Mangekyo Breaks the Stalemate!
Nakamura's Lightning–Earth Release combination roared across the battlefield, but even that devastating jutsu left the Seven-Tails virtually unharmed.
When the smoke cleared, only a shallow gash marked the beast's chitinous body—and even that sealed itself almost instantly as chakra surged to the wound.
In mere seconds, it was as though nothing had happened.
A heavy despair fell upon the group.
How were they supposed to fight something like this? The gap between them and the Tailed Beast was far too wide.
And yet—they could not give up. Even ants struggle to survive; how much more so humans? They kept moving, weaving between explosions of chakra and swipes of gargantuan wings.
It was fortunate, at least, that the Seven-Tails was rampaging unconsciously, more beast than jinchūriki at the moment. If the host's will had been steering it, none of them would still be breathing.
"Captain! What do we do?!" someone shouted.
Shirō's first thought turned to Nakamura. The Third Hokage himself had said Nakamura once fought a Tailed Beast—perhaps he had a strategy.
"There's no other way! We need to locate the jinchūriki! Damn it!" Nakamura barked, already firing off another jutsu.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The blast caught the insect-like monster in the eyes, redirecting its attention before it could bear down on Shikamaru's squad.
"Shirō!" Taiyi called over. "Can't you analyze chakra flow? Track the host?"
"No! The interference is too strong. Even if I touched the beast directly, I couldn't separate its chakra from the host's!" Shirō snapped back.
He thought of Katsuki—her Kagura's Mind Eye perception was strong enough in theory—but when his eyes flicked to her, he dismissed the idea.
She was still a child. Ordinary, untrained, shaken to her core by the overwhelming pressure of a Tailed Beast's chakra. Forcing her to probe into that monstrous presence would be cruel, if not outright lethal. She could collapse instantly—or worse, break.
Shirō himself sometimes flinched when brushing against the Blue Snake's aura in Ryūchi Cave; what chance did a child have against a full Tailed Beast?
No—finding the jinchūriki through sensing was impossible. At least for now.
So they kept dodging, thinking desperately. Dragging things out would only make matters worse. Konoha's border forces would arrive sooner or later, but what good would it do?
Against a Tailed Beast, only elite jōnin—or higher—could stand their ground. Ordinary shinobi would be slaughtered. And how many elite jōnin could any village truly afford to spare?
No—the solution had to come from them.
Shirō racked his brain for anything from the manga he remembered. How had others faced Tailed Beasts?
He considered his own arsenal. Noble Phantasms were out; there were too few he could call on, and most would be useless here.
A Tailed Beast was part of the Ten-Tails—immortal, indestructible, their "Authority" higher than almost any creature. Against that, the majority of his projected Noble Phantasms, even C-rank, would break like glass. Divine or star-ranked constructs? Impossible.
Azrael could work in theory—it ignored all Authority—but the chance of success was too slim. King Hassan wielded it with inevitability; in Shirō's hands, it was nothing but a gamble.
He recalled Akatsuki. Yes, they captured jinchūriki—but only because their members were monsters who fought at the level of Kage. Even then, they rarely fought alone.
Naruto? He only ever stood against Tailed Beasts after awakening overwhelming bloodline power, or the Nine-Tails itself.
His team had no such power.
Unless…
His eyes widened. Mangekyō.
Yes—that was the one weapon that had ever held back Tailed Beasts time and again. From Madara summoning the Nine-Tails, to Itachi suppressing it, to Sasuke controlling it—the Sharingan's evolution had always been key.
"Wait. Mangekyō… That's it!" Shirō muttered.
"Don't space out, Shirō!" Nakamura shouted, hurling another jutsu. "Do you have a plan or not?!"
"I do. But I'll need Taiyi's help."
He flung a tagged kunai to divert the beast's attention, then called out:
"Taiyi, you know of your ancestor, Uchiha Madara?"
"Of course," Taiyi answered sharply. "What about him?"
"I have a way to grant you the same eyes as his—for a short time. The Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"What?!" Taiyi froze, stunned. His feet rooted to the ground until Nakamura yanked him back.
"Everyone, stay sharp!" Nakamura barked, then turned to Shirō with narrowed eyes. "Are you serious?"
Every shinobi alive knew the legends. Madara's Mangekyō Sharingan had earned him the title of God of War. That Shirō claimed he could replicate such eyes…
"There's an eighty percent chance," Shirō admitted. "But I've never tested it. I don't know the side effects—and it won't last long."
Taiyi's hesitation burned away in an instant. He clenched his fists.
"Doesn't matter. If I have those eyes, we can win."
Seeing Taiyi's unshakable confidence, Shirō swallowed his doubt.
It was reckless. Dangerous. Maybe even suicidal.
But in the shadow of the Seven-Tails' wings, it was the only chance they had.
Visit patreon.com/MexxyWave to get access to 30+ chapters