"Cloud shinobi!"
"Damn it—it's a Cloud assassination squad!"
The Konoha patrol instantly drew their weapons, forming a defensive perimeter. Their eyes darted warily across the clearing, scanning the shadows where the enemy appeared.
But Uchiha Yuan wasn't looking at them. His gaze was fixed on the dark forest ahead.
"You can stop hiding," he said coldly. "That salty ocean scent—I'd recognize it anywhere. It's you, Killer B."
Whoosh!
A violent gust tore through the night as a dark blur shot out from the trees. The clash came instantly—clang, clang, clang!—metal shrieking against metal in a blur of sparks.
When the air finally stilled, two figures faced off at the center of the clearing. A towering, muscular man held two blades crossed downward. Yuan stood opposite him, blocking the strike with a pair of kunai crossed in defense.
"Yo, Uchiha bro," Killer B grinned beneath his sunglasses, his voice oddly musical. "You got it wrong, though. My partner ain't no octopus—he's a bull, yo!"
His arms flexed, blades pressing down harder. The steel bit deep into Yuan's kunai, cutting them halfway through.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
Without forming a single seal, Yuan inhaled sharply and exhaled a blazing red sphere of fire.
Killer B leapt back just in time, landing lightly on a scorched tree trunk. His lips curved in amusement. "No hand signs? Interesting, interesting."
Yuan's crimson eyes locked onto him. So Mokuno was right after all, he thought. I didn't expect Cloud to send Killer B himself. Their hatred runs deep.
"Killer B," Yuan said evenly, "so Cloud actually let you infiltrate our rear lines? Aren't they afraid of losing their Jinchūriki if you're caught?"
B's smile faded. "Uchiha bro, I came here for one reason—to kill you."
Yuan's tone remained calm. "I see. So the previous assassination squads failed, and now they've finally sent their best. I should be honored."
A powerful wind began to stir around him, his chakra surging like a gathering storm.
B's grin returned, fierce and eager. His own chakra exploded outward, thick with the raw power of a tailed beast.
The two forces collided, their pressure ripping through the clearing in waves. Grass flattened. Dust spiraled. The air itself seemed to vibrate.
"My big bro wants you dead," B said, voice rumbling.
Yuan's chakra flared higher, the kunai spinning into his grip. "So the mighty Cloud finally lost its patience."
B drew another sword from behind his back with a flash of steel. "We don't want another Uchiha Madara rising up in this world. You have to die."
The ground split as they moved.
A single blur of motion—then an eruption of speed. B's twin swords struck like lightning, forming a net of gleaming arcs.
Yuan met him head-on, kunai flashing, sparks flying like a storm of black fireflies. The clearing erupted with the metallic roar of clashing steel.
The shockwaves ripped through the grass, gouging long scars into the earth.
Then—BOOM!
Yuan's body flew back through the air, landing hard but on his feet. His kunai handles were all that remained—their blades shattered from the impact.
I need a stronger weapon, he thought grimly. Ordinary steel won't cut it anymore.
He landed, feet striking the ground with enough force to crack the earth in a web of fissures radiating outward.
Suddenly, a glint of steel flashed toward him. Yuan's hand shot out, catching a spinning kunai midair—only to realize it had an exploding tag attached, sizzling toward detonation.
"Return to sender."
He flicked his wrist, sending it whistling back through the air like a bolt of black lightning.
Boom!
The explosion consumed a Cloud shinobi in a burst of fire and smoke.
When the flames cleared, Yuan's eyes widened. Around him, every one of his Konoha guards lay motionless on the ground. Some twitched faintly. Most didn't move at all.
"Lightning Release: Four Pillar Binding!"
Four Cloud shinobi appeared in a flash, forming seals simultaneously. A dome of crackling electricity erupted around Yuan, caging him in.
Crack!
A single scarlet slash cut through the barrier. The dome shattered violently, arcs of lightning scattering like shattered glass.
Yuan stepped free of the wreckage—only for his instincts to scream in warning. His Sharingan spun wildly as a massive surge of chakra locked onto him.
"Ink Cannon!"
A deafening roar filled the night. A colossal ox's head formed from inky chakra, its mouth glowing with energy.
Yuan barely had time to brace before the beam hit.
BOOOOOM!
The blast tore through the landscape, swallowing everything in blinding light. The shockwave flattened trees and churned the earth into chaos.
Back at Konoha's rear camp, the explosion shook the ground like thunder.
Soldiers burst from their tents, eyes wide with panic as a blinding column of light pierced the sky.
"That chakra—it's a Tailed Beast!"
"Is Cloud launching a full-scale attack?!"
The camp erupted in alarm.
But Yamanaka Mokuno stared at the distant light, his face draining of color. "The patrol route Lord Yuan took… it's in that direction."
Akimichi Kai and Moonlight Ryūka turned toward him, horrified.
"Lord Yuan's there?!"
"Don't tell me that blast—!"
Before they could finish, several other patrol squads arrived from different sectors, reporting no enemy movements.
"The rest of the perimeter's quiet," one said. "No sign of an invasion."
Mokuno's expression hardened. "Then that explosion… it must have come from a Cloud assassination squad. Their real target was Lord Yuan."
Back at the site of the blast, the Eight-Tails' chakra slowly withdrew into Killer B's body.
The once-green field was gone—replaced by a blackened crater dozens of meters wide. The earth still steamed, the air thick with burnt ozone.
A few Cloud shinobi descended cautiously into the pit, scanning the scorched terrain.
"Nothing left," one called out. "Lord Killer B, Konoha's demon tiger is finished. There's not even a body left."
B dropped down beside them, gazing at the glassy, molten ground. His expression was unreadable.
"Finally… it's done," he said quietly. "Big bro… you can rest easy now."
High above, the moonlight glinted off the crater's surface.
But deep within the rising smoke—something stirred.
Some people die… but they're never truly gone.
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