BOOM!
The detonating tag cracked the silence, tearing the undergrowth apart. Trees shuddered, leaves flew, and with a grunt two silhouettes flickered into view at last—forced from hiding.
One was wiry and lean, wearing a forehead protector engraved with the mark of Kirigakure—the Mist—slashed viciously across the steel. His grin was sharp, eyes filled with bloodlust.
The other was thickly muscled, his forehead protector bearing the symbol of Kumogakure… also crossed out. His lip curled, hand resting on a blade strapped across his back.
"Rebel ninja," Hizashi said coldly, pale Byakugan widening as he scanned their chakra circulations. His shoulders stiffened, his tone like stone. "Missing-nin."
The Mist rogue laughed, pointing his blade at Hizashi. "Hyūga? What luck. Maybe I get to walk away with a Byakugan trophy tonight."
The Cloud-nin snorted. "Don't fool yourself. The Hyūga guard their eyes with suicide seals. You'd never claim one intact. Focus on the job." His own gaze shifted, narrowing dangerously toward Noguchi. "The target is the bearded one. Kill the brats if you like. I'll deal with the jonin."
As if on cue, the Mist rebel turned, licking his lips. "So the little Genin are mine?" He chuckled. "What a shame. Can't even enjoy the fight."
"Stay sharp!" Kusuo Hatake snapped, gripping his short blade Gray Fang with tight knuckles.
The Mist-nin launched a volley of spinning shuriken, metal slicing the air like a storm.
"Cover!" Shigure barked, kunai already flashing in his hands. Sparks erupted as iron clashed against iron, his deflections precise, each strike knocking several aside at once.
"Tch! Little brat," the Mist rogue hissed. "Cocky."
With a sudden flicker, his body vanished. In a blink, he was among them, blade lashing downward in a killing blow—only to meet steel. Kusuo blocked with Gray Fang, teeth clenched as sparks showered his mask.
"Soft Fist!" Akane darted in, her red hair flying as her palm thrust forward. Chakra pulsed sharp, seeking his tenketsu.
The Mist-nin sneered, withdrawing faster than her strike could land. "Hmph. Quick little bugs. But not quick enough."
The ground mist shifted—rolling unnaturally. Shigure's eyes narrowed.
And then—hiss.
A thick white fog poured outward, swallowing the field in seconds.
"Kirigakure no Jutsu…!" Shigure's voice was tense. "This is Mist Hidden. He's setting up for Silent Killing!"
Akane stiffened. Kusuo's grip tightened again.
The rebel's voice drifted from everywhere and nowhere. "So the brat even knows the name of the technique… impressive. But knowledge won't save you. When the mist hides my steps, no eye can follow. My blade… will take you whole."
The mists pressed in. Visibility shrank to nearly nothing. Noguchi whimpered nervously within their protective circle.
Shigure silently willed his dojutsu open. Crimson tomoe spun into white brilliance. His mutated eyes pierced the haze—not easily, for the fog muddied perception—but enough. Where Sharingan faltered, Byakugan's layered clarity compensated. Chakra veins glowed faintly even in the choking mist. To him, the Mist rogue was not invisible. He was outlined like prey.
So. You dare to use Silent Killing… against me?
Shigure smirked faintly. Then I'll end you, using your own trick.
Without a word, his hands flickered. Smoke cracked in silence.
A shadow clone sprang away into the mist… bait.
"Got you."
The Mist-nin's grin widened as he saw Shigure's frame loom faintly through the fog, seemingly unaware. With a flash of speed, he closed in behind him, kunai gleaming, stabbing straight for the boy's spine.
The blade struck true—
Bang!
The body exploded into smoke.
"What—?!" the Mist-nin recoiled in shock.
"You picked the wrong ghost."
Shigure's hands blurred at the edge of the mist.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
A massive fireball roared through the fog, exploding outward with searing heat. Branches crackled, mist vaporized instantly into heated clouds.
But a sudden surge of water tore upward in time. "Suiton: Suijinheki!" The Mist rebel spat a wall of water before him. Fire and water smashed together, exploding in more choking steam.
