Chapter 6: First Battle
A thread of blue-white lightning burst from Danzo's fingertips. The light writhed and expanded like a living thing, instantly transforming into electric chains that struck toward Yu.
He hadn't just been observing the battle—he'd been hiding his hands in his sleeves, forming seals to cast this Kumogakure sealing technique: Tiger Vision Staring Bullet. This was a sealing jutsu specifically designed to target a ninja's chakra.
From his observations, this mysterious ninja's ninjutsu speed and chakra sensitivity indicated he was definitely not a taijutsu specialist focused on physical conditioning. Once his chakra was sealed, he could be easily dealt with—even captured alive.
"Seal!"
The chains arrived at lightning speed, striking Yu's body as the electric bonds coiled around him like pythons.
Yu's pupils contracted as he grunted. He felt his chakra solidifying within his body, its flow becoming increasingly sluggish.
With Danzo's sneak attack successful, Itachi's assault didn't pause—it became even more fierce, his hand seals forming so rapidly they left only afterimages.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
Flames wrapped around shuriken like streaming lights, simultaneously targeting Yu's throat, heart, forehead, and other vital points.
"Earth Style..."
No time. The chakra in his body was like stagnant water—he could no longer use any ninjutsu.
Yu looked up at this adoptive brother radiating killing intent and sighed softly...
Magnetic Field Rotation—Twenty Thousand!
Crackle
Violent electricity surged forth like thunder serpents flowing around Yu's body.
Concentrating all his energy into his left hand, Yu raised his lightning-wreathed fist and struck the ground with devastating force.
BOOM!
The terrifying shockwave blasted a massive crater in the earth, sending all the shuriken flying.
When the dust settled, only a twenty-meter diameter crater remained. The figure in the black spiral mask had vanished into the deep forest like a bolt of lightning.
Itachi moved to continue pursuit but was stopped by Danzo's raised hand.
"Could be a decoy. Forget it."
Having been hit by Tiger Vision Staring Bullet yet still possessing such strength, this mysterious ninja likely had Kage-level power.
Working together with Itachi, they might be able to capture him, but Danzo would pay a price too. It wasn't that he feared for his life—the village's current situation simply didn't allow him to take risks.
This secret base would have to be abandoned as well.
"Consider carefully what I told you," Danzo said coldly, turning his back to Itachi as he walked into the forest with his cane, his figure disappearing into the darkness.
Hearing this, Itachi's expression darkened. His Sharingan swept the battlefield as he picked up a blood-stained shuriken, lost in thought.
That swordsmanship... seemed familiar somehow...
Yu pressed his left shoulder wound as he raced through the forest, avoiding high-speed movement that would cause blood to flow and leave traces.
That ground strike hadn't deflected all the shuriken—one had found a blind spot and cut him.
Yu increased his Magnetic Field power to heal the wound. Under full force, his flesh was visibly mending.
To avoid pursuit, after breaking the Tiger Vision Staring Bullet seal, he'd created three shadow clones with equal chakra portions to break out in different directions.
His real body used the cover of night to race toward Konoha at full speed.
---
The autumn night was cool, a crescent moon hanging outside the window like a silver hook.
Sasuko lay sprawled on the tatami with her long black hair loose, moonlight coating her in a gentle silver glow. Her small hand propped up her cheek as her round eyes gazed vacantly at the moon.
"When is that idiot coming back..."
The scene of the shadow clone dispersing during the day floated before her eyes again, stirring inexplicable unease in her heart.
Scrape—
A black shadow suddenly appeared at the window.
Sasuko jolted, about to cry out when a blood-scented hand covered her small mouth.
"Mmph!" She bit down without hesitation, her pale little feet kicking wildly at the intruder.
"It's me."
The familiar voice made Sasuko freeze instantly. She blinked her big eyes as the figure slowly removed his mask—sure enough, it was that annoying smiling face.
"Sasuko, you really bite hard." Yu smiled ruefully, showing the neat row of small tooth marks on his hand, still glistening with saliva.
Sasuko's little face flushed red: "Who told you to be so sneaky!" Her gaze was suddenly drawn to the bloodstain on his shoulder. "You're hurt?"
"Mo—" Just as she was about to call out, Yu's quick reflexes covered her mouth again.
"This is our little secret, okay?" Yu raised his index finger, his expression particularly serious in the lamplight. "And don't shout—you'll wake everyone up."
Sasuko nodded obediently.
"The wound is fine." Yu pulled open his collar, revealing the already scabbed injury. "Just tore my clothes, that's all."
"So where did you actually go?" Sasuko's eyes sparkled.
"Want to know?" Yu said mysteriously.
Her little head nodded like a pecking chicken.
"I'm not telling you~" The familiar mischievous grin returned.
"Annoying!" Sasuko puffed out her cheeks. "I'm telling Mom!"
"Wait, wait..." As if anticipating this, Yu produced something like magic. "Here's a gift to buy your silence."
In the moonlight, an exquisite magatama-shaped jade pendant gleamed with lustrous light. The red cord-wrapped charm was no bigger than a thumb, but it instantly captivated the six-year-old girl's attention.
Yu had carved this trinket during his training breaks while recovering his body.
"So pretty..."
"If you accept the gift, you have to keep the secret. The Uchiha heiress wouldn't go back on her word, right?"
"Don't worry! I won't tell even if big brother asks!" Sasuko solemnly accepted the jade pendant, signaling he could relax.
Yu nodded with satisfaction and headed toward the bathroom.
After washing up and hiding his night gear, he finally collapsed into familiar bedding as his tense nerves completely relaxed.
The Next Day.
Sunlight filtered through the paper windows onto the tatami as Yu sat up, rubbing sleepy eyes.
He'd slept exceptionally deeply—even Sasuko's multiple attempts to wake him had failed. After all, he was still just a twelve-year-old body. Several days of extreme training combined with last night's life-or-death battle with Itachi had left him utterly exhausted.
After washing up and sliding open the door, he found the corridor bathed in perfect sunlight.
Sasuko sat properly at the low table with a playful ponytail, the jade pendant at her neck gleaming warmly in the morning light.
Hearing footsteps, she immediately looked up with a bright face:
"The lazy pig finally woke up!" She proudly patted the papers on the table. "Look, I memorized all the formulas!"
Yu leaned against a pillar and raised an eyebrow: "Write them all out in ten minutes, and I'll take you out to play."
"Ten minutes?!" Sasuko's face immediately fell as she whined, "Can't I have a little more time?"
"Didn't you say you memorized them all? Ten minutes is plenty." Yu grinned mischievously, pointing at the wall clock. "The timer's already started~"
"Annoying!" Sasuko huffily grabbed her brush as paper rustled.
As she wrote, her brush tip suddenly paused slightly. Without looking up, she said:
"Oh right, big brother came looking for you this morning..."