Laozi Rock's enormous stone-carved face, gazing down upon all living things, finally came into view beyond the layered canopy. After days of trekking, fighting, and evading danger, their destination was close at hand.
Even Shuoyue, who was usually so composed, showed the faintest trace of relief in his deep purple eyes. Nadeshiko Haku let out a quiet breath, her taut shoulders relaxing slightly. Hatake Lian followed silently behind his older brother, a hint of calm in his eyes now that they had reached their goal.
However, just as they stepped out of the forest and onto the relatively open stretch of gravel before Laozi Rock—
Disaster struck!
Without warning, several pitch-black chains, seemingly made of shadow, burst from the darkness beneath their feet! They moved with incredible speed and made no sound, like venomous snakes striking from their lairs, aiming straight for the trio's ankles!
"Watch out!" Haku's warning came almost simultaneously with the attack. She leapt instinctively, trying to evade it.
But the ambush was precise and vicious to the extreme!
Thwip!
Though Haku reacted quickly, one of the strange shadow chains still grazed her calf. It didn't cut her physically, but sent a strange, icy pain through her, as if freezing the flow of her chakra! Her movement faltered at once!
On the other side, more chains lashed toward Lian! His Sharingan activated instantly, the two tomoe spinning wildly as he narrowly anticipated the chains' trajectories and twisted away at an impossible angle!
But he dodged the first wave and failed to completely avoid the second, which shot at him from another tricky angle!
"Ugh!" With a muffled groan, a shadow chain wrapped itself tightly around his wrist as if it were alive. A powerful binding force and a sensation of his chakra being drained coursed through him, instantly numbing his entire arm. His kunai clattered to the ground!
Only Shuoyue—
The moment the shadows appeared, his battle instincts had already surged to their limit! His Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated in an instant, its eerie red light spinning wildly in his eyes!
He didn't even try to dodge completely. Instead, as if he'd foreseen the attack, he turned slightly just before the chains struck, letting the ones aimed at his vitals graze his arm. They left a bloody streak, but he used their force to flip backward!
"Enemies! Three o'clock! Nine o'clock! In the trees!" Shuoyue's cold, urgent voice called out their positions the moment he landed!
Three figures slowly emerged, as if seeping out of the shadows of Laozi Rock.
They all wore animal masks and the standard uniforms of Root, completely out of place in the Forest of Death. At their head stood the man wearing a Fox Mask. Behind him were the Wildcat Mask and Boar Mask.
"Impressive instincts and reflexes, Uchiha brat," the man in the Fox Mask rasped, his voice unpleasant, tinged with the amusement of a cat playing with a mouse. "Too bad it ends here. Hand over your Sharingan and yourselves, nice and easy."
Their objective had never changed! They had even used the Chunin Ninja Exams as cover, lying in wait here to ambush them!
Haku endured the icy numbness in her calf and swept her hands out, firing a flurry of Senbon at the enemy to distract them! But the Wildcat Mask simply swung his short blade, knocking every Senbon aside with precise strikes!
The Boar Mask gave a feral grin and formed Hand Seals. "Earth Style: Rock Stealing Staff!" Countless sharp stone spikes burst from the ground, spreading toward Haku and Lian, whose movements were impaired!
"Haku! Lian! Fall back!" Shuoyue growled, his hands forming Hand Seals with lightning speed. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A massive fireball roared forth—not at the enemy, but straight into the stone spikes. The violent explosion and flames shattered them instantly, and the scorching wave of heat temporarily forced the Boar Mask to halt his attack.
But the instant Shuoyue was left vulnerable after releasing the technique, the Fox Mask moved! He was astonishingly fast, appearing beside Shuoyue as if he'd teleported. His short blade flashed with a chill glint as he thrust it straight at Shuoyue's heart! The angle was fiendishly precise!
Shuoyue's Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly, anticipating the deadly attack! He twisted his body to the limit! Thwip! The short blade missed his heart, but sank deep into his left shoulder! Blood poured out at once!
The intense pain only sharpened Shuoyue's senses! Red light flared in his eyes. Ignoring the blade in his shoulder, he thrust his kunai backward with his right hand, aiming for the Fox Mask's throat in a move that could take them both down!
The Fox Mask clearly hadn't expected such ferocity. He had to retreat and pull his blade free to block! Clang! Sparks flew!
On the other side, Haku and Lian were also locked in a bitter fight! Haku's leg wound hampered her movement, forcing her to rely on precise Senbon and Nadeshiko Style Taijutsu to hold off the Wildcat Mask. She was in constant danger, and every block left her arms numb. Blood seeped from her wound, staining her pant leg red. Lian struggled to fend off the Boar Mask's ferocious attacks with a kunai in one hand. His Sharingan let him see every strike, but his numb arm and their difference in strength drove him steadily backward, new wounds appearing across his body!
"Big brother!" Seeing blood gush from Shuoyue's shoulder, Lian grew frantic. His movements faltered, and the Boar Mask kicked him hard in the chest. He flew backward and hit the ground heavily, coughing up blood and unable to get back up.
"Lian!" Haku cried. In the instant she was distracted, the Wildcat Mask's blade sliced through her arm, spraying blood! She staggered back, her face pale.
The situation turned against them in an instant! All three were wounded!
Shuoyue looked at his brother and Haku in their sorry state, then at the three powerful Root operatives before him, who worked together with perfect coordination. The pain in his left shoulder and the blood he was losing made him feel faint.
