Kuroko POV:
"Akashi!"
It had all unfolded with blinding, terrifying speed. I had witnessed the third Raikage's and his elder son A legendary velocity in intelligence reports, yet seeing it firsthand as he tore through our defenses was a starkly different, chilling reality. Even my seasoned eyes struggled to track his movements as he shattered our hastily erected barriers and began his brutal, efficient slaughter.
To compound the horror, the Anbu and I had instinctively thrown up chakra barriers to buy time against the encroaching Kumo shinobi, but they were proving woefully inadequate against the raw, untamed power of the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki.
Glancing back at Akashi, sprawled on the blood-soaked ground, I could at least discern that he was, for the moment, alive. The gash on his side bled freely, a testament to the Raikage's brutal precision, but it didn't appear immediately fatal. Still, the urgency to escape intensified tenfold.
"Oyashiro, cover me!" I roared, channeling my chakra.
"Blood Dragon Ascension (血龍昇天, Ketsuryū Shōten)!"
Multiple grotesque heads of crimson energy erupted from the earth, their serpentine forms lashing out, tangling with the flailing tentacles of the rampaging Eight-Tails, offering a momentary reprieve, a desperate lifeline for the few of us still standing.
Seizing the precious seconds, I propelled myself towards Akashi, my heart pounding with a sickening premonition. I needed to assess his condition, get him out of this hellscape.
"Sensei… cough… you all need to run! This… was a bad idea," Akashi gasped, his face contorted in pain.
"Then let's go." I bent down, my hands reaching to lift him, but a sudden, agonizing pressure slammed into my abdomen, halting me mid-motion.
Splash.
"SENSEI!"
Crimson. That was the only color that registered, blooming across my vision, dripping down my face in thick, warm rivulets.
Blood.
My Sensei's blood.
In that horrifying instant, the world seemed to slow to a glacial crawl. My gaze, unfocused and swimming in a red haze, drifted to the chaotic battlefield behind Kuroko. I saw Oyashiro, his face a mask of desperate concentration, struggling against a relentless tide of Kumo shinobi, overwhelmed from every direction.
Most of our small contingent was gone, their Shinigami masks lying discarded amidst the carnage, silent testaments to their sacrifice.
Only a handful of us remained, clinging precariously to life.
"Haha… foolish Uzumaki. You and your pathetic clan should just disappear!" A's voice, thick with triumph and disdain, echoed in my ears as he cocked his lightning-infused fist back, preparing to deliver the final, crushing blow.
Disappear?
Become forgotten?
Me!?
I hadn't even been in this world for what felt like a blink of an eye! I hadn't even encountered Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, any of the figures from my past life's obsession! I hadn't truly lived in this reality.
A torrent of regrets, of unfulfilled possibilities, flooded my consciousness in that agonizing moment. Until… until a strange, eerie clarity descended upon my mind, pushing back the fear and despair.
Does disappearance equate to being
forgotten?
No.
I vehemently refused that notion.
Death? Here? Now?
No.
I had already tasted death once, a fleeting, terrifying void. I would not succumb again so easily.
Regret?
No.
I would not allow my final thoughts to be tinged with the bitterness of what might have been. I was Akashi Uzumaki. I was…
"I am Absolute!"
The thought resonated with a power that felt both alien and intrinsically mine. In that instant, an enormous, almost overwhelming surge of chakra flooded into my eyes, causing a visible, dramatic shift in their appearance. A gasp escaped A's lips as he instinctively recoiled, a primal fear flickering in his dark eyes, a reaction mirrored by everyone on the blood-soaked battlefield, friend and foe alike.
Even within Killer B, the usually boisterous Eight-Tails was screaming, a frantic, terrified urging to flee, practically begging his Jinchuriki to retreat, proclaiming the red-haired boy a monster. But B, ever loyal to his "bro," stubbornly refused, muttering about sticking together or else he'd be a "fool ya fool." A, the most powerful shinobi present, was the first to regain a semblance of composure, his gaze fixated on my altered eyes.
W-what are those eyes?! A's mind reeled. How was it possible for an Uzumaki, a clan renowned for their sealing arts and vitality, to awaken a Dojutsu? It defied everything he knew about the fundamental bloodline limits of the shinobi world.
Sharingan? No, they were undeniably red, but the intricate tomoe patterns were absent. This was something entirely different, something… unsettling.
A's confusion deepened with each passing second, his gaze locked on my heterochromatic eyes, the usual vibrant blue now swirling with intense crimson rings. But what truly unnerved him, what sent a shiver of unease down his spine, was his own instinctive step backward. Fear. He, one of the candidate for Fourth Raikage position, was feeling a primal fear emanating from an injured child.
Wait… injured? Where was the bleeding?
His gaze snapped back to the bloody gash on my side. Steam was rising from the wound, a faint, almost imperceptible haze, and in the blink of an eye, the bleeding ceased, the torn flesh knitting itself back together with unnatural speed.
I don't know how he healed so fast, but my instincts are screaming at me to eliminate him now. Then… then I'll take those eyes for research.
Lifting his lightning-charged fist, A prepared to deliver the killing blow, the fate of Uzushiogakure and the Hagaromo hanging precariously in the balance. Until he heard a voice, cold and imperious, a voice that seemed to carry the weight of an ancient authority.
