From high above the frozen wilderness, the view revealed over a dozen white figures cutting across the snow, trying to escape. Their outlines blended with the blizzard, but no matter how fast they moved, the speed of soul flight was many times greater.
"This is bad… something's closing in at incredible speed. There's no escape…"
Shi's face darkened. With grim resolve, he spun around, chakra flaring along his hands. He shaped it into a scalpel and slashed forward desperately.
But the blade cut nothing. His strike passed through empty air as Uchiha Gen's manifested soul surged into his body.
Shi froze, his handsome face twisting into terror. His eyes bulged, then dimmed as his body toppled backward into the snow.
A heartbeat later, Gen's transparent figure slipped free of Shi's corpse and flew back toward its source body.
In that same instant, six more Kumogakure ninja fell where they stood, their souls ripped away by the Spirit Transformation Technique. Only one among them, Darui, experienced something different.
....
Some time before...
During the retreat, Darui had already been thinking ahead. If Gen's soul came for him, he would stand no chance alone. His only hope was to stick with Yugito. If she transformed into the Two-Tails, they might at least fight back, better to struggle alongside her than die helplessly.
That decision, born of caution and instinct, turned out to be his salvation.
When Gen's manifested soul swept through the blizzard like a phantom storm, Matatabi stirred within Yugito.
"Yugito, he's coming. The target is Darui."
"Transform. Complete the Tailed Beast state, block him, and let him ride my body."
"Okay."
"Darui, get on me!" Yugito shouted.
Darui didn't hesitate. Trusting her, he leapt onto her head as she burst into full transformation, her form exploding into a towering, flame-wreathed blue demon cat. The two-tailed beast crouched low in the snow, chakra fire streaming off her fur like living blue flames.
Gen's spectral form streaked toward them—then stopped short. His expression flickered, momentarily unsettled.
That chakra…
Why did the Two-Tails radiate such danger to him, even in his intangible state?
Not the Fire Release. Not the Tailed Beast Ball. Those hadn't threatened him.
It was the blue flame itself—the eerie chakra fire cloaking Matatabi. It burned on a deeper level, gnawing not at flesh, but at souls.
Inside Yugito's sealed space, she stood before Matatabi's great form, her face pale.
"That's his soul," she said quietly. "He's using some kind of soul-based ninjutsu. At that speed… no one can run from him."
Darui's eyes widened. "Then Raikage-sama—everyone—they're in danger?"
"What should we do?" Yugito's voice trembled.
Matatabi's rumble shook the sealed chamber. "These flames are more than chakra. They carry the qualities of nether-fire. They can burn a soul. He won't dare come closer. Hurry—catch up to the Raikage."
Yugito nodded sharply. "Understood."
Though their discussion seemed drawn out, in truth the exchange was instantaneous. Consciousness spoke in blinks.
In the real world, Yugito crouched low, Darui balanced on her head, and then she bounded off through the snow, racing after Ay's trail. The storm swirled behind her in plumes.
Gen's manifested soul hovered a moment longer, then retreated.
Chasing wasn't worth it. Burning his own soul for Darui's wasn't a trade he'd make. The Soul–Soul Fruit could mend such wounds by consuming others, but the pain alone—the agony of having one's soul seared—was a torment far beyond the burning of flesh. He would not taste that.
Eight soul fragments streamed back into him. Sitting cross-legged on Kyouki's cloud, Uchiha Gen's eyes opened. He rose, stretching.
"One soul less than I wanted," he murmured, "but still a fine harvest. A feast for my power."
"Kyouki go find Shisui and Itachi."
"Yes, Master."
The black cloud flickered away into the sky.
....
Back to the present.
Yugito at last caught up to the Fourth Raikage, who had been waiting for survivors to regroup. Relief flickered across A's grim face. The three of them waited another half hour, but not a single comrade arrived.
Their worry grew sharp. Deciding they could wait no longer, they went searching.
What they found made their stomachs sink.
One frozen body. Then another. Then another. Until seven lay in a row before them.
Jonin. Special Jonin. Sensory and medical shinobi—talent the village could not easily replace. Each had been cut down.
And A remembered too clearly the corpses left sprawled across the canyon. Dozens of chunin—the backbone of Kumogakure, linking its chain of command, carrying its missions.
This loss could hollow an entire village. Many small hidden villages would collapse under such devastation.
"Damn it… what a cursed plan!"
A's fist hammered into a nearby tree. Wood cracked like brittle bone; the trunk, thick enough to require two men to encircle, split clean in half. It toppled with a crash, snow exploding upward in a choking white cloud.
"Raikage-sama," Yugito said softly, "the plan wasn't wrong. We just… underestimated him. Uchiha Gen's cunning, his strength—they were far beyond what we expected."
"…Hmph." A exhaled through his teeth, forcing himself calm. "You're right. I lost my composure." His eyes hardened. "Darui."
"Yes, Raikage-sama." Darui straightened, pushing grief down behind his usual weary tone.
"Go to the border troops. Call men to clean the battlefield."
Darui opened his mouth but Yugito spoke first. "Raikage-sama, let me. The enemy attacks souls. We can't risk losing anyone else."
Ay thought a moment, then nodded. "Darui, stay here with me. We'll recover our comrades' bodies together."
"Yes."
"Yugito be careful."
"I will."
...
High above the Land of Fire's northeast skies, Uchiha Gen stood on Kyouki's cloud, hands clasped behind his back. Behind him, Shisui and Itachi were chatting with Shuryu and Shizukamaru, the mood calmer after the storm.
"Stop," Gen said suddenly.
Kyouki halted instantly.
"Clan Leader, what's wrong?" Shisui asked.
Gen smirked faintly. "I forgot something."
"What is it?"
"The Raikage's wager. He never paid up. I was too amused before and let it slip my mind."
Itachi blinked. "Then… what will you do?"
"Go back and collect it, of course. I intend to pay a visit to the Hidden Cloud Village."
Shisui frowned. "Isn't that too dangerous?"
"There's no danger. With my strength and the Flying Thunder God there's nowhere in this world I cannot go."
The sheer confidence leaked from him like overwhelming pressure. Itachi gazed at his elder's back, admiration gleaming in his eyes.
"That may be true," Shisui said, "but don't get careless."
"Relax. I know what I'm doing."
He gestured toward the boys. "Kyouki will take you back to Konoha. I'll summon him again once I'm finished."
At his command, Shuryu's body swelled, expanding to full dragon form, while Shizukamaru slipped obediently back into the scabbard at Gen's waist.
"Let's go."
Gen vaulted lightly onto the dragon's head, gripping its horns. With a rush of snow and wind, dragon and rider surged northeast.
Behind him, Kyouki, Shisui, and Itachi watched until he vanished into the storm, then turned southwest toward Konoha.