As Ishiki Kujo's squad fled, a flock of messenger doves burst from the ruined watchtower,
and signal flares screamed into the night sky, bursting like fiery flowers.
"Good work,"
Mirinae praised Hibata Suzumebachi, the sensor-nin who had triggered the emergency beacons.
Ishiki, however, kept scanning the surroundings.
He couldn't figure out what had made the Kumo squads so hellbent on chasing two battered Konoha squads this deep into the Land of Fire.
But judging by the way they pressed the attack, Ishiki knew:
they had no intention of letting anyone escape alive.
Behind them, Kawahara Junji and his team were retreating,
but not passively —
they were setting Earth Release traps the entire way,
buying time and slowing the enemy.
But that tactic had a downside —
it meant the enemy was now advancing aggressively,
risking direct confrontation.
If the Konoha squads could break free and alert the homeland,
they'd summon countless reinforcements.
The enemy knew it.
The doves overhead,
the flares exploding in warning —
the situation was tilting into catastrophe.
Yet the Kumo commander did not order a retreat.
He was waiting.
Waiting for reinforcements.
Ishiki's Sharingan had already faded.
His expression darkened when he spotted someone among the arriving squads:
— Hyūga clan members.
Shit.
The Byakugan could see the flow of chakra directly.
It wouldn't take much for them to notice something strange about his chakra concentration around the eyes —
and that might expose his secret.
Ishiki hadn't anticipated this.
After casting him aside, Kawahara Junji's new recruits included a Hyūga.
It made tactical sense.
The Hyūga's mastery of chakra pathways and medical techniques was unmatched.
If any clan could produce perfect battlefield medics,
it was the Hyūga.
Pushing down his annoyance,
Ishiki deliberately drifted to the rear of the group —
taking rearguard position.
Normally, he would've been protected in the center of the formation,
but here, he was the strongest by far.
Yasuda Tōbi and Hibatake Suzumebachi were just genin-level.
They couldn't shield anyone —
better to shield them instead.
"Watch out!"
The sudden shout came from Suzumebachi,
who had been scanning with sensory jutsu since leaving the watchtower.
But it was too late.
A blur of movement tore through the center of the squad,
too fast even for Ishiki to react immediately.
He managed to yank Suzumebachi out of the way —
but Yasuda Tōbi wasn't so lucky.
The boy staggered,
deep gashes ripped across his torso,
blood spraying violently into the air.
Ishiki's heart clenched.
He had no time to hesitate.
Three Tomoe spun into existence,
his Sharingan sharpening reality itself.
He caught a glimpse of the attacker:
a female Kumo ninja,
with bone-like claws erupting from her hands —
the ones that had slashed Tōbi open.
In a single flicker, Ishiki was at Tōbi's side,
catching the collapsing boy.
His breathing shifted instantly —
drawing on the power of Ripple.
Golden waves surged from his fingertips,
pouring into Tōbi's bleeding wounds.
The bleeding slowed.
Then green chakra bloomed in Ishiki's hand —
*Mystic Palm Technique.*⁵
Two healing forces working in tandem:
the rippling energy of life,
and the refined medical chakra.
Before the naked eye, Tōbi's wounds began to knit shut.
But Ishiki wasn't looking at him.
His gaze tracked the fleeing female ninja.
He knew:
if they couldn't stop her,
Tōbi would die no matter how much healing he poured in.
Mirinae rushed back to regroup.
Suzumebachi readied himself for combat, though sweat poured down his face.
The female attacker wasn't running randomly.
She was trying to stall —
delay their escape until the main Kumo forces caught up.
Now, she darted toward Kawahara Junji's team.
But with the Hyūga's Byakugan active,
she couldn't strike unseen.
The Kumo kunoichi formed hand signs —
but it wasn't just substitution.
Blue flames exploded outward from her body,
roaring around trees and boulders like living beasts,
hungrily chasing the Konoha shinobi.
Something was wrong.
Ishiki narrowed his Sharingan.
The woman had woven hand seals for Shadow Clone Jutsu —
but unleashed massive Fire Style techniques instead.
And the chakra she radiated—
Monstrous.
No normal ninja had that much chakra.
And the fire she unleashed —
each bolt had the destructive power of a Grand Fireball.
"She's a Jinchūriki!"
Ishiki's instincts screamed it.
No doubt.
Unnaturally huge chakra pool.
Bone claws.
Fire techniques without seals.
This was none other than the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki: Yugito Nii.
"Run!"
Ishiki barked, scooping Tōbi into his arms.
Without waiting for confirmation,
he bolted at top speed.
But after only a few steps—
the ground beneath them erupted in blue fire.
Boom!
The flames swallowed them whole—
only for Ishiki and Tōbi's forms to burst into smoke.
Shadow clones!
The real Ishiki reappeared atop a tree,
still cradling Tōbi.
He'd seen it coming —
sensed the trap with his Sharingan.
He'd baited it out deliberately.
Across from him,
another figure emerged:
A tall woman,
amber hair,
refined features,
steely glare.
Yugito Nii.
But Ishiki wasn't fooled.
It was only a clone.
Mirinae drew a short sword,
but wisely didn't rush in.
Suzumebachi shook visibly.
His sensory technique had picked up Yugito's chakra levels—
Way beyond anything they could handle.
Even with their full squad,
they didn't stand a chance.