A sudden, sharp cry broke through the chaos.
"Ah!"
Sarutobi Asuma moved instinctively, stepping in front of Amamiya Rei, his blade driving cleanly into the throat of the enemy shinobi who had lunged out from the shadows.
At the same moment, the enemy's kunai pierced brutally into Asuma's shoulder.
"No matter what happens,"
"I already said it,"
"I will protect everyone!"
Asuma yanked the kunai out of his own flesh, his teeth trembling from the pain, yet his voice remained unwavering.
He didn't turn back; he didn't even know that droplets of his blood had splattered across Rei's face.
"I will too!"
Yūhi Kurenai's form blurred for an instant, before she appeared behind Rei, blocking her with her own body.
"I will protect you as well!"
Kurenai tightened her grip on the kunai in her hand, her expression resolute.
As a comrade, she would not hesitate to shield Rei. As a shinobi, she understood what Rei meant to the village, and for that reason alone she would willingly die before allowing harm to reach her.
"Heh."
"It doesn't matter."
"You're all going to die anyway. It's only a matter of time."
More and more enemy shinobi stepped out from the darkness, their silhouettes multiplying far beyond what Yamanaka Kaiichi had originally estimated.
Kaiichi's gaze shifted subtly toward Rei.
Rei stared at the Konoha shinobi standing in front of her...one after another, stepping up to shield her.
Because of Asuma and Kurenai had placed themselves between her and danger, more and more Konoha shinobi were moving forward, forming a protective wall around her.
"When the time comes, you run."
"Don't worry about us."
"We're protecting you not only because you inherited the Mokuton, but also because…your training time has been far too short…"
"But more importantly...because you are our comrade!"
Comrade…
Rei looked around at the enemy shinobi tightening their encirclement from all directions.
"Get—"
Asuma's command was abruptly cut off when he felt a hand gently grasp his injured shoulder.
He turned in confusion and saw Rei.
"Let me do it."
Rei stepped out of the protective circle they had formed for her.
She glanced back at the stunned Konoha shinobi with a faint, gentle smile.
"I want to protect you too."
"I want to protect my comrades."
Before any of them could react, Rei raised both hands.
"Mokuton: Piercing Shoot!"
A sharp whistling tore through the air.
From Rei's palms erupted countless wooden spikes—dense, overwhelming, and merciless—blanketing the battlefield in every direction.
There was nowhere to dodge, nowhere to hide.The sheer volume of wooden spears turned the air into a forest of death.
Rei stepped forward through the storm of her own jutsu, dried blood streaked across her face.
"He was right," she murmured, her voice chillingly calm.
"For you to live… someone else must die."
Her figure vanished, flickering like lightning.
By the time the enemy sensed her movement, her wooden spike had already pierced cleanly into a shinobi's torso.
The moment the spike entered the body, it exploded outward—branches splitting apart flesh, bones cracking under the pressure, blood soaking the earth.
Screams never even had time to form.
Rei moved again.
And again.
Her form blurred through the enemy ranks, each strike precise, lethal, and brutally efficient.
The sounds of bodies being torn apart—the wet crunch of ruptured flesh and the splintering of bone—flooded Asuma's and Kurenai's ears, trapping them in a nightmare that felt both endless and horrifyingly brief.
It felt as if an eternity had passed.
Or perhaps only a few minutes.
At last, Rei stopped moving.
No enemy remained standing.
Only corpses, torn open and lifeless, lay scattered around her.
The ground beneath her feet had turned completely red, mud soaked with blood until it resembled a dark, murky swamp.
A thread of golden sunlight rose between the trees.
Dawn had come.
Yamanaka Kaiichi glanced toward the Hyūga shinobi beside him.
"They're here," the Hyūga whispered.
Kaiichi nodded subtly and looked toward Rei.
The girl stood motionless among the dead, her hands and cheeks stained with blood, her expression blank.
Rei swayed, unsteady.
Her eyes drifted over the battlefield, unfocused, before she suddenly gagged and vomited violently.
"Rei!"
Kurenai rushed toward her, but another figure moved even faster.
Uchiha Shisui reached Rei first, trembling as he caught her collapsing body.
His peripheral vision absorbed the entire scene; every corpse, every wound, every drop of blood.
His heart shook violently.
He was terrified.
He feared Rei would not be able to endure this.
"Rei…"
Shisui's voice was soft, almost fragile.
But Rei didn't seem to hear him.
Her voice was faint, unfocused.
"Did I… do this?
Did I really… kill them?"
"Rei…"
Shisui wanted to comfort her, but words failed him.
For a shinobi, killing was unavoidable.
If not today, then tomorrow.
But the weight was always heavy, always painful.
Shisui's throat tightened.
His black eyes shimmered, faint red spreading at the edges.
Rei's vision dimmed, darkness flooded her vision. Her strength draining all at once and she collapsed.
Shisui caught her immediately, holding her tightly, brushing a gentle hand across her cheek.
A new figure landed before them.
Hatake Kakashi surveyed the blood-soaked battlefield, his lone visible eye taking in the destruction and the unconscious girl in Shisui's arms.
"Take her back to the camp," Kakashi said quietly.
"Leave the rest to me."
Shisui nodded, and without hesitation, vanished into the trees with Rei.
Kakashi turned toward the remaining Konoha shinobi. They were wounded, but none were gravely injured.
He approached Kaiichi.
Kaiichi let out a relieved breath and said wearily, "Good thing you arrived in time."
Kakashi stared at him in silence.
A flicker of unease flashed through Kaiichi's eyes.
Just as Kaiichi thought Kakashi would question him further, Kakashi simply said coldly:
"We leave in five minutes. I'll take you back to camp."
Kaiichi watched Kakashi walk away, then began reorganizing the squad.
"Rei is incredible," Asuma said suddenly while tending to his wounds.
Kurenai pressed her lips together, worry clouding her eyes.
"I just hope she's alright…"
"She will be," a nearby shinobi replied.
"She only needs rest. Killing is something every shinobi must get used to eventually."
Kurenai understood that, but "getting used to it" always came with pain. She couldn't imagine how Rei would face herself when she woke up. Even though they hadn't known her for long, Kurenai had sensed Rei's purity and kindness.
The rest period passed quickly.
Kaiichi and Kakashi led the shinobi toward the camp.
Halfway there...
Kakashi suddenly spoke.
"It was intentional, wasn't it?"
Kaiichi froze.
His eyes flickered with panic before he forced confusion onto his expression.
"What do you mean?"
He pretended not to understand.
Kakashi's voice turned sharp, edged with cold irony.
"A reinforcement unit traveling covertly… being ambushed? Impossible."
There was only one explanation:
Someone leaked the information.
But if it were an enemy spy, why would that spy inform Kakashi and Shisui to rescue them?
"Most likely a spy," Kaiichi said weakly.
"Is that so?"
Kakashi's tone was calm.
He didn't press further.
Because he already understood.
Only one person could orchestrate this.
This wasn't an ambush.
It was… a whetstone.
A sharpening stone meant for Amamiya Rei.
Kaiichi remained silent.
Kakashi was far too perceptive.
Some things could never be spoken aloud.
"This is all… for her sake," Kaiichi whispered.
Kakashi's hand curled into a fist.
He said nothing.
***
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