Whoosh, whoosh!
A shinobi wearing a red and blue mask sprinted through the mine tunnels. The rugged, slick ground underfoot might as well have been flat land.
Azure chakra lit up the darkness, and the deep blue crystals exposed in the rock walls reflected strange halos of light, making the cavern look both mysterious and dazzling.
Rustle, rustle!
One yellow brown paper tag after another fluttered out of his pockets, drifting down and sticking on their own to the tunnel's load bearing pillars and ceiling supports.
Hand Seal: Detonating Tag Technique.
Not a particularly profound secret art, just a basic combination of tools and technique, but it was required learning for every shinobi in Root's demolition squad.
Its effect needed no explanation.
The shinobi moved quickly through chamber after chamber, making sure every key support pillar was marked. Once satisfied, he turned back along the same passage and headed for the surface.
This was the mountain's base.
If he detonated now, it might trigger a landslide and interfere with the others' missions.
It was not time to blow the mine yet.
The black, damp tunnel mouth gradually brightened.
The red blue masked shinobi sped up and burst out of the cave, only to freeze on the spot at the scene ahead.
Two shinobi in black cloaks patterned with red clouds were walking up from the mountain path below. Both wore scratched forehead protectors, the mark of missing nin.
The one in front carried an oversized blade on his back. His skin was indigo, and his face looked like a humanoid shark. He turned his head as he walked, gesturing animatedly at the black haired man behind him as if talking nonstop.
The moment the masked shinobi saw that man, his eyes tightened.
A refined face. Crimson eyes.
Konoha's S rank missing nin, Uchiha Itachi.
At the same moment he saw them, they saw him.
Black eyes and the scarlet three tomoe met directly.
Then Itachi's gaze seemed to expand, the tomoe spinning faster and faster.
"Itachi san… that fog on the summit," Hoshigaki Kisame muttered, rubbing his sharp teeth. "It gives me a really bad feeling."
He gestured with both hands, unable to put that sensation into words.
Familiar yet unfamiliar. Almost comforting, yet terrifying.
The contradiction hammered inside his skull, leaving his whole body uneasy.
Even Samehada, the massive sword on his back, writhed restlessly, as if urging him to climb up and search, or run down and flee.
Clearly, Kisame wasn't the only one feeling it.
Itachi gave a small nod. He didn't know what Kisame was sensing, but that utterly malevolent purple power was already making him uncomfortable.
If something felt wrong, he asked.
That was his habit.
"Who are you?"
He turned toward the silent figure at the cave mouth.
"I…"
The red blue masked shinobi opened his mouth. His face contorted in pain beneath the mask, as if trying to resist.
Itachi's eyes sharpened. The three tomoe slowly transformed into a shuriken like pattern.
The masked shinobi's resistance was like a weak candle.
A basin of ice water snuffed it out instantly.
When the Sharingan evolved from three tomoe into the Mangekyō, it didn't only grant three ocular techniques. It also elevated the three tomoe's core abilities, perception, copying, and hypnosis.
Even a fool who knew nothing of genjutsu could become a master illusionist with the Sharingan's built in hypnosis.
"I am… I am 'Bakurin,' a member of Root's demolition unit."
"Root?"
Kisame's eyes held a trace of confusion. He had never heard of such an organization.
Itachi's voice turned cold, anger barely contained, as the shuriken pattern in his eyes spun.
"Konoha."
"Oh."
Sensing his partner's mood, Kisame sensibly took a step back and stopped talking.
No one was born wanting to betray their village.
To become a missing nin usually meant an irreconcilable conflict, one that only grew until it turned into hatred.
If he didn't want trouble, silence was the best choice.
"What is your purpose at Raikodō Mountain?"
"B, blow up the ore vein, and…"
Bakurin's voice stalled.
Itachi flicked a glance at Kisame behind him, then asked evenly.
"And what?"
"Kill everyone on the mountain," Bakurin said. "Then set fire to the forest."
"Tch. Brutal."
Even Kisame, who came from the Bloody Mist era, couldn't help commenting.
The Land of Water was small and poor. Even there, missions this exterminating were rare.
But then he thought again, and it felt obvious.
Every shinobi he'd met who fled Konoha had been ruthless. One more vicious than the last.
Konoha must be harsher than Kirigakure, he reasoned, or it wouldn't produce so many terrifying missing nin.
Itachi's expression didn't change. He wasn't surprised. No one understood Danzō's methods better than he did.
"Who is your mission leader? Where is he?"
"Ryūma… Ryūma sama is on the mountain…"
Still hypnotized, Bakurin spilled everything without hesitation.
