The battle was pure, bloody meat grinder.
Konoha's forces had managed to pin the combined armies of Kumogakure and Sunagakure at Kikyō Mountain. A fortress on the Fire Country's border, the terrain was a defender's dream—steep, narrow, and brutal for any attacker.
It was perfect. And hell.
Kumogakure's shinobi were born brawlers, fighting with a reckless, savage fury. Sunagakure's warriors fought with the desperate rage of the wronged. Their Sandaime Kazekage had vanished without a trace right as the war began, scattering all their plans into the desert wind. The new Yondaime Kazekage, his position shaky, needed a victory. His people whispered. He was supposed to find the Sandaime. Where is he?
So the whispers were redirected. Pointed at Konoha. It was them. They killed our Kazekage. And so the Suna-nin fought with a terrible, grieving ferocity.
Konoha had nowhere left to retreat. Behind them was the village. So they held the line. And bled.
While they bled, Qianyu moved like a ghost in the enemy's rear.
He was a phantom, a tumor they couldn't cut out. Supply caravans vanished. Communications went silent. They sent a dedicated hunter squad after him. None returned.
He wasn't alone. Minato Namikaze was out there too, a flash of yellow death in their logistical arteries. The Allied Force was forced to scatter their supply lines, thin their defenses. It was a war of attrition now. And time was on Konoha's side. They held the mountain. Resupply was easy.
For the Alliance? Every ration, every scroll, every replacement kunai had to fight its way through the gauntlet.
The stalemate lasted half a month before the first cracks showed in the Allied lines.
Half a month in, Qianyu saw him.
Uchiha Shisui.
The name was legend already. "Shunshin no Shisui." He was a blur of green, a phantom dancing through the enemy ranks with a technique that left after-images in its wake. Qianyu had never served with him, never seen him up close.
His eyes narrowed.
He's activated it.
The Mangekyō Sharingan swirled in Shisui's eyes. A cold knot tightened in Qianyu's gut. He knew the rumors. The ultimate genjutsu. Kotoamatsukami. The eye that could rewrite a man's will without him ever knowing.
Qianyu had made an enemy of the entire Uchiha clan. Would Shisui use it? On him? The thought was an ice pick against his spine.
Time for an insurance policy.
His left eye, the eye of All-Rejection, pulsed faintly. Perfect. A direct counter to mental domination. His hands moved in a brief, sharp sequence, chakra focusing into his pupil.
"Transcription Seal: All-Rejection."
A subtle, invisible ward etched itself onto his optic nerve. A one-time trigger. If Kotoamatsukami ever touched his mind, it would be rejected. Annihilated. He let out a slow breath. Better.
He found a vantage point on a rocky outcrop and watched.
Shisui was surrounded. A dozen enemy shinobi closed in. He didn't even tense. His hands flashed—Rat, Ox, Tiger—
"Mirage Clone Jutsu!"
Not one, not two, but a dozen after-images of Shisui burst from his position. They weren't solid. Attacks passed through them. But they moved, they feinted, they mirrored his every lethal strike. It was chaos. The enemy slashed at phantoms while the real Shisui's blade found their throats, their hearts. It wasn't a fight. It was a massacre set to music only he could hear.
Effortless. Clean.
The last body hit the dirt. Shisui flicked the blood from his kodachi and sheathed it in one smooth motion. Then his head turned. His Mangekyō-patterned eyes locked directly onto Qianyu's position.
A blur of green.
He was there. In front of the rock. "Qianyu-sama."
Qianyu offered a thin smile. "Your Body Flicker lives up to the name. 'Shunshin no Shisui.' Impressive."
Shisui tilted his head, curious. "Are you here on a mission as well, Qianyu-sama?"
One eyebrow arched. "Asking about another's mission details is strictly prohibited, you know."
Shisui's gaze dropped slightly. "My apologies. I overstepped."
Qianyu pushed off the rock. "Well. You've cleaned up this area. My work here is done." He turned to leave.
"Wait, please!"
Qianyu paused, glancing back over his shoulder. "What is it?"
Shisui opened his mouth. Closed it. The questions were plain on his face, warring behind his eyes. Finally, one emerged. "Qianyu-sama… why? Why do you target the Uchiha clan so… relentlessly? I know there is bad history. But we are all comrades of the same village, are we not?"
Qianyu's smile turned into something colder, sharper. "Are you suggesting the Uchiha clan shouldn't be targeted?"
"I… I just feel that as comrades, you seem to…" Shisui trailed off, struggling for the right word.
"Seem to what?" Qianyu finished for him, voice flat. "Cruel? Ruthless? A vindictive bastard? Go on. Say it."
Shisui's hands came up quickly. "No! That's not what I meant!"
A short, derisive laugh escaped Qianyu. "Relax. It's what everyone thinks. It's what I think. You'd have to be an idiot to see me as a 'good man,' Shisui." He took a step closer, his gaze level. "Let me ask you one question. Just one. Look me in the eye and answer. Should the Uchiha clan be immune? Above reproach?"
Shisui stared. The words hit him like a physical blow.
Should they?
He knew. Of course he knew. The arrogance. The isolation. The constant, simmering tension in the clan compound. The way they looked down on everyone else.
Should they?
No. They shouldn't.
But… did it have to be like this? This extreme?
Qianyu watched the conflict play out on the younger ninja's face. "I have my grudges, yes," he admitted, his tone losing some of its edge, turning almost conversational. "But do you think I could do any of this alone? If the clan's behavior didn't warrant it? If the Hokage didn't see the need?" He shook his head slightly. "You know the Uchiha better than I ever will, Shisui. You live with them. Maybe one day… you'll understand why I do what I do."
He didn't wait for a reply. There was a faint shunshin crack of displaced air, and the rock was empty.
Shisui stood alone amidst the bodies, the words echoing in the sudden silence.
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