The four enemies had adjusted their course to intercept Jun’s comrades. They were going to reach Ise and Sora before him. Jun felt a shiver of horror run up his spine at the thought. He increased his speed. He was scared, angry, shocked, and filled with a furious determination that burned intensely inside him. He wouldn’t let his teammates perish without doing anything. He would protect them. He didn’t want to see anyone else die before his eyes. He was powerless when his father died, but he was more capable now. He wouldn’t let it happen, not again, not if he can help it.

Jun’s heart was beating like a war drum, his jaw was tense enough to make his teeth grind. His anger pushed him forward. One of the enemies broke away from their formation to meet him. Jun had felt his chakra’s signature. He suppressed a growl of mixed excitement and outrage. He was excited to fight and outraged at the idea that the opponent was trying to take his life, to separate him from his family. His Sharingan activated without him giving it more than a distracting thought.

He drew a kunai a second before the clash. Jun collided with his opponent in a steely exchange. The ninja enemy was a white-haired kunoichi. She had a shark-like smile. There was no provocation, no words exchanged, no jokes, and no threats. The sword swung up in a lightning-fast motion with the firm intention of decapitating Jun. The Uchiha would have never been able to dodge it without his Dojutsu.

He got out of the way of the blade and followed up with a kick that his enemy countered. They exchanged blows like two wild beasts. No chatter, no time wasted, each just wanted to kill the other. The kunoichi’s sword gave her more reach, and Jun roared in rage as he was forced to step back. They were both fighting to kill. He wasn’t going to let himself be beaten. He refused.

His team needed him. Jun abruptly switched to the style copied from Akiko, the Kumo kunoichi from the chunin tournament. He was now using shaper movements to dodge and slipped into the opponent’s defense long enough to brush her thigh with his fingertips. He didn’t even wait until he had stepped back to activate his explosive seal.

The kunoichi’s knee exploded, knocking her through the air with a muffled cry of pain. Her leg was pulverized. She tried landing on her good leg, cursing. She raised her blade to ward off Jun’s next attack. But no one could maintain their composure after having a leg blown away. Jun’s following attack passed through her defense and slit her throat. The Kiri kunoichi collapsed on the ground, blood flowing out of her neck.

The teenager didn’t wait for her to draw her last breath to dash toward his two comrades. He had locked on the remaining chakras’ signatures. It was as if his world only revolved around those individuals, masked by the mist.

On the way, he saw broken branches and drops of blood. They had caught up to them, but Sora had to keep running supporting Ise. Maybe she had fended them off with a Jutsu. They hadn’t been cut down on the first contact. But their enemies were strong. If they were at the same level as the white-haired kunoichi, it would be tough for his comrades to deal with them. That kunoichi had been stronger than Jun.

The teenager increased his speed again, tapping into reserves he didn’t know he possessed. He was furious and terrified to the point of being unable to distinguish between the two emotions. Ise’s chakra signature was growing weaker. Jun realized they were cornered.

The young Uchiha burst into the clearing just as Sora fell to the ground. Chibi laid not far away from her, a small heap of motionless fur in a pool of blood. One of the enemy shinobi, a tall bearded man, held his bloody arm against his chest while grimacing. Another was facing Ise, who was still standing by the force of his will. The last one had his swords in his hand. It was the one who killed Sora. Jun didn’t take the time to think. He was seeing red.

“Raiton, Thunder Lance.”

It was a new Jutsu he had created by improving the Electric Discharge technique. A gigantic bolt of lightning shot from Jun’s hand. It shattered the sword the man had tried to use to parry the attack, and struck him in the shoulder, ripping out a howl of pain and a huge chunk of flesh. The man staggered back, covered in blood. Jun landed between him and Sora.

He didn’t need to check to know that the young Inuzuka was dead. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the rage and the feeling of helpless horror bubbling up inside him. How could things have escalated so fast? An hour earlier, they were laughing and joking around. Daiki had told them funny stories and now he was dead. Sora had shared with them many things about her life, her siblings, her parents… And now she would never see them again. She was lying face down in a pool of blood. They were his teammates, comrades, friends…

Ise was severely injured, They faced three enemies. Two were wounded but still able to fight. He changed his stance. His heart was pounding, and he suppressed the tears in his eyes. The situation appeared hopeless, but there was no thought of running away in his mind. Ise was still alive. He would save him. He would bring him home.

“Can you run?” He asked Ise without turning around.

The Hyuga didn’t answer. It was his opponent who replied. It was the tall man with blue-grayish brushed hair and hard features.

“He can’t. Stop fighting, you already lost.”The man said.

Jun refused to accept it. He could not. Stopping now meant they would all die.

“Jun, you can’t let him take my eyes,” Ise whispered.

The young Uchiha wondered how the Hyuga expected him to achieve that. He didn’t want to think about what Ise truly meant. The latter seemed to have accepted his fate. Jun suddenly felt alone.

The tall man narrowed his eyes, then rushed at Ise. His two injured companions hesitated, but ultimately threw themselves at Jun when he tried to block their teammate. They might be crippled by their injuries, but they were capable ninjas.

Ise fought bravely. At one point, he deliberately put his head in the path of a kunai that slashed across his face and gouged out his eye, making the man smirk in displeasure. Even beaten, Ise refused to let his opponent have what he wanted. Ultimately, the Hyuga died. Jun hadn’t realized he had kept his Sharingan activated. It was when he saw Ise fall, and the man immediately bend down to slit his throat that he knew this scene would forever be in his mind with the same horrifying clarity as the Nine-Tails Assault on Konoha.

Jun was tackled to the ground by the other two ninjas. For a moment, he let himself be overwhelmed by a wave of despair. He was the only one still alive. They were all dead, killed one after another. For a second, he had the impression of seeing the image of his dad, broken and dying. He had failed to save him, and now the same thing had happened.

He wasn’t close to Ise, Daiki, Sora, and her dog. But, they were his teammates, comrades, and fellow Konoha shinobis. They were supposed to watch each other’s back, to protect themselves. Jun felt that he had failed them. He wanted to forget, but he couldn’t. He felt lost. He wanted the pain to disappear.

His gaze fell on the ninja who killed Ise. He was extracting the remaining eye from his teammate’s skull. A fire lit up inside him. He let out a maddening roar and fought back. One of his kicks hit his enemy’s injured shoulder, and he felt the bone crack. It wasn’t enough. Jun wanted to inflict more pain. He wanted to tear them to shreds. He wanted to annihilate them.

The young Uchiha fed on the rage and hatred. He was going to make them pay. He was aware that revenge wouldn't bring his friends back, but he didn’t care. He wanted to hurt them. He wanted to give a taste of the pain they caused him. It was all he had left. It was all that kept him going. It was all that was fueling the fire inside him.

“Kill him.” The man said without looking up.

The two ninjas tried to pin him to the ground. One of them took out a kunai to cut his throat. Jun roared. His hatred and rage were burning. His eyesight blurred as tears flowed out. He wanted to apologize to his comrades, but he couldn’t. He could only avenge them.

The image of a familiar seal appeared in his mind. He could draw it in his sleep. Starting from his hands pinned to the ground, he used his chakra as ink and drew the seal on the ground. The next moment, his explosive seal symbol covered the ground. He opened his eyes in time to see the incomprehension and the horror on the tall man’s face.

“Susanoo.” Jun whispered as the ground exploded.