Ryūma?
So that evil chakra on the summit was his doing?
The same thought flashed through both Itachi and Kisame.
"Tell me about him."
"He…"
Bakurin started to answer, then abruptly froze, like a machine that had lost power.
"What's wrong with him?"
Just as they were about to get the information, the man fell silent. Kisame, irritated by that strange contradictory feeling gnawing at him, stepped forward.
Itachi's pupils widened sharply.
A violent chakra reaction erupted ahead, so intense it made even his Mangekyō sting.
"Don't go near him!"
In the next instant, flames and black smoke blossomed across Bakurin's body.
The youth's face beneath the mask remained cold. The pain of his flesh burning seemed to mean nothing to him.
The Tongue Curse: Absolute Silence had triggered, snapping him out of hypnosis.
Uchiha Itachi had appeared.
He had to get the intel to the captain.
Bakurin clasped his hands together.
In an instant, the chakra inside him was like thermite, ignited, releasing terrifying light and heat.
"Explode!"
The firelight flared, blinding.
Bakurin's body detonated.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
Kisame formed seals at high speed and spat out a torrential stream that rose into a wall, blocking the scorching blast and shockwave.
The massive water barrier surged like a tidal wave. Two or three crashing layers later, the flames were smothered.
"Relax, relax."
Kisame waved at Itachi with a shark toothed grin, only to see Itachi's face grow even heavier.
Before he could ask why…
Boom, boom, boom!
From the pitch black mine behind them came a chain of explosions.
The mountain shook.
Smoke, dust, and a brutal shockwave burst from the cave mouth, swallowing the two of them whole.
Deep within the mountain's belly…
A pair of cold, golden vertical pupils snapped open.
At the Second Mining Site.
Iwaguma grabbed a chunk of rock and stuffed it into the massive gap in his arm.
Aburame Ryūma dispersed his insects.
The nauseating stench of burnt rot filled the air. The ground was carpeted in dense, black layers.
Arashi pressed his knee onto the woman's head. His short blade slid into her throat and twisted clockwise. The inner membranes and tendons were cut cleanly, and her head separated smoothly, like a butcher carving an ox along its natural lines.
Boom!
A muffled roar thundered up from the mountain below. The ground beneath their feet trembled. Cracks split open across the rough rock walls.
Arashi braced a hand on the ground and forced himself upright.
"What was that?"
"It looks like… the mine tunnel at the Fifth Site collapsed," Chō said, narrowing her eyes as sensing waves rolled outward toward the source of the shaking.
"Didn't we tell them to wait until we regroup before detonating?"
"It must've been an emergency," Ryūma said, his gaze dark. He trusted his subordinates absolutely. They wouldn't disobey orders without reason.
"What do we do?" Iwaguma asked, finishing his quick repair and looking up.
"Up the mountain," Ryūma ordered. "Find Yozuru."
"Yes." Three voices answered at once.
Arashi sealed the head into a scroll. Then the four of them sprinted toward the summit, toward the First Mining Site.
Rumble, rumble!
Even the summit began to tremble.
Gurgle, gurgle…
Crimson chakra bubbles steamed off Konome Taketori. The storm clouds overhead grew heavier, twisting. The humid oppression in the air was thick enough to choke.
"Haa… haa… you're Konoha's Nine Tails Jinchūriki?"
Yotsuki Tsuyoshi's voice was hoarse. His tiger eyes were bloodshot, and murderous intent churned like a tidal wave inside him.
His father had entered Konoha to capture the Nine Tails Jinchūriki.
And now, seeing her terrifying strength, Tsuyoshi could finally guess the truth behind his father's death.
"Yotsuki Yū… did you kill him?"
"Yeah."
Konome didn't bother hiding it.
She drew back the wasteful Tailed Beast cloak. The chakra remaining inside her was already running low.
The Byakugan saw straight through Tsuyoshi's body. His lungs were ruptured, blood seeping nonstop.
The longer this dragged on, the weaker he would become.
And she never forgot her own limit.
She was only a shadow clone. She couldn't afford to take damage.
If she grew careless and faced a dying counterattack, even a tiny cut, the kind that would heal in a second, would make her disperse instantly.
It created an absurd contradiction.
With Lightning Chakra Mode and the Tailed Beast cloak, her defense was terrifying.
Yet she still couldn't allow herself to be hit even once.
A shadow clone meant to test traps was fighting more cautiously than the real body ever would.
The sound of breathing grew heavier in the air.
Above Tsuyoshi's head, the emotional "light" turned the color of dried blood, black red.
