Naruto: Starting with the Granted Strongest Eye

Rain drizzled down, pattering off massive tree trunks and soaking the forest floor. Six figures suddenly dropped onto a thick branch overlooking the looming Beast Castle. Their expressions were grim.

Originally, eight shinobi were supposed to infiltrate, but fierce battles with the cultists in recent days had claimed two skilled fighters. Now, only six remained.

A mist-ninja at the rear—his face partly hidden by an eyepatch—peered toward the forest edge before silently joining the front five.

"Stay alert—enemy shinobi could be lying in wait. These aren't cultists," he whispered. Kunai ricocheted into a nearby thicket.

He formed hand-seals, and the others formed a tight defensive circle. One spoke up: "Lord Ao, any idea what kind of shinobi it is?"

Ao snorted. "Not sure—but one of them just formed a hand-seal."

As their sensory shinobi, he recognized the signature of a genjutsu seal. Then the thicket trembled. A poof of white smoke erupted. Ao staggered back: "Evasive!"

BOOM! A massive fire explosion engulfed the thicket and hit the mist-ninja's position, extinguishing the smoke.

SWISH! Ao sealed again, eyes sweeping the area, and then three figures emerged into view.

"Come on, Mist-village, that's not cool—you blew up our clones! Our clones didn't do anything wrong!" It was Tō, his voice sharp. He stood with Shisui and Shisui's teacher, fresh from the Beast Castle. Rain soaked their cloaks, and their eyes held quiet fury.

They didn't have their Sharingan activated yet and showed no desire to escalate, but their clones were pummeled by Ao's water-fire jutsu.

Ao stiffened, narrowing his gaze. "I thought you badged shinobi were Shisui's Shadow Jumpers. I didn't expect YOU." His voice froze. "Your chakra—I'll remember it."

His tone turned cold as he glared at Shisui. Tō smirked and motioned to Shisui.

Shisui smiled. "This one's a Hyūga with Byakugan. What if today we take his eyes—either return or destroy them?"

Within Konoha, shinobi were united. Powerful kekkei genkai like the Byakugan shouldn't fall into enemy hands. And here was their chance. Ao launched into explanation.

"That one is Ohtobi—a Uchiha. If we can, we'll take three pairs of Sharingan. But beware: his genjutsu is murder. You won't even know you're dead."

Ao struck first. His taijutsu was strong; paired with Byakugan, it was lethal. Hands formed seals swiftly as he called out:

"Water Release—Multi Water Clone!"

Six mirror images appeared. "Water Release—Azure Dragon Palm!" they all shouted, chakra flaring with Byakugan grace.

But Shisui, Shisui's teacher, and Tō were prepared. BAM! BAM! BAM!—Within moments, the water clones shattered.

Tō's hand hovered over his sword. Itachi engaged two clones, but their shallow power made short work of one. A swift iai strike cleaved through two more clones.

Ao spat, his voice icy. "Water Release—Water Dragon Bullet!"

Three cultist ninjas behind him formed seals, unleashing a torrent at the trio, Ao included. Shisui and Tō sprang back, sharing a seal:

"Fire Release—Great Fireball Jutsu!"

BOOM! The explosion rocked the forest, steam and fire scattering leaves in every direction. The rain muddied the battlefield and clouded vision.

Ao whispered urgently: "That Konoha leader wields Sharingan. His perception is—like mine. But be wary of the others—if you slip into genjutsu, you won't even sense the danger. Byakugan ready."

He activated Byakugan, scanning the soggy trees.

Shisui began to explain: "Byakugan's penetrating vision gives them reconnaissance dominance. So we—" But Tō and Itachi anticipated his words and activated—

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

They scattered through the trees, rain dripping off their cloaks.

Ao sighed in exasperation, shaking his head. The rain made Fire Release less effective—the earlier great fireball barely forced the enemy to retreat. Moist air and overcast skies diluted its potency.

Tō frowned, thinking: if only he had lightning release—especially in this damp forest...

He smirked as an idea struck. Hands flashed into seals.

Meanwhile, several kilometers away, clouds in the sky obscured other ninja forces.

Mist-ninjas stood alert. One murmured, "Looks like shinobi are fighting over there—but these cultists, their tactics can't match such destructive power. That's a shinobi clash."

Darui narrowed his eyes. One of the larger Mist elite pulled out a notebook and began scribbling feverishly: "A battle between shinobi… the heart's passion…"

Smiling, he added, "I can't resist watching other villages' shinobi. Come on!"

Another Mist operative rolled his eyes, thinking, "Why did the boss send these jokers?"

In the northwest, sinister faces around the scuffle smiled coldly. A few shadows stole away, drawn toward the unfolding fight.

It seemed this clash was only beginning...

The battlefield trembles under rain and tension, as Sharingan and Byakugan shinobi face off in this forest ambush.