Tashi, Shinano, and his Mibu kinswoman quickly hurried back to the place where the clones originally split. They met up the sword-wielding Chuunin, the young man who had been duped by the real Shirō. He shook his head...<br/><br/>The older woman, Tashi's clanswoman, looked in the direction of where Jun and Suzume went, "He must be there!" She shouted, brandishing her sword and leaping onto the rooftops in that direction. The rest of the Tani ninja soon followed.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Down the street, Maki nodded to Jun and Suzume, "Right! Xexen, boy! Lead the way."<br/><br/>Xexen barked and sniffed the air, his nose twitching at the scent of blood. He darted off in another direction, prompting them to follow. The sound of alarm echoed throughout the whole village. He had to get his bearings every once in awhile, slowing them down... but Xexen was on the right track. They were soon joined by four other Tanigakure shinobi- Tashi and his compatriots.<br/><br/>An explosion lit up the village in front of them. It was close to the one entrance to the village, the Torii gate that blessed all who entered the valley!<br/><br/>...<br/><br/>Shirō Mengishii's body was thrown from the explosion. He quickly recovered, getting up halfway but then quickly falling again. He found himself one limb short- his left leg now only a stump. The infiltrator looked left and right hurriedly, heedless of the pain until he spotted the leg amputated above the knee. The man crawled over to it as his own bloodied nub spurted onto the ground and he grabbed it by the ankle, taking it with him as he went. The exit was so close, the towering red gate looming over the cleft in the valley.<br/><br/>But he wasn't going to get anywhere in his condition. The infiltrator soon found he had run out of room as he crawled himself up to one of the myriad canals that ran through the town. He set his foot down on the ground beside him as Tanigakure ninja surrounded him. At least twenty... and he was so close to the exit.<br/><br/>...<br/><br/>Jun, Xexen, Tashi, Suzume, Shinano, Maki, and the other three ninja soon came upon the scene. Their eyes first drawn to the smoking crater of the explosion... the trail of blood some twenty feet away- and then the torn up figure of Shirō on the ground sitting besides his own leg.<br/><br/>With his hand already bloodied, he formed a few hand seals and planted his palm firmly on the earth, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"<br/><br/>Nothing.<br/><br/>...At first. A black bird came barreling from the sky beak-first. It flipped and stretched its wings out before landing in front of its master- the creature was easily three times the size of a man- it was a pitch black raven with red eyes and crimson-tipped wings. It wore the words '兵憲' (Soldier, Law) emblazoned on a white bracer it wore on its left talon. Around its waist, a thick purple rope belt tied in the back.<br/><br/>Shirō collapsed backwards, panting as the giant raven stood vigil over him. He brought his hands together again as it flexed and brought its wings together in a protective shield in front of them. They suddenly seemed to interlock together and sheen not like black feather's in the moonlight- but rather like steel.