Chapter 7: Relief

Eichi felt his heart sink as he realized he had no choice but to leave his brother behind. Tears were streaming down his face as he clutched the newborn heir in his arms and ran away from the battlefield. He couldn't bring himself to look back, knowing that his brother was fighting for his life. The weight of the responsibility he carried was crushing him, but he had to keep moving.

On his run, he could see some people in strange costumes chasing him. He didn't know their affiliation, but he couldn't afford to trust anyone until he arrived at Konoha's gates. He pushed himself to keep going, even as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him.

As he ran, he could hear the sounds of battle growing fainter behind him. He didn't know how much time he had before the enemy caught up with him. He had to find a way to protect the heir and complete his mission. With a heavy heart, he used what little chakra he had left to create one shadow clones to cover his tracks and distract the enemy. He had to think of a plan fast, or he would never make it out of there alive.

Eichi's heart raced as he sprinted through the labyrinthine alleyways. His breath came in ragged gasps as he pushed himself to the limit, his muscles burning with exertion. Sweat trickled down his face as he weaved through the maze of narrow alleys, desperately trying to shake off his pursuers. 'Damn, where the hell are we?' he thought to himself, looking up at the towering buildings that loomed overhead.

Despite his exhaustion, Eichi forced himself to focus his remaining chakra, honing his senses to detect any signs of his pursuers. He was keenly aware of the danger that he and the newborn heir were in, and he knew that he had to stay alert if they were to make it out of there alive.

His concentration was soon rewarded as he sensed a sudden flurry of movement behind him. He reacted instinctively, leaping to the side just in time to avoid a volley of senbons that whistled past his ear. He could feel the wind from the projectiles as they flew past him, and the close call made his heart race with adrenaline.

The senbons were thrown precisely, one at his lung, the other at his kidney, and another at his heart. It was clear that the Kiri-nin who had thrown them was highly skilled and deadly.

Eichi knew he couldn't stay in one place for too long, as he was still being pursued by the Shinobi who were after him and the heir. He quickly got up and continued running, weaving through the alleyways and trying to lose his pursuers. His legs burned with exertion, and his lungs were on fire, but he had to keep going. He couldn't afford to fail his mission.

As he ran, he tried to think of a plan. He knew he couldn't take on the Shinobi by himself, especially not with his depleted chakra. He needed to find a way to outsmart them, to turn the tables on them and gain the upper hand.

And just his luck, as he leaped into another alley, he got ambushed by the same Kiri-nin that had attacked him earlier. "What!?" exclaimed Eichi, his eyes widening in shock and disbelief.

As he tried to avoid the shuriken being thrown at him, he got hit in the thigh. The pain was excruciating, and he stumbled for a moment, but he managed to keep his grip on the newborn heir.

Contrary to what a civilian might believe, the shuriken was not made to kill, but was made to injure and incapacitate, or at least reduce the combat capability of the enemy. Eichi knew that he couldn't afford to let the Kiri-nin get his hands on the heir. He had to keep fighting, to keep running, to keep trying to survive.

"You guys are not the only one who can makes clones, you know that right?" Said the Kiri-nin as he approached Eichi, "Give the child, kid, you know more than I do that you have no chance of surviving this if you resist," spoke the Kiri-nin with evident mockery in his tone. His facial expression was twisted with sadistic pleasure, and Eichi could only say that he was the sickest person he had ever fought against.

Eichi gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain in his thigh as he clutched the newborn heir tightly. He couldn't let this Kiri-nin get his hands on the child, no matter what. He knew he was running out of options, but he refused to give up.

With a fierce determination, he summoned the last of his chakra and created another shadow clone. He threw the clone towards the Kiri-nin as a distraction, hoping to buy himself some time to escape.

The Kiri-nin smirked, clearly unimpressed by the shadow clone. He charged towards Eichi, making a set of seals then spat some water bullets. This time, Eichi was ready, and he dodged it with a quick movement to the side. He then followed up with a counterattack, the clone and Eichi throwing a bunch kunai each at the Kiri-nin'.

As the Kiri-nin dodged then got away from the attack without much though to it, thinking it being an explosion seal or some gravity seal. As he saw the small tag attached to one of the kunai, he cursed as he read the word "Flash" written on it instead "Fuck!". Suddenly, the tag activated, and a blinding flash of light engulfed the Kiri-nin, causing him to stumble and lose his balance.

Without wasting any time, Eichi seized the opportunity and made a run for it down the alleyway towards the exit. However, before he could leave, he saw two strange men in costumes jump on the Kiri-nin. Eichi had no time to figure out who they were, so he continued running towards a section of the city with lower buildings that reminded him of his homeland.

As Eichi arrived at the building, he quickly leaped up and began focusing on his sensing abilities. Despite his exhaustion and compromised senses, he managed to spot the Kiri-nin again running relatively slow at his direction.

'It's not going to end this way!' Eichi thought to himself with anger and fear that he might fail his mission and let the Uzumaki bloodline finally be exterminated.

As he tried to think of a good plan, he saw a woman, a mother, with a newborn child. Suddenly, an idea came to him, not a good one, but the best one in that moment.

He quickly got into action, performing two one-handed seals and casting a Genjutsu on the child. He changed the color of the child's hair and leaped down on the woman, limping with his bloodied and worn uniform. It clearly surprised the woman, but he didn't give her much time to comprehend the situation.

"Please, take care of him, they are after him. Please, I beg of you, he is the last person of our family." Eichi pleaded with the woman, his eyes pleading with her to understand the gravity of the situation.

Before he get out of there, to not endanger the women and the two child's, he said, "His name is Hikaru, Hikaru Uzumaki. But please use your name instead of Uzumaki."

The woman, with green hair and round face, hesitated for a moment, looking down at the newborn child in her arms. She looked back up at Eichi to ask him something, but he was already jumping like a rabbit towards the opposite direction.

As he jumped, he couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving the baby behind, but he knew it was the only way to keep the Uzumaki bloodline alive. He had to trust that the mother would take care of the baby and keep him safe from harm.

Finally, Eichi arrived at a secluded area where he could make his last stand. He took a deep breath, calming himself and focusing his chakra. He knew that he might not make it out alive, hell, he already planned to die on the battlefield, like his brother, not what was demanded from his mission but it was what it was.

As he heard footsteps, he silently sighed, he knew now that the Heir was safe.

"See you one the other side, Brothers..."