Chapter 22 : Chaos and Resolution

Kaede, who had so far kept herself far from the battle, couldn't help but tremble at what she was feeling.

Every minute, sources of chakra vanished, never to return.

Death, suffering, despair; Kaede perceived all the details of the battle with harrowing clarity.

Among the Senju and the Uchiha, some were like her, young children. The difference was that they knew what it meant to be at war.

Kaede felt both foolish and powerless in the face of her dreams. She, who had desired to participate in this kind of combat so much, was now confronted with the harsh reality.

Deaths by beheading, deaths from blood loss, deaths by fire, deaths by impalement; all types of demise played out before her.

Her hands trembled, and Kaede couldn't bear to watch this gruesome spectacle any longer; she turned her eyes away.

But as she was about to leave, a chakra source she knew well appeared at the edge of the battlefield.

"Koji!"

In the distance, Koji observed the battles with a glint of fear in his eyes. He was searching for Kaede among the bloodied crowd before him and bravely engaged in the melee to continue his search.

To him, Kaede, who had always sought the excitement of battle since her earliest days, had to be somewhere amidst this chaos, and he was determined to follow his intuition to the end.

Kaede couldn't hold back her tears as she saw her closest friend throw himself into the battle without hesitation, all to find her.

She looked at her trembling hands, feeling ashamed. What had she done in the past few years? What was her deep-seated desire?

To join the battle, to confront the enemy with courage, to do what she believed was right, to vanquish evil and be proud.

However, even as her aspirations were within reach, the very idea of fighting in this bloodbath filled her with fear. She felt defeated before she had even fought.

"Why..." Crying, Kaede wanted to shout, but her voice escaped her, leaving only trembling whispers.

She thought about all the times Koji had told her to stop dreaming of battles.

Was he right?

Kaede continued to blankly watch the battle unfolding before her, her mind lost in existential questions.

What had she truly desired all along?

In front of her, hundreds of meters away, several Uchiha were fiercely battling the Senju. She could even spot two or three Susanoo of different colors on the battlefield.

The appearance of Mangekyou Sharingan users was not rare in itself, and the Senju knew how to confront them.

The unwavering determination in the eyes of the Senju, their courage, and their will to fight until the end against their adversaries filled Kaede with fascination. This was what she was truly seeking.

As the war raged on, Kaede no longer felt the same emptiness in her heart. Reflecting on her aspirations up to this point, the flame of her will rekindled within her.

Regaining control of her hand, she knew what she wanted, and her gaze was once again filled with determination. She had not chosen the wrong path. The unwavering will she perceived in the Senju in the distance was what she had been searching for: courage, the spirit of an unyielding warrior, fighting for her brethren and loved ones.

However, as she gradually found hope and dreams again, something filled her with dread.

Amidst all these chakra sources, Kaede couldn't distinguish Koji's anymore.

Each chakra source was unique, like a fingerprint. Although Kaede was born with great talent and advanced perception, she wasn't yet powerful enough to perfectly discern each chakra source on the battlefield.

Unable to be certain of Koji's condition, Kaede was seized by panic. She didn't doubt her friend's abilities, but in the face of the Uchiha's power, she couldn't be sure of anything.

Thinking of her friend searching for her across the battlefield, with sweaty palms and a fearful heart, Kaede clenched her fists and focused on regaining her courage.

"I won't abandon you..."

With renewed determination in her open eyes, Kaede took step by step toward what looked like hell.

The noise of clashing weapons, the crackling of flames, the crashing of falling trees, the cries, the fury; nothing could stop Kaede now.

But as she was about to plunge into this inferno, a kunai came hurtling from an odd angle through the trees.

Dodging at the last moment, Kaede, not entirely focused on her surroundings, couldn't completely evade the kunai. A gash on her left cheek, Kaede swiftly turned towards the figure emerging from the forest before her.

