How War Works

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A/N - Thank you, Mo el and Rowan for becoming Azure Awakening Patreón!

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After helping several allied groups, Kaoru finally arrived at a battle where one of his friends was in trouble.

Yuji, alongside four Terumi shinobi, was fighting against ten Kiri nin. He was the only other lava release user besides Mei, making him an important asset for the Terumi Clan. Because of that, he had been placed in a squad of the clan's elites.

However, Kiri's forces were overwhelming. The enemy not only outnumbered them but also outclassed them.

Kiri's squad had three jonins and seven chunins, while the Terumi group had only two jonins and three chunins, one of whom was Yuji.

The only reason they were still alive was the combined efforts of the two Terumi jonins. Their wind and fire release synergy was strong enough to stall the Kiri forces, creating devastating firestorms that kept them at bay.

But it wouldn't last forever.

The result was inevitable unless something changed. And that variable was about to be Kaoru.

As soon as Kaoru arrived he scanned the battlefield as his Suijingan started glowing brighter, analyzing the details instantly.

The two Terumi jonin were moving together, performing their jutsus in perfectt sync, one igniting the air, the other fueling the flames, creating waves of burning heat. However, its not that Kiri were unable to handle them, they simply did not have to rush in recklessly.

'They're waiting.'

Their movements were calculated. They kept defending themselves from the attacks but also were slowly pushing the Terumi forces back. It was only a matter of time until they found the opening they were waiting for.

Kaoru shifted his focus to Yuji.

He was fighting two chunin at once, using his Lava Release to create hardened magma walls, blocking their attacks while countering with melting projectiles. He was good, better than most, but he was struggling.

'He's pushing his limits. And his opponents are not using even half as much chakra as he does.'

The Terumi squad was losing ground.

Kaoru tightened his grip on Nagizume, his chakra surging.

'Time to even the playing field.'

Without warning, Kaoru flickered forward.

He had used too much chakra, and even with enhanced recovery, he was expending more than he was regaining. For now, his plan was to rely on kenjutsu, conserving as much chakra as he could.

Kaoru decided that his first targets wouldn't be jonins, he would start with the easier prey.

Two Kiri chunins were closing in on Yuji's flank, preparing to strike. But before they could make their move, a dark blue flash appeared behind them.

Kaoru moved too fast for them to react.

With a single precise slash, Nagizume severed one shinobi's neck, killing him instantly. The second turned, attempting to retaliate, but Kaoru's weapon, which was transformed into a glaive, struck first, slicing across his chest in one fluid motion. 

Both enemies collapsed, blood pooling at their feet.

Yuji's eyes widened, his breath hitching.

"Kaoru?!"

Kaoru barely spared him a glance.

"Don't stop attacking."

Yuji snapped back into focus, instantly resuming his attacks.

The sudden shift in momentum threw the Kiri-nin off balance.

The remaining eight were now forced to re-adjust.

One of the Kiri jonin, an older man with sharp features and twin blades, narrowed his eyes at Kaoru.

'That one's dangerous.'

Kaoru sensed it immediately.

'He's marked me as a threat.'

The jonin flickered forward, both blades drawn, moving with an intent to kill Kaoru with one move.

Kaoru ducked, narrowly avoiding the first horizontal slash, then twisted mid-air, dodging the second strike by a fraction of an inch. Without missing a beat, he flicked his wrist, sending a wave of dark blue needles toward his opponent.

The Kiri jonin reacted instantly, spinning his blades to create a vortex of water, a barrier meant to deflect the incoming attack.

However, like most of Kaoru's opponents, he misjudged the force behind the needles.

The water barrier was pierced, but the weakened force of the needles wasn't enough to break through the second layer of spinning blades.

The jonin's eyes widened in shock.

'What the hell was that?!'

He had survived, but only due to luck, nothing more. Concern ran across his face for a brief moment.

'I need to kill this kid as soon as possible. Those two won't be able to defeat the Terumi jonins alone.'

