Red Butterfly

Chapter 19, Chronicles of The Third Great Ninja War: Part 3

Battlefield, Hidden Rain Village

A sudden wave of relief encroached Ichiko's heart once she caught sight of Hayate's blue orbs. Hayate, as usual, gave her his heart-warming smirk and she couldn't have been more appeased. Their exchange was cut short when boulders from the Earth Style Mud Wall began tumbling down from the bombardment impact. Eventually, it was bound to cause an avalanche.

However, Hayate didn't even have the time to think of himself, since not all of his comrades made it under Ichiko's Susano'o. Simultaneously, he began flickering back and forth between the battlefield. Swinging as much of his comrades over his shoulder and making sure they all make it under the Susano'o. He wasn't even aware that he has cut off his breath as he clenched his jaw. His speed seemed to have doubled from the last time he performed his Teleportation Technique, even Ichiko's Mangeyko Sharingan was struggling to keep up with his speed.

Small sounds of cracking were heard from the Mud Wall, the pouring rain making it tumble faster than it should. Hayate's dampened hair fell over his eyes as he finally gasped for air. He had delivered close to a hundred Leaf Shinobi under the Susano'o's wing.

"Ichiko! Concentrate!", Fugaku ordered in haste as he saw the yellow flame of the Susano'o slightly falter. "Strengthen your defense!", he urged, beads of sweat dripping at the side of his face.

"Hayate...", Ichiko's voice trailed off. She, too, wanted to save as much of her comrades as possible. Hayate was running out of chakra, he knew that eventually, he'd have to save himself too. Ichiko was on her nerves, she internally cursed Hayate for being so stubborn while they were in the middle of a war. The avalanche was nearing its breaking point as larger boulders collapsed from the Mud Wall, snapping Ichiko out of her trance. She bit her lower lip, flaring her eyelashes, she channeled every ounce of her strength into generating her humanoid.

Everyone held their breath as The Mud wall came loose and boulders began collapsing down. The rubble had finally descended along with the rain, taking its shapes like a wave of rocks and hefty boulders. This time, the attack was going to be a serious strike for both sides. The Hidden Leaf had already taken precaution by taking shelter under the Susano'o humanoid. However, the Hidden Stone were worn out from their earlier attack which backfired on them, thus, rendering them defenseless.

Hayate was out of Ichiko's sight, he seemed to be protecting his comrades that didn't make it under the Susano'o shield. In spite of her hastening heart, Ichiko knew that the mission of protecting the Leaf shinobi was far more crucial than anything at the moment. Hayate can manage on his own. She thought to herself. The attack of the crumbling Mud Wall had finally launched, impacting damage on both sides of the battlefield.

The attack sparred no mercy as it pummeled upon the Susano'o. The Mangeyko Sharingan had curses of its own since it was depleting Ichiko's chakra faster than usual.

Everything as of now depended on Ichiko and Hayate as they both squandered their chakra to the maximum to challenge this calamity. Fugaku clenched his jaw when he felt like there was nothing he could do to aid his two comrades in action. He hated this feeling of having his hands tied when there's so much he wanted to do.

Ichiko was deadset on escorting her comrades safely to their village. She made up her mind that if she were to die, she'd rather die from expending her own chakra rather than dying to a boulder. Meanwhile, Hayate was utilizing his Wind Style to deliver various wind attacks towards the exceptionally large boulders. He tears boulder after boulder using the very technique he developed.

Wind Style: Wind Blade Strike

This was done by focusing chakra into the palms of one's hands and using that concentrated chakra in order to manipulate and bend the wind to their liking. In Hayate's case, he bends the wind into forming blades and sliced his way through the avalanche.