Ganryū and the others had finally completed their mission to destroy the Iwa camp that had been re-supplying their front lines at Kannabi Bridge in the land of Grass.
With the camp destroyed it would leave their forces without food, supplies, and reinforcements for some time, allowing the Mist and Leaf's forces to make a play and push forward to secure the land of Grass and further hinder the Stone's efforts in the War.
Due to the naterural defence of the land of Waterfalls, making it very difficult for an army to march through without being picked off, and the not so friendly land of Rain. The land of Grass was the most direct route through into the land of Fire.
Ganryū and the others were now heading back to the rendezvous point, with Kogetsu carrying Kimimaro who was still unconscious and Hattori lending his shoulder to help Haku, who without they would have all been killed.
Haku had been able to pull off a powerful summoning jutsu, surprising everyone. Without it though, the group would have been killed by the two powerful Akatsuki members they had come face to face with, instead being forced to flee from the fight.
"How is he doing, Kogetsu?" Ganryū asked.
"He is still unconscious," Kogetsu replied, still carrying Kimimaro on his back.
Ganryū nodded, not being surprised after battling the way he had with one of the Sannin. "We need to send word to lord 5th right away that the mission was a success." He then said, putting his focus back onto the task at hand.
"Haku... When did you learn how to use that summoning jutsu?" Koyuki asked, following next to him and Hattori.
"Father taught me how to use it not long before this mission," Haku said with a soft smile.
"I'm thankful to you for saving us and all, but could you not have used that a little sooner?" Kujira suddenly said, making a good point.
Haku's face grew a little more serious before he answered that question. "Father told me only to summon the warrior yeti if it was life or death."
The others didn't say another word, knowing that if the 5th Mizukage had told him that then it would be for a good reason.
"Well, I'm glad you decided to use it," Rokuro said, thanking Haku for saving his life.
"That's enough, let him rest." Hattori suddenly butted in, growing tired of the others surrounding him so they could talk to Haku.
Soon enough the group had made it back over into the land of Waterfalls, crossing the border without the sign of any enemy forces or scouts.
"I can sense the others not far from here," Kogetsu said, reporting to Ganryū.
"Rodger," Ganryū said, feeling the chakra signatures coming to life within his range.
"Sir, I can sense a small group of shinobi approaching." One of the Waterfall ninjas reported to his commander.
The Waterfall shinobi had been busy retrieving the body of their fallen chief and commander, Lord Hisen who had been forced to drink the hero water to defeat Kakuzu of the Akatsuki and save his men, sacrificing his life in the process.
"I see, get ready!" The new commander said, knowing they were still well-equipped to deal with an enemy scout party, even if half of the Leaf forces and a large number of their own men had been wiped out.
"Sir, it's the Mist shinobi!" One of the scouts suddenly yelled, getting the others to stand down.
"Stand down." The commander yelled, watching as Ganryū and the others landed on the ground before them, showing them the secret code so that they knew they were not the enemy.
"Where is Lord Hisen?" Ganryū asked, heading over to who he could see was in charge.
"I'm afraid Lord Hisen has fallen..." The Waterfall ninja said with sorrow in his voice.
"I am the next in charge." He then said.
"Very well," Ganryū said, sorry to hear about Hisen.
"The mission is complete. The Iwa base has been destroyed along with the watch towers along the border." Ganryū reported, getting a gasp from some of the others.
"You... You were able to do this all alone?"
"Yeah, no thanks to you guys. But, then again it looks like you had your hands full yourselves." Ganryū said, seeing they had also run into a snag.
"We must return at once and report this to your superiors." The Waterfall shinobi said, not wasting any time.
"Yes, with the watch towers destroyed and no one left alive, we should have a bit of time before the Stone figures out what has happened." Ganryū said, getting a nod from the Waterfall commander.
"Everyone, prepare to move out!"
Haku and the others could see how bad things had been here for the Leaf and Waterfall shinobi, even getting a glimpse of Kakashi who was badly injured and still unconscious for the time being.
"Even commander Kakashi is down," Kogetsu said.
"He got hurt fighting one of your own." A familiar voice suddenly said, coming toward them.
"Iseto? You survived the battle?" Haku asked, seeing who it was.
"Yeah, better than you from the looks of it." He said, seeing Haku holding onto Hattori for support and Kimimaro down for the count.
"One of those bastards in the black cloaks with red clouds was responsible. I believe he went by the demon of the mist." Iseto said, not looking happy about it.
"Zabuza... Did Kakashi manage to take him out?"
"No. We got to him just before he could land a killing blow against Captain Kakashi. However, he got away before we could launch an assault." Iseto said.
"I see..." Kogetsu said while looking down at the ground in thought.
He is growing stronger and stronger as time goes on. Kogetsu thought, knowing that he was not someone they could ignore any longer.
"Alright you lot, I know you are tired but it's time to head back to the Waterfall village," Ganryū said as he walked back over to them.
