Reverse Uno. (I mean Ambush)

The early morning sun cast a muted light over the rugged terrain as Aki and his team trudged through the dense forest.

The trees, thick and dark, seemed to press in from all sides, their branches whispering secrets with the wind.

Every step echoed with the crunch of fallen leaves, mingling with the distant calls of birds—a deceptive calm before the storm.

Yugito walked with a steady, determined gait, her eyes scanning the surroundings. Haruto moved alongside her, quiet and focused on the task ahead.

At the rear, Aki maintained his heightened senses, his sharp eyes vigilant on the path they followed.

The princess, seated in her palanquin and carried by four strongmen, was closely guarded by Kazou and Daichi—their vigilance and alertness at their peak.

As they approached the valley, it came into Aki's Byakugan vision. He began formulating the plan for the reverse ambush, considering how to turn the tables before the enemy detected them.

Twenty kilometers from the valley, Aki found a perfect spot for a defensive position. He set up a camp, surrounding it with traps and metallic rods infused with lightning chakra.

"Haruto and Daichi, you two stay with the princess," Aki instructed. "You'll be our final line of defense if the enemies leave the valley and come here."

Aki then took out a piece of paper and drew a map, noting the positions of enemy ninjas he could see with his Byakugan.

"These first two dots represent ninjas on the outer perimeter, visible to three others. Don't engage them yet; we need to eliminate the ones keeping watch over them first."

Aki began laying out the details of his ambush plan. It was going to be a tough battle. From their current vantage point, he had already identified four Jonin. After covering a little more distance, he would be able to see the entire valley.

Aki, Yugito, and Kazuo separated from the group and stealthily moved towards the valley. Aki refined his plan on the way and shared with them both as more of the valley came into view.

Once the team was close enough, all three of them used the body flicker technique and disappeared from their position.

The valley was filled with an unnatural mist, if they did not know the enemy positions beforehand thanks to Aki, finding the enemy would have been a nightmare.

This mist also indicates the enemy is from the village hidden in the mist. All three were very careful and extremely stealthy as they moved in successfully avoiding the patrolling ninja.

Moving through the mist avoiding obstacles, all three of them killed the first of their targets with practiced ease. The mist did cause a bit of a problem, but all three ninjas didn't let it slow them down.

Aki's first target was a Chunin hiding behind a rock with the direct vision of the patrolling ninjas. He took out his trusted kunai and using the body flicker technique, he appeared behind the Chunin ending his life with one swift motion.

After he was done with the first enemy, he immediately went for his next target which was another Chunin dealt in the same way.

Aki detected someone approaching his position within the vision provided by Byakugan and sent a lightning-infused kunai ending his life as well.

The plan was to kill as many enemy ninjas as possible before detection, preferably the Jonin. But ambushing Jonin was risky as evidenced by the situation. None of the Chunin could even warn the group but the Jonin's death alerted the enemy.

The reverse ambush was moving pretty well, all 3 of them took out 17 Chunin and one Jonin before someone noticed and the Ninjas hiding in the ambush went on guard.

The time for easy kills had ended now they would face resistance from the enemies, but not letting that deter them all three of them moved swiftly toward their next target.

Aki reached his next target, but as he was alert, the Chunin countered using his own taijutsu which Aki easily weaved through and was about to deal the killing blow.

"Ice Release: Ice Age!" a voice boomed from the mist. The ground beneath their feet froze instantly, the creeping ice threatening to ensnare them. Yugito's claws dug into the earth as she dodged the frost, her Nibi chakra dispelling the freezing burn.

Aki's feet crackled with lightning chakra as he jolted back, narrowly escaping the icy trap. His eyes focused on the source—a Mist Jonin, Aisu, standing at the heart of the ambush.

Yugito and Aisu collided in a fierce melee, their strikes creating shockwaves through the mist. Claws met the blade as the two kunoichis exchanged blows, the crackle of Yugito's chakra resonating with Aisu's icy counterattacks.

"Ice Release: Raging Lotus!" Aisu called out, sending a blast of extreme frost in Yugito's direction. Yugito barely avoided the freezing strike, her skin blistering from the cold before she purged it with Nibi chakra.

Satsuki Kurogane, the leader of the Ambush was surprised at the surprising arrival of a Kunoichi on the Kirigakure hit list.

