(A Decade Earlier)
Ukina Uzumaki flinched and cowered behind her position as thunderous explosions rained all around her, marred with the screams of her comrades that were ripped to shreds at the base of the mountain.
She sneaked a peek and was heartbroken on seeing the enemy fleet had been successful.
The Southern borders leading towards Uzu were defended by the Fujima Mountains and the wide sea that was full of whirlpools and dangerous storms. It was considered extremely difficult to invade with high casualty rates for any enemy force, hence the village elders had only deployed a small company of their ninjas to defend this route leaving the majority of their forces to defend the other more vulnerable directions.
Ukina had remembered how horrified her Captain had been on learning of how undermanned his entire sector was going to be and had protested fiercely to the leadership arguing about the grave risk it would be to the village's safety. Ultimately, Captain Daisuke had only been assured of timely and sufficient reinforcements in the event he came under heavy attack from the enemy forces.
The fifteen year old Uzumaki chunin could only curse that decision and her own misfortune when Kumogakure sent two entire battalions to invade. For days, their naval ships had bombarded the beach thereby inflicting casualties, reducing morale and weakening the barrier seals that Captain Daisuke had erected across the coast.
Captain Daisuke had called for reinforcements immediately after seeing the gravity of the situation.
That had been ten days ago...
Now their beach was overrun courtesy of the enemy successfully turning off the whirlpool storms that had defended the coast as a natural barrier. Uzu's leadership had put a lot of unnecessary faith in the natural forces protecting their nation and the screams of her comrades were a proof of that mistake as the overrun defenders retreated hastily towards the Fujima Mountains which would serve as their second line of defense now that the beach was overrun.
Even now, the enemy ships were bombarding their retreat and the explosions had now reached the slope of the mountain where Ukina's bunker was situated. She dared not venture out into the open and only watched sadly as a Jounin was blown in half when one of the bombs launched by the enemy fleet landed a few feet away from him.
He was not the only one as nearly half of the retreating Uzumaki force was knocked off its feet by the following shockwave, much to the delight of the Kumogakure battalion right on their heels.
Captain Daisuke saw the horror and turned back towards the direction of the approaching enemy forces alongwith few of the other surviving Jounin.
"GO! Save yourselves!" yelled Daisuke fiercely,
Many of the younger and injured Uzumaki were jolted out of their shocked daze on hearing their leader's fierce command. They watched him and seven other Jounin form a defensive line between them and the approaching enemy troops.
That sight was enough to instill enough courage into Ukina that she jumped out of her bunker and looked at her comrades of the "Rear Guard" currently hiding inside similar bunkers nearby.
"Save the wounded!"
She was surprised on hearing the strength and resolve in her own warcry, but it was enough as seven of her comrades joined her as together they descended down the slope rapidly towards the limping forms of their retreating comrades.
Captain Daiksuke and his Jounin's had formed a barrier that had blocked the enemy's charge, but judging from its rapidly crumbling state...it wouldn't hold for long.
"Quick! Water clones!" she commanded,
"Roger!" chorused her fellow chunin beside her, as they all formed nearly two dozen water clones that now ran alongside them.
ČTEŠ
The Seventh Swordsman
Fanfikce"My sword is yours in victory and defeat", Naruto remembered pledging those words to the Second Mizukage as he became one of the feared Seven. He swore to defend Kiri, to protect its people and serve its Kage until his dying breath. But he also made...