Iseto nodded to Haku and the others, dismissing himself.
"Yes sir." The small group said without complaint.
With that all of the Mist, Leaf and Waterfall troops started their steady journey back toward the Waterfall village, doing their best to avoid enemy detection and carry their injured as best they could.
Once they arrived back the injured were taken to the hospital to be treated and the others were given provisions to help them rest and regain some energy.
Lord Hisen's body was also carted off to the main house so that his family could pay their respects to him. Ganryū on the other hand headed straight to the recon unit so he could send a message to both the Mizukage and the Hokage, reporting that their mission had been a success, not wasting any time in doing so.
Meanwhile, in the land of water, Fuyōna was busy playing with his children, having some very rare free time to spend with them.
Instead of the regular playing that normal parents did with their children, Fuyōna found that his kids were more than happy to play fight with him, something he was also enjoying too, having no complaints as he blocked two punches from his son, Shōto.
Fuyōna pushed the boy back gently and stepped back, watching as he jumped into the air and tried to kick him, surprising Fuyōna with his athletic ability at such a young age.
Fuyōna ducked under the kid before catching him, watching as the boy wriggled free and dropped to the ground, causing Fuyōna to laugh.
"Dad!" Shōto yelled, not happy that his father was laughing at him.
"What? That was a great kick, Shōto." Fuyōna said, trying to comfort the boy.
However, Asami suddenly appeared, attacking him with the grace of a cat, even using her Shikotsumyaku ability, making her very dangerous, even if she was only four years old.
"Wow, hey now," Fuyōna said with a nervous giggle as he dodged her attacks and felt one of her bone blades just miss his groin, not looking happy.
"Mother said to always go for the vital areas," Asmai said as she landed on all fours, looking deadly with her bones sticking out and around her body.
"Is that right? Maybe we take it easy on Daddy?" Fuyōna said, wondering what else Suiren and Mei had been teaching them when he wasn't home.
Fuyōna could see that both of them had joined together now and were ready to attack him at the same time, making him smile nervously, however, his senses kicked in and he suddenly stood upright with a serious posture.
"That's enough play time for now kids." He said, getting the two of them to stop right away as they knew the drill.
"I'm sorry to intrude, lord Mizukage." A messenger suddenly said appearing next to him.
"I have news regarding the mission in the land of Waterfalls."
Fuyōna nodded before turning to face his children.
"I have to go now, but I will be home in time for dinner."
"Ok daddy, have fun at work!" Asmai said, allowing her bones to retract into her body.
Shōto crossed his arms not happy, but nodded anyway.
"Don't be like that, Shōto. I promise we will play more soon." Fuyōna said as he walked over to them and gave each of them a hug and a kiss.
"Is everything alright dear?" Suiren asked as she came into the back garden, seeing the messenger.
"Yes dear, but I need to go." He said.
Suiren nodded, knowing it was regarding Haku and Kimimaro.
"Come on children, let your father go, he needs to go and work to keep us safe." She said, walking over before she placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
"See you soon, dear," Fuyōna said, planting a gentle kiss on her lips before he disappeared not a moment later.
"I hate it when he does that." She said, not having even opened her eyes yet.
"What's the situation?" Fuyōna asked as he burst into the war chamber, causing both of the heavy doors to slam and get everyone's attention.
"This just arrived for you, sir." One of the elders said, handing over the scroll to him.
Fuyōna opened it, seeing that it was from Ganryū.
"They did it..." He said before putting the scroll down.
"Ao, I want word set to the front lines at once, both units are to launch a full-scale assault against the Stone as long as we have the Hokage's support," Fuyōna said, bursting into action.
"Already on it sir."
"It's time we show the Stone what we are made of." Fuyōna then said, getting serious before he slammed one of the markers down onto the war table, making sense of his next move.
Meanwhile, in the Leaf...
"Sir, you have an urgent report regarding the mission in the land of Waterfalls." A member of the Anbu black ops said as they appeared in Fugaku's office, kneeing as they held out the scroll in their hand.
"Is that so?" Fugaku said before he placed a piece of paper he had been reading down on the table.
Fugaku opened the scroll and could see that it was a report from Ganryū of the Mist, reporting that the mission had been a success, however, Kakashi and many other of their men had either been KIA or seriously injured.
"So... The mission was a success." He said, not seeming overly bothered.
"I suspect we will be getting a message from the Mizukage soon?" He said.
Not a moment later another messenger opened his office door.
"Sir I have an urgent message from the Mizukage." He said.
"Right on time," Fugaku said, already knowing what the message would be.
"Tell the Mizukage we will join on the attack of the land of Grass." He said, dismissing both of the messengers.
"At once, lord Hokage." They both said, leaving the office.
"We'll take care of the Stone and Cloud first. Then I will deal with you. Fugaku said in a cunning manner while crossing his arms behind his back and gazing out of his window at the village.
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That's the end of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it.