Fuguki was blasted away like a broken puppet, his massive body tearing through the air and flew far away from the battlefield at tremendous speed.
"BOOM!"
The giant Rasengan exploded and Fuguki screamed in pain, his eyes widening in agony before he coughed up a large mouthful of blood.
"Gahhh!"
After being blasted far away for sometime, Fuguki finally crashed violently into the ground, the ground shattering beneath him. His body twitched as he struggled to rise, but a violent cough escaped his lips instead.
"Gahh!"
A large mouthful of blood splattered onto the cracked ground as pain surged through his entire body. His vision blurred, and every breath felt like fire tearing through his chest.
His body was covered in critical wounds from receiving the giant Rasengan, blood dripping endlessly as his injuries healed at an agonizingly slow pace. Every breath he took was heavy, and despite his powerful vitality and Samehada's assistant, recovery came far too slowly to restore his battered body.
'Samehada… it couldn't absorb that chakra. No… it was terrified of absorbing it. How was that even possible? Samehada could devour chakra with ease — even the chakra of the Bijuu. Yet the moment it came into contact with that chakra, it trembled in fear and recoiled as if facing a natural predator. What kind of chakra was so terrifying that even Samehada feared it?'
After four grueling hours, Samehada finally managed to completely stabilize Fuguki's condition. The living blade slowly detached itself from his body, its scales trembling faintly as if exhausted from the massive effort.
"GIGIGIGI!"
Fuguki let out a faint smile as he gently ran his hand across Samehada's rough scales, patting the living blade with rare softness.
"Thanks, girl… I owe you one. Don't worry — next time, we'll have our revenge on the Yellow Flash, I promise."
"GIGIGIGI!"
Fuguki grit his teeth in pain and reached into his pouch, pulling out a worn first-aid kit with trembling hands. Blood dripped from his battered body as he quickly began treating his own wounds, wrapping bandages around the deepest injuries while forcing himself to stay conscious.
After finishing the first aid treatment, Fuguki quickly changed into a fresh set of clothes. Slinging Samehada across his back, he formed a single hand seal before vanishing in an instant using shunshin, leaving behind only a faint gust of wind.
_______
With Yukina
Yukina clicked her tongue in frustration as she stood at the rendezvous point, her eyes scanning the darkening horizon for any sign of Fuguki. The blazing sun had already begun sinking beneath the horizon, painting the sky in shades of crimson and orange, yet Fuguki still hadn't appeared.
She and the rest of her squad had been waiting for hours now. The air had grown colder, tension slowly building with every passing minute. Yukina crossed her arms tightly, irritation clear on her face.
She still burning with the desire to face Minato head-on. But Fuguki's order had been absolute—no room for argument, no chance to stay and fight.
With no other choice left, she was forced to fall back to the rendezvous point, swallowing her frustration as she retreated and waited there for Fuguki to arrive.
Mangetsu glanced at Yukina, noticing the tension etched across her face and the frustration simmering in her eyes.
"Yukina-chan, don't worry… Fuguki-sama will be fine. After all, he's the strongest of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist," he said, trying to comfort Yukina with his unwavering confidence.
Yukina clenched her fist so tightly her knuckles turned white, her body trembling with barely restrained anger. For a split second, she even thought of driving her punch straight into Mangetsu's face.
She wasn't worried about Fuguki at all—she knew better than anyone how monstrously strong her sensei was. He wouldn't go down so easily… not against anyone.
But before she could move, a calm, cold voice of Kisame cut through the tension.
"I am not sure about this Mangetsu."
They all turned toward Kisame—even Zabuza among them—gazing at him with clear confusion etched across their faces.
Kisame let out a slow sigh, shoulders dropping slightly as he noticed their silence and the way their eyes lingered on him.
"That blond shinobi from Konohagakure… they call him the Yellow Flash of Konoha," he said grimly. "He's got bounties on his head from every major hidden village I know of."
He paused, eyes narrowing with quiet weight.
"I know this because I've recently joined the ANBU."
Yukina's eyes sharpened as she focused, every ounce of her attention locked in as she listened intently to every word Kisame spoke.
"According to our intelligence reports, he recently engaged in a direct confrontation with the A and B tag team from Kumogakure… and survived."
He paused, eyes darkened slightly.
"Not only that—he fought them on equal footing."
A heavy silence settled before he continued.
"So we need to exercise extreme caution when dealing with that man."
Yukina narrowed her eyes, her thoughts spiraling as she replayed every word she had just heard from Kisame, analyzing it from every possible angle.
