Death Forest (Part Two)

The massive, stone-carved face of Laozi Rock, as if looking down upon all living beings, finally revealed itself at the edge of the layered tree canopies. After days of trekking, combat, and evasion, the destination was finally within reach.

Even for the usually composed Shuoyue, a trace of imperceptible relaxation flickered in his deep purple eyes. Nadeshiko Haku let out a soft breath, her shoulders, which had been tense the entire time, sinking slightly. Hatake Lian followed silently behind his older brother, his eyes also carrying a sense of relief at having reached their goal.

However, just as they stepped out from the forest edge and onto the relatively open gravel area before Laozi Rock—

A sudden change occurred!

Without any warning, several pitch-black chains, seemingly composed of shadows, erupted from the shadows beneath their feet! The speed was extreme and silent, like vipers striking from their den, aiming directly for the trio's ankles!

"Watch out!" Haku's warning came almost simultaneously with the attack; she instinctively leaped upward, attempting to evade.

But the enemy's ambush was precise and ruthless to the extreme!

Splat!

Although Haku reacted swiftly, her lower leg was still grazed by a bizarre shadow chain. It wasn't a physical cut, but rather a cold, strange stinging sensation that threatened to freeze the flow of her chakra! Her movements stalled for an instant.

On the other side, more chains coiled toward Lian! Lian's Sharingan activated instantly, the two-tomoe spinning frantically. He predicted the trajectory of the chains by the narrowest of margins, twisting his body at an impossible angle to dodge!

But while he dodged the first wave, he could not fully evade the second wave that shot in from another tricky angle!

"Ugh!" With a muffled grunt, a shadow chain, as if possessing a life of its own, tightly coiled around his wrist. A powerful binding force and a sensation of chakra being devoured surged through him, instantly paralyzing his entire arm and causing his kunai to clatter to the ground!

Only Shuoyue remained!

The moment the shadows appeared, his internal combat instincts had been pushed to the limit! His Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated instantly, the eerie red light spinning wildly in his eyes!

He didn't even attempt to dodge completely; instead, with a near-precognitive grace, he tilted his body slightly the moment before the chain reached him. The chain, originally aimed at a vital point, merely grazed his arm, drawing a line of blood, but he used that momentum to perform a backflip!

"Enemies! Three o'clock! Nine o'clock! In the trees!" Shuoyue's cold, urgent voice reported the enemies' positions the moment he landed!

Three figures, as if seeping out from the shadows of Laozi Rock, slowly emerged.

They all wore animal masks and were dressed in the standard-issue uniforms of Root, which felt entirely out of place in the Forest of Death. Leading them was the man wearing the Fox Mask. Behind him stood the Wildcat Mask and the Boar Mask.

"Truly astonishing intuition and reflexes, little Uchiha brat." The Fox Mask's voice was hoarse and unpleasant, carrying a playful tone like a cat toying with a mouse. "Pity, this is where it ends. Hand over the Sharingan and yourselves, obediently."

Their goal had never changed! They had even used the Chunin Exams as cover to lie in wait here!

Haku endured the cold numbness spreading from her leg and waved her hands rapidly, firing countless senbon at the enemies in an attempt to interfere! But the Wildcat Mask merely flicked his short blade casually, precisely knocking all the senbon away!

The Boar Mask gave a grim laugh and formed hand seals: "Earth Style: Rock Stealing Staff!" Sharp stone spikes suddenly erupted from the ground, covering Haku and Lian, whose movements were restricted!

"Haku! Lian! Retreat!" Shuoyue roared, his hands forming seals as fast as lightning! "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A massive fireball roared out, not attacking the enemies, but precisely slamming into the stone spikes. The violent explosion and flames instantly destroyed the spikes, and the scorching heat wave temporarily forced back the Boar Mask's further assault.

But in the split second of inertia after Shuoyue released his ninjutsu, the Fox Mask moved! His speed was astonishing, appearing at Shuoyue's side as if teleporting. The short blade in his hand carried a chilling light, stabbing straight for Shuoyue's heart! The angle was devious and ruthless to the extreme!

Shuoyue's Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun frantically, predicting this fatal strike! He twisted his body to the limit! Splat! The short blade failed to pierce his heart, but it drove deep into his left shoulder! Blood instantly gushed out!

The intense pain instead stimulated Shuoyue's nerves! Red light exploded in his eyes; ignoring the blade in his shoulder, he used his right-hand kunai in a suicidal stance, backhanding a strike toward the Fox Mask's throat!

The Fox Mask clearly hadn't expected such ferocity, and was forced to retreat and block with his blade! Clang! Sparks flew everywhere!

On the other side, Haku and Lian were also locked in a bitter struggle! Haku's mobility was limited by her leg injury, forcing her to rely on precise senbon and Nadeshiko Style taijutsu to barely hold off the Wildcat Mask, but she was in constant danger; every block left her arm numb, and blood seeping from her wound stained her pant leg. Lian struggled to fend off the Boar Mask's violent onslaught with a single-handed kunai. His Sharingan allowed him to see every attack, but the paralysis in his arm and the disparity in strength forced him to retreat step by step, new wounds constantly appearing on his body!

"Brother!" Lian saw the blood spraying from Shuoyue's shoulder and was frantic with worry. His movements faltered, and he was kicked hard in the chest by the Boar Mask, sent flying, and slammed heavily into the ground. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, unable to rise for a moment!

"Lian!" Haku cried out in alarm. In that moment of distraction, the Wildcat Mask's blade slashed her arm, drawing a trail of blood! She stumbled backward, her face pale.

The situation turned for the worse in an instant! All three were wounded!

