Chapter 33: Rescue
Kitsuchi sensed Ishiro's Earth Spear Gun about to erupt, so he sprang into the air and avoided the first two stone spikes. From mid-air, he flung shuriken to force Tanaka—who was closing in—to break off her approach.
While airborne, he saw Tanaka sidestep the shuriken, then tried to readjust his own landing. He already had a plan to counter Ishiro's Earth Spear Gun, but he forgot there was a third member of Team Five.
Originally, in Ishiro's plan, Shouhara had stayed farther back. Now, he quietly closed in, capitalizing on Kitsuchi's in-air immobility. At once, Shouhara launched two kunai in a lightning-fast throw.
Hearing the kunai whoosh by at close range, Kitsuchi's heart sank. There was no time to dodge mid-air. He twisted his body as best he could, but two kunai still punctured him with wet thunks. One, propelled by enough force, even pierced clean through him. The old stab wound from Tanaka—aggravated by his forced twisting—began spurting fresh blood.
That wasn't even the worst part. Continuously battered, he could no longer control his stance, and he plummeted straight down. As expected, more stone spikes erupted from below, impaling him completely.
Seeing him die, Team Five didn't let their guard down. They waited a few seconds to confirm the body didn't move. Then Shouhara strode over, raised his weapon, and beheaded the foe with a single swing.
No hesitation. Ishiro came up and stashed the severed head in a cloth bag. The three then re-formed a combat formation and raced to assist Kitsuchi.
In truth, Kitsuchi needed no assistance. As a Jōnin from one of the Great Nations, dispatching two Chūnin was well within his power. However, the two enemies kept threatening the civilians hidden in the rocky zone. One moment they'd strike at Kitsuchi, the next they would unleash attacks aimed at the stone rubble—forcing Kitsuchi to protect the people inside, splitting his focus.
Hence, Ishiro and the others arrived before Kitsuchi could finish them off.
At the sight of the approaching rookies instead of their ally, the remaining pair of missing-nin realized their hopes were dashed. They let out a desperate roar and launched a final assault.
The taijutsu user produced an explosive tag and lit it, charging toward the rubble. Simultaneously, the ninjutsu user saw Kitsuchi's attention drawn to saving the hidden civilians, so he rapidly formed seals and unleashed a jutsu at Ishiro's trio.
Ishiro sensed danger at once. He shouted for them to stop and formed seals as fast as he could. Just as a hail of Earth Dragon Bullets rained down, Ishiro slammed his hands to the ground, barely erecting an Earth-Style Wall in time.
Two blasts followed in quick succession: the first from the explosive tag in the distance, the second from enemy projectiles smashing Ishiro's earthen barrier. By the time the dust settled, although the wall was heavily damaged, it had done its job. The trio exhaled in relief.
Maintaining full vigilance, they skirted around the wall to confront the enemy—only to see Kitsuchi already standing by the ninjutsu user's remains.
No time was wasted. Kitsuchi signaled them to help rescue the civilians.
Because of the countless explosive tags that had gone off earlier, the rocky field lay in chaotic ruins. Moments prior, Kitsuchi had used Earth Release to shield the threatened allies, so the whole place hadn't collapsed entirely. Ishiro and friends hurried over to dig out the four people inside.
This turned out to be a squad of four. Their captain was a male Chūnin with three teammates two years older than Ishiro's group. It was a typical post-graduation cell with average talent. Despite two years of missions, they still hovered around lower-tier Genin strength, and the Chūnin leader was only borderline. Ishiro suspected he'd only advanced due to experience and the war's accelerating factor.
Still, he was a fellow comrade, so Team Five made no judgments about them. Ishiro and the others gently extricated the four from the fallen rocks; Kitsuchi handled emergency first-aid. Ishiro's trio had no training in medical ninjutsu. They'd learned the theory in class, but not enough to apply in a life-or-death scenario, so Kitsuchi stepped in.
