Chapter 274 - Iruka's Resolve

With Genma.

The Special Jonin was rushing through the rooftops and headed in the direction of the East Canyons. He could hear the sounds of fighting in several areas of the village and he ignored them. He had a job to do and he trusted his fellow ninjas to capture the escapees. As Genma was making his way towards his destination, he suddenly heard the scream of a woman coming from nearby. He jumped and saw three prisoners attacking a pair of old civilians down in an alley..

Genma couldn't ignore their scream for help and he rushed towards the convicts. Several shuriken went flying from his fingers and struck one of the enemy while Genma spit his senbon at the shoulder of the other.

The Leaf ninja appeared in front of the civilians and looked at the three. "Fellas. Just give up and you won't get hurt."

"In your dreams you bastard."

One of the prisoners rushed to attack but the Jonin quickly dodged his attack and knocked him unconscious with two blows. The other two tried to escape but Genma swiftly dealt with them as well.

He turned to the two civilians behind him. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. Please make your way to the shelter."

"Thank you." The pair ran away and Genma was about to leave when he sensed multiple chakras behind him. He turned around and saw several more prisoners appearing. 'This is going to take a while.'

—-

East Canyons

"Now what do we have here?"

Iruka's eyes narrowed as he looked at the ninja up on the tree. 'His voice… Why is it familiar? And why is he looking at me with such hate?'

Zefrek only just glanced at the students but then his eyes were fixed on Iruka. He had a cruel smile as he looked at the academy teacher. "Hello Iruka. It's been a while."

Iruka was on guard but he was confused as he couldn't quickly identify the man.

Naruto looked between the new ninja and his teacher. "Hey Iruka sensei, you know this guy?"

"I'm not sure… Who are you?"

Iruka asked in confusion and Zefrek couldn't help but laugh like he was the only one in on the joke. "Hihihi… You really don't remember me do you? I suppose I can't blame you. I was wearing a mask the last time we met… Maybe this will jog your memory… 'The Double Canary' mission."

Iruka's eyes widened. He concentrated on the man's chakra and in a few seconds figured out exactly who he was. "Zefrek."

"Hahahaha… Yes. In the flesh."

Iruka took a kunai to battle and gestured to the students to get behind him. "You're supposed to be in prison."

Naruto and the others could hear the slight fear in their teacher's voice.

"Yes. But circumstances have changed." Zefrek's eyes went to Mizuki who was steadily getting up and getting his bearings.

Iruka immediately understood how the man was here. "Mizuki! What have you done?"

The traitor Chunin looked at Iruka and sneered. "What I had to do. I needed help so I recruited a few subordinates."

Zefrek's smile dimmed as he heard the word subordinate. Mizuki was high on adrenaline and battle rush and thus wasn't careful with his words.

'A pathetic Chunin like him dares to call me a subordinate.' Zefrek vanished from his spot and kicked Mizuki in the gut, sending him flying. The traitor ninja landed on the ground several meters away. "Since when did I become your subordinate huh? This is my operation now."

"Yo- you…" Mizuki was breathing hard and couldn't even form a proper sentence.

"What the hell? He attacked him. I thought he was on Mizuki's side?" Kiba exclaimed and the rest agreed.

The Genin were shocked but Iruka knew what the man was like. "Don't be deceived by his actions. That man attacks whoever he feels like it."

"Um… sensei? What's going on? Who is this guy?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"That's Zefrek. He was a former Special Jonin of the village. But he committed several crimes and was soon caught and imprisoned." Iruka replied while keeping his eyes on Zefrek and the other two. 'If they're Zefrek's accomplices then chances are that they're prisoner's too. Something must have happened at the Leaf Prison.'

"You failed to mention that you're the reason they found out about me. I spent half a decade in chains because of you. An unlucky fate I suppose." The smile on Zefrek's face was replaced with anger. But it soon turned into a cruel gleeful expression. "But that bad luck has once again changed for me it seems. I'm glad that you're here. I'm going to enjoy what I'm about to do to you."

