Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…
Veigar unleashed the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, a technique he had only recently mastered. In an instant, seven identical clones materialized around him, twice as many as he'd ever managed before.
At that very moment, a high-pressure wind sphere erupted from Kazerei's mouth, crashing into Teido mid-leap. His body coiled in the air, shrouded in a turbulent surge of chakra.
Boom!
The detonated wind sphere unleashed a fierce gust that blasted outward in every direction, launching Teido through the air.
He had planned to use the momentum of that blast to make his escape.
But he miscalculated one critical detail—
He was flying straight into an ambush.
Waiting silently in the shadows behind him were Veigar, Shōgetsu, and Tenkaku.
The moment he hit the ground, Teido, already at the edge of his strength, coughed up a mouthful of blood. But he forced himself up and bolted toward Veigar.
"Escape…"
"I will not die here!"
His heart roared with desperation and defiance.
But the instant he plunged into the forest—
A flash of cold steel lit up the darkness.
Slash—
No warning. No chance to react. Teido, running with all his might, was decapitated in a single clean stroke by Veigar's blade.
Thunk.
Clang…
His headless body staggered forward a few more steps before collapsing with a heavy thud. Veigar stood over the corpse, blade lowered, eyes steady.
The storm around them fell silent, as if the winds themselves were acknowledging the end.
Elsewhere, the three Iwagakure shinobi who had been surrounded by four members of the Root unit fell one after another.
But not without cost.
In their final moments, they launched a desperate counterattack, taking one Root operative with them and leaving the other three wounded.
It was a grim ending for Teido's squad.
Had they not crossed paths with Shōgetsu, himself a fugitive hunted by Root, they would never have been caught in Veigar's trap, nor forced into battle.
Their mission had already been completed. They should have long since retreated.
Instead, they died in a foreign land.
Something every shinobi prepares for—
But still… no one truly wants to die.
Back in the clearing, as the winds subsided, Kazerei realized that Teido had vanished. His expression darkened further as he saw that three of his own men had died in the skirmish.
Without hesitation, he took off in pursuit.
But he didn't rush in blindly.
Kazerei, ever cautious, worried this could be another trap laid by Teido.
Just as he was about to cross into the forest—
He found himself surrounded by a blizzard of shuriken.
A hailstorm of razor-sharp steel rained down on him from all directions.
This was what Veigar had prepared for with his Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each clone unleashed a barrage of shuriken, then vanished in puffs of smoke.
Ting!
Ting-ting!
Ting-ting-ting…!
Sweat beaded beneath Kazerei's mask. He swiftly drew a kunai, parrying as he retreated, trying to deflect each deadly projectile as it whistled toward him.
Veigar's ambush had pushed him into a perilous corner, and that's when Tenkaku and Shōgetsu emerged from the shadows.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bomb!"
"Fire Release: Majestic Flame Dragon Jutsu!"
They landed simultaneously, weaving hand seals. Their jutsu fused mid-cast, earth and fire molding into something greater.
The earthen dragon summoned by Tenkaku surged from the ground, but the blasts it fired weren't dirt. They were molten magma.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kazerei's eyes widened in horror.
The moment he saw Tenkaku and Shōgetsu's combined jutsu, he knew—
"I'm going to die…"
That thought echoed once in his mind, and then, nothing.
His body was pummeled by a barrage of searing magma bombs.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Aaaagh—
His mask shattered and fell to the scorched earth.
There was no saving him.
It had all happened so quickly, from Kazerei's pursuit of Teido to his death at the hands of Veigar, Tenkaku, and Shōgetsu, it was over in moments.
Over a hundred meters away, the three surviving Root operatives, each wounded and low on chakra, witnessed Kazerei's death.
They exchanged silent glances.
And then, wordlessly, they charged at Shōgetsu.
They knew what fate awaited them.
But before death, they would fulfill Danzō's final order:
Kill Shōgetsu Uchiha.
At the same time, Veigar, Tenkaku, and Shōgetsu also sprang into action, rushing forward to intercept them.
Just as the two sides were about to clash—
One of the Root shinobi, a member of the Yamanaka Clan, locked eyes with Veigar.
"Mind Body Switch Technique!"
His intent was clear: seize control of Veigar's body and buy his comrades time.
Caught off guard, Veigar couldn't dodge in time. His eyes narrowed. He focused his mental energy, his chakra flaring in an instant.
Then...
He felt something tap the back of his mind. Light, almost gentle.
But on the other end...
The Yamanaka's spirit slammed into something impenetrable. Like a soul crashing into solid steel.
Even spiritual force obeys Newton's law of equal reaction.
The Yamanaka operative, unable to breach Veigar's consciousness, recoiled in agony, clutching his head and screaming.
"Aaaargh—!"
Veigar didn't understand exactly what had happened.
But he wasn't about to waste the opportunity.
With one swift strike, he beheaded the Root shinobi, silencing the scream instantly.
Moments later, Tenkaku and Shōgetsu dispatched the other two.
Two minutes passed.
After confirming the area was secure, Veigar and Shōgetsu gathered the bodies. Tenkaku knelt to examine each Root corpse in turn.
Then he summoned a messenger hawk with a single hand seal.
Tying a scroll to its leg, he stroked its head gently before tossing it skyward.
"Go!"
Screee—!
The hawk ascended into the clouds, its cry echoing across the battlefield.
The three stood below, gazing upward.
Each of them lost in thought.
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