Naruto: Zombie Release

Arata stood beside Nono, never once glancing in her direction. The moment she arrived, he extended his hand, demanding the intel.

Without hesitation, Nono handed over the bloodstained scroll.

"Konoha scum, hand over the intel!!"

"No need to go out of our way to retrieve it, just kill them all!"

More and more Sand shinobi surged toward them. Isuke and the other two fell back in tandem, retreating to make space and slow the enemy's momentum. 

But with every step, their wounds multiplied.

To put it bluntly, the weakest member of this squad was Arata, the newly promoted Chunin. The rest, including the medical-nin Isuke, were all at Special Jonin level or higher.

"You've got the intel now. That makes you the enemy's top target. You realize that, right?" 

Nono instinctively reached out to heal him, but stopped short. There were barely any injuries on his body.

The weakest one had taken the least damage. In a way, that was a skill in itself.

Arata summoned three zombie Chunin. He shoved the scroll into one of their mouths and made it swallow it before saying quickly, "Even if I hadn't taken it, I'd still be the primary target."

What he didn't say out loud was that, by holding the intel, he also became the team's top priority to protect. That might actually raise his chances of survival.

Never overestimate a Root shinobi's sense of morality. They had no such luxury.

"Retreat."

Terai gave the command, casting a cold glance at Arata, his face devoid of emotion. He moved like a glacier, shielding Arata's escape without hesitation.

One Root ninja remained behind, lobbing smoke bombs to obscure vision, though in the raging sandstorm, they'd only buy a few seconds. 

He then turned to fight the Sand shinobi to the death.

The rest of the team closed ranks around Arata, forming a protective formation as they fled.

The retreat was far from easy. Sand shinobi unleashed wave after wave of ninjutsu. Even with reduced visibility, they continued their relentless assault.

Arata became the focal point of their attacks. 

Even when he sent two zombies on suicidal charges, detonating them to open a path, some enemy shinobi pushed through the explosions undeterred. 

One came within arm's reach, kunai slashing straight for his neck.

"You're not afraid of your corpses dying, but what about yourself? What happens when you become one? Or are you planning to use your space-time jutsu again to escape?"

The Sand ninja's face twisted in cruelty. At this point, he no longer cared about orders to capture Arata alive. 

Better to kill him now, bring the body back, and let the intel division dissect it. They might uncover something priceless.

Anyone could see Arata's condition was deteriorating. His labored breathing made it clear, his stamina was tanking, his chakra nearly spent. Another space-time jutsu would likely break him.

"Watch out!"

Nono cried out in alarm.

Arata raised his hand with eerie calm. In that split second, he had almost no viable options. He was going to be hit, none of his comrades could reach him in time.

So be it. Let it hit.

Shhk!

Part of his hand was severed, fingers and palm sliced clean off. The severed flesh spun through the air, coated in blood and sand, before crashing to the ground.

But the kunai missed his neck. That was all that mattered.

Terai immediately struck down the Sand shinobi, securing Arata's rear.

Carried by the zombie who had swallowed the scroll, Arata resumed his escape.

"Can you still use that movement jutsu from earlier? If not, then your body isn't fit for a long retreat. Hand the intel over to me," said another Root ninja, codename 'Tora', Tiger. 

He was drenched in blood, yet his voice was unflinching.

Arata looked down at his mangled left hand, only three fingers remained. His tone was low and firm. 

"That won't be necessary. I've used zombies to assist my sprint tactics more than once. What do you think I was preparing for all this time?"

Tora fell silent. Another wave of enemies surged behind them, and without a word, he raised his blade and turned back.

"Tora. Hold them off."

Terai issued the command. He was in the best condition among them. If he didn't get caught in a death match with the Sand's Araki, his chance of escape was the highest.

Tora didn't hesitate. He moved immediately, fully prepared to lay down his life to buy them more time.

Winds howled. The sandstorm grew worse, battering their vision and sense of direction.

"They just won't quit... We've got to deal with Araki. A wide-range jutsu user like him puts us at too much of a disadvantage," said Isuke, frustration edging into his voice.

Another sacrifice might soon be needed. Isuke feared it could be his turn.

Until the very end, Terai, their strongest fighter, wouldn't let Arata, the intel bearer, leave his sight.

Terai glanced at Isuke, about to speak, when Arata cut in.

"I've got a plan."

"You do?"

"I do. No need for you to risk your life staying behind. I won't abandon you," Arata said solemnly, riding on the back of a zombie ninja.

Terai paused. That wasn't what he had in mind, but this cunning bastard had deliberately used such simple words to corner him.

Arata drew a scroll from his belt with his right hand. As he let go, his palm slapped onto it.

A puff of smoke exploded outward.

The summoning scroll was spent, the stored zombies now deployed. The scroll itself fell, discarded. Several grotesque figures emerged behind Arata, each with a different form.

"You may have forgotten, I'm a medical ninja. A medical ninja who has mastered the Dead Soul Technique. Altering corpses to look like the living to draw attention... that is its original purpose."

Arata continued, "We lost two comrades. The bodies prepared for them are now free. And the rest of you? I've already prepared modified corpses in your likenesses."

Shock flashed across Isuke's face. Nono looked like she wanted to speak but ended up sighing deeply.

Terai fell silent again. He thought of the two subordinates he'd sent to their deaths. Then he looked at the lifelike imitation of himself following behind Arata.

"Their sacrifices were necessary. Without them delaying the enemy, we couldn't have created the distance we needed to use the Dead Soul Technique unnoticed."

That was all Terai said. 

In his heart, he knew he'd made a grave mistake, he had completely separated Arata's technique from its origins, and in doing so, overlooked its potential for deception and escape.