"Oh no you don't.!" Naruto loudly declared and was about to step forward but Iruka held him back by his collar and pulled him to his side. "Naruto. He's not an opponent you can fight."

Iruka took a few seconds and looked at the enemy ninjas in front of him. 'There's three of them and Mizuki. Mizuki is weakened but far from out of this battle. And aside from Zefrek the other two must at least be Chunin. There is no other choice. Someone needs to stay here and buy time.'

Iruka glanced back at his students and looked at each one of them. "I need you all to do exactly as I say. I'm going to buy you sometime. Get as far away from here as possible."

Seijo and Haroshi wanted to attack but a small motion from Zefrek stopped them. He wanted to see what the man was up to before he crushed him.

Shikamaru looked at the three ninjas just watching the drama and immediately came to the same conclusion as Iruka sensei. "Sensei. That's not going to work. They're-" His eyes widened as he realized what the man was going to do.

"I know Shikamaru... It has been a privilege teaching you all." At that moment despite the dangerous situation, Iruka had a bright smile on his face. The 8 students looked at Iruka's smile and suddenly understood what the man was going to do. Some had tears forming in the corner of their eyes.

"Sensei. Why are you talking like that? We're all getting out of here and we're not leaving you." Naruto, who was standing to the side, looked at his teacher.

Iruka suddenly pulled Naruto for a hug. "Naruto. I want you to know… I'm proud of you."

The blond boy stilled and looked up at his teacher. He was at a loss for words as he saw Iruka's smile. "Sensei-"

The next second the boy felt a sharp blow to his neck and he lost consciousness. Before he could fall to the ground Iruka caught him and looked at Choji. The Akimichi had tears in his eyes as he stepped forward and held Naruto on his shoulders.

Iruka looked at the strongest Genin in the group and spoke. "Sasuke. I'm putting you in charge. Protect your classmates and the scroll. Get it to the Hokage tower. Don't stop for anyone. Do you understand?"

The Uchiha clenched his fist in anger at the situation but he nodded.

"Haha... Do you really think I'll let any of you escape?" Zefrek laughed at the plan. "Do you really think you can hold the four of us back on your own Iruka?"

Iruka smirked as he looked at his enemies. "Don't underestimate me. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"RUN!" Iruka took several weapons from his pouch and threw them at the enemies as he yelled. The three ninjas evaded the weapons but at that moment the genins vanished from their position.

"Get the brats." Zefrek yelled at his two companions and they moved to follow but several kunai flew in front of them forcing the two to stop. Immediately smoke bombs went off covering their surroundings. Iruka used his sensory skills to quickly keep track of Zefrek and the other two Chunins. His plan was to fight them under the cover of the smoke but it fell apart when a strong wind jutsu blew the smoke away.

Zefrek cut off his wind jutsu and he along with the other two looked around but there was no sign of Iruka. Suddenly multiple kunai flew from a nearby tree towards Seijo. He jumped back and evaded the weapons while Zefrek and Haroshi sent several shuriken towards the spot the weapons came from.

But at that exact moment two hands with kunai popped out of the ground right behind Zefrek's legs and slashed the limbs.

"Aaarrhhh…" Zefrek fell to his knees as the muscles in his ankles were cut. Iruka jumped out of the ground but before he could escape he was hit in the chest with a powerful punch from the wounded Jonin.

"Gha!" The Chunin instructor tumbled backwards as if he was wounded. Seijo and Haroshi immediately took advantage, going in for the kill. Just as their weapons came near Iruka, he swiftly gained control of his body and deflected them. The three entered into a short Taijutsu battle with Iruka barely hanging in there.

Before the two prisoners could kill Iruka, the chunin teacher grabbed their arms and suddenly several seals appeared on the ground beginning at Iruka's feet. The barrier ninjutsu immobilized the three.

Zefrek and the two other ninjas were furious as they looked at the Chunin. "You bastard. How could a lowly Chunin like you-."

