I'll sleep when I'm dead

1 - SEISHIN

This was not an ideal situation.

Seishin Keitaro definitely had the wrong four year old but, in retrospect, he doesn't think that particularly matters - any kid would have done, really. Besides, this was bound to happen - this being Konohagakure catching onto his plans - so it was a good thing there was another child nearby once ANBU caught up to him, even if it wasn't a Yamanaka.

Well a Nara child wasn't anything to sneeze at, at least.

Personally, Keitaro thought kidnapping a child from Konoha to sacrifice them for some ghosts was a little over the top and would definitely get them hunted by the village, but his opinion doesn't matter. There's a reason why this duty was delegated to him, not that he wants to think about it much.

He bounded across the rooftops, chakra coating his feet in a steady and unwavering manner, barely keeping the kid knocked out with his clans Jutsu while simultaneously having to keep an eye on those pursuing ANBU. He ended up favouring solid ground, thundering past some poor old lady and a middle-aged mans cart of vegetables to slip into a broad alleyway.

Narrowly dodging some sort of fire-style Jutsu, Keitaro meandered back towards a main road, ducking and weaving between civilians. Some shinobi stopped and gawked, clearly news hadn't reached the main population yet. Absently, he clutched the Nara kid closer to his chest.

Finally, he managed to make it to Konohagakure's gates, nervously taking note of just how many shinobi were stood waiting with their hands ready to fling into signs. He cursed under his breath as he took a moment to count, readjusting the Nara kid in his arms as he pondered over a plan of action, feet still bringing him forwards.

And after seeing no other alternative, he shunshinned forwards, bracing for the numerous Justu's he was sure he'd end up taking to the back.

Keitaro grimaced, allowing a slight grunt of pain (He had been trained better than that) as he bobbed between Jutsu, a particularly powerful fireball gracing his lower back with a searing blaze. He was quick to extinguish it with one of his clans Jutsu, but it still stung. He kept on, he had a mission, there was no time to falter now. Failure meant capture and capture meant torture and torture meant information getting out and that meant death.

He forced himself to keep moving at blinding speeds; legs screaming at him to slow down, take a break, but he couldn't. Keitaro rushed past the gates, the surprised cry of some of the more inexperienced shinobi causing a small, triumphant smile to mark its way on his expression. The well-trodden path of Konohagakure's front yawned in front of him, far too large for his liking, but the forest was just ahead. Keitaro was good in a forest, better than some Leaf ninja.

Meandering down the worn path - still narrowly dodging Jutsu, shuriken, and ninja wire - he managed to reach the branching, wondrous forest surrounding the village. He leapt atop an unusually high branch, allowing its height to carry him through the rest of the trees with relative ease.

"Can't look back now, don't look back, everything's going just fine," he gritted out between clenched teeth, heart thundering in his ears, and taking a moment to look down at the poor Nara kid now that he was close to his clans reconnaissance point.

The boy was strikingly Nara, no way he could pass him off as a Yamanaka to the Seishin as much as that could cause issues with the ritual. Naturally, he was also still under the control of one of their clan Jutsu; (And thank the sage for that) blissfully asleep.

Keitaro cursed as he felt the ANBU were still hot on his tail, swiftly catching up, his iconic white pupils glancing back up to survey his surroundings, perhaps it wouldn't have been so difficult to take the correct target if it weren't for the fact Kumogakure decided to try and kidnap the Hyūga heir in the exact same year. Beggars can't be choosers, he supposed, dodging yet another Jutsu. It's a shame the Seishin couldn't reschedule, but it had to be today.