"Lord Kazekage, do you really think it is wise to send them? This is a real combat mission that will likely involve combat between Jonin. They are skilled for Genin, but they will only be dead weight in such a battle."
Kneeling before the Kazekage, Baki couldn't help but question Rasa's decision to send his children on a dangerous mission beyond their ability. He'd told Temari the basic gist of things already, if only so she could find her brothers and prepare, but even now, Baki tried to exempt his team from this mission to the Land of Water as he pleaded with the Kazekage in his office.
Rasa's face was a mask of indifference. "We simply do not have enough shinobi, Baki. With our limited number of experienced personnel, even dangerous missions like this one must sometimes be filled with whoever we can spare. You already know our state of affairs, so why do you even ask this of me?"
Unfortunately, Baki knew this very well. The dire economic state of the village over the past several years had caused many of its people to leave for more profitable lands. The gradually decreasing population over the years had naturally lowered the number of civilians choosing to become shinobi; whether it was desertion or battle, the Hidden Sand had been losing ninja faster than they'd been gaining them over the past several years.
Fewer shinobi meant fewer personnel for missions, which were the most critical means of monetary gain in this time of crisis. And naturally, even the new shinobi they received annually took time to reach the level of Chunin or Jonin, if they were ever that good to begin with.
This meant Jonin were extremely valuable, and losing even one of them was a major blow to the village's economic income, since the missions they could undertake were obviously the most profitable. The Kazekage had to carefully distribute the deployment of his Jonin, even on extremely risky missions.
Seeing that Baki understood his position in this situation, the Kazekage continued. "As you know, this mission will be extremely dangerous. I must send a large number of shinobi, but if I send nothing but Jonin, our casualties will be nothing but Jonin. I must send Chunin, and even they are more valuable at their current level of skill than any of the village's Genin. A mix of all three ranks will mitigate the truly grave casualties we incur."
Not for the first time, Baki wished the Wind Daimyo had never signed that accursed deal with the Land of Fire. Every day, it seemed to put more Sand shinobi in compromising positions. "I suppose it's logistically accurate to say that Genin are more disposable than their more experienced counterparts..."
That last remark earned the Jonin a glare from his leader. "No, not disposable. It is true that losing a team of Genin will be less crippling to our economy than a team of Chunin, but my children are not pawns: Karura would never forgive me for throwing their lives away so carelessly. What happened with Gaara was already failure enough."
The mention of the Kazekage's wife caused Baki's body to stiffen. Very rarely was Temari and Kankuro's mother mentioned, not after she had slipped into the coma she had been in since giving birth to Gaara.
With Baki silent, the Kazekage clarified his intention to send his children on this dangerous assignment. "I am sending your Genin team on this mission because I believe your team will survive. My children are no pushovers, and Rōzeki is not to be underestimated either. If there are any Genin in this village who could actually prove useful on a high-ranking mission, it's those three. They are not experienced, but they are strong. If they survive, this will help them grow as shinobi. Moreover, I trust your judgment in ensuring they don't go over their heads in the heat of battle."
Hearing that the Kazekage trusted Baki on something so important, the half-masked Jonin felt both honored and concerned. Obviously, if anything did happen to his team, there would be extremely dire consequences. Of course, it wasn't like Baki wouldn't try to protect them for its own merits as well. By now, he would do his best to protect those three simply because they were important to him.
Though he hadn't allayed Baki's fears, the Kazekage nevertheless ended the conversation the Jonin had brought up. Truthfully, there was really nothing more to discuss. "Gather your team and rendezvous with the other shinobi assigned to this mission at the village gate. The Jonin who is leading this mission will explain the situation there."
Nodding his affirmation with no small amount of unease, Baki rose to his feet and stepped out of the Kazekage's office, leaving the scarlet-haired village leader to silently question the decisions his office required of him.
---
Gathering his three students did not take Baki very long. Though he hadn't been able to tell her the specifics, not knowing them himself, Temari had taken it upon herself to inform her brothers of the situation so they could all be prepared when Baki came back for them. They'd been waiting for their teacher at the foot of their home, armed far more heavily than they had ever been for any other occasion. Baki tried to avoid revealing the dangerous nature of the mission to Temari when he told her about it earlier, but apparently, she'd read the room well enough.
Without a word on anyone's part, the team headed towards the village's main gate, a large cleft in the cliffs that surrounded the Hidden Sand. Baki's team arrived at the same time as the last squad of Chunin did, so the Jonin mission commander was able to brief all fourteen ninja at the same time.
"For those of you who haven't been told already, we're deploying to the Land of Water on a search and rescue combat mission, to save a unit that sent a distress call a few hours ago when a diplomatic mission turned hostile. Our primary objective is to find anyone still alive and extract them, but one shinobi in particular is to be saved no matter what, if she's still alive at all: Pakura of the Scorch style. She's the last remaining user of the Scorch style here in the Sand, and an incredibly valuable military asset. Before all else, we have to make sure she gets back here alive."
