The Battle of the Valley of the End

At the third quarter of the Ox hour, the sound of the waterfall echoed beneath the starry sky.

The two figures, their long hair fluttering in the wind, looked astonishingly calm as their gazes locked.

The moonlit scene had a dreamlike beauty, yet the tension of the imminent clash seemed to make the air tremble.

"Hatake Sakumo, I told you I'd kill you if you got in my way. I'm in a hurry... Move."

"I won't move, and I won't let you go. Even if I have to use force, I'll take you back to the village."

"...Then you're my enemy."

Red spread across Juri's eyes as three tomoe appeared.

"Just like Teacher Kagami... the Three-Tomoe Sharingan?"

"Kagami...? That useless fool couldn't even protect his own student. The thought that I have anything to do with him makes me sick."

Juri spat in disgust, swept aside the slit hem of her kimono, and took a scroll from the Ninja Tool Pouch strapped to her thigh.

The scroll unfurled in the air, and a puff of smoke burst from it.

What appeared from the smoke was an enormous staff as tall as a person.

"That's huge."

"I prepared it to destroy Diejian's Wood Release."

Juri spoke coldly, then demonstrated a series of practiced movements as she wielded the staff with ease.

Stone shattered.

A crack appeared at the top of Hashirama's stone statue.

Her demonstration over, Juri slammed the staff down beside her feet.

She spread her legs wide and lowered her body as if she were crouching.

Yet apart from the soles of her feet, Juri's body touched nothing on the ground.

Her legs supported her in the unstable pose, their flexible, whip-like muscles beautifully defined.

Sakumo suddenly came to his senses.

The dance he'd seen beneath the moonlight had been far too beautiful.

"Yeah..."

Juri slowly stood, her head bowed as she looked down.

She seemed to be gazing at the flowing water, though perhaps she wasn't looking at anything at all.

"Diejian is the one and only bond I managed to find! If you want to take away the person closest to me... Sakumo, even you...!!"

What drove Juri was the fear of losing what she called "love."

Back when she'd been lost in loneliness, she'd had nothing to fear.

During the time she'd told herself again and again that the Senju Clan were the villains, there'd been nothing to be afraid of.

Having someone she wanted to protect, someone she cherished, had only made Uchiha Juri more vulnerable.

Because Diejian was there, thanks to him—such thoughts had become the extreme self-denial that she could do nothing without him.

Uchiha Juri denied her own existence.

She believed that every connection she had was a fragile illusion, possible only because Senju Diejian stood between her and everyone else.

In other words, she had no agency of her own.

She blamed everything on Diejian, telling herself, "It's mostly Diejian's fault," and used that to protect herself.

That was why Juri was always saying, "The hopeless Diejian needs me, Uchiha Juri."

By establishing her own existence this way, Juri had desperately fought to protect it.

In other words—"Uchiha Juri had made every relationship in her life depend on Senju Diejian."

It was an illusion that would collapse the moment Diejian disappeared. And now, that moment had come.

"Juri, I can't let you go. For my own sake, and... for yours."

Sakumo lowered his gaze in anguish, holding tight to the fervent emotions surging within him.

When he raised his head again, his eyes shone with concern for his comrades—the Will of Fire.

That light displeased Juri.

Those eyes seemed to see through everything.

Juri didn't realize what lay hidden deep within them.

Even the strongest Dojutsu, the Sharingan, couldn't see through it, because Juri's eyes were clouded.

All Juri could clearly see was profound darkness.

"For my sake!? What do you know about me! It's only ever been Diejian! Only Diejian!! Only Diejian was the one who found me, the one and only...!!"

Juri raised her head, wearing a terrifying expression as if consumed by rage.

But to Sakumo—

"Please, Sakumo. I'm begging you, let me go... Let me see Diejian..."

—she sounded like a girl on the verge of tears, wailing in grief.

Like a child who'd lost her way.

A pitiful girl who knew neither where to go nor where she belonged.

She knew only darkness lay ahead, yet she couldn't stop moving forward.

Sakumo understood.

Juri was in darkness now—

"Juri, I... don't want to just watch from the sky while you desperately cling to that spider's thread."

