The Shadow Platoon managed to lose the Kumo shinobi after half an hour of hard running through the obstacles of the Temple Run game.
It had slowed the large Kumo force enough for the smaller Konoha group to pull ahead and finally slip out of immediate danger.
Shunsui was on Choza's back because he could no longer run on his own. He was now experiencing the most painful thing that had happened to him in this world.
Turns out chakra exhaustion is not only exhausting but also deeply painful. It felt as if his entire body was being bitten by thousands of ants at the same time.
Every muscle ached and every joint burned while a constant sharp sting moved under his skin from his toes to the top of his head.
He could not believe that this was something Kakashi went through regularly after receiving Obito's Sharingan.
Instead of Guy, Shunsui was sure it was Kakashi who must be the true masochist of the future.
The idea of choosing to live with that kind of pain after every single mission seemed completely unreasonable to him.
'Who would have thought that even someone with my level of chakra would suffer from chakra exhaustion? To be fair, I used Temple Run for quite a long distance and that was after already fighting a group of Kumo shinobi before that.' Shunsui thought while he rested against Choza's broad back.
The game had demanded a steady flow of energy to keep creating new obstacles for half an hour. Combined with the earlier battles inside the city the total cost had finally pushed him past his limit. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain while the platoon continued moving.
They ran for a full day and Shunsui still did not feel any better. The pain of empty chakra pathways refused to fade quickly even though Choza and the iryo nin in the group gave him recovery pills.
Conversation stayed quiet for most of the journey because everyone still remembered the comrades who had not returned with them.
When the trees finally thinned they managed to reach the wide battlefield that stretched between the main Kumo and Konoha forces. Dust and the distant sounds of clashing jutsu filled the air.
The commander of the Konoha base in this region was Jiraiya of the Sannin, yet the white haired man was far too busy directing the larger movements of the army to notice the small exhausted platoon that had entered the Konoha Camp.
They reached the Konoha camp where they could finally rest. Shunsui was lowered onto a soft bed that somehow existed inside a frontline war camp.
The simple mattress felt like the greatest luxury he had ever known. He fell asleep within minutes and did not wake until the sun had fully risen the next morning.
After getting a good night of sleep the platoon gathered inside one of the larger tents.
The remaining members sat on supply crates and low stools.
Shinku stood at the front and spoke with a tired but genuine smile. "Our mission was a success. Kumo now does not have a retreat point and is cut off from their supplies. We might be able to push them back from the Land of Fire at this rate."
The words brought a small lift to the heavy atmosphere.
Choza smiled as well and added his own piece of good news. "Not only that, with the supplies we have taken from Kumo we managed to resupply our own army."
This surprised Shunsui because he had believed the Kumo warehouses and their contents had been destroyed during the attack.
It turned out that the other half of the platoon had chosen to seal and carry away as much as they could rather than simply burn everything.
'That must have taken a lot of storage scrolls or very advanced storage scrolls that could carry large amounts of supplies. And considering Konoha has Kushina, Minato and until recently Mito Uzumaki, the second option is the most likely.' Shunsui thought. The sealing knowledge of the Uzumaki clan had clearly been put to good use.
Shinku continued with the next part of the report. "Now for the good news or well the bad news as you would see it. With the success of our mission, the higher ups have decided to let the Shadow Platoon continue."
The decision meant the unit would not be disbanded despite the losses it had suffered. "Naras and a couple of Yamanaka have already been reassigned to our platoon to make up for the lost numbers. We will also be getting a couple more shinobi. Our platoon will now amount to fifty people, the maximum a platoon can have."
The larger size would give them more options and more strength for whatever came next.
Shunsui asked the question that sat on everyone's mind. "So what would we be hitting next? Another supply base or some high level targets?"
He hoped for another mission similar to the last one where careful planning and his games could keep casualties low.
Shinku answered with a grim smile that told the group the answer would not be the one that they would like. "No. We will be taking part in the war at the frontlines itself."
The statement made everyone straighten up on their seats. The last mission had already cost them skilled comrades. A true frontline battlefield against the main Cloud army would be far more dangerous and the chance of further losses would rise sharply.
Shinku explained the reasoning behind the new orders. "It has been decided by the higher ups that before the enemy gets clear information about Shunsui's abilities or figures out how they work, we need to use them to their full potential before they can come up with proper counter measures."
"That will mean Shunsui will have to start using different games and therefore other members might be assigned to the platoon depending on the new games he might choose."
The village wanted to strike hard and often while the strange techniques were still poorly understood by the other side. New games would require different support skills and the platoon would change shape to match whatever Shunsui decided to bring onto the field.
Shinku finished the briefing with a practical note. "So get ready. We can rest for a week before all the members of our platoon are selected and sent here."
-------Author Notes--------
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