The silence between the two forces stretched on, broken only by the whistling of the wind as it cut through the wrecked canyon and ruined facilities. Behind Shinichi, the fresh, uninjured shinobi of the Uchiha's Second Division stood like an impenetrable wall, their hands resting loosely on the hilts of their weapons and ninja pouches. Across from them, the battered remnants of the Konoha and Senju forces could only glare back through the swirling dust. Their uneven, labored breathing betrayed their deep exhaustion.
The standoff held until the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from behind the Uchiha line.
Fukashi emerged from the rear, walking slowly as he carried the unconscious Uzumaki Mito over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The oppressive red chakra armor of the Kyūbi was gone, but the toll of the rampage was written across her body. Most striking of all was her hair; the once vibrant crimson of the Uzumaki clan was fractured with multiple strands of stark white.
A collective intake of breath rippled through the Senju ranks.
"Mito-sama!" Senju Ayame spat, her cracked lips curling into a snarl as she forced herself away from the shinobi supporting her. She planted her spear into the sand, using her final reserves of chakra to project a furious aura. "Uchiha! Remove your hands from Mito-sama! Return her to us immediately!"
Fukashi didn't stop walking until he stood right beside Shinichi. He didn't lower Mito from his shoulder, nor did his posture waver. He simply stared down at the trembling Senju elder with cold, unbothered detachment.
"Return her?" Fukashi countered, his voice smooth but carrying an edge of mockery. "Look around you, Grand Elder Ayame. Your armor is shattered. Your seal teams are decimated. Even your Supreme Commander, Torifu, can barely hold his own weight after abusing his clan's forbidden pills. We are still inside Suna's territory, and your forces are too exhausted and severely injured to properly escort the Jinchūriki back to Konoha."
"Are you questioning our capability, Fukashi?!" Ayame barked, her hand tightening around her spear until her knuckles turned white.
"I am merely stating facts," Fukashi replied smoothly. "The Uchiha will take custody of the Jinchūriki until our return to Konoha. Our medical ninja will stabilize her, and our fresh forces will ensure that Kyubi does not break free a second time. It is for the safety of the village."
"You arrogant—!" Ayame stepped forward, her chakra flaring in a desperate attempt to force the issue, ready to order a suicidal strike to reclaim Mito and the Kyūbi.
"Grand Elder. Stand down."
Kenji's monotonous voice cut through the air. He stepped in front of Ayame, extending his hand to bar her path. His pale, maskless face remained completely unfazed by Fukashi's blatant contempt and mockery.
Shinichi narrowed his eyes into razor-sharp slits as he activated his Sharingan, his sensory perception locking onto Kenji's chakra. He expected something—anything—to flicker within the Anbu Commander. Mito was Kenji's biological mother, and he had just watched an Uchiha treat her like baggage, using her as a political bargaining chip to seize the upper hand. Yet Kenji's emotionless eyes revealed absolutely nothing. There was no spike of adrenaline, no hidden flare of chakra, and no malice. There was only an expression of pure, calculating indifference.
"Fukashi is correct," Kenji stated flatly, turning his back on the Uchiha to face his own men. "We are in no condition to argue over such small matters on a live battlefield. Secure our wounded. Let the Uchiha pass."
Ayame's eyes widened in shock. She looked as though she wanted to strike Kenji down herself, but Torifu gave a heavy, exhausted nod of agreement from the rear. Slowly, the broken Konoha lines parted, yielding the path. Fukashi offered a grim smile, gesturing with his hand, and the Uchiha shinobi marched past the crippled vanguard, maintaining a tight, defensive formation as they exited the widened canyon.
However, the moment they cleared the canyon walls and joined the perimeter held by the Seventh Division, their relief was short-lived.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
"Enemy attack!" an Uchiha scout roared from the ridge, releasing a flare into the sky.
From a close distance, hundreds of Suna shinobi burst out from two hidden underground passages next to boulders and sand dunes. Leading the vanguard was Sunagakure's Puppet Brigade. In the center of each charging swarms rode two familiar figures: Chiyo the new commander of the Brigade, and the former commander himself, Monzaemon Chikamatsu.
"Form the perimeter! Don't let them close the distance any further!" Fukashi bellowed, his voice echoing over the sudden din of battle.
