"Idiots…" Yoshida Kappei spat dust from his mouth, squinting at the grim silhouettes before him. "No reinforcements are coming. Aren't you Uchiha a little too optimistic?"
He stood tall despite the blood trickling down his cheek, his fearless grin belying the pressure of the situation. Across the ruined clearing, three figures regarded him coolly—men with the proud, crimson eyes of the Uchiha clan.
"You deliberately let my teammate slip away, hmm? I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," Kappei pressed, his voice mocking. "We don't even know the members of that other squad you planned to ambush. So your scheme to surround and finish off our reinforcements? Already a failure."
One Uchiha Jōnin narrowed his eyes but didn't rise to the bait. "You're smarter than you look. But it doesn't matter—we lose nothing by letting her go. We'll be waiting right here."
Kappei barked a laugh that echoed across the scorched tree line. "Never thought Konoha's proud Guard would sink this low. Three Jōnin wasting their time attacking a group of half-trained Genin? If word of this spreads, won't your precious reputation crack? Doesn't your conscience sting?"
"Enough!" A older Uchiha snarled, his Sharingan rotating with a dangerous gleam. He gestured sharply, silencing the boy. "You think words will save you? We don't take orders from brats."
Behind the nearby brush, Uchiha Shigure crouched low, his own Sharingan open. He focused intensely on their lips and subtle movements, piecing together every word.
"So, they really are Uchiha Jōnin from the Guard," Shigure realized, his pulse quickening. "Three Jōnin, three Chūnin… and those Genin with them were fakes? They dispersed their ranks deliberately, disguised the stronger ones as common grunts—all to mask their intent."
His mind sharpened. Their purpose must be vengeance. They want to erase me for slaying Mamoru, Kaku, and even Fēng. His fists tightened in the shadows. If that's the case, I don't need to hold back…
But before Shigure could strike, movement pricked at the edge of his senses. Another squad of Konoha shinobi slipped out of the Discovery Tower ruins and darted through the fog toward the Uchiha formation. He tilted his head. Allies—or fools stumbling to their deaths?
A sudden guttural roar answered his doubt.
"Tsūga!" Whirling like living drills, a pair of Inuzuka kunoichi and her ninken partner shredded into an unfortunate Uchiha Genin. Blood sprayed across the ground.
The victim's scream was cut short. Shigure's eyes widened. Hideaki—that coward from before… cut down in an instant.
"Enemy attack!" roared the Uchiha commander, Naomasa, known among his men as "Your Highness." Sharingan eyes spun across the battlefield.
Shigure's lips curled. Inuzuka, huh? Their noses sniffed them out long before even the Uchiha realized.
Already the fight exploded. An Aburame shinobi stepped forward, arms raised. "Parasitic Insects—Feast!" Purple-black swarms erupted, smothering a Chūnin in seconds. His screams were muffled beneath the writhing tide.
Then, with a graceful step, a kunoichi appeared behind them. Her dark hair flowed, her red eyes gleaming. She clapped her hands, and chakra whistled through the air.
"Demonic Illusion: Tree-Binding Death!"
Roots invisible yet irresistible coiled around Uchiha bodies. Even with the Sharingan open, several faltered—caught, if only for a moment, within her genjutsu. The Inuzuka pressed again, claws flashing. Bursts of muffled cries rang out.
Shigure's breath stilled. The kunoichi's striking crimson pupils could only belong to one person. Yuhi Kurenai… so it's her team. Genin, technically—but with power rivaling Chūnin already. Aburame, Inuzuka, and Kurenai herself. No doubt one of the strongest rookie teams this year.
Caught in that chaos, the Uchiha Chūnin scrambled defensively. Back at the treeline, the disguised Jōnin stiffened, chakra rising. Their hands flashed through seals, ready to retaliate.
That was Shigure's cue.
He burst from concealment, chakra surging to his fingertips. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bullet!" he roared. His second set of seals followed so swiftly his hands blurred. "Wind Style: Dragon Gale!"
Two dragons—searing flame and slicing wind—spiraled together, fusing into a monstrous conflagration. The Fire-Wind Dragon Bullet ripped through the battlefield, igniting brush and sweeping apart any hope of a coordinated Uchiha counterattack. The Jōnin staggered, forced to scatter before the violent torrent.
"Wha—?!" Kurenai gasped, her Genjutsu interrupted by the shockwave. "That boy…"
"The freshman who topped the written exams," murmured the Aburame, assessing. "Uchiha Shigure, isn't it?"
The Inuzuka snarled, baring teeth. "Enemy of my enemy's my friend. Freshman—you've got guts! Let's crush the Uchiha together. When they're gone, we'll figure out who's on whose side!"
Shigure's crimson gaze never wavered from the enemy Jōnin. "Fine. The Chūnin are yours. I'll take the Jōnin."
Gasps rippled even among the hardened Genin. But there was no time for protest. The remaining Uchiha Jōnin gathered, crimson eyes blazing as they faced their prey.
"Uchiha Shigure! At last!" their leader bellowed. "It was you—Fēng, Mamoru, Kaku—you butchered them all!"
Shigure's jaw set. He had no reason to deny it. "That's right. And what of it? If you came here craving my blood, why waste your breath on speeches? Come at me, now!"
"Arrogant child!" Ink-black tomoe whirred into perfect triplets. All three Jōnin activated their fully matured Sharingan. "We'll kill you in one strike!"
They spat fire as one: "Great Fireball!"—"Phoenix Sage Fire!"—"Dragon Flame Jutsu!" A storm of flames surged in every direction.
Shigure scoffed, hands moving with breathtaking speed. "Water Style: Water Wall!"
The surge rose like a tidal fortress, arching nearly full-circle around him. Fire smashed against water, erupting in roaring clouds of vapor. White mist boiled through the field, engulfing them all.
The Uchiha Jōnin staggered, coughing. "Impossible! A Genin weaving a Water Wall of that scale?!"
"Has he been hiding his strength all along?!"
Steam swallowed them before they could regroup. Within that veil, Shigure moved unseen.
"Now…" he murmured, flaring his chakra. "Water Style: Super Hidden Mist!"
The haze thickened to a suffocating shroud. Even the keenest Sharingan faltered inside its depths. But Shigure—trained with the Byakugan's insight on his side—saw clearly.
The Jōnin wheeled, backs pressed together, every sense sharpened. "Careful! He's playing us. A Genin with ninjutsu beyond his years… don't underestimate him!"
But Shigure was already gone from their sight. His hands spun through another web of seals. "Shadow Clone Technique!"
Five duplicates burst alive beside him, dispersing into mist. Each clone flickered with the markings of the Flying Thunder God. Together, they encircled the disoriented Jōnin.
Shigure's lips curved in shadow. "Try defending against this."
Five sets of seals blurred in unison, chakra rising to a breaking point. The ground rumbled underfoot with what was coming next—
And then all at once, the clones finished their preparation, unleashing power.
--
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