[NEWS!! IT ALREADY ENDED IN P@TREON!!]
[RUSH TIME TILL THE END OF THIS FANFIC!!!]
[100 PS = 1 CHAPTER!]
"It's Uchiha Madara."
Mabui noticed Madara immediately, and without her needing to alert them, the group following her also became aware of Madara and his team.
The name Madara is synonymous with power and trouble, even in the current ninja world. Few would dare to underestimate him.
Besides Madara, two of the other Uchiha trio—Shisui and Itachi—were equally formidable opponents.
Fortunately, Obito wasn't present this time. If he were, the situation would be even more troublesome. Without Jigen to oversee things, Mabui and her team might have had to retreat prematurely.
Even so, despite having undergone body modifications and adapted to his current state, Ao felt a strong urge to retreat.
"They responded quickly. Has our outer base been compromised?" Ao asked warily. "Mabui, we should..."
"Ao, you're getting more and more timid as you age," Suigetsu scoffed, stepping forward to choose his target. "Uchiha Itachi is mine; the rest of you can pick your opponents."
Locking eyes with Itachi, Suigetsu's gaze became fixed, and Itachi, in turn, focused on him as well.
"Uchiha Itachi!" Suigetsu taunted, "Let's see if those Rinnegan in your eyes are the real deal or just for show!"
Itachi did not respond, but in a flash, Suigetsu froze in place, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Rinnegan Eye Technique: Kokutachi no Mikoto, activated!
Perhaps it was ignorance or overconfidence, but Suigetsu made the grave mistake of directly meeting Itachi's gaze.
Such a serious error left Suigetsu with no chance to turn the tide.
In an instant, Suigetsu disappeared from where he stood, pulled into the time-space dimension of Kokutachi no Mikoto, trapped by Itachi.
At the same time, Itachi's consciousness split off, following Suigetsu into the dimension created by Kokutachi no Mikoto.
"Here, I am the master," Itachi stated coldly and calmly. "Time, space, everything here bends to my will.
A year, ten years, a hundred years, even a thousand years—no matter how much time passes here, only a moment will have passed outside. I have all the time I need to deal with you, without worrying about the battle outside."
As Itachi finished speaking, the time-space dimension began to change. Above Suigetsu's head, a pair of purple Rinnegan appeared, representing the sun and the moon, and corresponding to Itachi's left and right eyes.
In addition, the light in the dimension turned purple, tinting everything in an eerie and oppressive hue.
"Just a simple illusion. Do you really think I'll believe it?" Suigetsu retorted, though his heart had sunk.
From the moment he appeared in this strange space, Suigetsu had tried every technique he knew to break free from the illusion.
The results were disappointing. Suigetsu couldn't find any trace of an illusion affecting him. His body and everything in this space felt completely real.
When all other possibilities are eliminated, no matter how absurd the remaining conclusion might be, it must be the truth.
Suigetsu realized that he had left the familiar ninja world and was taken somewhere by Itachi's eye technique.
"Heh."
Itachi let out a cold laugh, his consciousness fading as his body vanished from Suigetsu's sight and all sensory perception.
"Suigetsu, enjoy your time here."
Itachi's ethereal voice echoed from all directions, far and near at the same time, penetrating Suigetsu's ears.
Immediately, Suigetsu reacted, activating the Karma seal imprinted on his body. Black markings spread across his face, entering the first stage of the Karma seal.
The power granted by Isshiki began to surge within Suigetsu, eroding his body and soul while simultaneously amplifying his strength tremendously.
His chakra surged, not just by a single-digit multiplier, but by a double-digit one, making him almost comparable to a tailed beast in human form.
Moreover, Suigetsu's physical attributes increased tenfold, and a black horn began to form on his forehead.
At this moment, Suigetsu's combat power had surpassed the Kage level. Although he hadn't reached the Six Paths level, he could have gone toe-to-toe with Uchiha Itachi in a normal situation.
But after waiting for a while, Suigetsu didn't receive any attack from Itachi. The surroundings were eerily silent, with no wind, no voices, only the oppressive purple light from the two giant Rinnegan in the sky.
"Itachi, stop playing games! Fight me for real!" Suigetsu shouted, his voice echoing far and wide like in a quiet valley, with only his own echo as a response.
Maintaining his guard, Suigetsu scanned the area, trying to find any trace of Itachi in the deathly silent environment.
But to his disappointment, Itachi had seemingly vanished, leaving no trace in this time-space dimension.
After an unknown amount of time, Suigetsu began to grow impatient.
"Itachi, you coward! Show yourself!"
His shout echoed once more, but only layers of his echo answered him, and the space returned to its oppressive silence.
Eventually, Suigetsu could no longer sustain the first stage of his Karma seal. As he reverted to his normal state, his body felt drained, leaving him in a severely weakened condition.
"In this state, he can maintain the Karma seal for 15 hours without engaging in intense combat," Itachi, who had merged with the space, calculated silently. "The source of his power seems to be the black markings on the left side of his face. If I'm not mistaken, this should be the Karma seal His Majesty mentioned to me."
After a moment's thought, Itachi made his decision. "There's no point in observing any longer. He can die now."
With a slight shift in thought, the flow of time within the dimension changed.
The moment the time flow altered, Suigetsu immediately noticed.
Frowning, Suigetsu felt a surge of panic. His thoughts remained normal, and he still had control over his body, but his movements were sluggish, as if he were moving in slow motion.
Struggling to move, Suigetsu attempted to act, but before he could make any progress, the slow time flow suddenly accelerated.