Confronted with a pair of Sharingan eyes glaring at her with rage and hatred, Kaede found herself face to face with a slightly taller young girl, with black hair, clad in armor and a face splattered with blood.

Just like Kaede, Ino Uchiha gazed at her with eyes filled with anger. She had been fighting and striving to kill for long minutes, and the taste of blood was the only thing in her mouth.

Kaede's arrival on the battlefield raised many questions in Ino's mind. The color of her hair and the amount of her chakra were a sort of proof of her belonging to the Uzumaki clan, and every Uchiha knew there was a close relationship between the Senju and Uzumaki clans.

In Ino's mind, it wasn't impossible to come across a member of the Uzumaki clan on the battlefield. However, seeing Kaede, unarmed and dressed in attire that seemed more festive than combat-ready, raised doubts about the Uzumaki clan's intentions.

Why send a lone, unarmed Uzumaki here?

Although Ino had questions, she knew these inquiries were futile for now. The Uzumaki clan was an enemy of the Uchiha clan; it was her duty to kill her on the spot.

Seeing the young Uchiha preparing to attack, Kaede regained her composure and sprang into action. Remaining static meant death.

Relentlessly, Ino pursued Kaede through the forest, sword in hand. She was convinced the young Uzumaki didn't pose much of a threat.

Approaching step by step, the sword was on the verge of cutting down the young Uzumaki.

In that split second before the blade could make contact with her neck, Kaede pivoted and crouched, gathering all her strength into her fist.

As the sword passed above her head, her fist was about to touch Ino's chest but struck nothing.

Realizing the cold, hate-filled chakra behind her, Kaede jumped forward and avoided being impaled by the Uchiha.

Meeting Ino's eyes, Kaede guessed how she had managed to evade her fist. The Sharingan, a power that allowed the prediction of the opponent's next move.

On that front, the Sharingan was arguably one of the most formidable weapons on the field.

But as Kaede contemplated the power of the Sharingan, Ino, at an astonishing speed, reappeared in front of her and attempted to stab her in the heart, barely giving Kaede time to react.

Feeling her heart pierced in her chest, Kaede experienced excruciating pain and, unable to speak, felt herself slipping into the darkness of death.

Was this the end? Would she die like this?

The image of her clan, of Koji and her friends, passed through her mind. How could she face them in the afterlife without feeling shame?

Was she wrong?

No! She couldn't die like this!

Driven by a will to live, the pain faded, and Kaede focused her mind on what she could do.

How had the Uchiha appeared in front of her in the first place?

Suddenly, the answer became clear: the Sharingan.

"So that's it!"

With a faint smile, Kaede concentrated and disrupted the flow of her chakra.

"Kai!"

Suddenly, she saw Ino, in her vision, raising her sword, ready to finish her off. Dodging at the last moment, she ended up with only a slight cut on her arm but managed to create some distance from her opponent.

Checking her body, Kaede breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart, which she had thought was pierced, was in perfect condition; only her arm had been grazed.

Fighting a real enemy for the first time, she had forgotten the cardinal rule when facing an Uchiha: never look into their eyes.

What she had seen earlier was just a Genjutsu, a hypnotic technique that made her believe she was already dead.

"Using such a technique, you're a coward!" Kaede shouted, her anger barely contained.

Ino, although momentarily taken aback by the Uzumaki's outburst, didn't pause to reply.

Is she serious?

Finding the Uzumaki's behavior odd, Ino decided it was time to end it. She engaged in close combat with Kaede, exchanging faster and faster blows.

Kaede, who had never engaged in a life-or-death battle before, astonishingly managed to keep up with Ino's movements, dodging and parrying each attack.

Her training within the clan hadn't been in vain. She had trained with the best warriors of her clan, whereas Ino had mainly trained with a few instructors and gained her experience in the field.

In this battle where only one of them could survive, Kaede's mindset began to shift, giving way to excitement rather than fear.

"I will defeat you!"