Chapter 23 : Only One Can Survive!

Kaede, now engaged in a life-or-death battle with her adversary, drew upon her newly found determination to fight with all her might.

Cuts were multiplying on her arms and legs, but her expression showed no pain, no discomfort.

Like a caged beast set free, Kaede felt liberated from a burden she had carried all her life.

She, who had been crying continuously just a few minutes ago, couldn't help but wear a wide smile on her face.

She still detested the pain she felt on the battlefield, but the excitement of the fight outweighed all her secondary thoughts.

After so many years, she could engage in a true battle, facing a real enemy.

Without any equipment, armed only with her strength and techniques, Kaede was under immense pressure against Ino, who was fully equipped from head to toe.

Kaede knew many Uzumaki clan techniques that could turn the situation around, but she needed time to use them.

Ino Uchiha unleashed attack after attack, staying as close to Kaede as possible. After a few exchanges, Ino no longer underestimated this opponent, and there was no way she would give her any respite to launch one of her sealing techniques.

Sealing techniques were among the most dangerous techniques in this ninja world. It was for this very reason that the Uzumaki clan was exterminated by an alliance of several ninja villages years later. The Uzumaki legacy represented the most powerful sealing techniques in the world.

As the two fought with all their might, a fireball from elsewhere landed nearby their battle.

Dodging by jumping backward, Kaede and Ino were now about ten meters apart, just the right distance for Kaede to perform a Fūinjutsu technique.

Concentrating on forming hand seals, Kaede circulated her chakra as quickly as possible. But Ino, seeing Kaede preparing a technique, wouldn't stay idle.

Anticipating the best countermeasure, she threw several shuriken in different directions to prevent her from evading and quickly launched a fire release technique.

"Katon - Fireball Jutsu!"

Launched faster than her opponent's jutsu, Ino had the advantage over Kaede, who hadn't completed her jutsu.

Surrounded by the different attacks, Kaede had no time left and had to force herself to stop molding her chakra.

She saw no way out.

In this situation, Kaede didn't seem as panicked as Ino had hoped. With no escape route, there was only one path she could take.

Maintaining her excited smile, Kaede made the irrational choice to go against common sense and plunged into the torrent of fire rushing toward her.

Using her chakra to the maximum to protect vital areas of her body, Kaede shot like a rocket and disappeared into the flames.

Ino, who had stopped fueling her technique with chakra, waited to see Kaede's reaction. She eventually saw a fist emerging from the flames just inches from her face.

Struck in the face by Kaede, Ino was thrown backward until she hit a tree, stopping her momentum. In front of her, Kaede, somewhat burned in various parts of her body, maintained her smile, which had become almost maniacal in her success.

Regardless of her injuries, Kaede felt invincible.

Out of breath, she had very little chakra left. She hadn't rested to recover her chakra for hours, and the effects were beginning to show.

In front of Ino, who struggled to get up with a broken nose, Kaede felt victory within reach.

Kaede's strength was, after all, something that couldn't be described as normal, even when compared to an adult ninja.

Approaching Ino step by step, the young Uzumaki seemed to savor her first victory. In her eyes, it was the proof she needed to demonstrate her strength to the world.

She wanted to live adventures, fight villains, and she had every right to! Was the world too dangerous? Look! I defeated the formidable Uchiha, haven't I proven myself?

While she dreamed of rebelling against the elders of her clan, several shadows halted her progress. Towering over her by more than two heads, the young Uzumaki had to look up to see who had stopped her.

What she saw next left her in a state of shock. The blood-red gaze of three pairs of Sharingan seemed to peer into the depths of her being. Their sinister and chilling auras immobilized her in fear.

There was no doubt; she had no chance of survival.

She wanted to move forward, even just one step, to prove she wasn't afraid. But it was as if her body was possessed by another, refusing to budge and only trembling with fear.

Unbeknownst to her, tears were streaming down her cheeks. The certainty of death, the certainty of never seeing her loved ones again.

Faced with these three Uchiha, reality was relentless; she could do nothing.

Her previous excitement had been replaced by an endless sadness. The inability to fulfill her dreams, the disappointment of her loved ones. Kaede couldn't turn back now.

Ino, still on the ground, injured, felt both relieved and frustrated by the arrival of the three Uchiha. On the one hand, she was saved, but on the other hand, she was disappointed that she hadn't managed to defeat a child her age.

With the awakening of her Sharingan, none of the other children had been able to stand up to her. She had felt that she had become stronger. But in this exchange, she realized she had been far too arrogant.

From the beginning of the fight, she had underestimated the strength of this young Uzumaki. She saw only the adults as true threats.

Thus, even though she had lost the battle, she had gained much. Gradually, she felt a self-loathing, a hatred for her own weakness. How would she avenge Chikara with so little strength? How could she hope to kill Takeshi Senju?

In the distance, Koji Uzumaki, who was traversing the battlefield in search of Kaede, was in a state of panic.

His uniform was now soaked in blood. On his team, which included a few Uzumaki who had left with him, only two Uzumaki remained.

They had little chakra left, and their eyes no longer showed much hope. On this battlefield, they had witnessed several Susanoo, one of the most terrifying powers of the Uchiha, gigantic humanoid entities made of chakra, summoned by the Mangekyo Sharingan of the Uchiha.

As the dead, Uchiha and Senju alike, filled their vision, as they headed toward one of the edges of the battlefield, they spotted a chakra source they knew well.

Kaede!

Propelling himself with all his might toward the chakra source, Koji didn't bother to pay attention to his surroundings. The chakra source was weak, clearly exhausted. But what terrified him even more were the three chakra sources surrounding Kaede's, cold, unrelenting, in one word; merciless.

Rushing forward with all his strength, tears poured from his eyes due to the stress and fear he felt. Getting closer to the source, no sound could enter his ears.

Sweat on his forehead, fear in his stomach. Each stride was greater, each step more powerful, propelling Koji straight ahead.

And just as he finally saw the young, red-haired Kaede Uzumaki, he didn't have time to feel the joy of finding her. He saw one of the three Uchiha's blades pierce Kaede's abdomen.

"NOOOOOOO!"

As Kaede felt the blade piercing her organs, Koji's cry, which she hadn't seen coming, hit her like an electric shock.

Turning her head in Koji's direction, tears in her eyes, Kaede felt deeply troubled. Looking at her friend who had always watched over her since her birth, she wanted to apologize for not listening, for not being obedient enough, for the pain he was feeling.

Tears flowed incessantly; she was terrified. She didn't want to die here. Not in front of Koji. Not like this.

And as Koji rushed toward her, she at least wanted to thank him for everything he had done. "Tha--"

SLASH!

Unable to finish speaking, Kaede felt a pain in her neck, and then, in her vision, anger and sadness appeared in Koji's eyes. The world began to spin, leaving Kaede's head plummeting toward the ground.

The last thing she heard was her friend's cry of rage and sorrow, the friend who had always followed her, even on a battlefield.

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

...

A few kilometers from the battle between the Senju and the Uchiha, Akeno stood before a young red-haired girl, barely ten years old, who was just beginning to wake up.

Positioned on a cliff, Akeno took this moment to admire the view in front of him. After a long night of suffering and chaos, the sun was gradually erasing all traces of darkness, bringing with it the dawn and the warmth of the day.

In the face of this natural spectacle, it was hard to imagine that just a few kilometers away, a merciless war was raging in a sea of blood.

As the sun's rays caressed his skin, Akeno felt a slight movement by his side. Without turning around, he continued to gaze at the dawn's view before him and said, "I must say, you've truly impressed me, Kaede Uzumaki."

...