In the forest, four figures dashed swiftly, fleeing toward the Kumogakure outpost.
Haunted by the fear of death, they kept glancing behind them. That terrifying Uchiha with the dreadful eyes hadn't caught up, yet.
"Will the old man… die?"
"He used lightning to stimulate the chakra pathways from the outside to avoid genjutsu… maybe…"
"There's no maybe! The old man made us run because he knew exactly what he was capable of. He knew he would die…"
"I used to laugh at him for being a Chūnin all his life… I'm really sorry…"
Seeing his comrade cry, whether from fear or guilt, the slightly older Cloud ninja scolded him, "Focus and run with everything you've got! Don't think we're safe yet! We can't waste his sacrifice!"
Swish swish…
The four Cloud ninjas visibly picked up speed, fear of death now giving them a true understanding of the horrors of war.
"…You're pretty fast."
"Ah!"
A sudden voice made one of the Cloud ninjas nearly trip in panic.
Instinctively, he turned his head to see Uchiha Yun in pursuit.
"Don't look back!"
"Don't look into his eyes!"
In their panicked cries, a pair of scarlet Sharingan eyes entered his view. In that instant, his surroundings changed, a blazing inferno devoured the forest, encircling him.
His body… wouldn't move!
Uchiha Yun slowly emerged from the flames like a demon from hell. One step brought him directly before the paralyzed ninja.
"Crying out of fear for death, huh?"
Yun sighed as he looked at the teary-eyed kunoichi. "So tell me, why start a war at all? If you fear death, then keep the peace…"
Slash!
In the real world, his blade flashed, and a spray of blood burst from her neck.
Thud!
Her body, which had just been beside her comrades, now lay twitching, lifeless.
Yun looked toward the three still fleeing ahead. "That's five. Are you going to leave someone behind to cover the retreat next? Or are you just going to keep running and talking?"
The three looked at each other but kept sprinting, none of them replying.
A moment later.
"Damn it! Even with that final burst, the old man didn't manage to delay him for long."
"At that speed, he should've been able to match him. There must be something we didn't know!"
"Are we… going to die?"
"From the moment we became shinobi, death stopped being something to fear. No matter what happens, at least one of us must make it back."
"One of us has to stay behind. Otherwise…"
Just as the words left his lips, a figure appeared behind them.
"Otherwise… you'll all die."
Yun's calm voice rang out as he swung his blade.
Clang!
Sparks flew as a Cloud Chūnin suddenly blocked the blow.
But under Yun's monstrous strength, he was immediately flung away.
Boom!
Crashing into the ground, the Cloud ninja coughed blood as he struggled to stand. His internal organs were clearly injured.
"I'll stay behind and cover them!"
The two teammates didn't look back. The fear of the Sharingan was still etched in their minds. But the teardrops floating in the air showed they were grieving.
Yun shook his head. "You? How long do you think you can really delay me?"
The Cloud Chūnin smiled weakly. "You're extremely strong, so strong that even stalling might not work. But if we don't even try, how can we be at peace?"
With that, he formed hand signs rapidly: Lightning Release…
Stab!
But before the jutsu could be unleashed, Yun appeared behind him and slowly withdrew his blade.
Leaping away, he continued the pursuit.
Behind him, the mortally wounded Cloud ninja clutched his chest, blood gushing.
'The gap… really was too great.'
'Mom… I can't return to the village.'
'From now on… only little brother will be there to keep you company.'
Thud.
He collapsed. Dead.
In an open clearing, Uchiha Yun emerged slowly, looking at the two remaining Cloud ninjas.
"Why stop now? Didn't your teammates die just so you could escape?"
One of them wiped away tears. "There's no escaping anymore. If we're going to die, we'd rather go down fighting."
Yun shook his head. "No. You'll die, sure. But not fighting. You won't even stand a chance."
The other ninja drew his blade, still avoiding Yun's eyes. "You're powerful, so powerful that we can't compete. But that doesn't mean we'll surrender quietly."
The two exchanged glances and clashed their blades together, lightning surging through the metal.
"Lightning Release: Linked Strike, Tombless Fury!"
Electricity burst from the swords, surging toward Yun.
Boom!!
The ground was scorched black, but Yun had vanished.
Next moment, he was standing atop a tree.
"Lightning is fast, but you are too slow. Even if you tried this all day, it wouldn't hit me. Why keep struggling?"
"…Heh…"
The two below laughed. One of them looked up just enough to see Yun's legs through the foliage.
"Even though we fear death, even though we may never return to the village… we're still Cloud shinobi!"
With a roar, they unleashed a second strike. Lightning blasted the tree, engulfing it in flame.
Swish!
A light sound, and two fountains of blood sprayed into the air.
The two who had spoken so bravely just seconds ago collapsed hard onto the ground. Dead.
Yun sighed. "Foolish decisions by your leaders cost the lives of the lower ranks. Wouldn't peace be better?"
He sealed their corpses into scrolls and began collecting the others along the path.
By the time he returned near the sentry post, all eight enemy corpses from Kumogakure had been sealed.
After finishing, Yun looked at a shadowy patch of grass nearby.
"You can come out now. It's over."
From a bush, Shimura Ken slowly crawled out, dragging a fallen teammate's corpse behind him.
"They'll need you to take them back to camp in the scroll. Someone will arrange for their return to the village. Please take care of it."