His gaze shot toward his two fellow jonins, who were still struggling against the fire and wind combination tearing through the battlefield.

But before he could plan his next move Kaoru charged.

Just like his opponent Kaoru also analyzed Kiri nin he was facing and came up with a plan.

'He's fast and skilled… but he's not faster than me.'

Kaoru closed the distance, but not enough to enter the jonin's effective range.

His weapon gave him an advantage in reach, and he was going to use it.

With a sharp swing, Kaoru's Nagizume sliced toward the jonin's neck. The Kiri nin reacted in time, blocking the attack only to realize a moment too late that he had been tricked.

Instead of the sharp glaive edge he expected, he was met with the blunt tip of the weapon, its whip-like extension snapping toward his throat.

Luckily, his battle instincts kicked in, and he twisted his body just in time to avoid a fatal blow, but not fast enough to fully evade as the edge still grazed his skin, drawing a thin line of blood.

'Shit,' Kaoru cursed inwardly.

'If only I had more high-density water available, I could have extended my range further… He would've died instantly. Now he won't fall for that move again.'

Kaoru exhaled sharply, frustrated that the attack hadn't worked as intended.

The fight continued, but the pattern had been established! Kaoru was dictating the pace.

He used his superior speed effectively, maintaining a perfect distance where he could reach his opponent, but the jonin couldn't touch him.

Every time the Kiri-nin tried to create space, Kaoru's water needles would rain down, cutting off his movement. And every time he tried to use ninjutsu, Kaoru closed in instantly, leaving no openings.

The fight was turning one-sided.

The jonin realized that if he didn't change something soon, he was going to die.

And so, he made his final move, a desperate gamble.

Instead of retreating, he charged straight at Kaoru, both blades aimed directly at his torso. Kaoru immediately recognized the danger. If the Kiri-nin managed to close the distance, he would be at a disadvantage. Kaoru was weaker and had much less experience, however, his opponent's desperation could be exploited. And so Kaoru used it against him.

Without hesitation, he fired a barrage of dark blue needles, targeting the exact spot the jonin would reach in the next moment. The Kiri-nin's charge halted abruptly, his body jerking back to avoid the attack. In that instant, he was off-balance and that meant he was doomed.

Nagizume was already closing in.

With only one hand free, there was no way he could stop the force of Kaoru's swing.

Realizing this, he ducked low, avoiding the initial slash only to see a dark blue tentacle shooting upward, aiming straight for his neck.

His instincts kicked in, and he tilted his body slightly, barely avoiding a lethal hit, but the water tentacle pierced through his shoulder, immobilizing him.

The pain made him stagger, a sharp gasp escaping his lips.

Then, his breath caught and his eyes widened in terror as realization set in - this was it.

Kaoru, who was still in mid-motion, followed through with his momentum, spinning with Nagizume in hand.

He completed a full 360-degree spin, his body moving fluidly with his weapon and then came the final swing.

The force behind the attack was even greater than before.

The jonin barely had time to process it before Nagizume tore through him, the blade cutting cleanly and brutally through his entire torso, diagonally from shoulder to hip.

A wet, sickening sound filled the battlefield, followed by a bloodcurdling scream!

Then, silence…

The sheer brutality of the kill made even the Terumi shinobi hesitate for a moment, their faces briefly frozen in shock and maybe even fear.

But the battle did not stop and Yuji was in trouble.

One of the remaining Kiri jonin had broken past the defenses, charging straight for Yuji, sword raised.

Yuji tried to counter, but he was too slow.

Kaoru could do nothing but watch as his friend was about to be killed by Kiri nin, but at the last moment, one of the Terumi chunin moved instead throwing himself in front of the attack.

The blade sank deep into his chest.

Yuji's eyes went wide with horror.

"NO!"

The Terumi chunin, gasping for breath, gritted his teeth and grabbed the Kiri-nin's wrist, refusing to let him move. His grip was weak, but it was enough to hold him in place for just a moment longer.

