"Subarashii!"
At Ran's heartfelt exclamation, Aburame Mumura led Uchiha Ran and Uchiha Ruka to a position roughly two kilometers away from their target.
"This is as far as I'll go," Mumura said, coming to a stop and lowering his voice. "Pakura will be in your hands from here. My combat strength is limited—I'll remain at a distance and provide warning."
That was the survival rule for reconnaissance shinobi.
If you weren't strong enough, you stayed far from the battlefield—otherwise you'd only become leverage in the enemy's hands.
As they closed in on the final stretch, Ruka suddenly asked,
"So… you going in first, or should I?"
"Why not both of us?" Ran replied, genuinely puzzled. "Since when do ninja follow martial honor? Or are Konoha ninja supposed to be special?"
He shot her a look that clearly said: We're assassins, not wandering heroes.
In this twisted world, ninja proved their worth through results.
Completing the mission mattered more than anything else.
Only a rare few placed comrades above objectives.
"…You're not wrong," Ruka admitted after a pause. "Fine. Let's test her with a classic Uchiha approach."
Two kilometers meant nothing to shinobi.
In a flash—
They appeared directly in front of their target.
Pakura froze.
Two Leaf Village forehead protectors.
What the hell?
She'd gone to absurd lengths to stay hidden—constantly retreating into the Wind Country desert, eating sand and enduring sandstorms just to shake Konoha's trackers—
—and still got found?
Then what was all that suffering for?!
"Pakura," Ruka said coldly, eyes sharp.
"As a jōnin of Sunagakure, what business do you have entering another nation's territory without notice?"
"Uchiha…?" Pakura's gaze flicked to the clan crest on Ruka's arm.
The next instant—
Scorch Release: Foxfire Orb!
Hand seals snapped together, and an orange-yellow fireball shaped like a fox burst from Pakura's mouth, screaming through the air toward them.
No warning. No hesitation.
Classic preemptive strike.
The foxfire flared brightly, illuminating the battlefield. Ran and Ruka reacted instantly.
Like the Uchiha's own Great Fireball Technique, Pakura's Foxfire Orb had one fatal weakness—
Speed.
Neither of them even bothered with a substitution. A simple Body Flicker carried them clear.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Two fire techniques roared back in response.
Pakura scoffed.
Fire Release?
Against Scorch Release?
In her eyes, bloodline techniques eclipsed ordinary ninjutsu in every way. Compared to her kekkei genkai, even B- and C-rank elemental jutsu were laughable.
She sidestepped Ran's Phoenix Sage Fire effortlessly, then countered again—
Foxfire Orb collided head-on with Ruka's Great Fire Annihilation.
Orange and crimson flames clashed, twisted together, and then—
BOOM!
The massive red inferno was swallowed whole, detonating in a violent explosion.
The air turned scorching hot.
"Pakura," Ruka called out, voice firm. "Last warning. Surrender."
"Don't joke," Pakura sneered.
"Ninja don't surrender during missions. If you want answers, earn them."
Her gaze swept over them dismissively.
The Uchiha really are finished, she thought.
All that's left are women and children?
Then—
Ran slowly drew his blade.
"Carve open the world… Floating Life, Dreamlike Illusion."
From the moment the fight began, Pakura had been careful—
She never once looked into their eyes.
But as Ran's blade slid free, cold steel caught the light, reflecting straight into her vision.
Along with it came his soft, almost demonic whisper.
"Just a few seconds. That's all it took—including the moment I drew my sword."
Her expression twisted.
"Die," Pakura snarled.
"Scorch Release: Evaporation Kill!"
Her signature technique.
Fire and Wind combined—spheres of scorching heat formed around her, hovering, then launching outward.
In close combat, Evaporation Kill was terrifying.
One touch—and the moisture in a body would be instantly vaporized, leaving behind a dried corpse.
"Burn away, you damned Uchiha!"
She unleashed the technique in a furious barrage—
—but—
"Ran?" Ruka frowned.
"…What's she doing?"
They were standing calmly on a distant tree branch.
Meanwhile, Pakura was still on the ground—
Attacking empty air.
Flailing. Spinning. Dodging imaginary enemies.
"…She's dancing," Ruka muttered. "Why is she dancing?"
Ran chuckled softly.
"Ruka-jie… who said Uchiha illusion techniques can only be triggered through Sharingan?"
Many illusions relied on induction—
A movement.
A sound.
A momentary lapse.
"My zanpakutō already built an illusion space around her," Ran explained lightly.
"In her mind, she's probably killed us ten times over by now."
With a subtle adjustment of chakra—
Pakura's frantic movements shifted.
Her violent motions turned into something far more… rhythmic.
"…Is that a grass skirt dance?" Ruka stared.
"Control's a bit delicate," Ran said thoughtfully. "Gotta be gentle."
Ruka exhaled in disbelief.
"Your ability… it's not just strange."
She watched Pakura continue her absurd performance.
"…It's terrifying."
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