Memories slowly took shape... like bubbles rising from the depths of a dark, unfathomable well.
Where am I?
Uchiha Tatsumi closed his eyes, straining to remember.
Suddenly, a blurry figure stood before him. He rubbed his eyes, trying to discern who it was, but the person seemed separated from him by a black iron gate.
Without warning, the figure emitted a white light, growing brighter and brighter. Their entire body began to tremble violently, followed by a deafening roar as they shattered into thousands of glowing fragments. Everything around him instantly turned to ruins, the stench of death permeating the air.
Tatsumi cried out and woke with a start.
The air was thick with the pungent smell of blood. A violent shaking made his body ache even more.
He turned his head, but even that small movement caused a splitting headache, as if a long nail had been hammered into his skull. Taking several deep breaths to alleviate the pain, he slowly surveyed his surroundings.
At that moment, his head was resting against a soft back, and he was being carried rapidly forward in the darkness.
The surroundings were no longer the small town; they were in a forest. Because it was night, visibility was poor.
"Tatsumi, you're awake?" A figure approached, having heard his stirring. The voice, tinged with a sob, was unmistakably Mikoto's. She was also injured, with bloodstains on her body, and her black eyes showed deep concern.
Seeing Tatsumi awake, the others stopped running. Only then did he realize that the one carrying him was Yūri.
"Put me down," Tatsumi said weakly, coughing.
Yūri paused, then carefully lowered him to the ground.
Tatsumi sat beneath a large tree. He tried to move his right arm, but a sharp pain forced him to stop.
His head throbbed with a piercing, excruciating pain. Carefully, he raised his uninjured left arm and gently touched his scalp, trying to locate the source of the headache.
Beneath a tangled clump of hair, he felt a hard scab.
The wound had already crusted over.
It seemed he was seriously injured. He remembered being hit in the head by a rock before losing consciousness.
Yūri looked at the boy with a complicated expression.
At the last moment, his small body had stood in front of everyone, forming earth-style ninjutsu to block the impact of the explosion.
And it was he who, as the entire basement collapsed, used his fists to smash the falling boulders.
As a result, the others had not been seriously injured. Instead, Tatsumi had suffered considerable injuries.
She owed this boy her life.
Tatsumi looked around and asked, "Where are we?"
Nawaki quickly explained, "In a forest west of the town. After the explosion, we emerged from the ruins and are now heading towards the Leaf Village camp."
"What about the others?" Tatsumi asked.
Everyone fell silent. In such an explosion and collapse, without prior warning, survival would have been impossible.
"The Iwa-nin should still be chasing us, right?" Tatsumi inquired.
Yūri's face turned grim. "That's right. After the explosion, I sensed strange chakra rapidly approaching us. So, I took you away quickly."
She turned her gaze to Tatsumi. "What exactly happened?"
Tatsumi took a deep breath. "That Iwa-nin was actually a trap. The Sharingan can see chakra flow."
"There was a strange chakra flow in that ninja's abdomen, probably something like an explosive tag."
"He pretended to be captured; you brought him back, and the device was detonated. Without Byakugan or Sharingan, it would have been impossible to detect the anomaly on his body," Tatsumi explained.
Yūri nodded. "After the detonation, even if we hadn't died, the location of the base would have been exposed. The remaining Iwa-nin would have come to claim our heads. The Iwa-nin truly have cunning methods!"
Tatsumi nodded, acknowledging that in any era, human bombs were among the most terrifying weapons.
"By the way, what's the situation now? Did we escape?" Tatsumi asked, looking at Yūri, who had sensory abilities.
Yūri shook her head. "On the contrary, we're surrounded."
"How many enemies are there?"
"Ten. Based on previous encounters, most of them are Chunin. But their captain is Iwa Village's genius ninja—Explosion Release Hunter," Yūri sighed.
"But there are only four of us. In that case..." Nawaki didn't finish his sentence.
Indeed, everyone was injured, with Tatsumi being the most severely wounded.
If Tatsumi weren't injured, with his strength, alongside Yūri, even if they couldn't defeat the enemy head-on, they could escape unscathed. But now, Tatsumi shook his head. Escaping would already be a stroke of luck.
"The enemy hasn't pinpointed our exact location yet. We can set up an ambush and then break through," Mikoto suggested.
"It's useless. In this situation, someone has to act as bait to hold them back," Yūri shook her head.
"Bait? That's certain death."
Yes, it was certain death. Yūri sighed.
Actually, there was another method: to escape separately. Then everyone would be bait.
Of the four, the Uchiha clan boy was the strongest. But he was now the most seriously injured, making movement difficult. Then Yūri's strength was the greatest. If they escaped separately, plus she had sensory abilities, then her chances of survival were the highest.
This was the root of war, this was the cruelty of war. To minimize losses, sometimes... sacrificing pawns was necessary.
However, she rejected this plan in her heart. How could she do such a thing after being saved by the other party?
She told herself that she had to repay what she owed—a life for a life, right?
Yūri stood up. "I'll be the bait!"
The three looked at Yūri.
"Yūri, no!" Nawaki's tears immediately flowed down.
Yūri patted Nawaki's head. "If this continues, everyone will die! Do you want to watch everyone die?"
"But..."
"No buts," Yūri's voice turned cold. "My two older brothers both died on this battlefield. Now it's my turn."
"I'm begging you!"
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