Sasuke advanced with his blade, closing in on Mitokado Homura!
Homura stood his ground, unmoving. The white gleam off his glasses masked a sly, almost wicked smile.
Whoosh!
The summoning scroll hanging from his neck suddenly unfurled!
—Tool Manipulation: Hidden Weapon Barrage!
He was a master of space-time ninjutsu; he didn't even need hand seals. With a mere thought, he could summon a tidal wave of ninja tools from the scroll and launch them along preset trajectories!
Any enemy facing him head-on rarely left the field alive.
"!"
A storm of weapons shot toward Sasuke's face. He hurriedly retreated, the Kusanagi Sword flashing as it parried the oncoming steel!
Clang! Clang!
Shuriken, kunai, senbon—an entire armory—rained down, scattering across the ground!
"There's too many—I need to get out of his range!"
Sasuke darted toward the rear flank.
But Homura moved with him, adjusting his stance and angle, shifting the arc of his barrage so that the rain of weapons relentlessly tracked Sasuke's every move!
From afar, Yakushi Kabuto watched, quietly impressed: "Mitokado Homura… No wonder they used to call him the 'Human Artillery.' That scroll around his neck? Legend says the Second Hokage himself crafted it—an ultra-summoning secret scroll. The amount of ninja tools it can store is beyond imagination."
As Sasuke fought desperately against the deadly barrage, Utatane Koharu unrolled another scroll and began weaving through the scattered weapons, rapidly collecting them!
Kabuto smiled. "Ah, there it is. Utatane Koharu—the only ninja who could ever keep up with Homura. Her scroll is linked to his, letting her sweep up and retrieve the expended weapons. It cuts down on waste and keeps the artillery firing."
Clang!
With a sharp ring, Sasuke'sKusanagi Sword was knocked from his grasp. His right eye narrowed in focus.
The skeletal frame of Susanoo rose up around him!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions thundered one after another!
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "Forced to use Susanoo for defense, huh? Once awakened, the power of Susanoo can be used even with just one eye—or none at all—but a perfect form is out of reach…"
Whoosh!
Utatane Koharu finished collecting the scattered weapons. She gazed at the unyielding, violet chakra avatar standing in the storm of steel and murmured, "Susanoo, huh? In that form… maybe, with a little extra, we could break through…"
Swish!
She flashed to Homura's side, scroll clenched in her teeth, chain hammer slung around her neck, hands weaving signs.
—Secret Technique: Explosive Tag Filter!
Fwoosh!
A strange ring of light formed in front of Homura at the tip of Koharu's finger. Every weapon fired from his scroll passed through the ring—and each emerged wreathed in explosive tags!
One tag might not be much. But thousands? That was a different story.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A symphony of thunderous detonations erupted, flames roaring so fiercely they nearly swallowed Susanoo whole!
Kabuto's gaze grew grim. "Seeing it in person… those two really are on par with the Third Hokage. Their teamwork is no joke. Maybe I should—"
But before he could move, Sasuke's voice rang out, clear and resolute from within the inferno:
"Kabuto, this is my vengeance. I don't need your help. Just watch—and remember."
"…Sasuke-kun."
Kabuto's hands, already forming seals, fell to his sides.
No matter how powerful their combo, the explosive-tagged weapons were consumed in the blast—meaning they couldn't be recovered! For two elderly ninja without Hashirama's cells, chakra was a precious resource.
The onslaught lasted only thirty seconds.
Huff… huff… huff…
Homura was left gasping for air.
Koharu removed the scroll from her mouth. "Why'd you stop?"
Homura: "Getting old. Can't throw chakra around like I used to…"
Koharu: "How many tools left?"
Homura: "About half. What about you? That Explosive Tag Filter is an S-rank jutsu…"
Koharu: "I can still hold on."
The explosions faded, leaving a massive crater in the earth.
Susanoo was reduced to a thin ribcage clinging to Sasuke's form.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Black horns sprouted from Sasuke's hair. Eight silver-gray sage serpents coiled around him—far more than before!
"Oh?"
Kabuto's eyes flashed. "Eight sage snakes… He's perfectly adapted to Kokushō's cells, and after fighting the First Hokage, Sasuke's sage power has soared. Even losing his left eye, he's made up the difference…"
Homura: "Sage Mode… To think someone as dangerous as you has mastered it!"
Koharu: "That's why, of the Three Great Sage Lands, Konoha never dealt with Ryūchi Cave."
Transformed by sage power, Sasuke's aura turned savage. "You two old fossils—why'd you stop attacking? Out of chakra already? Then just crawl into your coffins!"
Clap!
Sasuke pressed his palms together.
—Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
Hundreds of towering trees burst from the earth, trunks twisting together, rolling forward with crushing force toward the two advisors!
—Tool Manipulation: Hidden Weapon Barrage! —Secret Technique: Explosive Tag Filter!
Homura and Koharu gritted their teeth and launched their combo again, desperately holding back the advancing forest!
Behind the surging trees, one giant trunk rose above the rest, lifting Sasuke high overhead.
He stood atop the leafy crown, his right eye cold and sharp.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
The forest's advance finally halted under the relentless barrage.
Too many explosive tags—fire engulfed the trees, flames raging out of control.
Huff… huff… huff…
Both advisors, chakra nearly spent, panted before the blazing inferno.
From above, Sasuke called down:
"Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu—I'll ask one last time. Do you admit your crimes against the Uchiha? If you confess, I'll grant you a merciful death!"
Homura removed the now-empty summoning scroll from his neck, destroyed it, and rose with his short sword.
Koharu did likewise—destroying her extra scrolls, lifting her chain hammer.
They charged forward, fearless, wordless.
Their actions were answer enough.
"Then I'll send you on."
Sasuke's right eye narrowed, focusing on the burning trees below.
—Kagutsuchi!
FWOOSH! FWOOSH!
The flames shifted, swirling down to envelop the two advisors.
They could have retreated. Instead, they advanced—straight into the fire, straight toward death.
As they ran, they muttered:
"Wherever leaves dance, the fire burns eternal."
"The fire's light will keep illuminating the village, and new leaves will always sprout."
"Nothing in life goes as we wish, but may we have no regrets."
"Let history judge our rights and wrongs."
"Hiruzen, Danzō, Kagami, Torifu, and sensei… we're coming!"
Whoosh!
They plunged into the sea of fire, sprinting through the flames until at last they fell—ending their controversial lives in a blaze of fire and falling leaves.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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