The moment his body regained normal speed, the environment around him transformed dramatically. The rocks in front of him weathered to dust, the distant purple sea rose, fell, disappeared, and reappeared in rapid succession.
"What the..."
Opening his mouth to speak, Suigetsu was interrupted by the realization that he was rapidly losing strength. His voice was dry and hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against metal, grating on the ears.
Looking down, he saw through his blurry vision the loose skin on his arm and the decaying bones beneath it.
"No..."
Realizing what was happening, Suigetsu tried to struggle, but his consciousness was fading, and his body rapidly aged and decayed.
A gentle breeze blew through, turning Suigetsu's body into a pile of yellow dust. His bones crumbled into sand, leaving no trace of his existence.
In the next moment, the time-space dimension collapsed, and Itachi's consciousness returned to his body. In the real world, only a moment had passed.
Pop.
With a faint sound, Mabui's vision blurred, and the Suigetsu who had just been challenging Itachi to a fight vanished like a burst bubble, disappearing without a trace.
She stepped back quickly, lowering her gaze, no longer daring to meet Itachi's eyes.
"What did you do to Suigetsu?" Mabui demanded, but the only response was the flash of a blade.
Shisui had made his move.
At the same time, Kisame and Kimimaro also launched their attacks, targeting Akatsuchi and the modified Ao.
Itachi, on the other hand, stood still, his Rinnegan scanning the surroundings. Like Madara, he intended to serve as a pillar of support for the new generation of the Land of Dragons.
Clang! Mabui drew a long dagger, parrying Shisui's downward slash. The Karma seal imprinted on her hand began to spread from her hand to her arm and up to her face.
In an instant, Mabui's power surged dramatically!
Extreme Lightning Release Chakra Mode, activated!
Zzzap.
A burst of blue-white lightning enveloped Mabui's body, and shockwaves radiated outward, blasting Shisui away.
Shisui performed a double backflip, and before he even landed, a green chakra aura surrounded him. A half-bodied giant clad in heavy armor formed instantly, protecting him.
Boom! As soon as the three-stage Susanoo took shape, Mabui stomped the ground with one foot, creating a deep crater beneath her. The immense power propelled her toward the airborne Shisui.
One punch! Crack, crack.
The sickening sound of shattering echoed as Mabui's powerful punch shattered the armored green Susanoo, leaving only its skeletal frame intact.
But even the skeletal frame couldn't withstand Mabui's punch. As it shattered, her fist continued toward Shisui's chest.
If the punch connected, Shisui would likely be reduced to dust by Mabui, who had activated two layers of buffs.
With his eyes narrowing, Shisui's Sharingan glowed, and his left eye activated its ultimate defensive technique: Kokutachi no Mikoto.
Boom! Mabui's powerful punch, far exceeding the strength of the Fourth Raikage and even the Third Raikage, struck an invisible barrier. Apart from the roaring shockwaves, it only created slight ripples on the barrier, leaving Shisui unharmed.
Both Mabui and Shisui understood what needed to be done at this moment.
The roles had reversed!
Swoosh.
Shisui's sword slashed horizontally, the lightning-imbued chakra crystal in the hilt glowing brightly. Combined with Shisui's own Lightning Release chakra, the blade was now enveloped in a narrow, sharp, and paralyzing lightning arc.
Mabui reacted swiftly, crossing her arms in front of her chest, using the lightning armor formed by the Extreme Lightning Release Chakra Mode to block the attack.
Boom! Waves of energy, white light, explosions, and shockwaves erupted continuously, one after another, causing such a commotion that Uchiha Sasuke, who was watching the battle, couldn't help but brighten his eyes.
Ninjas of Mabui's caliber were currently out of Sasuke's reach, but when it came to others, Sasuke wasn't intimidated at all.
His gaze fell on a nearby blond-haired boy. For some reason, Sasuke found him irritating and just wanted to fight him.
"You!" Sasuke gripped the hilt of his Kusanagi sword, "Prepare to die!"
Those three words were already more than Sasuke usually said.
Dash, draw, slash!
"Hey, you jerk..."
Naruto dodged, his words full of annoyance, his expression showing disdain, "Is sneak attacking the only thing you Dragons know how to do?"
Missing his strike, Sasuke's eyes flashed with determination. This blond-haired boy was a worthy opponent for him to take seriously.
Without a word, Sasuke twisted his wrist and swung his arm, making a perfect arc with the Kusanagi sword, aiming once more at Naruto's neck.
Leaning back, Naruto dodged again, his hands reaching down to summon two bright blue spheres, one in each hand.
Using the momentum of his backward lean, Naruto flipped and kicked Sasuke's wrist with the tip of his foot.
Feeling a numbness in his wrist, Sasuke adjusted by lifting his hand, and as he took a step back, Naruto, now fully adjusted from his flip, aimed the Rasengan in his left hand at Sasuke's chest.
Ding, boom!
Raising his Kusanagi sword, Sasuke was suddenly surrounded by blue electric arcs. The lightning stimulated his body cells, giving him enhanced speed and strength.
With a block and a slash, the incoming Rasengan was deflected, exploding in a cloud of dust nearby.
"You are worthy to be my opponent."
Sasuke looked at Naruto, who was crouching on the ground, and remarked calmly.
"Hey, aren't you rude?" Naruto protested. "You say I'm worthy to be your opponent, but you don't even ask my name!"
"You'll know my name either when you survive or when you die."
Sasuke prepared to attack again, and Naruto simultaneously charged with the Rasengan in his right hand.
The first battle between Sasuke and Naruto had finally begun.
(End of Chapter)