"There's still a little time left. As long as I devour you, or Kakashi and the others, my body will become perfect!"
Hiruko glanced up at the solar eclipse still continuing above his head. He still had time.
"No, you don't. You're going to die here!"
Kiyosuke gripped the Kusanagi sword in one hand. Kakashi stepped up beside him and said,
"Kiyosuke, sorry. I didn't wait until you got back before..."
"It's fine. I was just late. Let's do this."
"Yeah!"
Without wasting words, Kakashi lifted his forehead protector, revealing that scarlet Sharingan. In an instant, the tomoe linked together, forming the shape of a Mangekyō.
"Kamui!"
"What is this?"
Hiruko's head twisted and disappeared into another space. The feeling of his body being torn apart, as if his head were separating from his body, filled him with dread.
"Kamui is still too slow."
The Sharingan's true power only revealed itself with two eyes. With just one Mangekyō, Kakashi's consumption was enormous, and the spatial distortion too slow. At Hiruko's speed, he could simply dodge once he noticed it.
Kiyosuke swung the Kusanagi with force.
Clang! Sparks scattered as the blade met Hiruko's Steel Release defense. His body was protected by a first-rate defense.
The two stepped back.
"This speed and defense... it's similar to the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Armor," Kakashi said.
"Yeah, very similar to that musclehead's Lightning Armor. But in some ways, that technique is even more impressive than Hiruko's two kekkei genkai."
Swift Release and Steel Release could be used without years of training. But Lightning Armor required relentless tempering of the body. The Fourth Raikage didn't just start with that kind of physique or that short-distance speed that rivaled the Flying Thunder God.
In terms of growth potential, Lightning Armor was far superior to Swift or Steel. Or maybe Hiruko simply hadn't mastered them yet.
"His kekkei genkai can't be used at the same time. If he's using one, he can't use the other."
Kiyosuke knew this best—after all, his girlfriend Terumī Mei also had two kekkei genkai, but she couldn't use them simultaneously. Only one at a time.
A kekkei genkai was always a fusion of two chakra natures. Haku's Ice Release was wind and water. Storm Release was lightning and water.
When Hiruko used Swift Release, he was channeling two chakra natures. But then he couldn't use Steel Release.
"So when he's moving, he doesn't have that level of defense," Kakashi realized instantly. "But catching up with his Swift Release speed..."
"I can."
Kiyosuke flexed his shoulders and said,
"If it weren't for his Dark Release absorbing my attacks, I'd have already burned him to ash."
That was exactly why Kiyosuke avoided using flames against Hiruko. Dark Release worked like a weaker version of the Preta Path, absorbing chakra and even recycling jutsu to use against opponents.
Fight fire with fire.
"I get it. Let's move, Kiyosuke!"
Kakashi gave a hand signal. Kiyosuke nodded and charged in. The assault followed immediately.
"Your attacks can't break through my Steel Release. You're no match for me. I will become the ultimate lifeform. You and Kakashi will be my nourishment."
Hiruko was desperate to devour them. That way, he'd gain the Sharingan's insight and an immortal body.
"Don't get ahead of yourself!"
Kiyosuke's swordsmanship might not be top-tier, but with his physical abilities, he could hold his own. Very few people in this world had his level of physique.
He made up for technique with sheer strength.
A storm of strikes rained down. Hiruko found it hard to dodge, his breath unsteady. He switched back to Steel Release. Even the Kusanagi, which could cut Enma's diamond-hard body, could only leave marks against it.
Ridiculous.
That kind of defense...
The Kusanagi could wound Sarutobi Hiruzen's Enma in his adamantine form. Was Steel Release really this monstrous?
Kakashi slipped behind Hiruko, Mangekyō blazing, blood veins spreading around his eye.
"What?!"
Hiruko was caught off guard. He gritted his teeth and used Swift Release to escape—only for Kiyosuke to close in, grinning. The sight made his scalp prickle.
Shhk!
The blade pierced Hiruko's arm. If not for his speed, the entire limb would have been cut clean off.
Kiyosuke twisted the hilt. Pain shot through Hiruko's arm. He pulled back fast, clutching the wound.
"You really can't be underestimated. Already found my weakness, huh?"
Until he devoured Kakashi or Kiyosuke, he couldn't use multiple kekkei genkai at once.
But once he gained immortality, he could. That would be the perfection of his Chimera Technique.
To wield multiple kekkei genkai simultaneously—Hiruko believed that unless the Sage of Six Paths himself returned, no one could rival him. Not even Hashirama Senju, the so-called God of Shinobi.
Blood dripped from Kiyosuke's sword to the ground. He pointed the Kusanagi at Hiruko and said,
"That was your arm. Next will be your head."
"In that case... Storm Release!!!"
Scarlet chakra erupted skyward. Thick storm clouds churned above like a raging dragon, lightning cracking through as if to annihilate everything.
"This is my strongest attack. Let's see if you can withstand it!"
But then he froze. Within his thunderclouds, another monstrous beast of lightning pushed through, more savage than his own.
Not far away, Sasuke raised his hand, lightning dancing in his palm. He smirked coldly.
"Thanks for this. The conditions for this technique are strict. This is my strongest move—take it! Lightning Release: Kirin!!!"
The Kirin plummeted from the heavens with a deafening roar.
Kiyosuke grabbed Kakashi and leapt clear of the blast zone. Behind them, thunder raged like divine punishment, erasing everything in its path.
"Sasuke... he's learned something this terrifying? Just what did Orochimaru teach him?" Kakashi wiped cold sweat from his brow. The destructive power was beyond belief.
Kiyosuke said,
"No, this one he developed himself. It draws on nature's lightning for power—immense strength, with barely any chakra cost. The only problem is the conditions. It only works in a thunderstorm."
If Hiruko hadn't used Storm Release, Sasuke couldn't have unleashed it. Talk about bad luck for Hiruko.
Hiruko: I'll use my thunderclouds to strike you down!
Sasuke: There's even something this lucky?!