Satsuki ignored her because she distracted their strongest obstacle i.e. Yugito Nii the Elite Jonin and a Jinchuriki.

He gestured to his comrades to take out the other two.

Aki and Kazuo faced the four mist Jonin. Satsuki Kurogane summoned a massive water dragon that surged through the mist, its roar deafening. Kazuo reacted instantly, erecting a water shield to absorb the blow.

"Aki, split up!" Kazuo shouted, launching himself into the fray against the two of the Mist Jonin.

Aki nodded, using his lightning chakra mode to flash-step toward his next targets. Water clones emerged, mimicking the real enemies as Aki's kunai clashed with theirs.

"Water Release: Aqua Shot!" Koga, another Mist Jonin, fired a ball of water directly at Aki. Aki grinned, recalling his past life's football skills. He kicked the water ball into the air and then shot it back at the Jonin with pinpoint accuracy.

Aki kicked the water ball up and then kicked it back to the Jonin, returning his jutsu.

Another Jonin expelled a massive amount of water from his mouth, creating a tsunami that threatened to engulf the battlefield.

The water was about to hit Aki like a tidal wave when he focused his lightning chakra mode (feet only) and expelled chakra from his feet as he did for the flash step, he jumped out of the way.

This didn't save him; Aki would fall into the water now creating a dome around as his enemy was riding the waves and coming to him.

The other Jonin shot out more of Aquatic shots forcing Aki to rotate mid-air and kick them in random directions. The situation wasn't looking good most of his shadow clones had already been dispersed.

Imbuing his shuriken with lightning, Aki threw them at the two Jonin, hoping to disturb their rhythm. Aki landed on the water dome and gathered lightning in his hand creating an extremely unstable orb of lightning.

Just like what you would do with a Rasengan, Aki smashed the bomb in water taking to the skies once more with his flash step. Electric currents gave Sango, who was riding the waves a shock therapy, breaking his jutsu.

The lightning chakra from the lightning bomb left Sango paralyzed and incapacitated. Koga was ready at this moment with another jutsu.

"Water Release: Starch Syrup Trap"

He created this trap between Aki and his comrade effectively stopping Aki from finishing Sango. This trap had appeared at such a perfect moment that Aki got stopped for just a second.

Lightning surged through Aki's legs, breaking the trap as he flash-stepped forward. His fist, crackling with lightning, met Koga's face, but it connected with a wooden block—a substitution. The Jonin reappeared behind him, preparing a final attack.

"Water Release: Water Bullet Maelstrom"

Twenty orbs made of water appeared around Koga, spinning at extreme speed they unleashed a torrential storm of thousands of high-speed water bullets, each capable of piercing through enemies.

Aki had just turned to look toward his enemy when he was met with a maelstrom of bullets coming his way. He barely had time to react, dodging and deflecting the bullets with his kunai, but some struck hard, driving him back.

The situation was desperate, if left alone even Sango would recover, and battling two skilled enemies would make it even worse.

Aki wasn't done yet

He gathered lightning chakra into his hands, forming an unstable orb, then he threw it at Sango stunning him once more, in a moment of respite while weaving through highspeed water bullets.

"Koga, your turn," Aki muttered under his breath as he charged through the remaining water bullets, his lightning-coated fists ready for the final blow.

Aki charged forward, lightning crackling around his fists, and launched his right fist at Koga's jaw. Koga twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike, and retaliated with a sharp jab aimed at Aki's ribs.

Reacting instantly, Aki pivoted, letting the punch graze his side. He countered with a swift spinning kick targeting Koga's midsection. Koga raised his forearm just in time, blocking the kick with a grunt as the force reverberated through his body, pushing him back a step.

Aki didn't let up. With fluid precision, he dropped low, sweeping his leg toward Koga's ankles. Koga leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding the sweep, and retaliated with a powerful overhead punch aimed straight at Aki's head.

Aki sidestepped, dodging effortlessly, his eyes sharp with focus. In an instant, he gathered swirling air around his hand, manifesting a blade of wind. The moment Koga landed, Aki slashed toward him, the blade whistling through the air.

But before the strike could connect, a shadow loomed behind Aki.

CRACK.

Sango's kick struck Aki's chest with bone-shaking force, launching him off his feet. Aki's body hurtled through the air before crashing into the stone wall of the valley with a deafening thud, sending dust and debris flying.