"You're arrogant Zefrek." Iruka looked at the former Jonin and spoke. "You look down on others thinking they're beneath you. And this is where that's gotten you."

Zefrek turned his head and looked at the tree where the shuriken came from before. He suddenly realized Iruka's plan. "You set up a delayed trap with the weapons to catch me off guard. You knew you couldn't beat me in a straight up fight so you played dirty. And then you lured those two in to trap them as well."

Iruka smirked when he heard that. "Figured it out huh. Yeah. But it won't matter. You've all been in prison for so long your skills and instincts have dulled."

"Do you really think you can hold us here for long? I know this Barrier Ninjutsu. It's a weaker version of the Strong light Formation ninjutsu isn't it?" It was Seijo who spoke the words. Several veins on his body could be seen as he used his chakra and forced his body to move.

Iruka frowned as he looked at the man near him. 'He knows barrier ninjutsu?'

"Seijo. What is this jutsu? How do we get out of it?" Haroshi asked. He too was using every ounce of his strength to forcefully escape the bindings.

"This is a binding ninjutsu that paralyzes the limbs of the enemy. But it has two weaknesses. It forces the caster to be paralyzed as well along with the enemies. Second, the jutsu uses the casters chakra every second. And the more chakra the enemies apply to struggle and break out of the seal the more chakra the barrier uses and the faster the drain." Seijo had an evil grin as he looked at Iruka. "Based on your condition you won't hold out for long. You don't have the reserves. In less than a minute we'll be free."

Seijo was right. Every second Iruka's chakra was being siphoned by the jutsu and he was getting weaker and weaker.

But Iruka still smiled when he heard that and looked at the man. "Like I said to Zefrek. It won't matter. Those kids are long gone by now. By the time you're free, it'll be too late. And even if you catch up to them, you won't be able to beat them. It's 2 against 9. Even though they're only Genins they're an exceptional bunch. They'll find a way to win."

"What makes you think it's 2 against 9? Do you think these injuries have disabled me?" Zefrek looked at Iruka and suddenly smiled.

Iruka narrowed his eyes and was wary. 'He's trying to get inside my head. Trying to trick me into making a mistake and releasing these two.'

Zefrek took a shuriken from the ground nearby and looked at Iruka with a malicious grin. "Since you're paralyzed too, it'll be easy to kill you."

"You only have that one weapon. I might not be able to move away from this spot but I have some range of mobility available to me. I'll make sure your attack won't land on any vital areas."

"You think you can hold out?"

Iruka narrowed his eyes and put up a strong front. "Your bluff won't work on me Zefrek. I severed the crucial muscles in your legs. Even if you can somehow get up you won't be moving anytime soon."

Zefrek looked at Iruka with a smirk. Iruka paid close attention to the man and saw his eyes shift minutely to something behind him. Iruka's instincts were suddenly sending him danger signals and he immediately canceled the barrier ninjutsu and jumped to the side. But he wasn't able to completely escape his attacker. His arm was slashed by the kunai and had a deep gash.

The academy teacher fell to the ground and was breathing hard. He looked up and saw Mizuki's furious gaze. Seijo and Haroshi were free and walked near Iruka with their weapons out. They stopped near the tired man on the ground and looked between Mizuki and Zefrek.

—-

With The New Genins.

Sasuke and his peers were moving through the trees as fast as they could in a diamond formation. Choji was in the middle with an unconscious Naruto and the Forbidden scroll.

"Are we really leaving like this? Iruka sensei is going to..." Ino could bring herself to complete the sentence. She and Sakura had tears in their eyes.

"We have no choice." Sasuke said with a somewhat cold tone.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth as he remembered his teacher's face. "We have to do what sensei said. We can't fail him."

"What about all the plans and traps Shikamaru? Was there no other way?" Kiba asked.

"That man Zefrek. Iruka said he was a Jonin. The other two must be Chunin at least. If we could have launched a surprise attack then maybe. But I don't think we could have beaten them otherwise. I was hoping for reinforcement to show up but…"

"Naruto isn't going to be happy when he wakes up." Kiba said and as if those were the magic words the blond boy slowly opened his eyes.

