As the group pursued Sasuke, Pakkun's face changed.
"We're being trailed by ten different shinobi. Two squads and another two! Hurry up y'all!"
Shikamaru groaned and yelled, "Already?!"
"It doesn't look like they know our exact location. But they are approaching quickly and they are guarding against ambush."
Shikamaru replied, "Damn. If they catch us, we're dead; they are all probably chunin or above."
"We need a diversion," Sakura replied.
Shikamaru nodded and said, "You know battle tactics Sakura?"
"No, I know Multi-level deception."
Pakkun yelled, "No way?! How?!"
"Raito taught me. I'll stay behind and catch them in a trap. You go on ahead."
Shikamaru said, "No, you can heal Sasuke if he has any wounds. As much as your cool technique might help you, medics are even more important in retrieving Sasuke."
Shikamaru dropped below the tree line and then flipped around using a tree.
"If I don't survive this. Tell my mom, I actually did something. I guess she'll be glad I used some energy."
Shikamaru headed away.
He used a bundle of sticks to lure the enemy away slowly. The trackers seemed to be following him, so clearly they had no sensory ninja on their team.
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Raito saw the upcoming squads and watched as they peeled off. Raito's concern peaked and then he spoke.
"Shino, continue forward. I'm going to pursue these ninjas."
Shino simply nodded and continued forward towards Naruto and Sakura. Raito peeled off and watched the ninja in curiosity until they reached a clearing of trees. There he realized that it was his chance to kill them.
As he was about to activate his jutsu, he saw a shadow creep out to grab the enemy ninja. If they were going to be stationary, it would make the job much easier. Raito disappeared in a white flash, killing all the ninja in an instant. However, he was caught in the shadow possession and stood there as the other died.
Shikamaru stood in front of him and released the jutsu on him, "Damn, you were quick with that one."
Raito replied, "I saw the shadow and assumed it was you. You've still got a mostly full tank, yeah?"
"Indeed, we headed out?"
"Yes. I trust the others to complete the mission. I need you at the front gate. Shino's on his way to help them."
Shikamaru groaned, "You're dragging me into stuff now…"
Raito chuckled and replied, "Someone's gotta. I'll flash us there."
Someone else asked, "That's a neat jutsu. Glad you got to Shikamaru so quickly."
Shikamaru yelled, "Asuma-sensei!"
"Indeed, a vast distance in an instant. Why aren't you on the front lines?"
Asuma replied, "Came for my beloved student. You?"
"I was given the mission by Kakashi Hatake. We're headed to the front gate right now, though, come with."
Asuma replied, "How so?"
Raito said, "Put your hands on my shoulders and close your eyes."
The two Konoha shinobi did as requested. Suddenly the felt themselves move while being stationary. As the feeling dissipated, they were at the age of the force trying its best to repel the massive snakes.
Raito collapsed onto the ground. His Hikarigan deactivated and rolled back to his normal white pupils. He'd spent most of his chakra on transport and using the technique so much. He got back up to one knee, only to see a group of sound ninja coming for him.
The ninja were stopped mid-motion, with a shadow possessing them. Raito was beyond thankful and released his gravity seal, all the way to the top level. Only the 9th level was left untouched, as he hadn't oriented himself to his speed in that one yet. Then he released one of his chakra storage seals.
A great amount of chakra flooded his system; in fact, he quickly realized it was more than his system normally handled. So he shut the seal off; it made sense. The seal siphoned off a consistent amount at the end of every day. Over a long period like the last two months, he'd had no use for them; they'd kept a lot from him. Especially since he hadn't been practicing jutsu as much.
Raito grinned, feeling his strength return. He turned to his savior, the man looked like Shikamaru, except much older. He had scars across his nose and the exact same lazy disposition.
Raito said, "Shikamaru, is that your dad?"
Shikamaru nodded, "Yes, that's him. We're alike, aren't we?"
Raito nodded and looked towards the massive group of large snakes making their way deep into the village. He had no summons, but he knew someone who did. Turning, he was about to leave the wall when Karasu arrived with Aoi. Aoi looked like she'd been through the ringer. Her eye was swollen and her clothes were ripped where blade had cut her. Raito grimaced and looked at Karasu.
Karasu yelled, "An entire platoon is chasing us. Someone needs to keep her safe until she recovers. Someone else has got to deal with the platoon. I need to take care of the massive snakes carving a path in Konoha."
As he finished yelling, a massive toad landed on one of the snakes and, in the same movement, sliced its head off. Raito turned then and looked at Karasu. He was untouched; that was expected of the kid who had people fearing him since he was ten.
Raito took command, as he'd done in times past, "Karasu, summon the King Crow and take care of the snakes. If you must remember, you have a double pact, and summon the ferrets as well. Shikamaru, I'll set up a perfect way for you to trap the platoon! Asuma, you and I will kill them man for man!"