"That old man's Lightning Armor was way tougher than yours," Konome said, smiling faintly. "I had to break his arms and legs first, then bite through his throat, little by little."
She raised her right hand, blue lightning gathering at her fingertips.
"And thanks to him, I learned a Lightning Armor this strong."
"Die!"
Tsuyoshi finally snapped.
Eyes red, he charged, fist raised, leaving his guard wide open. He looked like he'd lost his mind.
"Heh."
Konome's lips curved.
Lightning flashed beneath her feet and she slipped away, easily dodging the reckless punch.
"Is running all Konoha shinobi know how to do?" Tsuyoshi roared, blood in his eyes, rage seemingly burning out his reason. With his bear like build, he looked like a brainless brute.
"You don't think I can see what you're holding, do you?"
Konome's Byakugan remained calmly fixed on him.
Tsuyoshi clenched the dark thunder crystal in his palm. His furious expression faded into stillness.
The anger vanished.
Only heavy, concentrated killing intent remained.
Lightning Chakra Mode and the Tailed Beast cloak were techniques he knew well. Even if his attacks broke through, they wouldn't deal decisive damage.
The only thing he could rely on was Black Lightning, the kind that ignored physical defense and directly paralyzed the mind.
But…
"That black stone you've got looks pretty impressive."
Konome studied the black arcs flickering inside it.
As one of the rare sensory types in the shinobi world, and with the Byakugan's ability to see through everything, she could only call it naive to attempt an ambush like this.
Her Byakugan pierced the crystal.
The mingling nature of lightning and yin made her brows lift in surprise.
So Kumogakure's Black Lightning was a fusion of Yin Release and Lightning Release?
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's teachings, most techniques that fused yin or yang into elemental nature were concentrated in water and earth, because only those two had physical substance, better suited to carrying other transformations.
Even among Kekkei Genkai, water and earth based combinations were the most common.
To fuse "lightning," which lacked substance, with "yin," something even more intangible…
The technique behind it was worth more than Black Lightning itself.
Damn it.
Tsuyoshi's thumb rubbed over the smooth surface of the dark crystal. He felt like he was standing naked in front of her, with no secrets left.
If an ambush wouldn't work, then he could only force it.
He had trained for years. His resistance to Black Lightning was far higher than hers.
If he could touch her even once, then…
Whoosh.
The drifting mist in the air twisted.
At some point, the blinding, hand before face fog returned to the summit, swallowing them both.
Watching Konome's figure fade into the white, Tsuyoshi's eyes filled with despair.
Without Dākui's Wind Release, he couldn't break this fog.
Pain bloomed deeper in his chest. Each breath made his lungs spasm, the rust taste flooding his mouth and nose.
The trump card in his hand became useless.
Tsuyoshi stood there, dazed, no longer knowing what he was supposed to do.
Hum.
The fog warped.
A high speed wind blade struck his chest, bursting sparks.
He lunged toward the direction it came from.
But the mist remained thick and endless.
No matter how he searched, he could not find her.
What met him was only denser, sharper vacuum slashes.
Thud, thud, thud.
Chi!
At last, the high density wind blades broke through his Lightning Armor, carving a bone deep wound across his back.
"Aaaah!"
Tsuyoshi roared, swinging the hand holding the dark thunder crystal wildly through empty air.
The incoming slashes only grew more relentless.
Seconds dragged by.
There was no tense taijutsu duel.
No dazzling ninjutsu clash.
Inside the fog…
Only one blood red figure, roaring as he spun in place.
And the sound of that roar growing weaker.
After a long time…
Thud.
A giant man, shredded, as if sliced by a thousand cuts, collapsed to the ground.
Even as life left him completely, the black crystal in his hand still gleamed.
The Black Lightning inside was full and dense, never released even once.
Whoosh.
The vast fog rapidly dispersed.
Konome Taketori appeared behind Tsuyoshi, only two steps away.
Yet that distance might as well have been an abyss.
Her mist was freer than Kirigakure's Hidden Mist Technique.
The fog moved with the person, constantly gathering around him.
No matter what he did, he could not escape it.
If you couldn't break her Water Release mist, you had no right to fight her.
If you couldn't endure the Wind of her Rotation, approaching her meant death.
And if an enemy somehow forced their way through those two locks…
What awaited them was the ultimate taijutsu, forged from Konoha's Strong Fist, Kumogakure's Lightning Armor, Hyūga Gentle Fist, and the Taketori battle dance.
A monster of systems and raw numbers alike.
Fully formed.
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