"What the?" He realized he was on Choji's shoulders and suddenly struggled. "Put me down Choji."

"Naruto? You're awake."

The group stopped and Naruto immediately got off Choji's shoulder. He looked around and saw that they were in a different location. "Where are we?" The boy looked around and didn't see his teacher. "Where is Iruka sensei?"

Hearing Naruto's question, the group became silent. Sasuke was the one who stepped forward and answered. "Naruto. We need to go to the Hokage tower. We need to secure that scroll."

But the blond boy only narrowed his eyes. "Yeah. I get that. But where is Iruka sensei?"

The Uchiha was becoming aggravated. "Argh. We don't have time for this. We need to go."

"Where. is. Iruka sensei?" Not getting a reply from his friends, Naruto was also getting angry.

"Naruto. Please, you need to calm down." Choji looked at his friend in worry.

"He stayed behind!" Shikamaru suddenly spoke. He looked at Naruto with a sad but resolute gaze. "He stayed behind to buy us some time."

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized the implications. "You… You all left him there?"

"We didn't have a choice!" Sasuke said to the boy.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he looked at Sasuke. "I'm going back. I'm going to save him."

Just as Naruto was about to turn he froze. He was caught in Shikamaru's shadow binding jutsu. "You'll get yourself killed and make his sacrifice meaningless. Is that what you want?" Shikamaru gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Guys. We can't be fighting at a time like this." Ino looked at Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru and saw the tension rising.

"We need to keep moving. We're wasting precious time." Shino spoke. His insects were spread out to keep an eye on anyone coming.

Naruto's eyes moved to Shikamaru. For the first time he glared at his friend. "Let go, Shikamaru." Naruto struggled but no matter what he couldn't move from his spot.

Shikamaru hated the situation they were in but he didn't let go of his jutsu. "Think this through Naruto. If you go back and they get their hands on the scroll, this whole village will be in danger. Iruka sensei understood that. Why can't you?"

The boy stilled as he heard that and he stopped struggling. At that moment clouds covered the moonlight and with no shadow, Shikamaru's jutsu was broken.

The Nara was taken back and looked at Naruto, afraid that he might try to escape. But he was surprised when he saw the boy standing still.

The blonde Jinchuriki looked at Shikamaru and nodded. "I understand."

"Good. I'm sorry but there is no other choice. We have to… What are you doing?" Shikamaru stopped and questioned as he saw Naruto unstrapping the scroll from his back. Without a reply he tossed the large scroll to Shikamaru who quickly caught it.

Naruto looked at his friend with a serious gaze and spoke. "You're right. We can't let them have the scroll. So take it back to the village."

"And you?" Sasuke stepped forward and asked.

"I'm going back to help him."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and looked at the boy. "You'll just get yourself killed. That's not what Iruka sensei would want."

"I don't care what he wants. I'm going back to help. You can run if you want. But I'm not a coward."

Sasuke was taken back by those words. The words his brother spoke that night echoed in his ears.

"How pathetic… Scuttling away like a coward…. Run… Cling to your pathetic life."

Sasuke's anger rose and he took a step forward. His hands clenched as he looked at the boy. "Why you…"

Naruto also looked like he was preparing to fight.

"Guys. We don't have time for this." "Sasuke don't do this." Everyone was tense as it looked like a fight was about to break out.

"Stop it you two!" Sakura's desperate shout stopped the two. Sasuke looked around and realized that he was about to take his repressed anger out on the wrong person. He took a deep breath and got his emotions under control. He looked at Naruto and asked a question. "You're going back there no matter what, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

Sasuke sighed and turned to the Nara. "Shikamaru. Take the scroll and get everyone to the Hokage tower. I'm going with this idiot to back up Iruka."

Everyone was surprised. Sasuke saw their faces and explained. "Iruka sensei told me to protect the scroll and my classmates. No matter how much of an idiot he is…"

"Hey!"

