Hinata stood before the True Waterfall, quietly waiting.
Akira also stood at the waterfall's edge, his eyes filled with curiosity as he stared intently. What would a "dark" Hinata look like? He was genuinely curious.
Hinata always exuded a gentle, kind aura. Sure, there was that one movie where Naruto went into a strange dimension where he turned into Menma, the Fourth Hokage was Sakura's father, and Hinata turned into a violent delinquent. But that wasn't true "darkness," just a change in demeanor. What would a genuinely dark Hinata be like? It was hard to imagine.
And so, it wasn't just Akira waiting curiously—everyone else stood by, equally intrigued.
They waited for several minutes, yet nothing happened at the True Waterfall.
"Akira... this..." Hinata was confused, looking at Akira with questioning eyes.
Honestly, Akira was equally baffled, and he glanced at Killer Bee, seeking answers.
"What could this mean? The True Waterfall has never failed to manifest someone's dark side before," said Killer Bee, clearly just as puzzled.
After a long wait, with no dark version of Hinata appearing, Killer Bee's expression grew even more bewildered.
"Could it be..." Killer Bee muttered after a moment, his face displaying a hint of realization.
"What is it?" Akira pressed, noticing Killer Bee's shifting expression.
"If such a thing happens, there are only two possible explanations. The first is that the True Waterfall is malfunctioning. But just moments ago, Naruto and the others had no issues, so that explanation seems unlikely," Killer Bee began. "Which means it must be the second possibility."
Killer Bee looked directly at Akira as he continued.
"And what's the second possibility?" Akira asked urgently.
"The second possibility is that she has no dark side," Killer Bee declared, his face showing astonishment as he turned his gaze back to Hinata.
A person without a dark side? Killer Bee found that difficult to believe, but the evidence was right in front of him, leaving him no choice.
"Hinata has no darkness within her?" Akira thought about it for a moment, realizing that this could indeed be true. When he thought about Hinata, he couldn't recall any dark tendencies.
"No darkness in my heart? So that's what it is..." Hinata said, a look of surprise crossing her face before she nodded in understanding.
"No dark side? Her heart must be as pure as a blank page," commented Roshi, the others around them wearing expressions of awe as well. They whispered to themselves, amazed by what they had just witnessed.
Unbelievable—someone with no darkness within? Only the legendary deities could possibly achieve such purity.
"Hinata truly is the hidden gem of the shinobi world," Akira thought, a joyful smile appearing on his face. After all, his girlfriend turned out to be a girl without any darkness at all—didn't that just mean he had excellent taste?
"Let me give it a try then, to check if the True Waterfall is working or not," Akira said, stepping forward.
Hearing Akira's words, everyone turned their gaze to him, curious to see what would happen.
Akira's strength was unfathomable. If the True Waterfall conjured a dark version of Akira, a fight between them would truly reveal Akira's power.
Everyone, including Hinata and Naruto, was filled with anticipation. Just how powerful was Akira, truly? This might be a chance to gain a clearer understanding.
"It probably isn't the waterfall malfunctioning, right?" Hanabi wondered to herself. After all, the True Waterfall had worked perfectly for Naruto and even herself, so why would it fail for her sister?
As Akira stepped up to the True Waterfall, a figure soon emerged from the waterfall's shimmering curtain—a figure of Akira himself.
This version of Akira, however, exuded an aura of pure evil, his gaze locked intensely on Akira.
"This version of my brother-in-law looks terrifying!" Hanabi whispered, her body instinctively shrinking back in fear.
"So, Akira-kun has such a frightening side to him?" Hinata murmured to herself, similarly taken aback by the dark presence of Akira.
Ignoring everyone's reactions, the dark version of Akira took a deep breath upon stepping out from the waterfall's veil. Without a word, he attacked.
Raising his hands, he unleashed Wood Release jutsu, countless vines erupting from the ground and coiling toward the real Akira.
Seeing his dark counterpart attack, Akira couldn't afford to be careless. He raised his Kusunagi Sword and swept it across the approaching vines.
The blade's gleaming light slashed through the vines, cutting them down with precision. But, of course, Wood Release was not so easily countered.
More vines continued to surge from the ground without pause, no matter how many Akira cut down. The dark Akira didn't stop, his chakra output remaining constant.
An endless wave of vines kept advancing toward Akira, who realized that, with his chakra reserves, using Wood Release in such a manner could go on all day.
With that thought in mind, Akira sheathed his sword. As the dense mass of vines approached, he took a deep breath, and bright blue lightning exploded from his body—the Chidori Current.
The fierce lightning enveloped Akira completely, and any vine that came into contact with it was immediately incinerated by the crackling energy.
It became a battle of endurance—who could sustain their chakra longer?
One continued summoning Wood Release to bind his opponent, while the other maintained the Chidori Current, destroying every vine that got too close.
The surrounding Jinchūriki watched the scene unfold, amazed by the relentless chakra consumption.
It was as if neither the Wood Release nor Chidori Current required chakra—such a disregard for chakra reserves was even more exaggerated than what they were used to as Jinchūriki.
After ten minutes, both sides seemed to acknowledge that this stalemate would lead nowhere.
The dark Akira clapped his hands, summoning the Wood Golem Technique, and soon, a hundred-meter-tall Vajra-like golem appeared.
Akira, in response, activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, and a golden Susanoo formed around him—a full-body Susanoo, also towering over a hundred meters.
Unlike the previous versions of Susanoo, Akira's now wielded the Yata Mirror at his chest, while his hand held a gourd. From the gourd flowed an intangible energy, forming a golden longsword—the Totsuka Blade, acquired from Uchiha Itachi.
Akira directed the Totsuka Blade toward his dark self, lunging forward.
The Wood Golem, its body entwined with a wood dragon, countered by moving the dragon to bite down on Susanoo's wrist.
Susanoo versus the Wood Golem—a scene that had previously been witnessed only in battles between the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara. But today, it played out before the True Waterfall, as Akira faced off against his own dark reflection.
The titanic clash between the giants left everyone, including Naruto and his companions, in utter shock.
Thankfully, the dark version of Akira's powers could only affect himself. Otherwise, with such terrifying combat strength, they wouldn't even have had the right to be near this battlefield.
Everyone's eyes were glued to the battle, watching Akira fight himself, while nearby, Yusuke's eyes changed. They transformed into a three-tomoe Sharingan, copying and reflecting the combat.
Yusuke's hand slowly moved to the hilt of his sword, drawing it halfway as he intently watched Akira, ready to strike the moment he saw an opening.
Finally, an opportunity arose. As the Wood Golem crumbled and Susanoo shattered, Yusuke moved—executing a swift and precise sword slash that shot toward Akira…