Yuugito: Samui, Fall!
The battlefield of the Land of Hot Water trembled beneath the weight of clashing jutsu. Smoke curled upward in heavy spirals; embers drifted across the wind like dying fireflies. Asuma Sarutobi stood alone amid the chaos, panting, his hands tight around the dull glow of his chakra blades.
Swift Release.
The moment he'd witnessed Teika's speed, Asuma knew he had encountered one of the worst matchups for a taijutsu-centered fighter. Swift Release users were monsters in close quarters—living blurs that ordinary shinobi could barely track, let alone stop.
But Asuma was no ordinary shinobi.
He narrowed his eyes, analyzing Teika's movements, trying to find a rhythm in the chaos.
Teika laughed mockingly. "Thirty-five million. I'll take it."
The bounty.
The price placed on Asuma's head.
Before Asuma could form a retort, Teika's body blurred into a sharp, moving shadow. He shot forward, cutting the air like a thrown kunai.
Asuma reacted instantly.
He hurled one chakra blade toward Teika and slammed his toes into the ground, launching himself backward with explosive force.
Hand seals swept across his fingers like a wild storm.
"Fire Release: Burning Ash Pile!"
He exhaled a dense cloud of scorching ash that filled the battlefield, enveloping both vision and movement. A crackling hiss echoed within the cloud as embers ignited.
Asuma landed atop a torn boulder, chest heaving. "Did it get him…?"
A whisper breathed against the nape of his neck.
"Too slow."
Asuma's eyes widened.
"Earth Release: Rock Fist!"
A stone-coated fist slammed into his shoulder with brutal force, sending Asuma flying. Blood burst from his lips as he hit the ground hard, rolling across scorched earth.
Above him, Teika cracked his knuckles.
"That thirty-five million was easier than I expected."
He stepped forward—
—and vanished.
A spiral of warped space opened behind him, a single black hand shooting out, gripping his shoulder, and dragging him violently into the vortex before he could scream.
Asuma blinked, stunned.
"What… just happened?"
The space sealed shut.
Silence fell for a brief heartbeat—
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM!
The earth convulsed.
Dozens of Konoha shinobi shouted in alarm.
"World Release: Earth Dome Prison!"
Massive earthen walls erupted from the ground, slamming into each other and forming a towering dome. Inside the enclosure—Yugito Nii, in her Two-Tails form, was trapped.
For a moment, Inoichi Yamanaka exhaled in relief.
But Yugito's roar shook the sky.
"ROAAAAAARR!"
She shredded the earthen prison like fragile paper. Three massive tails whipped outward, and her claws slammed into the formation of earth-release users.
Six Konoha shinobi were torn apart instantly.
"Hold her back!"
Jutsu—weapons—chakra—everything erupted at once.
"Wind Release: Great Leap Forward!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Lightning Release: World Race!"
Dozens of Ninjutsu collided with the rampaging Jinchūriki. Explosions detonated across the battlefield like rolling thunder.
None of it mattered.
Yugito opened her jaws and exhaled a tidal wave of flame.
The world turned red.
Konoha's formations shattered instantly, swallowed in a sea of burning chakra. Screams rose, then disappeared in the inferno.
Inoichi clenched his fists. "We can't hold her…"
A broad figure stepped to his side.
Akimichi Chōza stared at the towering green Susanoo far in the distance—Kumogakure's invincible trump card.
His voice was weary.
"If the Uchiha were still here… Kumogakure would never dare to be so arrogant."
Nara Shikaku's usually calm features tightened.
"The Uchiha were supposed to be Konoha's pride. But the result—"
He didn't finish.
No one needed him to.
The consequences spoke louder than words:
Tsunade gone.
Orochimaru gone.
The Uchiha gone.
Three pillars of Konoha ripped out.
Now, when Konoha faced a Susanoo and a Tailed Beast on the battlefield, the remaining ninjas could do nothing but witness their own helplessness.
---
Two Days Later — Kirigakure's Betrayal
A storm swept through the Land of Hot Water.
Not from jutsu, but from politics.
As the sun rose on the third day of battle, a messenger sprinted into Jiraiya's command tent, breathless, thrusting a scroll forward.
Jiraiya unfurled it.
His expression shifted instantly—shock, disbelief, then a kind of cold, sinking dread.
"Kiri… has surrendered?"
Kirigakure—the very village that proposed this war.
The very same village that first invaded the Land of Lightning.
The village that once swore to crush Kumogakure.
Had now bent the knee.
Jiraiya silently handed the scroll to the strategists around him. One by one, their expressions twisted.
"What is the Fourth Mizukage thinking?"
"He is utterly unreliable!"
"The Land of Water is already isolated—why surrender now?"
"Why ally with Kumogakure of all villages?"
The tent descended into heated whispers.
Jiraiya turned to Kurama Murakumo. "When will reinforcements arrive?"
Kurama stiffened.
"Hokage-sama said… we must endure a little longer. The Sunagakure army has already begun moving north. Kumogakure cannot fight on three fronts. They will collapse soon."
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes. "So… no reinforcements?"
Kurama's silence was answer enough.
CRACK!!
Jiraiya slammed his fist onto the wooden table, splintering its surface.
Sarutobi.
Shimura.
Mitokado.
Utatane.
Their clans had sent no forces.
Despite Konoha bleeding on the battlefield, the old guard stayed behind.
Jiraiya could not comprehend Hiruzen's hesitation.
Not now.
Not when Konoha was being pushed back inch by inch.
Suna's advance might collapse Kumogakure in time.
Or it might not.
But Konoha?
Konoha might not last long enough to find out.
---
Shikaku's Plan
Nara Shikaku stepped forward, voice steady.
"Jiraiya. Withdraw from the Land of Hot Water. Fall back to Kikyo Castle. Implement a scorched-earth strategy."
Jiraiya froze.
It was the exact strategy Konoha used during the Third Ninja War.
A move that bought them time then—
—but to use it now, in a four-way stalemate?
It hurt.
"Konoha… retreating again?"
Jiraiya muttered.
Cowards. All of us are cowards.
He rubbed his temples, swallowed his frustration, and nodded.
"Shikaku-senpai… give the order. Rear guard becomes vanguard. Vanguard becomes rear guard. We withdraw tonight."
---
Neji's Camp
As night fell, Konoha's forces began their silent retreat.
Meanwhile, Neji prepared for Taijutsu training inside the temporary barracks. Yugito and Samui sat on the tatami floor, stretching their legs and preparing their breathing. Both women radiated exhaustion from the day's battle, but their eyes held determination.
Yugito cracked her neck.
"Neji, today's drills—make them harder."
Samui frowned at her rival.
"Don't be reckless. You barely recovered."
Neji stepped forward calmly, tightening the bandages around his wrists.
"Both of you need sharper coordination for the next battle. If Kumogakure pushes again, we'll need perfect synergy."
The two women nodded.
Neji glanced toward the torches flickering outside the tent.
"Konoha is retreating tonight. Our team must be ready for any pursuit."
Yugito exhaled, golden chakra flickering faintly around her.
Samui straightened her spine, eyes filled with quiet resolve.
Neji knelt on the tatami.
"Let's begin."
And the training session started—
just before the first footsteps approached the tent from outside…
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)