Kedar and Yudas joined up and sprinted madly toward the Land of Lightning.
When hunger struck they chewed a few soldier pills; when thirst hit they stuffed snow into their mouths.
After a full day of running they finally crossed Land of the Moon and reached its border, pausing for breath on a tree limb.
"Once we're over the border, we'll be safe."
A trace of relief showed on Kedar's face; Yudas allowed himself a small smile.
Days without an ambush had let their taut nerves slacken a little.
Kedar stuck two fingers into his mouth and sounded the Kumogakure signal.
"Chirp-chirp… chirp-chirp…"
Similar calls drifted from the distant forest, but those were real birds, not Kumogakure code.
Minutes later Yudas sighed, "Big Brother Kedar, I think we're the only two left."
Kedar lowered his hand, disappointment in his eyes.
"Let's go!"
"Mm!"
They pressed on toward the border, but a sharp hiss suddenly split the air.
A brilliant flare rocketed skyward.
A pale-yellow signal burst high above the treeline and bloomed in the sky.
Delight flooded Kedar and Yudas's faces.
"It's someone from the village!"
"Move!"
Kedar guessed the flare answered his birdcall; someone had heard and risked a signal.
He whistled again—"chirp-chirp… chirp-chirp"—while racing toward the light with Yudas.
They closed the gap fast, sprinting to meet one another.
Distance melted; both parties ran full-tilt.
Figures soon came into view.
"Look!"
"Kōrinshi and Lord Yato—and the kid C!"
Tears welled in Yudas's eyes at the sight of comrades in the open.
They leapt from the trees.
"Lord Kōrinshi!"
Joy washed their faces; days of pressure finally broke.
The Kumogakure rescue team beamed—survivors meant answers.
Alive was good; alive meant the truth could be told.
The two groups rushed together, close enough to count eyelashes.
At that instant—C, Kumogakure's fledgling sensor famed for keen Chakra perception and telepathy—located the last two missing envoys: Kedar and Yudas.
The two survivors grinned in sheer relief.
But C's instincts screamed: the wind died, birds and beasts fell silent—only ragged heartbeats remained.
A pre-storm hush. He flung his senses wide, scanning.
Yet no enemy Chakra flickered anywhere.
Then he saw it: behind the pair the air shimmered faintly, like heat haze above flame.
The distortion vanished so fast he almost doubted his eyes.
His heart lurched.
"Shriek—BOOM!!"
"Shreeeeek——!!!"
An ear-splitting, soul-rending whistle tore the clearing.
Kedar, a step ahead, exploded at the chest.
A gaping cavity burst open; shredded organs, rib shards and a crimson mist sprayed toward C.
His face froze in mid-smile, eyes already glazing.
The killer blur revealed itself only as a shadow.
Without slowing it punched through Kedar, blood and meat in tow, and slammed into Yudas.
Yudas shrieked, "Agh—!"
The projectile ripped his torso apart as if jerked by an invisible titan, leaving a ragged trunk that gushed blood.
Spinning, he crashed to earth.
Blood loss blacked his vision; a soft "hck… hck…" escaped his lips, then nothing.
Only now did the wet thuds of meat and bone reach C's ears.
C's outstretched fingers froze in mid-seal.
Disbelief, not fear, filled his face first—utter incomprehension.
His vaunted perception could not process the impossible.
"H-how…?"
C's gift was raw, untrained—nothing like the honed skill of the later Great Ninja War.
He stood stunned.
"Ultra… long-range strike!?"
The enemy lay far beyond his sensory reach—his worst nightmare realized.
He could neither see the foe nor hear the attack before friends died.
The unknown bred a helpless dread deeper than any visible enemy could inspire.
He could protect no one, not even himself.
"Watch out!"
Kōrinshi barked, blade flashing in a lightning arc meant to shield C.
Steel rang like a thunderclap beside C's ear.
The impact tore the short sword from Kōrinshi's grip and sent it spinning away.
A grunt of pain and shock escaped him.
His right arm whipped back as if electrocuted; the blow's force staggered him.
The clash snapped C awake. He lunged, hauling Kōrinshi aside as both crashed to the snow.
A second black, four-edged arrow streaked down like a meteor, faster than sight, spearing the spot Kōrinshi had stood an instant earlier.
The shaft struck with cannon-force, earth erupting in a deafening roar…