He turned his gaze toward Kaoru, eyes filled with pain but unwavering determination.

"Finish it."

Kaoru didn't hesitate.

Dozens of dark blue needles shot forward, piercing the Kiri jonin's body with devastating force. The impact sent him staggering back, his body convulsing as the needles tore through muscle and bone, severing vital points with precise brutality.

The last few Kiri nin, realizing they were completely outmatched, attempted to flee, but their retreat was instantly cut off. The two Terumi jonin, who had already defeated the last jonin, turned their attention toward the remaining enemies. Against exhausted and disorganized chunin, they had no trouble closing the distance.

What followed was not a fight, it was a massacre.

The chunin tried to resist, but they were cut down one after another, their desperate attempts to counterattack easily blocked and countered with ruthless efficiency. The battlefield, once chaotic with movement and clashing jutsus, was now littered with bodies, the silence of death creeping in where screams had once filled the air.

There was no hesitation in the slaughter. The hatred between Kiri and Takimura, once an ember that might have been extinguished, had become a raging fire. With each fallen comrade, with every drop of blood spilled, that hatred solidified into something permanent, something irreparable.

This war had already claimed too much.

And it was far from over.

<<<>>>

In the main camp, Akura's eyes widened as he read the latest report.

'This brat is making it really hard to stay mad… but this changes nothing. I'm still going to punish him.'

One after another, the reports continued to arrive, each one claiming the same thing - Kaoru had appeared, saved them, and helped turn the tide against their opponents.

Even Meruem, who was notoriously sparse with praise, especially toward Takime, whose influence in Takimura had long since surpassed the Terumi Clan, had something to say.

"If not for that kid, two of our Terumi jonin would be dead, along with our only other Lava Release user besides Mei," Meruem admitted. "Kaoru definitely made a mistake, but I say we wait until the war is over before punishing him."

For a moment, the entire council shared the same look, pleasant surprise. Without realizing it, they had all started to believe that they might actually win this war.

This kind of confidence would have been impossible just hours ago.

The battle was going far better than they had anticipated.

However, one thing was clear, none of Kiri's true elites had moved yet.

Takimura still had five more top fighters to send in, but Kiri had yet to reveal its strongest weapons.

The Noda Clan head raised his head.

"Any news about Maki?"

Everyone in the tent had high hopes for her.

Akura shook his head. "No. We haven't confirmed if she managed to break through, nor do we know if she's engaged her opponent yet. There's been no news whatsoev…"

He was interrupted when Kaoru stepped into the tent. Akura's eyes narrowed immediately.

"Oh, look who decided to show up…"

His tone wasn't angry, but Kaoru knew exactly what that look meant.

The punishment would come later. Kaoru bowed slightly, however, he did not show even the faintest hints of guilt.

"Sorry, Akura-san," he said. "I had too much chakra left, so I decided to help our allies. Now that I've spent more than half, I returned. I'll recover for a while, then rejoin the fight, unless you have an order for me."

Kaoru knew he would be scolded later, but if it meant saving even one more person, he was willing to take the punishment.

Akura stared at him for a long moment.

'It's not about having chakra, you brat… You still don't understand how war works.'

He sighed.

Then again, Kaoru was only eleven years old.

Why did he keep expecting him to act like an adult?

Akura exhaled. "Go, rest. I'll call you soon. Meditate to recover faster."

Kaoru nodded simply before turning to leave.

As he exited, the rest of the council exchanged approving glances with Akura.

He didn't show it, but they all knew that Kaoru's actions, while reckless and wrong, had saved lives.

Just as Akura was about to shift the discussion toward Kiri's possible strategies, a Takimura Oinin flickered beside him.

"Maki has reached her target and is now engaging him."

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A/N -

I was thinking of killing Yuji but changed my mind. His character is extremely undeveloped, it would not make a difference. So Yuji survived xD

Break Tomorrow, the next chapter will be available on Monday!

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