With Diejian gone, the only one who could stop Juri was Hatake Sakumo, who'd spent these past years alongside her. No one else.

Uchiha Kagami was too close.

Yamanaka Ina was too far away.

That was Sakumo's pride—as her friend, her comrade, and then as a man.

If he let her go, Juri would find Kinkaku and Ginkaku and try to kill them.

But no matter how much her Sharingan developed, her enemies were men who could stand against a Kage.

Juri didn't stand a chance.

She'd fight anyway, and she'd be killed.

He absolutely couldn't let her suffer the same fate as his friend from childhood, who'd recklessly challenged Kakuzu and been killed.

Absolutely not.

Ever since that day, Sakumo had relentlessly pursued strength.

The way of the ninja he'd resolved to follow was—risking his life to protect the friends he cherished.

Sakumo slowly unwound the bandage around his forehead.

His silver hair slipped free and danced in the wind.

He quietly drew the short blade at his waist, still in its sheath, and held it before him in a reverse grip.

Lightning coiled around him with a crackle, and a white light that split the darkness rang out.

"You're not drawing your blade, Sakumo? You think this is enough for someone like me? Don't underestimate me...!!"

"Are you angry? So am I. Actually, there's something that's really gotten under my skin."

"Y-you're angry?"

The direct accusation of anger threw Juri off balance.

"That's right. I'm not the kind of person who gets angry easily, but this is one thing that's got me a little worked up."

"Don't joke around, Sakumo. That... goes for me too."

"Yeah, so—we seem to have no choice but to fight. Let's give it everything we've got and clash head-on. Let's have a good old argument."

"A-an argument... Don't joke around, Sakumo. You're as irritating as Kagami!!"

"So that means you feel as close to me as you do to Teacher Kagami?"

"S-shut up!... Fine, Sakumo. I'll smash that mouth of yours so badly you'll never be able to speak again!!"

Azure flames wrapped around Juri's body.

Sakumo sensed an immense pressure.

The flames roared, and Chakra surged explosively, yet remained strangely stable.

Sakumo was secretly impressed by how Juri changed the nature and form of her Chakra at the same time.

He revised his assessment, realizing she'd probably take more effort to handle than he'd expected.

But he wouldn't draw his blade.

This was an argument.

A desperate argument, meant to teach his stubborn friend a lesson with his fists.

"After I land a punch, there's something I want you to set straight."

He smiled gently, though his expression was taut.

Failure here would directly affect Team Six's future.

And Juri's life.

That wasn't something Sakumo should have to bear.

But he believed that, as her friend and comrade, he was allowed to correct Juri's tragic misconception.

The battle between white light and azure flames was as beautiful as a play.

Unlike Diejian, who built his tactics around the scale of his Chakra and Jutsu, both of them focused on using smaller amounts of Chakra efficiently and honing their deadly strikes.

Their fighting styles were closer to Tobirama's than Diejian's, who had been Tobirama's student.

Sakumo ducked sharply, and the staff swept through the air where his face had been.

A direct hit would probably have sent his head flying like a shuttlecock, but Sakumo dodged without even twitching an eyebrow.

Still crouched low, Sakumo followed through with a swing of his sheathed short blade at Juri. But when he sensed her knee strike, he had to switch to defense.

He crossed his arms in an instant to block the surprise attack, but Juri's leg strength was beyond anything he'd imagined. Sakumo was blown away with his arms still raised to defend, tumbling through the air.

Sakumo groaned in pain and leaned back to disperse the impact.

But—

"Body Flicker Technique?!"

"Too slow! Fly!"

Juri used the Body Flicker Technique to catch up with Sakumo as he was sent flying, then brought her staff crashing down on his exposed abdomen.

Sakumo instantly covered his stomach with both arms, but couldn't fully absorb the impact and was sent flying even faster.

The scenery rushed past Sakumo as he skimmed across the water like a flat stone skipping over its surface.

His arms, raised in defense, were badly numb.

What Monster Strength, Sakumo cursed inwardly.

"The waterfall...!!"

Still skimming across the water like a skipping stone, Sakumo finally shot over the river and into the sky above the Valley of the End.

