"Run!"
Suzumebachi cried out desperately — but it was meaningless.
Because as the words left his mouth,
Yugito Nii had already disappeared.
Empowered by the Two-Tails, Yugito's speed was monstrous —
so fast that even Mirinae couldn't react before she was already standing right in front of her.
But a strike faster than Yugito's claws intercepted her.
Boom!
In a flash of golden light, Yugito was kicked away violently —
and Ishiki Kujo appeared,
planting himself firmly between Mirinae and the danger.
Beside him, Yasuda Tōbi had been gently set down,
and Ishiki himself was cloaked in a dazzling aura —
the Yang-Style Ripple Chakra Mode.
The morning sun bathed Ishiki in its brilliance,
making him seem almost godlike.
Mirinae froze at the sight —
staring blankly at the impossible spectacle.
But Ishiki's sharp words snapped her back:
"Take Yasuda and go! I can't hold her off for long!"
The moment he finished,
Yugito — wrapped in searing blue chakra flames —
was charging again.
Before she even closed the distance,
the unbearable heat smothered the air.
The chakra cloaking Yugito was the very essence of the Two-Tails —
a ghostly blue fire hotter than any ordinary fire jutsu.
Ishiki didn't dare let her get close.
His Sharingan spun violently,
and he burst forward at top speed —
slamming into her mid-air.
They collided.
Even with the Sharingan's perfect vision,
the residual heat from Yugito's flames scorched his skin on contact.
Every blow they exchanged risked setting Ishiki ablaze.
But...
The Yang Ripple Chakra Mode activated instantly —
injuries healed faster than the burns could accumulate.
It hurt — excruciatingly — but the damage never had time to settle.
Ishiki gritted his teeth,
focused on maintaining his breathing.
If he slipped, if he lost control,
he would burn alive.
Thanks to the Sharingan's superhuman perception and the
Uchiha Combat Disc,
Ishiki could keep pace with Yugito's strikes —
parrying blow for blow among the burning trees.
Flames burst in every direction,
the forest around them erupting into an inferno.
At first, Ishiki struggled,
but as the pain faded into background noise,
he began pressing the advantage.
The truth was obvious:
This wasn't Yugito's real body.
It was a shadow clone,
infused with some of the Two-Tails' chakra.
The clone's chakra would gradually deplete —
its strength and speed diminishing.
Meanwhile, Ishiki would only grow sharper.
His battle instincts sharpened rapidly.
The Uchiha's taijutsu,
the Kujō family techniques,
and the Konoha-Style hand-to-hand —
all these styles fused fluidly inside him.
The Sharingan's insight elevated it all,
making him feel invincible.
Yugito's expression grew darker with every exchange.
Even knowing she was operating through a clone,
it was absurd that a Konoha chūnin could endure —
and even push back.
Her flames should've incinerated him.
Her strikes should have shattered him.
Yet Ishiki healed almost as fast as he burned.
And more unsettling was his ability to predict her every move —
almost like an Uchiha.
But her chakra was running out.
Ishiki struck forward,
his golden fist cleaving through the last of the clone's blue fire.
With a final burst of smoke,
Yugito's shadow clone dissolved.
Ishiki didn't celebrate.
He turned immediately,
eyes searching the battlefield.
The enemy hadn't regrouped to chase him.
Instead, the Kumo ninja had split off,
pursuing the two retreating Konoha squads.
Their primary targets were clearly the others.
Ishiki exhaled —
relieved but still tense.
He sprinted after Mirinae and the others.
But he knew Yugito wouldn't give up.
That last glare she gave him made it very clear.
Still, Ishiki wasn't afraid.
Even if he had to expose his secret —
Sage Mode —
he could survive.
Maybe he couldn't win.
But if it came to pure escape,
even Yugito wouldn't catch him easily.
He sighed under his breath.
The exposure of his Yang Ripple Chakra Mode was a headache waiting to happen.
Even if Mirinae and the others kept their mouths shut,
Kumo would investigate.
They might connect him to something bigger.
More troubling was the presence of the Hyūga clan member.
If they had noticed anything strange about his chakra flow —
if they reported signs of a Sharingan mutation —
it could cause him huge trouble back in Konoha.
Ishiki wasn't worried about the Third Hokage.
But Danzō Shimura?
That paranoid snake would definitely take interest.
Although...
with so many ninja in the village,
surely not every talented newcomer could attract Danzō's gaze, right?
Still, better to think ahead.
Better to prepare.
*Always plan for the worst.*⁴
When Ishiki finally caught up to Mirinae and the others,
he had already suppressed his aura,
returned to looking like an ordinary medic-nin.
But he saw the shock in their eyes.
Clearly, none of them had expected the quiet, unremarkable Ishiki Kujo —
to transform into a battlefield monster.