Chapter 132

— Damn Bijuu! — swearing, Hizashi slowed down a bit, and as soon as we were even, he put his hand on my shoulder. — Shunshin!

I was jerked, twisted, and transported to a new location. Before I could recover from the technique, which always felt worse when you had to serve as dead weight, he used the technique again, and then again, and again. After the fifth Shunshin and a quarter of my partner's remaining reserve, we found ourselves about four kilometers from the previous location.

Letting out a tired sigh, the Jonin removed his hand and, after a ten-second breather, began running again, though at a much slower pace, so I had no trouble keeping up without fearing for my neck.

— What's the plan?

— Considering the circumstances and the high chance of a pursuit, we won't stop until we reach the designated area, where we will set up a concealed refuge and wait for the courier, — Hyuga replied. — Since the target might appear within two to three days, you'll have enough time to get the others ready in case you need to escort the courier.

Nodding, I didn't want to distract him further. A minute later, even through the noise of the night rain, we heard faint sounds of explosions.

— A clone?

— No, most likely, it was a Kekkei Genkai trap, — I waved my hand dismissively. — Besides, there were also regular Kibakufuda in the pack, but judging by the fact that the clone hasn't dissipated yet, they haven't reached it.

— Let's hope it reduces the number of Chunin, — Hyuga grunted. — But given that no one has appeared in my line of sight yet, if they do have sensors, they're likely worse than those of the destroyed teams.

— Or they could be distracted by a decoy, — I countered. — After all, a Kage Bunshin's reserve exceeds that of an ordinary Chunin, and they might think that only one survivor was left after our supposed detection.

The Jonin wiped his face with his sleeve from the raindrops and glanced at me.

— Forget it! The important thing is that we managed to escape and the mission isn't jeopardized by another pointless fight. At any other time, I'd gladly stay to set up an ambush even against this many enemies, but obtaining information about the courier's routes is far more important right now.

Pff, as if I'm accusing him of a hasty retreat. I'd rather not die against superior forces of Iwagakure shinobi, so I definitely won't fight to the last drop of blood in an initially unfavorable situation, unlike idiots with their fire-washed brains…

— What!

The memories of the destroyed clone made me slow down and frown with irritation — dying from a dozen earth spikes piercing from all sides isn't very pleasant. It seems that among the Jonin, someone has a strong affinity with Doton to use techniques even in such weather.

The only comforting thing is that the Kage Bunshin managed to use the remaining chakra on Bunshin Bakuhatsu before disappearing, not only blowing itself up but also taking out a Jonin nearby, and likely causing a real rain of stone shrapnel. Although I doubt that person died from it, they were definitely incapacitated for a while.

— The decoy was destroyed, but the enemies also took significant losses, — I informed the commander, switching to a walk.

— Excellent! How many?

— At least two Chunin dead, another one injured, and I'm not sure about the other one, and one injured Jonin for sure, possibly even badly hurt if he didn't manage to protect himself from the explosion.

— So, there are two Jonin and three Chunin left, — Hizashi pondered. — We could try to finish them off — there's a chance.

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