As Sakumo changed direction in midair and adjusted his posture for landing, a figure wreathed in azure blocked out the moon above him.

"Juri—!"

"Disappear, Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!!"

Juri formed Hand Seals at astonishing speed and spat out a huge fireball, which crashed into Sakumo.

Powerless to resist, Sakumo was swallowed by the Fire Release and plunged toward the waterfall pool like a dragonfly with its wings torn off.

Watching Sakumo disappear, Juri landed on the water and turned expressionlessly toward the stone statue of Senju Hashirama.

"Idiot... What?"

Suddenly, bubbles rose from the water beneath Juri's feet.

"These aren't bubbles from the waterfall!"

Juri leaped away at once, using her staff to knock aside a Kunai that came hurtling toward her.

From behind Juri, who was running across the water at astonishing speed, a Water Dragon opened its jaws and lunged.

"Water Dragon Jutsu... Sakumo's Jutsu? Hmph, amateur!"

Juri turned while running and swept her flame-wreathed staff across the Water Dragon's face.

She should have been at a disadvantage because of the element, but her outstanding strength overwhelmed it.

"Did you think a trick like that would work on an Uchiha? How naive... What?!"

The next moment, a hand reached out of the water, grabbed Juri by the ankle, and dragged her under.

Stunned by the sudden turn of events, she gulped down water and started to panic as she ran out of air.

She glared at the hand by her feet and saw Sakumo's hateful grin.

A vein throbbed at Juri's temple as she dived after him.

Unable to use Ninja Tools properly underwater, the two switched to hand-to-hand combat.

She parried a punch, knocked away a kick, blocked an elbow, and countered a knee strike.

Their relentless exchanges continued, their martial arts clashing without pause.

Sakumo deflected Juri's blow to his face with an upward flick of his whip-like, flexible wrist.

Using that momentum, Sakumo drove the heel of his palm toward Juri's stomach, but she bent the arm he'd deflected and brought her elbow down on his head.

Abdomen and head.

They'd each taken a blow to a vital spot and lost a good amount of air.

Juri surged toward the surface, unable to stay underwater any longer, but she was at a disadvantage because she'd lost air at the start.

Struggling to breathe, Juri couldn't help covering her mouth.

The next moment, an incredible water pressure slammed into her. Pain and impact struck as if she'd been hit hard, and Juri was blasted out of the water.

Water and air rushed violently into her nose and mouth, stripping the air from her lungs, but she was immediately thrown into the air.

"Ha, ha, ha..."

Pressed against the bare rock wall, Juri's shoulders heaved as she desperately gulped in oxygen after so long without it.

The numbness from the impact still lingered in her back, adding to her pain.

"Where is that guy...!?"

Juri immediately molded Chakra, wrapped flames around her fist, and swept her sharp, keen crimson eyes around the area.

"Damn it... Chakra..."

Sakumo slowly emerged from the water. As if it were solid ground, he braced himself against the surface with his elbow and pushed himself upright.

He had been lying on his back in the water, but after forcing his trembling body to move, he had barely managed to prop up his upper body and kneel.

Sakumo's shoulders were heaving with equal effort, but it wasn't all due to his difficulty breathing.

"Ugh, my wound..."

Sakumo swayed on his knees, unable to keep his balance.

He supported himself with one hand and pressed the other to his temple.

The warmth he felt—it wasn't from water warmed by body heat.

Sakumo's silver hair had been stained crimson.

Hatake Sakumo wasn't merely recovering from an illness. His wound hadn't healed completely at all.

The wound Sakumo had taken a direct hit to had split open, sending a sharp stab of pain through him.

"Is this my chance...? Goodbye, Saku—"

"Earth Style: Tracking Fang Jutsu!"

"Gah... What?!"

Juri, pressed against the rock wall, pulled a Kunai from her clothes.

She hadn't meant to kill him.

She'd only meant to cripple one of his legs—

Just as the thought crossed her mind, a heavy blow struck Juri from behind.

Her feet tore away from the rock wall. With nothing to hold her up, Juri was helplessly sent flying toward the water.

What had happened? Juri's gaze spun wildly, and in front of her was a dog.

