B successfully lured the Nine-Tails a good distance away from the ship, but he was forced to stop when he saw Suigetsu swell to over ten stories tall.
He wasn't anywhere close to the tailed beast's size, but that didn't stop him from wondering if he should transform too.
Didn't know Naruto could fly.
Time to think up some rhymes!
But first…
Yo, calm down for a sec! B shouted, dodging an attack from a fully transformed Jugo, whose body had turned gray and spiked, his eyes now pitch-black and terrifying. I'm trying to watch the fight here!
******
Suigetsu's voice sounded normal, yet it boomed like thunder.
That's weak. I was planning to tear you apart with all sorts of fun stuff the moment you touched water.
You don't look too disappointed, said Naruto, hovering with the aid of Sage Mode's heightened senses above the sea surface. He could've sworn Suigetsu was still growing.
What kind of jutsu is that?
In his right hand, Suigetsu held the Hiramekarei, growing in proportion to his ever-expanding body.
There's no way you can stop me now. He grinned widely, revealing shark-like teeth.
I used to hope all the Legendary Swords of the Mist would be mine alone, but even with just these two I have now, combined with my clan's techniques… hey, I'll say it myself, I'm pretty amazing.
If he could drag Naruto into the water, the fight would end immediately. It was that simple.
The entire ship full of Water Release ninja from Kiri had been slaughtered like animals. They thought they could take him down just because they knew tons of Water Release techniques.
In the end, it only made things worse. Much worse.
Two swords? He only has one on him. And even if not, how would the Cleaver Sword even help here?
Ever since Maki and Sai took the Cleaver Sword from Suigetsu, he'd kept saying he had retrieved it from Kisame, so clearly, the two swords he mentioned were the Hiramekarei and the Cleaver Sword. He couldn't even remember what third sword he still had.
Regardless, Naruto studied the giant Suigetsu closely, but nothing seemed off. Not that it mattered.
Water was still water—Naruto could fry him back into a puddle with lightning. He'd done it once already.
He summoned two enormous Fuma Shuriken from the seal on his arm and flung them wide around both sides of Suigetsu's head without getting too close.
[Lightning Release: Shuriken Technique!]
Due to their massive size, the shuriken carried a powerful electric current, amplified further by Sage Mode-enhanced Ninjutsu. The overwhelming attack looked like lightning blasting from storm clouds.
And against such a massive target as Suigetsu, there was no way to miss—and he didn't.
But that was the end of the good news.
Naruto stared in shock as the lightning struck Suigetsu's body, yet despite being hit by one of his most reliable techniques, there was absolutely no effect at all.
Suigetsu's body emitted a faint electric charge before the current completely dissipated. He grinned wickedly.
"You really think I'd let you exploit the same obvious trick again after seeing it up close? I've figured you out—I won't give any of you ninja types another chance. I'm going all out now."
As he spoke, his body kept expanding. "I'll take the legend of the Seven Swordsmen Blades of the Mist to a whole new level!"
Despite his enormous size, Suigetsu swung the massive Hiramekarei with incredible speed.
Naruto was grateful for his ability to maneuver in all directions and for all the physical advantages Sage Mode provided—right now, he needed every bit of them.
The force from Suigetsu's sword swings sent Naruto's hair flying wildly.
Frankly, someone that huge shouldn't be able to move this fast.
Fortunately, he was already faster—and Sage Mode only boosted that further.
Just as he prepared to counterattack, a voice barked inside his mind:
"No! Stop using attacks infused with chakra! Whether it's Lightning Release or anything else, it's useless now! He actually absorbed your lightning! I *can* feel it!"
The Nine-Tails was guiding Naruto. It had no intention of dying alongside this jinchūriki in the middle of the ocean. "Figure out what he's doing!"
"Alright," Naruto responded. Then he muttered to himself while leaping higher and higher, dodging Suigetsu's ever-expanding attack range, "Keep feeding me sage chakra and sharpening my senses."
******
That damned brat. He actually possessed the heirloom blade of Uchiha Itachi—the very sword that Uchiha Madara originally conspired to use against them, which led to the destruction of their family—eliminating this dangerous threat from his plans.
That damned sword.
He clung to the faintest thread of hope, praying that during their brief clash with Naruto, the boy hadn't noticed the sword's tip was the only part that made contact—while dodging the rest of the deadly strikes.
Did he even realize what that meant?
This short conflict had passed several days ago, but it remained vividly fresh, constantly playing back in his mind.
The only reason Tobi wasn't pacing anxiously right now was because he still had teammates—he needed to stay sharp—for their sakes.
Now was the perfect opportunity to uncover something crucial—an exploitable weakness.
At a time when the world was descending into chaos, he could accomplish what he needed more easily than ever before.
"What's the plan now, Tobi?" White Zetsu asked, trailing behind his masked leader through the cave-like base. The black side muttered, "I still believe we should have, and could have captured both Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails when we had the chance right there."
"And then what? Only we two have the rings required for extracting tailed beasts," Tobi countered.
Only the two of them could carry out the ceremony to extract the tailed beasts, and that would take far too long. They'd be discovered and attacked by Konoha and Kumogakure before they even completed the ritual. "Pain is preoccupied with his war campaigns, and even if he wasn't, we're still on the same side for now. It would still take several days."
Yes, under these circumstances, he did possess an army for defense, but sacrificing his favorite base along with thousands of subordinates was hardly satisfactory. He'd rather use that army another way.
"Now, we need to turn the tide by eliminating the enemy's most dangerous advantage, whether they realize it or not."
There was more to that damn weapon—there had to be. Hashirama and Tobirama were both monsters; its true purpose couldn't possibly be something as simple as countering space-time ninjutsu.
It wasn't forged during the Senju-Uchiha Clan Wars, but rather decades afterward. There must have been some reason.
"That blade?" White Zetsu asked, glancing at Black Zetsu, who shot back angrily, "Don't you see what that thing is? How many seals does it have? On the sheath? On the hilt? On the blade itself? It was crafted by the Senju and entrusted to their most loyal ally."
"I'll show you real overreaction soon enough," Tobi coldly replied to Zetsu, "but right now I still need your help."
Eventually, they reached a balcony overlooking a vast cavernous chamber packed with White Zetsu clones darting through a sea of bodies.
"Pain neglected to investigate the Naraka Path due to the war. I used this opportunity to produce 4000 clones using the stored tailed beast chakra within. You will lead them in an assault from within Konoha."
Zetsu didn't need to hear anything else. He understood the abilities of his weaker clones and exactly what skills would be needed to complete this task.
"You can leave it to me," he said, smiling. "What are you going to do?"
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>