Shakuka Town Stronghold.
A thick layer of thunderclouds had gathered in midair, constantly emitting crackling sounds. The surrounding air felt so oppressive that water could almost be wrung from it.
The battle to defend the stronghold had already continued for more than an hour.
Under the brutal fighting between both sides, the ground had been repeatedly plowed apart by ninjutsu. Muddy pools of blood had gathered inside the craters, while corpses lay scattered everywhere—some belonging to Konoha ninja, others to Kiri ninja—all releasing a pungent stench of blood.
Near the medical tents,
Kakashi, Obito, Asuma, and Namashi Raidō led two other Konoha squads in forming a defensive circle, protecting Rin and the others who were urgently treating the wounded behind them.
Every one of them was injured. Their breathing was rapid, and blood and sweat continuously ran down their temples. They had clearly reached the limits of their strength.
Across from them,
Raiga Kurosuki stood holding a sword in each hand, watching Kakashi and the others with a relaxed expression. A cruel smile, like that of a cat toying with a mouse, hung on his face.
Fine arcs of lightning coiled around him, faintly resonating with the low thunderclouds above.
The Lightning Blades: Kiba.
As one of the Seven Ninja Swords, the blades' special ability was to draw down lightning and even artificially create thunderclouds over a small area.
In a certain sense, they were more deserving of the name "Sword of the Thunder God" than the actual Sword of the Thunder God.
Raiga himself was also one of Kirigakure's foremost elite jōnin.
Now, with man and swords acting as one, he displayed considerable power. Kakashi and the others were firmly suppressed. Their repeated attempts to counterattack failed to inflict any meaningful damage on him and instead worsened their own injuries.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You Konoha brats are surprisingly tenacious."
Mockery filled Raiga's voice.
"Unfortunately, before the power of lightning, you're all nothing but chickens and dogs!
"Lightning Release: Lightning Fang!"
As he spoke, Raiga abruptly crossed his twin swords and raised them high.
A thick, pale bolt of lightning immediately descended from the sky, crashing toward Kakashi and the others!
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"
Kakashi gritted his teeth and formed seals, releasing Wind Release in an attempt to block it.
Beside him, Obito spat a Great Fireball into the sky, while Asuma released Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
Rumble—!
The lightning descended.
Obito's Great Fireball was instantly swallowed. Kakashi and Asuma's Wind Release barely neutralized part of the Lightning Release's power.
The remaining electricity then smashed into the weapons and defensive ninjutsu they had hastily raised, shocking their bodies into numbness and forcing them to stagger backward.
Rin glanced toward them from the corner of her eye, anxiety appearing on her face, but she did not dare stop treating the wounded for even a moment.
Not far away,
beside another section of ruined walls,
Uchiha Fugaku and the others were confronting Fuguki Suikazan's group.
Compared with Kakashi's side, the situation here was somewhat better.
After all, although Uchiha Fugaku was not particularly intelligent and had serious problems with his approach to education, his strength genuinely stood at the elite-jōnin level.
Among the Konoha ninja present, he was the strongest person aside from Yuu.
In theory, unless his opponent was Kage level, it would be difficult to suppress him in single combat.
The remaining Uchiha, including Yashiro, were also elites of their clan. Most possessed three-tomoe Sharingan and had considerable skill in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
Even while suffering an elemental disadvantage, they had still achieved respectable results.
However, Kirigakure had arrived prepared.
They had deployed two to three times as many troops as Konoha, including many Kaguya and Hōzuki clansmen with unique abilities.
The Uchiha might be powerful, but even two fists could not contend against four hands.
Moreover, Shisui and the others had been sent out to reinforce the other strongholds.
The remaining forces could maintain an undefeated position, but they had little strength to spare for assisting Kakashi and the others.
During the confrontation,
Fuguki Suikazan licked his lips and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"The Uchiha clan's Sharingan truly deserves its reputation. Unfortunately… it cannot compensate for the difference in raw power."
"…Power?"
Uchiha Fugaku took several heavy breaths and glanced at the Kaguya and Uchiha corpses scattered across the ground.
He sneered.
"Wasn't it you who fled from Konoha like a homeless dog a few weeks ago? And now you dare boast about strength?
"How utterly laughable."
"You…!"
Fuguki's expression stiffened.
The battle in the valley was truly a stain on his history.
