Later that evening, Asuka sat alone near the edge of camp, his chakra paper in hand. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and red that reminded him uncomfortably of blood. Around him, the sounds of camp gradually quieted as exhausted shinobi settled in for the night.
He channeled chakra into the paper, watching it crinkle, dampen, ignite, split, and crumble all at once five natures responding to his will. It should have made him feel powerful. Instead, it just reminded him how much he still didn't understand.
"Storm Release," he muttered to himself, trying once again to combine water and lightning chakra in his palm. The two elements sparked and fizzled, refusing to merge properly. "Come on..."
"You're forcing it."
Asuka jerked his head up to find Shisui standing a few feet away, his Sharingan active and observing the chakra flow in Asuka's hand.
"How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to see you try the same thing twelve times." Shisui sat down beside him, his Sharingan fading back to normal. "Advanced nature transformation isn't something you can rush. Trust me, I've been trying to figure out how to use Fire Style more efficiently for months."
"But you've got the Sharingan," Asuka pointed out. "Doesn't that make it easier?"
"It lets me see chakra flow and copy techniques, but it doesn't give me understanding." Shisui gazed at his own hand, summoning a small flame that danced across his palm. "My cousin Itachi he's only five, but he already grasps concepts that take others years to understand. Some people are just... different."
"Itachi Uchiha," Asuka said thoughtfully. The name was familiar from his father's warnings about people to watch out for, though mostly in relation to avoiding Danzo's attention. "I've heard about him. Prodigy, right?"
"That's putting it mildly." Shisui's expression grew complicated. "Sometimes I wonder what it's like to be him—to see the world so clearly that everything just makes sense. But then I remember that kind of clarity often comes with its own burden."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts.
"Shisui," Asuka finally said. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"How do you deal with it? The killing, I mean. You're only twelve, but you've already..."
Shisui was quiet for a long time. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft. "I don't think there's a good answer to that. Some days I tell myself it's to protect the village. Other days I wonder if I'm just making excuses." He looked at Asuka directly. "The Uchiha clan expects strength. The village demands loyalty. And somewhere in between, I'm supposed to figure out what I believe in."
"That sounds exhausting."
"It is." Shisui stood up, brushing dust from his pants. "But that's why bonds matter, Asuka. Friends who remind you why you're fighting in the first place. Don't forget that when things get difficult."
As Shisui walked away, Asuka stared down at his hands. Water and lightning chakra flickered across his palms, separate and unwilling to combine. Maybe Shisui was right. Maybe he was forcing it.
He took a deep breath and tried again, this time focusing not on combining the elements, but on understanding their nature. Water flowed and adapted. Lightning struck with precision and speed. What would happen if he didn't try to merge them, but instead let them complement each other?
The chakra shifted. For just a moment—barely a second—the two natures moved in harmony, creating a faint shimmer of white-blue energy before dissipating.
Progress. Small, but real.
"Asuka!"
He turned to see Shizune running toward him, her face pale with worry.
"What's wrong?"
"It's Tsunade-sensei. She's calling an emergency meeting. The Sand forces are moving, they're attacking tonight!"
The command tent was chaotic when Asuka and Shizune arrived. Jonin were shouting over each other, arguing about formations and counter-strategies while Tsunade stood at the center, her expression grim as she studied the updated intelligence reports.
"They're using the sandstorm as cover," Nara Shikaku explained, pointing at the map. "Our scouts barely got the warning out before they were wiped out. We're looking at a full-scale assault within the hour."
"How many?" Tsunade demanded.
"At least two hundred combatants, plus puppets. Chiyo herself is leading the assault."
The tent fell silent. Even Asuka, with his limited wartime experience, knew that name. Chiyo of the Sand—one of the legendary puppet masters and a veteran of multiple wars. Going up against her was essentially a death sentence for anyone below elite jonin level.
"We need to evacuate the wounded," one jonin said urgently. "If they break through our perimeter"
"We won't let them break through," Tsunade interrupted, her voice cutting through the panic like a blade. "Shikaku, how long until the reinforcements from the River Country outpost arrive?"
"Six hours, minimum."
"Then we hold for six hours." Tsunade's eyes swept across the assembled shinobi. "I want all medical personnel moved to the secondary camp. Shizune, you're in charge of coordinating the medical teams."
"Yes, sensei!" Shizune replied, her earlier nervousness replaced by focused determination.
"Combat units will form three defensive lines. The first line focuses on disrupting puppet formations. The second line handles any breakthroughs. The third line is our last resort—anyone who makes it past the second line faces me directly." Tsunade's chakra flared slightly, and everyone in the tent could feel the weight of her presence. "Understood?"
"Hai!"
As the jonin dispersed to their assignments, Tsunade grabbed Asuka's shoulder before he could follow Shizune out.
"Not you. You're staying with me."
"What? But sensei, I should help with"
"You're not ready for frontline combat against this caliber of enemy," Tsunade said bluntly. "But I need someone I trust watchin my back. Your job is to observe, stay alive, and intervene only if I'm compromised. Can you do that?"
Asuka wanted to protest, to argue that he was strong enough, that he'd trained for five years for moments like this. But the look in Tsunade's eyes stopped him. This wasn't about proving himself. This was about survival.
"Yes, sensei."
"Good. And Asuka?" Tsunade's expression softened slightly. "Your father made me promise to bring you back alive. Don't make me break that promise."
The sandstorm hit thirty minutes later.
Asuka stood on the defensive wall, his eyes squinting against the stinging wind and sand that seemed to devour visibility beyond ten meters. Around him, Konoha shinobi took their positions, their tension palpable in the air.
"Stay sharp!" a jonin commander shouted. "They'll use the storm to get close before"
The first puppet burst through the sandstorm without warning, its blades already swinging. The jonin barely managed to dodge, countering with a fire jutsu that illuminated the storm for a brief, horrifying moment.
In that flash of light, Asuka saw them. Dozens of puppets, advancing like ghosts through the sand, their movements eerily synchronized.
And behind them, barely visible through the storm, he caught a glimpse of an elderly woman with white hair, her fingers moving in intricate patterns as she controlled multiple puppets simultaneously.
Chiyo.
"HERE THEY COME!" someone screamed.
The battle began in earnest. Fire jutsu lit up the night as Konoha shinobi engaged the puppet corps. The sound of metal clashing against metal mixed with the screams of injured ninjas and the sinister creaking of puppet joints.