Finally!

  Fewer trees, more rocky outcrops, and a wide-open space—it was ideal for a direct confrontation but offered no pce to hide. Kita panted as she surveyed her surroundings. Aside from a few rge rocks, there was nothing. A hundred meters ahead y the cliff she had been seeking. Looking down, it wasn’t the roughly 130 meters she had estimated—it was between 140 and 150 meters. The river below raged over hidden reefs. A fall from this height without control would certainly be fatal. But there was no other choice.

  Kita swallowed two ration pills in quick succession and began to organize her remaining equipment: four kunai, four shuriken, one explosive tag, and an eight-meter steel wire. She wrapped the steel wire around the end of a kunai and hid it in her sleeve. Then she unched the four shuriken in a square formation.

  With swift hand signs, a bck technique radiated from her position, moving toward the shuriken. Having completed this, Kita perched on a rock, took out her portable water bottle, drank deeply, and resealed it in her sleeve.

  The staggered intake of ration pills, combined with the water, accelerated their effect. Kita closed her eyes, adjusting her still-breathing pattern. Moments ter, her heartbeat stabilized, her panting ceased, and even the surge of blood from excessive exertion disappeared.

  Chakra recovered to ninety percent, stamina to ninety-five. Perfect condition.

  Opening her eyes, she appeared in full bck robes, wearing a tiger-striped mask.

  “Not pnning to run anymore, huh?”

  Madara asked.

  —Ah, let’s settle this.

  Kita responded.

  “Hmph. This isn’t about winning or losing. It’s life or death. Kita, die!”

  With that, a torrent of Fmes of Annihition surged forward. Kita’s hands moved swiftly, forming signs. A wall of water rose from the ground. But the fire was overwhelmingly strong, and her water wall barely held. Within a few breaths, the blue wall was devoured by gold-red fmes.

  Not daring to hesitate, she formed another hand sign. An earthen wall barely resisted the fire attack. The roughly two-meter-square barrier was blown to pieces, and Kita ducked behind it. Noticing movement to her left, she gnced sharply—only to see a kunai, lightly dressed to deceive the eye, emerging from the white smoke.

  Damn it!

  Before she could react further, a kick from the right side sent her flying several feet. She barely stayed upright, and another massive fire attack from Madara left her nearly defenseless.

  Fire Release: Bst Wave Wild Dance.

  Using the Mangekyō Sharingan, he created a spiral vortex, combining it with fire to extend its reach. The area of effect and intensity was immense—even Kita could not dodge completely. The end of her blue scarf showed scorch marks, though her clothing remained intact. Her earlier auxiliary water jutsu formation was completely destroyed. Three of the four shuriken were ruined. Kita quickly used the residual power of the formation to unleash a surge of water, turning the area into a small flood.

  Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.

  The water dragon followed the path of the Fire Release: Bst Wave Wild Dance, rushing toward Madara. Far off, as Kita finished the technique, lightning chakra infused her body and sword, propelling her straight at him. Lightning-fast, brutally strong. Madara stomped to gain leverage, using fire-style ninjutsu to unch a massive fireball.

  Her sword fshed. The fireball split in two, dissipating into wisps of steam in the flood.

  Damn it—Madara refused close combat. She had already decoded his Sharingan. Aside from his defense, he had almost no offensive capabilities. If I can get close, I can hurt him.

  But…

  Hundreds of shuriken and kunai flew from Madara’s direction. Kita could only dodge. Fire-style attacks now coated each projectile—no amount of jutsu could defend against them. Even one chakra-infused weapon could be lethal, let alone hundreds.

  Seizing a moment, she used the Substitution Technique, repcing her real body and moving closer. She executed Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique, but could only strike at Madara’s hidden core. The buried Madara’s core turned to mud. Kita leapt from the ground, dodging the rain of hundreds of massive shuriken, far too many to stop.

  Thanks to space-time manipution, no matter how many weapons she stored, they didn’t hinder her movement. Kita leapt and grabbed usable equipment sealed in her sleeve.

  Three kunai, four shuriken, one explosive tag. How could she force Madara into a state where, even if she fell off the cliff, he couldn’t pursue?

