The scarred jonin's face twisted with rage, veins bulging. "Brat! You'll join your friends in the grave! Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
A spear of blue lightning streaked toward Retsu.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" he countered, then bolted, hurling shuriken over his shoulder as he ran.
"Lightning Style: Flicker Step!"
"Lightning Style: Ground Runner!"
The jonin flashed beside him in an instant. A kick hammered into Retsu's right arm as the jutsu jolted through his back. Bone cracked. He tumbled from the treetops, skidding across the ground. Coughing blood, he braced against a trunk. His right arm hung twisted. His left clenched a shuriken, ready for one last stand.
The scarred jonin stormed forward, blade raised. "Die, boy! Go confess your sins in hell!"
Retsu glared up, his vision sharpening. For a heartbeat, everything slowed. His Sharingan spun open for the first time. Finally. Now, when I can't even run.
He bared his teeth in defiance. If it's one for one, then I'll gamble everything on Uchiha pride!
"Come on then!" Retsu roared.
Three shuriken hissed past the jonin's face. He leapt back, and froze. Another figure had stepped between them. A Uchiha swordsman, twin blades gleaming.
Retsu sagged with relief, laughing hoarsely. "Hah… perfect. One on one. Uchiha against the world." He turned to his kin. "Yan's ahead. He left a trail with shuriken. He's already exposed. Go!" Blood splattered his lips as he collapsed unconscious.
Nobunaga gave the order. "Watch him. The rest, forward!" None spared the scarred jonin another glance. Against Kenshi, he was already a dead man.
Elsewhere, the red-haired girl stirred on her captor's back. She snapped her bonds, kicked free, and darted away.
"Don't let her escape!" the big man bellowed. Four shinobi gave chase.
Yan, watching, nearly swore aloud. She's faking it. That wasn't a rescue, it's a setup to flush me out! He spun and ran with everything he had. Damn it, lady, if you could break free all along, why not just kill him? Why run straight at me?
The girl dissolved her disguise mid-stride, hair turning violet. She called after him mockingly. "Hey brat, stop running! I'll let you die a hero, saving a beauty. No? Then I'll chase you to the grave myself!"
Yan shouted over his shoulder. "I may be handsome, but I'm still a kid! Don't make this weird, lady!" He spotted Retsu's private clan mark scratched into bark. Relief flickered in his chest.
The enemy squad halted. Yan did too, feigning bravado. "What's wrong? Out of breath? I was just starting to like you. Keep chasing, I might even say yes."
A heavy smack landed on his head. He nearly toppled from the branch. A double-sworded Uchiha glared down. "Enough jokes. Retsu's hurt. Go. Your mission's complete."
Yan's grin vanished. He bolted at once, tossing a final quip at the violet-haired kunoichi. "Next life, I'll buy dinner!"
The woods swarmed with Uchiha reinforcements. Nobunaga's forces had arrived.
Hokage's Office
The day was bright, the air calm. Sarutobi Hiruzen watched through his crystal ball, chuckling.
Then an ANBU appeared. "Lord Hokage, the team guarding the jinchūriki was found dead. The host is missing. We've already deployed pursuit."
Hiruzen's face blackened like coal. "Summon Jiraiya and Orochimaru."
A shadow passed the window as a figure slipped away unseen.
Moments later, Danzo stepped from the gloom. "Hiruzen. The jinchūriki is gone. My Root operatives already pursue. The Uchiha are involved. I warned you they were unstable. This mass mobilization is no coincidence, they're covering their tracks."
Hiruzen's jaw tightened. I just received word, yet Danzo already knows everything. He even sent Root ahead. He's moving his pieces again.
Renji and his friends… dragged into this by accident. The Uchiha mobilized too fast. They weren't prepared, it's genuine. Someone obstructed ANBU. Danzo… what are you really after this time?
Jiraiya vaulted through the window. Orochimaru entered through the door.
Hiruzen wasted no time. "You two, take two ANBU squads each. Pursue. If you encounter Uchiha or Root, you have full command authority. Here, Hokage's seal and writ." He handed over the scroll and seal.
They bowed, then vanished.
Danzo started again. "The jinchūriki's fall is ANBU's failure. I told you, leave her to Root. I guarantee"
"Enough." Hiruzen's tone was sharp. "Now is not the time. Bring her back first. Then we'll talk."
On the Border
Renji crouched with Minato, surveying a resting enemy squad. They were close to the border now.
He turned to the blond. "When we strike, I'll hold them. You grab your teammate and run back the way you came. Our backup is closing in."
Minato nodded. "The two on the left, I can take them."
Renji smirked. Confident, huh? Good. In the original story you saved her alone. Show me that spark, Yellow Flash.
"Then the right's mine. One of them's a jonin. I won't last long. Move fast."
He gave the signal.
"Uchiha Shuriken Technique!"
"Manipulated Shuriken!"
"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire!"
The barrage split three targets off from the others. Renji dove into them like a storm, killing one outright before locking blades with the jonin.
"Go!" the jonin barked to his allies.
Renji's threads jerked, shuriken slashing at fleeing shinobi. "Fire Style: Crimson Claw!" Flames clawed across the path, felling another. The jonin pressed him harder, forcing Renji to fight with everything he had.
At the same moment, Minato struck. His kunai pierced one ninja's back, then he used the corpse as a springboard, flipping high and driving another blade into a second throat.
He landed beside a red-haired girl tied up and lifted her in his arms. Kushina's eyes fluttered open.
"Hold on," Minato whispered, already sprinting back toward Konoha.
Renji gritted his teeth, locking eyes with the jonin before him. "One on one, then. Let's finish this."
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