With Ichiro
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu."
"WOSH!, WOSH!, WOSH!, WOSH!, WOSH!."
"BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!."
Flames burst from the Uchiha's mouth in the form of several compact fireballs, hurtling toward Ichiro with devastating force. Ichiro weaved through them gracefully, avoiding every single blast.
The Uchiha's eyes darkened as he cursed under his breath, watching Ichiro dodge his jutsu as if it were nothing.
'Tch… my genjutsu has no effect on this guy. If I'm right, that sealing tag on his chest is the reason. This is bad—especially for a genjutsu specialist like me.'
'I am only average in taijutsu, and from the way he moved, it is clear to me I couldn't match him in close combat. Even with my two-tomoe Sharingan, I could barely track his movement. His chakra control is impressive, though it still fell short of mine.'
'I'm also average when it comes to ninjutsu. Since I mostly focus on honing my genjutsu, my only option now is to retreat, set up traps, and ambush him when he least expects it.'
Having made up his mind, the Uchiha vanished in a burst of Shunshin, his figure reappearing only as a fading blur racing toward the woods.
Ichiro snorted as the Uchiha vanished in a shunshin and stepped forward to give chase—only to halt when footsteps sounded behind him.
"TAP!, TAP!."
Ichiro turned his head toward the approaching footsteps and saw Hiro and Yukina walking calmly toward him.
Ichiro watched in stunned silence as Yukina moved gracefully, completely naked, seemingly unconcerned, while he couldn't tear their eyes away from her.
He couldn't help but blushes and after a few moments and asked Yukina.
"Why the hell are you naked?"
Yukina eyebrows twitched in annoyance after hearing his question.
"I'm tired of repeating myself, moron! And we're in the middle of a war with Konoha—do you honestly think now is the time for such a stupid question?"
Hiro couldn't hold back his laughter after hearing Yukina's reply, and Ichiro's lips twitched with barely concealed annoyance.
Yukina paid no mind to their reactions. She shut her eyes for a moment, then snapped them open with sudden intensity.
"I am sensing a chunin level chakra signature in the woods."
Ichiro nodded his head and said.
"It must be the Uchiha I was fighting—he retreated into the woods just before you two arrived."
Yukina nod after hearing his explaination.
"Let's go and finish him off. The faster that Konoha scum dies, the sooner we can back up Kotaro."
After nodding at Yukina's words, Ichiro and Hiro followed her as the trio shunshined swiftly into the woods.
______
In the Woods
As they followed behind Yukina, Ichiro let out an amused chuckle after hearing from Hiro how Shisui had burned her kimono to ashes, leaving her completely naked.
"Shut up, Hiro, or I'll kill you right here and now."
Hiro and Ichiro chuckled once more, their eyes lingering on Yukina's buttocks, which bounced rhythmically with each movement she made.
Yukina's eyes narrowed suddenly, and a heartbeat later, a shrill whistling cut through the air from every direction.
"SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!"
Without warning, explosive-tagged kunais tore through the air, converging on the trio from every angle.
"DODGE!"
The trio sprang into motion instantly, Yukina twisted her body at an unnatural angle, narrowly dodging the kunais.
"BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!."
Bone spikes erupted from Hiro's back, chest, and forearms, deflecting the incoming kunais in a spray of sparks.
"CLANK!, CLANK!, CLANK!, CLANK!, CLANK!"
"BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!."
"Ice Release: Crystal Ice Encapsulating Triangular Barrier Jutsu."
After Ichiro completed his hand seals, a thin triangular barrier of ice snapped into place around him from thin air. The incoming kunais struck the ice barrier and exploded instantly on impact.
"BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!."
The explosions rang out against the ice barrier, but when the smoke cleared, it stood untouched—without even a scratch.
________
Behind the Trees
Behind one of the thick trees, the Uchiha narrowed his eyes, watching the trio warily.
'Those three are dangerous—especially the naked girl. She survived a battle against Shisui. That alone spells trouble for me. I'll have to force them into my main trap; once they step on it, their deaths are guaranteed.'
His gaze then lingered on Yukina for a moment longer before he scoffed in disdain.
'Why on earth is she naked? Is she trying to seduce us? What a pethetic attempt.'
The Uchiha then closed his eyes and shunshined away.
_______
With the trio
Yukina shut her eyes, trying to locate the Uchiha, when suddenly a volley of countless shurikens streaked toward them, all laced with explosive tags.
"SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!"
"BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!."
