He ran.

  Or as best he could with his injuries.

  "Shit!" he said as he stumbled over the forest floor before coming to rest against a tree and examining his blood stained hand and arm then hissed in pain.

  “Fucking zealots!” He snarled.

  Hearing the cries of the angry mob, the teen growled in anger and annoyance before placing his blood covered hand back over his heavily wounded stomach.

  "Persistent bastards" the teen growled as he hobbled through the forest as fast as he could manage with one broken leg. Occasionally he would glance at said leg to make sure the strain he was putting on it did not make the injury any worse. While the break itself was not an issue, comparatively, it was the increased blood loss from a possible compound fracture and the added recovery time needed to heal said fracture that would be the real annoyance.

  A sudden gust of wind blew through the forest causing the teen to stop and breathe deeply, there was a scent on the wind, a scent of civilisation as well as a subtle scent that was old, new and everything in between.

  "Fucking finally" the teen growled only to hiss in pain both from his body and his head. Those wretches had marked him in some manner that disrupted his focus leaving him powerless. A feeling that deeply enraged him.

  He hobbled as fast as he could while the sounds of the mob grew louder.

  -0-0-0-

  Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu, a pair of Konohagakure Chunin that were famous for constantly being assigned to gate duty, one of the most boring and mind-numbing assignments in the village.

  "I'm bored" Kotetsu whined as he rocked on the back legs of his chair, his legs resting on top of the table.

  "And we can't even ditch 'cause there's no one who'd willingly cover for us" Izumo said, he currently had his elbow resting on the table while his head rested in his palm.

  "Remind me again why we keep getting this Godforsaken mission?" Kotetsu asked.

  "'Cause we're lazy good for nothings that can't be bothered to get up early to get the good missions" Izumo said.

  "Hm, fair enough" Kotetsu replied.

  “Also, were lazy good for nothings who don’t really want to put much effort into our careers as shinobi, so we take the easy missions that still pay well” Izumo said.

  “Also fair. Still boring as fuck though”

  “Yeah”

  “… Yeah”

  Suddenly Kotetsu sat up and turned his head towards the gate.

  “What’s wrong?” Izumo asked.

  “Do you hear that?” Kotetsu asked.

  Sharpening his senses and focusing, Izumo’s eyes widened and the duo leapt over their table then ran out the gate, but not before firing a flare into the sky.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  -0-0-0-

  "HELP!!!" the teen cried out as he limped towards the village that was within his sights, “HELP ME!!”

  Hearing the roars of the mob getting louder, the teen growled and glared angrily behind him while trying to hobble faster.

  "ABOMINATION!" the teen heard and tried to dodge the incoming projectile, but due to him stepping awkwardly on his broken leg, resulting in a sickening crunch, the arrow intended to pierce his heart from behind, went right through his shoulder and lodged itself halfway out the other end.

  The teen cried out in pain and fell forward only to be caught by a pair of hands.

  "Are you alright?" the teen heard and turned his head to see a man with spiky black hair and a bandage around the bridge of his nose.

  "Do I look alright?" the teen growled out through gritted teeth, his nostrils flaring.

  "Heh, he’s a snarky one" Kotetsu chuckled as he supported the teen, "I like him already! Can we keep him?"

  Allowing the teen to use his shoulders for support, Kotetsu helped the boy stand who then growled as he glared down the road.

  "What's wrong?" Izumo asked.

  "Fanatics" the teen spat out angrily.

  Shortly after, the mob the trio could hear caught up with them causing the eyes of the two ninjas to darken.

  "Hunters Guild" Kotetsu growled when saw the group of men and women wearing leather armour with various straps and pockets lined with knives and other small weapons.

  "Well, well, looks like we've found a horde of abominations" a smug man, clearly the leader, said.

  "Leave" Izumo said, "You have entered the protected lands of Konohagakure no Sato. Leave peacefully and no harm will come to you"

  "HA!" the leader scoffed, "Our Great Lord would never let harm come to us"

  "YOUR SO CALLED 'GOD' IS A FARCE!" the teen yelled, "THE WHOLE LOT OF YOU SHOULD BE PUT DOWN LIKE THE RABID DOGS YOU ARE!"

  "BLASPHEMER!" the man roared before pulling out a crossbow and firing it at the teen only for it to be caught by Izumo.

  "Kotetsu" Izumo said.

  "Yeah?" Kotetsu replied.

  "This arrow… could be seen as a sign of first assault, right?" Izumo asked while Kotetsu furrowed his brows in confusion, "I mean, this young man did ask us for help and we did agree to provide it, right?"

  "Of course," Kotetsu replied, now realising where this was going.

  "So that means we are well within our rights to carry out the orders Hokage-sama gave all of us, right?" Izumo asked while he clenched his fist and snapped the arrow in two.

  "Oh yeah" Kotetsu said with a smirk then turned his attention to the teen, "Think you can stand on your own for a bit?"

  The teen simply nodded while Kotetsu made sure the teen could stand before turning to face the mob.

  "Good. Just checking" Izumo said then ran through a series of hand signs, "Suiton: Mizuame Nabara!"

  Immediately, a thick syrupy liquid spewed out of the Shinobi's mouth that quickly covered the area the mob was standing on, leaving them unable to move.

  Roaring in fury, the leader fired another arrow at the teen, only for it to bounce off a massive conch shell mace before Kotetsu lifted it up and draped it over his shoulders.

  "Did you honestly think we'd let you shoot a kid?" Kotetsu asked.

  "That creature is no child, heathen" the leader growled before his face contorted in fury, "KILL THEM ALL!"

  Immediately the rest of the mob pulled out various projectile weapons, but before they could fire or throw them, they suddenly found themselves being lifted off the ground and restrained by tree branches that spontaneously sprouted from the earth.

  "Is everything alright?" the trio heard before a man in a dog mask and a man in a squirrel mask appeared in a swirl of leaves.

  "Inu, Risu!" Izumo said with obvious relief in his voice, "Damn you two cut it close"

  "Sit-rep?" Inu asked, ignoring the comment.

  Kotetsu was about to explain but was cut off when the teen, who had his eyes half closed and was swaying on his feet said, "You know, as much as I love idle chit-chat, wouldn't it be a good idea to pay attention to, oh I don’t know, the half eviscerated teenager with a broken leg and an arrow through his shoulder? I mean, if you have nothing better to do of course"

  There was a heavy silence while everyone took a moment to process.

  "Oh, the shade of it all!" Risu exclaimed dramatically.

  “You need to stop spending all your time at those cabaret bars” Inu commented.

  “Just because I like to enjoy my free time with dinner and a good show doesn’t mean I need to be dull about it” Risu snarked back.

  Suddenly the teen swayed and fell forward only to be caught by Risu.

  "Shit!" Inu swore, "Risu, get him to the hospital. I'll take care of things here"

  Risu simply nodded and disappeared with the teen in a swirl of leaves.

  Inu then turned to face the mob and ran through a series of hand signs, "Katon: Gyokaku no Jutsu"

  "YOU WILL BE BROUGHT TO JUDGEMENT, DEMONS!" The leader roared before he and the rest of the mob were incinerated by the fireball Inu had breathed out.

  Author's Notes