"I'm saved... Pakkun."

"Looks like you've really got him on the ropes. That girl's an Uchiha, all right."

The talking dog, a Ninja Dog named Pakkun, looked admiringly toward the woman he had sent flying.

Sakumo thanked Pakkun, who had run to his side, and slowly got to his feet.

If you were wondering when he'd summoned him, it had been from the very beginning.

The Ninja Dog he had received from a certain girl, and with whom he'd signed a Summoning Contract, had been hiding in the shadows of the grass, disguised as an ordinary dog. Sakumo had kept him ready as a trump card in case of emergency.

"—Sakumo, to your right!"

"Damn...!"

A fireball suddenly flew at Sakumo and sent him tumbling.

He leaped aside at the last moment before it hit him directly, but he couldn't avoid it completely.

As the heat and spray of water washed over him, the foreign sensation of water in his eyes cost Sakumo his vision for an instant—and then came the attack from behind.

He reacted too slowly to the staff sweeping along a straight path toward his back.

"—Pakkun!"

The Ninja Dog protected his master in his moment of danger.

He shoved Sakumo aside, took the blow from the staff with his own body, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sakumo immediately regained his composure and turned his attention to Juri, who had attacked him.

Then, when she came at him with another blow, Sakumo saw right through her move.

He leaped to evade the staff, then grabbed it as it passed just a few centimeters below his body, forcibly changing his trajectory.

"T-That's not a human being's movement!"

Sakumo had no time to pay attention to Juri, whose eyes had gone wide with shock.

Following the staff's momentum, he rose into a handstand on top of it.

It was an astonishing movement, made possible by a supple body honed through countless trials.

"Damn...!"

Realizing Sakumo was about to strike again, Juri tried to let go of the staff—but it was too late.

With deft fingers, Sakumo changed his direction and brought his raised leg down like a whip.

Don't mistake it for an ordinary heel drop.

The creak of bone overlapped with the woman's groan.

Sakumo's diagonal axe kick slammed into Juri's shoulder and sent her flying.

This time, Juri went tumbling through the air like a skipping stone.

Water splashed everywhere.

"Ha... ha..."

Two sets of ragged breaths echoed around them.

Their clothes clung to their water-soaked bodies.

The water washed away the blood, and the cold eased their bruises.

At a glance, neither seemed badly injured, but both were gasping in pain.

"You're pretty good, you know!"

"Easy to say when you've only just recovered from an illness."

"Shut up, you lowborn scum! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!!"

Juri bared her canine teeth and hurled a terrifying glare at Sakumo.

Sakumo, on the other hand, felt a strange fondness for the enraged Juri.

Perhaps this was the first time she'd ever let her emotions pour out so honestly in front of him.

Maybe, deep down, she'd always wanted to do this... and maybe it was still a dream of a friendship that could be mended in time.

They clenched their fists.

The Blue Flame Dancer, burning fiercely.

The beast bared her fangs and whipped up a raging blue flame with her whole body.

The White Fang, wrapped in roaring flashes of lightning.

The honed, razor-sharp blade was still sheathed at his waist, waiting for the right moment to be unleashed.

"Sakumo—!!"

"Juri—!!"

A fist of white light and a fist of blue flame—two fists crossed—

—Why did you have to go this far... Why...

In the fading haze of consciousness, the sound of someone crying lingered in their ears.

"Oh, you're awake? Good grief, you really overdid it."

"..."

He felt the warmth of another person at the back of his head.

A thigh, maybe.

The soft sensation was so comfortable, it almost drew him back into the world of shallow sleep.

But the pain signals coming from his whole body kept him from drifting off.

That's right. He'd had a dream.

—A record of a boy and a girl.

The two had been childhood friends and were always playing together.

Sometimes they fought together, and sometimes they got scolded together.

One day, the boy was suddenly killed, and the girl wept in despair.

When he miraculously came back to life, the girl hugged him in delight.

At some point, the boy had become so important to the girl that she couldn't take her eyes off him. He had become a man she couldn't look away from.

But that guy had fallen head over heels for another woman in their class.

The girl had reluctantly given up, but she kept waiting for him.