'If that handsome blond Konoha shinobi has a bounty placed on him by every major village…' she thought grimly, eyes narrowing, '…then he isn't just strong—he's survived real battlefields. That kind of reputation only comes from experience.'
Her gaze flicked briefly toward her teammates, sharp and calculating, before she quietly shook her head—silent refusal etched into her expression as the tension of the moment lingered in the air.
'Fuguki-sensei must have wanted to protect us… that's why he ordered us to wait here,' she thought, clenching her fists as uncertainty gnawed at her chest.
'Even if we all rush back to back up Fuguki-sensei… we'd only end up getting in his way,' her jaw tightening. 'It's better to stay here and wait… and trust him.'
After a brief moment of hesitation, Yukina finally exhaled and lowered herself to the ground. She crossed her legs, steadying her breathing as she forced her impatience down.
_______
After Three hours
While Yukina and the others were waiting silently suddenly Fuguki appeared Infront of them he nodded in satisfaction to them and spoke.
"Good. Let's move," he said coldly. "We've already wasted too much time dealing with those Konoha scum. The mission comes first."
Yukina and the others exchanged brief nods, their resolve settling in an instant.
Without another word, their bodies blurred in perfect unison—chakra surging beneath their feet.
All at once, they vanished from the spot, the air cracking softly in their wake as they surged forward at blinding speed, each of them moving as one toward Kumogakure main base.
_______
Three weeks later
Yukina and her teammates moved like fading shadows through the forest canopy, each leap landing silently on another branch as they pressed forward.
The wind cut softly against their cloaks as they advanced in tight formation, chakra carefully channeled into their feet to keep balance and speed without a single wasted motion. Below them, the dense forest of the Land of Fire stretched endlessly, a sea of green hiding every possible threat.
Their destination loomed ahead in the distance—Kumogakure's main base—the stronghold buried deep within the forest. Every step forward carried the weight of their mission that allowed no hesitation.
Yukina led the way, eyes sharp, senses extended, as the team continued their silent advance through the treetops of the Land of Fire.
Before they could even touch down, the air turned deadly.
From every direction—above, below, and the blind spots in between—a rain of kunai and shuriken sliced through the wind with a sharp, whistling cry. The metal glinted coldly as it converged on them like a net of death, sealing off every escape route in an instant.
"SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!, SWISH!"
Fuguki narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharpening with killing intent as his hands blurred into a rapid sequence of hand seals. The air around him seemed to tighten as he drew a deep breath, his chest expanding with concentrated chakra.
In the next instant, he exhaled—forcefully, violently.
A massive surge of water erupted from his mouth, roaring outward like a collapsing tide, surging forward with overwhelming pressure as it tore through the battlefield with relentless momentum.
"Water Release: Water Wall Jutsu."
"SPLASH!, SPLASH!, SPLASH!, SPLASH!, SPLASH!"
The massive surge of water burst forth, forming a towering liquid wall above Yukina and her teammates, instantly swallowing the incoming kunai and shuriken before they could reach them, the weapons vanishing into the churning current as it roared like a living barrier between them and their unseen attackers.
In the same instant, the atmosphere turned suffocating.
Forty Kumogakure shinobi emerged from the shadows, encircling Fuguki and his team in a tight formation. Steel glinted under the dim light as blades were drawn in unison, kunai twirling between their fingers with killing intent.
A silent command seemed to pass through their ranks—no hesitation, no mercy.
Every exit was sealed.
Fuguki stood at the center of the encirclement, his presence calm but heavy, as the enemy tightened the net around them, ready to strike at the slightest movement.
Fuguki slowly raised his hands, his expression unreadable beneath the shadows, and spoke in a low, commanding tone that cut through the tension like a blade.
"We have no ill intentions," Fuguki said firmly, while his hands raised slightly to show he meant no harm. "We are merely here to deliver a letter from Mizukage-sama to Raikage-sama."
As those words faded into the tense silence, faint footsteps echoed, steady, and yet unhurried.
From the shadows, a young man emerged.
An eye patch covered one side of his face, the other eye cold and observant as it swept across the scene. First it settled on Fuguki, measuring him in a single glance… then shifted to Yukina and the rest of the group.
"Show me the letter first Fuguki-san."
Fuguki gave a slow nod, then with a sharp flick of his wrist, he tossed the scroll toward the young man.
The young man caught the scroll effortlessly. Without a word, he first inspected it carefully, searching for any signs of tampering. Finding none, his gaze shifted to the Mizukage's seal stamped on the parchment.
He studied it for a moment longer, confirming the authenticity of the chakra imprint embedded within the mark.
