"Yeah..." The woman replied to Tashi, getting up and starting from the roof tops towards the sound of the latest explosion, "Let's go!" The two quickly leaped away. Shinano was hurt badly, but she mustered up the strength to go on regardless.<br/><br/>"Hai!" Suzume replied on ground-level, pumping her fist for emphasis. As Jun bartered with Xexen, the sparrow nin summoned her own little friends, a pair of tiny birds. She whispered some instruction to them, and the two flew off into the air. Xexen caught the trail, quickly bounding in the direction where most of the sound of battle could be heard.<br/><br/>Tashi and Shinano had a bit more luck on the rooftops, dealing with less obstructions. They also didn't have to rely on the occasional stop Xexen had to make to ensure he had the right scent. They saw the flash of steel in the distance...<br/><br/><hr/><br/>A black-suited woman partially in armor and glowing red eyes screamed with ferocity as she impaled Shirō on the blade of her katana. She pressed her attack, the Mibu woman and her foe stepping rapidly until the intruder got his hand on her wrist and forced her to cleanly withdraw the sword from his torso. It was followed by a splash of crimson, splattering the earth. In his other hand the tall figure held an oversize Shuriken, likely captured from the set that one of his pursuers brandished. Shirō fled to the bank of one of Tanigakure's many intersecting rivers, reaching into his belt pouch as he readjusted his grip on the massive throwing star. The woman did not relent, fearlessly shouting again as she pressed the attack in a diagonal cut. Wielding the giant shuriken like some ad-hoc shield, the intruder blocked her attack.<br/><br/>A moment later, a cloud of smoke consumed the two fighters. Two Tani Shinobi were outside the gas; one of them took out his oversized Shuriken, holding one in each hand. The other, a chuunin, kept his sword at the ready. After a short delay, a quartet of Shirō clones burst out from the cloud, each armed and wounded as they were before. The Mibu swordswoman pursued one in a rage as another ran straight towards the sword-wielding shinobi as his comrade started hurling blades at the others. Despite the onslaught, all of them had escaped. The four ninja had to split up.<br/><br/>Tashi and Shinano just happened upon the scene as it played out. They quickly counted four clones. The Mibu swordswoman was relentless pursuing one, keeping up with him despite how much faster he suddenly moved running atop the river. The Chuunin was chasing another, while the shuriken expert was tossing his blades at the remaining two leaping from the rooftops.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>A little while later... Xexen was right atop the puddle of blood caused by the Mibu woman's blade. Nobody was there. Taking a moment to pause and figure out where the scent trail would take them, the wolf suddenly perked out and barked. There were four seperate trails with the same scent. He also picked up on where their fellow Ninja had gone.