The wind howled fiercer, and the rain poured harder.
A boundless curtain of water shrouded the murky sky, making it impossible to tell east from west. The water level rose steadily underfoot, even filling the massive mine behind them.
Buzz buzz!
Insects swarmed chaotically in the sky, their wings clashing with raindrops. Banxiong and his two companions stood tense, muscles taut, behind Shino Aburame's cousin, Ryoma, locked in a standoff with Itachi Uchiha.
No one noticed.
For a split second, both men froze, only to swiftly return to normal.
Raindrops clung to Ryoma's pitch-black sunglasses as he tilted his head skyward, letting the rain wash over his face. His fingers lightly traced the purple mark on his right cheek, feeling the wrinkled scar beneath.
Itachi's crimson eyes fixed on Ryoma, his gaze heavy with unspoken complexity.
So, it was all the Uchiha's bitter harvest.
Pride from strength led to arrogance. Arrogance bred isolation. Isolation sparked rebellion. Yet, lacking true strength, the rebellion failed.
The bloodshed and sacrifice fueled hatred from those who opposed them.
Boundless love amplified that hatred, dragging the proud Uchiha—and Danzo—into the abyss.
Danzo, the man who despised the Uchiha most, was ironically the one who resembled them the most.
Recalling the pact made with Ryoma in the Tsukuyomi space, Itachi's hand, hidden in his sleeve, clenched into a fist. He remained silent.
Boom!
A deafening roar echoed from afar, louder than the sky's thunder. A terrifying explosion and surging chakra fluctuations snapped everyone's attention from the tense standoff.
Seeing Itachi showed no intent to strike, Choji's cousin, Torune, swiftly formed hand signs. Ripples of chakra probed toward the fierce battle raging to the left.
The sky churned with dark clouds. Torrential rain, drawn by chakra, morphed into two rows of jagged teeth.
A ferocious shark-shaped Water Release technique spread its fins, rearing defiantly. Orochimaru, hands forming an inverted triangle, manipulated an Earth Dragon Bullet, clashing and tearing at the shark.
Hikari, Orochimaru's guard, stood before him, eyes lowered, observing the clash between two Kage-level shinobi.
The more she watched, the more she felt the vast chasm between herself and true powerhouses—a gap rooted in chakra reserves.
It was common knowledge.
Chakra flowed constantly in the human body, a dynamic balance of mind, body, and spirit.
The greater the chakra reserves, the healthier and younger the chakra core, and the faster chakra recovered.
Barring natural recovery or chakra pills, a ninja's everyday chakra was about a third of their combat state. In a life-or-death struggle, pushing mental limits to drain the body could yield five times their normal chakra.
Thus, the ninja world marked three to five times chakra as a threshold.
Each rank above another multiplied chakra reserves by three to five. The chakra of an average ninja academy student— a typical 12-year-old human—was considered Genin-level.
Generally, three times a Genin's chakra made an average Chunin. Five times marked an elite Chunin. Even some special Jonin capped at this level.
The pattern held upward.
Three times an elite Chunin's chakra made an average Jonin. Five times reached elite Jonin.
Thus, an elite Jonin in peak combat could wield at least 125 times the chakra of an average Genin in normal state.
Tripling or quintupling that marked a baseline Kage-level shinobi.
But that was the bare minimum.
At Kage-level, shinobi entered inhuman territory, capable of facing an entire ninja village alone or swaying a war's outcome.
Chakra reserves varied wildly among individuals.
Naruto, with most of his chakra sealing the Nine-Tails, had roughly three times Hikari's reserves. Unsealed, it could reach a hundredfold.
Excluding recovery or Nine-Tails' power, Naruto's peak chakra outburst was 12,500 times a Genin's.
This wasn't unique among Kage-level shinobi. Take the man before them.
A terrifying blue aura flickered faintly.
The soul-shaking chakra pulses warped the rain itself.
The monster dubbed the Tailed Beast Without a Tail held chakra roughly three-fifths of six-year-old Naruto's, without needing to suppress a Tailed Beast, wielding it freely.
He could effortlessly create lakes or summon hundred-meter tsunamis.
In ancient times, he'd be a god of myth.
Orochimaru's chakra wasn't far behind.
Through body modification and life-force-enhancing forbidden techniques, his reserves reached ten to twenty times an elite Jonin's. Hikari estimated that in his Eight-Headed Serpent form, Orochimaru's chakra rivaled Kisame Hoshigaki's.
Their ninjutsu clashed relentlessly.
Each chakra burst outstripped the total reserves of Hikari's clone.
Boom!
The Earth Dragon collided with the shark for the umpteenth time.
With the rainy environment and Kisame's obscene chakra, each clash eroded Orochimaru's dragon, shedding clumps of mud.
Sweat beaded on Kisame's brow. Nearly a quarter of his chakra was spent, his core pulsing wildly to sustain his ninjutsu.
"How long are you gonna stand there watching?"
Orochimaru's raspy, magnetic voice carried a hint of irritation.
"I'm looking for an opening. Don't rush me."
Hikari's Byakugan scanned Orochimaru, noting his reserves and unplayed trump cards—Eight-Headed Serpent and Edo Tensei. She calmly eyed the distant, sun-like chakra source.
Thanks to the rain, Kisame's chakra barely dwindled. Even the chakra spent on his initial Great Waterfall Technique had mostly recovered.
Even together, she and Orochimaru couldn't outlast Kisame's ninjutsu.
Genjutsu was useless; Kisame's Samehada disrupted chakra effortlessly.
Close combat was worse. Samehada's chakra, devouring her Tailed Beast cloak or Lightning Armor, would shatter her shadow clone instantly.
