The Sealed Ruins Under Watch

Yusuke's Shadow Clone followed Hyuga Aya's Shadow Clone like a falling leaf, silent and unnoticed.

After crossing several miles of scorched earth and broken walls, the chakra fluctuations ahead grew increasingly clear.

"It doesn't sound like they're fighting, but the chakra fluctuations are strangely rapid." Yusuke murmured to himself.

At the center of a relatively intact ruin, a pale purple sealing barrier flickered in and out of sight.

Runes flowed across its surface. It looked difficult to break, but its light occasionally dimmed and brightened, a sign that it wouldn't hold for much longer.

Outside the barrier, the two groups stood clearly apart.

One group wore Cloud Village Forehead Protectors. They were heavily muscled, with fierce eyes—a distinctly Land of Lightning look.

The other group wore the animal masks of Konoha's Anbu, covering their entire faces, but Yusuke spotted the difference at a glance.

Those "Anbu" stood too stiffly, and the eyes visible through their mask slits were cold and utterly lifeless.

Their chakra, in particular, had the damp, cloying quality unique to Root shinobi.

"What a coincidence. I even ran into Root."

"But Hyuga Aya must have discovered something, which is why she came alone to investigate." Yusuke sneered inwardly. She was truly impossible to figure out.

Both sides held their positions. Each had sent one shinobi to focus intently on breaking the seal before them. Their methods differed, but both were completely absorbed in the task.

The scene resembled two packs of hungry wolves temporarily circling the same piece of meat. Neither dared to move first, afraid of upsetting the fragile balance and letting their prey escape—or provoking the other side to attack.

"Letting the dogs fight? Just what I wanted."

He needed chaos—a fight that would make both sides go all out.

Yusuke's gaze swept over the battlefield. Before long, he had a plan.

He focused on a Cloud Village Chunin near the edge of the barrier, then swiftly formed Hand Seals in the shadows.

The sound waves stirred by his chakra quickly traveled toward the Cloud Village Chunin, and the genjutsu took effect without a sound.

His goal wasn't to attack directly, but to distort the Cloud shinobi's hearing and vision for an instant.

Almost at the same time, Yusuke's Shadow Clone pulled a small pebble from beside him. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it skittering to the Cloud shinobi's feet.

"Whoosh—crack!"

To the Cloud shinobi caught in the genjutsu, the faint sound was amplified and twisted into the sound of a Root shinobi suddenly launching a surprise attack.

From the corner of his eye, he seemed to catch sight of a comrade beside him being struck by a dark blur.

"Bastards! Konoha scum!"

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

The hot-tempered Cloud Village Chunin didn't think twice. He roared, lightning crackling in his hand, and blasted the nearest Root shinobi.

The Root shinobi reacted quickly and dodged to the side. The lightning skimmed past his mask and struck the scorched earth, blasting a small crater into it.

"The Cloud Village has violated the agreement. Wipe them out!" The Root squad leader's voice was icy, and he didn't hesitate.

The balance broke in an instant!

Both sides, already poised to strike, surged forward like bowstrings snapping loose. Ninjutsu, Kunai, and Explosive Tags filled the ruins with flashes of light.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!"

"Lightning Style: Earth Flash!"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Roars, explosions, and the clash of weapons rang out without pause.

Yusuke's Shadow Clone stayed hidden, like a patient hunter watching its prey tear into each other.

Every so often, he added a Shuriken at a tricky angle or a barely perceptible genjutsu suggestion, stoking the flames of the fight.

The battle was brutal.

The Cloud shinobi charged in relentlessly, relying on the strength of their Lightning Release and physical techniques. Root held firm with their tight coordination and fearless resolve.

One shinobi after another fell, blood staining the ground.

The last Cloud jonin ran out of chakra. At the cost of an arm, he snapped the neck of a Root member.

Only three Root shinobi remained standing, including their leader. All were wounded, and their chakra was nearly spent.

Now!

After throwing a Kunai, Yusuke's Shadow Clone vanished, and its memories instantly returned to the original.

Yusuke, who had been resting with his eyes closed in a corner of the shrine, suddenly opened them. A glint flashed in his eyes and vanished.

He glanced at Hyuga Aya's original, still "keeping watch" in the tree, and smiled.

"Flying Thunder God Technique!"

After leaving a "I was here" mark at the shrine, Yusuke's original appeared beside the Flying Thunder God Kunai his Shadow Clone had left behind.

The three Root shinobi panted as they prepared to finish off the surviving enemies, then continue breaking the seal.

Suddenly, a specially made Kunai fell from the sky and stuck in the middle of the battlefield.

The next moment, Yusuke appeared out of thin air beside it!

He said nothing. His greatsword was already in his hand, lightning and flames crackling around it.

"Thunder-Fire Sword!"

The Root leader's pupils contracted. Before he could even think about how Yusuke had appeared, Yusuke swept past like a gust of wind.

A flash of the blade, and a wounded Root shinobi fell dead, blood spurting from his throat.

"It's you, Ji!" The leader recognized Yusuke, fury and shock filling his eyes. He forced chakra into his body and charged with a short blade in hand.

"Earth Style: Hardening Technique!"

His fist turned black and slammed toward Yusuke.

Yusuke didn't dodge. He swung his greatsword horizontally.

"Boom!" The enchanted greatsword shattered the black fist, and the leader staggered backward.

Another Root shinobi attacked from the flank, thrusting a Kunai toward Yusuke's ribs.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Yusuke shifted slightly. His left hand shot out and caught the attacker's wrist. Then he squeezed.

"Crack!" The snap of the wrist bone rang out clearly. At the same time, Yusuke swept his greatsword back and cut the shinobi in half.

After taking out two of them in an instant, Yusuke fixed his gaze on the last Root leader.

Knowing he was outmatched, the leader swiftly formed Hand Seals, trying to escape.

But Yusuke was faster. Chakra surged beneath his feet, and he closed the distance in an instant!

"Genjutsu: Mist Servant Technique!"

A sea of sword shadows filled the leader's vision, and his movements faltered.

In that brief hesitation, the greatsword pierced his heart. He opened his mouth, trying to say something.

But only a couple of strangled gasps came out before he fell, unwilling to accept his fate.

Yusuke pulled out his greatsword and flicked the blood from its blade. The battlefield fell utterly silent.

He put away his weapon, turned toward the spot where Hyuga Aya's Shadow Clone had been hiding, and said calmly, "Come out, Aya. Had enough of the show?"

After a brief silence, Hyuga Aya's Shadow Clone slowly emerged from behind a pile of rubble. Her expression was still impassive, but a flicker of complexity crossed her pale eyes.

"You knew all along." Her voice was cool.

"Since you formed Hand Seals and made your clone." Yusuke looked at her. "What's inside this seal? Was it worth risking a solo mission?"

Hyuga Aya looked away from Yusuke and toward the crumbling sealing barrier. "I'm not sure."

"It's just a hunch from my Byakugan. There's a powerful chakra signature here."

She was clearly telling the truth, but not the whole truth.

Yusuke didn't call her out. He simply said, "Remember our agreement."

"Mutual trust is the foundation of cooperation. I hope this is the last time you hide something from me or act on your own."

Hyuga Aya nodded without expression.

Just then, the pale purple sealing barrier let out a strained hum.

Its light flickered rapidly several times, then finally burst apart with a pop like a soap bubble, vanishing completely.

Beneath the seal lay a narrow pit, half-covered by rubble.