---
I gently put Gaara down by the tree.
Up close… his hair looks softer than before.
Did that transformation make it spike up?
Wow… cool.
It's a Monday morning and the air feels rather fresh.
The shield's down. Others should be on their way.
Still… I'll shoot the flare, just in case.
I glance up at the sky— and see a crow slam headfirst into an invisible wall.
Middle of nowhere. Just like that.
Oh… so the barrier's still up.
I flick my Sharingan at Gaara, then at the tree.
Yeah, he tore that seal apart… but only one.
The Konoha seal's gone. The second one? Still active.
Whose barrier is this?
ANBU? Backup?
Or… someone else?
Should I call for backup?
No.... let's hold onto that.
I look down at Gaara again. Out cold. No way he's a decoy. He's real.
Smartest play? Drag him underground and wait for the Kage to fix this mess.
But… ugh… gut says no.
No.
I'm not Naruto.
I don't have a gut worth trusting.
So I throw him on my shoulder— and run.
Barrier's still locked tight.
No signals from the others.
Either they're stuck like me… or they're dead.
!!!!????!!!!!
Multiple chakra signatures. Out of nowhere.
All of them… Jounin level.
Three of them thick… heavy… like Kakashi. Or maybe Asuma-sensei.
And they're closing in. Fast.
I down two food pills, fire a grappling hook, and swing up.
Line reels me in just as the ground explodes.
My ears ring.
Flashbangs?
I swing branch to branch. Shadows behind me.
Snap the branch loose— one tumbles.
Two more, dressed in black, snake across the trees.
One grabs me before I can leap.
I toss Gaara at him.
He catches him— startled— momentum gone.
I pounce, kunai to his throat.
But it barely pierces. Even with wind chakra.
What the hell? Armor?
Who the fuck wears armor in a shinobi fight? Carbon fiber?!
Out of desperation, I hook his neck with my line and hit the reel.
He snatches my hand— but my oiled gauntlet slips.
He's yanked back into the trees— gone.
I slam into the ground hard.
\[THUUP!] Air knocked out.
Stagger up. Grab Gaara. Keep running.
The third guy's here. Katana flashing.
Way faster than me.
He swings for my head.
I block with my axe— sparks fly.
The hit rips it out of my hands. Shoves me back.
He lunges for my chest.
I yank the cord— axe recalls.
He tries to deflect— but no.
It's buried in his skull.
…What?
That actually worked?
Is he dead? Did I just kill him?
Nobody ever gets clipped by that trick.
Ground shifts.
Mud jutsu.
Shit!
Ropes lash up, binding me.
"Gotcha, kid!" the man growls.
He stares at the body. "Taro?"
"Fuck, you killed him," he mutters.
The other drops in.
"Oi, mate! Look here— he's done for!"
Wait. British accent? Really?
"Bloody hell, told him not to rush," he curses, tugging my axe free.
"Wait— his eyes. That's an Uchiha."
"Blimey…"
Then the axe explodes.
My explosive one.
Both gone in a flash.
I crawl out of the ropes.
Two down.
But only one chakra left.
Lesson learned: just because someone feels like Kakashi… doesn't mean they *are* Kakashi.
Damn it, why am I even using him as a scale? That's insane.
Another chakra— Kankuro.
Charging straight at me. Kunai drawn.
Oh god. Is he here to kill me too?
Shit... I can't get out.
I'm panicking!!!!
I'm gonna die to a freekin' puppet!!!!
His puppet launches at me like a demon.
I scream like a little girl.
"I surrender! I surrender!"
But the puppet slams into another attacker instead.
Steel on steel.
The clash booms. Puppet shoves him back.
I rip the ropes with my razors in my arm warmers, roll forward, grab Gaara, and bolt.
Kankuro's right on me.
"Who are they?!" he yells.
"I don't know!!"
"Where are we going?!"
"I don't know! But there's thirty, maybe forty shinobi in this forest!!!"
"What the fuck?! Where'd they come from?!"
"I DON'T KNOW! Just give me orders— where do I take your brother?!"
"Shit— we need to reach the tower!"
"Ay ay!" I pump harder.
\[DUUMMM!]
That sounded like a gunshot.
Kami's name— what the hell is happening?!
Gunfire rips through the forest.
Automatic. Splinters fly.
Something whistles down.
A mortar shell?
Is that freekin' morter shell??
"Ideat!!! Look out!"...
It lands in front of me.
Kankuro shoves me—
Explosion.
Smoke. Fire. Splinters.
My ears ring.
Gaara's still on me.
Kankuro bleeding, puppet shredded.
Shadows dash past— familiar shapes.
Then— hands shaking my shoulder.
Naruto.
"Get up, bastard!" he screams in my face.
He yanks me upright.
"We've got a job to do!"
I don't know what's happening.
I don't know why he's here.
But I know one thing.
I'm so fucking glad Naruto is here.