  A rge rock used for cover was split by an enormous shuriken. Rolling aside, she picked up the giant projectile Madara had thrown, flipping and throwing it back. The massive weapon passed through Madara’s location and instantly transformed into Kita herself. Outside of her new position, only a rush of water remained.

  Water Clone!!!

  Madara, surprised, swung a lightning-charged weapon backward. Even with perfect space-time use, he couldn’t turn it into a shadow in that instant.

  “Ding!”

  Metal cshed, sparks flying. Lightning chakra entered the body, slightly paralyzing him. He leapt back, activating chakra to extend the bck rod via Yin-Yang Release. As it pierced Kita’s left shoulder, the lightning-charged weapon struck his left abdomen.

  As expected of Uchiha Madara… and Kita. So fast!

  Their thoughts raced. Both retreated simultaneously, weapons withdrawing from each other’s bodies, blood staining the edges.

  No hesitation—fire and water styles cshed. Steam and explosion filled the air, as fire vaporized the water and water turned into mist, and raw forces collided violently.

  Birds fled, forests shook. Even in this desote mountain, the commotion was noticeable. Ordinary people could feel it mid-mountain—let alone trained ninja.

  “Captain, situation confirmed. Two highly skilled ninjas fighting mid-mountain. We found this.” The man with the cat-face mask held a kunai, now useless. The dog-faced captain received it, still feeling residual heat. The weapon had a visible nick; faint lightning chakra remained.

  “Nearby are fewer than ten shuriken, seems skilled at throwing.” The cat-faced man noted, arranging recovered weapons.

  “No. Not just throwing. One of them is definitely a lightning-style ninja. Residual chakra remains even after so long—he is superior to me in lightning.” The dog-faced captain said. Another subordinate, wearing an animal mask, reported hurriedly, “Captain, found a steel wire trap and explosive tag in the forest. Seems the fight happened mid-mountain. What should we do?”

  “Mission is key. Find evidence connecting the Four Brothers with officials. Don’t do anything extra.”

  The captain’s words were ironcd. The cat-faced man hesitated, “But captain, given the battle range, we may be affected.”

  “Mission first. Whether affected or not, the target is either escaped or dead. Check if alive.” The captain remained calm, always prioritizing the mission.

  “Could the lightning ninja be from the Cloud Vilge?” the cat-faced man wondered aloud. The dog-faced captain replied casually, “Possible. If so, it’s an international matter. Avoid it if we can, but if dragged in…”

  “Does this mean mission failure?” a younger female subordinate asked.

  “Don’t worry. Failure won’t be bmed on you.” The captain reassured.

  Suddenly, the dog-faced man signaled, concealing behind a tree. Before them, the mountainside was scorched, only a few broken stones still burning.

  “What happened here?”

  As they spoke, fming boulders rolled down mid-mountain, setting trees abze. Moments ter, a torrent of water fell, extinguishing most fires, leaving only rge stones to continue their descent. Birds fled. “Seems our mission is affected. Tenzo, Yukari, move. The rest, stay alert.”

  “Yes!”

  Scorched walls, burned ground—the battle had been intense. Nineteen bodies y, not burnt beyond recognition, only minor scorch marks. The white-haired captain checked the bounty orders against the corpses. The Four Brothers, over one hundred million ryo total, and the remaining gang members—targets confirmed. But the wounds revealed death by bde, not fire.

  The captain examined one corpse, cutting open a wound. The dark red flesh bore faint scorch marks. Lightning-style taijutsu…

  “Captain, found it.” The purple-haired woman emerged from the colpsing gate with partially burned documents. Most were destroyed, only a fragment remained.

  “Take it back. Don’t miss any key intel. Bring the Four Brothers’ bodies too.”

  “Eh? Why?” A shorter man asked. The dog-faced captain showed mild displeasure, but the cat-faced man began working.

  “We are ANBU. The mission failed under uncertain circumstances, and these four were killed. Their wounds hold high research value. Right, captain?” Even behind a mask, the request for praise was clear. The captain nodded. “Besides, these four are really valuable.”

  Now, it’s almost time to settle the score.

  The white-haired captain looked up at the mid-mountain, where lightning fshed and thunder roared.

  ━━━━ ? ━━━

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