Yugito didn't bother to speak.
The look she gave Sasuke's lightning said enough. Dismissal. Contempt. As if he were showing tricks he didn't understand.
Then she moved.
The space between them vanished in a blink. No seals. No weapons. No feints. Just a straight punch, simple and brutal.
The air detonated.
The force rolled outward from her fist, pressure slamming forward like a fired cannon. In her eyes, Sasuke was still just a genin. Too young. Too light. One blow would end it.
Her expression changed.
Lightning screamed.
A blade of gold tore forward, sharp enough to split the sound itself. The noise wasn't thunder so much as a swarm of it, thousands of shrill cries collapsing into one point.
Sasuke didn't hesitate.
He thrust.
No testing strike. No restraint.
The blade met her punch head-on.
Too fast.
At this distance, Yugito couldn't withdraw. Couldn't dodge. Her fingers snapped open, claws forming in a flash of chakra.
Steel rang.
Claws and lightning collided, sparks bursting violently between them. Both bodies jolted from the impact.
Heavy, Sasuke noted.
Yugito felt it too. The strength behind that thrust was wrong for someone his size. Worse, lightning crawled up her arm, biting deep despite her resistance.
She clicked her tongue and forced chakra through her body, shaking off the numbness as she slid back several steps.
Sasuke didn't let the moment breathe.
He was already there.
Another flash. Another thrust. The Thunder God's Blade drove forward again, relentless, precise.
Yugito blocked, then blocked again.
Metal screamed as claws met light, strike after strike colliding in rapid succession. Lightning lashed outward with every movement, tearing up the ground and blasting dust into the air.
Speed against speed. Lightning against lightning.
They crossed the ruins in a blur, shockwaves ripping through broken walls and pillars as they moved.
Far above, two ANBU squads watched from a shattered rooftop.
"What do we do?" one asked quietly.
The man with the cat mask studied the battlefield. Yamato's gaze didn't waver.
"Wait," he said. "This much noise will draw the owner of this place soon enough."
More importantly, he could feel it.
That woman was a jinchūriki.
If they intervened now, this would stop being a skirmish and turn into something far worse.
Naruto groaned and sat up, rubbing his jaw.
"Ow…"
Sakura turned sharply. "You're awake?"
"That punch was no joke," she muttered, then paused, studying him. "You recovered fast."
Naruto grinned weakly. "Sasuke says I'm built different."
He froze mid-sentence.
"Wait. Where's Sasuke?"
Sakura exhaled. "Fighting."
Naruto's head snapped toward the distant explosions. "That Cloud woman?"
"Yes."
He started forward immediately. "Then we help him."
Sakura grabbed his arm. "Not unless he's losing."
Naruto frowned. "Why not?"
Her voice dropped. "She insulted his clan."
Naruto stopped.
"…Oh."
He clenched his fists, then nodded once. "Got it."
They turned back toward the battle, the thunder growing louder by the second.