Ash asked a question when the Jonin paused for breath. He had half a mind to raise his hand or something, but technically, they were all adults here, so he quelled the need very quickly. "Sir? Do we have an estimate on the strength of the enemy for this operation? I'm assuming we're outnumbered, but how badly?"
Almost every ninja, save his siblings, cocked an eyebrow at the boy. But since he'd asked a sensible question, none sought to reprimand him for speaking. Their Jonin commander was quick to relay the information that had been asked for. "The SOS we received estimated roughly forty enemy shinobi in the area, but we would do well to assume that number has grown since then. Also, Pakura relayed that one of the infamous Seven Ninja Swordsmen was mentioned as reinforcements for the enemy. We will likely have to deal with him as well."
A Chunin asked a question Ash was already wondering. "Am I right in assuming that even though we are told to avoid casualties at all costs, that Pakura's life should be prioritized over our own?"
"That is correct. We cannot lose one of the few bloodline ability wielders the village has left. If we ever hope to revive the Scorch style here, we need Pakura alive, even if it means one of us has to die for her. Is that clear to everyone?"
Though he had no desire to submit to a plan like that, Ash said nothing, nor did any of the other gathered shinobi. He'd keep his unwillingness to die for a stranger to himself.
Nodding in satisfaction, the Jonin commander turned towards the village entrance. "Very well. Time is of the essence, so we're moving out right now. We'll discuss our exact strategy when we arrive. It'll take days to get to the Land of Water, even at top speed, and the longer we take to arrive, the higher the chance of our comrades being slain. They can only evade the enemy for so long. Follow me, and prepare for a long run!"
---
Pakura wished she could say she was surprised. She honestly wished she were an optimist, someone who would have expected a diplomatic mission to the Hidden Mist to run smoothly. She was a realist, and she'd been expecting a trap with every step she'd taken into the Land of Water. This suspicion was the only reason she had survived the Mist ambush in the first place.
When she and the three Chunin who had accompanied her came to the dismal valley that was their designated meeting point with the Mist ninja they were supposed to negotiate with, Pakura had ordered her comrades to stay behind at the valley's entrance, so they wouldn't all be caught in a trap if there was one. Going into the meeting place alone, the green-haired Sand kunoichi grew suspicious when mist began spreading rapidly throughout the narrow passage of land. The Land of Water was known for natural heavy mist, but any shinobi who had ever heard of the Hidden Mist village knew that said mist could easily be the setup for an ambush.
When her brown eyes finally spotted a Mist ninja waiting for her in the center of the valley, Pakura was almost certain she was going to be attacked. The man's smile was far too forced, and though he tried to hide it, he looked at the Sand Jonin with contempt and hatred, rather than the acceptance of a foreign envoy.
Still, she played her part, shaking the man's hand and exchanging a few pleasantries and wishes for better relations between the Mist and Sand. It was at this point that the Mist ninja suggested that Pakura take the lead down the valley, and if she needed a final reason to prepare for the worst, that was it. Who asked the stranger to take the lead when moving through unfamiliar territory?
Yet she did as she was requested. Pakura was an experienced shinobi, hailed as a hero in the Hidden Sand for her exploits against the Hidden Stone in years past, but she seemingly put herself in an impossibly compromising position at a foreign ninja's request.
Pakura was not surprised in the least when the Mist ninja stabbed a kunai into her clone's bare back, right into its spine. She'd created a clone of herself the moment mist had descended upon the valley, sending it forward into the enemy trap instead. The enemy had clearly fallen for it, but he didn't even have time to realize his folly: Pakura's clone didn't dissipate into a puff of smoke. In a blast of Pakura's crimson Scorch style flames, the enemy ninja was killed instantly.
So few people expected a clone to blow up in their face like that.
Unfortunately, someone among the enemy had good eyes, and a veritable storm of kunai and shuriken rained down on Pakura's hiding spot in a cliff crevice a moment later. Her reflexes allowed Pakura to somersault out of harm's way, but upon landing, she found herself faced with several squads of Mist shinobi appearing to confront her. There were at least a dozen of them, but that headcount only accounted for who Pakura could see.
Despite her situation, Pakura cracked a smile. "Quite a welcome party for a single woman. I'm honored you think so highly of me."
One of the Mist shinobi drew a sword. "Your genetics are the only thing notable about you, Pakura of the Scorch Style. You'll be a great asset to the Hidden Mist once you're broken."
Though she maintained her smile, Pakura's gaze hardened. Bloodline abilities were the most valuable thing any ninja village could have access to. If a shinobi, man or woman, with a powerful ability was captured by the enemy, it wasn't unusual to wind up as an unwilling progenitor of a new clan. Most shinobi at such risk had readily available means of taking their own lives if that happened. Pakura had such a contingency, but she wasn't going to do something like that until she absolutely had to.
