"Team 7, led by Hatake Kakashi, faced Momochi Zabuza, and to protect his students, got injured. The Missing-Nin from Kiri is one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and he has formed a band of Mercenary Ninjas, which include his Apprentice, Gengo..." Iruka-sensei, who was present in the room, solemnly gave them the details. "Kakashi sent us one of his ninken to deliver the news. They need help, but given the involvement of several A-Rank Missing-Nin, this Mission is not easy..."
"Anko," the Hokage interjected, his voice heavy, "You will meet Uzuki Yugao, Hyuga Tokuma, and Inuzuka Hana at the Gate with Kakashi's Ninken, Pakkun. You are in charge of this S-Rank Mission, and your Team will be going with you. Bring Team 7 back to Konoha and eliminate Zabuza and his Mercenary Group."
"As you say, Hokage-sama." Anko bowed to him, accepted the scroll that Hiruzen threw at her, and then Team 5 followed their Sensei to the Gate.
She glanced at her team, who looked very solemn but stayed in formation behind her, keeping up with her.
"Do you need time to get some supplies?"
"No," Karin shook her head, and Enma and Shizuka did the same.
"Want to say goodbye to your families? It's possible that we won't return alive." She grinned, and Shizuka's face paled a little.
"We have no intentions of dying, Sensei." Enma chuckled at her words, and seeing how relaxed he was, the raven-haired girl quickly calmed down as well.
At the Gate, the three Shinobi were waiting for them with Pakkun just as the Hokage had told them, and Anko did not stop as she rushed straight out of the Gate.
Uzuki Yugao, Inuzuka Hana, and Hyuga Tokuma silently joined the Formation, and once they entered the forest, they picked up the pace.
Shizuka, who had been training all day, was tired, and she blushed hard when Enma suddenly grabbed her and put her on his back.
Anko glanced behind, smiled when she saw what he was doing, and then nodded her head before going even faster.
Under them, on the ground, Pakkun, atop one of the three Haimaru Brothers, who belonged to the Inuzuka, was keeping up with their pace.
Everyone realised that time was the key here, so no one complained about being pushed so hard.
"Hana-nee, where's your Team?" Karin curiously asked the Chunin, who smiled at her.
"I don't have a Team anymore."
Shizuka tensed up at her words, and the Inuzuka grinned at her reaction.
"They are fine but have chosen to take a break from their duties. The Team is disbanded, and my Sensei is out on a Mission."
"Retired?" the Uzumaki curiously asked.
"Yes. One of them, yes, but I don't know what the other one is doing."
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"For now, I am working on becoming a Tokubetsu Jonin."
"Tracking Expert?"
"Yes." Hana nodded her head and curiously looked at her. "Not scared?"
"About what?"
"It's an S-Rank Mission."
"And I am an S-Rank Kunoichi." She grinned, and everyone smiled at her confidence.
Karin then curiously looked at Yugao, whom she knew was an Anbu, but she was wearing a Tokubetsu Jonin vest right now. She was very familiar with her Chakra as she had seen her keep a watch on Naruto.
Sensing her eyes, the purple-haired lady curiously looked at her, and the Uzumaki smiled at her before focusing ahead.
A few seconds later, falling in line behind her brother, she closed her eyes and focused on scanning their surroundings with her Mind's Eye of Kagura. Even though it was not perfect when moving, far from Enma's innate link to it, it was still quite useful.
At midnight, after they had covered a distance of around 450 km, Anko signalled them to stop and get some rest.
Since Shizuka had taken a nap on Enma's back and had now recovered, she helped her Sensei keep a watch as everyone else took their power naps.
Four hours later, at exactly 4 am, Anko woke everyone up, and they resumed their journey.
At 10 am, she again asked them to take a break, where they had their meals and recovered their Chakra, and two hours later, they resumed their journey.
They stopped again at midnight, having covered a total distance of 2,000 kilometres since they left Konoha, and now, Wave Country was only 400 kilometres away.
Shizuka was very tired, having never pushed herself to travel this hard, and since they needed to be in their best shape, Anko allowed them to rest until 7 am.
It was at noon that they closed in on the Bridge that was under construction, and right now, an Evil Chakra was flaring up from a source that was hidden in the fog that covered the bridge.
That Evil Chakra was leaking out of Naruto. Enma had already informed them about it a few minutes ago.
"Tokuma, Hana, Shizuka, stay hidden. Only enter the battle on my signal. Meanwhile, keep an eye on the surroundings. If we are hard-pressed, take away that woman, kid, and the old man whom Kakashi and his team are protecting."
Anko gave her command and then led everyone else right onto the bridge, where a terrifying battle was underway.
