"Tch," Bashira clicked his tongue, adjusting his stance. "If I'm going down," he muttered, "I'm taking one of you with me."
He moved first.
He chose one target. Shisui. The blades came in a cross, lightning shrieking as they cut through the air. Shisui met him directly, steel clashing against chakra-infused metal. The force pushed him back half a step.
Bashira pressed, chaining strikes together relentlessly, forcing Shisui into defense for the first time.
Shinji saw it immediately. "Shisui,"
Bashira feinted left, then drove both blades downward, aiming to break through Shisui's guard completely.
Shisui twisted, redirecting one blade but the second slipped through.
A shallow cut. But real.
Bashira's eyes sharpened. He pushed harder.
That was his mistake. Shinji stepped in. He intercepted Bashira mid-combination, striking his arm and throwing off the rhythm completely.
He vanished. Reappearing behind Bashira in the same instant. The blade came down clean. Bashira staggered forward, breath hitching.
But he didn't fall… yet.
He turned, forcing chakra into his legs for one last burst, lightning erupting around him as he lunged at Shinji with everything he had left.
All or nothing.
Shinji closed the distance before the attack could fully form. His strike landed first.
Bashira's body froze for a fraction of a second.
Then Shisui's blade followed. Across the throat. Bashira dropped.
Shisui exhaled slowly, flicking blood from his blade. "That's all of them."
Shinji nodded once, already scanning the field. "Not done."
They moved immediately.
Not far from them, the ground exploded upward as Might Guy was driven back for the first time.
Tetsu Arashi stood firm, lightning pulsing across his body, his breathing heavier now but controlled.
Guy skidded across the broken terrain, catching himself before fully losing balance.
"Heh," Guy grinned, wiping sweat from his brow. "You're tough."
Tetsu didn't smile this time. "You're slowing down."
He pushed forward again, faster than before, launching into another series of strikes. His attacks came in rapid succession, forcing Tetsu to block, deflect, and absorb.
He met Guy head-on. A punch collided with Guy's guard, the impact sending a shockwave through the ground. Then another. And another.
Guy was being pushed back. For the first time, his rhythm was being disrupted.
On another flank, Kakashi's fight had shifted into something quieter. Rei Fudō no longer tried to overwhelm him. Instead, he controlled the battlefield with precision.
"You rely on terrain too much," Kakashi said calmly.
The ground shifted
Kakashi was already gone. He reappeared behind Rei, kunai aimed for a vital point. Rei twisted just in time, blocking but barely.
"You're adapting," Rei said.
Kakashi's eye smiled. "That's kind of the job."
At the center, Hiruzen still hadn't changed his pace.
Daigo continued shaping the battlefield, forcing Hiruzen into constant movement.
Kanzō pressed with heavy, armored strikes, each one capable of crushing stone.
Jinbei waited, searching for an opening.
"You're running out of space," Jinbei said.
Hiruzen didn't respond. But his eyes shifted. Toward where Shinji and Shisui had been.
He felt it. Three chakra signatures gone.
A small smile formed. "I see."
Daigo frowned. "See what?"
Hiruzen finally moved forward. The shift was immediate. His staff extended, striking Kanzō's guard with sudden force, driving him back a full step something that hadn't happened once until now.
Elsewhere, Shinji and Shisui reached Guy's fight. They didn't interrupt immediately.
Tetsu drove another heavy strike into Guy's guard, forcing him back again. Guy slid across the ground, breathing heavier now.
Shisui glanced at Shinji. "He's enjoying this." Shinji nodded once. "He always does."
Shisui moved. He entered the fight without warning, appearing at Tetsu's flank and forcing him to shift instantly.
Guy stepped back, resetting his stance, exhaling sharply. "Perfect timing," he said. Shisui smirked faintly. "You looked like you needed it."
Tetsu's gaze shifted between them. Two now.
The shift was unmistakable. Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped forward, and the battlefield seemed to tighten around him.
Daigo felt it first.
A pressure that hadn't been there before.
Hiruzen moved. His staff extended in a sharp motion, striking Kanzō's guard at an angle that bypassed the bulk of his defense. The impact redirected him, opening his center for just a moment.
That moment was enough.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb."
The flames roared forward, forcing both Kanzō and Daigo to disengage at the same time. The terrain around them cracked under the heat as Daigo instinctively raised earth to block.
Hiruzen didn't stop.
His hands flowed into the next set of seals seamlessly.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall."
The ground surged not defensively, but to divide. The battlefield split in an instant, separating Daigo slightly from Kanzō and forcing Jinbei to reposition.
Control.
Total control.
"He's isolating us," Jinbei said, already moving.
Hiruzen's eyes followed him. "Too late."
He vanished. Reappearing in front of Jinbei with terrifying precision, staff already mid-swing.
Jinbei reacted fast raising a guard, twisting his body to reduce the impact but the strike still landed clean, sending him skidding back across the ground.
Elsewhere, the clash between Might Guy and Tetsu Arashi reached its peak.
Now it was two against one. Tetsu didn't retreat.
Lightning surged violently across his body as he stepped forward to meet them head-on.
"Good," he said. "This is what I wanted."
Guy grinned, breathing heavier but eyes blazing. "Then don't blink!" They moved together. Shisui from the flank. Guy from the front.
Tetsu chose to meet Guy. Guy's fist collided with Tetsu's guard, the impact shaking the ground beneath them. But this time, Guy didn't stop at one strike. He chained into another. And another.
Each hit forced Tetsu back just a little more.
Shisui appeared behind him. His blade cut across Tetsu's back. Tetsu staggered but didn't fall. He turned, lightning flaring as he tried to counter Shisui
Guy was already there. A direct strike to the torso. The impact lifted Tetsu off the ground.
He was exposed. Shisui finished it. A single, precise slash across the throat. Tetsu dropped.
Guy exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders. "That was a good fight."
Shisui flicked the blood from his blade. "Yeah."
Both turned immediately toward the center.
On the far side of the battlefield, Kakashi had finally broken through.
Rei Fudō stood still but not calm anymore.
Kakashi had figured him out. "You react too early," Kakashi said, voice even.
Kakashi moved.
A feint subtle, almost invisible.
Rei reacted.
The ground shifted And Kakashi was already somewhere else. He appeared behind Rei, faster than before, kunai aimed directly for a vital point.
This time Rei barely turned in time. The blade grazed him instead of piercing cleanly.
For the first time, Rei had been truly hit.
They separated again. But now the difference was clear. Kakashi was winning.
At the center, Daigo saw everything. Tetsu's fall. The loss of the Kumo unit. Jinbei being pushed back. Kanzō struggling to regain footing.
And Hiruzen advancing. This wasn't an ambush anymore. This was a loss.
"We're done here," Daigo said sharply.
Kanzō growled. "We can still—"
"No," Daigo cut him off. "We can't."
Jinbei reappeared beside them, breathing controlled but heavier now. "He's right."
Hiruzen stepped forward, staff resting lightly in his grip.
"A wise decision," Hiruzen said.
Daigo's jaw tightened. "This isn't over, Leaf dog."
Hiruzen's gaze didn't waver. "It rarely is."
They escaped.
Kakashi moved to pursue but stopped when Hiruzen raised a hand.
"Let them go."
Kakashi exhaled quietly, lowering his weapon.
Guy let out a long breath, stretching his arms slightly. "Man. That got the blood going."
Shisui smirked faintly. "You say that every time."
Shinji stepped forward, scanning the area one last time before relaxing slightly.
"They won't be back soon."
Hiruzen looked over his team.
"Well done."