What a nightmare.
This was what the Third Hokage meant by an elite Jonin taken further.
Kisame wasn't unique—every Kage was a shadow, a monster, overcoming their flaws. They weren't perfect all-rounders but had no glaring weaknesses.
Only by shoring up weaknesses could one face thousands. Hikari, used to exploiting others' flaws, now tasted being countered.
"If you don't hurry, your teammates are gonna get wiped out."
Orochimaru's golden slit pupils glared at the dawdling Hikari. Gritting his teeth, he drew more chakra, holding off Kisame's assault.
Ryoma couldn't stall Itachi forever. One-on-one was already strained already. If Itachi joined, they'd be doomed.
To secure the Six Paths artifact, they had to kill this chakra juggernaut before Itachi finished Ryoma, creating a many-on-one advantage to repel Itachi.
"We can't outmatch ninjutsu. Let's fight dirty with taijutsu to create a chance."
Orochimaru's tongue flicked, his icy gaze locking onto Kisame, the giant wielding his blade.
"He's one of the Mist's Seven Swordsmen. His taijutsu isn't weak, and I know that blade—it devours chakra. One hit, and it'll drain us dry."
"We can't afford a single mistake, or our chakra's gone," Hikari eyed Kisame's hair, relaying intel to Orochimaru.
Intel was their only edge.
Orochimaru nodded slowly, grasping why Hikari avoided close quarters.
"So what chance are you waiting for?" for?"
"No clue."
Hikari shook her head.
They were the ones losing, the ones who should be desperate.
Yet Kisame's emotional aura—grew brighter, more frantic. Pinkish-red emotions swirled with blue chakra, roiling.
The Nine-Tails sensed emotions and malice, not thoughts. She couldn't discern what drove Kisame's urgency.
For now, her only option was patience.
Waiting for the enemy to err, to expose a flaw.
If itachi never closed in, suppressing with water and guarding with Samehada, they'd have to risk a desperate charge, leaving them worse off.
Worse, Orochimaru's untrustworthiness kept her close—If itachi used Reverse Summoning to flee, they'd be screwed.
"Water Breathing!"
Kisame's fingers interlocked, chakra surging into the lake below. A massive chakra-devouring shark formed, jaws wide, lunging at the shark.
A distant figure slapped the ground.
Rumble!
A grand iron gate rose atop the mountain.
The shark crashed into the beast, absorbing all chakra, but the gate held firm.
held no chakra, purely physical. The shark shattered it with brute impact but faded.
The foe seemed to know his tricks. Every chakra-absorbing technique was met with precise physical counters.
Once or twice, coincidence. More, a pattern.
Facing the duo calmly trading ninjutsu, Kisame's anxiety grew.
Normally, he'd love a war of attrition, but Itachi could reinforce anytime.
Lord Madara warned him to beware the Uchiha, to conceal the Six Paths artifact.
As a ninja, the mission was paramount.
He had to crush the snake before Itachi arrived, preserving the artifact's secret.
No more stalling!
Resolved, Kisame drew Samehada, swiftly unraveling its bandages.
Whoa!
Half-unbound, Samehada sprouted spikes, shredding the rest. Stretching, it gaped toward the snake, visibly ravenous and thrilled.
"Time for a feast!"
Infected by Samehada's fervor, Kisame's mood soared.
Water Breathing: Water Shark Bullet!
Raging water swirled, morphing into a shark, encasing Kisame's body.
Bang!
The shark's tail slapped the lake, splashing wildly. With the thrust, the shark soared, gliding toward the snake.
"He's here!" hereKisame!
Hikari's Byakugan locked on Kisame inside, alerting the snake to the moment.
Pummeled for hours, Orochimaru's fury simmered.
Seeing it leap, Kisame leap, it leap leaped, he transformed, neck stretching, spitting a gleaming sword-tip at the skyward shark.
Hikari clasped a water sphere, a stream from the lake fueling it, easing chakra use. Her ninjutsu quickened in this rain.
This wet field wasn't just Kisame's playground.
Boom!
The giant shark smashed the rain veil, plummeting, trailing white mist like a gliding fighter jet.
"How long?"
Chomping his steel blade, Orochimaru's speech slurred.
"Now!" "N!"ow!
Hikari squinted.
Wind chakra coated the sphere, forming a dense film. The sphere quaked, its pressure alarming even Orochimaru—this was Hikari's plan.
Samehada planned only one strategy.
Absorb chakra or block—Kisame had one choice.
If their attacks synced, they could pierce his defense.
The shark dove.
Kisame, brandishing Samehada, loomed into view.
Buzz!
The sphere
Water* condensed, boiling visibly under pressure, bubbles flooding it. Hikari's hands glowed white. The shark's jaws gaped, Samehada's spikes bared.
Raising it, she aimed, the split sphere, her palm like an orchid, slit open like Orochimaru's slit pupil.
"Snake!" the snake!" "!" she shouted.
"Got it!" it!
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed, his blade sword, the Kusanagi, surged, its razor tip stabbing skyward at the shark.
Sizzle!
Wind sliced rain, a wind-charged water blade, like a laser, joined the Kusanagi, targeting the shark.
Hikari's Byakugan pinned Kisame, the laser's focus: his brow!
Sword and torrent struck.
Eyes wide, Kisame, poised to ambush in the tank, raised his starving beast!
"Hide!" it!
"Roar!" it!
The bio-blade it—Samehada—gaped. Kisame stepped on water, arms swelling with monstrous strength, slashing the blade at the torrent, the blade, below.