Starting over

#89 Iwagakure

Naruto POV

We reached Iwagakure with surprising ease. We didn't have to evade one single patrol on the way through the land of earth. We hid in the mountains, as Anko and Neji went ahead to gather any intel on the positions of the guards and the council. We waited twenty minutes and I was just getting nervous that they might have been caught as the two came back around the corner. "Alright, the council is in the cellar of a small building near the gates. I counted five survivors and at least ten shinobi guarding the area, plus there have to be at least two squads of Anbu in the mountains around the villages gates, since I don't think that they leave their entrance without any protection. The house is the third building on the left of the gates, when coming from inside the village. We most likely will not get there without anyone seeing us.", Neji said, as soon as everyone had gathered. Nodding Temari and I looked at each other with serious faces. Temari shook her head indicating that she had not been able to come up with any kind of plan that would work. I sighed and thought over the plan that I was going to propose. It would be completely suicidal, but it had to be done for the success of the mission. "Alright, everyone, listen up. Neji and Temari you will go in for the council. Neji because he knows exactly where the council is located and can also spot any potential guards easily, while anyone else would be screwed in a tight space like a cellar. Temari you go with him, since I know that you can take out anything with ease. If you want take Shiji or Korun with you, but that is up to you. I will take team Daiku and attack the front gate, drawing their attention away from the prisoners. The others will stay just outside of the walls to link back up with Temari and Neji, when they come back out. Team Daiku and I will meet you along the way. As soon as Neji and Temari are back with you, you head to Suna, do not wait for us, we will be alright.", I explained the plan I had come up with on the spot. Temari looked at me with wide eyes. She knew exactly, that this plan was a sacrificial one and she didn't want that sacrifice to be me. The rest of the group only nodded, with my team preparing for the worst, looking through their weapons. "Everyone go to your positions, you will notice when we start attacking. Wait a few minutes so that everyone of the guards has been alerted properly and then begin with the extraction.", I ordered, receiving nods from the shinobi, before they all vanished, jumping towards the village beneath us.

"Why does it have to be you?", Temari asked as she walked to me, tears in her eyes. "Because no one else even stands a chance of surviving this. As soon as you are safely away from Iwa send some chakra into the ring and I will be there in a flash.", I whispered, pulling the kunoichi into a hug. Temari nodded, wiping away her tears. "Don't you dare to die on me.", she whispered back, before pressing her lips onto mine. Closing my eyes I pulled her even closer to me, before we broke the kiss. I smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, before she nodded and disappeared into the night.

As I got down to where my team was waiting for me, I saw Hori and Gabu kissing, while Paira stood a bit to the side, checking her weapons again. Once Hori and Gabu were done they put their masks back on and went back to their professional attitude, I couldn't be mad at them, since I too had just given my girlfriend a goodbye kiss, just to be safe. I waited with Paira for the two to come to us, before we started our assault. "Make noise but stay safe, when I fire an explosive kunai into the air I want you to come to me as soon as possible.", I instructed, earning nods. "Alright, let's do this.", I said as I put on my own mask and we made our way to the gates.

The two guards at the gates didn't even know what hit them, when a barrage of kunai hit them, almost killing them instantly. One of them managed to scream however, alerting the other shinobi in the area. We didn't have to wait as a squad of Anbu landed before us and another landed behind us. Hori and Gabu turned around, facing the squad behind us and I looked at Paira who I was facing the squad in front of us with. There was a long silence as everyone just stared at one another. I could see more and more chunin and jonin landing on top of the two buildings, that flanked the gates, waiting to see how this battle would unfold. "Go help Gabu and Hori. I got Akira.", I said to Paira who turned around, while I went through the all too familiar hand signs for the summoning jutsu. As soon as the smoke appeared, signaling Akira's arrival, I used the distraction to speed through hand signs again and blow out several air bullets against the squad of Anbu.

Behind me I heard Gabu and Hori launching a combination attack, using the fact that wind strengthens fire to boost the strength of Hori's fireball with a strong gust of wind from Gabu. Akira shot out of the smoke cloud, pouncing on the first Anbu in her sight and killing him swiftly with a bite in the throat. My air bullets only made the squad of Anbu scatter around me and Akira, isolating me from the rest of my team. I took out a few of my kunai and threw them at my opponents, who sidestepped them easily. I smirked however and took out my sword, which had its own hiraishin marker engraved in the hilt. They would learn to fear the power of the hiraishin once again.