Enma and Karin landed next to Sakura and Sasuke, nearly scaring the life out of them, and the Uchiha, whose body was littered with senbon, making him look like a porcupine, smiled in relief.
The Uzumaki Princess did not pay attention to anything else as she quickly and carefully removed the senbon from Sasuke's body, and Enma quickly finished his hand seals and then two smoke bombs appeared out of his pouch on their own.
"Sealing Art: The Hexagonal Prism." He smashed his hands into the bridge, and soon, barriers shot up from under them and caged them inside it.
Being familiar with the Jutsu, and understanding her brother's intentions, Karin quickly created three Shadow Clones, who transformed into the three civilians whom Team 7 were protecting.
Sakura and Sasuke did not even realise that she had switched places with the old Man, the woman, and the kid, whom Enma had hidden inside a second barrier, hiding them from the eyes of everyone.
"Karin, stay with them," he ordered her, and his sister obediently nodded to him.
Enma then quickly left the Hexagonal Prism and sealed it from the outside after clearing away the smoke and the fog, which had Zabuza's Chakra flowing through it, allowing him to sense everything that was happening.
Anko and Yugao had joined the battle against the man named Gengo and the rest of the Kiri Missing-Nin, and Kakashi finally received some breathing room to focus on Zabuza.
However, suddenly, the tide of the battle that had shifted their way leaned in the favour of their enemies again.
Strange whispers started sounding out in the Fog, and only those who were inside the Hexagonal Prism could not hear them.
Enma could see the Chakra that those whispers contained, and he quickly blocked his sense of hearing, but his mind was still rattled by the powerful Genjutsu that threatened to pull him out of reality.
He heard his father's voice, saw his face again, and then watched him get impaled by someone from behind, leaving a gaping hole in his chest.
He then saw the same happen to Kushina, his mother, and his siblings, and his brows furrowed as his heart started to slow down.
His instincts kicked in, and he focused solely on his Mind's Eye, managing to duck in time to avoid the sword that was coming to decapitate him.
Fighting through the terrible illusions, he rushed towards Naruto, who was attacking Anko and Yugao now, who too were fighting against the terrible Genjutsu and trying to break free.
"Look behind you." He heard the words and saw the foreign Chakra entering his ears again. "Look behind you..."
His Sensei and the Anbu Kunoichi were hearing the same words, and they were trying their hardest not to look behind them.
His blond friend, however, suddenly stopped and looked behind, and he had now completely fallen under the Genjutsu.
"Naruto..." he called out to the boy, who suddenly charged at him at a terrifying speed, but Enma managed to use Substitution at the last moment and bound the raging beast with his glowing white Chakra Chains.
He did the same as he wrapped them around Anko and Yugao, who were rushing to his side, and as soon as they came in contact with his Chains, their minds cleared up.
"Thanks, Kid." His Sensei grinned before she created two Shadow Clones, and sent them both to deal with the hundreds of mercenaries who were charging at them, now under the control of Gengo's Genjutsu.
"Can you help him break out of the Genjutsu?" Yugao glanced at Naruto, who was going even more berserk, trying to break free, but seemed incapable of doing it.
"He will be fine. I suggest that you block your ears. His Genjutsu works only if you listen to those whispers."
The two nodded their heads and blocked the dozens of kunai and shuriken that were thrown at them.
Enma watched them engage the enemies again, and dragged Naruto with him, close to the Hexagonal Prism.
As soon as they got close, Sasuke and Sakura were able to see them again, and they both became anxious when they saw Naruto in his crazed stage.
Eventually, Enma sapped all of the Chakra that had leaked out of the Seal on the boy's stomach, and then his Chains glowed white, and Naruto immediately calmed down.
"Send him in!" Sakura told him, but the Uzumaki did not respond.
"He cannot open the Prism again because it would dispel it, and he cannot hear us just like we cannot hear things that are happening outside," Karin informed the girl who was panicking again.
Suddenly, Enma wrapped his Chains around the barrier, picked up the Prism and rushed back, retreating from the Bridge.
Getting his signal, Hana, Shizuka, and Tokuma immediately came out of hiding and protectively stood around him.
Enma retracted his Chakra Chains, and then quickly formed some hand seals.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
He deeply inhaled the air around them, and then exhaled a powerful storm that cleared away the mist that covered the two-kilometre long bridge.
It was a show of strength that stunned them.
Sakura and Sasuke soon gasped when they saw how many people Anko and Yugao were up against, and Kakashi was panting heavily and bleeding from his back as he fought against Zabuza.
"Stay here," said Enma before he made a cross sign. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu..."
Tokuma's mouth dropped open in dismay and Hana felt dizzy when she saw hundreds of Uzumaki Enma rush forward to engage the enemies on the bridge.
How big were his Chakra Reserves?!