Throne Of The Uchiha

Ambush

Fugaku and Aburame Nozawa pushed their speed to the limit. If the Iwagakure pursuers caught up, capture would be inevitable—and in the ninja world, capture only ends in two things: torture and death.

For a shinobi, especially an Uchiha, there was no glorious funeral for dying in the shadows. At most, whispers of sympathy over tea, and a grieving family left behind.

Sensing a shift in the wind behind him, Fugaku twisted mid-air. His fully matured Sharingan caught the blur of incoming projectiles—kunai laced with chakra tags, their paper seals fluttering in the wind.

His brows tightened. Blocking them directly would trigger the explosion. Instantly, he formed hand seals—Tiger → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger—and inhaled deeply.

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!"

(Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!)

Flames roared from his mouth, engulfing the incoming projectiles. The detonating tags ignited midair, exploding in rapid succession. The shockwave bought precious seconds of distance as smoke scattered in the rain.

But the Iwagakure team surged forward through the smoke. They were relentless.

"Captain," Nozawa said, his voice calm as ever despite the pressure. "Ahead—two chakra signatures. Likely Rock-nin as well."

Fugaku nodded grimly. "They're setting up a pincer. Change course. We'll draw them into the trap we laid by the collapsed ravine."

The rain-misted battlefield worked to their advantage. Nozawa released a swarm of kikaichū—his parasitic insects—spreading through the terrain and relaying chakra signatures. His clan's recon capabilities rivaled even Iwa's famed sensory units.

Behind them, the enemy leader, Aomado, frowned beneath his hood. The persistent insect trail confirmed his suspicion: they were up against a member of Konoha's Aburame Clan. That explained how they kept avoiding ambushes.

But there was another problem—the Konoha team clearly possessed insider knowledge. Some intelligence, still unverified, had allowed them to exploit terrain and maneuver ahead of Iwa's pursuit net.

Aomado clenched his jaw. If that intel was false, alerting command and redirecting multiple squads could backfire disastrously.

Ahead, Fugaku made his move.

Several kunai arced backward from his hands, spinning unpredictably through the sheets of rain. Aomado didn't flinch. He formed hand seals:

"Fūton: Daitoppa!"

(Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!)

A gust of chakra-infused wind howled forward, dispersing the kunai midair like leaves. The Iwa squad maintained formation—but that was exactly what Fugaku wanted.

"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu."

(Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique.)

Three massive fire dragons roared into the sky, spiraling down from different angles. The chakra-infused flames bore down on Iwa's position like serpents of vengeance.

An earth wall—Doton: Doryūheki—rose to meet them, absorbing some of the impact, but not all. The smoke and fire forced the enemy to falter.

"That should slow them," Fugaku muttered.

In the distance, the trap zone came into view—a terrain of collapsed rock and dug-out terrain. It had been carefully prepared in advance.

"Slow your pace," Fugaku ordered. "Make it look like we're tiring. Let them think they've got us cornered."

Nozawa nodded, withdrawing some of his kikaichū as bait while the rest remained buried, monitoring movement.

The terrain began to narrow. Piles of seemingly natural rubble concealed chakra seals and rigged detonation points. The perfect kill zone.

Behind them, Aomado's squad accelerated. The terrain was treacherous, but momentum was on their side—until the lead ninja triggered the first seal.

Fugaku's hand moved like a blur—shuriken sailed through the air and struck activation tags embedded in the rock.

Thunk. Boom.

Concealed spike traps erupted from the ground. Stone spears shot toward the Rock-nin, who raised Doton: Doryūheki again in defense. The ground trembled.

Then, the earth beneath them gave way. The hollowed-out rubble collapsed inward, swallowing half the squad. The rest leapt back with Shunshin no Jutsu—Body Flicker Technique.

But it was too late.

Fugaku completed a final hand seal.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

(Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!)

A wave of small, concentrated fireballs ignited the hidden detonation tags buried deep in the rubble.

BOOM.

Chain explosions lit up the battlefield. A firestorm consumed the collapsed pit, engulfing those who hadn't escaped. Debris and flame shot skyward like a volcano erupting.

Those who had escaped surrounded each other, instinctively raising overlapping earth walls for protection.

Moments later, from nearby trenches and hidden cover, Konoha reinforcements emerged. Many bore signs of camouflage—dust, dirt, and leaves in their hair. They had lain in wait beneath the soil.

Harada Kirisawa stepped forward and exhaled sharply.

"Fūton: Kiryū Ranbu!"

(Wind Style: Gale Style Wild Dance!)

A directed burst cleared away the smoke, revealing the surviving Iwa ninja.

Four remained: two jōnin, two chūnin. Another Iwa ninja crawled out from the pit, bloodied but alive, joining the others.

Fugaku's Sharingan scanned the area. No signs of deeper reinforcements—yet. But they would come.

"Now," he said. "Strike hard and fast."

Three Konoha shinobi—Shinji Yamada, Ohno Chiu, and Maki Aida—stepped forward.

"Doton: Doryūdan!"

(Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!)

The earth rumbled as a massive dragon formed from soil and rock rose behind them and fired shells of hardened earth.

Fugaku, Haranoki, and Satomaru responded in unison.

"Katon: Karyūdan!"

(Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!)

Fireballs collided with the earth bullets midair, creating a shower of molten stone and flame. The combined pressure forced the Iwa squad to scatter.

Fugaku knew better than to expect victory from such an exchange. This wasn't a finishing blow—it was the opening volley.

The enemy was bloodied. Konoha had the momentum.

And the rain… still hadn't stopped.