In Naruto with the Flame-Flame Fruit

The three of them climbed to the top of the clock tower and looked over at Shinnosuke, who had just taken down the last of the puppet masters.

When he saw the medic-nin behind his younger brother, he looked satisfied. None of the three had sustained injuries—just as he had guessed. Aside from those puppet masters, the rest had only been Chūnin, and a few of them had clearly been promoted straight from Genin in a hurry.

With their current abilities, completing this mission was never going to be a problem.

Shinnosuke stepped lightly onto the tower and said,

"Good. Let's move. Someone else will be coming to take over this town."

Their mission was simply to reclaim lost ground. As for garrisoning the area, that wasn't their concern—Konoha's higher-ups would assign others to handle it.

"Yes!" the three responded in unison, following Shinnosuke as they made their way back.

...

Back at the camp, Asuma was gasping for breath—carrying a full-grown adult across terrain was no joke. Shinnosuke didn't offer to help; he just watched his little brother struggle.

A bit of hardship builds character, after all...

Shinnosuke went off to report the mission while Asuma and the others handed the captured medic-nin over to the intelligence division. Their goal was to extract every last bit of information he knew—especially anything that might help them develop an antidote.

The poisons from Sunagakure were infamous. In the last war, if not for Tsunade—one of the Legendary Sannin—Konoha's death toll would have easily doubled. Now that Tsunade wasn't around, even with Orochimaru—the poison master himself—on their side, things weren't looking great.

Orochimaru was good at poisoning, but when it came to antidotes, he still wasn't on Tsunade's level.

One killed, the other saved. Different specialties entirely.

As the frontline commander, Shinnosuke didn't have the time to sit around formulating antidotes. All he could do was prescribe drugs that might slow the poison's progress, buying some time for those infected.

That's just the harsh reality of war.

...

The three of them returned to their tent and found that Yūhi Shinku hadn't come back yet. Looked like his mission wasn't over. After all, Jōnin were given different kinds of tasks than them. At most, they were doing B-rank missions. Jōnin, on the other hand, could get A-rank—or even S-rank—assignments.

Shinnosuke stepped into the tent and said,

"Rest up. There's a new mission tomorrow. Same as before—taking back lost territory."

Right now, Konoha's top priority was driving the Suna-nin out of the Land of Fire, so most of the assignments were centered around that. They didn't have the luxury of picking and choosing.

"Understood."

Shinnosuke continued, "I've got other matters to handle. You guys rest. But stay alert—Sunagakure's assassination squads already made one move at night. Don't let your guard down."

"Yes."

The three acknowledged the warning, then went off to eat dinner. After washing up, they went to bed.

Kiyosuke set up a few snakes by the entrance. If a puppet showed up, they'd alert the team. No need to worry—everyone could sleep peacefully.

...

The next morning, after breakfast, Shinnosuke arrived and led them toward another town.

"This mission's the same as last time," he explained. "But this time, no medic-nin. Our objective is simple—kill every last Suna-nin. No survivors."

"Understood."

"Yosh! Leave it to me this time!" Asuma said with fiery enthusiasm.

"Don't get too worked up, you two," Kurenai said with a helpless sigh.

Shinnosuke cut in, "Whatever happens, avoid direct hits from their weapons. Understand? Any of them could be coated with poison. And if you run into a puppet master—run immediately."

Puppet masters were still way out of their league. No one knew what traps or tricks a puppet might contain, and the odds of dying to one were sky-high. Without extensive experience, very few shinobi could survive a battle with a puppet laced with mechanisms from head to toe.

"Um…" Kiyosuke raised his hand. "I don't need to run. Physical attacks don't work on my body."

Shinnosuke paused, recalling what he knew about Kiyosuke, then nodded.

"True. You're fine. Asuma, Kurenai—you two, run."

"C'mon, bro, I'm not that weak!" Asuma protested, feeling like his brother was underestimating him.

Shinnosuke frowned. "Don't argue. You know your limits. This isn't the time for a tantrum."

He rubbed his forehead. Was this the rebellious phase kicking in?

"But still…"

"You're not Kiyosuke. You're not immune to physical damage. If you get poisoned, that's it—you're done. And we still don't have a reliable antidote. Asuma, as a shinobi, follow your orders."

"…Yes." Asuma grumbled his reply. He wasn't trying to be a brat—he just didn't want his big brother to think he was useless.

He knew it was dangerous. But being treated like he couldn't be trusted? That stung.

Kiyosuke patted him on the shoulder and said,

"Alright, alright. Don't take it so hard, Asuma. Captain Shinnosuke's only looking out for you. Suna's poisons are nasty—you don't want to die from that and leave your mom bawling her eyes out in front of the memorial stone, calling you an ungrateful son, do you?"

"I…"

Asuma slumped. "Yeah, I get it."

Then he snapped out of it. "Hey! Whose side are you on? Can't you wish me well instead!?"

"Oh."

"Enough, cut it out." Shinnosuke said. "Here's the plan: Kiyosuke and I will take the front. You two handle the assassinations from behind."

"Got it."

...

They set off toward the mission target—a Sunagakure stronghold built into a mountain. Walls of hardened earth, created with Earth Release, surrounded it. Suna-nin stood atop the walls, on alert.

From a distance, Shinnosuke pointed and said, "

Asuma, take Kurenai and flank around the back. Kiyosuke and I will draw their attention."

"Understood!"

"Alright—let's move!"

The four split up. Kiyosuke stayed close behind Shinnosuke, the two sprinting forward in sync.

"Just fight using your usual methods," Shinnosuke said. "But make sure you save some chakra."

"Got it."

They broke from the forest and entered open ground. The moment they were spotted, the Suna-nin on the walls moved to attack—but Shinnosuke's kunai came flying in first, knocking several of them back.

The ones who survived started shouting, "We're under attack! Konoha shinobi incoming!"

Countless wind blades came flying at them. Shinnosuke quickly formed hand seals and slammed his hands together.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A wall of earth rose up, shielding them from the incoming storm of blades.

Kiyosuke charged forward through the chaos, completely ignoring the damage to his body. It would just knit itself back together anyway—no need to be careful.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

He created clones that charged at the gate, while he himself leapt up the wall in a few quick steps. A moment later—boom!—the gate exploded, courtesy of the clone.

"Nice one!"

Shinnosuke grinned, watching as Suna-nin began pouring out from behind the broken gate.

"Bring it on, you Suna bastards!"

"Fire Release: Majestic Flame!"

He opened his mouth and unleashed a jet of flame straight into the gateway.

Screams echoed from inside—who knew how many were burned alive in that instant?

Meanwhile, on the wall, Kiyosuke ignored the physical attacks aimed at him and shouted:

"Flame Vortex!"

A swirling inferno erupted from him, turning the wall into a blazing battlefield!

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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