Ambush

Fugaku and Aburame Nozawa pushed their speed to the limit. If the Stone shinobi caught up, the two of them could fall into enemy hands.

In the Shinobi World, a captive had only one fate: interrogation for intelligence, followed by death.

A dead Uchiha prodigy would cause no stir beyond grieving parents and regretful friends. At most, he would become something people talked about over tea.

Sensing movement behind him, Fugaku turned during another leap. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan traced every concealed weapon's path, but his expression darkened.

Explosive Tags fluttered behind the weapons. Deflecting them would be suicide. Fugaku's hands flew through signs, his chest swelled, and streams of flame burst from his mouth.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

The flames swept across every path the concealed weapons could take, igniting the Explosive Tags attached to them.

Explosions rang out one after another, buying Fugaku and Nozawa time to retreat. A gale scattered the smoke and dust, and the Stone shinobi squad closed in again.

"Captain," Nozawa said suddenly, "there's a pair of shinobi ahead. They're probably Stone shinobi too."

Fugaku nodded. The shinobi ahead had likely received word from their pursuers and moved to intercept them.

"Change course," Fugaku said. "Draw them into the Trap Zone."

When Fugaku and Nozawa changed direction, Qing Modo realized the shinobi sent to intercept them might have been exposed. The Konoha shinobi who kept releasing insects was likely from one of Konoha's insect-using clans.

He used insects to scout and communicated with them, much like the Kamizuru Clan of the Stone shinobi. Qing Modo's face darkened. His plan to notify other squads and have them set up ambushes in advance would not work.

What troubled Qing Modo most was the supposed top-secret Stone shinobi intelligence in their hands. A document of uncertain authenticity had already disrupted the missions of two squads. Suppressing the urge to summon more squads to intercept them, he led his squad forward at greater speed.

The intelligence had yet to be verified. If he mobilized the entire war zone, disrupted his superiors' battle plans, and the intelligence turned out to be false, Qing Modo could not bear the responsibility.

Fugaku kept watch on their pursuers. When he saw them accelerate again, he pulled out several Kunai and hurled them backward.

The Kunai cut through the rain, colliding with one another and constantly changing direction. The Stone shinobi squad did not slow. Qing Modo formed hand signs.

A gale burst from his mouth, turning the rain aside and sweeping up loose stones as it rushed toward the Kunai.

The gale scattered the Kunai in every direction. Fugaku's expression did not change. He had expected as much. The Kunai were only a test; he had never thought a few concealed weapons would force them to slow down.

The instant his pursuers scattered the weapons, Fugaku finished forming his signs.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"

Three small fire dragons shot out in succession. They wheeled through the air like living creatures, then charged at the Stone shinobi squad from different angles.

A thick Earth Wall rose in front of the squad. Fugaku did not look back. The Great Fire Dragon Jutsu would slow them enough that he would not have to worry about being caught before they reached the Trap Zone.

The jumble of boulders where they had laid the traps came into view. They were close.

"Slow down," Fugaku said. "Act like you're running out of strength. Give them some hope. Otherwise, if they think they can't catch us, they may report straight to the Stone shinobi senior officials."

Nozawa's Kikaichū watched their surroundings at all times. He nodded as they reached the boulders. Fugaku glanced around. The others had hidden well; he could not see a single squad member.

Qing Modo's squad caught up again. Fugaku tracked their positions until they entered the Trap Zone among the boulders.

Sealing Jutsu could be astonishing. These were simple traps, but a layer of concealment seals had been placed over them, and an Elite Squad of Stone shinobi noticed nothing.

Fugaku often thought Konoha should find a way to save the Land of Whirlpools in the war a few years from now and prevent its Sealing Jutsu from spreading. With that alone, Konoha could gain a major advantage in the war.

Fugaku hurled several Shuriken, setting off every Physical Trap in the sequence.

Stone spikes planted in advance burst from the ground and shot toward the Stone shinobi squad.

"There are traps here," Qing Modo said. "They may have set up more. Hold formation. Don't scatter and let them pick us off one by one."

Several Earth Walls rose in succession, shielding the squad. The stone spikes slammed into them with a series of deafening crashes.

The ground shook beneath the Stone shinobi squad. Fugaku's team had hollowed out most of the ground beneath the boulders; a strong impact would make it collapse.

The squad could no longer hold formation. Those lucky enough to find a foothold used the Body Flicker Technique to escape the trap. The others fell into the pit.

Fugaku formed hand signs.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Sparks spread throughout the boulder field, reaching the Stone shinobi squad within it.

The sparks blasted the buried seals back into view and destroyed them. One Explosive Tag after another caught fire, setting off chain explosions across the boulder field.

The Stone shinobi who had escaped the trap lost their composure. They huddled together as four Earth Walls rose around them.

The Stone shinobi who had fallen into the pit fared worse. Explosive Tags covered its walls. They saw the tags as they fell and had only time for despair to cross their faces before surging flames and violent explosions swallowed them.

The Explosive Tags tore the entire boulder field apart. The great pit was buried, and the Earth Walls were left in ruins.

Several Konoha shinobi emerged from their hiding places. Fugaku saw dirt clinging to them; they had buried themselves in the ground.

Harada Tongze stepped forward and formed hand signs. A gale burst from his mouth, sweeping away the dust raised by the Explosive Tags and revealing three Stone shinobi behind the Earth Walls.

Another Stone shinobi climbed out from above the buried pit and joined the three. Fugaku did not know whether anyone else remained alive below. Eliminating the shinobi before them came first.

Three Earth Release users—Yamada Shinji, Qiuze Danye, and Aida Maki—stepped forward and formed hand signs in unison. This was a combination Ninjutsu: multiple people performing the same technique together, making it stronger while conserving Chakra.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet Technique!"

The ground shuddered. A huge earth dragon emerged from below, stretched its body through the air, opened its jaws, and fired a stream of projectiles.

Satomaru, Haranoki, and Fugaku Uchiha stood together, forming hand signs at the same time.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet Technique!"

Fireballs flew in from different directions, pounding the Stone shinobi at the center.

The two techniques were meant only to cause them trouble. Fugaku had never expected one Earth Release technique and one Fire Release technique to finish them off.

Most shinobi from the Land of Earth excelled at Earth Release and had strong defenses. The explosions had also made plenty of noise; nearby Stone shinobi would soon come to investigate. They had to finish these opponents quickly.

The smoke cleared, revealing four battered figures in the center: two Jonin and two Chunin.