The Death in Battle

"Phew." The two of them let out a long breath, then sat down on the ground.

Both were nearly out of chakra, so neither intervened in their companions' fights. Though the fighting had stopped, neither let down their guard. To prevent a surprise attack, they sat facing each other ten meters apart, in tacit agreement.

"Hey, what's your name?" Rasa asked, wearing a smile that was hard to read.

"Is there any point in asking?" To Rasa's surprise, Uchiha Matsuri didn't give his name. Instead, he replied with icy indifference.

"Of course there is! You're the first person my age who's been able to fight me for so long without either of us winning. That's why I want to know your name." Rasa chuckled.

Hearing Rasa's thoroughly unapologetic response, Uchiha Matsuri answered coolly, "Uchiha Matsuri."

"That's a great name!" Rasa instantly turned into a chatterbox. "Those red eyes you showed just now were the Sharingan, right? I've heard it's the Kekkei Genkai the Uchiha Clan is most proud of. I never thought I'd get to see it for myself today. It really is impressive!"

"..."

"I heard the Uchiha Clan has a young prodigy. What was his name... Right, Uchiha Fugaku. At first, I thought you were him!"

"..."

Time passed slowly as the two carried on their bizarre conversation while keeping a wary eye on each other.

Nearby.

After rescuing Kushina Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze used his newly learned Flying Thunder God Technique to cut down enemy after enemy, completely turning the tide.

"Is he human or a ghost?! How can anyone move that fast?!" one Sand ninja cried, despair creeping across his face.

In just one minute, Minato Namikaze had slaughtered the eight or nine ninja surrounding Kushina Uzumaki.

Glancing at Nohara Shin, who was being thoroughly overwhelmed nearby, Minato Namikaze threw another specially made Kunai and swiftly teleported to his side.

When the Sand ninja surrounding Nohara Shin saw the Yellow Flash heading their way, they all went on high alert. Rasa and many other Sand ninja had already failed to stop him, making it clear just how strong and terrifying he was.

Seeing them brace themselves, Minato Namikaze showed no reaction. He threw a specially made Kunai, then dashed forward.

In less than half a minute, all the Sand ninja around Nohara Shin were lying on the ground.

With the danger gone, Nohara Shin collapsed and lay there, gasping for breath.

"Thank you, Minato." Even Kushina Uzumaki, usually so carefree, set aside her misgivings and bowed to him in gratitude.

"You don't need to thank me. We're classmates, so there's no need to be so formal. The Third Hokage sent me to rescue you, after all. Saving you is my mission." Minato Namikaze smiled.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Minato Namikaze asked anxiously, "Why are only you here? Where's Dan Katō?"

"Senior Dan stayed behind over an hour ago so we could escape the encirclement," Nohara Shin said weakly. "He should be at the exit of Scarlet Valley, more than ten kilometers from here. Minato, hurry over there!"

"Okay." Minato Namikaze wasted no time and raced to Dan Katō's aid ten kilometers away, making full use of his Flying Thunder God Technique.

"He's finally gone." A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of Rasa's mouth.

"Kushina, Shin, are you all right?" Uchiha Matsuri asked with concern.

He turned all his attention to his injured teammates. Without a doubt, this was the perfect chance to attack.

While Uchiha Matsuri, Nohara Shin, and Kushina Uzumaki were distracted, Rasa quietly crept up behind Uchiha Matsuri. When he was about five meters away, Rasa suddenly drew a Shuriken and lunged at him.

"Watch out!" Realizing Rasa's plan, Nohara Shin shouted and threw himself toward Uchiha Matsuri.

Thud.

Nohara Shin knocked the defenseless Uchiha Matsuri to the ground, but Rasa's Shuriken struck true, slicing across Nohara Shin's throat.

"..."

In the space of five seconds, Uchiha Matsuri went from the joy of surviving to the shock of this sudden turn of events, his emotions plummeting from one extreme to the other.

Seeing blood pour endlessly from Nohara Shin's wound, Uchiha Matsuri rushed over and used the last of his strength to perform Medical Ninjutsu.

"It's no use, Uchiha Matsuri," Rasa sneered. "I just coated my Shuriken with a poison made by Senior Chiyo. Ordinary Medical Ninjutsu won't save him!"

When Uchiha Matsuri and the others ignored him, Rasa gave a faint snort and said with some regret:

"You should actually feel lucky that you had a teammate willing to risk his life to save you. But from where I'm standing, it's a real shame I didn't kill you just now..."

"Shut up," Uchiha Matsuri rasped.

"Heh."

After he performed Medical Ninjutsu, Nohara Shin's wound didn't close as expected. Instead, black, pus-filled blood began to seep from it.

"I told you already, my Shuriken was coated in Senior Chiyo's deadly poison. Even if Tsunade were here, she'd have a hard time completely neutralizing it," Rasa said smugly.

"I said shut up!" Uchiha Matsuri finally lost his patience and shouted hysterically.

"Fine, fine. If you don't want me around, I'll be going." With that, Rasa raced toward the bottom of Scarlet Valley.

During the earlier fight, Rasa had deliberately held back one-tenth of his chakra so he could escape if his assassination attempt succeeded. But facing Uchiha Matsuri and Kushina Uzumaki, who were now on guard, he ultimately chose not to gamble. Before Minato Namikaze could return, he fled into the maze-like depths at the bottom of Scarlet Valley.

Watching Rasa's retreating figure, Uchiha Matsuri seethed with anger and wished he could chase after the man and tear him apart. But he had exhausted his chakra and was so weak that he couldn't stop Rasa.

"Matsuri, Kushina..." Nohara Shin said faintly. "It's been wonderful being your teammate. But now, I have to go on ahead."

As blood continued to pour from his wound, Nohara Shin's consciousness slowly faded. Knowing he was about to die, he managed a pale smile. "If there's another life, I... I really hope we can fight side by side again..."

Nohara Shin was dead.

Rasa had killed him for saving Uchiha Matsuri.

Though Uchiha Matsuri didn't want to believe it, he had no choice but to face the cruel reality that his teammate had died in battle.