"Lower your head, Mongrel."
An invisible force slammed into A's legs, his powerful muscles spasming uncontrollably. He lost all control, his imposing form collapsing abruptly to the blood-soaked ground, his face contorted in stunned disbelief.
Disoriented and reeling, he craned his neck, his gaze locking back onto my eyes. But the boyish vulnerability he had seen moments before was gone, replaced by an unnerving arrogance, the kind of absolute authority only a king would possess when looking down upon a commoner.
"Learn your place."
With a casual, almost dismissive gesture, I gently raised my hand, channeling the raw power that now coursed through me, and slammed it down onto the prone Raikage.
With a Rasengan (螺旋丸).
BOOM!
Akashi POV:
"I am Absolute!"
The instant that thought solidified in my mind, it felt as if invisible chains, binding something inherently mine, finally shattered. A searing heat flooded my eyes, and in that rush of sensation, I instinctively understood their power, the knowledge of their abilities blooming within me like a forgotten language suddenly recalled.
These eyes… they were truly extraordinary, a unique evolution. They granted me a full 360-degree field of vision, eliminating all blind spots, allowing me to perceive the battlefield with an unparalleled clarity. Beyond mere sight, they offered a limited form of future prediction within my immediate radius, showing me the subtle shifts in muscle tension, the almost imperceptible movements that telegraphed my opponents' intentions. Perhaps most surprisingly, my vision seemed to guide my own movements, subtly directing my steps and posture to exploit weaknesses, to force my opponents off balance, often sending them crashing to the ground. I instinctively knew this latter ability might be less effective against those with their own ocular powers, perhaps even useless.
Finally, there was "The Zone." In this state, everything sharpened, my perceptions heightened to an almost godlike level. My movements became flawless, my reactions instantaneous. I would never make a mistake; every action would be executed with inhuman precision. The drawback, however, was the immense chakra drain.
Even with Chomei's vast reserves bolstering my own, I instinctively knew my limit in this perfect state was a mere five minutes.
There was also the undeniable downside of my ego when these eyes were active. They instilled in me a feeling of invincibility, a sense of absolute authority, subtly warping my personality, imbuing me with an almost regal arrogance.
Well, I thought, a detached amusement flickering within me, it shouldn't matter too much. At least I look undeniably cool.
All of this, combined with my inherent Uzumaki vitality and burgeoning sealing prowess… Haha, I truly am Absolute.
Glancing down at the prone Raikage, I saw him weakly raise a lightning-charged fist, a final, desperate attempt to end me.
"Lower your head, Mongrel."
With minute, almost imperceptible twitches of my muscles, I shifted my weight, causing his already compromised balance to fail completely, sending his face crashing into the blood-soaked earth.
"Learn your place."
Turning slightly, my gaze fell upon Kuroko-sensei, barely clinging to consciousness, a dark stain spreading across his chest.
Looks like I need to end this quickly. Aren't they lucky?
Lifting my hand in the same deliberate manner A had attempted, I conjured a swirling Rasengan, the raw chakra crackling with power, and slammed it down onto the immobilized Raikage, like a deity delivering judgment upon a fallen sinner.
The impact immobilized A further, the raw force of the Rasengan leaving him groaning but alive. Killing him here would undoubtedly ignite a full-scale war, a conflict Uzushiogakure was not yet prepared to wage. Even our brazen infiltration of the Land of Lightning, coupled with this brutal skirmish, wouldn't be enough to trigger a major war… not yet, anyway. Skirmishes and border conflicts were unfortunately commonplace.
Too bad the remaining Kumo shinobi lacked the foresight to recognize my mercy. They all surged forward simultaneously, their faces contorted in rage and disbelief.
"How dare you do that to Lord A!" one shinobi shrieked, his body flickering in a Body Flicker Technique, placing him directly in front of me, the rest of his comrades close behind.
"On your Knees."
The unseen force slammed into their legs, one by one, sending them collapsing to the ground in a disoriented heap.
"What is this…?"
"G-genjutsu! That has to be it! Look at his eyes!"
"No… we can't lose… it's impossible! B… it's all up to you."
Killer B remained stock-still, his eight tails twitching erratically, his dark eyes fixed on me, as if trying to decipher my next move, to anticipate the impossible.
"You need not worry, B," I stated, my voice calm and strangely detached. "Your brother is still alive, albeit injured. Allow us to leave, and we will depart with no further conflict between our villages."
Acknowledging my words with a series of rapid-fire rhymes I barely registered, B finally stood down, his imposing presence radiating a grudging acceptance.
"Oyashiro," I commanded, my gaze shifting to my stunned companion, "use your eyes and coagulate Sensei's blood while I begin to heal him."
Oyashiro, who had been staring at my awakened eyes with a mixture of awe and disbelief, seemed to snap back to reality at the mention of Kuroko-sensei. He nodded wordlessly, his crimson eyes glowing as he focused his Ketsuryūgan.
Looking once more at the ravaged battlefield, at the fallen Kumo shinobi and the remaining defiant figures of the Hagaromo, I could only sigh inwardly. One Anbu left, and three Hagaromo members, including their stoic leader. At least I had managed to save some of them. With that thought, I turned my attention to the gravely injured Kuroko-sensei, the weight of responsibility settling heavily upon my young shoulders.
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End of 27th chapter