While Kurogai Blackwood was still contemplating the abilities of his newly acquired Susanoo, the supersonic jet descended onto a snow-blanketed field. The landscape appeared serene, but beneath the quiet surface lay the infamous Lake Arkley. Hidden deep under this frozen expanse was William Stryker's heavily fortified base.
Stryker's complex was more than just a bunker — it was a war fortress. Storm stood at the front of the cabin, summoning the X-Men for a briefing.
"Attacking from the front is suicide," she explained, her tone grave. "Our best chance is to infiltrate through the floodway. But the risk is high. If Stryker detects us, he'll flood the channel and flush us out before we get anywhere near his control room."
It was a problem. In the original mission, they had Mystique to slip in unnoticed. But now, without a shapeshifter, their options were painfully limited.
Kurogai leaned back in his seat, unimpressed. "You're overthinking this. Just split the place open."
Before anyone could react, he stood, slid the hatch open, and stepped onto the icy ground, striding toward Stryker's gate as if he owned the place.
"Kurogai! We haven't even—" Storm's voice was tight with alarm, but he ignored her, his focus already elsewhere.
This will be a good time to test it, he thought. The power I just gained hasn't had a proper debut.
His irises shifted, transforming into the intricate pattern of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Chakra flared to life around him — but unlike its usual crimson, it burned in vibrant blue flames. The aura swelled and took form, skeletal at first, before muscle and sinew wrapped around it, finally encased in an armored shell of incandescent blue fire.
The completed Susanoo towered over the snowy field, its blazing form radiating heat against the winter air. Each step it took rumbled like distant thunder.
From inside the jet, every X-Man froze. Even those accustomed to strange abilities stared in disbelief. John Allerdyce — Pyro — was the most shaken.
"Flames… used like that?" he muttered.
Deep inside the base, alarms blared. A young soldier monitoring the cameras paled.
"Sir, you need to see this. There's… a giant of blue fire heading for the main gate."
Stryker himself stepped over, his sharp eyes narrowing as the screen displayed the approaching titan. Even through the feed, there was a weight to the image, a pressure in the air. It was beyond mutant classification — beyond anything he'd prepared for.
"Whatever it is, stop it," Stryker barked. "Now."
While his men scrambled, Stryker turned toward his custom-built brainwave amplifier. The timetable had changed — his plan to wipe out mutantkind needed to happen immediately.
Outside, Kurogai was lost in the sensation of his Susanoo. Not far from Madara's, he noted. If it's close enough, then sword techniques should be possible.
Energy coalesced in his hands, invisible but solid in weight. His Susanoo mirrored the motion, two enormous blades of roaring flame appearing in its grasp. The heat shimmered in the snow around its feet.
"Let's see how sharp you are," Kurogai murmured.
The Susanoo raised a sword high, then brought it down in a single, decisive arc. The ground shook. A crescent of concentrated force exploded from the swing, striking the main gate with cataclysmic impact. Steel screamed under the pressure, splitting in a jagged fracture before bursting apart entirely.
Inside, soldiers who'd been ready to fire froze in horror.
"That's not human," one whispered.
The dam's gates weren't just a doorway — they were designed to hold back an immense volume of water. Even among mutants, destroying them should have been impossible. And yet here they were, in two clean halves, the wreckage steaming under the blue flames.
The air grew tense. Everyone in the base knew that if the dam's structure failed further, the entire installation would be obliterated in the resulting flood. That was why the fear in their eyes wasn't just about the giant — it was about the catastrophe his power could unleash.
Kurogai understood that risk perfectly, which was why he'd only used a fraction of his strength. If he'd gone all out, the Arkley Dam wouldn't just have a broken gate — it would be gone entirely.