"Lightning Style: Thunder Fang!"
A surge of searing lightning exploded from twin blades, arcing toward Shisui with deadly speed.
But Shisui had already anticipated it—he grabbed the fallen Leaf jonin's body and vanished with Body Flicker, escaping the full brunt of the assault.
"So fast! Thunder Fang, looks like your speed's been outclassed by a brat," one of the Mist-nin taunted, grinning as he saw Raiga falter.
The others didn't help.
They laughed. Mocked.
"Raiga's done. Scared of a Leaf runt? I say we erase his name from the Hidden Mist records—before he shames the whole village."
Another Mist-nin, holding a short blade, spat the words without a trace of mercy.
There was no camaraderie here.
Mist-nin were competitors.
Rivals.
The Third Mizukage was aging.
Every elite jonin among them dreamed of succession.
To keep things fair, a brutal challenge had been issued—
Assassinate the Third Hokage.
Whoever succeeded would inherit the title of Mizukage.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen didn't hesitate.
They took the mission and marched straight toward Konoha.
On the way, they encountered Might Guy's squad escorting supply wagons on a C-rank mission.
The Konoha jonin had sensed the incoming threat and ordered his team to abandon the mission and flee.
He stayed behind to cover their retreat—
But was struck down in moments.
Shisui laid the body gently on the ground, eyes filled with a quiet fury.
"You all deserve to die," he said coldly.
He raised his gaze.
Twin tomoe spun in his scarlet Sharingan.
The blood-red glow silenced the Mist-nin for a breath.
"An Uchiha?"
"Now this is interesting."
"You hear that? The little rat wants to kill us!"
Laughter exploded.
Some mocked him.
Some looked wary.
Some subtly stepped back.
Everyone in the shinobi world knew—
The Uchiha were feared for a reason.
Their eyes were monsters unto themselves.
Though Shisui had graduated from the Academy less than a year ago, his talent was undeniable.
He already fought at a chunin's level.
Otherwise, he'd never have been placed in the Uchiha vanguard.
And now, with his Sharingan awakened during crisis, he'd grown even stronger.
Facing the jeers, Shisui answered not with words—but with action.
"Phantom Flicker Technique!"
Six afterimages surged around him—phantoms created by high-speed movement, and each one capable of dealing real damage.
Raiga only sneered.
"Lightning Clone!"
With a single seal, he swapped himself with a lightning clone.
Shisui's attack hit nothing.
Raiga's real body reappeared beside the fallen Leaf jonin.
Without hesitation, he hacked the corpse into bloody chunks using his twin swords.
"You care about your comrades, huh?"
He charged, reappearing beside one of Shisui's clones.
"But you can't even protect a corpse."
His blade crackled.
His taunts cut deeper than his lightning.
"Bastard… bastard… BASTARD!"
Shisui's mind snapped.
He didn't know how to curse.
But the rage inside him boiled over.
His Sharingan pulsed—
A third tomoe unfurled in each eye.
His trembling hand reached into his pouch.
Rin's herb powder.
The packet of refined ephedra.
He hesitated.
He remembered Rin's madness.
The twisted smile.
The inhuman eyes.
No.
He couldn't lose himself.
Instead—
"Genjutsu: Soul Stripping!"
His three-tomoe Sharingan locked onto Raiga's eyes.
In a flash, Raiga's body slumped, his mind severed from reality.
His blade clattered to the ground.
"A genjutsu? How pathetic," grunted Kisame's future mentor—Fuguki Suikazan, wielding Samehada like a club, gnawing on a massive chicken leg.
"This fool doesn't even know how to counter Uchiha techniques."
"He's as good as dead."
He glanced at his protégé-in-waiting back in the village—Kisame would be thrilled with this blade.
"Jinin, you gonna step in?"
He looked toward Jinin Akebino, wielder of the Executioner's Blade.
"We're all Mist-nin, right?
But if he's down, then he's out.
Still… we shouldn't let him die yet."
Without scheming or hesitation, Jinin hurled his greatsword.
It intercepted Shisui's killing blow, forcing him back.
Shisui heard the blade whistle through the air.
He stepped back—ten, twenty meters—out of the encirclement, eyes scanning the remaining Mist-nin.
Meanwhile, Raiga stirred.
His body twitched.
Then spasmed.
He broke free of the genjutsu.
"Damn it! DAMN IT!"
"Uchiha… all of you should DIE!"
Fury consumed him.
He couldn't believe a child had humiliated him in front of his peers.
And they had laughed.
That rage turned murderous.
Shisui's Sharingan gave him an edge.
But he was still just a boy.
No matter how fast he was, he couldn't last forever.
He evaded.
Dodged.
But only barely.
"Lightning Blade Art: Falling Thunder!"
"Got you now!"
Raiga's twin swords roared with power, summoning a vortex of lightning.
The arcs surrounded Shisui.
Six afterimages merged back into one.
He was forced to reveal his true position.
His right foot went numb—charred black.
Just a brush of the lightning had crippled it.
So fast… so strong.
Too much.
This is my fault.
Shisui clenched his jaw.
If only he'd listened to Rin-senpai…
Maybe he'd have survived.
But he was a Leaf ninja.
He carried the Will of Fire.
He couldn't abandon comrades.
He had bought time.
He had given Might Guy and the others half an hour.
It was enough.
He glanced around.
Only Raiga remained.
The others had gone after Guy.
"So this is the end?"
His foot was ruined.
His strength fading.
He could no longer fight.
Shisui stared at Raiga.
And waited for death.
"Die!"
Raiga screamed, blades raised.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Dragon Tornado!"
A dragon-shaped bolt surged from his twin swords, spiraling toward Shisui at blinding speed.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A voice cut through the chaos.
Familiar.
Shisui smiled faintly.
Rin…? No… Rin-senpai would never be here.
He left.
But deep down… you still have the Will of Fire. You'd never abandon a comrade.
A gust of wind blasted the lightning dragon aside, saving Shisui from annihilation.
Raiga's eyes snapped toward the source.
"Who the hell?!"
Three figures stepped into view—
ANBU uniforms.
Animal masks.
Silent and deadly.