Throne Of The Uchiha

Fire Dragon

As soon as the crimson fire dragons emerged from Fugaku's mouth, scorching heat radiated outward. Rain sizzled on contact, evaporating into thick, swirling steam that engulfed the battlefield. The oppressive humidity bore down like a furnace — a testament to the Uchiha clan's fearsome fire release mastery.

Three fire dragons roared forward in succession, crashing into Kurosawa's Wind Release ninjutsu. Though wind naturally fuels fire, Fugaku's flames were powerful enough to destabilize the jutsu. The wind-based technique faltered, buffeted and consumed until it dissolved in the rising steam.

The three fire dragons, partially dispersed by the clash, shrank in form — now the size of large wolves — and streaked toward Heize and his companions.

Tongmu and Murakami stepped forward, hands blurring through seals.

"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!" they called out in unison.

The rain pooled at their feet and surged upward in crashing waves. A shimmering wall of water rose to intercept the fire dragons. The two elements met with explosive force, releasing dense clouds of steam that blanketed the field and obscured all vision.

Behind them, the warehouse had already been obliterated into a smoldering crater. Supplies had been incinerated — mission complete. But the Sand Ninja were closing in fast, changing their route and giving chase. Every second mattered.

"Go!" Fugaku ordered, eyes scanning the thick mist.

At once, six kunai flashed through the mist. Fugaku's kunai were distinctive — curved, deliberately unbalanced, designed for ricochet. They flew in erratic arcs, colliding mid-air and changing trajectory to confuse the enemy.

The Sand Ninja retaliated with shuriken and explosive tags. Flames burst in mid-air. Fugaku's three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly — reading each movement, predicting every angle. With practiced precision, he knocked aside incoming shuriken with swift flicks of his kunai.

Then Fugaku's kunai arrived.

The signature Uchiha shurikenjutsu style revealed itself — unpredictable, multi-angled throws that struck from blind spots. The enemy was overwhelmed. Three Sand ninja were struck in critical points. Though not fatally wounded, they were incapacitated and out of the fight.

The battlefield had shifted.

What was once six versus five had become six versus two.

"Don't waste time," Fugaku said coldly. "Leap past them."

At his word, Sato Maru and Haranoki drew their blades. The team surged forward.

Fugaku dashed straight at Kurosawa, while Hyuga Ning veered toward the remaining Sand Chūnin.

The moment Fugaku's gaze locked onto Kurosawa, the Sharingan genjutsu activated — a subtle, seamless illusion. Kurosawa's eyes went dull.

In a flash, Fugaku was upon him. His kunai sliced across Kurosawa's shoulder, drawing blood.

But Kurosawa was a veteran. At the last second, he snapped out of the illusion, narrowly evading a lethal strike.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Ning struck with the Gentle Fist, cutting off chakra flow in the Sand Chūnin's tenketsu. A clean strike to the throat followed — swift, silent, fatal.

The six Konoha shinobi darted past their disoriented foes, exiting the stronghold. Fugaku twisted mid-air, spun, and hurled another volley of kunai at Kurosawa to stall him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal clashing echoed behind them.

The kunai weren't meant to kill — only to delay. If Kurosawa pursued now, their rear would be exposed, and the Sand reinforcements would close in.

Behind them, the Sand forces had split into two flanking groups. The jōnin-level enemies rapidly closed the gap, their Body Flicker Techniques (Shunshin no Jutsu) allowing them to move like shadows over the terrain. Their speed far outmatched that of the Konoha Chūnin.

Fugaku grimaced. He could feel them gaining.

Hands flew into motion.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Flame Technique!"

(Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu)

Five enormous dragons of flame surged forth in different arcs, weaving through the air with terrifying heat, trailing steam from the saturated terrain.

The fire dragons struck the ground in front of the advancing Sand Jōnin — detonating in a chain of fiery explosions. Mud and earth sprayed violently in all directions.

"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"

(Doton: Doryūheki!)

In response, one of the Sand Jōnin erected a defensive wall of hardened stone, shielding them from the worst of the blast — but their advance had stalled.

Fugaku's chest heaved. Launching eight high-level Fire Techniques in succession had drained him. He popped a soldier pill (Hyōrōgan) into his mouth and pressed on.

The fire dragons circled behind, burning up the mist and blocking pursuit routes. In the Rain Country's dark night, rain and fog made perfect camouflage.

"Hyuuga Ning," Fugaku called, "Status on the enemy?"

Ning's Byakugan was fully activated, veins bulging at his temples.

"They've lost visual contact," he said. "But they're still pursuing. Likely a sensor-type ninja among them — maybe wind-style enhanced sensory."

Fugaku nodded. With various nations' elite units gathered in Amegakure's border zone, it was inevitable.

The team veered onto a planned retreat path. Between the Byakugan's 360-degree vision and Fugaku's predictive Sharingan, night travel was no obstacle.

A faint voice called ahead.

"Captain Fugaku! You made it! Was the operation successful?"

It was Yamada Shinji, flanked by Aburame Nozawa. Their silhouettes emerged from the brush.

Fugaku glanced at Ning. The Hyuga nodded. It was them.

Only the Byakugan could confirm identities with certainty — the chakra pathway system is unique to each person. The Transformation Jutsu cannot replicate it. Only something like White Zetsu's clone technique could bypass that detection.

"Is the trap ready?" Fugaku asked. "The Sand ninjas are closing in. This is our last fallback."

"No issues, sir," Yamada Shinji replied. "Nozawa and I rigged the whole area. We even added supplementary insect-based tracking barriers."

"Excellent," Fugaku said. "Stay sharp. They could appear any moment."

"Yes, Captain!"

The team of eight pressed on, withdrawing toward the Konoha forward camp. Fugaku created a shadow clone, which remained behind as a decoy.

Ahead lay a field laced with traps. Even if a sensor-type detected their trail, the clone would confuse tracking patterns.

Far behind, a Sand ninja murmured: "They changed direction… eight moving toward the Fire border… another signal up ahead."

The speaker — Mori Nakawa, a Sand sensor-nin skilled in wind-enhanced perception — squinted through the mist.

"They've left a decoy," he muttered. "But it's not an ordinary one…"