It had been only a few days since the war officially began.
Shinobi from every generation were being pulled into the conflict.
Even genins.
Even Kurenai and Shisui.
My patrol was meant to be routine. I was stationed near the Western Ridge, acting as a mobile unit for reinforcement. But chakra signatures flickered across the seal I had given Kurenai — weak, close to vanishing.
Something was wrong.
I used the Hiraishin no Jutsu
And in an instant, I was gone.
The world warped around me, a vacuum of time and space twisting as I appeared with a metallic shimmer of my chakra mark directly in front of Kurenai's squad.
My boots landed silently on cracked stone. Enemy shinobi surrounded them, over fifty of them, a mixture of chunins and jonins from Sunagakure and Iwagakure. Blood stained the earth, and smoke curled from burnt trees. My eyes caught hers immediately.
She was barely standing, her hands trembling.
Kurenai.
Her teammates were slumped, panting. Chakra reserves near zero.
I didn't look at them.
Only her.
"…Am I late?"
Her lips trembled. "I–Izuna…"
I turned my gaze to the enemies. Their confidence faded. They saw Sharingan, saw death in my eyes. The tomoe in my Mangekyo Sharingan slowly spun, the star-like design.
"Retreat."
"W–What?" her teammate stammered.
"I said retreat."
"We… we can still fight!" another gasped. "We can hold—"
"You'll do nothing but die here. That's not the mission."
Kurenai's eyes locked with mine, pleading. "I'm not leaving you."
My stare remained unblinking.
"This is not a choice. It's an order."
She clenched her fists. "But—"
I stepped closer to her, just enough for only her to hear. My voice dropped to a whisper.
"I'm not going to die here, Kurenai."
She froze.
"I promise you."
The others hesitated, but when I raised my hand, chakra sealing script glowed across the back of my wrist, one of the emergency tags I'd prepared. It flared once, and within seconds, they were gone, teleported away by another seal I'd placed earlier, deep in the Konoha perimeter.
Now it was just me.
And fifty enemy shinobi.
And her.
She stepped forward from the opposing side. Red hair like embers. Sharp eyes. A smug grin.
Pakura of Sunagakure.
Her chakra pulsed with heat, and even the ground beneath her seemed to sweat.
"Well, well, that was quite the entrance. Flying Thunder God… impressive. Didn't know the Uchiha were using his techniques."
"I use what works."
She tilted her head. "And what exactly do you think you're going to do, Uchiha? Fifty of us.Against you."
"I'm alone enough."
Some of the enemy shinobi rushed me.
I didn't move.
Not until they were close enough to see the glow in my eyes.
Katon: Hosenka Tsumujikaze! A vortex of spinning flame shuriken erupted from my side, slicing through two enemies before they even lifted their kunai.
Another swung at me. I ducked, twisted, and drew my katana in one clean, horizontal slash. The blade sliced cleanly across his ribs, blood following like a whisper.
I vanished again, Hiraishin Level Two teleporting from enemy tag to enemy tag, each one I'd quickly thrown into the chaos. Appearing behind one, then another, blade dancing through air and bone.
"Get into formation!" one of them shouted.
They tried to corner me.
I let them.
Then whispered: Raiton: Raigen Raikochu. A flash of paralyzing light burst out, blinding ten of them. I rushed forward, katana glowing with chakra flow, cutting down three before the others even regained sight.
Shuriken came at my back. I twisted mid-air and unleashed Fūton: Shinkūgyoku vacuum bullets, tearing through the incoming projectiles and one unlucky shinobi behind them.
Pakura was watching, arms still crossed.
"Show-off."
Then she vanished.
Appeared above me, mid-air--Scorch Release: Super Steam Kill!
Orbs of intense heat surrounded me, rapidly draining the moisture from the air.
But I didn't flinch.
My seal lit, and I was gone.
Appearing behind her mid-air.
She twisted, but not fast enough. I grazed her shoulder, not deep enough to kill.
We landed opposite each other.
She winced, blood trickling. "That fast, huh?"
"You're too slow."
Her eyes narrowed. "You could've killed me just now. Why didn't you?"
"You are weak."
I didn't want to kill her; I wanted to let her live to tell others about this fight.
She chuckled, "Cold and poetic. Huh… what's your name, pretty boy?"
"Izuna."
"Uchiha Izuna…" She ran her fingers through her hair. "Not bad. Shame you're from the wrong village."
"I don't flirt with enemies."
"Oh? You sure about that?" she grinned, then lunged again.
We clashed in a storm of heat and wind.
Flames versus lightning.
Speed versus precision.
She tried to outmaneuver me, but my Mangekyo revealed every step before it happened. Still, she was faster than most. Her Scorch Release nearly caught me when I blinked half a second late.
But I adapted.
I always do.
⸻
The battle dragged only half an hour. One by one, her comrades fell. The forest stank of blood and scorched bark. My cloak was torn, and a cut ran along my jaw. I ignored the sting.
It was just me and Pakura now.
She panted, one knee on the ground.
My katana inches from her throat.
Her chakra had weakened; I could see it.
Still, she glared defiantly. "So what now? Going to kill me? Finish the job?"
I looked down at her, eyes still glowing.
Then I raised my other hand and placed a fuinjutsu seal on her chest. Her chakra locked instantly, limbs paralyzed.
"You… you sealed my chakra?"
"I said I'd spare you."
"But why? You killed all the others."
"You're not worth killing."
Her pride flared. "You think you're that far above me?"
"I know I am."
She clenched her fists. "You're just like the rest of them… cold… arrogant."
"Call it what you want. I just don't kill when I don't have to."
She watched me in silence.
"Your eyes…That Mangekyō… It's like a star."
I didn't respond.
Behind me, I could feel the chakra trail of Kurenai returning.
Of course she didn't listen.
She appeared on a nearby branch, her eyes wide as she took in the battlefield. All the enemy shinobi… gone. Just me, covered in ash and blood, standing over a sealed enemy.
"…Izuna…"
"I told you to retreat."
"I couldn't just leave—!"
"You could. And you did. And that's why you're still alive."
She stepped closer, voice shaking. "You promised you wouldn't die."
"I don't break promises."
Her lip trembled. "But I was scared…"
I walked past Pakura, ignoring the burning ache in my side. "Good. Keep that fear."
"Why?"
"Because it means you're still human."
She didn't reply.
We walked together in silence for a moment. Then, before I jumped away, I turned back slightly.
"You disobeyed a direct order."
"I had to."
"Don't do it again."
"I… won't."
I turned toward the trees, preparing to teleport us back.
Pakura's voice floated softly from the ground behind me.
"…Izuna."
I didn't stop.
"You are different, you could've killed me… and I still don't get why you didn't."
I glanced back, just once.
"Because I want you to remember what happened here. Every time you step onto the battlefield again… remember who let you live."