On the streets of Kirigakure, Kagura and Jade pushed their speed to the limit. Like two gusts of wind, they raced through burning, chaotic streets toward the Mizukage Building at the village's heart.
"Kagura!" As Jade leaped over another collapsed roof, she could not help looking back. Smoke, flames, and flashes of fighting figures blocked the way they had come. Boruto and the others were nowhere to be seen.
"Boruto and the others haven't caught up! We must have gotten separated!"
Kagura did not slow. He only glanced back.
Sure enough, apart from Jade close behind him, there was no one.
His heart sank. But ahead, the Mizukage Building had come clearly into view, and the sounds of fierce fighting carried from it. The weight of his responsibility overwhelmed everything else.
"They must have broken through too!" Kagura's voice was urgent but firm against the rushing wind. "I told them to meet us at the Mizukage Building once they got through! Trust them! Rescuing the Mizukage comes first!"
He gritted his teeth, poured all his Chakra into his legs, and ran faster.
Jade hesitated no longer. Her black hair streamed behind her as she turned her worry into strength and stayed close on his heels.
Within a few breaths, they cleared the last stretch of chaos and reached the plaza before the Mizukage Building.
The sight made their hearts clench: two Chunin in Kirigakure uniforms lay in pools of blood at the building's main entrance, their fates unknown.
Above them, the clash of weapons rang out without pause.
Clang! Clang! Boom!
On the rooftop, steel clashed and Ninjutsu exploded again and again!
Through the broken railing, they could see Mizukage Chojuro locked in a desperate fight against six opponents. He wielded an ordinary standard-issue Ninja Sword. His swordsmanship was still