Right now, she chose to goad her enemies. "Hurting for powerful bloodline abilities after that big civil war of yours, huh? Maybe the Hidden Mist shouldn't have been stupid enough to run around killing their own stock. And even if worthless peons like you could capture me, I doubt any of you are even capable of siring a kid worth having." Pakura held up a pinky finger, wiggling it mockingly. "If you could even reach my important bits in the first place."
Good ninja were smart enough to stand fast in the face of obvious bait. Thankfully, most ninja were average. Pakura clearly touched a nerve for one of the Mist ninja, who lunged toward her with a kunai in his hand.
One of his comrades shouted after him. "Saizo, don't be stupid! Wait for Raiga to get here!"
Heedless of the warning, Saizo rushed Pakura head-on, eager to prove some point or cover some insecurity only he knew about. Pakura hardly reacted at all, not concerned in the slightest over such a foolish attack. Losing your cool was almost always fatal for a shinobi, but against a skilled Jonin, being goaded into a reckless attack was begging to die.
The man didn't even throw some shuriken at her as he approached. He had no real strategy in mind as he jabbed his kunai forward in a vain attempt to kill a far more skilled opponent. Pakura easily sidestepped the attack, then grabbed her foe's outstretched wrist as he sailed past her, planting her fist in his stomach. At first, it seemed like a simple punch. But only until a searing red plume of fire exploded into Saizo's guts, burning a hole through his back and turning his insides to ash almost instantly.
Pakura's jutsu killed the Mist ninja long before he could manage to scream, but the sight of bubbling blood and melted flesh leaking out of a new hole in the man's torso galvanized the other enemy ninja to action. They clearly couldn't afford to stand around when facing a Jonin this strong.
Another wave of projectiles prompted Pakura to quickly heft Saizo's lifeless corpse in front of her, using it as a makeshift shield. The sickly sound of weapons piercing the man's charred flesh did nothing to improve the moods of Pakura's enemies, and as she tossed the body aside, the Sand Jonin found several of her foes rushing forward to attack her in close range, though they were not going about it as foolishly as their fallen comrade.
With two enemies splitting off on either side of her, and two more coming down the middle with one leaping over the other, Pakura was on the receiving end of a simple but effective blitz.
Drawing a kunai in each hand, she leaped above the enemies on the ground, intercepting the one in midair as their weapons clashed together. Kicking the enemy shinobi away, Pakura tossed her kunai at two of the enemies below, forcing them both to dodge away. This left only one of the assailants to immediately threaten Pakura, but she was airborne and had no means of changing his trajectory when Pakura sent a crimson ball of molten flame at her.
The Mist ninja was dead before her charred corpse hit the ground. But despite dealing with the first wave, the kunoichi from the Sand had no time to analyze the situation again, as a storm of kunai armed with paper bombs came at her out of the mist. Knowing that she would be unable to evade the blast of so many tags with her own speed, Pakura turned and threw a shuriken into the air behind her, quickly forming the hand signs she would need to switch places with the projectile.
Pakura's substitution moved her several dozen feet away from the paper bomb explosion, and more importantly, made it look as though she had been caught in the blast. Using both the mist and the residual noise of the explosion, Pakura retreated away from the enemy and towards the entrance to the valley where her Chunin squad mates were waiting. She could have contacted them ahead of time via radio, but there was no need to risk alerting the enemy to her survival.
Taking extra effort to make sure her footsteps made no sound, Pakura made it back to her comrades without incident, all of whom were nervously awaiting her arrival among some large boulders after hearing the explosion echo off the walls of the valley.
"Pakura! What happened?"
"We're leaving. The negotiations were short."
One of the younger Sand Chunin rose to his feet as he reached into his weapon holster, indignation evident on his face. "Those backstabbing scum! I knew we couldn't trust them!"
Pakura grabbed the man's shoulder and pushed him back into a kneeling position. "We're far outnumbered, and apparently Raiga Kurosuki is leading their force. Staying to fight is tantamount to suicide."
Pakura turned to the one member of her squad who served as their link to the Hidden Sand. He was specially trained for long-range mental communication. "Can you establish a connection with the missions operator in the village?"
Forming a hand sign to focus his chakra, the communications shinobi tried to contact his home village for assistance. His face contorted in focus and mild pain for a few moments, but when he released his sign, only dismay crossed the man's face. "I can't make a connection. Something is interfering with the jutsu."
Pakura's expression turned sour, having hoped that this exact obstacle would not surface. "The Hidden Mist jutsu is laced with chakra: it might be interfering with your own. If that's the case, we need to get away from this immediate area. Stick close to me and watch your backs."
