Demon Dragon Rider

Chapter 20: Battle in the Forest

A group of five Iwa ninjas dashed through the trees of the Land of Fire's western border, rushing northward towards their home camp. They would occasionally look over their shoulders in fear.

Without warning, a hail of shurikens shot at them from the side, nailing one of them in the legs, left arm and neck. He dropped like a rock, smashing into the ground, with his corpse rolling.

The other four cursed and began to separate, only for two of them to run straight into a net with metal spikes. Their cries of agony spurred the other two on, allowing them to get away.

Behind them, three Konoha ninjas dropped into a clearing, admiring their handiwork. They began gathering weapons and supplies from the dead, before retreating back towards their posts.

A few miles north, two surviving Iwa ninjas rushed into the safety of the camp. The Iwa forces had spent a week in the woods of the Land of Fire, pushing towards their destination. One week of constant ambushes upon their engineer teams sent to dismantle traps, of stumbling across traps the enginner teams missed.

Kurotsuchi sighed as she sat in the command tent. Her firs major command was falling to pieces. This was supposed to be a quick rush mission straight to Suna. Two week maximum. Now it was turning into a slaughter fest.

The Konoha forces had never given them more than a fleeting glance of themselves. They struck from out of nowhere, hitting supplies, killing men, sabotaging equipment. Then they faded into the woods, killing or capturing all who pursued them.

She looked over to a letter she had received from her granddaughter, the Third Tsuchikage. It was a response to her assessment of the situation and her call for a withdrawal as it was obvious that Konoha knew they were coming.

His response had been short and simple: "Make the plan work."

She sighed as she began looking over a map. She began plotting other routes before standing and walking to her tent opening. "Gather the commanders," she said to a nearby Chunin.

She returned to her table and sat down, waiting. Within minutes, three Jounins entered and bowed to her. "Lady Kurotsuchi," the lead Jounin said.

She sighed. "Lord Tsuchikage has sent a reply. He decreed that we push onwards. That we do not return without at least giving our all."

The Jounin murmured and one of them spoke up. "He can't be serious. We're being slaughtered, we're behind schedule. And this is just Konoha. Suna probably knows we're coming."

She sighed. "I know! But there's nothing we can do. We have to push onwards or be declared traitors. Which is why I've gone over the maps. I think I found a solution."

She placed a map in front of them and traced out a route in red ink. "This is the current planned route for our forces," she said. "And these," she traced out two more routes in blue ink, "were the secondary choices. More than likely, if Konoha trapped this route they trapped the other two routes. Which is why we're going to do this."

She traced out a fourth route in yellow ink. "We're going to fall back here and strike eastward before curving around and striking westward. With any luck, we'll be able to avoid their traps and planned ambush routes, meaning we can move even faster and strike at Suna here." She indicated a spot about twenty miles south of where they had originally intended to strike.

The three Jounins nodded. "A sound plan," one said. "But we'll have to move extra hard and fast to pull it off."

Kurotsuchi nodded. "Yes, we will. But if we're lucky, we'll stretch their ambush force out, meaning that their attacks will be less coordinated against us. It's either that or we will strike for the Suna border now." She stood up. "Spread the orders amongst the camp. Now."