Jumping into the chaos, I shouted toward where familiar silhouettes flickered:
— Gai! Genma! Rally up!
A moment later a jōnin flashed by my side, his fingers weaving signs as he ran. I didn't even catch what technique he activated — too much was happening all at once. The important thing was that Gai and Genma were now with me, both with cold determination in their eyes.
— Move after the commander! — I yelled.
— Roger that! — Genma answered.
The three of us dashed after the main force.
There wasn't exactly a battle yet — more like chaos. Experienced chūnin and a couple dozen genin ran in tight formation, trying not to lose sight of the commander. The noise ahead grew louder — screams, clashes, snapping trees, the whistle of chakra.
Then we burst into a small clearing. The sight made me tense up: nine shinobi in Iwagakure armor were already clashing with our squad. One of our jōnin finished a rapid sequence of seals and released a massive fire dragon forward — flames licked tree trunks and surged toward the enemy.
— Earth shield! — the opponent countered instantly, and the ground before him swelled up, forming a massive stone wall.
"Most likely a patrol…" I thought.
I turned to my teammates:
— They're stronger than us. If we rush in, we'll be buried here.
Genma and Gai only nodded — the understanding was obvious, we all felt it.
— Then we work as support, — Genma continued, forcing confidence into his tone.
— Keep distance, attack from afar, don't get under their blows, — I added.
Gai grimaced, clearly aching for close combat, but restrained himself. Genma, on the other hand, immediately pulled out kunai with attached explosive tags.
We took positions to the side, slightly covered by trees.
— You two and I throw kunai and shuriken, I'll add a wind technique to boost their speed, — I said, once each of us had about ten ready.
— Leave it to me. I won't miss! — Gai declared confidently.
— Yeah, yeah, — Genma muttered, clearly wishing he'd keep quiet.
— On three, — I exhaled, my fingers flashing through wind seals. — One… two… three!
Genma and Gai hurled their kunai, I released a sharp gust that boosted their flight, and for insurance I added a bundle of shuriken.
Wham! — the attack surged at the enemy from the side. It worked: Iwagakure shinobi hid behind their barrier, covered only from one direction, so they didn't expect the flank strike. Still, their reaction was impressive — a couple of stone plates rose instantly, some of the weapons ricocheted, but the rest broke through.
— Katsu! — Genma and Gai shouted at once, activating the explosive tags.
Through the smoke, silhouettes scattered apart.
— They split up, — I said, scanning the battlefield.
Indeed — the enemies scattered into pairs, each locking onto one of our fighters. On the right, two jōnin clashed: earth heaved, fire devoured trees, the air itself quivered with chakra pressure.
— We'll distract them, — I said.
We readied another volley, but at that moment one of the Iwagakure shinobi — fast, clearly a chūnin or higher — noticed us. His eyes narrowed, his hands formed seals so fast I barely followed.
— Stone spears! — he shouted, and sharp spikes shot from the ground straight at us.
— Scatter! — I yelled. The three of us dove aside, and one stone spike pierced the tree where Gai had stood a second earlier.
— Damn it! — Genma cursed, rolling on the ground. — We're spotted!
But just then, the very chūnin aiming to pin us down suddenly took a blow to the gut. He bent double and flew back, smashing into a tree trunk with a dull crack.
I blinked, not immediately realizing what happened. Only after a moment I noticed — it was one of ours. A senior shinobi from a neighboring squad, moving fast and silent. He glanced at us and… raised a thumb. "Good work."
Then, without delay, he dashed off toward where the enemy had flown — where another fight was already breaking out.
I swallowed hard and breathed out:— Such speed…
But there was no chance to join him. Within the next thirty seconds, reinforcements started pouring into this part of the forest. First a pair, then more — soon, remnants of three squads formed a ring, gradually pressing down on the Iwagakure patrol.
We only had time to repel enemies trying to break through, while the main pressure came from dozens of our shinobi.
Silence never came: the clash of steel, the hiss of jutsu, chakra bursts tore the air. It all merged into one chaotic roar.
And only one battle stood apart — the duel of two jōnin. They moved too fast, their strikes ripping the space around them. Stone walls rose and crumbled, fire scorched branches, showering us with sparks. We could only watch, not interfering — their level was beyond us.
Minutes dragged on, and suddenly… the Iwagakure jōnin vanished. Just sank into the earth.
I didn't even know which of them had survived. For a moment, a chilling silence hung, my ears ringing with my own breath.
— What the… — I whispered, scanning the clearing. — He… disappeared?
But we had no time to think or rest. The next instant, a loud chakra-boosted voice rang out through the dust:
— Those injured, stay here! The rest — quickly close the breach they created!
The echo rolled across the clearing, and everyone sprang into motion. It seemed even the exhausted shinobi found second wind.
I shook my head, clearing the ringing in my ears, and felt my legs carrying me forward, to the line where our formation had split. Genma ran beside me, teeth clenched, while Gai was already ahead, charging like a machine.
Reaching the spot, I braced for the worst… but strangely, the sound of battle came only from ahead. Which meant the main clash was still there. We pushed through the forest, the roar of combat turning into a constant backdrop — blows, shouts, explosions, as if the air itself vibrated.
An hour. A whole hour we heard them grinding each other into dust. Sometimes it seemed the sounds faded, only to flare up again with renewed fury.
Finally, after an hour and a half, the noise began to die down. Not suddenly, but slowly, like the battle itself was burning out. First the explosive tags stopped bursting, then the screams weakened, until only distant clashes and rare chakra flares remained.
I exhaled, realizing I'd been holding my breath the whole time. But we weren't allowed to relax.
Ahead, between the trees, a shadow appeared — a shinobi in our uniform. I tensed, my hand almost on my kunai pouch, but as he approached, he waved.
— Eighth, ninth, tenth squads! — he shouted hoarsely, running past. — Go help with the sweep-up!
He didn't even stop, just threw us a quick glance before dashing on, toward other squads regrouping deeper in the forest.