Chapter 19.4- One Thousand Hands

XXXXXXXXXXXX- HOHOJIROZAME

Five of the most skilled sensors that Kiri had on active duty out of the village, including himself, and thy struggled to make heads or tails of the Senju brat’s position. Something told him to make the run for the lesser prizes, but it felt too much like giving up own a hunt for him to tolerate, and it was still much too late for that. He was sure that if they started to head after the others, then the Senju would use the opportunity to sescape and then there would be nothing worth anything for their efforts. The Sharingan was a worthy prize, but only if they managed to get it before the girl destroyed the eyes herself. It was what her clan was famous for, after all.

And then there was the fact that the others were gaining a massive amount of distance and he doubted he’d be able to catch up to them before they managed to signal more treehuggers. He smelled another four of his men cross from the land of the living and he resisted the urge to scream in frustration. Heading in that direction would yield him nothing but wasted energy and dangerous traps.

“Set the forest on fire” He finally gave the order that he’d been resisting for so long. The Land of Waves was prime geography that the Mizukage was keen in grabbing up for himself in the next war, so he’d been hesitant to cause any meaningful damage to the ecosystem but the disappointment of returning without the Senju was infinitely greater than any disappointment the Mizukage would develop at them ruining parts of the Island’s ecosystem by getting rid of the windbreaker trees that made the place any good for agriculture in the first place.

“A pleasure,” Ichimaru spoke out and began weaving seals for a fireball jutsu. By his sides, both Kisuke, and Kosei did the same, but aimed at different directions. For his part, Hohojirozame commanded the very lightning in the clouds to bend to his will and dropped several lightning bolts on key pieces of foliage, setting them on fire and spreading the fire far and wide.

In no time, they were forced to shift positions, as he and his men left the burning and smoking forest behind. More and more fire came from several directions as the fire spread further and further. Eventually, the forest itself was burning and there was black smoke all around it. The Senju’s chakra signature began to disappear from the forest. When the fire had burned to the end, the chakra signature was gone. The boy had not left the forest according to his senses, and he had the strongest feeling that the boy’s dead body would not be found in the ashes.

“Kill the fire and search the ruins for the Senju” He ordered, even knowing that there was no chance that the boy was in there. If not the smoke, then the sheer heat would have forced him out. The boy was as strong as anyone Hohojirozame himself had ever fought so there was no chance he fell to the flames. No, something else had happened. They’d been had.