Asuka and Minato Namikaze stood facing each other in silence.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The tense and eerie atmosphere didn't last long before Minato Namikaze finally broke the silence.
"Asuka-kun, I believe this battle reaching this point isn't something you wanted to see either. How about we both take a step back?"
Asuka glanced around at the casualties among the Konoha ninjas. Extending his senses, he also realized that the Hidden Mist forces had suffered heavy losses.
If the battle continued, fewer than one in ten of both armies might survive.
That would be a devastating loss for both sides.
After thinking it through, Asuka accepted Minato's suggestion.
"Since Minato-kun has spoken, I'll give you this face. We'll end things here for now. However…"
He looked straight at Minato.
"The next time we meet, it will truly be a fight to the death."
With that, Asuka used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared under Minato's watchful gaze.
Seeing Asuka leave, Minato immediately crouched down beside Uchiha Fugaku to provide emergency treatment.
Fugaku slowly opened his eyes and spoke weakly.
"Minato… the strength of this Kaguya Asuka is truly terrifying. Besides that extreme regeneration ability, his spiritual energy is also incredibly powerful."
"In our fight just now, he broke free from my Sharingan genjutsu in less than a second."
"Such powerful spiritual energy is extremely rare among ninjas without dōjutsu."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Combined with that red laser he fired from his eyes… it's very possible that Kaguya Asuka has awakened a second Bloodline Limit—and it may even be a dōjutsu."
Hearing this new information, Minato felt a growing sense of concern.
Powerful spiritual energy… another Bloodline Limit…
This Kaguya Asuka truly has endless abilities.
Even so, he gently reassured Fugaku.
"Fugaku-senpai, don't speak anymore for now. I'll take you for treatment."
Helping Fugaku stand, Minato Namikaze used Body Flicker and quickly left the battlefield.
---
When Asuka returned to the Hidden Mist battlefield, the mirage created by Hōzuki Mangetsu had already dissipated.
Maintaining such a massive genjutsu consumed enormous amounts of chakra.
For Mangetsu to have sustained it for so long was already an impressive feat.
Inside the ice barrier, Mangetsu had collapsed into unconsciousness from chakra exhaustion.
Meanwhile, most of the surviving Kirigakure ninjas had gathered near the defensive perimeter created by Minazuki Murasaki.
When Murasaki saw Asuka return, she finally relaxed.
The moment she stopped maintaining the jutsu, the ice walls vanished.
Her body collapsed forward.
Asuka instantly used Body Flicker to catch her before she hit the ground.
Seeing the exhaustion on her pale face, he couldn't help but feel a trace of concern.
Holding her in his arms, Asuka looked around at the remaining ninjas and spoke loudly.
"Everyone did well. This battle is temporarily suspended."
"Return to the rear, rest, and reorganize."
Hearing this, the Kirigakure ninjas collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
The intensity of the battle had kept their nerves stretched to the limit.
Almost every ninja still standing was injured to some degree.
Asuka reorganized the forces, leaving behind a small group of combat-capable ninjas to hold the line while escorting the wounded back to the rear.
---
The Konoha side did the same.
After gathering the survivors, Minato Namikaze established a defensive line at the front before escorting the wounded back to rest.
Until reinforcements arrived, it would be difficult for either side to launch another large-scale battle.
For the time being, both armies would return to the traditional small-squad combat model.
---
After returning to the rear, Asuka first exchanged battle reports with Terumi Kenshi.
He instructed Kenshi to immediately send fresh squads to replace the exhausted ninjas at the front lines.
Afterward, Asuka headed straight to the field hospital to visit the wounded.
His arrival caused the injured ninjas to begin standing up one after another.
Asuka quickly raised his hand.
"Everyone, sit down. Don't worry about formalities."
"I'm just here to see how your recovery is going."
After greeting the injured with a warm smile, Asuka walked toward the private recovery rooms.
Inside were Hōzuki Mangetsu and Minazuki Murasaki.
Both had already regained consciousness, but the severe chakra exhaustion had left their bodies extremely weak.
They still couldn't leave their beds.
Asuka walked between the two beds and sat down.
He grabbed an apple from the fruit basket and began peeling it with a small knife.
Turning toward Minazuki Murasaki, he asked gently,
"Murasaki, how are you feeling? Is there anywhere that still hurts?"
As he spoke, he handed half of the peeled apple to her.
Murasaki's cheeks turned red as she accepted the apple and took a bite.
"I'm fine, Captain… just a little exhausted."
Before the two could continue talking, a loud voice interrupted them.
"Hey! Hey! Boss Asuka!"
"I'm still here too! I want an apple!"
Asuka turned his head toward the other bed.
Mangetsu looked rather miserable.
His head was wrapped in bandages, and his left arm was secured in a cast.
Asuka sighed helplessly.
"I didn't forget you."
He casually shoved the remaining half of the apple into Mangetsu's mouth, instantly silencing him.
"You both performed very well in this battle."
"If it weren't for you two, our losses would have been much worse."
Mangetsu grabbed the apple and spoke proudly.
"With my skills, that kind of thing is nothing!"
Murasaki nodded from the bed.
"Captain, if it weren't for you, we never would have forced Minato Namikaze to retreat."
Asuka chatted with them for a while longer.
Seeing that they were both exhausted, he finally stood up.
"Get some rest."
Then he quietly left the room.
---
On the Konoha side, after arranging treatment for the wounded, Minato Namikaze went to meet the border unit commander, Murata Akira.
"Murata-senpai, the situation is like this. Because my support arrived too late, we suffered such heavy casualties. The responsibility lies with me."
Murata shook his head.
"Minato-kun, don't blame yourself."
"You've already done everything you could."
"I've reviewed the intelligence reports. If it weren't for you, our losses would have been even worse."
He paused before continuing.
"But this Kaguya Asuka is indeed a serious threat."
"In this battle, the Hidden Mist managed to push things this far almost entirely because of him alone."
Minato nodded in agreement.
"You're right, Murata-senpai."
"The strength of this ninja Kaguya Asuka is terrifying."
"In a one-on-one battle, I'm not his opponent."
"Moreover, his abilities are extremely suited for battlefield combat. His dominance in large-scale warfare is overwhelming."
"That's why our casualties far exceeded expectations."
Murata frowned slightly.
"So… do you have any way to restrain him?"
Minato thought for a moment before replying seriously.
"To restrain Kaguya Asuka, we would need at least several elite jōnin working together with perfect coordination…"
"…or a Kage-level fighter."
Murata sighed.
"In that case, it seems we can only wait for Lord Orochimaru to arrive with reinforcements."
Minato nodded.
"My suggestion is that we avoid launching any large-scale offensives for the time being."
"Otherwise, we'll only be sacrificing more lives."
---
With an unspoken understanding, both sides temporarily halted large-scale operations.
However, small squad battles continued along the Land of Fire border.
This situation lasted for several days—
Until the main forces of both sides finally arrived.
---------------Author---------------
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