In fact, in Azula's mind, there is a file titled 'People To Remove For A Flawless Kiri Administration'—the name Genji was underlined, circled, and adorned with several efficient little kill marks.
He was, objectively, target number one.
She remembered the anime. A figure much like Konoha's fossilized F4, probably clinging to power long after his prime.
Seeing him in the flesh—the stubborn set of his jaw, the respect in the eyes of the jounin around him—only confirmed her assessment.
'Oh yes,' she thought, a spark of thrilling malice igniting in her chest. 'You're first on the vacation list. A permanent trip to the great hot springs in the sky.'
But her face was a masterpiece of placid, arrogant calm. A Uchiha's mask.
"You're laboring under a big misconception," Azula spoke. "This isn't a debate club. I'm not here to convince you."
She took a deliberate, graceful step forward, the Kiri ninja tensing as one. "I am merely presenting a dual choice, an opportunity. You can stand down when the… unpleasantness begins, or you can stand in my way. My goal—to burn this rotting world down and rebuild something that doesn't stink of decay—is non-negotiable. Join the future, or become kindling for the past. There will be no second offers."
Objectively speaking, it was only after this gloriously arrogant speech that Genji felt a familiar feeling.
This, he realized with a grimace, is exactly how an Uchiha should be. All unshakeable conviction and terrifying fire.
Both sides knew this talk would end in violence. A village like Kiri didn't surrender to a teenager and an army without testing its fangs.
This little chat was pure theatre, a battle for morale. And Azula, by announcing the Kazekage's death and casually mentioning their on-site Tailed Beast artillery, had already sunk the first psychological dagger.
Watching her now, so lethally eloquent, Genji knew more words would only dig their grave deeper. He advanced forward even more with his staff.
It wasn't bravery. The old shark knew better how strong she is; fighting two Kage simultaneously and even having an advantage, he would be a fool to attack her alone. He advanced just so he could command them and make them believe he didn't fear anyone and attack.
"Enough pretty words," he grunted, his temperament full of a middle-aged man ready to die for his cause. "You, who grew up in Konoha's sunshine, an heiress to one of the world's most spoiled clans… what could you possibly know of our struggle?"
He settled into a low, weathered stance, his sword held steady. "So Kiri is flawed. It's a village of blood and sweat where we earned everything. And you Uchiha? You're famous for hoarding your power. Would you share your clan's sacred scrolls? Would you listen if someone told you your glorious 'peace' was built on arrogance?"
A sharp, bark-like laugh escaped him. "Didn't think so."
He met her Sharingan without flinching. "So let's skip the philosophy. I've survived this long by fighting with everything I have—tooth, nail, and every dirty trick a clanless orphan ever learned. I don't plan on stopping today."
...
...
...
Azula couldn't help but let a smirk, sharp and knowing, twist her lips.
'Alright, fine,' she admitted to herself. Maybe the Kage and their advisors have the collective strategic depth of a puddle sometimes, but when it comes to playing 'Let's You and Him Fight'? Absolute, gold-medal-winning masters.
She didn't even need to look carefully to feel it. The charged, crackling morale of the previously hesitant ninja behind him. They were practically vibrating with renewed purpose.
Genji is a seasoned shinobi; he knew damn well what a Kage-level threat meant. And right now, he was looking at two of them.
Sure, only she and Kagami stood on this front line. Tsunade was busy redecorating the Yuki clan's landscape with her fists with Mito supervising, and Mugetsu was… well, probably turning the Kaguya into a porcupine homage with Uzumaki fist of love art, wanting to prove that the Uzumaki are also not weak.
But no matter what, two Kage levels are already overkill.
And this guy… with his fancy staff and his grandstanding… he was stepping forward like he had a chance.
She couldn't help but wonder if he found a secret stash of Hashirama's DNA in a seaweed wrap?
Her Sharingan had already dissected the scene, her sensor abilities brushing over the area.
There was no trap, no subtle chakra threads or hidden barrier seals. Nothing but wet rock and a whole lot of misguided courage.
Even if there was a trap, she is very confident concerning her speed, reflexes and the Flying Raijin which is a good technique even at Otsutsuki level fight and could save her at any time.
The playful glint vanished, replaced by a flat excitement in her face that screams I want to punch someone durable enough.
The shift was immediate. Across from her, Genji's brain finally caught up with his bravado, screaming a chorus of internal 'ABORT! ABORT!' alarms. Sweat beaded on his temple, not from the humid air.
He thrust his staff toward Azula and her forces, his voice a magnificent blend of theatrical command and sheer, undiluted panic appearing quite energetic. "Kiri-nin! Attack these invaders who defile our sacred mist! Avenge the Mizukage! Show them that attacking our village is the WORST MISTAKE OF THEIR SHORT, TRAGIC LIVES!"
He bellowed it with the passion of a true leader, while carefully, so carefully, beginning to backpedal into the thicker fog.
Oh, Kiri had smart ones, although a few. They saw the blatant self-preservation play. Their eyes met, eyebrows raised in silent, cynical understanding but didn't blame him because this was the most intelligent thing to do.
They were the 'intelligent' ones, so they knew the best thing to do was to keep their mouths shut.
The majority, however, roared and hyped on his words and mob mentality; they surged forward like a wave of steel and righteous fury, a human tsunami aimed at the army and principally at Azula who was at the front.
Genji, now halfway to becoming a misty silhouette, let out a mental sigh of relief. Let the cannon fodder distract her. A true tactician knows when to—
His brilliant thought was severed.
Because Azula had a rule: efficiency first. And what was more efficient than cutting the head off the snake to make the body flail uselessly?
The intelligent Kiri-nin saw the fear in Genji's eyes, and so did she.
Azula, but of course unlike them, she doesn't need to act as if she didn't understand anything.
The Kiri-nin surged toward her, kunai gleaming, shouts tearing from their throats but Azula didn't even glance their way.
Crrrk-zzzt!
Blue-white lightning erupted around her, in a wild surge, that made her look scary. The many Uchiha behind her with their Sharingan activated wanted to see everything clearly… and then nothing, she was just gone.
To their three-tomoe eyes, it was as if she'd simply been deleted from the world, with them only being able to catch blurry blue images.
Azula never thought about doing like Madara punching them one by one because if she did so, those Uchiha behind her would surely complain.
So, clad in her Lightning Release Chakra Armor, she wasn't just running—she was a living, crackling bolt of lightning, bulldozing a straight, ruinous line through Kiri which has become the battlefield, with shinobi and houses flung aside in her wake.
Genji, the target of this terrifying straight line, felt his blood turn to ice. It wasn't the speed—it was the look in her eyes just before she moved.
The cold, predatory glint of a hawk that has already calculated the kill. The moment the Kiri-nin moved to intercept, he didn't hesitate; he threw himself backward in a desperate, graceless leap.
A coward's move? Hardly.
Any ninja with a shred of survival instinct knew: you do not let 'The Lightning Princess' get close.
The woman who'd fought two Kage at once and lived to tell the tale? You created distance and you prayed for a miracle.
Azula's charge was efficient, like a needle dropped from the top of a pyramid, it drove straight to the point, leaving the sides largely untouched.
The Kiri-nin too far to her left and right staggered, unscathed, but their relief was short-lived.
"HEY! DON'T JUST STAND THERE GAPING!" shouted a fiery-haired Uzumaki, landing amidst them with a grin that promised pain.
"The sides are ours!" cried a Uchiha, with a fireball already released.
(END OF THE CHAPTER)
Not gonna lie, when it comes to fighting, it simply makes me not want to write because you need to think too much, now opened wide, and say ...