Genji's group set out, and only a few seconds later Yorin stopped the stress-relief "cupping" he'd been doing for Pakura.
"They're coming," he said.
"Mm. Let's go." Pakura nodded, threw on a shirt, and followed Yorin out of the bedroom.
She'd once loved open-back outfits. Now her back was dotted ring to ring. Anyone who knew would say Yorin was cupping her; anyone who didn't would think the two of them were into very… intense S&M.
What could you do? Other people use clay jars or glass bulbs for cupping; Uchiha Yorin was more… innovative—he used his mouth.
…
Forewarned, Konoha's expeditionary force snapped to readiness.
They knew the timing: if a second wave of Kiri insurrection was going to pop, it would be these few days. Wait any longer and Yorin's subsidy "pancake" would arrive—one sack of rice, one jug of oil, and half a ham per household—and the Second Uprising would lose its base overnight.
Sure, some diehards would crow, "How can you betray Kiri for a measly handout? Have you no shame?" But then—why hadn't the elders, the Mizukage, and the clan heads ever handed out even a bag of rice, preferring a brain-rotting 'Blood Mist' policy that drove everyone mad?
They talk about "Kiri forever," but Kiri's only been around fifty-one years.
Expecting generation after generation raised under Blood Mist to show deep loyalty to Kiri? That's too naïve.
Think Konoha's "shinobi-as-tool" ideology is bad? You haven't seen Kiri's. Kiri's is worse—downright dehumanizing.
So old men of the Mist railing that the young don't know gratitude? It's nonsense—and they know it. For all their bluster, their actions made it clear they supported Genji's plan: strike before Konoha's first aid shipments arrived and challenge Yorin.
Both sides knew the window; the Second Uprising wasn't so much a surprise as a meeting engagement.
When Genji's force reached the great Anbu prison, what greeted them was a full-ready Anbu line.
Five shadow-class fighters stood waiting, looking at Genji's party like prey in a pit.
"This is bad!"
"Konoha was ready—we've been played!"
"Fall back!"
Some turned to bolt—too late. Their retreat was cut off as more Konoha shinobi appeared, surrounding them. What stung the elders most—made them furious and heartsick—was the familiar faces among the ring of leaf headbands.
Old Kiri's backbone; New Kiri's elite.
The "tools" they'd painstakingly honed to be sharp and unbreakable were now wielded by a stronger arm—turned upon their former masters.
"Traitors!" the elders shouted, absurd as it was.
"Momochi Zabuza—you were the next generation of the Seven Swordsmen! You too?!"
"Damned, bloodless 'Demon'—becoming Konoha's dog?!"
The new Kiri elites stared back, expressionless, unmoved by spittle.
Publicly, their Mizukage now stood with Konoha.
Privately—when a lord treats his vassals as weeds, the vassals will treat the lord as an enemy.
Genji sighed long.
Of course—cross an Uchiha and nothing good follows.
He'd known the odds were bad, but he hadn't imagined losing before the plan even began.
"Genji-sama, surrender!" Mei wanted to call out—but held her tongue.
Whatever the excuse, they'd still risen against their Mizukage. That meant death, and there'd be no changing it. Still—she thought—she could grant him a warrior's end.
As the samurai of old would open their bellies, Genji should have a death fit for his station.
While she weighed that, Uchiha Yorin stepped forward and asked Genji, "Can you still fight?"
Genji calmly met his gaze.
"If you can," Yorin said, "fight me. As a shinobi I'll send you off. You've fought your whole life—let the battlefield be your last rest. How's that?"
"Heh… heh, heh heh… heh heh heh…" came the phlegmy, cheerful reply.
"I finally understand why so many follow you, Uchiha Yorin."
"Good. Very good. A shame there's one flaw."
"Oh?" Yorin grinned. "What's that?"
"If this old man were to cut you down here… there'd be no tidy ending."
"Hahahahahaha!"
Yorin laughed like a bell. "Now that's a joke. If you can—then come and take me!"
With that roar, they moved simultaneously—giving it everything.
Genji's seals blurred faster than many young bucks; Yorin flashed in with his signature shunpō.
In that moment there was no "mutual admiration," no "respect your elders." Just two pure shinobi, two warriors, meeting as they should—holding nothing back.
Boil Release: Steam Explosion!
Uchiha Two-Sword Style: Thunder–Flame Sword Dance—Myriad Blade Aegis!
The acid spout said to melt even Susanoo slammed toward Yorin. Mei gasped—but the cascading acid died against Yorin's twin blades and ring of thirty-two lightning-forged kunai, not even singeing him.
"How… how is that possible?!"
Among the insurgents someone couldn't help blurting. No one knew Boil Release's terror better than Kiri elites. Not just steel—chakra metal itself is corroded. How had Yorin blocked it?
Yorin didn't answer. Even as he parried Genji's Boil Release, his thirty-two thunder kunai streaked in, crackling, to char the old man to cinders—
But before they hit—Water Release: Super Headpiece of the Great Aegis!—a flood swelled; Genji's withered frame ballooned into a towering water giant.
In the hands of lesser disciples this was a passive shield; under Genji, the mass of water moved like his own flesh.
In the blink of an eye, the feeble elder became a colossus.
"Uchiha Yorin! Die with me! Let's go together!"
The giant roared, charging, bent on grinding his foe to paste and sating the hatred in his heart.
…
Protagonist's Current Stats: Ninjutsu 8, Taijutsu 12, Genjutsu 9, Wisdom 8, Strength 12, Speed 11, Stamina 13, Seals 7 — total 80. A balanced "barrel" build, already specialized for close combat.