Objectively speaking, he had abandoned all his teammates, including Jūzō Biwa, and escaped alone. That was the only reason he had survived.
Although no one in Kirigakure had dared criticize him for it during this period, and the Mizukage had not punished him over the matter, Fuguki still felt guilty.
Thus, when Fugaku exposed it directly, his expression became rather ugly.
At this moment,
Raiga heard their exchange and turned his head, laughing loudly.
"Speaking of which, it's rather regrettable that I didn't get to personally meet that 'White Reaper' during this operation!
"I heard he cuts people down like grass. I'd really like to see whether his blood is red too!"
"…There's no need for regret. Killing so many future pillars of Konoha, along with these world-famous Uchiha with their kekkei genkai, has already made this trip worthwhile!
"I'd love to see the expression on that Konoha brat's face when he returns and discovers that all his comrades are dead!"
Hearing this, Fuguki loudly agreed.
"Exactly!"
Raiga grinned viciously. Lightning surged around his twin blades as he pointed them toward the barely standing Kakashi and the others.
"Then it's time to end this!"
"…Yes. It is time to end this."
Uchiha Fugaku inhaled deeply and tightened his grip on his sword hilt.
At that moment, the three tomoe in Fugaku's eyes trembled violently.
They showed faint signs of drawing inward and forming a blurry new pattern.
After personally witnessing several Uchiha clansmen who had lived beside him every day die beneath the blades of Kiri ninja, his emotional fluctuations had nearly reached their limit.
As clan head, Fugaku knew about the mechanism behind the Mangekyō Sharingan. He had also anticipated that he might awaken it during this battle.
Although he did not want to reveal such an ability before so many witnesses, the current situation left no room for hesitation.
Only after killing the Kiri ninja before him would he have the right to discuss anything else.
Finally…
"Attack—!"
Accompanied by this fierce shout,
Fuguki Suikazan raised the enormous Samehada.
Raiga Kurosuki raised his twin blades.
Uchiha Fugaku, Kakashi, and the others also gathered their remaining strength, preparing for one final dance.
Just as both sides' momentum reached its peak and the final confrontation was about to erupt—
"Screech—!!!"
An eagle's cry capable of piercing clouds and splitting stone exploded through the air.
When the sound first appeared, it was still above the distant thunderclouds. By the time it reached its midpoint, it was already nearby.
Everyone on the battlefield paused and instinctively looked upward.
Whoosh—!!
The dark clouds churned!
First, an enormous black shadow tore through the cloud layer like a meteor descending from the highest heavens and dove toward them!
Then,
a white-clad, white-haired figure swept his gaze across the surroundings.
He pushed off forcefully from the giant eagle's back and leapt from several hundred meters in the air, descending with chilling killing intent and the will of judgment!
His white robes snapped violently during the high-speed dive!
"Instant Prison Shadow Killing Formation—
"Activate!"
There was no unnecessary dialogue.
He opened with a killing move!
At that moment—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!
Amid violent winds and clouds of white smoke,
Yuu's body descended from several hundred meters like a silver-white meteor.
As he fell, he continuously divided.
One, two, three…
A full fifteen shadow clones condensed into existence within one or two seconds, each holding a Sword of the Thunder God!
Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!
This ninjutsu, developed by Sarutobi Hiruzen, was fundamentally an application of the Shadow Clone Technique to physical objects and belonged to the field of Yang Release.
If it could duplicate shuriken and kunai, it could naturally duplicate the Sword of the Thunder God as well.
The chakra-constructed versions were merely less durable than the original.
But in this situation, they did not need to be durable.
They only needed to survive long enough to deliver one slash!
"Come, flames!!"
Yuu willed it.
In the next instant, white-hot flames rose around every "Yuu."
The flames danced and shifted into a pale blue color before wrapping around the blades of the Swords of the Thunder God.
This was unmistakable proof that their temperature had exceeded three thousand degrees!
The air around the flames twisted violently beneath the thousands of degrees of heat, releasing hissing explosions.
Immediately afterward, thunderous rumbles came from above.
The thunderclouds gathered by Raiga seemed to sense Yuu's command.
The violent lightning energy accumulated deep within the clouds was drawn toward the sixteen Swords of the Thunder God burning with azure flames!
Crack! Crack! Crack—!
Lightning arcs, some thick and others narrow, descended diagonally from the sky and poured into every sword.
