Into the Pass

[Seven coming our way] Senji signs to us as he looks in the distance.

We're crouching on the high branches of the trees within the pass. Our squad had split up into smaller groups of twos and threes to effectively pick off the Sonae after they were split up. Yesterday, we set up traps throughout the valley, specifically meant to split up and disorganize them. The most powerful of which was set up at the entrance of the pass made by the Captain.

I only knew how to make simple traps from the memories I inherited from the original, but they wouldn't be effective in this situation. Fortunately, Senji and Azama were much more experienced than me and knew how to make them. So, they did the most work while I followed their instructions. And by the end of the day, I could make some of the less deadly ones.

Our group of three was stationed deeper within the pass to keep us from having to fight the majority of the troops once they were split up. All the stronger foes would be targeted early on, so we wouldn't have to worry about fighting anyone above our station. We weren't at the very end of the pass, but definitely near it. A penultimate line of defense, of such.

And it looks like those traps worked as intended, since only seven of them are coming towards us. From what we were told yesterday, there were at least two hundred of them coming. Normally this would be a suicide mission, but non-clan Shinobi are generally significantly weaker than clan Shinobi.

They lack the resources and generational knowledge that came with the profession, leading to a significant disadvantage. It is the reason why many of them decide to join under a Daimyo when their chakra is unlocked. Since at least then there is a chance for them to gain some strength, but there is still a large gap. Especially when taking the Elite into account

Unfortunately, in this era, if you weren't born within a clan, the chances of you becoming strong are very low.

[Two of them have been caught in the traps. The other five are still headed our way.] Senji updated us.

Azama nodded and signed, [Get Ready. I'll attack from the front, you and Senji sneak around.]

We both nod, quickly get to our positions and wait for the group to come toward us. I fidget with one of the straps on my flack jacket as I wait.

It would be a lie to say that I wasn't nervous about my first fight and potentially my first kill. But Sensei had basically forced me, after the bird incident, to start hunting wild animals every day after our training. It was gruesome, traumatic, and tortuous, and I threw up a lot from it. To make it worse, she didn't allow me to attack from a distance, no, I had to get down and dirty. Only using a kunai and having to stab the animal to death.

The first one was brutal, since I didn't swing hard enough to kill the animal, so I had to swing three more times until it stopped moving. By the end, my body was doused in hot, sticky animal blood. Even the white portion of my hair had red. According to Sensei, I looked like a demon. It was a poorly timed joke, to say the least.

After I threw up everything I had eaten that week, I quickly went home. And ever since that day I had killed one animal from the surrounding area, every day. Sometimes they were big like a boar, and sometimes they were smaller like a rabbit, but regardless it sucked every time. After the first incident, I made sure to kill them quickly - the faster, the better, for both parties involved.

After the first month, it had become second nature for me to kill an animal. I wouldn't say that I am desensitized to killing animals, but I will say that I had come to accept that killing was a part of my job and will be something that I will have to get used to. And today, I would make the last of my first steps to becoming a true Shinobi by killing my first enemy.

I pull myself out of my thoughts as the five Shinobi make their way into the clearing. They have clearly been through more than one fight, since their clothes and armor are torn to bits, and their breathing is rough. But my eyes couldn't help but widen as I notice that three of the five are much shorter than the other two.

The realization of what I would have to do hit me like a (Big Mack) truck when I saw that there are other children involved. I had prepared myself to kill an adult, but a child? Who could prepare themselves for that?

Before I can think too deeply, I felt a hand on my shoulder, turning to see who it was I saw Senji looking at me with a serious expression.

[Calm down. Remember, it's either them or you. They chose to participate in this war just as much as we did.] he assures me with a stiff smile.

I look him in the eyes before silently taking a deep breath and nodding. This was one of the few fields that Senji had more experience than I in, his advice is very much welcomed. Even if he clearly doesn't believe in what he is saying.

