Chapter 26 – Blood and Mud
The night sky over the border burned red.
Smoke and dust filled the air as shouts and explosions echoed through the forest.
Yuva and his brothers crouched near a broken wall — the smell of iron and ash was everywhere.
A scout ran up to them, panic in his voice.
> "Iwa troops ahead! Thirty of them — twenty genin, nine chunin, one jonin!"
Yuva's grip on his sword tightened.
They didn't have time to run.
"Daichi, Tenzo," he said quietly.
"We hold this line. No one crosses this camp."
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⚔️ The Clash
The Iwa genin rushed first — fast but untrained.
They shouted, charging with kunai and shuriken in hand.
Yuva's blade flashed once.
Daichi slammed his fist into the ground, sending rocks flying.
Tenzo's wind shuriken cut through the air.
The fight was short and brutal.
The Iwa genin fell one after another — their teamwork was rough, their jutsu weak.
But even weak enemies could kill if they surrounded you.
> "Don't let them touch the camp!" Yuva shouted.
When the last one dropped, silence lasted only a few seconds.
Then, new chakra signatures closed in — stronger, heavier.
Nine chunin appeared through the smoke.
Behind them stood one jonin, his headband scratched, eyes cold.
"Now the real fight begins," Tenzo whispered.
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🌊🔥💨 The Chunin Counterattack
The chunin didn't rush.
They moved in a perfect pattern — three using taijutsu, three using ninjutsu, and three covering with traps.
"Fire Style: Flame Burst!"
"Wind Style: Pressure Gale!"
"Earth Style: Mud Flow!"
The ground turned soft and heavy — every step slowed them down.
Fire and wind mixed, turning the air hot and bright.
Daichi jumped forward but slipped; mud swallowed his foot.
"Daichi!" Yuva shouted, cutting through a fireball with his sword.
He barely blocked a kick aimed at his neck.
Pain shot through his arm — the chunin were faster than normal.
Tenzo's wind cut through one of them, but another slammed a mud wall to block.
Their teamwork was clean, practiced — just like the triplets.
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⚡ Struggle Without Power
Yuva's breath grew heavy.
His sword sparked weak lightning, but not enough to cut through the mud traps.
He didn't have the beast's power anymore.
For the first time in a long while, he felt small — just another shinobi fighting to live.
A chunin's kick hit his ribs hard.
He coughed blood but didn't fall.
He swung his sword in a low arc, cutting through the man's leg.
"Tenzo, left!" he shouted.
Wind burst from Tenzo's hand, pushing two enemies back.
Daichi slammed his fists into the ground — rocks rose up like shields, stopping the fireballs.
Still, the Iwa team pressed harder.
Every time the triplets broke their formation, the chunin rebuilt it.
The jonin didn't even move — he just watched, studying them.
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💥 Final Push
"Daichi, now!" Yuva yelled.
Daichi broke the ground again — "Earth Style: Stone Fist!" — and smashed through the mud trap.
Tenzo sent a sharp gust behind him.
Yuva leapt forward, sword glowing with weak lightning.
He cut through the center of their line — once, twice, three times.
Two chunin fell.
The rest hesitated, and that was enough.
The triplets pressed forward together.
Wind.
Rock.
Steel.
When the dust settled, only three Iwa shinobi were left standing.
They turned and ran.
The jonin gave one last look, then vanished into the trees.
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☠️ Aftermath
The field was quiet again.
Bodies lay half-buried in mud.
Yuva fell to his knees, his breath ragged, his sword dripping red.
Tenzo sat beside him, healing Daichi's shoulder.
"Without that beast power… it's harder," Tenzo said.
Yuva nodded slowly.
"Yeah. But we still lived."
He looked toward the distance — the Konoha camp's signal flares were faint and dying.
Dozens of other shinobi were fighting, some screaming for medics, some already gone.
"War doesn't stop," Yuva said quietly.
"Not for anyone."
The brothers sat there, surrounded by the smell of blood and wet earth, waiting for the next order to come.