Two weeks later.
In the Land of Fire border.
With Konoha lookout squads.
Nozaki Hyuga, leader of the Konoha border lookout, stood on the highest tree in the area, sipping water as he surveyed the border.
Nozaki's long, dark hair flowed down his back, complementing his fair skin and lean, muscular build. His sharp white eyes—an unmistakable trait of the Hyuga clan—gave him a piercing presence. He was dressed in the traditional Konoha Jōnin uniform.
"SWISH."
Suddenly, a chunin dressed in Konoha's traditional chunin attire appeared beside him via shunshin, accompanied by a brown ninja dog.
The Chunin shot Nozaki an irritated glare and snapped.
"Nozaki, why the hell did Hokage-sama put us on border lookout mission? Our comrades are dying out there, fighting against those bastards from Iwa, Taki, Suna, and Kumo!"
Nozaki rolled his eyes at the chunin, unimpressed by the way he snapped at him.
The chunin had tanned skin, short brown hair, and keen brown eyes, his lean, muscular physique reflecting years of training.
"Yohei, is there even a brain inside that thick skull of yours?"
A throbbing vein popped above Yohei's eyebrow when he heard Nozaki's remark, and he yelled at him.
"Watch your damn mouth, bastard, or I'll beat you black and blue."
Nozaki scoffed but didn't snap back at Yohei. Instead, he inhaled deeply, steadying his nerves, and then started explaining.
"Right now, Konoha is in a tight spot, Yohei. We're fighting on three fronts, and the way things are going, this war won't be ending anytime soon—especially our war with Sunagakure."
Yohei looked at Nozaki with a serious expression, listening intently to every word.
"Ever since the Third Kazekage disappeared, Sunagakure has been out for blood, blaming Konoha for it. I have no doubt this war will last for years, especially if something unexpected happens."
Yohei swallowed nervously, and Nozaki looked at him before continuing.
"If Kirigakure were to invade our land at this moment, things would go from bad to worse, as we'd be forced to fight on four fronts now that Taki is allied with Iwa."
Yohei's eyes widened as Nozaki fixed him with a serious gaze.
"Shikaku-san also mentioned that the smaller nations might join the war by allying with the major hidden villages, just as Takigakure allied with Iwagakure."
"Do you now understand how important this mission is? By being on the lookout, we will be able to warn our village ahead of time if Kirigakure decides to invade our land."
Yohei nodded gravely to Nozaki after hearing his explanation.
After ten minutes, Nozaki quickly formed a single hand seal and muttered under his breath.
"Byakugan."
Veins bulged around Nozaki's white eyes and he started sweating at what he was seeing.
With urgency in his voice, he barked at Yohei.
"Yohei, send an urgent message to the Hokage! Kirigakure has dispatched a fleet of over a hundred ships—we need backup immediately!"
Yohei's eyes widened at the news. His face turned grim, and he nodded before shunshining away.
Nozaki stood, his heart heavy, as he gazed at the looming Kirigakure fleet.
'I guess this is it for me… but if I'm going to die, then I'll die taking as many of those bastards with me as I can.'
With eyes full of resolve, Nozaki shunshined from the top of the tree, preparing for what was about to come.
______
With Kirigakure fleet
The Kirigakure fleet sailed at top speed toward the borders of the Land of Fire.
Fuguki's eyes blazed with fighting spirit as he stared ahead.
Four hours later, the entire fleet had closed in on the Land of Fire.
"SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH."
Suddenly, countless kunai and shuriken, each wrapped with explosive tags, came hurtling toward the fleet.
The Jonin aboard the ships scoffed at the sight, then executed hand seals in perfect unison.
"Water release: Water wall jutsu."
The sea surged upward, forming a towering wall that effortlessly blocked all the kunais and shurikens.
"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM."
The explosive tags detonated as the kunais and shurikens slammed into the wall of water, and the fleet pressed on toward the Land of Fire border.
Nozaki and the other Konoha lookout squads grimaced as they watched the Kirigakure shinobi effortlessly block their ambush, while the fleet pressed swiftly toward the border.
Suddenly, a black-haired Chunin shunshined behind Nozaki.
"Captain, we've finished setting the traps as you ordered, and a message has been sent back to the village requesting backup."
Nozaki nodded his head grimly in acknowledgement.
"Listen carefully. I'm not sure any of us will make it out alive today. Our only mission is to hold those Kirigakure bastards long enough for reinforcements to arrive. If we fail, innocent lives will be lost."
"Konoha shinobi exchanged uneasy glances at Nozaki's words, yet he continued speaking."
"If you wish to leave, I will not hold you back. But understand this—your names will be stained, just like Sakumo‑san's. Your families and loved ones will suffer the fallout. I doubt any of you want to relive the pain he and his son endured."
Everyone who heard Nozaki's words froze in place, their faces darkening with reluctant dread.
Nozaki paid no mind to their reactions and continued speaking.
"We'll be using Formation B. Take your positions now. If anyone intends to leave, do it immediately."
Without another word, Nozaki shunshined, leaving his subordinates behind.
For a few moments, the Konoha shinobi stared at each other in weariness. With heavy sighs, they too shunshined toward their designated positions within the formation.
______
As the Kirigakure fleet docked at the Land of Fire's border, all their shinobi disembarked from the ships in unison.