He smiles and pats my shoulder lightly before taking off to his position behind them. It has already been a few minutes since they arrived. They are taking a break to catch their breath, the plan is to attack as soon as someone's shoulder relaxes. Which, given their postures, would be very soon.

'Me or them, me or them, me or them, me or them' I continuously repeat that mantra in my head as I adjust my position and get ready to attack.

I wait in silence, only the sounds of the five enemy Shinobi talking are all that I could hear.

"Me or them, Me or them, Me or them…" I repeat as one of the kids finally relaxes his shoulders while drinking some water.

'Speed release, Kinetic Release: Absorb' I leap from my position, diving toward the kid.

'Me.'

***

2 hours earlier

A Sonae of over two hundred Shinobi makes their way toward Sunshine Pass. Their task, was to wrap around the Scorch-Blaze battlefield, sneak to the rear of the Senju line and distract them long enough for the Uchiha to take advantage of the task, then finally retreat. They are to get into the Blaze Daimyo's territory through Sunshine pass.

It is a simple but deadly mission. No self-respecting clan or mercenary group would accept it, the pay was nowhere near the danger that it came with. The Senju are feared by many, and the blaze Daimyo was known for training Shinobi almost as powerful as the clan Shinobi. But the Scorch Daimyo was desperate and needed someone to do this task, therefore he intentionally promoted the mission to only the most desperate Shinobi groups that could be found. Making sure the reward was something they couldn't refuse. Even going so far as giving half the reward before the mission even started.

And with this tactic, small clans, and mercenary Shinobi within the Scorch lands flocked to the Daimyo's lands to sign up for the life-changing wealth. This led to the current rag-tag group of two hundred plus Shinobi heading to the Sunshine Pass, hoping to make it back to get the rest of their money.

"Why'd we even take this damn mission, in the first place." A tall, burly, bald man complains as he marches within the group of Shinobi. In the distance, the Majestic Sunshine's pass could be seen.

"Money" the man next to him succinctly replies. He is short with long straight black hair and uncaring eyes.

Both men have on similar clothes. A brown jumpsuit that is in taters along with chest plate armor. The larger man has a large sword attached to his back, the sword looks well taken care of, but the years of use can be seen from the wear and tear on the hilt. The shorter man has a tanto with a severely damaged scabbard attached to his hip and a kunai holster on his left thigh.

The larger man looks at him with an annoyed look before ignoring him and turning around to check up on the people behind him. His eyes couldn't help but soften as he looks at the three kids who had been adamant to tag along with them.

The three of them were arguing about something, but they noticed his gaze and turned to him with big smiles.

"Don't worry Tadiniro-senpai, we will be alright. You and Hirosato-senpai are the ones that trained us after all!" the young boy in the middle calls while flexing his right arm and patting his bicep with his left.

This boy has spiky brown hair and eyes. He wears a brown t-shirt with black shorts, with a chest plate and a blank metal headband. Unlike the two adults, his clothes are a bit cleaner and well-preserved. They still had holes in them, but they aren't as bad as the adults. All the children's clothes were in slightly better condition compared to the adults. For weapons, the young boy only has a shuriken holder on his right thigh that was noticeably flatter than the short man in front of him.

"That's what I'm worried about, kid," Tadiniro mumbles under his breath.

"You said something, senpai," the boy asks, not clearly hearing what was said.

"I said you're damn right, kid. If any of you disgrace mine and Hirosato's great names, then I will have you clean pig pens for the next month." The man exclaims to the three kids. His chest puffed out in false pride.

"Yes, Senpai!" the boys salute.

"Matsuhito and Isuni, I bet I do better than both of you!" another brown hair boy standing on the left of the hyperactive boy speaks up.

He has long brown hair and brown eyes. He wears a green shirt with a hole in the collar, along with black pants. He has a ninjato strapped to his lower back, held by a frayed rope. The boy only has plate armor on his shins and forearms.