The forest echoed with boiling hiss.
The rebel spat through his teeth, eyes wary now. "You… brat. You're no ordinary Genin."
"Hatake! Akane!" Shigure's voice cut sharp through the mist. "Protect Noguchi. This one's mine."
Both Genin hesitated. The rogue before them was undeniably near-jōnin level. But Shigure's voice radiated conviction… even arrogance. Akane nodded, pulling Noguchi close. Kusuo raised Gray Fang, scanning carefully, covering their flank.
"Confident, are we?" The Mist rogue sneered, slamming his hands together. "Suiton: Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Water split into three perfect shapes, clones sliding into position around Shigure.
He smirked coldly, crimson and white eyes watching them all. "Water clones? Really? I see your chakra threads as clear as glass. You think this will fool me?"
His hands flashed. "Raiton: Raijūdan no Jutsu!"
A thunder-dragon crackled from his lips, fangs sparking as it streaked the ground. It branched, splitting—front, left, right—all at once.
Crashes of lightning shook the mist. Two clones burst apart into torrents of water instantly. The real rogue cursed, body jerking back as lightning seared against his earth barrier.
"Doton: Doryūheki!" He slammed the ground. An earthen wall erupted desperately before him, holding for mere moments before tremors ripped through. Stone cracked and fell away.
The rebel staggered back, panting. His eyes widened. "That… was B-rank! A brat who can wield fire, water, and lightning… Who are you!?"
Shigure's lips curled upward, no mercy in his gaze. "Your nightmare."
The fog rolled in thicker as the rogue surged forward again, kunai gripped tight, speed doubling. This time, he closed for melee, the Mist's famed killing style.
"You won't win against me up close!"
But Shigure didn't retreat. He planted his feet, lowering his stance. His Byakugan-hybrid eyes glimmered pale and lethal.
Inside him, chakra swirled like stormwater. Hizashi's teachings from training flashed through his mind. Gentle Fist. Soft strikes. Death through veins.
The rogue's heart thundered closer, closer—
Steel lunged like a fang.
Shigure turned naturally, letting the knife whisper by… and drove his palm with full force against the man's chest.
"Jūkenhō: Hakkeshō Kūshō!"
A shockwave boomed invisibly from his hand. Chakra blasted through tenketsu, ripping muscle fibers as a shockwave launched the rogue bodily backward. He crashed into the ground, coughing blood, body shuddering under the force.
Blood sprayed the dirt. The rogue's eyes widened, disbelief etching into his dying features. "Th-that… technique… You… stole Hyūga taijutsu… with Uchiha eyes…"
Shigure's gaze bore down like judgment. "No. I made it mine."
He raised his hands once more, tomoe spinning.
"Now die in the mist you trusted."
The rogue's mouth opened in a scream, but fire drowned it.
"Katon: Karyū Endan!"
The Fire Dragon roared, engulfing his body in a swirling cyclone of flame, washing through him until nothing but charred armor and smoke remained.
Silence fell. The fog finally thinned, burned away into drifting ash.
Across the clearing, Hizashi was locked in fierce combat with the Cloud missing-nin, their chakra colliding in invisible crashes. But as the mist cleared, he glanced briefly toward his students. His Byakugan caught the smoldering ruin of the Mist rogue—and Shigure standing straight, unharmed, crimson-white eyes glowing faintly.
The Jonin's lips pressed tight. Proud. And wary.
Behind Shigure, Akane and Kusuo still shielded Noguchi, wide-eyed. They had seen every step of the fight.
Shigure brushed soot from his arm, voice cold. "The Mist rogue relied on fog and shadows. But against me, fog and shadow mean nothing."
He turned, glancing to Hizashi. "Teacher. One down."
For the first time, Team 7 had faced missing-nin. And while Kusuo and Akane protected the client, Uchiha Shigure had slain a near-jōnin with eyes that revealed everything. Word of this night would spread. And those in the shinobi world who hunted rebels… would soon begin hunting him as well.