"Blue flames?"
Kazama Sōsuke stared in disbelief as the fire pillar incinerated five of his elite puppets. The condescension vanished from his eyes, replaced by a venomous seriousness befitting a snake ready to strike.
As Chiyo's proud disciple and one of Sunagakure's top Jōnin, he had faced many masters of Fire Release.
But flames hot enough to melt chakra-infused metal in an instant?
That was rare. Terrifyingly rare.
"So the Uchiha really are a problem."
With a snap of his fingers, the scroll on his back unfurled again.
"Secret Technique: Mechanized Light Shield Seal!"
Just as the blue fire was about to engulf him, a faint blue barrier erupted from the mouth of a puppet beside him, slamming into place like a wall.
Zzzzzzzt—!!
The flames and the chakra shield clashed violently. Even with the enhanced penetration of the blue fire, Kazama's full-power chakra output managed to bend the flames just enough. They veered off course, grazing his left ear and slamming into a boulder behind him, which melted into magma.
"...Too close."
He wiped the singed hair at his temple, eyes twisted into a feral snarl.
"You've pushed a C-rank Fire Jutsu to this level. Impressive, little Uchiha…"
"But it won't bridge the gap between us!"
"Secret Puppet Technique: Thousand-Armed Martial Array!"
His fingers danced like mad.
Twenty remaining puppets surged forward as if animated by souls.
Some unleashed violet nerve gas; others launched poisoned senbon in torrential volleys. Several squat-bodied puppets slipped underground, moving to flank from below.
"Hyūga Kō!" Fugaku shouted.
The Jōnin didn't hesitate. His palms slammed outward, veins pulsing near his eyes.
"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!"
Invisible chakra shockwaves tore into the earth, blasting the hidden puppets to pieces.
"Underground cleared!" Kō called. "But the air's full of nerve toxins—poison mist is spreading fast!"
He dashed through the haze, striking down two enemy shinobi mid-sneak attack with lethal precision.
He didn't like Uchiha. He didn't care for Fugaku.
But on the battlefield, that rivalry meant nothing.
"Poison, huh?"
Fugaku held his breath, weaving through the rain of senbon.
His Sharingan operated at full throttle—those deadly projectiles moved in slow motion in his vision.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
His short sword became a blur, deflecting everything that got close.
But Kazama was relentless. His assault gave no time for seals.
"What's wrong, little Uchiha? All you can do is dodge now?"
Kazama sneered, and flicked his fingers.
Zzzzt—!
A nearly invisible wire tore through the rain.
It wasn't chakra thread—it was a metal filament, razor-thin and lethal.
Fugaku's instincts screamed.
He snapped his head back—
Slice!
A deep gash appeared on his cheek, nearly down to the bone. Half a second later and he would've lost his skull.
"Tch. You dodged?" Kazama licked his lips. "The next one hits your neck."
"Fugaku-taichō!"
Minato, having just cleared nearby enemies, rushed to assist—
But was blocked by two heavily-armored puppets.
"Don't!" Fugaku shouted.
Blood dripped from his cheek, tracing down to his jaw, his Sharingan gleaming wildly.
Uchiha pride burned in his veins. He would not be rescued in front of subordinates.
"Just a puppet handler…"
Fugaku's chakra surged—cold, violent. Even the rain bent around him.
'Tetsu once said… even invisible threads are real.'
He closed one eye. The remaining Sharingan focused entirely on Kazama.
No hand seals.
Just his sword.
"Oh? Giving up already?" Kazama sneered, threads forming a web of death around him.
"Then die!"
In that instant—
Fugaku opened both eyes. The Sharingan spun wildly, red gleam blurring into a whirl.
"Genjutsu: Shackling Stakes!"
Though not Tsukuyomi, this clan technique could halt even Tailed Beasts momentarily.
Kazama's fingers froze.
In his mind, massive spectral stakes impaled him from every direction, pinning every limb.
"A genjutsu?!"
His mental strength was immense. Within a second, he bit his tongue and forced himself free.
"Naive! You don't have time to—"
But when his vision cleared…
He saw hell.
Fugaku hadn't used seals.
Instead, he had stuffed a mouthful of high-chakra oil—given to him by Tetsu—into his mouth…
And spat it over Kazama's web of chakra threads.
Then—he scraped his blade against a puppet's metal shell.
A single spark ignited it.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Flames raced through the oil-soaked threads—back to Kazama's fingers.
"What—?!"
The blue fire surged up the wires toward his hands.
He panicked, trying to cut the threads—
Too late.
Tetsu's oil was engineered to cling and burn.
BOOM!
Flames reached his hands.
"AAAAAGHHH!! MY HANDS!!"
Ten fingers, ten nerves, ten blazes of agony. He shrieked in torment—
But Kazama was not done.
Through the pain, he snapped his head forward.
A poison needle shot from his mouth, aimed right at Fugaku's throat.
"Die with me!!"
Fugaku didn't dodge. He stepped in.
The needle missed his neck and buried into his left shoulder.
Thud!
But at the same moment, his right hand pressed against Kazama's chest.
An Explosive Tag was already attached.
His crimson eyes narrowed with scorn.
"You're the one who dies."
"Detonate."
BOOM—!
The explosion cratered Kazama's chest.
His heart and lungs shattered.
He didn't scream. He just collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut—limp and hollow.
Kazama Sōsuke, Jōnin of Sunagakure, dead.
…
"Haah… haah…"
Fugaku stumbled back two steps.
His arm was paralyzed—the poison was spreading.
"Taichō!"
Minato and Kō arrived, concern written all over their faces.
"Don't move."
Tetsu leapt in with a syringe, plunging it into Fugaku's neck.
"Antidote serum. Should suppress the nerve toxin. Damn, you tanked that needle?"
Tetsu examined the blackened wound with a mix of alarm and respect.
Fugaku was pale. His chakra was nearly gone.
But he stood. His eyes dropped to the corpse at his feet.
"Elite Jōnin. Hmph. That's all?"
He turned his gaze outward.
The gorge was dammed. The supply ships sunk. Escort forces annihilated. Commander slain.
"Mission…"
His voice was hoarse, but firm.
"…Complete."
Rain fell.
Washing blood away.
Hyūga Kō stared at him, something unspoken stirring in his heart.
Now… I understand the meaning of Uchiha pride.