Chapter 71.5- One Thousand Hands

“The day you die” Hayate replied coldly. Kosuke looked over at him.

“That is the truth. Fear reminds you that you are alive— that you are human. Anyone who feels no fear is inhuman. Enjoy the fear. Allow it remind you that you are alive. And when the time comes, ignore it and do your duty” Hayate said, stabbing the sword he was polishing straight into he ground.

Kosuke did not know if he was willing to accept that. Hayate did not understand what he as talking about. Probably because he didn’t live with fear in the same way Kosuke did. Fear was a bad word for it. Bone-chilling terror was a better way to put it.

“Now stop your sulking. It’s time” Hayate said, looking into the sky. Kosuke looked up as well and he could see it. A knife attached to some sort of kite flying through the air. Chiyo and her damn eccentricities. There had to be a better way of sending the message than that one. Still, he rose. He straightened his back, and then looked at the men around him. Jounin one and all. Twenty-two, then adding Hayate and himself to make twenty four. Two dozen. On the other end of the mountains there was a similar force led by Chiyo and Riku. The plan, the Kazekage’s brainchild was a longshot, but with the news coming out of Iwa, it was beginning to look almost possible.

“This might be the hardest thing any of us has ever done. If you find yourself stranded behind enemy lines or certain of your demise, do not hesitate to trigger the failsafes. It would not do for any traces of us to be left behind. We do this for Suna. Move out” he said, and body flickered forward into the mountains, scaling the first hill in a matter of seconds. Kosuke found himself not too far behind him as their squad began the push into the land of Stone.

As their scouts had predicted, it only took five minutes for them to meet opposition. It was a single patrol group. One jounin, five chunin. Hayate struck first. Kosuke did not even see him unsheathe his blade as two heads fell in his wake. Kosuke moved behind him, hand outstretched. The Jounin tried to ensnare them in a genjutsu, using a clone to come straight at them while the original came in from the left, kunai heading for Hayate’s head.

Kosuke tore the genjutsu apart, not even watching the clone disappear in mist as he splayed his fingers and commanded his chakra to ignite. The man made it within two feet of them and Kosuke’s chakra did what it did best, it burned. The man fell to the floor, ashes were skin had once been. The other chunin fell to kunai in the dark.

“Continue” Hayate barked after looking about to confirm their kills. Kosuke followed, moving fast as he could sustain to keep up with them. The plan was simple. A straight line into the weakened Iwa: sabotage key infrastructure, steal as many village secrets as possible, kill or capture the Jinchuriki of the Four Tails.