With Kotaro
"SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!"
"BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!, BOOM!"
Multiple chakra-infused slashes collided with fiery projectiles, erupting in a blazing explosion of red and orange.
Kotaro's heavy breathing was accompanied by a broad smile, but the Uchiha only frowned, eyes locked on him with deadly seriousness.
'This guy's good. His kenjutsu may be more refined than mine, but against my Sharingan, it's worthless. Every movement is laid bare before me. I've wasted enough time—I'll finish this now and rejoin the others.'
Having made up his mind, the Uchiha swiftly snatched a handful of shuriken and kunai from his pouch and hurled them toward Kotaro.
"SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!"
Kotaro snorted with disdain when he saw the Uchiha's terrible aim. Just as he was about to taunt him, the shuriken suddenly bent in midair, knocking the kunai aside and altering their trajectories.
"CLANK!. CLANK!, CLANK!, CLANK!, CLANK!"
Kotaro's eyes widened in shock as five kunai whistled through the air toward him, and he threw himself into a desperate roll to avoid them.
"PING!, PING!, PING!, PING!, PING!"
At that exact moment, the Uchiha smirked. Gripping the ninja wires with both hands and his teeth, he dragged them toward himself in a single, ruthless motion.
"SHIIIIINNGGG!"
In an instant, the shurikens shifted their trajectory, whirling around Kotaro and weaving a spider-web made of ninja wires that wrapped tightly around his body, trapping him against the tree trunk.
Kotaro could only look at the Uchiha in astonishment, his breath catching as he witnessed such refined shurikenjutsu.
'This kid is incredible—his shurikenjutsu is the best I've ever encountered. He even used the trees around me to trap me.'
Kotaro gave a small smirk, his heart racing with excitement as he locked eyes on the Uchiha.
Seeing Kotaro smirk, the Uchiha's scowl deepened. "You've got guts… but they won't save you here. I've wasted enough time. I'll end this now—nothing will be left of you but ashes."
He swiftly started executing a series of intricate hand seals, his Sharingan eyes never leaving Kotaro.
Kotaro snorted, his gaze fixed on the Uchiha, fearless, showing no sign of struggling against the trap.
________
With Yukina
Hidden behind a massive tree, Yukina, Ichiro, and Hiro watched Kotaro's battle in silence. The moment Hiro and Ichiro saw the Uchiha begin a long chain of hand seals, they prepared to intervene—but Yukina stopped them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Don't. Our ambush has to be flawless. He hasn't noticed us yet."
Ichiro and Hiro narrowed their eyes at her words, irritation flashing across their faces as Hiro began arguing with Yukina.
"If we don't interfere, Kotaro-san will die! The Uchiha is molding an enormous amount of chakra— I can feel it, and I'm not even a sensor-type shinobi!"
Ichiro nodded in agreement with Hiro, while Yukina merely smirked, her gaze fixed on Kotaro.
"Take a good look at Kotaro's face, both of you. Does he look desperate or worried to you?"
Upon hearing Yukina's question, Hiro and Ichiro froze in shock as they noticed Kotaro smirking, his expression utterly devoid of fear or worry.
"He must have a plan Interfering now would ruin our ambush and could compromise his strategy entirely. That could cost us this battle. We have to trust him."
Ichiro and Hiro nodded in agreement after hearing Yukina's explanation, and the trio remained hidden in their spot, silently watching the battle.
_______
With Kotaro
After finishing the hand seals, the Uchiha drew in a deep breath and unleashed a wide torrent of red-orange flames from his mouth, engulfing the area in a searing inferno.
"Fire Release: Purgatory Flame Of Rage."
"WHOOSH!"
The wide torrent of red-orange flames surged forward with a terrifying ferocity towards Kotaro, it was roaring like a living beast from hell as it devoured everything in its path.
The heat was suffocating, warping the air and sending waves of shimmering distortion across the battlefield.
"CRACK!, CRACK!"
"WHOOSH!"
Trees splintered and ignited instantly, their bark cracking and hissing as the inferno consumed them.
Kotaro didn't panic; he simply watched the inferno charging toward him, a calm smile playing on his lips.
"My timing needs to be perfect for this to work."
"WHOOSH."
"AAAAAGGGHHHH."
The flaming inferno consumed everything in its path, yet the Uchiha didn't lower his guard. He continued watching the blaze devour everything while breathing heavily.
____
With Yukina
Hiro and Ichiro's faces turned gloomy as they watched the fire jutsu consume everything in its path, but Yukina didn't seem worried. Her eyes immediately shifted to one of the largest trees on the battlefield, and a smirk played across her lips.
Seeing Hiro and Ichiro's gloomy expressions, Yukina leaned closer and spoke softly.
"Relax, you two. Kotaro-senpai is still alive—I can sense his chakra signature clearly."
Relieved by what they heard, Ichiro and Hiro continued to hide, silently watching the battle.
