"You're the one the teacher mentioned—my new teammate? Get to know me, Uchiha Kiyo."
"Hatake Sakumo."
A simple introduction, but one filled with an air of confidence.
Uchiha Kiyo smiled slightly. He had heard of Hatake Sakumo's abilities, but seeing him up close, he could tell that the man possessed a dangerous aura—an assassin's edge honed to perfection.
"I guess we'll be teammates for a while. Should we take on a mission right away, or spend some time getting used to each other's fighting styles first?"
"There's no need for that. We'll adapt on the battlefield."
Hatake Sakumo's response was blunt, but it resonated with Kiyo's own thoughts.
True elites didn't need to spend time adjusting to each other. They had their own battle styles, and forcing synchronization often led to inefficiencies. It was better to simply fight and let instinct take over.
With that settled, they agreed to take a mission together the next day and returned to their respective quarters for rest.
It was only later that Uchiha Kiyo realized Hatake Sakumo had arrived on the battlefield at the same time as he had. Thinking back, there had been an ANBU among their group—perhaps that had been Sakumo.
He had heard that Hatake Sakumo had served as the ANBU Commander for a time.
---
The next day, Kiyo and Sakumo took their first mission together.
Uchiha Kiyo's hands moved rapidly, executing the Ninja Tool Multiplication Technique. Shuriken and kunai materialized in his hands, enhanced by the Sharingan, allowing him to strike with pinpoint accuracy.
His weapons rained down upon the Sand Shinobi like a storm, forcing them into defensive positions. Meanwhile, Kiyo's body flickered in and out of sight, dodging the incoming attacks from their puppets.
Hatake Sakumo, blade in hand, dashed into the fray.
A flash of white light, and an enemy was down.
Another flash, another life taken.
His blade remained spotless, as though it had never tasted blood.
On Kiyo's side, his Sharingan glowed ominously. The moment his opponent's eyes met his, they fell into a carefully woven illusion. Trapped in genjutsu, the Sand ninja was unable to react as Kiyo closed in and ended them.
Only one enemy remained.
Before Kiyo could make his move, Sakumo had already cut them down.
Watching the clean efficiency of his new teammate, Kiyo couldn't help but be impressed.
"Your swordsmanship… It's lethal. You make it look so easy."
Sakumo's style was pure assassination—silent, precise, and merciless. Against puppet users, who relied on controlling their constructs from a distance, his speed and direct approach were their worst nightmare.
Kiyo pondered for a moment.
"Close combat does seem more effective… My speed and taijutsu are strong, too. I should experiment with it next time."
Their combined strategy was simple yet effective: one attacked from a distance while the other closed in for the kill.
Uchiha Kiyo collected the fallen puppets, his eyes gleaming.
"These puppets are valuable, but this poison is troublesome. I need to be careful when looting them."
He stored away the puppet he had defeated and tossed the others to Sakumo.
Puppets were a puppet master's greatest investment—both in terms of money and effort. Even an average puppet could be sold for a substantial amount.
After completing the mission, Kiyo carefully searched the bodies for anything of value.
Sakumo raised an eyebrow.
This had become a pattern over the past two weeks. Whenever they defeated a puppet master, Kiyo would claim both the puppets and the ninja's belongings.
At first, Sakumo found it strange, but Kiyo had explained it simply:
"I need to start saving money."
Puppets were expensive, but selling them was profitable. And, as Kiyo noted, puppet techniques had some similarities to his Shadow Clone Secret Technique—studying them might yield useful insights.
---
Half a month had passed since Uchiha Kiyo returned to the front lines.
During that time, he and Hatake Sakumo had completed numerous missions together, building a mutual respect for each other's abilities.
Technically, they weren't an official team—Konoha's standard teams consisted of three members. However, because Kiyo's teacher had significant influence, the two were often paired together.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Sakumo was a powerhouse, and working with him made missions far more efficient. On the other hand, Kiyo saw the advantage of forming connections with a ninja who was destined to become a legend.
They didn't take every mission together, but whenever a particularly dangerous task arose, they joined forces.
Just like this time.
Their current mission involved eliminating three Sand Jōnin. A single elite Jōnin might struggle against three puppet masters of that level, but Kiyo and Sakumo specialized in countering them.
Their effectiveness had caught the attention of Konoha's command, leading to this specialized assignment:
A puppet master eradication campaign.
Hatake Sakumo's White Fang Sword Style was highly effective against puppet users, while Kiyo's Sharingan and ranged combat skills provided excellent support.
Together, they tore through the enemy like a storm.
The problem with puppet masters was that they often fought at a one-versus-many advantage. A skilled puppet master could control three, five, or even ten puppets at once. If an entire squad of puppet masters worked together, Konoha's forces were at a severe disadvantage.
That was why Konoha needed a direct countermeasure.
Enter Uchiha Kiyo and Hatake Sakumo.
For seven straight days, they hunted puppet masters across the battlefield.
Word began to spread among the Sand Shinobi.
Two Konoha ninjas were systematically dismantling their forces.
One wielded a sword of white light—by the time it flashed, it was already too late. They called him:
Konoha's White Fang.
The other was a crimson-eyed phantom, raining kunai with lethal precision and dominating in close combat. The Sand Shinobi whispered his new title:
Blood-Eyed Asura.
Uchiha Kiyo heard of his nickname and immediately cringed.
"Blood-Eyed Asura? That's awful. Who came up with this?"
He couldn't deny that having a title meant something, but surely there were better options.
"Anything would be better. Blood-Eyed Phantom? Scarlet Demon? Even Cursed Gaze sounds cooler…"
Still, a title was a title. He made a mental note:
"Fine. But in the future, I'll make sure I earn a name worthy of my skills. When I create new identities, I'll make sure they're legendary."
For now, though, there were more important things to focus on.
Their mission was nearing completion.
By the end of the seven-day campaign, they had wiped out over 30% of Sand Village's puppet forces.
The Sand leadership was in chaos.
Losing a third of their puppet masters in a single operation was a devastating blow. In response, they dispatched elite ninja to intercept Kiyo and Sakumo.
But they had already vanished.
The damage had been done.
---
Returning to the Konoha front lines, Kiyo and Sakumo were greeted as heroes.
The titles of Konoha White Fang and Blood-Eyed Asura weren't just spreading among the Sand Shinobi—Konoha's own forces had embraced them.
Most of Konoha's shinobi looked up to them with admiration. Even some Jōnin and elite Jōnin acknowledged their contributions.
Due to their sheer effectiveness against the enemy, their battlefield influence was nearing that of a Kage-level ninja.
"Alright, I'm heading back to rest. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah."
After fighting side by side for so long, the two had formed a genuine bond.
This wasn't just battlefield camaraderie.
This was the beginning of a true friendship.
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