"Urgh… agh…"
The Kumogakure squad captain staggered in place, clutching his throat in disbelief as both hands pressed desperately against the wound. Warm, sticky blood seeped through his fingers no matter how hard he tried to hold it in, slipping past his grip and dripping steadily onto the forest floor. His breathing turned uneven, each gasp weaker than the last, his body trembling as strength drained from his limbs. But it was futile. As his life ebbed away, the light in his eyes dimd bit by bit, fading like a dying fla. Even at the very end, confusion remained etched into his expression—he still could not understand how he had lost.
"U… Uchiha…"
Perhaps, in that final mont, he had glimpsed the faint crimson ring within Zoro's eyes. His lips trembled as he forced out those last words, voice breaking apart with the last of his strength.
Uchiha Zoro paid him no attention. Without even sparing him another glance, he tightened his grip on Wado Ichimonji and vanished in an instant, his figure blurring into an afterimage as he shot toward Nohara Rin's direction at extre speed.
While Zoro had been engaged in battle with the three Kumogakure ninjas, the clash of steel and the explosive force of their techniques had already disturbed the surrounding forest. Birds resting in the trees burst into flight, flapping wildly as they fled the area in alarm. At the sa ti, Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin—who were stationed beside the carriage, guarding the prince of the Land of Iron—noticed the sudden movent in the sky.
"Rin, that's the direction Zoro went. He's probably already fighting the enemy. Should we go help him?" Obito asked, his voice tense as he glanced toward the flock of startled birds.
Rin, who stood beside the carriage in a guarded stance, tightened her grip slightly. "We stay here. Don't forget the mission Minato-sensei gave us." She forced her tone to remain steady, suppressing the unease rising in her chest. Protecting the client was their priority—no matter what. Seeing her seriousness, Obito bit back his own anxiety and nodded, forcing himself to focus as he began scanning the surroundings more carefully.
"Rin, watch out!"
A sudden sense of danger surged through him. Obito's voice sharpened instantly as he shouted.
"Boom!!"
The mont his warning left his mouth, a deafening explosion erupted from beneath the carriage. Lightning Release chakra burst upward in violent arcs, crackling and spreading across the ground as it struck the underside of the carriage. The horses panicked instantly, their terrified neighs piercing the air as they reared and snapped the already weakened reins, bolting wildly into the forest.
"So weak? Weren't there supposed to be jōnin guarding this? This doesn't match the intel."
Two Kumogakure elite ninjas dropped down from the trees, landing lightly with cold expressions. After only a brief exchange, they had already assessed the strength of the two before them—barely chūnin level at best.
"Finish this quickly." One of the squad captains glanced toward the deeper forest, his tone low and decisive.
"Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"
The subordinate imdiately ford hand seals at high speed, so fast that Obito had no ti to react. A streak of blue lightning shot across the ground like a living serpent, racing straight toward him.
"Bzzzt!"
The lightning surged forward, forcing Obito to leap into the air to avoid it. But the mont he left the ground, the Kumogakure ninja's lips curled in disdain.
Too naive.
The lightning did not stop. It twisted upward midair, transforming instantly into a binding electrical attack that wrapped tightly around Obito's body. Violent arcs of electricity exploded across him, seizing his muscles and flooding his nerves with numbing pain.
"Gah—!"
His body locked up completely. Unable to resist, Obito crashed heavily to the ground, paralyzed as faint arcs of electricity continued to flicker over his body.
Seeing him fall, panic flashed across Rin's face. Without hesitation, she threw out the explosive tag she had prepared in advance.
"Boom!!"
The blast detonated with a sharp roar, forcing back the Kumogakure ninja who had already drawn his blade and was about to deliver the finishing blow.
"An explosive tag?"
"Go. Deal with the girl first. That one won't be a threat for now."
The two Kumogakure ninjas exchanged a glance and imdiately adjusted their strategy. Their objective had never been to eliminate Konoha's ninjas—it was the prince of the Land of Iron inside the carriage.
At this mont, the prince no longer showed the arrogance he had displayed earlier. He had curled himself into the corner of the carriage, trembling uncontrollably as explosions and thunderous impacts echoed outside.
"Coordinate with ," the squad captain ordered.
"Understood, Captain."
The subordinate rapidly ford hand seals again. In the next instant, a net woven entirely of crackling lightning ford in his hands and shot toward Rin.
Rin reacted instantly, leaping backward while throwing the explosive tag in her hand upward.
"Boom!!"
The explosion tore through the lightning net, scattering it apart in midair.
But she didn't realize—
That attack had only been a distraction.
The true killing blow ca from the squad captain himself.
"Lariat!"
Lightning Release chakra surged violently across his entire body, wrapping him in a blazing blue aura as he charged forward at terrifying speed. The ground beneath his feet cracked under the force of his movent, his entire body becoming a weapon.
The power behind that strike was overwhelming—enough to shatter even solid terrain.
"Rin… no… don't…"
In the distance, Obito lay helpless, his body still twitching under the effects of the lightning. He forced his head up, his voice hoarse and broken with desperation.
The surge of emotion flooding his mind triggered sothing deep within him.
His pupils turned crimson.
A single black tomoe slowly ford.
But it was too late.
He couldn't even shout properly.
Faced with the Lightning Release of an elite Kumogakure jōnin, he had no ans of resistance.
All Rin saw was a flash of blue light rushing toward her.
Then—
a crushing pressure.
The suffocating presence of death closed in instantly, leaving her unable to move.
mories began to surface, one after another, uncontrollably.
Her parents.
Her teacher.
Her teammates.
And finally—
the boy who had quietly entered her heart.
Despair filled her expression. With no way to escape, she could only stand there, waiting for the inevitable—
Then suddenly—
"One Sword Style... Shishi Sonson!!"
A violent aura erupted from the forest behind them.
The grass bent sharply, trembling under the weight of that presence. It surged forward like a furious lion, carrying overwhelming rage as it locked onto the figure wrapped in lightning.
!!!
An invisible roar seed to shake the air itself.
The overwhelming pressure crashed down, forcing even the charging captain to freeze for the briefest instant.
A flicker of terror appeared in his eyes.
For a split second, it felt as though he were staring at sothing monstrous—a towering black Asura gripping a katana, its blade steeped in killing intent, its crimson gaze fixed on him like a god of death.
Then—
his vision shifted.
The world tilted unnaturally.
He saw a body… standing without a head.
And that body—
was his own.
"Click!"
The katana slid smoothly back into its sheath.
A mont later, a dull thud echoed as a severed head struck the ground.
Rin's blurred consciousness slowly returned.
"Zo… Zoro-kun?"
Her voice trembled, still caught in the lingering fear of death.
But when she saw him—standing calmly beside the headless corpse, an invisible pressure still radiating faintly from his body—an inexplicable sense of safety filled her chest.
"Zoro…"
Not far away, Obito, who had just awakened his Sharingan, stared with tear-filled eyes. Relief flooded his face as he laughed weakly, ignoring the mud sared across his cheeks.
It was the expression of soone who had just escaped death itself.
"You bastard!!"
The remaining Kumogakure ninja roared in fury, his face twisting violently as he saw his captain cut down in a single strike.
Then—
his gaze locked onto Obito, still lying helpless on the ground.
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