Whoosh, whoosh!
A ninja in a red-and-blue mask darted through the mine, navigating the rugged, slick floor as if it were flat ground.
Sky-blue chakra illuminated the tunnel, casting eerie halos off the exposed deep-blue crystals in the rock walls, lending the cave a mysterious, dazzling glow.
Rustle!
Yellowish-brown paper tags flew from the ninja's pouch, fluttering and sticking themselves to the mine's load-bearing pillars and ceiling.
Explosive Tag Manipulation Technique.
A simple ninja tool-based jutsu, yet a mandatory skill for every Root demolition squad member.
Its effectiveness needed no explanation.
The ninja zipped through the dark tunnels, ensuring every critical pillar was tagged, then retraced their path back to the surface.
This mine sat at the mountain's base.
Detonating it now risked a landslide that could disrupt the others' missions, so the timing wasn't right.
The dark, damp cave mouth gradually brightened.
The red-and-blue-masked ninja sped up, bursting out of the cave—only to freeze at the sight before them.
Two figures in black cloaks with red clouds, wearing rogue ninja headbands, approached from the mountain path below.
The one in front, a blue-skinned, shark-like man with a massive blade strapped to his back, was gesturing animatedly, chatting with the dark-haired man behind him.
When the masked ninja saw the second man, their eyes narrowed.
A refined face, crimson eyes—it was Konoha's S-rank rogue ninja, Uchiha Itachi!
The moment they spotted each other, their gazes locked—black eyes meeting scarlet Sharingan with spinning tomoe.
"Mr. Itachi, the mist up at the peak… it gives me a bad vibe," Kisame Hoshigaki said, rubbing his pointed teeth, hands flailing as he struggled to describe the feeling.
Familiar yet alien, comforting yet terrifying.
A deep, conflicting tug-of-war between his instincts carved itself into his mind, leaving him uneasy.
The great blade Samehada on his back squirmed restlessly, unsure whether it urged him to climb the mountain or flee.
Clearly, he wasn't the only one feeling this contradiction.
Itachi nodded lightly. Though he didn't fully grasp Kisame's sensation, the sinister purple chakra up ahead already set him on edge.
When in doubt, ask—that was his way.
"Who are you?" he said, turning to the mysterious ninja standing dazed at the cave mouth.
"I—"
The red-and-blue-masked ninja, mouth agape in a trance, grimaced in pain, as if fighting to resist.
Itachi's gaze sharpened, his three-tomoe Sharingan morphing into a shuriken pattern.
The ninja's struggle flickered like a weak candle, snuffed out by a deluge of icy water.
When the three-tomoe Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyo, it not only granted three unique techniques but also amplified its innate insight, copying, and hypnosis abilities.
Even a genjutsu novice could become a master with the Sharingan's built-in hypnosis.
"I'm… I'm 'Bakurin,' a member of Root's demolition squad," the ninja stammered.
"Root?" Kisame's eyes glinted with confusion. He'd never heard of such a group.
A cold voice laced with barely suppressed rage came from Itachi, his Mangekyo shuriken spinning faster. "They're from Konoha."
"Oh." Sensing his partner's foul mood, Kisame wisely stepped back and shut up.
No one chooses to betray their village.
Becoming a rogue ninja often meant irreconcilable conflicts with one's home, festering into deep hatred.
If you didn't want trouble, silence was the best move.
"What's your purpose at Thunder Drum Mountain?" Itachi pressed.
"To… to destroy the ore veins, and—" Bakurin's voice hitched.
Itachi glanced at Kisame, who watched quietly, then asked calmly, "And what else?"
"Kill everyone on the mountain and burn it down."
"Tch, brutal," Kisame muttered.
Coming from the Bloody Mist, where resources were scarce, even he rarely saw missions this ruthless.
But on second thought, it made sense. The few Konoha rogues he'd met were all vicious—Konoha's environment must be harsher than Mist's to produce so many powerful renegades.
Itachi's expression didn't waver. He wasn't surprised by their cruelty; no one knew Danzo's methods better than he did.
