The battlefield was chaos woven into motion.
Hashirama's mutated wooden clones surged forward like living battering rams, tearing across the broken village street. Shino reacted instantly, years of refined killing instinct snapping into place.
His hands swept outward.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sword!!"
Dozens of compressed air blades ripped through the air in jagged crescents, sharp enough to cleave boulders.
But,
Madara was already moving.
He blurred ahead, his body wreathed in the shimmering, violet sheen of the Reverse Cloak.Every wind blade that approached him was effortlessly deflected, each one spinning back toward its furious creator twice the speed.
FWIP! FWIP! FWIP!
"Damn it… I forgot that cursed tool," Shino spat, twisting violently to evade his own returning jutsu.
He barely dodged before Hashirama and his Wood Clone slammed into him.
Hashirama and the clone unleashed a synchronised, devastating barrage of taijutsu.
CRACK! CRUNCH! BAM!
The blows landed with the force of battering rams.Shino's body was lifted off the ground and hurled backwards through the air.
Mid-flight, he gritted his teeth, drew a thick, unadorned sword, and stabbed it deep into the stone street.
SKRRRRK
The blade scraped, sparks flying as it arrested his momentum.
Before he could even pull the sword free,
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Hashirama and the clone struck again, smashing into him like twin meteors.
Shino's eyes flashed with raw fury.
In a burst of strength, he snatched Hashirama's leg mid-kick and,
WHIP!!
Hurled the Senju boy straight into Madara.
The clone lunged to save Hashirama, but Shino's hand snapped forward, gripping its neck.
SNAP.
The clone shattered into splinters.
Shino ripped his blade out of the ground and turned, exhaling heavy breaths. His muscles were trembling. Sweat streamed from his forehead.
But he was not done.
He roared, raising his sword to rush the two young prodigies,
Only to freeze.
Because someone stood before him.
Ishiki.
Not trembling.Not afraid.Not backing away.
His toy-like blade, Denkomaru, gleamed faintly.His posture was unnervingly calm.
Shino snarled and swung.
CLANG!!
Blocked.
He swung again,
CLANG!!
Blocked again.
Ishiki met all of Shino's blows with flawless precision.Every slash, every feint, every twist,parried perfectly.
It was as though Ishiki already knew Shino's moves before he made them.
Shino staggered backwards in disbelief.
This… brat is READING me?!
Then the true torment began.
Madara's Sharingan locked onto every shift of Shino's chakra. With the Reverse Cloak, he punished Shino for every ninjutsu attempt. Every technique Shino tried to weave was immediately reflected at him.
Hashirama pressed forward relentlessly, punching, kicking, sweeping, forcing Shino into tighter and tighter corners.
And Ishiki's perfect defence prevented any breakthrough.
Shino was suffocating.
His swings grew wild.
His breathing became ragged.
His chakra reserves depleted rapidly.
Meanwhile, his three opponents fought like they had infinite stamina.
Sometimes, mid-combat, they would pause for merely one second,
glug
and drink from a tiny metal bottle.
Instantly, their energy returned to full.
Shino's eyes widened.
What are these monsters drinking?!
His fear spiked.
His exhaustion peaked.
And then,
He hesitated.
A tiny pause.Less than a heartbeat.
But enough.
Hashirama's Kick Ends It
Hashirama spun with devastating force,
BOOOOM—!!!
His foot smashed upward into Shino's chin.
Shino lifted off the ground, limbs flying limply as he soared through the air.
CRAAAAASH!
He crashed through the brittle wall of an abandoned house, disappearing into a cloud of dust and debris.
Before the dust cleared,
Madara inhaled deeply, weaving rapid signs.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!!"
A roaring dragon of flame erupted from his mouth, spiralling into the smoking building.
FWOOOOSH!!!
The structure ignited instantly.
Ishiki, Madara, and Hashirama approached the burning wreckage, exhausted yet determined. They each took one final drink of Concentrated Food, restoring their battered bodies.
The flames died down.
Inside the ruin, Shino kneeled, barely upright.Blood trickled from his forehead.His sword lay beside him, chipped, cracked, almost broken.
He looked up at the three boys and laughed. A low, guttural, bloody laugh.
"You won… today," he rasped.His eyes sharpened with a dangerous look.
"But if my clan learns what happened… your entire village will be wiped off the map."
He smirked, lips stained crimson.
"And it seems my subordinate is already on his way to deliver the news."
His laughter echoed through the ruins.
Suddenly,
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A different sound thundered through the street.
Angry voices.Footsteps.Shouts dripping with fury.
The three turned.
Emerging from the shadows were the villagers, led by the village chief.Their faces were hardened, grim, resolved.
And in their hands,
They dragged a broken, battered ninja.
Shino's eyes widened.
His missing subordinate.
The same man who had fled earlier.
A villager kicked the injured ninja forward, sending him sprawling in front of Shino.
"This one?" the chief growled."Is he the one who was going to inform your clan?"
The injured ninja collapsed, trembling, clutching his ribs.
"I, I tried!" he cried. "I thought I could ambush them! But these villagers… they fought like demons! I lost!"
Madara stared in surprise.
Hashirama's eyes widened with deep respect.
Even Ishiki felt his heart clench.
The villagers… fought?
For themselves?
For each other?
For him?
Shino looked from the villagers to the three boys, then back to his crushed subordinate.
For a moment, disbelief flickered across his features.
Then he straightened his back, lifting his chin with cold resolve.
"Almost fifteen of my clan died today," he said quietly, too quietly.
"My clan will come.Even without a messenger."
He met Ishiki's gaze.
"You will all die.That is unavoidable."
Then, his tone changed.
Softened.
Became almost pleading.
"Let me go," Shino said, voice low."I will ensure your village is spared.I swear it."