"He is still my classmate."

Naruto was shocked as he looked at the Uchiha.

"If he goes alone this idiot is guaranteed to die. So I would have failed the first mission I was ever assigned. It'll be a black mark on my record. So there is that too." Sasuke said with a smug grin as he looked at the blond boy.

"Ha! And here I was thinking you got soft." Kiba slightly chuckled.

"How exactly are you two gonna fight three ninjas with years of experience and skill?"

"I'm sure I'll think of something." Sasuke said. Both he and Naruto were about to leave when Hinata stopped them. "Um guys. I… I don't think that's necessary. I see Iruka sensei. He's coming our way."

"What? Really?" Naruto and several other students were happy but a few were cautious.

"Are you sure it's him and not someone in disguise?" Sasuke asked.

Hinata focused on her Byakugan and a second later nodded. "It's sensei. It's… It's really him."

Just as she spoke those words Iruka appeared in front of the kids. The wounded Chunin was haggard as he looked at his student. His vision was blurry and he was on the brink of exhaustion. He took a couple of deep breaths and his vision cleared. "What are you… What are you all... just standing here for?... I told you all to leave."

Suddenly a body collided with him and grabbed Iruka for a hug. The Chunin saw a mop of bright blond hair and couldn't help but smile.

"Don't ever do that again sensei." Naruto said, relieved to see the man.

"Naruto." Iruka smiled but it only lasted for a second as he remembered the predicament they were in.

"Se- sensei. Four people are coming towards our location fast. One of them. His chakra… It's… it's really strong." The Genins saw the terrified expression on Hinata's face and they couldn't help but worry.

"We need to keep going. They're after us." Iruka shouted.

Shino looked up from his spot as he sensed the arrival of the enemies. "Too late. They're here."

The four rogue ninjas surrounded Iruka and the Genins

—-

Several Minutes Ago.

Mizuki looked at Iruka and was silent for a few moments. He then turned his attention to Zefrek and sneered. "A pathetic Jonin who can't even handle a wounded Chunin. Even with help. Now look at you. You can't even stand. Maybe I should just kill you here and now."

Zefrek smirked. "I wouldn't get cocky if I were you." The man suddenly went through seals and slammed his hands on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu."

Suddenly several small earthworms dug out of the ground in front of Zefrek. The Jonin placed a finger atop one of the small worms and sent his chakra to it. The next moment the small worms began moving to Zefrek's legs and covered the wounded area.

Iruka saw what was happening and his eyes widened. 'It's just like back then. He's using his summon to cover for his injuries and act as his muscles. Damn it. I forgot about that.'

After a few seconds the man stood up and jumped a few times testing the movements of his legs. "I guess this will have to do for now."

As this was happening Mizuki took a red vial from his pouch and drank it. The next second his whole body began transforming. He bulked up and several markings began appearing atop his face, chest and arms. Seijo and Haroshi were horrified at the transformation while Zefrek looked on with a stoic face. In a few seconds Mizuki stood, taller than before and with a powerful physique.

Iruka was horrified as he looked at Mizuki. 'His chakra level. It's horrifying. What did he do? If he gets to the kids, they won't survive. I have to escape. But I need an opening.'

Zefrek looked at the Mizuki and clenched his fists. "That red drug you just took. I doubt you have the knowledge to make something like that. Tell me. Was it Orochimaru?"

Instead of answering Mizuki disappeared from his spot and appeared in front of Zefrek. The traitor ninja sent a strong kick and sent Zefrek flying just like he did to him.

Seijo and Haroshi were wary of Mizuki and thus they failed to keep a watch on Iruka.

With everyone's gaze on Mizuki, Iruka discreetly took out the last few smoke bombs from his pouch. and just when the moonlight was covered by the clouds and darkness descended, Iruka made his move. He made as little sound as possible and escaped from there after quietly tossing the small balls to the ground.