Only after verifying the scroll's genuineness did he give a slight nod toward Fuguki, his expression calm and composed, acknowledging that the message was indeed legitimate.
"The scroll is genuine," he said at last, his gaze steady. "I will permit you to meet with the Raikage-sama… however, your team will remain here under our supervision while you go alone."
Fuguki's eyes slowly narrowed, a sharp glint cutting through the tension as the weight of the words settled in the air around him.
"I would like to bring my team along as well to meet Raikage-sama," he said calmly. "It would be a valuable learning experience for them… something that would broaden their horizons and strengthen them as shinobi."
The Kumogakure shinobi with the eye patch slowly shook his head, his expression unreadable beneath the cold shadow of his gaze.
"Sorry, Fuguki-san… that won't be possible," the Kumo shinobi said firmly. "If you wish to meet Raikage-sama, you may go alone. As for your team, they will remain here—under our supervision."
Fuguki's eyes narrowed to razor-thin slits, a lethal glint cutting through the air as he locked onto the Kumo shinobi with the eye patch, his presence growing heavy with silent intent.
"Do you truly expect me to entrust the safety of my subordinates to you?" he said coldly, eyes narrowing. "What proof do I have that you won't turn your blade on us the moment your opportunity arises?"
The Kumogakure shinobi with the eye patch narrowed his visible eye, his gaze turning sharp as steel.
"I don't have any proof to offer you… but all I can give you is my word as the Raikage-sama's assistant… that should be enough."
"If this arrangement still fails to satisfy you, then you are free to leave at once. Kumogakure will not hinder your departure." The eye-patched shinobi declared coldly, his gaze unwavering as he stared directly at Fuguki.
Fuguki's tense shoulders eased ever so slightly at the words, though his gaze remained sharp and calculating. In a brief, almost imperceptible motion, his eyes shifted toward Yukina.
She met his glance without a word and gave a subtle nod—quiet, deliberate, understood.
Fuguki exhaled through his nose, the barest hint of approval flickering in his expression as the atmosphere around them steadied, if only for a moment.
In an instant, Fuguki released his chakra at full force.
"WHOOSH!"
The air itself seemed to thicken, as an oppressive pressure washed over the area. Every Kumogakure shinobi stiffened in unison, their instincts screaming as the sheer density of his chakra bore down on them like a crushing tide.
Even the most seasoned among them narrowed their eyes, feet subtly adjusting on instinct—readying themselves—while sweat traced slow paths down tense brows.
Fuguki's voice cut through the tense silence like a blade dipped in ice.
Cold. Controlled. Unforgiving.
It slipped into the ears of the Kumo shinobi with the eye patch—and every other Kumogakure ninja present—as if the very air had turned heavier under its weight.
"Listen carefully," he said, his gaze sharpening. "If anything happens to my subordinates… Kirigakure will never forgive Kumogakure."
The Kumogakure shinobi with the eye patch narrowed his gaze, his expression hardening as the atmosphere around him shifted.
"You have nothing to worry," he said firmly. "I swear upon Kumogakure's honor that no harm will come to your subordinates."
Fuguki gave a slow, satisfied nod, the tension in his shoulders easing for only a moment before his gaze sharpened like a blade and snapped toward Yukina and his squad, his voice dropping into a cold, commanding tone as he spoke.
"You four better not cause any trouble while I'm gone," he said coldly, his gaze sharpening as it swept over them. "If I hear even a whisper of mischief, I'll deal with you myself—and you won't like the punishment. Do I make myself clear?"
Yukina's face drained of color the instant those words struck her ears. A faint blush crept across her cheeks as memories resurfaced of Fuguki's merciless training sessions in the past—every punishment he dealt out etched deeply into her mind like scars left by a brutal storm.
He had always been a man who thrived on absolute control, and that was exactly what she liked about him. The commanding aura he carried, the unwavering dominance in his every action—it always make her hot.
Yukina gave a swift nod, a crimson blush blooming across her cheeks as she instinctively straightened her posture. She silently stepped back into formation beside her teammates, not daring to voice even the slightest defiance under Fuguki's watchful gaze.
The Kumogakure shinobi with the eye patch slowly turned his gaze toward Fuguki, his expression unreadable as tension lingered in the air. In a low, steady voice, he spoke.
"Fuguki-san… this way. I will now escort you to meet with Raikage-sama. Please follow me."
Fuguki gave a slow nod, his expression unreadable.
In an instant, both shinobi blurred out of sight Shunshin.
The air cracked faintly where they stood, leaves rustling in their wake as they vanished without a trace, leaving only silence behind.
_______