"Who's your mission leader? Where are they?"
"Ryoma—Lord Ryoma's up the mountain—"
No hesitation. Under hypnosis, Bakurin spilled everything.
Ryoma?
Was that sinister chakra at the peak his doing?
The same thought crossed Itachi and Kisame's minds.
"Give me his details!" Itachi demanded.
"He—"
Bakurin started to answer, but froze, like a machine running out of power.
"What's wrong with him?" Kisame, impatient from the conflicting vibes, stepped forward.
Itachi's pupils dilated, a violent chakra surge stinging even his Mangekyo.
"Don't get close!" he shouted.
Whoosh!
Flames and black smoke erupted from the silent Bakurin.
The teen's face, hidden behind the mask, remained cold, as if the agony of burning flesh didn't faze them. The Cursed Tongue Eradication Technique had snapped them out of hypnosis.
Uchiha Itachi, a rogue ninja, was here—Captain must be warned!
Bakurin clapped their hands.
Their chakra ignited like a thermite bomb, unleashing blinding light and heat.
"Explode!"
The fire flared, and Bakurin's body detonated.
Water Release: Water Wall!
Kisame wove signs, spewing a torrent that formed a barrier, blocking the scorching flames and shockwave.
The massive water wall crashed like a tsunami, dousing the fire in a few surges.
"No worries, no worries," Kisame said, waving at Itachi, flashing his shark-like teeth—only to see Itachi's face grow grimmer.
Before he could ask, boom, boom, boom!
The deep, dark mine behind them erupted with countless explosions, the ground quaking. Thick smoke and shockwaves blasted from the cave mouth, engulfing them.
Deep in the mountain's core, a pair of cold, golden slit-pupil eyes snapped open.
Mine No. 2
Iwakuma grabbed a rock, patching a gaping wound on his arm.
Yugao Ryoma dispersed his insects.
The air reeked of charred rot, the ground blanketed in a dense layer of blackened bug corpses.
Arashi pinned a woman's head with his knee, his short blade twisting clockwise into her neck, severing tendons and bone with the smooth precision of a butcher.
Rumble!
A muffled boom echoed from below, the ground trembling, jagged cracks splitting the mountain's rough rock walls.
Arashi braced against the ground, struggling to stand. "What's going on?"
"Sounds like the mine at No. 5 collapsed," Cho said, squinting, her sensory jutsu rippling toward the source.
"Didn't we tell them to wait until we're off the mountain to blow it?" Arashi asked.
"Must be an emergency," Yugao said, his eyes darkening. He trusted his subordinates—they wouldn't act recklessly against orders.
"What now?" Iwakuma asked, his arm repaired.
"To the peak! Find Yato!" Yugao ordered.
"Yes!" the three replied in unison.
Arashi sealed the woman's head in a scroll, and the four raced to Mine No. 1 at the summit.
Rumble!
The peak trembled lightly.
Gurgle…
Crimson chakra bubbles steamed off Hikari, the sky's dark clouds twisting thicker, the air so humid and heavy it was suffocating.
"Huff… You're Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?" Yozuki Takeshi rasped, his tiger-like eyes bloodshot, murderous intent surging within.
His father had infiltrated Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Given her terrifying strength, Yozuki was piecing together the truth of his father's death.
"Yozuki Yuu—was it you who killed him?" he demanded.
"Yep," Hikari replied, not bothering to dodge the question.
She dispelled the chakra-wasting Tailed Beast cloak; her reserves were running low.
Her Byakugan pierced through the enemy's body, revealing a ruptured lung leaking blood. The longer this dragged, the weaker he'd get.
She never forgot she was just a shadow clone, unable to tank damage.
A single counterattack, even a scratch that'd heal in seconds, could pop her instantly.
This led to a bizarre situation: with Lightning Armor and Tailed Beast cloak, her defenses were formidable, yet she couldn't risk taking a single hit. A shadow clone meant for scouting traps fought more cautiously than her real body.
The air grew heavy with labored breaths.
Yozuki's emotional aura, visible to Hikari, turned a bloody black-red.