"Sure, you win, I just want to live through this." the last boy, Isuni, finally speaks up.

He is shorter than both of the boys and has spiky black hair and the same uncaring face as the short man in front of him. He is wearing a blue jumpsuit with a newish-looking chest plate armor. His ankles and feet are wrapped and tucked into his black sandals. On his hips, he has a katana in its saya, but like the rest of their weapons, it is clear that the katana and saya have seen better days.

When they hear this, the two boys just look at him with serious looks.

"Way to ruin the mood Isuni. But, he is right Isorai, we should probably take this more seriously. We could die if we mess up, like Jotsuya-senpai." the boy in the middle, Matsuhito, reminds with a sad look on his face. The memories of his uncle pass through his mind.

Isuni nods his head but says nothing. A somber mood descends on their small group as they march to the pass. This silence continues for another thirty minutes as each person in the group gets lost in the thoughts of the ones they have lost and how they will make sure they didn't become one of them. They each had people at home waiting for their safe return. Especially the three boys.

Their whole groups came from a very small village within the southern section of the Scorch lands. Originally, they were a prospering town that regularly produced chakra wielders. But with the rise of the current and former Scorch Daimyos and their ever-increasing wars, the members of their village were regularly hired for missions, with promises of wealth that were impossible to refuse. Many who took these missions never returned.

And while the families of these people received the money they were promised, the Scorch daimyo always found a way to get it back, mostly by raising taxes. Over time, as the amount of Shinobi in the village dwindled and prices went up, the village became a shell of its former self.

What used to house at least 500 hundred people now held a few small families that clung to the village out of desperation. Their village is incredibly poor and if not for the effort of everyone involved it would be a struggle for them to survive. The adults regularly had to skip meals so that the ignorant children can have their fill. Even having clean and fitting clothes had become a struggle for everyone in the village.

It's not uncommon for men to walk around without tunics and women to only have longer tunics that cover their private areas. The village basically functioned off the little money the two men brought in.

Each of them within the group comes from two of the families within the village, the only families in recent years to birth chakra users.

Both Tadiniro and Hirosato are the last remnants of a bygone era of the village, while the three boys are three of only five children in the village who have unlocked their chakra. While they are 10 years old, the other two are just only 4 and 3 respectively, far too young to go to the battlefield.

The two men had been training the children since they unlocked their chakra. They had bonded with them and viewed the children as their own, which is why it pained them to bring them along on this trip. They knew that the boys would have to grow up eventually and learn the woes of their world. The two just hoped that it wouldn't be so soon.

But with the boys being so adamant about helping them, the village chief's acceptance, and the desperate situation of the village, they had no choice but to bring the three along. Leaving the two younger ones back home with their families.

"We finally made it!" Matsuhito shouted as he looked at the dark slit that separated the outside from the inside of the pass.

Up close the entrance to Sunshine Pass was huge, just to see the very top of the connecting mountains they had to crane their heads all the way back. It was like looking at two arches that never connected. It made many uncomfortable to be around something so large, while It was a surreal sight for others.

"This place is creepy," Isuni said as he looked at the dark slit of the pass, nothing more than a few feet in could be seen as the darkness started encompassing everything from then on.

"Not creepy, just mysterious. I bet we will get a good sleep here. Don't have to worry about the annoying moonlight anymore." Isorai commented as he thought about the moonlight that constantly got on his nerves while sleeping.

"That is only a problem for you Isorai, the rest of us have no problems" Hirosato reminds the boy while looking ahead.

"Quiet you four, the Shinobi-taisho is about to speak" Tadiniro reprimanded the three while looking forward.

In the distance they could see the Shinobi-taisho of their march, a Shinobi dressed in Dark Brown plate armor with long blond hair and bright green eyes, at the very front of the Sonae. He stood on an earthen platform he made so that he could get everyone's attention. He stood closest to the entrance of the pass, with the void behind the entrance threatening to swallow his form any second. The whole Sonae stopped in place as they looked up at the Taisho as he spoke with a small smirk.