A chill ran down Nozaki's spine as he saw all seven of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist leading Kirigakure's troops in the invasion.
'This is bad! Really bad! We're dead for sure!'
Yukina smirked as she sensed forty chakra signatures hidden among the trees and bushes with her keen sensory ability.
"Sensei, there are 40 rabbits hidden behind the trees and bushes nearby."
Fuguki snorted in amusement and ordered.
"Kill them all."
Yukina and her comrades exchanged bloodthirsty smirks at Fuguki's order, then shunshined from their spots at once.
Only Fuguki, Yukito, Zangetsu, and the other seven ninja swordsmen remained in place, watching the impending massacre with eyes full of amusement.
____
With Yukina
Yukina appeared before Yohei, a wide, bloodthirsty smirk spreading across her face.
Her eyes fell on the brown dog beside him, and she arched her elegant eyebrows in puzzlement.
"What are you doing with the dog? Are you walking it here?"
The brown dog barked angrily at Yukina when it heard what she had just said.
"WOOF, WOOF."
"How dare you insult Zorri! He is my partner, you slut."
Yukina giggled, slowly unsheathing her black katana.
Yohei grabbed a smoke bomb from his kunai pouch and said to Zorri.
"Let's do it Zorri!."
"WOOF."
Yohei threw the smoke bomb at Yukina, who tilted her head to the side and dodged it with ease.
"BOOM."
In an instant, the smoke bomb detonated, shrouding the battlefield in a cloud of smoke.
Yohei swiftly formed the Tiger hand seal and murmured.
"Beast Mimicry: All force Jutsu."
In the next moment, Yohei's nails lengthened, twisting into sharp claws, while his teeth grew into deadly fangs.
With a swift jump, Zorri landed on Yohei's back and let out two sharp barks.
"WOOF, WOOF."
"PUFF."
A cloud of white smoke swirled around Zorri and it transformed into Yohei.
"Let's finish this Zorri."
The transformed Zorri nodded it's head.
"Man-beast ultimate Taijutsu: Fang over Fang."
Yohei and Zorri spun at incredible speed before shooting toward the smoke cloud, moving like a pair of typhoons towards Yukina.
"SWISH, SWISH."
Using her hidden sense, Yukina detected the attack from Yohei and Zorri. She flipped gracefully through the air, weaving perfectly between the humanoid typhoons and evading them effortlessly.
Yukina smirked with interest as she continued dodging Yohei's jutsu with elegant precision.
'He's not tracking me with his eyes—that much is clear. He's using another sense… most likely his dog's nose. If that's the case, eliminating the dog first is my best move.'
Having made up her mind, Yukina coated her black katana with silver sword qi, her eyes closed as she waited for the perfect moment to strike.
The two humanoid typhons lunged at Yukina from both sides, each trying to finish her off.
But Yukina leapt elegantly into the air, dodging Yohei and Zorri once more before swinging her katana in the air elegantly.
"Silver Crescent moon flying slash."
"SWISH."
A silver crescent moon slash shot toward one of the humanoid typhons at blinding speed, slicing it cleanly in two.
"PUFF."
"SQUASH."
Yukina landed gracefully on the ground, and when she opened her eyes, she noticed that the smoke cloud surrounding the battlefield had dissipated.
She smirked at seeing that she successfully cleaved Zorri in half, but her eyebrow twitched when she saw Yohei standing in shock at his partner's corpse.
Racked with anger, hatred, and sorrow, Yohei began to tremble before erupting into a deafening yell.
"I am going to kill you you slut."
Yohei charged at Yukina, his body trembling with rage and hatred, and swiped his claws at her.
Yukina remained rooted in place, her gaze fixed on him with an air of bored indifference.
Yohei swung his claws at Yukina's face, but his eyes widened in shock as her head turned into water, splashing onto the ground.
"SPLASH."
In the next instant, Yukina's head reformed, her expression one of sheer boredom as she stared at Yohei.
"You wasted my time. I thought fighting you would be fun, but it seems I was wrong."
In the blink of an eye, a katana made of ice materialized in Yukina's left hand, stunning Yohei. He leapt back instinctively, putting distance between himself and her.
Yukina snorted, her lips curling slightly, and murmured.
"Ice release: Katana burst."
In that instant, an ice katana shot forth from nowhere at blinding speed, piercing Yohei's heart.
"PU."
"COUGH."
Yohei coughed up blood, his gaze locking on Yukina, who stood four meters away, his eyes were wide full of fear.
'She possesses two Kekkei Genkai, and the speed at which her ice katana extended was insane. That jutsu of hers is terrifying—this little girl is a monster.'
Yohei's eyes grew heavy, and through her hidden sense, Yukina could feel his life slowly fading away.
In the next moment, the ice katana shattered into countless shards, and Yohei's body fell to the ground, motionless.
"THUD."
Yukina approached Yohei, and once she confirmed he was dead, she sealed his body—and his ninja dog—inside her corpse storage scroll.
'That jutsu of his was interesting, but he was weak mentally. I should look for someone strong to fight next—this is getting boring.'
Yukina closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them, a wide, crazed smirk spread across her face.
'Interesting. Zabuza seems to be having a hard time. The chakra reserve of his foe… on par with a Jonin. I need to check it outmyself.'
Without any hesitation Yukina shunshined away.
_____