Chapter 50.5- Gamer of the Desert

It was a hard march. Once he was cleared by the medics, Neji was expected to join in on the march across the Land of Grass. Ninja armies moved differently from Samurai or other conventional forces. First of all, they moved quickly. And secondly, they moved in spurts. Spurts of high speed matched with long periods of stillness as they waited for the scouts ahead of them to plot the best routs and for the reserve behind them to cover their tracks.

A ninja army had two priorities; speed and stealth. In most situations, it was unacceptable to even consider allowing one to suffer in favour of the other. Generally, if speed was prioritised over stealth, then something was very very wrong. The wars among Shinobi were known as Secret wars for a reason. There was the unspoken but very binding agreement to ensure that as much of the war as possible was kept from Civilian notice. That was why even during times like this, the Konoha mission office worked just as usual. Business first. War later.

He scouted forward a few kilometres at a time with the aid of his byakugan, making sure that nothing untoward was a waiting for them in their approach. They were still within the territory of the Land of Grass so it was unlikely that they would meet anything more than the little token resistance that had been outside of the village eon patrols when they had taken it, but that was no reason to get sloppy. These practices would become even more essential once they crossed the border right at the edge of his vision.

He returned to the main group and relayed his findings to Captain Fu with quick sign language while Sasuke stood next to him. Silent and sullen. He’d been in a mood ever since he woke up. Neji could accept that there were shinobi out there that he’d be no match for. Not for a while, at least. He’d had the pleasure of watching the battle between Gaara of the Desert and the Tsuchikage during the Invasion of the Leaf, and he’d been confronted with his limits. Both men had expended more chakra than he had in his whole body with just pone jutsu. He’d learned then and there that Kage were gods among men, and since the Kusa Head Jounin had only been a few steps below that, he could stomach the loss.

Not his partner, however. Sasuke remained committed to his foolish pursuit of a man who stood on the same level as Kage. An S-ranked Criminal. Uchiha Itachi had been S-ranked at 13. Uchiha Sasuke didn’t even qualify as mid-jounin level at 15. It was harsh, but true. He wouldn’t point hit out. Discretion was the better part of valour in the end, but he did know that he’d thoroughly disabuse him of the notion if they ever got the chance to face Uchiha Itachi. Sasuke would be lucky to be a stumbling block in the path of a monster like that.

Fu nodded at his report and then signed for them to continue their path. Neji and Sasuke were the tip of the spear for much of the run, using their doujutsu to make sure that the path was unmolested. Redundant since they’d already scouted ahead. But no one could accuse Captain Fu of lacking in caution. Quite the opposite, to be honest.

When they arrived at the border, it was clear without any markings. It was like there was a barrier demarcating where the land of Grass ended and where the Land of Rain began. At the edge, it was even more unnatural. The way the rain began right at the edge of the border. And it wasn’t even a soft drizzle. It was the kind of rain that pelted you with enough force to be mistaken for hail. Neji had placed a hand across the border to make sure the rain was as real as it appeared. And it had been.

“I’ll take point hence. You and your partner should move to the reserve. You still aren’t at 100% so expecting you to face off against the border patrols would be cruel” Captain Fu said with a smile that was so painfully fake that it would have failed to even fool Hinata. He walked with an even more sullen Sasuke to the back of the line as the army marched into the Land of Rain. They were forced to slow down their run to account for the unfamiliar geography as other members of his clan scouted ahead with their Byakugan to make sure they wouldn’t fall into any traps as they marched into the village’s territory. Amegakure was only a few dozen kilometres from the border so they’d be able to make it to the village’s shadow by the end of day.

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In hindsight, it should have been obvious that they were walking into a trap. No border patrols, no traps or mines, or anything. A village that had lost its biggest and only deterrent wouldn’t have been so lax with their security. That was why when one of his cousins called their attention to a figure floating in the sky, Neji felt his heart drop into his stomach. He had a bad feeling.

A feeling that got even worse as the figure floated downwards to reveal a hauntingly beautiful woman with white wings that looked to be made of paper spread out from her back. Fu called out orders as a single fireball was sent flying at her. The jutsu washed across the paper wings but failed to have any effect. The look on the woman’s face. Neji didn’t need his byakugan to see the disdain she regarded them all with. That should have been the second sign that things were going to go wrong. But it was until the paper wings spread pout fully and began to pepper the gathered unit with paper shuriken that it sunk in for the rest of the army.

Not a single shuriken hit its target but that mattered little when they began to explode at random. Screams of pain echoed across the field. Sasuke weaved seals just as most of the army did. All long range ninjutsu sent at the woman failed to connect as she flew around them like they moved in slow motion. All the while, her own attacks landed with devastating effect. Neji couldn’t believe his eyes. A single person was fighting an army, and they were winning.

But that wasn’t the worst thing to happen. A man suddenly appeared in their midst. Neji was one of the first to notice him. His cloak of black and red standing out even to his Byakugan. He was too slow in sounding the alarm however. The man slammed a single hand on the ground and with a massive puff of smoke, creatures began to appear. First a pair of giant dogs as large as any boss summons Neji had ever seen. Next came a massive caterpillar that reared up before slamming on the ground, crushing quite a few shinobi under its bulk. After that came a chameleon. Only Neji’s byakugan allowed his see the invisible creature as it moved through their lines, causing chaos with every step. A bird-like creature followed that took to the skies immediately. The summoned creatures caused a massive distraction as the woman’s paper bombs continued to fall uninterrupted. A shuriken flew at him but he sent it to the side with a quick gentle fist tap. It exploded a fair distance away. By his side, Sasuke’s eyes were wide as he watched the entire army being massacred by two shinobi.

Neji knew there was only one thing to be done. He wasn’t a coward, but he knew there was only one thing to be done. This was a failed effort. He grabbed his partner’s arm and made a single gesture. Sasuke hesitated. Perhaps that hesitation would have cost him his life in a different world. Here, Neji just turned to retreat and dragged him along for the ride.

He could still see the army in disarray as another man in a similar cloak appeared and sent half the army flying just by lifting his hands. By the time Fu sounded the retreat, they were already a fair bit away. Neji figured that since a retreat was sounded at the end, they wouldn’t be deserters. Either way, he watched as one by one, every single fleeing member of the battalion sent into the land of rain was killed. Some of them died in groups. Some made it farther than others. Some died to paper shrunken falling from the heavens. Some died to summon animals. Some died from being sent off their feet by waves of invisible force. Some more died to strange canisters that a third man fired from his arm. Some died quickly. Some died slowly. They all died, in the end. Neji and Sasuke ran like the hounds of hell were at their heels.

Even when they crossed the border back into the land of grass, they didn’t stop. Neji had to deactivate his byakugan to conserve chakra and still they didn’t stop. They ran until their legs felt like they would fall off, and even further.

He could barely see in front of him when they ran into the land of fire. All he remembered was collapsing in the hands of a man with a scar across his nose. Sasuke had collapsed earlier on.

A/N; Good place to end the chapter?