The Chūnin captain was severely injured. He had burned up massive chakra to buy his squad time to retreat, then aggravated his wounds fleeing all the way here. Finally, in that stone formation, he tried to hold off three mid-level missing-nin. Now he was simply out of gas. Not even Kitsuchi's basic first-aid could do more than stabilize him—he was in no state to be moved. They had to wait for further support.
As for the three younger subordinates, none had advanced ninjutsu beyond the Three Basic Techniques, and all specialized in taijutsu. Ishiro found himself reflecting that, if not for his strong spiritual energy, he might be exactly like them—scraping by on meager skill, inching forward without special tutoring or resources, risking his life in war.
While waiting for backup, Kitsuchi listened to the four share what had happened, with Ishiro's squad overhearing. They'd had a decent run of luck on their earlier mission, but trouble struck on the way home, stumbling upon these rogue ninja. The conflict broke out so quickly that neither side could react properly. The Chūnin's seasoned reflexes and readiness to sacrifice himself gave the team a chance to withdraw.
All this hammered home a lesson for Ishiro: This is the real shinobi world. The relative peace he'd enjoyed was bought by countless seniors giving their all. He replayed the recent battle in his mind, especially the moment he had to step in as de facto commander, critiquing every weakness.
Soon, a masked ninja squad arrived swiftly from the distance. Three ANBU. Spotting Kitsuchi, one quickly used a set of standard hand-signals. Kitsuchi and the others maintained a guarded stance, but after exchanging hand-seal communications, the ANBU eased up slightly. Even so, they never fully dropped their guard.
After verifying the injured Chūnin's condition, one ANBU with medical-nin training began healing him. Ishiro was surprised—he'd never seen a dedicated medic among the ANBU. In the current post-war period, not even Konoha had truly universal medics. He guessed that Iwa's advanced medical methods were in short supply; it was unusual to see them so soon. Ishiro watched with interest.
The ANBU ninja used Mystical Palm multiple times in a short interval, thoroughly patching the Chūnin. Observing how much chakra was required for repeated heals confirmed to Ishiro that medical ninjutsu wasn't an option for him—his limited chakra would never suffice.
Finishing up, the medical ANBU checked the other three subordinates. After confirming that Kitsuchi's first-aid was competent, he left them as-is. Meanwhile, the other two ANBU had remained on guard the entire time.
A short round of improvised stretcher-building followed. With two of the unhurt subordinates carrying their Chūnin captain, the entire group, now with an ANBU escort, headed back toward the village.
For Ishiro, the mission experience left a profound impression. This truly is the ninja world. Danger is everywhere, but seniors have always stepped up, forging safe pockets of peace for the younger generation.
Returning to Iwa, Kitsuchi assigned Ishiro to write the mission report. As top of the class academically, Ishiro managed easily—but it was also part of Kitsuchi's plan to groom him. Ishiro wrote it meticulously, describing not just the events but also his reflections and lessons. Kitsuchi read it, satisfied, then pointed out a few details Ishiro had missed.
Because the mission encountered unexpected battle, Kitsuchi granted the trio extra days off. Ishiro used them to double down on unraveling the "Fire Domain" sealing technique. Deep inside, he felt that once he cracked it, he would gain benefits beyond what he'd initially imagined.
Three days later, Team Five regrouped at the mission hall for another C-rank mission. This time, it went uneventfully. Under Kitsuchi's protection, the three novices wiped out a band of mountain brigands—no real ninja among them, just a few who'd barely learned to mold chakra. Ishiro's group easily accomplished the mission with minimal fuss.
So it went for an entire year. They handled roughly one C-rank assignment every few days, each of varying length. Some took a day or two—like patrolling around the village at night, a coveted job that presumably gave new genin a window into the village's workings. Others ran a full week or more—like their most recent, a mission to ferret out a spy. Investigating leads consumed several days, followed by a lengthy pursuit and brief skirmish, turning it into a ten-day ordeal.
Naturally, after each lengthy mission, Kitsuchi gave them a similarly long rest period. On such breaks, Ishiro threw himself into deciphering the "Fire Domain" sealing. He was convinced it would yield treasures of knowledge.