Thunder roared across the sky!
Violent energy swallowed Hiruko's figure, lightning surging as it scorched the earth, leaving behind nothing but a wasteland of charred rock.
"Kirin can't be absorbed by Dark Release. That's natural lightning, not chakra." Kiyosuke said.
"But he still has Steel Release."
"Steel Release has limits. It's not some infinite defense. Kakashi, you should know—Konoha once killed Steel Release users before. In fact, you know those people very well."
"Yeah. My father, and my teacher."
Kakashi nodded. Back then, Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, and the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, had both fought and killed Steel Release shinobi from Iwagakure. That alone proved Steel Release wasn't invincible—otherwise Iwagakure would have relied on those shinobi to dominate the Ninja Wars long ago.
"That's why he's definitely going to get hurt!"
Sure enough, Hiruko's screams echoed through the storm.
"See?"
Moments later, the lightning dissipated, leaving behind a blackened, charred body. His once long white hair had vanished, his whole form scorched, arcs of lightning still crackling across his body.
"D-damn it…"
Hiruko forced his hands together in a seal.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Bang!
A cloud of smoke burst forth. From it emerged a monster—a massive beast with a skeletal frame, wings spread wide, and two tails ending in serpent heads that snapped viciously.
"Raaaghhhhh!" The creature roared, shielding Hiruko.
Weakly, Hiruko lifted his head, glaring at the golden ring of the solar eclipse fading away above. His eyes burned with unwilling rage.
"No… no, no, no! My time… this was my final chance! And you destroyed it! I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!"
"Oh?" Kiyosuke sneered. "What's the matter? You thought I was easy prey because I haven't fought back yet? I didn't fear the complete Nine-Tails. You think I'd fear you?"
Disdain gleamed in his eyes.
"Kakashi, fall back with the others. I'll show him… what the hell a real surprise looks like!"
"Careful. This is still a mountain range." Kakashi warned, retreating with his squad. When they ran into the genin rushing to the scene, he immediately shouted:
"Back, back! Kiyosuke's about to fight. Get as far away as possible!"
"What, seriously?!" Shikamaru didn't hesitate—he turned tail instantly.
"Shikamaru, wait for me!"
Chōji bolted after him, followed by the rest of the panicked rookies. Their parents and teachers had all said the same thing before: if Kiyosuke ever fought seriously, run. Run as far as you can.
The group fled until, in the distance, they saw it—through the misty peaks of Mount Shumisen, a towering pillar of fire erupted. The heat was so overwhelming it blew the fog clear, revealing the sky and the last traces of the golden eclipse.
Kiyosuke raised his hand. Crimson flames surged outward, turning the mountainside into a sea of fire. Hiruko leapt onto his monster's back, sneering:
"This is pointless! You can't hurt me! Dark Release!"
The flames rushed into his palm.
Kiyosuke smirked.
"Absorb all you like."
He lifted one hand high.
The fire gathered into his palm, swelling into an enormous blazing sphere—like he was holding the sun itself.
"Just fire? That won't—"
Hiruko reached to absorb it.
But this time, his Dark Release failed. The flames resisted. His expression twisted in disbelief.
"No… impossible! This chakra… how could it be—"
Dark Release was nothing compared to the Rinnegan's absorption. Pain's Preta Path could even absorb senjutsu. Dark Release couldn't. If a jutsu's chakra was too massive, it simply couldn't be taken in.
"I never once saw you as worth my time. Never." Kiyosuke's gaze turned cold, merciless. "You're not even qualified to make me use Sage Mode."
Four kekkei genkai?
So what?
"You think that makes you impressive? Pathetic."
"Impossible! How could Konoha produce a monster like you?! Just what kind of freak did Orochimaru take in as his student?!" Hiruko shouted, voice cracking with madness. "I don't believe it! I won't believe it!!"
"Believe what you want. Now die!"
The Flame crashed down, slamming into the beast's body. Heat erupted in a devastating wave, like the world itself was being burned clean—everything in its path vaporized.
The colossal fireball's detonation blazed so bright, for an instant it rivaled the sun itself.
Boom!
A mushroom cloud rose.
World peace—delivered in fire.
...
When the flames subsided and the smoke cleared, the battlefield lay in ruins. The ground had crystallized into scorched black glass, heat still rolling off it in waves, the very air warped by the intensity.
At the edge of the blast stood a shriveled, mummy-like figure, surrounded by dust.
The flames coalesced, taking Kiyosuke's shape. Step by step, he walked toward the husk that was Hiruko.
"Still alive? Interesting. You used your own subordinates as shields, then tried to flee with Swift Release. But my attack was too wide—you had no choice but to tank it with Steel Release. Not a bad plan."
Because he'd escaped the center of the blast—
"Kh… khh!"
Hiruko coughed, voice strangled like something was clutching his throat.
"K-Kakashi… w-with him here… I-I can't win… How… how could a monster like you exist in this world…?"
"Maybe the world decided it needed me to save it." Kiyosuke shrugged, drawing the Kusanagi Sword.
"So? Any last words?"
"Is… this… the strength… of comrades?"
"No. This is my strength alone." Kiyosuke's eyes narrowed. "Though, even without his Sharingan, Kakashi would still be formidable."
Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan was powerful, but it burdened Kakashi with one fatal flaw—
Lack of chakra.
A Sharingan that never deactivated drained him constantly. Ever since he'd received it, Kakashi had lived in a perpetual state of being chakra-starved. And still, he'd made a name for himself.
"Heh… if only I had… friends too…"
For a moment, Hiruko's thoughts turned bitter. He had lived for fifty, sixty years… yet never once had he truly had a friend.
No—that wasn't true. He had, once.
But after he began his obsession with the Chimera Technique, they had left him.
Or maybe… he had left them.
How pitiful.
"That's not my problem. You chose your path."
Kiyosuke slowly drove the Kusanagi Sword into Hiruko's chest. The blade pierced his heart, bringing an end to his life.
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