"Damn it. I don't care anymore."
Raizen tossed the last Chakra recovery pill from his ninja pack into his mouth, feeling the familiar warmth pulse through his veins. One last push. One final surge of energy before this mess ended.
He surged forward, kunai flashing, and sliced through the first enemy's throat in a single, brutal motion.
"Boom!"
The ninja crumpled, turning stiff as a plank—Raizen had no time to feel pity. A black shadow flickered behind the massive tree ahead. Another enemy lunged with a poisonous Kuwu dagger, grinning cruelly.
"Stab!"
The moment the kunai pierced the air, Raizen vanished like a ghost. The would-be attacker froze.
"Clone Technique!"
"Die." Raizen reappeared from the mud, moving faster than anyone could follow. Another sharp stab, and the ninja clutched his neck in futile resistance. Blood sprayed. He fell.
Raizen gasped, adrenaline mixing with grim satisfaction. He knew the target had tried to escape with a Body Replacement Technique.
No matter. He had a new trick too. The freshly-learned Clone Technique, combined with the Rock Shinobi move, let him vanish into the mud and set the trap.
The second ninja, thinking he'd dodged a strike behind the tree, walked straight into Raizen's ambush. A flash of steel, a shriek, then silence.
Raizen's eyes flicked to the side. "Madara's not looking good."
Madara was still struggling, injuries piling up from resisting a single Chūnin. Without hesitation, Raizen leapt toward him, ready to turn the tables.
"Didn't you say you'd finish him? Raizen, you idiot!"
Madara hissed, frustration cutting through the pain. He was cornered and bleeding, yet alive.
"Run!" Raizen barked, tossing three kunai to cover their retreat.
Madara didn't hesitate. He darted away, but the Chūnin behind them grinned, bloodthirsty, like a cat hunting a cornered mouse.
"You're not getting away!" the Chūnin growled.
Raizen shot him a flat, unimpressed stare. Madara's eyes flicked at him, confused at his calm.
"Obviously we can't escape," Raizen muttered under his breath, "so we outsmart instead of outmuscling. Don't get cocky."
The two of them leapt into the canopy, leaves swallowing their movements.
"Hehe. Using leaves to hide? Pathetic."
The Chūnin scoffed, but before he could act, Madara dropped from the canopy, hands flying to form seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Small bugs! Wind Style: Breakthrough!" Raizen grunted, dodging, analyzing. The fireball clashed with the wind attack, shattering the ground.
Madara moved like a storm, pulling three shuriken from his ninja pack, spinning them through the air. One ricocheted behind the Chūnin, the other two barreling forward.
Raizen grinned, dark amusement hiding under sweat and grime. "Great. Kunai, mud, and chaos. Just another Tuesday."