Kimimaro and the others were trying their best to escort Ganryu, who had been badly injured in their fight against Zabuza to the hidden Waterfall village.
So far, the group could slip past most enemies without being seen. Fortunately for them, the ones who had didn't live very long.
"How much further?" Koyuki asked.
"It's not far now, we should be coming up on the secret entrance in another mile," Haku said, using his memory to its best having been able to study the map before the mission.
"Good. He might not last much longer." Kogetsu added, knowing that Ganryu's wound was getting worse.
Suddenly a large explosion and the feeling of the ground itself shaking caused everyone to halt their advance.
"Earthquake?" Kujira said, trying to see what was going on.
"No... This isn't an earthquake." Haku then said, being able to sense the chakra of who was causing this, as well as the team who was fighting them.
Iseto and the others had been facing off against the Stone shinobi that had surrounded them. Deciding to pit them against one of their own for a bit of sport before killing them off.
However, the three of them quickly realised that Shinobu was no normal ninja. And together, the three of them had paid the price for underestimating him.
Iseto now stood alone, feeling beaten and worthless. Finding himself at the mercy of Shinobu, who had used his earth-style jutsu to completely overwhelm him and his teammates.
"Seno... Horime..." Iseto said as he searched for the bodies of his friends.
"Damn, Shinobu did it again." One of the Stone ninjas said, whistling as he said it.
"Yes... He is indeed a gifted shinobi." The leader of the Stone ninja said, keeping his armed crossed over his chest as he waited to see what he would do next.
"You son of a bitch..." Iseto said before he looked at Shinobu. Using his hands to form some hand signs at a slow pace, showing how exhausted he was from the battle so far.
"It's no use. This fight is over." Shinobu said. Using his earth style to suddenly trap Iseto as the ground around him seemed to swallow him whole, leaving only his head free.
"I take no pleasure in your death," Shinobu said as he slowly approached Iseto, standing over him and looking down at him without any emotion.
Iseto was unable to move and felt helpless. Knowing full well that this was the end of the line for him. Uchiha or not.
However, Shinobu stopped his final attack at the last second, taking only a moment before he turned around on his heels and deflected three shuriken that would have hit him in the back of the neck and head.
Both Chika and Kujira landed on the ground as they revealed themselves to Shinobu and the other Stone shinobi.
"Looks like we have more bugs to squash." One of the other Stone ninja said, seeing the surprise attack from the two Mist ninjas.
"Looks like we can finally get stuck in!" Another said, seeming excited for battle.
Their faces soon changed when ice burst from their feet, giving them but a second to scream before they were swallowed whole by it, forever encased in their new frozen grave.
All but the leader of the group and one other had been caught in the surprise attack, making the leader of the Stone ninja very aware that Kujira and Chika were only decoys.
"It's an ambush, retreat!" The Stone leader said, saying it loud enough so Shinobu could also hear him.
"Looks like you got lucky today," Shinobu said before turning to look at Iseto.
"But next time I will finish you."
Iseto could feel the rage burning inside of him, trying to force himself free from the ground, but to no avail.
With that Shinobu suddenly sank into the ground, disappearing from everyone's view as he made his escape with expert skill.
"Let them go!" Kogetsu quickly yelled as he watched both Haku and Kimimaro about to make chase.
Both of them stopped, obeying his order without question and let the remaining Stone shinobi flee, even if they did wish to kill them.
"Retrieve the wounded and let's move out! We don't have time to chase them down." Kogetsu said, getting a nod from the others.
"Besides, we don't know who else is out there."
"Iseto... Are you ok?" Haku asked while helping him out of the ground.
"I'm fine." He said, clearly not being alright before he looked over to the others, seeing if they had found his teammates.
"Seno! Horime!" He yelled, trying to run forwards and not realizing his leg was hurt pretty bad, falling over before he could take two steps.
Kimimaro had found Seno, who was alive but badly hurt. However, Horime's body was already starting to go cold, and Koyuki simply shook her head before placing her body down.
"No... No, it can't be!" Iseto said with tears of pain and anger running down his cheeks.
Nobody said anything for a moment, knowing the pain and what it was like to have a comrade die in battle.
Hattori and Yuri having felt the loss of it not so long ago also understood what he was going through.
