A blazing blue cat demon, an emerald-armored giant, and a monstrous eight-tailed beast waving its tentacles—three titanic figures clashed as they stormed toward the fortress battlefield.
Wherever they passed, the earth quaked, trees splintered, and the very terrain was torn apart. Their presence dwarfed that of any previously summoned creatures. The scale of destruction was overwhelming.
Ninjas on both sides stood in stunned silence, their hearts pounding with awe and fear. One by one, they began to retreat.
"Susanoo?"
Uchiha Fugaku narrowed his eyes. He recognized the form instantly. But when he saw the figure inside the colossal armor, surprise filled his face.
"Shisui? It's him?!"
He had always known that Shisui possessed the talent to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan—but to already master Susanoo to this extent?
Other Uchiha clansmen quickly noticed too. After the initial shock came a wave of excitement and pride. The Uchiha now had a warrior strong enough to stand against tailed beasts.
"Uchiha Shisui… So he's the one who's been holding off Yugito and Killer B."
The Fourth Raikage recognized the power of the Uchiha's cursed eyes and his expression darkened.
It was clear: Shisui's interference had turned the tide and led to the complete collapse of the Cloud Village's war effort.
"He cannot be allowed to live."
With a flash of lightning, the Fourth Raikage launched himself toward the battlefield where the three titans battled.
As soon as he arrived, the two Cloud Jinchūriki shifted tactics.
The Two-Tails, Matatabi, stopped retreating and opened her jaws, unleashing a barrage of searing fireballs that hammered into Susanoo's breastplate, forcing it back step by step.
At the same time, the Eight-Tails lashed out with its massive tentacles, seizing Susanoo's legs and pinning it in place.
Susanoo could no longer move. Immobilized and exposed, it was wide open for attack.
The Fourth Raikage wasted no time. His body became a blur of thunder and fury, striking down again and again like a divine hammer.
Under the onslaught, Susanoo's armor cracked and shattered layer by layer, like an eggshell under a storm.
The Two-Tails' Jinchūriki watched gleefully, her gamble paying off. She had held back from fully transforming for this very moment.
"Die, Uchiha Shisui!"
Inside the collapsing Susanoo, Shisui bled from both eyes. His face twisted in agony, and his knees buckled beneath him.
"No… I have to keep going…"
His vision was already fading. He could barely see the battlefield, let alone the enemies around him. But his mission was clear—stall the Jinchūriki, no matter the cost.
With trembling hands, he pulled out one last syringe from his pocket and plunged it into his arm.
The gene fluid no longer enhanced his strength—but it could still keep him moving.
It was an extravagant measure. A reckless one. But necessary.
As strength surged through him once more, Shisui reached deep into his dwindling reserves of pupil power, trying to summon Susanoo again.
But something was wrong.
Instead of rising again, his Mangekyō flickered—and then vanished. Even the standard Sharingan dissolved from his eyes.
It was gone.
Truly… gone.
Susanoo vanished under the crushing grip of the Eight-Tails. With his support gone, Shisui plummeted from the sky.
Though his ocular power was completely drained, he still had some chakra left. But what truly unsettled him—what made him feel helpless—was the rapid deterioration of his eyesight. A thick mist blurred his vision, and darkness crept in at the edges. He had pushed his Sharingan too far, and now the backlash was taking hold.
In a last-ditch effort, Shisui fired a kunai tethered with wire, trying to anchor himself while he could still vaguely see.
He smiled bitterly to himself. Even in peak condition, he was no match for the Fourth Raikage's speed. What chance did he have now?
"Finally broke through that turtle shell," Kirabi exhaled, though his guard remained high. He raised a tentacle and swept it toward Shisui with a gust of wind.
At the same time, the Fourth Raikage used one of the Eight-Tails' tentacles as a springboard, halting his descent mid-air. Lightning surged through his arm as he launched a thunderous punch toward Shisui.
Clang!
A flash of steel intercepted the blow. Orochimaru grinned as he blocked the strike. "Attacking my people so casually… You must really think little of me."
The Fourth Raikage's hair bristled with fury, though his attention remained on Shisui. Orochimaru lacked the speed to protect Shisui from both him and Kirabi at once.
But just then, something unexpected happened.
The Raikage's eyes narrowed. A flash of lightning—then nothing. The Eight-Tails' tentacle strike missed entirely.
"Who the hell was that? That speed... it's nearly on par with my Lightning Chakra Mode."
Deep within the forest, Kakashi gently laid Shisui down and formed a hand seal. "Summoning Jutsu!"
With a burst of smoke, a large python appeared. Kakashi spoke gently, "Don't resist. I'm getting you somewhere safe."
Recognizing Kakashi's voice, Shisui let his body relax, allowing the snake to slowly swallow him whole.
After ending the summoning, Kakashi leaned against a tree, breathing heavily. He covered his left eye with his headband.
Using the breathing technique Orochimaru taught him, he had developed his own lightning-style technique. It was faster than Chidori—deadlier, but far more taxing.
And now, his body could barely handle another use.
"…Should I keep fighting?"
He stood tall, gazing toward the battlefield.
Orochimaru had only given him one task: rescue Shisui at the critical moment.
Normally, Kakashi would rejoin the battle without hesitation. But something was bothering him—an enemy capable of space-time ninjutsu had yet to appear. If they struck while Orochimaru faced the Raikage…
That would be dangerous.
Kakashi decided. He had enough left in him to use Flash of Thunder one more time, if it came down to it.
He vanished into the edge of the battlefield's shadows, ready to support at any moment.
Then, a massive surge of energy erupted from the battlefield's center.
Kakashi stiffened, adjusting his headband to uncover his Sharingan. The tomoe spun as he locked his gaze on Orochimaru.
"…That move?"
---
The Fourth Raikage felt the shift, and his face darkened.
"Heh... the fortress is gone. Yunyin has lost. This war should be over," Orochimaru said with a feral grin. "But you're not retreating. Still planning to take me down?"
Raikage didn't respond, but he didn't need to.
After learning that the fortress had fallen—breached by four giant snake summons—he had his suspicions. A quick probe confirmed it: Orochimaru held no significant chakra reserve.
The snake hadn't taken his White Snake form since that night. Most of his chakra had gone into sustaining the summons. On top of that, he'd taken several hits, and healing those wounds drained even more chakra.
This was Orochimaru at his weakest.
The Raikage clenched his fists. He can still fight. I can wear him down.
"To use such a chakra-hungry ability now… he's desperate. If I can just block this next technique—"
An intense light flared in the Raikage's eyes. He couldn't go back to the village empty-handed. Not after everything.
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