I can't lose! I absolutely can't fall here!
An icy fury unlike anything he'd ever felt, and an unshakable resolve to protect them, erupted in his chest like a volcano!
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun faster than ever before! They seemed like three black whirlpools, ready to devour every enemy before him!
The world slowed again in his eyes, becoming crystal clear! Every twitch of his enemies' muscles, every shift in their chakra, even the paths of dust motes in the air—he saw it all!
"Raaah!!!" Shuoyue let out a growl that sounded almost inhuman, his whole body seeming to catch fire!
He charged straight at the strongest of them, the Fox Mask! He abandoned all defense, his fighting style turning savage and frenzied!
Kunai and short blade clashed at blinding speed! Sparks filled the air in a constant shower! Shuoyue fought as if he were willing to trade wound for wound! The Fox Mask's blade cut him again, but every strike from Shuoyue's kunai forced his opponent to defend!
"Is this brat... insane?!" The longer the Fox Mask fought, the more alarmed he became. It was as if the boy's eyes could see through his every move. His reckless, all-or-nothing ferocity put him under pressure!
"Take out the other two first!" the Fox Mask ordered!
The Wildcat Mask and Boar Mask immediately abandoned the wounded Haku and Lian and lunged at Shuoyue from behind!
"Not a chance!" Haku endured the pain and poured the last of her chakra into her Senbon, firing them at the two like a downpour to stop them! Lian also struggled to his feet and threw a Shuriken!
Their interference bought Shuoyue a tenth of a second!
Now!
Shuoyue's Three-Tomoe Sharingan locked onto all three men! He saw it! The tiny, almost imperceptible difference in their timing as they coordinated, caused by the gap in their abilities!
He abruptly abandoned his attack on the Fox Mask and spun like a top, evading the Wildcat Mask's stab from behind. His left hand—his injured arm!—shot out in a move that seemed impossible, letting the Boar Mask's blade slice into his forearm as he clamped his hand around the man's wrist!
At the same time, he drove the kunai in his right hand upward at an angle almost impossible for a human being, precisely slicing the tendons in the Wildcat Mask's wrist!
"Argh!" The Wildcat Mask screamed, his short blade slipping from his grasp!
And at nearly the same moment, Shuoyue's right foot slammed into the Boar Mask's abdomen like a warhammer, while the man's wrist was pinned and his guard was wide open!
"Ugh—!" The Boar Mask's eyes bulged as he vomited stomach acid mixed with blood. His massive body flew backward like a discarded sack!
It all happened in the blink of an eye! By the time the Fox Mask reached them to help, one of his comrades was wounded and the other was out of the fight!
"Bastard!" The Fox Mask was both furious and shocked, his attacks growing even more fierce and frenzied!
But Shuoyue seemed to have entered some kind of strange state. His wounds and blood loss no longer seemed to affect him at all. His movements became simpler, more efficient, and deadlier! Every dodge was perfectly timed, and every counterattack struck at a weakness!
His Sharingan spun wildly: anticipate, anticipate, anticipate!
At last! The Fox Mask made an impatient thrust, exposing an extremely small opening!
To an ordinary person, it might not even count as a weakness! But against the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, it was enough!
Shuoyue turned aside. The blade grazed his ribs, leaving a spray of blood! His kunai struck like a serpent, piercing deep beneath the Fox Mask's shoulder blade with pinpoint accuracy! It wasn't a vital spot, but it was enough to cripple the arm's strength in an instant!
"Ugh!" The Fox Mask grunted and stumbled back, disbelief and shock showing in his eyes beneath the mask.
Shuoyue didn't pursue him. He leaned on his kunai and gasped for breath, blood nearly covering him from head to toe. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan remained fixed on his opponent, coldly warning him: Come any closer, and the next strike goes for your throat.
The Fox Mask looked at the Boar Mask groaning on the ground and the Wildcat Mask clutching his wrist, no longer able to fight. Then he looked at the Uchiha boy before him, swaying on his feet but radiating a terrifying presence. He knew the mission had failed. If they continued, they might all be wiped out.
He gritted his teeth and hurled a smoke bomb! Bang! Thick smoke billowed out at once.
"Let's go!" he rasped, helping the Boar Mask up. Together with the Wildcat Mask, he fled into the forest in a sorry rush and disappeared from sight.
The smoke gradually cleared.
Shuoyue remained in his fighting stance, staring intently in the direction they'd vanished until he was sure they were gone. Then his body lurched, and he nearly collapsed.
"Shuoyue!" "Big brother!"
Haku and Lian fought through their injuries and staggered over to him.
Shuoyue looked at their worried faces. The Three-Tomoe in his eyes slowly faded, returning them to deep purple. He opened his mouth to say something, but his vision went black. He lost consciousness completely and fell forward.
Haku and Lian hurriedly caught his blood-soaked body.
Laozi Rock's enormous stone-carved face continued to gaze down at them in silence, as if the heart-stopping ambush and bloody fight that had just taken place had never happened. Only the wreckage strewn across the ground and the splashes of blood bore witness to the brutality of the battle.
Their destination was right before them, but the price they'd paid was far beyond anything they could have imagined.
At last, Kakashi arrived with a group of Jonin. He merely tossed out a hurried "You pass," then scooped Shuoyue up and raced toward the hospital.
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