Deep in the forest, four figures sped toward the Kumogakure outpost.
Amid the fear of life and death, the group occasionally looked back, but the terrifying Sharingan of the Uchiha had not yet caught up.
"Will that old man… die?"
"Using lightning to stimulate the chakra in the chakra network from the outside to avoid falling into genjutsu… it should…"
"No way! The old man telling us to run meant he clearly knew his limits. Death… he had already anticipated it…"
"I used to mock him for being a chūnin his whole life. I'm truly… sorry…"
Glancing at his teammate, who was crying from either fear or guilt, the slightly older Kumogakure ninja reprimanded him.
"Put all your effort into speeding up! Don't think we're safe! We cannot let that guy's sacrifice be in vain!"
Swish swish…
The four Kumogakure ninja accelerated again. The fear of death made them truly understand the horror of war in that moment.
"You're quite fast…"
"Ah!"
A sudden voice rang out, and one Kumo ninja nearly stumbled in panic.
In his panic, he subconsciously turned his head to look at Uchiha Yun, who was chasing behind them.
"Don't look back!"
"Don't look into his eyes!"
Amid the frantic warnings, a pair of crimson Sharingan appeared in his vision.
In an instant, the world changed.
Countless flames erupted, burning through the forest and engulfing him at the center.
His body… couldn't move.
Yun's figure slowly emerged from the flames, like a demon walking out of a burning hell, stepping forward until he stood before him.
"Are you crying because you fear death?"
Yun sighed as he looked at the tear-streaked female Kumo ninja before him.
"So why start a war? If you fear death, then maintain peace…"
Pfft!
In reality, Yun's long sword had already swung.
A spray of blood erupted from her neck.
Bang!
Her body collapsed to the ground, twitching once before falling completely still.
Now she was nothing more than a corpse.
Yun glanced toward the three figures still fleeing ahead.
"That's the fifth one. Which of you will stay behind to cover the retreat, or will you keep running like this?"
The three fleeing Kumogakure ninja looked at each other.
For a moment, they continued running desperately, but no one spoke.
A moment later…
"Damn it… that old man's outburst just now didn't even hold him back for long."
"With that power, that guy should be able to keep up with his speed. There must be intelligence we haven't discovered!"
"Will we… die?"
"From the moment we became ninja, death stopped mattering. No matter what, someone among us must make it back alive."
"Someone must stay behind to cover the retreat, otherwise…"
Before he could finish speaking—
"Otherwise… you will all die."
A calm voice sounded.
Yun suddenly appeared behind them, his long sword already descending.
Bang!
Sparks burst as Yun's blade was blocked by a Kumogakure chūnin who had suddenly stepped forward.
But under the overwhelming strength, the man was sent flying.
Boom!
The Kumogakure chūnin crashed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. He struggled to stand, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Clearly, his internal organs had already been injured.
"Next… I'll cover the retreat!"
His two distant teammates did not look back.
The fear of the Sharingan was still deeply engraved in their minds.
Only the droplets of water trailing behind them revealed whether they were afraid… or crying.
Yun shook his head slightly.
"How long do you think you can hold me back?"
The Kumogakure chūnin smiled.
"You are indeed very strong. Even if someone stays behind, we may still be completely wiped out. But if we don't try… how could we accept that?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he rapidly formed hand signs.
"Lightning Style—"
Pfft!
The ninjutsu was never released.
Uchiha Yun had already appeared behind him.
Yun slowly pulled his long sword free, then instantly leapt forward again to continue the pursuit.
Behind him, the Kumogakure ninja whose heart had been pierced clutched his chest, but blood continued to gush out.
'The gap… is truly vast.'
'Mother… I can't return to the village.'
'From now on… only my younger brother will be with you.'
Bang.
The corpse collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
…
In a clearing ahead, Yun slowly stepped out, looking at the two Kumogakure ninja before him.
"Why stop? So many of your teammates died just to escape back, didn't they?"
One of the two wiped the tears from his face.
"We can't escape the rest of the way. Rather than being hunted down one by one, it's better to fight for a chance."
Yun shook his head slightly.
"No, you can only fight to the death. There's no chance of winning."
The other Kumo ninja drew his long sword, carefully avoiding Yun's gaze.
"You're very strong. So strong that you're an insurmountable existence for us. But that doesn't mean we must surrender."
The two exchanged a glance.
Their swords clashed together.
Lightning surged from their hands into the blades.
Lightning Style ∙ Linked Scatter Strike – Grave Null
The moment their swords intersected, violent lightning surged toward Yun.
Boom!!
The ground was scorched by the lightning.
But Yun had already vanished from his position.
The next moment, Yun appeared standing on a tree branch.
"Lightning is very fast," he said calmly, "but your speed is too slow. Even if you continued attacking for an entire day, you still wouldn't hit me. Why struggle in vain?"
"Heh… heh…"
The two ninja below laughed bitterly.
One of them raised his head slightly, just enough to see Yun's legs.
"Even though we fear death… even though we know we may never return to the village… we are Kumogakure shinobi!"
With a roar, lightning erupted again from the crossed blades and surged toward Yun on the tree trunk.
Boom!
The large tree was scorched by lightning and instantly caught fire, the flames crackling with electricity.
Swish.
Two thin arcs of blood suddenly sprayed into the air.
The two Kumogakure ninja who had just spoken so boldly collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Yun sighed softly.
"Under the foolish decisions of those above, the middle and lower ranks pay with their lives."
"Isn't peace… better?"
Afterward, Yun sealed the bodies into a scroll and began collecting the remaining corpses along his path.
All eight invading Kumogakure ninja were sealed near the outpost.
After finishing, Yun glanced toward the dark bushes nearby.
"Come out. It's over."
From the bushes, Shimura Ken slowly crawled out, then struggled to drag out the bodies of his teammates he had hidden earlier.
"They still need your help to take them back to camp using a sealing scroll," Yun said.
"After that, someone will send them back to the village together."
*****
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✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
✓ Naruto: Who Made Him a Ninja?
✓ Bleach: In My Second Reincarnation, I Became The Ninth Kenpachi
✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
✓ Naruto: The Accidental Incubus [R-18]