Shuoyue looked at the miserable state of his younger brother and Haku, and at the three powerful, well-coordinated Root elites before him. The searing pain in his left shoulder and the constant loss of blood made him feel a hint of dizziness.

Cannot lose! Absolutely cannot fall here!

An unprecedented, icy rage and a desperate resolve to protect erupted within his chest like a volcano!

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun at an unprecedented speed! It was as if three pitch-black whirlpools were about to devour every enemy before him!

The world slowed down in his eyes, becoming incredibly clear! Every twitch of the enemies' muscles, every flow of their chakra, even the trajectory of dust in the air, was laid bare!

"Ahhhhh!!!" Shuoyue let out a low, inhuman roar, his entire body seeming to ignite!

He lunged proactively at the strongest, the Fox Mask! Completely abandoning defense, his fighting style became frantic and violent!

Kunai and short blades collided at a speed invisible to the naked eye! The clashing sparks merged into a single line! Shuoyue was fighting a battle of mutual destruction! The Fox Mask's blade left more wounds on him, but every time, his kunai forced the enemy to retreat and defend!

"This brat... is he crazy?!" The Fox Mask grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. The boy's eyes seemed to see through all his intentions, and that suicidal madness made him feel immense pressure!

"Finish the other two first!" the Fox Mask ordered!

The Wildcat and Boar Masks immediately abandoned the injured Haku and Lian, lunging simultaneously at Shuoyue's back!

"Don't you dare!" Haku endured the intense pain, pouring her remaining chakra into her senbon and firing them like a rainstorm at the two, attempting to block them! Lian also struggled to crawl up and threw a shuriken!

Their interference bought Shuoyue a tenth of a second!

Now!

Shuoyue's Three-Tomoe Sharingan locked onto the three of them! He saw it! The subtle, almost non-existent gap in their coordination caused by the difference in their strength!

He abruptly abandoned the Fox Mask, his body spinning like a top to avoid the Wildcat's backstab. His left hand—that injured left arm!—reached out in an incredible motion, letting the Boar Mask's blade slice open his forearm, but he clamped down tightly on the enemy's wrist!

At the same time, the kunai in his right hand, at an angle almost impossible for a human to achieve, flicked upward from below, precisely severing the tendons in the Wildcat Mask's wrist!

"Urgh!" The Wildcat Mask shrieked, his short blade falling from his hand!

And at almost the same moment, Shuoyue's right foot kicked like a battle-axe, slamming into the abdomen of the Boar Mask, who had been left wide open due to his wrist being restrained!

"Pfft--!" The Boar Mask's eyes bulged as he vomited a mixture of gastric acid and blood, his massive frame sent flying backward like a discarded sack!

All of this happened in the blink of an eye! It was so fast that by the time the Fox Mask's rescue arrived, two of his companions were already one injured and one crippled!

"Bastard!" The Fox Mask was filled with shock and rage, his blade strikes becoming even more fierce and frantic!

But at this moment, Shuoyue seemed to have entered a mysterious state. The wounds and blood on his body did not seem to affect him in the slightest. His movements became more concise, efficient, and lethal! Every dodge was perfectly timed, and every counterattack struck straight at a flaw!

The Sharingan spun wildly, predicting, predicting, and predicting again!

Finally! The Fox Mask made an impatient thrust, revealing an extremely minute opening!

To an ordinary person, this wouldn't even be considered a flaw! But to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, it was enough!

Shuoyue sidestepped, the blade grazing his ribs and drawing a spray of blood! Meanwhile, the kunai in his hand, like a viper flicking its tongue, precisely and deeply--pierced beneath the Fox Mask's shoulder blade! It was not a vital point, but it was enough to instantly disable the strength of his arm!

"Ugh!" The Fox Mask let out a muffled groan and staggered back, his eyes beneath the mask filled with disbelief and horror.

Shuoyue did not pursue. He leaned on his kunai, gasping heavily, his body almost entirely dyed red with blood. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan continued to stare coldly at his opponent, the gaze seeming to say: step forward again, and the next strike will be to your throat.

The Fox Mask looked at the groaning Boar Mask on the ground, the Wildcat Mask clutching his wrist and unable to fight, and then at the Uchiha youth before him, who was swaying but radiating a terrifying aura. He knew the mission had failed. If they continued, they would likely be wiped out.

He gritted his teeth and threw a smoke bomb! Bang! Thick smoke instantly filled the air.

"Let's go!" he ordered hoarsely, hoisting up the Boar Mask, and together with the Wildcat Mask, they fled into the forest in a sorry state, disappearing from sight.

The smoke gradually dissipated.

Shuoyue maintained his combat stance, staring fixedly at the direction they had vanished. Only when he confirmed they had truly left did his body sway violently, nearly collapsing to the ground.

"Shuoyue!" "Brother!"

Haku and Lian forced themselves up despite their injuries, stumbling over to his side.

Shuoyue looked at their worried faces, the three tomoe in his eyes slowly fading away, returning to a deep purple. He opened his mouth to speak, but his vision went black, and he lost consciousness entirely, falling forward.

Haku and Lian hurriedly caught his blood-soaked body.

The massive stone face of Laozi Rock continued to overlook everything in silence, as if the heart-stopping, blood-soaked ambush and death match had never occurred. Only the wreckage and mottled bloodstains on the ground bore witness to the brutality that had just taken place.

The finish line was right before them, but the price they had paid was far beyond imagination.

Finally, Kakashi arrived with a group of jonin. He tossed out a hurried "Passed" before scooping up Shuoyue and sprinting toward the hospital.