Shinji stood at the edge of a ridge. Behind him a small encampmen.
"Still nothing?" Shisui asked, stepping beside him.
Shinji shook his head slightly.
"Not yet."
Below Kakashi Hatake sat against a tree. Reading. As if this was just another mission.
"You're too relaxed," Guy said, pacing nearby. Might Guy was doing push-ups between sentences. "An enemy could strike at any moment!"
Kakashi didn't look up. "Then I'll stop reading."
Guy frowned. "That's not reassuring."
A small chuckle came from behind them. Hiruzen Sarutobi approached slowly. Pipe in hand. "You're all too tense," he said calmly.
Shinji glanced back slightly. "We wiped a squad. They didn't respond."
Hiruzen nodded slightly.
Iwa/Kumo Joint Force
Eight figures stood in formation. Different uniforms. But all elite. Four from Iwa. Four from Kumo. Each one chosen carefully.
"No jinchūriki," one of them muttered. "No Raikage," another added.
"We won't need them."
A final figure stepped forward.
"Our target is simple." "The Third Hokage."
"And anyone standing with him."
The group dispersed. Moving fast.
Back at the Border
"They're here."
Shisui's smirk faded. "Finally."
Kakashi closed his book. Guy stood upright instantly.
And Hiruzen Hiruzen smiled. "Good." "I was getting bored."
Eight shinobi stepped forward, Hiruzen recognized them instantly. Elites from their village.
From Iwagakure: Daigo Tsuchimaru, Kanzō Iwakabe, Rei Fudō,
From Kumogakure: Renga Kurogiri, Bashira Denko, Tetsu Arashi, Kaito Raizen, Jinbei Kumoha, All eight focused on one man.
Hiruzen.
"So it's true," Daigo said. "The Professor himself."
"Kill him," Renga added.
They moved instantly.
Three Iwa shinobi broke forward toward Hiruzen without hesitation.
Hiruzen grinned "Good."
Shinji and Shisui shifted together as three Kumo shinobi broke toward them Renga, Bashira, and Kaito.
Bashira struck first, blades flashing toward Shisui's throat.
Shisui met him head-on, steel clashing with a sharp crack, sparks bursting between them as he redirected the strike just enough to avoid the follow-up.
Renga blurred to Shinji's flank, lightning-enhanced speed closing the gap instantly.
Shinji turned into it. Their movements collided Renga's speed against Shinji's precision.
Shinji slipped just inside the strike, redirecting the force past his shoulder.
Kaito stayed back, hands already forming seals.
"Lightning Style—"
Shinji's eyes flicked once.
"Shisui."
Shisui disengaged instantly, vanishing from Bashira's line of attack and reappearing between Kaito and the forming jutsu.
A single slash forced Kaito to break the technique and retreat.
"Don't let them group!" Kaito snapped.
They tried to split them immediately.
Renga circled wide, Bashira pressed from the front, Kaito shifted angles to force distance.
Shinji stepped slightly to the left. Shisui adjusted half a step to the right. They remained within each other's range.
Renga lunged again, faster this time, aiming to force Shinji back into a blind spot.
Shinji stepped forward. The timing threw Renga off just enough. Their shoulders nearly collided as Shinji slipped past him, forcing Renga to overextend.
Shisui was already there. His blade carved across Renga's side, shallow, but clean.
Renga hissed, retreating. "They're reading us," he muttered.
"Damn Sharingan" Bashira snapped, coming in harder, more aggressive.
On another part of the battlefield, Kakashi faced Rei Fudō.
Kakashi vanished reappearing behind Rei, kunai already drawn.
Rei tilted slightly, blocking without fully turning. Metal met metal.
"Predictable," Rei said calmly.
Kakashi's eye curved. "You'd be surprised."
They separated again, both measuring, both waiting for the other to commit first.
Nearby, the ground shattered under a single exchange. Might Guy and Tetsu Arashi collided like two forces of nature.
A punch from Tetsu came down like a hammer. Guy blocked, the impact cracking the earth beneath his feet. Guy grinned, eyes burning with energy. "Now this is what I'm talking about!"
Tetsu smirked. "Good. I was hoping you weren't weak."
They disappeared in a burst of speed, reappearing in a clash of fists and kicks, each strike carrying enough force to tear the battlefield apart.
At the center, Hiruzen faced three opponents.
Daigo slammed his hands to the ground. Earth surged upward in jagged formations, forcing Hiruzen to move. Kanzō charged through it, stone armor forming over his body as he closed the distance.
Jinbei stayed back.
Hiruzen moved with minimal effort. His staff intercepted Kanzō's strike, redirecting the force rather than meeting it head-on.
"You're stalling. Why tree hugger" Kanzō growled.
Hiruzen's eyes remained calm. "Of course I am."
"I trust my comrades."
Back with Shinji and Shisui, the pressure increased.
Kaito shifted tactics, launching mid-range lightning attacks to force spacing. Bashira pushed aggressively, trying to overwhelm Shisui with speed and angles. Renga adapted, no longer rushing blindly, instead probing for openings.
But every time they tried to separate the two It failed.