She had watched as the man grew closer to another woman—

Who could say she'd never felt anxious that he might be taken from her?

Who could say she'd never felt lonely as she waited?

Who could say she'd never felt conflicted about someone who might become her rival in love?

And yet, even so, that girl had always—

—Stop. Juri cut off her thoughts.

Without thinking, she glanced to the side.

Then Juri drew in a sharp breath.

A man wrapped tightly in bandages like a mummy lay there, sleeping peacefully.

Hatake Sakumo... Those injuries were her doing—

"He said not to worry about the injuries," the guy told her.

"Sakumo..."

—At the instant of their final clash, Sakumo had dispelled all his Ninjutsu and "taken" Juri's attack.

At the moment their attacks crossed, Juri had realized Sakumo had completely relaxed his strength.

Was it ironic that she could see that instant because her Sharingan had grown stronger?

Confused, Juri had relied on a split-second decision and turned toward Sakumo. What she saw was his gentle smile.

Juri had drawn in a sharp breath.

By relaxing at the instant of impact, Sakumo had turned Juri's blow into a lethal one.

Juri had tried to stop her attack, but it was too late.

The powerful strike had already slammed into Sakumo.

But the "bond" Sakumo had shown her by putting himself on the line had dealt a tremendous blow to Juri's heart.

Sakumo collapsed against Juri, then slowly sank into the water.

Her friend's body had slipped away from her—unable to make sense of what was happening, she felt all her false notions shatter.

Juri's mind had crumbled, and just as Sakumo had lost consciousness and sunk into the water, she too had blacked out.

Juri's fists possessed enough power to destroy even Diejian's Wood Release.

She'd learned firsthand during the fight that taking a direct hit was dangerous.

Even so, why had Sakumo taken Juri's attack and stopped his own?

The answer was obvious.

Juri already knew it.

She wasn't so foolish that she couldn't understand what he meant.

"Damn it, was that a flash bomb?!"

At the teahouse, Sakumo had truly been caught completely off guard for an instant. He'd lost his vision and become defenseless.

At that moment, Juri could have made it impossible for Sakumo to move.

If she left him alone, Sakumo would definitely come after her.

She knew that perfectly well.

Juri had even said, "If you get in my way, I'll kill you."

But if she really thought he was in her way, she should have acted then.

If she'd injured Sakumo's defenseless body so badly he couldn't follow her and sent him back to the hospital, she could have left the village without any trouble.

But Juri hadn't done that.

Sakumo had believed in what that meant... in that "answer."

"W-Waaah... Sakumo... I... I... I..."

That was why Sakumo had dispelled all his attacks at the instant their blows crossed.

It had been a dangerous gamble.

Overcome by profound grief, Juri was more likely to kill Sakumo than not.

But if what had happened at the teahouse hadn't been a coincidence—

Sakumo had wanted to believe.

He wanted to show her, "I'm here."

He wanted to make sure, even if it meant sacrificing himself.

He wanted to confirm the feelings in his heart.

He wanted to confirm the bond they had built together.

—He wanted to confirm his friendship with Uchiha Juri.

"Ah... Ahh... Aaaaaah!!"

"Good grief, you really are a crybaby."

A single tear rolled down Juri's cheek as she bit her lip and trembled slightly.

A warm finger wiped it away.

A soft touch brushed across Juri's cheek.

The owner of the voice gave her a gentle smile, looking genuinely troubled.

Juri knew that voice, that source of warmth.

They'd always been together—she could never forget.

Their meeting... That's right, it happened before Uchiha Shuri met Senju Diejian—

"Yama..."

In Shuri's heart, stained by darkness, only a ray of light named Diejian remained.

"...na."

The moment she called that name, gentle moonlight shone into Shuri's dark world.

The warm moonlight melted the ice in Shuri's heart—and the tomoe pattern in her eyes vanished.

There, Uchiha Shuri finally understood.

The one thing Hatake Sakumo had wanted her to correct, even at the cost of his life.

That's right. I had a dream—

"But still, it's surprising. That girl was so gloomy back when she was at the academy."

"Ah, you mean Shuri?"

