, the plan would be executed at 11 p.m.
I warned them to be careful with the air, and Taro offered to fix our cave, but I told him I would take care of it. I went back and drilled holes in the cave wall, placing three ventilation tubes to allow fresh air in. It wasn't the prettiest solution, but it worked and kept our smell from getting out. We would be here for at least 12 more hours, so there was no need to take any chances.
"Do you carry plastic tubes for occasions like this?" said Kuro.
"It's better to be prepared than dead," I replied, my usual mantra.
Kuro just laughed and said it was true. We rested and ate with the time we had. We also changed Keiji's bandages.
As the time approached, I summoned my messenger bird, Kuro 3, which Keiji found very amusing.
The plan was for Kuro, Taro and the others to wait for the signal or explosions. As soon as they heard them, they were to leave immediately. If we missed the target or if we succeeded, they would eliminate any ninja, as I would not be able to fight carrying Keiji. First, I had to get close with Keiji so he could use his insect, and I would give the command to my bird.
I walked over the ground as quietly as possible, watching for the slightest sound. When we were close enough, I dug a hole with a small shovel and put Keiji in there. Space was so limited that we barely had room for both of us.
I climbed to the top of a tree and took Kuro 3 out of my jacket. I used code whistles, an ancestral technique of my clan, to tell her where to fly to and when to return home. I didn't think she would make it out alive, but you never know.
Luckily, it was a half-moon night. I used -Gokan: Night Eye Jutsu- to see in the dark as if it were daytime, and added more chakra to -Gokan: Superior Vision Jutsu- to see far distances without difficulty. I closed one eye and focused my attention on following Kuro 3. I waited for him to get as close as possible to the target and gave the signal to Keiji. When I saw the kunai falling from Kuro, I returned to the hole, covered it with a bush and waited.
The rest went as planned. We waited for 15 minutes; at least I had a chance to hear 8 people walk by. Then we went out. I carried Keiji with a cloth harness on my back, so I could keep my hands free.
Keiji would let me know if there was someone following us with the insects he was leaving behind. It was an hour of walking until we caught up with the other group. We continued to move forward without pause until we reached the camp.
Upon arrival, we left Keiji in the medical room. Kuro and I went to report immediately to the camp captain; the other two went to rest, exhausted from the escape, as they had carried Keiji much of the way. Since Kuro and I were the best fighters.
As we arrived at the main building to make our report, we saw Noboru Shimura, the camp leader, justifying himself to the Hokage and Jiraiya. He said that we had failed because of incompetence and implied that we could have switched sides or run away.
I must admit that I lost control. I was close to death at all times, I took the most dangerous part of the mission to ensure everyone's escape, accompanying Keiji closer to the target. I forced myself not to think about Yumi or my future son; I didn't allow myself to think about not being able to see them again because of a damn suicide mission, all because some bastard didn't check his information properly.
It's not enough that I lost my father and most of my clan in this damn war, for Konoha, for our home, the home my ancestors decided to settle, for them to now doubt my loyalty to the village. My clan has shed enough of the enemy's blood and ours for Konoha.
"What else are you going to say now, Shimura, that Hanzo has the Chunin of the Hyuga clan as his right-hand man?" I chimed in, saying, though I was closer to shouting.
"Get this idiot out of here!" exclaimed Shimura forcefully.
Before the Chunin approached, I said, "What, you don't even recognize the faces of the Genin you sent on your suicide mission?"
At that moment, everyone stopped, and Shimura looked at me again. "You do recognize me now, don't you, Noboru?"
"I report, Byu Gokan, returning from the infiltration mission where there were supposed to be no more than two Chunin. What a joke! You ended up sending 5 Chunin and 10 Genin against 10 Chunin and 20 Genin. "It was a massacre, and it's a miracle we survived!" I shouted back.
Now I really had everyone's attention. “So, before you go around slandering me or my teammates, you should check your damn information. And also think of better lies, like if two Chunin almost Jounin of the Hyuga would let themselves be caught alive or run away.”
"I forgot, we also managed to destroy the supply post, if that information wasn't also wrong."
I said, bowing. "You're welcome."
___________________
After that, to sum it up for you: the trial and all the boring legal talk, the news spread throughout the camp and beyond. Then we gave our reports and they verified the information.
I was called to court for insubordination. Apparently, this left the higher-ups in a very bad light. The loss of 4 Chunin and 6 Genin due to intelligence errors is a serious matter. Luckily, our miraculous return and the fact that we fled carrying a comrade, the only surviving Chunin from the mission, was also very noticeable.
I could not punish myself severely, as that would generate strong discontent. However, the Shimura clan did not give up. The Hokage and Sannin Jiraiya sided with me, and in consideration of my actions during the mission, my only punishment was to lose all my merits in the war up to that point. That is, I lost my chance of promotion to Chunin.
I later learned that the Nara and Aburame clans intervened on my behalf. I was very grateful to Kuro and Keiji. Soon after, rumors spread about Noboru Shimura, saying that he was not a true Jounin, that he had become one only because of connections.
At the end of the trial, he too was demoted for the failed mission, heavy losses and obstruction of information. One month later, he died in a fight between Jounin. According to rumors, he was indeed a weak Jounin.
And that would be the summary, Yumi.