Retreat

"Soma and Takuto are in a coma. We'll take his head back to the village, maybe they can extract some information," Dosuke said, his voice firm.

Tachie's face twisted with disgust, but she gave a sharp nod. * This is vile, but we have no choice. *

Dosuke and Tachie each carried an unconscious teammate onto their backs and raced toward the Land of Fire.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.*

Tachie and Dosuke darted through the forest.

"Dosuke, hurry! They could catch up any moment," Tachie called, pausing on a tree branch. She wiped sweat from her brow and adjusted Takuto on her back.

The recent battle and their frantic escape left both Tachie and Dosuke panting heavily.

Dosuke rested Soma against a tree and pulled steel wire from his ninja pouch to set a trap. He didn't expect to stop Sand Village's pursuers, only to slow them.

Along their route, Dosuke had paused periodically to lay such traps.

"Got it." After setting the trap, Dosuke gave a brief reply, lifted Soma, and continued running.

Blood oozed faintly through the bandage on Dosuke's abdomen, but they couldn't afford to pause.

They moved in silence, gazes locked forward, consumed by the urgency of their escape.

As dawn broke, several figures flickered through the dense forest.

"We've finally reached the Land of Fire," Tachie said, stopping. Her voice carried a hint of relief.

Dosuke didn't respond. Instead, he scanned their surroundings. "Tachie, doesn't it feel too quiet?"

"Byakugan, activate!" Tachie's veins bulged around her eyes. Dosuke's words had sparked her unease. It was spring, and early morning should have been alive with birds and insects, yet the forest was eerily silent.

Her 360-degree vision revealed six ninjas encircling them.

"Dosuke, we're surrounded. We might not make it out," Tachie said with a grim frown, signaling their position. She gently lowered Takuto to the ground and assumed a fighting stance.

Seeing her actions, Dosuke understood instantly. He carefully laid Soma flat, slipping five explosive tags beneath him, hidden within a simple trigger trap. Each team member had been given two tags when they left the village; as captain, Soma had three.

Dosuke put Soma's tags in his pouch.

"Dosuke, you…" Tachie, watching through her Byakugan, swallowed her words.

"A ninja's corpse can reveal too much. Captain is a jonin, he knows more than us. His body can't fall into their hands," Dosuke said flatly.

He stood, kunai in hand, back-to-back with Tachie, ready to fight.

"I'll try to find a weak point in their line and create an opening for you to escape. You have to survive. I still wanted to meet Lady Tsunade through you," Tachie whispered.

"Let's talk about surviving first, Tachie. Do you really think we have a chance?" Dosuke replied, feeling the warmth of her back against his, a grim smile on his face.

"Konoha brats, you have Byakugan, so there's no point hiding. Surrender," five masked Sand Village ninjas emerged from the trees, surrounding them.

Dosuke's heart sank. After fighting Erming and traveling non-stop, he and Tachie were nearly out of chakra. They had assumed Sand Village hadn't pursued them into the Land of Fire, but the enemy had outplayed them, lying in wait. Victory seemed impossible.

The Sand Village Torture Unit, a branch of their Anbu, specialized in interrogating and analyzing enemy ninjas. With Sand Village's main Anbu focused on monitoring the One-Tail Jinchuriki, the Torture Unit handled tracking enemies and intelligence analysis.

"They must've killed Erming's team," a Sand Village jonin said, eyeing Tachie and Dosuke's defensive stances.

"Take them."

The five Sand ninjas attacked.

A wind blade sliced toward Dosuke and Tachie. Dosuke gripped his kunai tightly.

Then, a strangely shaped kunai flashed before his eyes.

"Earth Wall!" A circular earthen barrier enveloped Tachie and Dosuke, blocking the incoming attacks.

A blond-haired young man in a Konoha jonin vest, forehead protector tied proudly, crouched before Dosuke.

* Reinforcements * Dosuke thought, his heart rising.

"I made it on time!" The blond ninja turned, flashing a warm smile at Tachie and Dosuke.

"I'll handle this. Get to safety," Minato said, facing the Sand ninjas.

"Who do you think you are, kid?" The Sand jonin sneered but was cut off.

*Whoosh.* Minato vanished, reappearing before the jonin in an instant, a spiraling orb of chakra in his palm. The Rasengan struck the jonin's chest, sending him crashing through the trees with a broken arm.

The remaining Sand ninjas, seeing their leader felled in a blink, lost all will to fight. One grabbed the wounded jonin, and they vanished in a series of flashes.

"Hey, I'm Konoha jonin Minato Namikaze," Minato said, turning to Dosuke and Tachie with no intent to pursue the fleeing enemies.

Dosuke's tension melted away. With the future Fourth Hokage here, they were safe unless the Third Kazekage himself appeared.

"Hello, Minato-sama. I'm Dosuke, Lady Tsunade's student," Dosuke said, relaxing. Pain flared across his body as the adrenaline faded.

"Oh, you're *that* Dosuke. Jiraiya-sensei mentioned that Tsunade-sama took on a genius disciple," Minato said with a grin.

"Minato-sama, why are you here? I didn't sense you earlier," Tachie asked, studying Minato's gentle face.

"I was leading an escort mission nearby and noticed Sand Village ninjas crossing into the Land of Fire. I've been tracking them. Didn't expect them to ambush you," Minato explained.

"Let's get you back to the village." He glanced at the unconscious Soma and Takuto, then at the worn Dosuke and Tachie.

Dosuke stepped forward, disarming the trigger trap and retrieving the explosive tags, storing them in his pouch.

Minato watched Dosuke dismantle the trap, realizing that without his intervention, Dosuke might have detonated it, taking the enemy with him.

"Let's go," Minato said, picking up Takuto from the ground.

The three headed back to the village.