"Yeah. She'd barely respond when you spoke to her, and on the rare occasions she did, she acted so high and mighty. She even talked bad about Diejian, the academy's most popular boy."

"Don't say 'back then' like that."

"Aw, well, she had a lot of rough times, too."

The girl smiled gently at the boy,

"Isn't it okay to feel a little uneasy?"

She spoke of her loneliness in her heart.

—I had a dream.

"Hey, are you an Uchiha?"

"I am... but...?"

"I'm Yamanaka Ina. Can you tell me your name?"

A memory flashed back.

Memories surged in with the Turbid Current of light.

Why had she forgotten?

Why had she wanted to forget?

—Yamanaka Ina had cared about Uchiha Shuri ever since their days at the Ninja Academy.

The moment she admitted that to herself, the hazy shadow began to take shape.

Shuri knew Ina liked Diejian, so she deliberately pretended not to notice.

She had even egged her on.

She had even looked down on her.

But Ina sometimes laughed it off, sometimes got angry, and always faced Shuri.

She had never once thought to criticize her behind her back.

Why had Ina been able to watch Diejian and Shuri grow closer?

How had she been able to keep watching?

There was only one reason.

"Ina..."

A click sounded beside her ear.

It was the amber earring, with rose petals sealed inside, that Diejian had once given her.

It was true that Diejian had given it to her.

But someone had made it together with her.

Their bond could never have been one that ran through Diejian as an intermediary.

If Diejian had been their only connection, then her bond with that person could never have remained so steady all this time.

Why had she forgotten?

Yamanaka Ina was the first person Uchiha Shuri had ever "reached out to" of her own accord—

"I-Ina..."

"Mm? What is it?"

"U-uu... Ina..."

A gloomy friend gradually regaining her energy under the influence of her boyfriend—wasn't that a wonderful thing?

It was no big deal.

Ina had kept watching Diejian and Shuri simply because Uchiha Shuri was just as important a friend to her as Senju Diejian.

Ina understood how much influence she had over Diejian. That was exactly why she had held back.

For the sake of that foolish, silly, important girl who had fallen for the same man.

"Ina... Ina... Ina..."

"Honestly, it's all right now. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

Her gentle voice was just as it had always been.

The more Shuri understood, the angrier she became with herself for being so foolish.

But she could no longer make excuses like she had before.

Betraying Hatake Sakumo's friendship, betraying Yamanaka Ina's friendship— even if heaven allowed it, Uchiha Shuri would never forgive herself.

"Ina... I'm... s-sorry..."

"Honestly, what's gotten into you?"

Shuri no longer looked away.

Warm droplets slid down her cheeks, one after another.

Just one sentence. Just one sentence was enough.

Shuri had to make things right.

Here and now, with the feelings she had at this very moment.

People's hearts changed easily, but their nature did not.

As time passed, the stubborn, timid girl would surely find herself unable to say it again.

So she had to say it now. Right now.

She had to speak the truth in her heart.

But her surging emotions got in the way.

Her sobs came closer and closer together, and she couldn't stop her runny nose or her sniffling.

"It's okay, Shuri. Don't worry."

"Ugh..."

Ina gently clasped Shuri's trembling hand.

The warmth from Ina's palm gently wrapped around Shuri's heart.

For an instant, the trembling stopped.

As Shuri's heart settled with relief, the words came naturally.

—I'm sorry.

My very first friend...

With those words, tears blurred Shuri's vision.

"...You're such a fool."

Just how much feeling was contained in those words?

On the far side of Shuri's tear-blurred world, branches were covered in blooming bush clover.

Thanks to the treatment given by Yamanaka Ina and Kagami Uchiha, who had rushed to the scene, Hatake Sakumo survived.

They said that with proper rest, he wouldn't suffer any lasting effects.

Though Uchiha Shuri had caused trouble time and again, Hatake Sakumo was the only victim, so it never became a major incident.

As for her unauthorized departure from the village, Ina handled things cleverly and informed Hiruzen and Danzo. They quietly covered it up, and this small yet major ninja scroll was buried in the darkness.

And then—Senju Diejian returned with the Second Hokage's body.