Shikaku raised an eyebrow at a foreign ninja ordering around his shinobi. But he liked the plan and decided to retreat to stop the battles elsewhere. It took very little time for the platoon to arrive.
Karasu summoned a massive crow, twice the size of the toad who'd appeared in the distance. King Crow was an abnormal beast, able to bend it's wing and use it as a grasping tool, it had two katana as large as a building each. Raito had only seen it once, and they'd needed to escape a battle last time. This time, they need him for battle.
Karasu flew into the air on top of the massive crow, whose wings had such strength it moved Raito, who'd stuck to the ground with chakra. Shikamaru fell over but got back up, and Asuma was moved a little bit.
Raito began moving through hand signs as the platoon of almost fifteen ninja appeared in front of them. He wasn't molding any chakra; he was making them think that, though. This gave them pause and enough time for Shikamaru to stretch his shadow to all of them. Though he immediately realized it could last for a very low amount of time.
Asuma and Raito took their heads in an instant and rested for a few moments afterwards. Without using the instant doubling, Raito had conserved chakra. Then Raito ordered Shikamaru to cover Aoi as she rested. Raito ran towards the main rooftop battle and asked Asuma to join him on his way. This would be a final push to wipe out the Suna and Oto invasion.
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Sasuke had finally caught up with the sand siblings.
"Hey, stop right there! I told you I'd catch up."
Temari immediately reached for her fan; from this distance, she could rock the brat's world. She was about to grab it when Kankuro set down Gaara.
"I'll deal with the brat. You retreat!"
Sasuke grinned as he was about to prepare an attack. Naruto appeared, punching Kankuro across the face. Sasuke took that chance to finish his jutsu. At that same time, Temari pulled out her fan and screamed.
[Wind Release: Wind Scythes]
Sasuke avoided the wind, only getting minor scrapes on his legs and arms. Naruto on the other hand dissipated. Sasuke grinned. That was a clever move. It was then that, despite having been behind Naruto and Sakura, Shino appeared.
"Sasuke, pursue Gaara. I'll deal with the puppet boy."
Sasuke asked, "I know you're strong and all, but… he's dangerous."
Shino replied, "Don't patronize me, Sasuke Uchiha. Chase the boy."
Sasuke left, pursuing Temari and Gaara. Unknown to him, Naruto knew that he was moving again. With Naruto and Sakura, they arrived just as Shino collapsed from poison, and immediately Sakura noticed it. However, before she could administer help, another person appeared.
"I'll heal Shino. It takes special bugs to get poison out of an Aburame's body."
Sakura, whose hands were lit with chakra, nodded and instead dissipated before moving forward towards Sasuke. Naruto was already ahead, leaving Sakura behind to heal Shino, which was a split-second decision.
Naruto arrived just in time to witness Gaara coming at Sasuke with an intent to kill the downed Uchiha. In an instant, Naruto released his gravity seal and smacked Gaara with the heel of his foot. Then, in the same movement, he flipped around and landed in front of Sasuke, with Pakkun landing near him.
Pakkun dissipated, deciding he'd done his job. Sakura immediately got to work. She took Sasuke to the forest floor and laid him down on a soft bed of dirt. She took his shirt off as she heard the sounds of battle above her.
His curse mark had activated. She had no way of relieving him of that, but she would heal his physical wounds. She took out a vial of powder infused with chakra. It was meant for battlefield use, a germ cleanser. Rubbing it on her hands, she made sure not to drop any on Sasuke.
Then she lit her hands with green chakra. Systematically over the course of minutes, she slowly fixed his arm. Somehow Sasuke had managed to give it grave burns. So after healing the muscular issues, she put a cooling salve on it. She reached into her pack to grab a package of bandages. That's when she saw it, a massive sand monster in the distance. Naruto appeared next to her, beaten but not cowed.
"Sakura… We can't beat whatever that is. We need to run, and grab someone who can do summons."
As he said that he heard the caw of a massive crow overhead.
The sand monster began screaming, "I'm free! I'm free!"
The crow yelled, "Shukaku, the Ichibi! Your jinchuruki has a weak seal! Go back! You'll kill the boy!"
Shukaku narrowed his yellow eyes and laughed.
"Karasukoma! You're still kicking it! No! I'm free!"
[Wind Release: Wind Bullets]
The technique dissipated as one fell swoop of the crow's wings destroyed it.
"I'll give you one more chance. The sealing expert of Dato is on her way!"
Naruto perked up at that. Turning to Sakura, he said, "That's Raito's mom. Also that means she'll take care of him. We can retreat."
Sakura, whose concentration had been interrupted, shook her head, "Not until Sasuke has recovered. He needs to be here until I'm done with him."