"Alright, it's not safe here. We have to go now." Kogetsu said, knowing they couldn't wait much longer with the state of things. Not to mention the possibility of being attacked again.
Haku helped Iseto up and supported his weight so he could stand on his bad leg.
"No, I can do it!" He yelled, forgetting that his leg was in fact badly hurt.
"You need to stop and think for a moment, Iseto. Remember your mission." Haku said, being kind to him before he helped him again, this time Iseto letting him take his weight, knowing he was right.
"Alright everyone, let's get moving," Kogetsu said, getting a nod from everyone.
"W-wait!" Iseto yelled, turning his head to look back at Horime's body.
"We have to leave her behind and proceed with the mission," Kogetsu said bluntly.
"No way! We can't just leave her behind!" Iseto shouted, clearly not accepting what needed to be done.
"We don't have time for this," Kogetsu said before he nodded to Haku.
"Sorry about this, Iseto," he said with a smile.
Iseto didn't even have time to think before Haku swiftly chopped him in the back of the neck, knocking him out cold and catching his body before it fell.
Nobody said a word before Koyuki piped up.
"About time someone shut him up." She said, getting no comment from the others.
With that the squad finally moved out, heading for the hidden Waterfall village just as they had planned before running into Iseto and his squad.
The lot of them had been travelling for some time now, heading in the direction of the hidden Waterfall and soon coming across the secret entrance to their land.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Koyuki asked as she looked over at Haku.
"This is it." He said, looking at the large cave formation that would lead them where they needed to go.
"This is the place." Kogetsu also said, confirming Haku's words.
"Come on, let's get inside," Kogetsu said, about to take another step forwards.
"Hold it!" A voice suddenly yelled, stopping him and the others in their tracks.
"Look, above us," Kimimaro said, remaining calm.
The others all looked up seeing that they had been surrounded by Waterfall ninja, seeming to be guarding the entrance to the cave.
"Look, they are Mist shinobi." One of the Waterfall ninja said, noticing the headbands they were wearing.
"I can see that." The leader of their group said.
"But how do we know they are friends and not enemies in disguise?" He said, causing the others to grow suspicious.
"We have been sent by our Mizukage and the Hokage to aid you in your battle with the enemy nations. Although we have been delayed and split up, others should have already arrived." Kogetsu said, trying to reason with them.
The leader of the Waterfall unit gave them a hard look.
"I will ask you this only once." He said.
"What is the code word?"
Everyone looked at each other to see if anyone else knew what it was, not remembering being told anything about a code word.
Even Kogetsu didn't know there was a code word.
"We don't know the code word," Kogetsu said, knowing what was most likely about to happen next.
The Waterfall shinobi all made their weapons ready as they waited for their leader to give the order.
"If you don't know the password, then you have no business being here. And if you have no business being here, then you might as well be dead!" The Waterfall leader shouted, lifting his arm as he got ready to give the signal.
Everyone was put on their back foot, seeing as how the Waterfall ninja had them surrounded and had the high ground, things didn't look good for them at all.
"Now what do we do?" Koyuki asked, jumping back to back with Chika, who also seemed worried.
"Be ready everyone, things could get messy here," Kogetsu said, also not knowing what to do.
"W-wait..." A weak voice said, seeming to grab everyone's attention.
"Ganryu?" Kogetsu asked, knowing that he should be too weak to speak at this point.
"I have the password..." Ganryu said in his weakened state.
"Hold it!" The Waterfall leader said, stopping his men from attacking at the last second.
"The... The password is... When fire and Ice meet... The land shall become fresh once more." Ganryu said before he passed out again.
Everyone remained quiet for a moment as they waited to see what was about to happen.
"That is indeed the password..." The Waterfall leader said, lowering his weapon and standing upright and putting his own men at ease.
"Get these men inside boys, it looks like they could use a hand."
Kogetsu and the others breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the pressure being taken off of them.
"Alright, everyone. Let's get those that need it medical attention and then regroup with the others.
"Yes sir." Everyone said before they followed the Waterfall ninja into the cave, heading towards their next mission.
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Ok going to end this one here! I hope you are enjoying the story, and as always thank you all for your support!
Remember to check out my P.atreon if you want more!