Naruto Shadow Mage

Impressive, truly impressive! 

Koshino couldn't find any other word to describe the Mist Jonin who served as death soldiers. It was unimaginable for a high-ranking Jonin to take on such a sacrificial role. And it wasn't just any Jonin; even members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, like Juzo Biwa and Fuguki Suikazan, had hidden explosive tags on their bodies, serving as death soldiers. This was almost unheard of in the shinobi world.

At this moment, it wasn't just Koshino who was caught off guard; even the experienced Blades Squad leader, the future Shisui of the Body Flicker, had fallen prey to the Mist's ruthless tactics.

Of course, Koshino was still somewhat fortunate. After all, he had heard the faint "hiss" sound earlier and was the first to escape the blast radius of the explosive tags.

But even though he had escaped the quickest and avoided most of the explosion's impact, Koshino still found himself covered in soot and sustaining some injuries.

As for Shisui, Kakashi, and Mō, who were fully engulfed by the explosion? Their situation was much more perilous.

Using the little chakra he had managed to recover, Koshino immediately activated the Wind Perception technique he had learned from the Fourth Hokage, scanning the surroundings for any hidden threats. he feared that the Mist death soldiers might have left some other traps behind. Soon, he located the severely injured Shisui, Kakashi, and Mō. At this point, Koshino didn't even think about collecting the Mist ninja swords anymore. With his small, fragile frame, he carried all three of them on his back and fled from the site of their battle with the Mist ninja as quickly as he could.

"Please, let there be no more pursuers!"

"If the Mist sends another squad... no, they wouldn't even need a full squad!"

"Just one Mist Chunin, and our Blades Squad would be completely wiped out!"

With most of his chakra nearly depleted from the previous intense battle and barely any left after escaping the explosion, even with a slight recovery, Koshino was now carrying the much heavier Shisui, Kakashi, and Mō on his back. he was struggling to move, praying desperately that they wouldn't encounter any more Mist ninja.

If they did, the Blades Squad would face certain death.

But just as Koshino, like a frightened rabbit, was cautiously using his Wind Perception to monitor the surroundings, hoping not to run into any more Mist ninja, reality took a different turn.

As soon as Koshino had fled the battlefield, struggling with his heavy load and covering about two kilometers, he detected something ahead. Whether it was due to the noise from the previous explosions or because the Mist had already set up an ambush nearby, Koshino's Wind Perception detected a ninja lurking a hundred meters ahead, waiting silently.

The only fortunate thing was that the ninja didn't seem to be very strong.

If it had been a Mist Jonin, Koshino, carrying the Blades Squad members, wouldn't have stood a chance.

But since the ninja ahead appeared to be only a Chunin-level opponent, Koshino bit his lip, his eyes filled with determination, and a single thought dominated his mind: Kill!

Kill the ninja ahead, and carry the Blades Squad's last hope to safety!

"Shisui, Mō, Kakashi!"

"Our escape depends on whether I can take out the ninja ahead in one strike!"

"Kill!"

With that thought, Koshino didn't abandon any of his comrades. Still carrying them, he summoned the last of his chakra and used the Fourth Hokage's "Acceleration" technique. In the next instant, there was a "whoosh" as Koshino, whether due to a burst of desperation or intense focus, once again achieved the second stage of wind chakra nature transformation.

In a flash of speed that rivaled the Fourth Hokage, Koshino closed the distance to the lurking ninja. The enemy hadn't expected Koshino to move so quickly.

As Koshino struggled to stay balanced, he extended his right arm, turning it into a hand blade, and struck the ninja's neck, knocking them unconscious with a single blow. Just as Koshino felt a flicker of relief, realizing the ninja wasn't as formidable as he had feared, a green figure suddenly appeared before him.

"Bam!"

One kick. That's all it took.

Even though Koshino managed to block with his arm, the green figure sent his flying, causing the members of the Blades Squad he was carrying to fall to the ground with a series of "thud, thud, thud" sounds.

Koshino, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth, realized he had no choice.

With a swift recovery, he performed a flip and grabbed a kunai, ready to face the green figure. But as his tense nerves began to relax, he noticed something familiar about his attacker.

"Gai, is that you?"

"You're... You're Koshino!"

"It's me! Gai, it really is you, thank goodness!"

Recognizing the familiar face of Might Guy, Koshino couldn't help but feel a wave of relief.

However, after the intense battle with the Mist ninja, especially after enduring the explosion from the death soldiers' tags, Koshino was utterly exhausted, with no strength left in his body.

And before encountering Guy, Koshino had pushed himself to knock out that unfortunate fellow Leaf ninja, which only worsened his condition. So, as he let his guard down, realizing the green figure was his old friend Guy, Koshino collapsed to the ground, completely drained.

Fortunately, Guy was quick to catch him, preventing further injury.

But if Koshino had been at his peak, with the full use of his Wind Perception, he wouldn't have relaxed so quickly upon seeing Guy. Because as Guy stood there, confused and unsure of the situation, guarding the unconscious members of the Blades Squad and the ninja Koshino had knocked out, a white figure silently approached them.

"Sending a clone to handle this mission was a mistake. There's no way I can fulfill the master's orders like this."

"Since I can't finish them now, I'll just collect the Executioner's Blade and Samehada and return them to their rightful owners."