The forest floor trembled violently as Gamabunta and Shukaku collided, a clash of titans that sent shockwaves ripping through the canopy. Debris rained down like hail—splintered wood, compressed sand, and leaves turned to confetti. Amidst this cataclysm, a smaller, silent war was about to erupt.
I stood between Sasuke and the three elite Sound ninja. These weren't the grunt squads I had dispatched earlier. Their chakra signatures were dense, disciplined, and laced with the cold, scientific malice of Orochimaru. They wore the standard Sound garb, but their masks were distinct—porcelain white with serpent motifs. The "Head Hunters."
"Uchiha Namekaze," the leader hissed, drawing twin serrated blades. "The Master was intrigued by your performance in the prelims. He desires your eyes... dissected."
"He'll have to come take them himself," I replied, my voice calm despite the 45 EP blinking urgently in my peripheral vision. My chakra was at 58%. I couldn't afford a prolonged ninjutsu duel. This had to be intimate. This had to be Taijutsu.
The leader signaled, and the three of them vanished.
Three-Tomoe Sharingan: Active.Perception: Superior.
Time dilated. The falling debris slowed to a crawl. I saw their trajectories—one flanking left, one right, the leader coming straight down the center. They were fast, High-Chunin level at least, perhaps weak Jonin. But my S- Taijutsu was a realm they couldn't comprehend.
I didn't retreat. I stepped in.
I met the leader's charge not with a block, but with a Shunshin enhanced slip. I moved inside his guard, my shoulder checking his chest with explosive force. As he gasped, I used his momentum to pivot, my leg lashing out in a high arc to catch the flanker on the right in the temple.
Crack.
The flanker crumpled, his momentum sending him skidding into the roots of a tree. One down.
The left flanker launched a volley of sound-enhanced shuriken. I didn't have the chakra to waste on a mud wall. Instead, I snatched the leader by his vest, spinning him around to use as a human shield. The shuriken embedded themselves in his flak jacket with dull thuds.
"You're fast," the remaining flanker growled, realizing the gap in our skills. "But can you dodge this?"
He began a rapid sequence of hand signs. Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
At this range, with Sasuke injured behind me, I couldn't dodge.
"Sasuke, keep your head down!" I shouted.
I channeled chakra into my lungs. I didn't have enough for the S-rank Great Fire Annihilation again without risking unconsciousness, but I had enough for precision.
"Katon: Haisekishō! (Burning Ash Accumulation)"
I exhaled a cloud of superheated ash, not at the ninja, but directly into the path of his Wind jutsu. The wind caught the ash, blowing it back toward him, but just as it enveloped him, I bit down on a spark.
Boom.
The ash ignited violently. The Sound ninja's own wind technique fueled the explosion, turning his attack into a backdraft that engulfed him. He screamed as the fire consumed the oxygen in the clearing.
The leader, groggy but alive, tried to crawl away. I walked over to him, my kunai gleaming in the erratic light of the kaiju battle above.
"Tell Orochimaru," I whispered, leaning down so only he could hear, "that the Forgotten Uchiha is the one hunter he can't tame."
I ended it.
Event Mission Update: The Konoha CrushObjective 2: Intercept the Sand and Sound infiltration units (5/5) - COMPLETED.Reward: 200 EP, Skill Book: Shadow Clone Jutsu (Instant Mastery), Konoha Merit Medal.
Current EP: 245.
I took a breath, wiping the sweat and ash from my forehead. The immediate threat was neutralized. I turned back to Sasuke.
He was staring at me, his black eyes wide, reflecting the spinning tomoe of my Sharingan. The Curse Mark on his neck pulsated, reacting to the violent chakra in the air, but his focus was entirely on me.
"Three tomoe..." Sasuke rasped, trying to push himself up but failing. "Itachi... he said he killed everyone. He said only I was left. Who are you really, Namekaze?"
"I am exactly who I said I was," I said, crouching beside him and checking his chakra levels. They were critically low. "A branch family orphan. A nobody. I survived because I was forgotten, Sasuke. And I hid this power because in a village that fears our eyes, silence is the only shield."
"You hid it... from me?" His voice was laced with betrayal, but also a strange, begrudging respect. He had just watched me dismantle a squad that would have killed him in his current state.
"I hid it for you," I lied smoothly. "To watch your back from the shadows where no one looks. You are the face of the clan, Sasuke. You carry the burden of the avenger. I carry the burden of survival."
A massive roar interrupted us. Gamabunta had just launched a massive water bullet at Shukaku. Naruto was charging down the toad's head, screaming a war cry, intent on waking Gaara up with a physical blow.
"Look," I pointed up. "That loser... he's fighting a monster for you."
Sasuke looked up, watching Naruto—the dead-last—headbutt Gaara with enough force to crack bone. The Shukaku's form began to crumble. The sand castle was falling.
"He's... getting stronger," Sasuke muttered, his fist clenching the dirt. "Everyone is leaving me behind."
"Not leaving you behind," I corrected, standing up and offering him a hand. "Pushing you forward. Don't let Orochimaru's mark twist that rivalry into hatred, Sasuke."
He hesitated, then took my hand. I pulled him up, supporting his weight.
Event Mission Update: The Konoha CrushObjective 1: Complete.Objective 2: Complete.Objective 3: Complete.Total Mission Reward Calculation...Bonus: Saved Uchiha Sasuke from Capture.Total EP Awarded: 350 EP.
Current EP: 595.
I nearly staggered under the weight of the notification. 595 EP. That was enough for a game-changing upgrade. But now wasn't the time. The invasion was crumbling. The Third Hokage... my knowledge of canon told me his fight was nearing its tragic end.
"Let's go," I said, hoisting Sasuke's arm over my shoulder. "Sakura and Pakkun are nearby. We need to regroup."
As we moved through the forest, leaving the carnage behind, I felt a cold gaze on the back of my neck. It wasn't a ninja. It was the System.
New Title Acquired: The Shadow Guardian.Effect: Reputation with 'Uchiha Sasuke' increased to 'Trusted Ally'.
I smirked. Trusted Ally. It was a dangerous position to be in with Sasuke Uchiha, but it was exactly where I needed to be to rewrite history.