Ishiki tore through the forest like a frightened animal fleeing a wildfire.
Branches clawed at his arms.Roots caught his sandals.His lungs burned.His heart hammered relentlessly, too slow, too slow, too slow.
Every second he wasted was another second the village edged closer to massacre.
"If I'm late… they'll all die."
He pushed harder.
The trees thinned. Light spilled ahead.
And then,
The village appeared.
Small. Fragile. Quiet.
But intact.
Ishiki nearly collapsed in relief.
"They're not here yet…"
But there was no time to breathe.
He sprinted through the empty paths, past shuttered windows and abandoned tools, until he reached the familiar wooden home of the Village Chief.
He pounded on the door with raw urgency.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The door creaked open.
The Chief's weathered face filled the frame, confusion turning instantly to concern the moment he saw Ishiki, sweat-soaked, trembling, eyes wide with dread.
"Ishiki? What happened? You look terrified."
Ishiki's voice broke as he spoke, spilling every detail like a dam bursting:
The hostile Sarutobi ninja.The extortion.The chief was struck.His ambush.The escaped enemy.And now,Fifteen armed shinobi are marching straight toward them.
When he finished, his breath hitched painfully.
"I, I caused this," he whispered. "If I hadn't fought him… If I hadn't let him escape… none of this would be happening."
The Chief listened without interrupting.
And then, instead of anger…
He sighed.
It was the sound of someone who had carried fear long before Ishiki existed.
"My boy," the Chief murmured, shaking his head, "you are completely wrong."
Ishiki blinked through the tears blurring his vision.
The Chief gestured to the modest homes around them.
"Even if you did nothing, even if you stayed silent, our village was already doomed. We have no food. No shinobi. No protection."
His voice hardened with bitter truth.
"When ninjas want something, they take it. They would have ravaged us regardless."
He reached out and gripped Ishiki's shoulder firmly.
"But you… You stood up. You protected my honour. Our honour. You did what none of us dared to do."
The Chief's eyes softened with genuine pride.
"You did no wrong, child."
Those words shattered the last of Ishiki's composure.
Tears streamed down his face, hot, uncontrolled, but no longer rooted in guilt.
"Chief… we have to save everyone," Ishiki choked out. "We must hide! My friends are out there right now fighting, buying us time with their lives!"
The Chief nodded with grim finality.
"I feared this day would come… and so, we prepared."
He leaned close.
"There is a hidden underground shelter beneath the village. Stocked, secure, and concealed. We can survive there for a while."
He straightened, his old bones moving with surprising resolve.
"Ishiki. Your legs are young. Fast. I need you. Help me gather everyone quietly. Quickly."
Ishiki wiped his tears and nodded sharply.
"Yes, Chief. Let's go!"
And the two of them, an old leader and a young shinobi, began the desperate, whispered evacuation of their entire village.
The Fire and the Forest
Meanwhile,
On a forest path not far away, two giants-in-the-making made their stand.
Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, still boys, yet already legends in the embryo.
Their enemy:Fifteen hardened Sarutobi shinobi.
Their objective:Delay. Divide. Survive.
Hashirama knelt, pressing his palms to the earth.
Chakra thrummed beneath the soil.
"Earth Release…!"His voice boomed."Tearing Earth Turning Palm!!"
The ground erupted violently.
A jagged fissure yawned open, swallowing the front line of the advancing ninjas. Screams filled the air as the earth convulsed beneath them.
At that exact moment,
Madara inhaled deeply, hands flashing through seals.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!!"
A massive fireball roared across the chasm Hashirama created, exploding in a blazing inferno that engulfed those trapped below.
BOOM!
The explosion shook the forest.
When the flames died down, five ninja lay dead, two chūnin, one jōnin, and two more whose bodies were charred beyond recognition.
Several others crawled out of the pit, burned, bloodied, and disoriented.
It worked.
But ten remained.
Three full jōnin.Seven chūnin.And all of them were enraged.
The Sarutobi leader emerged, embers flickering wickedly off his armour.
His voice thundered:
"HOW DARE YOU?! You insolent children! You dare ambush an official Sarutobi squad?!"
Madara and Hashirama said nothing.
This wasn't about bravado.
This was survival.
This was to buy Ishiki precious minutes.
They exchanged a look.
A silent pact.
Split and run.
Madara shot left, tearing through the forest like a streak of flame.
Hashirama bolted right, the ground blooming with chakra-infused speed beneath his feet.
The leader roared:
"DIVIDE AND KILL THEM!"
Seven of the ninjas sprinted after Hashirama.Three jōnin and three chūnin pursued Madara.
The Sarutobi leader paused, directing his remaining shinobi later toward the village.
"They can't outrun us forever. After we kill the boys, we will finish the village."
His cruel smile returned.
"To think our only obstacle was children…"
He spat on the ground.
"This will be easy."
The forest swallowed his squad as they began their deadly pursuit.
The Village Evacuation
Back in the village, Ishiki and the Chief moved like shadows, knocking softly on doors, whispering instructions, guiding terrified villagers toward the hidden cellar beneath an old storage shed.
Mothers carried babies.Elders leaned on makeshift crutches.Children clung to Ishiki's sleeves, their tiny hands shaking.
Yet Ishiki's voice did not tremble.
"Follow me. Stay low. Stay quiet. You will all be safe."
The Chief looked at him once, just once, with a mixture of sadness and admiration.
"You've become strong, Ishiki. Stronger than any of us."
Ishiki didn't feel strong.
He felt the weight of every life around him.
Every child.Every elder.Every innocent soul.
All are relying on him.
And outside, somewhere in the forest,
Madara and Hashirama were risking their own lives to make this moment possible.
He clenched his fists.
"I won't let anyone die."
Not this time.
Meanwhile: The Hunters and the Godlings
The forest echoed with battle.
Madara raced through the woods, his Sharingan-less eyes sharp and calculating.
Behind him, three jōnin and three chūnin were gaining fast.
He grinned.
"Good. Come at me!"
Behind him, a fireball exploded, lighting the forest in shades of crimson.
He leapt to a higher branch, spinning with inhuman agility.
"Come on then!"
And with each passing second, he pulled the group farther from the village.
On the other side of the forest,
Hashirama danced across the terrain, moulding wood, raising roots, weaving branches, all to slow the seven pursuing shinobi.
He has to delay them,
For Ishiki.
For the village.
For their promise.
And in the hidden cellar…
The last of the villagers descended the ladder.
Ishiki scanned the area one more time.
Everyone was safe.
Everyone but,
Hashirama.Madara.
His chest tightened.
He couldn't abandon them.
He wouldn't.
"I'm going back," he whispered.
The Chief turned sharply."Are you insane? Those are elite shinobi! You must stay hidden!"
But Ishiki shook his head.
His voice was steady, quiet, but unbreakable.
"They are fighting because of me. If I hide while they risk their lives, I'll never forgive myself."
But the chief stopped ishiki.