_____
With Kotaro
Kotaro's breath came in ragged gasps, his heart hammering in his chest. Despite the pain searing through his badly burned right arm, a wide grin spread across his face as he muttered under his breath.
"That was way too close—he almost burned me to ashes."
He shifted his head, eyes locking on the Uchiha as he crouched hidden among the tree branches.
"Ever since I joined Kirigakure, I have focused on honing my Kenjutsu, refining my wind affinity, and mastering various wind-style ninjutsu."
'My wind style ninjutsu won't work against this damn Uchiha… he'll just counter it with fire jutsu, and thanks to his Sharingan, he can keep up with my Kenjutsu too.'
Kotaro's eyes narrowed, thoughts racing as he searched for a way to turn the tide in his favor.
'I need to take him by surprise. I may not know how to set a trap like the others, but I have something that will completely catch him off guard.'
He quickly reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small, brown pallet.
Kotaro smirked as he held the pallet tightly in his palm and whispered to himself.
'I wonder… how do you plan to fight without your Sharingan? You rely on those fancy eyes far too much.'
Kotaro sheathed his katana back and threw the pallet towards the Uchiha.
"SWISH!"
Out of the corner of his eye, the Uchiha saw something hurtling toward his head. He ducked—but froze when he noticed the brown pallet.
"BOOM."
"AAAAAGGGHHHH."
A blinding flash erupted from the pallet, temporarily stunning the Uchiha, while Kotaro swiftly began executing a series of hand seals.
After finishing the hand seals, he took a deep breath and exhaled a sharp, thin wind from his mouth.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Piercing Spear."
"WHOOSH."
"PU!"
"AAAAAGGGHHHH."
Kotaro's smirk widened as a loud, pained scream tore from the Uchiha.
After a few moments, the blinding light faded, revealing the Uchiha kneeling on the ground, his face twisted in pain. A smirk crossed Kotaro's face as he emerged from his hiding spot.
"SWISH."
But at that instant, Yukina swung her katana with elegant precision, and a bright silver crescent-moon-shaped sword qi shot from her hiding spot at incredible speed toward the Uchiha.
"SQUASH."
The bright silver crescent moon sword qi sliced through the Uchiha's neck cleanly, and a fountain of blood erupted as his head flew through the air.
Kotaro was taken aback by the scene, but when he turned his head and saw Yukina, Ichiro, and Hiro walking calmly toward him, each wearing a small smile, he couldn't help but smirk.
"Well… well… the three of you are still alive."
Yukina giggled softly upon hearing Kotaro's words..
"Of course we're alive, Kotaro-senpai. Do you honestly think some Uchiha could take me down? Being killed by them would be a disgrace."
Kotaro chuckled at her reply, but then looked at Yukina, confusion flickering across his face, before asking.
"Yukina, why are you dressed like an Uchiha?"
The second Yukina heard the question, a massive tic twitched above her eyebrows, and she yelled at Kotaro.
"First, those two idiots ask why I'm naked. Now that I'm dressed, you're asking why I'm dressed like an Uchiha? Seriously, give me a break!"
Kotaro paused, caught off guard by Yukina's outburst, then he let out a booming laugh, the sound echoing across the clearing.
"HAHAHAHA! You are really an interesting little girl."
Yukina let out a snort, though a small smile betrayed her amusement at Kotaro.
"Kotaro-senpai, let's stop fooling around. We need to go back and support Uncle Yukito and Uncle Zangetsu. Those ANBU they're fighting are no joke—their chakra is way denser than the Suna ANBU I faced."
Ichiro's lips curled into a smirk as he turned toward Yukina.
"Don't worry about Yukito-sama, sister. He's the smartest person I've ever known. Since Yukitaro's death, he's pushed himself harder than ever—and now, he's stronger than Yukitaro could have ever imagined."
Yukina smiled in relief at his words, but Kotaro's eyes narrowed as he turned toward the trio, his voice cutting through the silence.
"Even if Ichiro's words are true, we must return at once. The longer our clash with Konoha drags on, the heavier our losses will become. This battle must end as soon as possible."
Just as Yukina, Hiro, and Ichiro gave serious nods, ready to join the main Kirigakure forces, Kotaro stepped forward and stopped them, locking eyes with Yukina.
"Yukina-chan, since you were the one who dealt the killing blow, the Uchiha's corpse is yours."
Yukina giggled upon hearing this and shook her head.
"Can't do, Kotaro‑senpai. The Uchiha I fought burned my kunai pouch and every tool I had to ashes—including my Corpse Storage Scroll. You can keep the corpse; I'll just take his ninja tools as compensation."
Kotaro nodded, then strode toward the Uchiha, sealing his corpse in the corpse storage scroll. He then handed Yukina all the ninja tools the Uchiha had been carrying.
"Alright guys let's go."
Yukina nodded, matching Hiro and Ichiro's rhythm, and in the next instant, all three shunshined away as one from the battlefield.
______