"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique!"
Fugaku's body blurred as lightning chakra surged through him, amplifying his speed to its limit. He appeared beside Chōza Akimichi in a flash, exhaling a massive sphere of flame that roared across the battlefield. The wave of fire scorched the sand black, forcing the Sand ninja back with its blistering heat.
He glanced at the wounded giant beside him. "You alright, Chōza?"
"I'm fine!" Chōza answered with a calm smile. His round face looked strangely serene, almost enlightened. It was the kind of expression Fugaku had only ever seen on monks at the Fire Temple.
Wait… is he planning to go vegetarian now? Fugaku thought, a wry smile tugging at his lips. If that's true, the barbecue shop owner is going to cry.
Even as that stray thought flickered through his mind, Fugaku didn't drop his guard for a second. On the battlefield, the careless were the first to die. Only those who stayed cautious who never forgot to respect life and death—lived long enough to walk away.
The fireball faded as its chakra dispersed, revealing the Sand ninja standing on the other side. His face was twisted in rage, his eyes locked on Fugaku.
If it hadn't been for this man, that oversized glutton would already be dead. The thought burned in his chest like poison. If he could've killed that giant, his side would've gained the upper hand.
"Calm down, Maki!"
A commanding voice echoed from behind him. A tall man in a white cloak stepped out of the swirling sand, his long red hair gleaming in the sunlight. He placed a firm hand on Maki's shoulder.
"Have you forgotten? Don't look directly into the Sharingan, unless you want to become its next puppet."
Maki froze. His eyes dropped to his hand and his blood ran cold. Somehow, his fingers were wrapped around a kunai, its sharp point resting only a few centimeters from his throat.
He gasped, dropping the weapon immediately and turning his head away, too terrified to even glance at Fugaku again.
Across the field, Fugaku's expression hardened. From the moment that red-haired man appeared, every nerve in his body went on high alert. The aura this newcomer carried was crushing.
He didn't need anyone to tell him who it was. This was no ordinary opponent.
As Maki staggered back, Fugaku quickly formed a plan. Through the mental link established by the Yamanaka, he spoke sharply to his allies.
"Shikaku, don't come any closer. Once you've got Chōza, retreat immediately."
"What's going on?" Shikaku's calm voice asked.
"Quick question. You still have the scroll Orochimaru-sama gave you?"
There was a brief pause, then Shikaku answered, "It's at headquarters. Didn't bring it."
"Damn it." Fugaku hissed. "Then get moving. I'll hold this one off."
"This sounds bad," Shikaku murmured. "Be careful. Whoever that is… he's not just strong."
Fugaku's lips thinned. "Yeah. He's that strong."
"Gold Dust Shuriken!"
The red-haired man—Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage snapped his fingers, and dozens of golden blades of sand shot forth like a storm of arrows.
"Earth Style, Earth Wall!"
Fugaku's hands blurred through seals. A wall of solid rock rose before him, meeting the golden projectiles head-on. The clang of impact echoed across the dunes as Rasa's attack tore holes through the barrier. Within seconds, the wall was riddled with holes and shattered apart completely.
When the dust cleared, Fugaku's form had vanished.
Rasa frowned slightly, scanning the area but Fugaku was not one to hide for long. A moment later, he burst from the sand behind him, two massive Fūma shuriken spinning from his hands. They sliced through the air, their rotation kicking up a shriek like twin blades of wind.
Rasa didn't even move. The corner of his mouth lifted in faint amusement.
The first shuriken—thrown with Fugaku's dominant arm reached him first, its speed tearing the air apart. Rasa simply raised one hand. A circular shield of golden sand materialized before him, blocking the attack with a resonant clang.
Then the second shuriken struck. It collided with the first midair, changing trajectory in a sharp arc and spinning around Rasa.
Rasa's eyes widened slightly. The two shuriken began to orbit him in a deadly spiral, and only then did he notice the faint shimmer of wire glinting between them.
Threaded wire?
It wasn't ordinary steel it was reinforced ninja wire, stronger than anything a normal blade could cut.
Fugaku's fingers twitched, chakra surging through the line. Lightning crackled down the wire, coating both shuriken in a deadly blue glow. The cutting power multiplied instantly.
Rasa moved to reinforce his defense, golden sand rising like a cocoon around him—but the lightning-enhanced wires sliced through it like it was paper.
Fugaku yanked hard, and the glowing threads constricted. The shuriken spun faster, closing in until they met at the center.
The cage of lightning and steel snapped shut around Rasa's body—slicing straight through it.
The Sand shinobi watching from afar gasped as their Kazekage's form was torn apart. But Fugaku's eyes didn't waver. He'd seen it through his Sharingan the hand seals, the faint shift of chakra.
A substitution.
The real Rasa wasn't dead.
Fugaku dropped the wire immediately, spinning around and forming seals in one fluid motion. He inhaled deeply.
"Fire Style, Great Fireball Technique!"
A blazing inferno erupted from his mouth, tearing across the sand like a crimson tidal wave. The explosion of heat lit up the battlefield, blasting a path straight toward the dunes.
But from within that fiery storm, the ground itself began to shimmer.
A gigantic golden hand burst upward from the sand, made entirely of solidified gold dust. It slammed down upon the fireball, scattering it into fragments of light and smoke.
The shockwave blew the sand flat. As the dust cleared, the Fourth Kazekage stepped forward, unscathed, his cloak fluttering behind him in the golden haze.
He regarded Fugaku with sharp, calculating eyes.
"Uchiha warrior," he said slowly, his voice steady and cold. "What is your name?"
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