Mizuki's attention was focused on Zefrek but suddenly the smoke bombs exploded distracting him. Mizuki waves his arms and blew the smoke away to look and it was only then that he noticed Iruka missing. "DAMN IT!"

"Shit! He escaped." Seijo and Haroshi also noticed the missing Chunin too late. Zefrek stood and rubbed his torso as he looked at Mizuki. 'He might have cracked a rib or two. I'll have to kill him for that but now might not be the best time.'

Mizuki stepped forward and spoke. "I'm going to get that scroll and get out of the village. If you get in my way, I'll kill you."

"Fine by me. We'll settle this once we leave the village." The two strong ninjas came to an agreement and the four disappeared.

They tracked Iruka's path and in a short time made it to their targets. The four ninjas surrounded the new graduates and their teacher.

Naruto and his friends were shocked to see Mizuki's new form.

"Wow. He's jacked. What the heck happened?"

"My insects are detecting an abnormally large amount of chakra from Mizuki."

"Arf arf."

"Yeah. Akamaru is saying the same thing. I got a bad feeling about him." Kiba said.

Sasuke and Naruto were silent as they looked at Mizuki and readied for combat.

At that time Haroshi looked at Hinata and noticed that her forehead was unmarked with a seal. "Hey look. That Hyuga girl. She doesn't have a seal on her head. She must be from the main branch."

Seijo raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"So, I'm saying she could be a valuable bargain chip. Or at least her eyes are going to be." Haroshi had a dark grin as he looked at the Byakugan.

Hinata was scared but she tried not to show it. The Genins glared at the man and Kiba and Shino, who were closer to Hinata stepped near her as if to give her courage.

"You're gonna have to go through us first." "Arf arf."

"And it will not be that easy." Insects crawled out of Shino's sleeves and hovered around the three.

Just like Haroshi, Seijo also had a target in mind. "Hey. You there, blonde." He looked at Ino and narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't happen to be Inoichi's daughter would you?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Ino asked in a slightly haughty tone.

Hearing that confirmation Seijo grinned with dark intent. "You see, he was the one who found some incriminating evidence against me and sent me to that hell hole. So I'm going to make sure he suffers."

Shikamaru groaned as he looked at the man. "Let me guess. You want to kill her to get your revenge?"

"Yeah. But I'll gladly add you to the list too."

Shikamaru groaned and gave Naruto the stink eye. "You just had to take the scroll didn't you?"

"Sorry." Naruto said with a wince and an awkward laugh.

The Nara shook his head. "Nay. Forget about it. I doubt you saying no would have stopped Mizuki or any of this from happening. He's been planning this for a long time."

"He's right about that. No matter what you were going to choose, it would have led you to this moment, Naruto." Mizuki said to the boy angrily. He then turned to Zefrek. "I'm going to kill that brat. Make sure no one gets in my way. Especially Iruka."

"I was going to target him anyway. I have a debt to collect from you after all, Iruka..." Zefrek said as he glared at the wounded Chunin.

Iruka grimaced but he knew he had to be the one to fight Zefrek. Aside from Mizuki, Zefrek was the strongest there.

"Guys, our only chance is to split into teams and attack. Iruka sensei, can you hold on for a minute or two?" Shikamaru asked the man and he nodded. "I have no other other choice."

Iruka then glanced at Sasuke and Sakura. "Help Naruto."

Naruto shook his head as if to deny the help. "I'll be fine sensei. I've beaten him before. I can do it again."

"No. Don't underestimate him. He's a lot more dangerous now." Iruka's serious tone stopped Naruto from arguing and he looked back at the bulked up Chunin. Sasuke and Sakura got nearer to the boy with their weapons in hand.

Mizuki looked at Sasuke and Sakura and his palms clenched in anger. 'These fools. Fine. If you want to protect him, then you can die screaming alongside him.'

The opponents were chosen. Everyone was ready to engage in battle.

Haroshi vs Hinata, Kiba and Shino.

Seijo vs Ino, Shikamaru and Choji.

Iruka vs Zefrek.

Mizuki vs Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.