---
Standing over the empty crater his Mist comrades had created with dozens of paper bombs, Raiga Kurosuki, an ANBU mask obscuring his face, glared into the mist around him. His intense grip on the twin lightning blades, Kiba, would have crushed the hilt of any normal sword. For reasons the shinobi around him couldn't understand, the long, black-haired shinobi was angry.
"Master Raiga, what's the matter? We got the Sand kunoichi. What else is there?"
Though a mask obscured his face, the ninja who had posed this question could feel Raiga's furious glare on him. "Do you see a corpse here?"
"W-what?"
"Do you see a corpse here?! I don't see a dead kunoichi, I see an empty crater! She escaped, and you've all been standing around here doing nothing! Who knows how far she's gotten?!"
The ninja Raiga was personally accosting took a step back. "W-well, we figured the blast would-"
Raiga swung one of his blades at the man's neck, decapitating him with disgusting ease. Kiba's edge stayed completely clean of blood even as the dead ninja's jugular began to spray blood into the air.
As the betrayed shinobi's head and corpse crumpled to the ground, expression of surprise still etched on his face, Raiga turned to the rest of the ninja around him. "What are you waiting for?! Find that kunoichi, and capture her, you incompetent fools! Don't forget the mission!"
With all the incentive they needed lying dead on the ground at Raiga's feet, three dozen Mist Chunin scattered in all directions, determined to hunt down and capture Pakura and any of her allies, lest they incur Raiga's wrath as well.
---
After roughly an hour of retreating towards the Land of Water's borders, Pakura stopped her team at the edge of a sparse copse of trees in the Mist countryside, ready to try and contact the Hidden Sand once more. It had started raining a short while ago, and not for the first time, Pakura regretted her choice of clothing. Her backless black top may have kept her cool in the desert, but in the rain, it only served to provide the cold water with easier access to her skin.
Pakura looked to her communications officer as he attempted to contact the Hidden Sand once more. His expression was strained, but that was to be expected from a long-range telepathic communication. That skill set was immensely rare to start with, and it wasn't easy even for the most experienced practitioners.
"It's rough... but I think I can make the connection..."
After a few more moments of concentration, the shinobi held his hand out towards Pakura. "Captain, I have them. I don't know how long I can hold the connection though."
Reaching for his hand, Pakura closed her eyes so she could focus on the mental conversation about to take place. She was glad the Kazekage had been perceptive enough to assign a rare long-range communications shinobi to her team for this mission.
The voice of a shinobi from the Hidden Sand spoke to Pakura the moment he could sense the Jonin's mental presence. Pakura's communications squad member had already relayed the mission and squad details, so there was no need for Pakura to identify herself at all.
Captain Pakura, please relay the nature of your emergency.
Her ultimate goal being to acquire reinforcements, and knowing that they would be few in number no matter what, Pakura tried to make the situation sound as dire as possible. The worse things seemed, the better for her and her subordinates. Though admittedly, she didn't have to do much exaggerating for this situation to sound downright catastrophic.
The negotiations with the Hidden Mist were a complete failure. I was ambushed by a Mist ninja on the way to the village: my squad managed to escape without casualties, but we're being hunted by a far superior force and need reinforcements as soon as possible.
The ninja on the other end of the telepathic link sounded completely calm as he spoke to her.
What is the approximate size of the enemy force?
It's impossible to tell exactly how many were hiding in the mist, but I would estimate the strength of the enemy to be around forty shinobi. The enemy mentioned one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was coming to reinforce them as well.
While he still did not sound alarmed, the Sand ninja Pakura was talking with seemed to recognize the danger presented by the name of the Ninja Swordsmen. They were a force not to be trifled with.
Understood. We'll send the appropriate amount of reinforcements. What is your squad's location?
Pakura was glad that she could answer this question the way she could. The Land of Water was essentially a bundle of islands, but they also owned a piece of the main continent's southeast peninsula, which bordered the Land of Fire. Pakura was grateful that her squad had been ambushed before reaching further into the Land of Water; retreating from one of its many islands would have been much more difficult than retreating from the small piece of the mainland they owned. That was a tactical error on the enemy's part.
We're nearing the border between the Land of Water and Fire, advancing across the southeast peninsula. I plan to egress approximately around the Subuku Cliffs area.
Acknowledged. Stay in contact if you can; reinforcements are on the way.
Severing the connection to the Hidden Sand, Pakura faced her squad once again. "Help is on the way, but we all know how far the Hidden Sand is from here. It'll be days before they arrive, and until then, we're on our own. Our safest bet is to cross into the Land of Fire; a force of Mist shinobi as large as our pursuers would never go very far into another country's territory. Still, they'll definitely try to cut us off before we make it there, so stay alert."
With a nod from all of her men, Pakura's endangered squad rose to their feet once more. The only thing left for them to do right now was run, hide, and survive.