3.7

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The fire around me quickly disappeared as I finally got to see what was happening around me.

The Akatsuki had reached me, and both Daibutsu and Yahiko were drowning the surroundings in water. Looking down at myself, my armor was relatively fine, but I was severely burned.

Actually, it was half a miracle I was still alive. For that, I had to thank the Fists of Randagulf, which increased both my Muscle Density and Cell Vitality by 50%, to over 600.

Without those Stats, I would have been burned to death. Thanks to them, I was only burned half to death.

Waving my hand, I signaled them to let go, and Daibutsu pointed his staff at me, making the water prison around me collapse.

Landing on my feet, I felt my entire body hurt. I probably shouldn't even be still awake, I might have to thank my Stats for that too, although it might as well be everything I went through.

The fight was not over, however. Barely standing on my feet, I watched as Konan, Yahiko and Nagato did the heavy work.

Konan already had us completely surrounded by paper shurikens, while Yahiko used Water Release to block them from entering.

As for Nagato, he made absolutely no use of his Rinnegan. However, that did not mean he was useless. After all, he was an Uzumaki.

He weaved hand signs for nearly half a minute before slamming his hands into the ground.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

I felt a tremor beneath my feet, and I saw the area around us turn muddy. Several of the enemy's men, who were trying to surround us and had the bad luck of being on the ground, instantly started sinking. The suction force was so strong that they couldn't escape from it, and only kept sinking.

Most of them never got to see the underground however as they were killed by Konan's paper shurikens.

However, so as to not harm our own men, the ground under our feet was still solid, something they quickly understood.

Instead of attacking from a distance, they rushed right in, through the paper shurikens.

I had three of them on me personally, they probably wanted to finish me for good. But I'm more worried about my team.

I may be injured, I can still use the Force without a problem, although I was starting to feel a little drained after that knockoff Almighty Push.

The three formed a formation around me, joining their hands as they all released poison. It was slightly more concentrated than before, but it wasn't enough.

Using Force Choke on one, I stabbed my sword towards the liver of a second one. I tried to dodge the third one's kunai, but I was too injured to move in time, and he hit me. I was armored, however, and so his kunai only scratched my armor.

My sword strike missed, and I heard a bip. Someone died.

But at the same time, I heard a loud bang, and one of the two Shinobis next to me suddenly dropped dead, his head half exploded.

The second one looked confused, before his own head exploded with a bang.

Looking past the ninja I was choking, I saw Chris, his shotgun still aiming in my direction. I nodded, and he grinned, going for another target as he started dispatching our enemies.

At the same time, Sarah's right hand had taken a purple hue as she used her magic, and a portal appeared in front of her.

A spectral-looking wolf stepped out of the portal, and the moment it did, it leapt towards a nearby Shinobi, who had just disposed of one of the newbies. A fat middle aged man.

The wolf bit through the unsuspecting Shinobi's heel, tearing it apart as he fell to the ground crying in pain, before his throat was ripped off by the wolf.

At the same time, although he was struggling, Erik was holding off any enemy Shinobi from attacking the group of defenseless newbies, aided by Chris who shot any enemy on sight.

They were… actually useful. They were doing what I couldn't, that is protecting the team.

The neck of the Shinobi in front of me broke with a crunch, and at about the same time the enemy called for a retreat. They were losing, and they knew it.

They knew nothing about the strengths of my Team, and were taken by surprise, resulting in devastating losses for both of our enemies, resulting in their retreat.

Leaning against a tree, I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes, while everyone around me remained eerily silent. No one celebrated, because there was nothing to celebrate.

One member of my team had died, a couple from the Akatsuki, and everyone had just gone through a fight to the death, some for the very first time in their lives.

As I focused on recuperating, I heard someone step up to me, and opening my eyes, I saw Yahiko. He was fidgety, and looked guilty as he said, "Thank you for saving our lives with yours, Mr Alexander. The Akatsuki shall owe you and your group a debt for the rest of our lives."

I snorted, pushing myself off the tree, struggling a little to maintain my control as I said, "Don't be so fast in digging my grave you brat. You got any medic? And a safe base where we could take refuge?"

Yahiko nodded, "We do. However, I'm not sure we'll be able to get there without being followed."

Konan walked up to us, wiping blood off her face as she said, "It would still be good, it would allow us some rest, and it would be easier to defend that position."

Nagato, who followed behind, had a hand over his right eye as he said, "If I had used my eyes, we could have-"

"No, Nagato. You can't use them," both Yahiko and Konan immediately rebuked.

Nagato smiled faintly, and said, "Good thing is that we won't have to defend for too long. The war, although it has somewhat slowed down, is still ongoing, and Konoha can't keep so many of their men fighting us. They might already be leaving."

Yahiko frowned, and said, "That would be what they would normally do, but attacking us wasn't normal in the first place. We didn't even represent any threat to them."

I hesitated for a moment, debating whether it would count as spoiler, and eventually revealed, "That wasn't really Konoha's Anbu. Or rather, it was only a small, secret part of it, called Root."

[-100 Points.]

100? Wasn't it supposed to be 10? What had caused this?

Was the cost increased because of the importance of the information, or because I wasn't a newbie? Or maybe some other reason?

Still, I considered these Points well spent as it would allow for better planning.

Yahiko asked, "Why would they attack us?"

I shrugged, which pained me, and hissed, "Not sure, but they answer to an elder of the village, not the Hokage. But Nagato's right, even if they haven't left yet, they can't keep things secret for too long. In a week at most, they will be gone."

Konan pointed out, "If Konoha's Root leaves, then Hanzo will probably stop his assault. With the ongoing war, entering a prolonged conflict with us would be too dangerous, as all we have to do is ally with any of the surrounding three Great Countries and it would force him to take part in the war, something he definitely doesn't want."

Yahiko's eyebrows creased as he repeatedly tapped his sword against his thigh, "He will surely try to continue attacking us for some time, now that hostilities have started. Whatever we do, Hanzo is paranoid to have even attacked us this time, so he will certainly attack us with everything he has in the next few days. Should we hide and escape, or get him off his throne once and for all?"

The three looked conflicted about the question, understandably so as it was more of a conflict of ideology than military might.

Whether they could win the fight or not, actually going to war against Hanzo would be an ideological struggle between what they were, and what they wanted to be.

Yahiko's philosophy was to spread peace to receive peace, while the future Akatsuki would be forcing peace through war.

Whichever was wisest, I had interests, and between hiding and fighting, I didn't hesitate to choose one.