Both Sides Suffer
Dust engulfed the battlefield, cloaking both Chi Yu and the leader of the Hot Water Village in a dense haze, obscuring the outcome from the eyes of allies and enemies alike.
The onlookers squinted into the cloud, each silently wishing for the Byakugan—if only to witness the victor before the dust settled.
Naturally, Konoha's forces placed their hopes in Chi Yu.
He had fought evenly with the Hot Water Village's commander, showing no signs of weakness. More impressively, he'd even landed a blow—no small feat against a seasoned leader.
Meanwhile, the shinobi of Cloud and Hot Water held firm to their belief in their own leader's superiority.
Yes, Chi Yu was fast, even brilliant in his tactics—he had seized the upper hand more than once—but their leader had deflected those advantages with sheer battlefield intuition and veteran reflexes. Each of Chi Yu's attacks was met with a subtle, practiced response. To those with sharp eyes, the signs were clear: Chi Yu's chakra was running low.
His raw strength matched a Jōnin's, no doubt. But his chakra reserves? Closer to that of a Tokubetsu Jōnin. He was running on fumes.
They were certain their leader would parry Chi Yu's next strike—and once he did, the boy would be finished. A fish on the butcher's block.
Yet, at the same time, a chilling uncertainty gripped them. What if their leader couldn't withstand it?
Just then, a gust of wind swept through the clearing, scattering the dust like curtains parting on a grim stage.
Chi Yu knelt on one knee, panting, every breath ragged and raw.
Not far from him, the leader of the Hot Water Village lay sprawled across the dirt, his robes torn, scorched from the intense heat of electrical discharge.
The allied shinobi of the Hot Water and Cloud Villages were stunned. Was their leader... defeated?
But curiously, there were no burns on him. No sword slashes. The injuries didn't match the expected impact of Lightning Release. In fact, his wounds looked... like they were caused by Wind Release.
But Chi Yu had used a Lightning-infused body technique—hadn't he?
Standing amongst the Konoha forces, Minato Namikaze narrowed his eyes, the gears in his mind already spinning. He had understood what had happened the moment the dust cleared.
Chi Yu's killing blow—had missed.
It wasn't luck. It wasn't hesitation.
It was strategy.
At the last possible instant, the Hot Water Village leader had launched a Vacuum Great Sphere—not at Chi Yu, but at the ground beneath his own feet.
It was suicide-adjacent genius. The wind blast hurled his body backward, yanking him just out of the path of Chi Yu's strike. He was injured in the process, but far less than he would've been if the technique had landed.
It had saved his life.
Groaning, the Hot Water Village leader forced himself upright, coughing blood onto the ground. His voice, though hoarse, rang with grim finality.
"You can't stand up anymore, can you?"
Chi Yu coughed violently, his entire body screaming in protest.
Every muscle fiber felt like it had been flayed open. The toll was immense. The Seventh Form – Fire Lightning God, a technique simulated through the system, had finally come to fruition in real combat.
But he hadn't mastered it. Not yet. And using it with such meager chakra reserves had pushed his body past its natural limits.
Still kneeling, Chi Yu looked across the field and murmured, "As expected of a village leader. Your experience... it's terrifying. You didn't hesitate to risk your life to dodge that strike."
The Hot Water leader's lips curled into a pained grin. "That's the shinobi way, isn't it? When you're cornered, you bet everything. I won the gamble." He paused. "But there's one thing I don't understand. That last strike—when you drew your blade, the distance wasn't enough to reach me. Was that... a mistake?"
Chi Yu drove his sword into the ground to brace himself, forcing his trembling legs to hold weight. He looked death in the eye and smiled through the pain.
"In our strategy," he said quietly, "anyone in Hot Water Village can die—except you."
The Hot Water leader froze.
"...What?"
Before he could press further, his face slackened with exhaustion. "Forget it. I don't want to know."
He exhaled slowly. "This is the end, isn't it? I never wanted to kill someone like you. You're too gifted. If you had more time to grow, you'd be one of the greats."
His expression hardened. "But you killed too many of my comrades. As their leader, both duty and emotion compel me to avenge them."
Chi Yu chuckled weakly. "No need for polite words on the battlefield. We're enemies. Keep your sympathy. Who are you trying to insult, talking like that?"
Then his eyes gleamed with defiance.
"Besides... who said you won?"
The Hot Water leader's expression twisted. Even now, even as he teetered on the edge of collapse, Chi Yu had the nerve to act like he had something left in the tank?
He said nothing. Just reached into his vest, pulled a kunai, and walked toward Chi Yu.
Minato Namikaze moved instinctively—but then stopped.
Daigo's death flashed through his mind—how he'd died using explosive tags Chi Yu had given him, taking down a squad of Cloud-nin in the process.
He heard Chi Yu's voice again: "If I die, it's because I wasn't strong enough. So don't waste your time worrying."
Minato clenched his fists. He hated Chi Yu. Deeply.
And yet...
He's still fighting for Konoha.
That realization ate at him.
Even if Chi Yu's methods were ruthless—even if he was unlikeable—it didn't change the fact that he was bleeding for their village.
If I let him die here... haven't I betrayed everything I claim to believe in?
Minato moved. But the distance... it was too far. He wouldn't make it in time.
The kunai flew through the air—its aim dead-on.
Chi Yu didn't flinch.
But then—suddenly—Minato's eyes narrowed.
Why... why is the kunai veering off course?
The blade struck the ground beside Chi Yu with a dull thud.
The Hot Water leader blinked. That shouldn't have missed.
From his vantage, the kunai had been aimed precisely at Chi Yu's forehead.
But—
As the blade connected, Chi Yu's body shimmered—distorted—and vanished like a reflection on disturbed water.
An afterimage.
The real Chi Yu stood a few meters away, chest heaving.
The Hot Water leader's eyes widened.
"Genjutsu?"
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