Am I Going to Die?

Uchiha Setsuna gritted his teeth as his Three-Tomoe Sharingan searched for a way to turn the tide.

But the clone's attacks kept growing more ferocious, leaving him no chance to catch his breath.

Another punch came crashing in. Uchiha Setsuna barely managed to block it before the impact sent him flying backward. He slammed into the sea, kicking up a huge splash.

"Cough, cough..."

He coughed up blood. His white-and-gray hair hung in disarray over his shoulders, and blood seeped steadily from his wounds.

In the distance, Naoki's eyes went wide with fury at the sight.

He swung his blade and cut the Kirigakure Ninja fighting him in half, then sprinted toward the shore.

"Still got time to worry about someone else? You're going to die!"

The Hook Staff whistled through the air. Naoki raised his hand to block it.

His long blade collided with the Hook Staff, sending sparks flying. The impact nearly numbed his hands.

Karatachi Yagura's strength was beyond anything he'd imagined. The man looked like a child, but the chakra and power concealed within him were monstrous.

"Is that all you've got, brat?"

Karatachi Yagura sneered and swept his Hook Staff across. Naoki was sent flying with his blade, crashing hard onto the beach and leaving a shallow crater.

Naoki struggled to get up, but his body trembled uncontrollably.

With difficulty, he gripped his long blade and stabbed it into the ground to pull himself up. But the steel sword that had been with him for years suddenly snapped with a sharp crack.

With his support gone, he stumbled and nearly fell.

Karatachi Yagura approached at an unhurried pace, dragging his Hook Staff across the sand and carving a deep furrow.

"Brat, you killed two of my trusted men and destroyed twelve ships' worth of supplies, forcing me to end the fighting in the Land of Fire early." His voice was terrifyingly calm. "Tell me, how should I thank you?"

Naoki panted and looked up at Karatachi Yagura.

Cold killing intent filled those pale purple eyes. He was looking at Naoki like an ant already pinned beneath his foot.

"Cough, cough..." Naoki spat out blood and grinned. "What, going to give me a medal?"

Karatachi Yagura raised an eyebrow.

"You're still mouthing off with death staring you in the face."

He lifted his Hook Staff and aimed its tip at Naoki's throat.

Suddenly, two Kunai flew in and knocked the Hook Staff aside, embedding themselves in the sand beside Naoki.

Seizing the rare opening, Naoki sprang up, driving both feet into the ground and launching himself like a coiled spring.

The broken half of his long blade swept through an arc in his hand, aimed straight at Karatachi Yagura's throat.

"Suicidal fool!"

Karatachi Yagura snorted. He caught the broken blade in one hand and swung his Hook Staff with the other.

"Thud!"

A dull impact exploded through Naoki's chest. The agony of breaking ribs spread through his body, and he felt himself flying backward like a kite with its string cut. The blue sky and white clouds spun wildly in his vision.

"Naoki!"

Uchiha Zongxin's roar came from far away, growing more distant and more indistinct.

Cold seawater poured into Naoki's nose and mouth as he felt himself sinking deeper and deeper.

He struggled in the darkness, trying to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as lead.

The pain from his broken chest had gone numb, replaced by a chill that gradually robbed him of all sensation.

Am I going to die...

The thought flashed through his mind.

Death didn't frighten Naoki. It was just... there was still so much he hadn't done.

The Uchiha Clan's future had yet to change.

And Hideko... she was still waiting for him to return to Konoha.

Little by little, Naoki lost consciousness.

As he sank toward the seabed, a huge shadow suddenly appeared from the deep.

It was a gigantic, pitch-black octopus, its eight tentacles unfurling through the water like a monster from the abyss.

As it neared Naoki, one of its tentacles shot out, coiled around his unconscious body, pulled him close, and then quickly carried him away from the shore.

On the beach.

Uchiha Zongxin had watched with his own eyes as Naoki was struck by the Hook Staff and fell into the sea.

"Naoki... is he really dead?"

He stared blankly at the distant water, unable to believe what he was seeing.

His companion, who'd been by his side since childhood, was dead just like that?

They'd already overcome so many hardships... They'd all tried so hard... Why had it ended like this?

The One-Tomoe Sharingan in Uchiha Zongxin's eyes grew redder and redder.

He clutched his head and grabbed at his hair, frustrated by how weak he was, always useless when it mattered most...

Seeing Uchiha Zongxin standing frozen in place, a Kirigakure Ninja hurried over and swung his blade at him.

Uchiha Zongye was frantic with worry. He immediately shouted,

"Zongxin!"

Hearing his brother call him, Uchiha Zongxin abruptly looked up. The Kirigakure Ninja was already close, but he froze for a moment when he saw the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Zongxin's eyes. In that brief instant, Uchiha Zongxin came back to himself and punched the man's head apart.

Having killed Naoki and grievously wounded Uchiha Setsuna, Karatachi Yagura felt it was time to end things. He formed Hand Seals once more.

"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

A vast torrent of water gushed from Karatachi Yagura's mouth. With the terrain in its favor, it quickly formed into a towering wave that swept toward everyone on the beach.

"Run!" Uchiha Zongye roared, grabbing his dazed younger brother with his only remaining arm.

Hyuga Hiroshi activated his Byakugan and searched for an escape route, only to realize there was nowhere to run. The wave had already swallowed the entire beach, moving at astonishing speed.

"We're too late..." he murmured.

Standing out on the distant sea, Uchiha Setsuna felt utterly hopeless.

The clan hadn't done him in. Konoha hadn't done him in. Even that old bastard Senju Tobirama hadn't done him in. Yet here he was, pathetically falling in his own country, at the hands of a Kirigakure Ninja...

Just as the towering wave was about to engulf everyone, a flash of green light appeared along the shore.

A massive green skeleton materialized out of nowhere, standing between Uchiha Zongxin and the others and the towering wave.

The wave crashed into the skeleton with a deafening boom.

The seawater burst apart, becoming a vast cloud of white mist that blotted out the sky.

Everyone froze.

Karatachi Yagura stood out on the distant sea, his pale purple eyes narrowing slightly.

As the mist slowly dispersed, the green skeleton still stood firm, unmoving. At its center, a figure knelt on one knee, panting heavily.

"Shisui...?" Itachi's eyes widened as he stared at the familiar figure in disbelief.

Shisui slowly rose to his feet. Blood seeped from his Mangekyō Sharingan and ran down his pale cheeks.

"This chakra..." Uchiha Setsuna struggled to lift his head. His white-and-gray hair fluttered in the sea breeze, and shock flashed in his eyes. "This is... Susanoo!"

"Mangekyō... Sharingan," he murmured.

At last, Karatachi Yagura's face grew serious.

This wasn't his first time fighting Shisui. He knew very well that there was nothing he could do against that half-bodied giant.