"Stop chasing them!" Kaito snapped. "Force them apart!"
Renga changed direction mid-sprint, cutting toward Shisui instead. Bashira pivoted toward Shinji.
For a moment They almost succeeded.
Shinji stepped directly into Bashira's range, forcing a close-quarters exchange. At the same time, Shisui disengaged from Renga and reappeared beside Shinji instead of retreating.
Renga clicked his tongue. "This is getting annoying."
"They're adjusting," Shisui said quietly as he slipped past Bashira's twin blades, "Too late," Shinji replied.
Renga came again, faster than before, lightning wrapping his limbs as he aimed for Shinji's flank. The speed was real now no more probing, no more testing.
Shinji didn't react immediately. He let it come.
At the last possible moment, he turned his forearm slammed into Renga's wrist, redirecting the strike
Shisui was already there. His blade carved across Renga's back. Blood sprayed across the ground as Renga stumbled forward, barely catching himself.
"…Damn it—!"
"Renga, fall back!" Kaito snapped.
But Shinji was already moving.
He stepped in, closing the gap before Renga could create distance. Renga tried to pivot, forcing chakra into his legs to escape
Shinji's fist drove into his ribs. A sharp crack echoed through the clearing.
Renga's body folded slightly, and Shisui finished it. He appeared at Renga's side, blade flashing. Renga collapsed, his body hitting the ground with a dull, heavy thud.
"Renga's down," Kaito said, his voice tightening despite himself. Bashira's grip on his blades tightened. "Then we stop playing around."
Bashira pressed Shisui aggressively, his twin blades moving in rapid, overlapping arcs designed to overwhelm. Kaito shifted his position constantly, launching lightning techniques from unpredictable angles, forcing Shinji to keep moving.
Every time Bashira tried to isolate Shisui, Shinji stepped into the gap. Every time Kaito tried to create distance, Shisui collapsed it instantly.
They didn't chase. They tightened. Like a noose.
Kaito realized it first. "They're herding us," he muttered.
"Then break it!" Bashira snapped, lunging forward with a full commitment strike aimed straight for Shisui's centerline.
Their blades collided, sparks exploding between them as Shisui redirected the strike just enough to open Bashira's guard for a split second.
That was all Shinji needed.
A sharp strike to Bashira's side forced him off balance, just enough to disrupt his footing.
Kaito moved to assist Too late.
Shisui's blade cut across Bashira's arm, forcing him back. They separated again.
But now both Kumo shinobi were breathing heavier.
Meanwhile, a short distance away, Kakashi and Rei Fudō circled each other in near silence.
The ground shifted constantly beneath Kakashi's feet, subtle changes in elevation and angle that would have thrown off anyone without his level of awareness.
Rei didn't waste movement. Every attack was measured. Every defense minimal.
Kakashi tested him with feints. Rei didn't bite.
"You're patient," Kakashi said.
"You talk too much," Rei replied.
The ground beneath Kakashi suddenly erupted, stone spikes shooting upward without warning.
Kakashi vanished, reappearing behind Rei with a kunai already aimed for his neck.
Rei turned just enough to deflect it.
Their eyes met briefly. Both understood. This wouldn't end quickly.
Elsewhere, the clash between Might Guy and Tetsu Arashi was anything but controlled.
The ground around them was shattered, cratered from repeated impacts as both fighters pushed harder with every exchange.
Tetsu's punch came in low this time, aiming to break through Guy's guard with raw force.
Guy blocked, but the impact still drove him back several steps.
He grinned, breathing heavier now, but more excited than anything.
"You're strong."
Tetsu smirked. "You're not bad yourself."
Guy's stance shifted slightly.
"I'd hate for this to end too quickly."
Tetsu stepped forward again, but this time Guy met him first.
The exchange exploded, both of them disappearing and reappearing in bursts of speed, each strike cracking the air like thunder.
At the center of it all, Hiruzen remained composed.
Daigo slammed his hands into the ground, sending a wave of earth toward him, while Kanzō charged through it, stone armor thickening around his body.
Jinbei stayed back again.
Hiruzen moved just enough. A step to avoid the rising earth. A turn to redirect Kanzō's strike with his staff.
His gaze flicked toward his team. Shinji and Shisui pressing their opponents. Guy matching his. Kakashi adapting. Everything was unfolding as he expected.
Which meant the counterattack was coming.
Back with Shinji and Shisui, the pressure had flipped completely.
Kaito and Bashira were no longer trying to split them. They were trying to survive them.
"End it," Shinji said quietly.
Shisui smirked faintly. "Thought you'd never say that."
They moved at the same time. Shinji engaged Kaito directly, forcing him to commit to defense.
Shisui slipped past Bashira, not attacking immediately forcing him to turn, to react.
He broke through Kaito's guard with a clean, decisive strike, sending him stumbling backward.
Shisui appeared behind him instantly A deep cut across the back. Kaito dropped to one knee, breath ragged.
Bashira lunged to intercept Shinji stepped into his path, stopping him cold.
Shisui finished Kaito.
Bashira's grip tightened on his blades as he stepped back, reassessing. Now it was two against one.