"We will rest within the Pass for the next two days as we pass through it! Stay alert, there are all types of dangerous beasts inside, and who knows what else! Never leave your group, under no circumstances! We will not send a party to search for you! Remember! You only get paid if you participate in the battle, nothing else!" the Taisho jumped down from the earthen pillar as it quickly sunk back down into the ground. Once he was back on the ground, he hopped on his horse, the only one within the party, and continued forward.

Taking this as the signal to march on, the Sonae followed behind him and made their way into the pass. The Sunlight beamed down on the sides of their faces as they slowly walked in. Many were happy to finally get out of the heat. Unfortunately, it would be the last time they felt any type of warmth.

"He's an asshole!" Isorai complained as they walked with the rest of the Sonae.

The rest of the group nodding along, the patronizing smirk of the Taisho rubbed them the wrong way, but there was nothing they could do.

"He's right, though, we need to be careful. We could be attacked by the beast at anytime, and maybe even some stray Shinobi that made this place their home." Isuni reasoned as he tightened the grip on the hilt of his katana

"Isuni is right, shut and pay attention, Isorai. You two Mutsuhito." Hirosato said as he made his way behind the boys. "You three stay in between Tadiniro and me at all times. If one of you have to pee, we all go together, understand?" the man told the three, with a deadly serious expression.

"Hai!" the three said in unison as they formed a line between the two men.

They knew that the time for jokes was over, they were officially at war. Even if it was just against the beast within the pass. Their group wasn't the only one's showing this level of caution. The boys looked left and right and noticed that many of the groups within the Sonae were doing the same. Even the people who came by themselves were teaming up with one another and forming groups. The only people within the Sonae that didn't look stressed were the individuals in the very front, near the Shinobi-taisho. But the boys couldn't see that, but the two adults could clearly see it.

'Trusting in one person's capabilities that much will get them killed.' Tadiniro thought while looking at the people in the front.

Many of them were low-level grunt Shinobi from the Scorch Daimyo's personal Sonae, while the Taisho was the lone elite Shinobi within their Sonae. Originally, they hadn't known he was an elite, as he didn't wear his plate armor when leaving for the mission. It was only until they got close to the Pass that he revealed his position as one of the few elites of the Scorch lands.

He had seen how this had instilled confidence in the other Shinobi within the group and even caused many of them to fight for position toward the front of the Sonae, something that wasn't originally very coveted. But Tadiniro didn't place his trust in the Elite Shinobi of the Daimyo's.

He had been around for a long time in the mercenary world, and had seen just how easily they could be dismantled by Clan Shinobi. Not even super clans like the Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga. But smaller clans, like the Akimichi, Sarutobi, and Inuzuka. He had witnessed one of the Blaze Elites, people touted as being capable to match the Elite of the clans, have his entrails splayed on the ground by a Sarutobi Elite Clan member, while that clan member hadn't even broken a sweat.

It was that day he swore to never be on the bad side of a clan Shinobi. A vow he had to break due to his village's current state. But he knew that there was no point in putting their hopes in the Elite of the Diamyo's, especially since their enemies were Senju.

"Is it getting darker for anyone else?" Matsuhito asked the group as he looked around.

Being pulled out of his thoughts, Tadiniro looked around, and a frown quickly formed on his face. He suddenly couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him. Only their small group is visible. The pass had suddenly gotten unnaturally dark, even the sound of footsteps of the other Shinobi could no longer be heard. If not for Matsuhito, he was sure he wouldn't have heard anything.

*Boom*

The group heard a loud explosion near the front of the Sonae, along with screams of pain.

*Boom*

*Boom*

*Boom*

Three more explosions rang out from each side of the party, forcing the five of them to cover their ears from the sound. Tadiniro looked up, he instantly knew what was happening.

"We need to run! We're being ambushed!"