The Third Party Takes the Spoils

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

A bedraggled figure fled at full speed through the mountains of East Avenue Forest.

He was a deathly pale Stone Ninja. Despite the medicine smeared over his wounds, they showed no sign of healing and had even begun oozing dark red, tainted blood. The weapon that had wounded him had likely been coated with poison concocted by the enemy.

His vision swam. Forcing himself to endure his discomfort, the Stone Ninja glanced back to check on his pursuers. Every so often, he sent clones in different directions to lure them away, while his real body chose another route and continued fleeing.

Not far behind him, a squad of Cloud Ninja followed the faint traces he left in his flight, pursuing him relentlessly.

"Kaiyi, which way did that bastard go?" a brutish-looking Cloud Ninja asked the squad's sensor ninja.

Kaiyi closed his eyes slightly. Invisible ripples of mental energy spread out around him. The moment he sensed the Stone Ninja's chakra, he replied, "Captain Beiluo, he changed direction. He's fleeing toward the northern part of the forest."

"Good. Keep chasing," the Cloud Ninja captain Kaiyi ordered. At the same time, he instructed another Cloud Ninja beside him, who carried a tachi on his back, "Reina, circle around from the west and cut him off. We mustn't let him reach Cloud Platform Heights."

"Understood, Captain. Leave it to me."

Reina answered and broke away from the squad, heading to the entrance to Cloud Platform Heights to lie in wait.

"Damn it. Those Cloud Ninja have noses like dogs."

Hearing his pursuers behind him again, the fleeing Stone Ninja cursed under his breath. Though anxiety filled him, there was nothing he could do but race toward Cloud Platform Heights before he lost consciousness.

His destination was already close, but before he could feel any joy at his impending escape, he spotted Reina standing at the entrance to Cloud Platform Heights.

The Stone Ninja's pupils contracted, and he faltered. His eyes filled with bitter unwillingness as he stopped running and stood frozen in despair.

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

The Cloud Ninja captain and Kaiyi caught up just then. Seeing that Reina had intercepted the Stone Ninja, the captain praised him excitedly, "Well done, Reina."

"You damned Cloud Ninja ambushed us while we were fighting a fierce beast. Despicable!"

Knowing that death was inevitable, the Stone Ninja made no attempt to hide his hatred as he glared at the three Cloud Ninja.

"Hahaha! You couldn't even detect us from that close. You have only your own stupidity to blame." The Cloud Ninja captain gave a contemptuous laugh, utterly unconcerned. "Hand over the Pass Token, and I'll give you a quick death."

"Cough, cough."

The injuries the Stone Ninja had been suppressing suddenly flared up, forcing him to cough.

Clutching a sword wound on his chest, the Stone Ninja spat out a mouthful of dark red, tainted blood. He glared at the Cloud Ninja captain through gritted teeth and declared firmly, "You'll never make me hand over the token my captain and Ayue risked their lives to find."

"In that case, I'll just take it myself."

The Cloud Ninja captain's expression remained perfectly calm, but killing intent rose deep within his eyes. Lightning Release chakra rippled around him, and he appeared before the Stone Ninja in an instant.

"Nintaijutsu: Furious Thunder Claw!"

Lightning Release chakra surged into the Cloud Ninja captain's right hand, coating his five outstretched fingers. Like a hawk's talons flashing with lightning, they plunged deep into the Stone Ninja's chest.

"Bzzzt, bzzzt..."

Then the lightning coating the captain's right hand erupted, scorching and splitting the flesh around the Stone Ninja's chest until even the bones were exposed.

"Aaaah!!!"

The excruciating pain drew a scream from the Stone Ninja, and blood poured from his mouth. Yet he made no attempt to evade. Instead, he clamped down on the Cloud Ninja captain's arm, a strange, crazed smile spreading across his face.

"Hahahaha! Die with me!"

Before the Cloud Ninja captain's horrified eyes, the dozen or so Explosive Tags the Stone Ninja had secretly activated detonated.

"Damn it! Nintaijutsu: Rigid Body!"

The Cloud Ninja captain had never expected the Stone Ninja to be so ruthless that he would use Explosive Tags to take them both down. He barely had time to unleash a defensive Secret Technique of limited effectiveness.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

After a string of deafening explosions, surging flames swallowed everything around them, leaving only a massive crater that radiated heat and smoke.

"Cough, cough, cough... pfft."

Near the crater, the Cloud Ninja captain, who had escaped death with his Secret Technique, landed heavily on the ground. His face was unnaturally pale. Though his life was not in danger, he had suffered severe injuries.

Kaiyi and Reina cried out and hurried to the captain's side, asking with concern, "Captain, are you all right?"

"I'll live. I didn't expect that bastard to be so ruthless. I nearly got myself killed."

The Cloud Ninja captain gave a bitter smile. Pain pulsed intermittently through the burns on his body as he gave the two their orders. "Kaiyi, give me some basic treatment. Reina, find the Pass Token. Then we'll head straight to Cloudrock Platform and hand it over to the staff there."

"Understood, Captain. Healing Technique!"

Kaiyi knelt beside the Cloud Ninja captain. Emerald-green medical chakra lit up his hands, and he held them above the captain's wounds to begin treating him.

Reina, however, did not search for the token as ordered. A mocking glint flashed in his eyes as he smiled at the two men before him and murmured, "There's no need to go to all that trouble."

"Shlick."

A black-and-red blade pierced the unsuspecting Kaiyi through the back, then continued downward to pin the Cloud Ninja captain to the ground.

Kaiyi did not die immediately. He turned his head with difficulty and looked at "Reina," whose appearance had completely changed. He opened his mouth to say something, but lost consciousness without managing a single sound.

"A Konoha ninja... So you killed Reina..."

Holding Kaiyi's body as it fell into his arms, the Cloud Ninja captain gave a bleak smile. He understood everything.

Only moments ago, he had been mocking the Stone Ninja for their stupidity, for letting their guard down and suffering heavy losses in his squad's ambush. He had never imagined that the tables would turn so quickly, leaving them the fools in someone else's eyes.

Once all signs of life had faded from the two men, Kazuhiko Uchiha, who had disguised himself as Reina, withdrew the Black-Winged Blood Blade and began searching the surrounding area for the Pass Token that would serve as proof.

The Pass Token was made from a special material. The Explosive Tags had not destroyed it, only coated it in black soot. Before long, Kazuhiko Uchiha found it beneath a large tree, where the blast had flung it.

After putting the Pass Token safely away in his storage space, Kazuhiko Uchiha began rummaging through the Cloud Ninja's tool pouches. The Stone Ninja's pouch, meanwhile, had long since been reduced to ash in the explosion.

Of the Cloud Ninja's three tool pouches, only Kaiyi's contained a ninjutsu scroll. It held the Medical Ninjutsu [Mystical Palm Technique].

After returning to camp, Kazuhiko Uchiha created a Shadow Clone to catch live fish and immediately began learning the Medical Ninjutsu.

Several hours later, when a shimmering green glow brought a gutted grass carp back to life, Kazuhiko Uchiha smiled in satisfaction. At last, he could heal ordinary injuries.