They merged with the azure flames, producing dazzling light that was almost impossible to look at directly!
Thunder-Fire Sword: Youth Edition.
Yuu had not expected to use the Thunder-Fire Sword, which he had developed only the previous day, in a place like this.
He had Raiga to thank for that.
Without the thundercloud environment Raiga had created, reproducing this technique would have been extremely difficult.
Since that was the case…
Yuu needed to properly "thank" these Kiri ninja who had traveled such a long distance and show them Konoha's hospitality.
"Haa…"
In midair, Yuu exhaled softly and poured chakra into his arms.
The muscles beneath his clothing instantly swelled.
He had clearly applied the principles of Super Strength.
Instant Prison Shadow Killing Formation.
Thunder-Fire Sword.
Super Strength.
As the three were combined into a brand-new killing technique, the dozen-plus Yuus reached a point only several dozen meters above the ground.
Like comets descending from the heavens, they smashed into the Shakuka Town stronghold!
"Thunder-Fire Divine Punishment—
"Sixteenfold Slash!!"
Within the vision of the Kiri ninja below,
more than a dozen dazzling pillars of lightning and fire tore through the night sky.
In the next instant, the violet-blue blades had already descended before them.
Their speed faintly exceeded the limit of what the eye could track!
"Not good…"
"We're going to die!"
Those thoughts appeared in the minds of the few Kiri ninja who reacted quickly enough.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi—!
The sounds of sharp blades cutting through flesh rang out, merging together in the blink of an eye.
Sixteen Kirigakure ninja did not even have time to raise their weapons in defense before the blades swept through them.
Before the Thunder-Fire Swords of Divine Punishment, which combined heavenly flames, thunder, and monstrous strength, everything appeared incomparably fragile—
whether it was the kunai and ninja swords in their hands or the pale bone blades extending from their bodies.
The instant they touched the swords, they were severed as easily as butter beneath a hot knife!
Hiss—!
Terrifying heat erupted!
Azure flames already represented temperatures exceeding three thousand degrees. After being fused with lightning, they became even more astonishing.
As a result, every part of the bodies struck by the blades—flesh, bones, or internal organs—was instantly incinerated, carbonized, twisted, and deformed!
The sixteen Yuus completed their slashes almost simultaneously.
Seen from above, it was as though sixteen violet-blue flowers had bloomed at once.
Together, they faintly outlined an enormous net containing boundless killing intent.
When the "Yuus" passed beyond their opponents and their figures separated again, only sixteen blackened remains were left behind in various poses, each equally horrifying!
"?!"
For an instant, everything fell silent.
Even the wind and rain seemed to stop.
Only the residual electrical currents inside the thunderclouds continued releasing faint, crackling whimpers.
Everyone stared blankly at the scene, completely stunned.
Those sixteen Kiri ninja had not been weak on average.
Several were jōnin, and some were members of the Kaguya clan.
Even Uchiha Fugaku and the others would have needed some effort to eliminate them.
Yet before Yuu, they had been no different from ordinary people.
In a single encounter, he had killed all sixteen!
Moreover, their deaths were so horrifying.
From an observer's perspective, their bodies displayed extreme carbonization, standing in place like skeletons.
It was impossible to tell that only minutes earlier, they had been living human beings.
Was the person who had done all of this…
truly still human?
Similar thoughts appeared in the minds of Fugaku and the other Konoha ninja.
Every one of them stared in stunned silence.
Uchiha Fugaku's eyes widened.
The Mangekyō pattern that had nearly formed in his pupils briefly stagnated as he stared blankly at the white-haired figure on the battlefield, his heart surging like a stormy sea.
However…
this was only the beginning.
In the next instant, Yuu and his fifteen shadow clones continued moving, their ghostly figures rushing toward the other nearby Kiri ninja.
Strictly speaking, these shadow clones possessed relatively weak combat strength.
After all, Yuu did not possess chakra reserves measured in tons.
Creating so many clones at once meant that each shadow clone contained only around five percent of his chakra on average, placing them at the level of genin at best.
After delivering the earlier Youth Edition Thunder-Fire Sword, most of that five percent had already been consumed.
In theory, each clone could use an attack of that level only once more at most.
However…
that was already more than enough to deal with the majority of these Kiri ninja!
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Within only another second or two, more than ten violet-blue "flowers" blossomed across different parts of the stronghold!
~~~
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