The Uchiha responded instantly with shurikenjutsu and Fire Release. Kunai clanged against steel, and massive walls of fire clashed violently with Suna's Wind Release, kicking up a suffocating storm of dust and blood. With Kagami still unconscious and dying from chakra poison, and Suna rapidly closing the distance behind their puppet vanguard, the Uchiha leadership had to act immediately.
"Naka! Take care of the right flank!" Fukashi shouted, passing the unconscious Mito to an Uchiha Jōnin behind him. "Guard her with your life! Do not let Suna breach the center!"
"Yes, Taichō!" the Jōnin shouted, gripping Mito's shoulders securely.
Fukashi and Naka split up, each taking charge of a direction against Suna's assault.
Naka grinned widely as he spotted Monzaemon Chikamatsu charging with his puppets. He was ready to finish what he couldn't during their last encounter.
Fukashi frowned slightly at the sudden ambush as he took command against Chiyo's forces. Considering the distance between this facility and Sunagakure, Suna's arrival was far too quick and well-organized. It was as if Kagami's sudden attack had been expected.
Fukashi cast a suspicious glance back at Kenji and the Anbu, who were currently exiting the canyon in silence.
'Is this part of the Senju's scheme...?' Fukashi immediately shook his head. 'No, the risk is too heavy for both Konoha and the Senju to orchestrate this. It seems more likely that Suna cooperated with Iwa in plotting Kinkaku's rebellion and Tobirama's death, and they prepared in advance for Konoha's retaliation.'
But the battlefield suddenly devolved into chaos as the sand dunes within the Uchiha formation violently erupted.
"Nani?!" an Uchiha Chūnin's eyes widened as a Suna shinobi burst out right next to him, wielding a kunai coated in wind chakra. He had no time to react before the blade sliced directly across his chest.
Caught off guard, many Chūnin fell to the ambush, but the Uchiha Jōnin captains reacted quickly, paralyzing their attackers with genjutsu before finishing them off.
Shinichi's eyes scanned the terrain below, noticing wind and earth chakra particles seeping deep back into the sand.
'Earth and wind release controlling the sand? Is this a new kekkai genkai?'
Shinichi traced the chakra back to a dark-blue-haired teenager sitting behind Chiyo on a small cloud of sand. It was clear the youth was still inexperienced; his face was pale, and thick beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. The teenager let out a heavy, exhausted breath as he released his hand seal.
"Father!" Shinichi called out, slicing down a Suna shinobi charging toward him. "The boy on top of the sand cloud! He is the key to this ambush!"
Fukashi nodded and braced himself to charge, but then—
Shut!
Out of the gray haze, three black-cloaked figures materialized—not from the Suna lines, but from the rear flank. It was Kenji and his elite Anbu squad. Moving with terrifying, mechanical synchronization, they completely ignored the Suna shinobi and their puppets. Instead, they struck the Uchiha Jōnin holding Mito from his blind spot. A swift, localized wind blade severed the Jōnin's tendons, forcing him to drop Mito as he screamed in agony.
Before the surrounding Uchiha could even turn their heads, Kenji scooped Mito's frail body off the sand, hoisting her securely into his arms.
"The Jinchurki is secured," Kenji announced quietly to his subordinates.
Fukashi violently spun around, his Sharingan blazing with sudden fury as he realized they had been played. "Kenji! What is the meaning of this?!"
Kenji didn't halt his pace. He gave a sharp signal, and the remaining Senju and Konoha shinobi—who had been safely trailing at the rear of the canyon exit—immediately turned on their heels. They pivoted away from the meat grinder where the Uchiha were currently fighting for their lives against Suna's ambush.
Kenji paused for a fraction of a second, looking back over his shoulder at Fukashi. The corners of his mouth didn't even twitch as he threw back the exact same words Fukashi had used against them just minutes before.
"We are far too exhausted and severely injured to properly fight against Sunagakure right now, Fukashi-dono," Kenji stated calmly, his voice carrying clearly over the roar of the battlefield. "If we stay, we will only drag the Uchiha down. Good luck."
With a sudden burst of speed, Kenji, Ayame, Torifu, and the entire remaining Konoha force retreated down the secure northern ridge, abandoning the Uchiha to face the Suna's army alone.