"That old man's Lightning Armor was way tougher than yours. It took everything to break his limbs before I could bite through his throat," Hikari said, smirking, blue lightning crackling at her fingertips. "Good thing he was there, or I wouldn't have learned such a killer Lightning Armor."
"Die!" Yozuki roared, unable to bear the taunt.
Eyes bloodshot, he charged, fists raised, his guard wide open, looking like he'd lost all reason.
"Heh!" Hikari's lips curled in a faint smile.
Thunder exploded under her feet, and she flashed back, dodging the seemingly reckless punch.
"All Konoha ninjas do is run? Come on!" Yozuki bellowed, eyes red, his bear-like frame and wild swings painting him as a brainless brute.
"You don't think I can see what's in your hand, do you?" Hikari said, her Byakugan fixed on him.
The Black Thunder Crystal clenched in his fist glinted. Yozuki's frenzied expression calmed, the rage in his stern eyes replaced by pure killing intent.
He knew Lightning Armor and Tailed Beast cloaks too well—his attacks, even if they breached her defense, wouldn't deal much damage.
His only hope was Black Thunder, which bypassed physical defenses to paralyze the mind.
But—
"That black rock in your hand looks pretty nasty," Hikari said, eyeing the flickering black lightning arcs within the stone.
As one of the ninja world's rare sensory types, with Byakugan seeing through everything, his crude sneak attack was laughably obvious.
Her Byakugan pierced the crystal, its blend of Lightning and Yin chakra raising her brow in surprise.
Cloud's secret Black Thunder was a fusion of Yin and Lightning Release?
Hokage Sarutobi had taught that most Yin- or Yang-infused jutsu revolved around Water or Earth, as their tangible nature better carried other chakra natures.
Even most kekkei genkai leaned on Water or Earth.
Fusing the intangible "Lightning" with the even more ethereal "Yin" involved techniques far beyond Black Thunder's own value.
Damn it!
Yozuki's fingers grazed the crystal's smooth surface, feeling utterly exposed, like he stood naked before her.
The sneak attack failed; he'd have to force it.
His training gave him far greater resistance to Black Thunder than her.
If he could just land one hit—
Whoosh!
Mist twisted in the air.
Unnoticed, thick fog blanketed the peak again, swallowing their figures completely.
Yozuki's eyes filled with deep despair as Hikari vanished into the mist.
Without Darkui's Wind Release, he couldn't dispel it.
His chest ached, his lungs spasming with each breath, the taste of rust flooding his mouth.
His trump card was useless. Yozuki stood frozen, at a loss.
Vrrrm!
The mist warped.
A high-speed wind blade slashed his chest, sparking. He charged toward the attack's source.
His fog-blurred eyes searched the dense mist, finding no trace of her, only meeting denser vacuum slashes.
Bang, bang, bang!
Slash!
The relentless wind blades finally cracked his Lightning Armor, carving a bone-deep gash across his back.
"Aargh!" Yozuki roared, swinging his Black Thunder Crystal-fisted hand wildly, but the vacuum slashes only grew fiercer.
Time ticked by.
No thrilling taijutsu clashes, no dazzling ninjutsu duels.
In the mist, only a bloodied figure spun in circles, roaring, his voice growing fainter.
Finally—
Thud!
A tattered, mutilated giant collapsed.
Even in death, the Black Thunder Crystal in his hand gleamed, its potent black lightning never once unleashed.
Whoosh!
The fog dissipated swiftly.
Hikari appeared two steps behind Yozuki, a chasm of skill separating them.
Her mist, more versatile than Mist's Hidden Mist Technique, moved with her target, always cloaking them, inescapable.
If you couldn't break her Water Release mist, you didn't deserve to fight her.
If you couldn't withstand her Heavenly Spin wind, getting close meant death.
And if an enemy somehow breached those barriers, they'd face her ultimate taijutsu—a fusion of Konoha's Strong Fist, Cloud's Lightning Armor, Hyuga's Gentle Fist, and Kaguya's War Dance.
A monster blending mechanics and raw power had taken form!