The trio kept flipping backward to evade the shurikens, but when one slammed into the ground beside them, the ground beneath them began to fracture.
"CRACK!, CRACK!."
"BOOM!."
The ground completely shattered beneath their feet, sending the trio sinking fast in mud. Out of nowhere, the Uchiha shunshined before them, his face lit with triumph.
Yukina narrowed her eyes at the sight of the Uchiha. She fought against the mud, but with every movement, the mud pulled her further beneath its surface.
The Uchiha smirked arrogantly as he watched Yukina struggle against his trap.
"Girl, this trap was formed with my Earth Release. Go on—struggle all you want. Every move you make only drags you deeper beneath it. Now I'll finish all three of you.'
After speaking, the Uchiha's hands blurred, executing one hand seal after another with deadly precision.
Yukina's eyes narrowed at the hand seals. In a heartbeat, Yukina's arms turned to water, twisting and solidifying into a pair of water whips.
The water whips coiled around Hiro and Ichiro like living serpents. With a powerful tug, she pulled them free from the trap.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu."
"WHOOSH!"
The Uchiha exhaled a massive fireball of scorching red and orange flames, hurtling toward the trio with terrifying ferocity.
Yukina didn't hesitate. Her water whips snapped outward, violently hurling Hiro and Ichiro away from the oncoming fireball. At the same time, she unleashed her full-body Hydrification, her form dissolving into water, and quickly encased herself beneath a thin sheet of ice using her Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.
The Uchiha froze in shock, unable to prevent Hiro and Ichiro from being torn from his trap by Yukina. A heartbeat later, he regained his composure, his Sharingan fixing on her with lethal focus.
'It doesn't matter… at least I managed to take one of them down.'
"PPSSHHTT!"
When the Great Fireball Jutsu struck Yukina, the Uchiha was stunned as the battlefield was instantly swallowed by a thick, hissing cloud of steam.
Yukina smirked after surviving the fire jutsu, breathing heavily. She muttered under her breath.
'Too damn close. A second later, and that bastard would've turned me into ashes.'
After calming her beating heart Yukina closed her eyes and started utilizing her hidden sense, she sensed the overwhelming presence of earth chakra in the trap.
'Earth chakra is weak against lightning chakra. I haven't mastered the lightning nature yet, but Zabuza taught me the Lightning Ball jutsu. If I use it a few times, I'm sure I can break out of this trap.'
With her mind made up, Yukina opened her eyes and smiled.
'This steam will provide the perfect cover for me. I must concentrate—my Lightning Ball jutsu is rusty; ever since Zabuza taught me, I've neglected it.'
Yukina then started executing the hand seals for the lightning ball jutsu.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Ball Jutsu."
"BZBZBZBZBZ."
A crackling blue lightning ball hovered before Yukina as her eyes narrowed, every ounce of her focus locked onto the jutsu.
'I really need to practice this jutsu more—and start properly mastering lightning chakra.'
'This jutsu demands every ounce of my concentration just to execute—nothing like my water or wind release jutsus.'
"BOOM."
Yukina slammed the Lightning Ball Jutsu into the mud, and it exploded instantly. Blue arcs of lightning skittered across the mud as she cried out sharply, pain surging through her body and freezing her in place, completely paralyzed.
'Damn it, I forgot that I am weak to lightning base jutsus.'
A smile tugged at her lips despite the searing pain, as she sensed the trap's grip faltering. She closed her eyes, drew a steadying breath, and repeated the hand seals for the Lightning Ball Jutsu.
_______
With Hiro
Hiro's face was gloomy even after Yukina saved him, and he muttered under his breath.
'Damn you, bitch… trying to act like a hero. I won't let you die.'
His eyebrows furrowed as he peered through the thick steam shrouding the battlefield. Suddenly, a sharp buzzing pierced the air, followed instantly by the deafening roar of an explosion.
Hiro's eyes narrowed as he forged a katana from his shoulder bone and charged toward the sound of the explosion.
_________
With Ichiro
Time seemed to stand still for Ichiro as the weight of Yukina's bravery sank in, leaving him frozen, deeply moved.
'After everything the clan did to you… you still saved me. They were fools to let you go. Yukito‑sama was right about you all along.'
A soft smile flickered across his face, but in the next instant, his eyes hardened into ice.
'You've earned my respect, sister… and I swear, you won't die on my watch.'
At that moment, he heard the crackling buzz of lightning nearby, followed by an explosion. Anxiety surged through his eyes as he charged toward the source.
'Please—let me make it in time. You'd better not die, Yukina.'
______