"Roar!!"
The instant Ash spoke, the thunder-beast Kirin plunged downward from the storm above, colliding head-on with the incoming Tailed Beast Ball. The explosion of force was terrifying—but what truly stunned everyone was that once Kirin was infused with Sage Jutsu, it devoured the Tailed Beast Ball completely in an instant.
Kirin's lightning shifted into a violent crimson glow as it descended, drilling into the earth below.
For a brief moment, time itself felt frozen.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!!
The impact unleashed a massive blast, erasing everything in its radius. The surrounding forest simply vanished—reduced to scorched, barren earth. The fully transformed Eight-Tails, Gyūki, was blasted backward, its massive frame burned and smoking.
Bodies of both Konoha and Kumogakure shinobi lay scattered and broken across the charred ground.
"DAMN IT!!!"
The Fourth Raikage roared in fury, staring up at Ash suspended in the sky, murderous intent burning in his eyes.
"Looks like the Konoha ninjas managed to escape after all," Ash muttered, disappointed, watching the now-lifeless bodies of Minato, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru lying on the battlefield.
"No matter. I'll have another chance later."
The eruption of power would certainly draw massive reinforcements from both villages.
Ash narrowed his eyes at the Raikage below.
"Next time, you won't survive so easily."
With those final words, Ash vanished, stepping lightly across the air as if walking on moonlight until his silhouette disappeared.
After the Battle
Traveling away from the battlefield, Ash closed his eyes and assessed the chakra within his body. His brows knit slightly.
"First time using the Curse Seal… Sage Chakra isn't the problem. But the ordinary chakra needed to activate the seal burns far too quickly."
By his calculations, his current quasi-Kage level chakra reserves should have sustained the Curse Seal for at least an hour. Yet he had used almost all of it in under ten minutes—an unacceptable waste.
Skills purchased through the system were perfectly optimized, instinctively controlled as though he had been born with them.
But chakra was different. Because Aura (waveguide) within Ash's body had mutated, his chakra system was unique—unstable and still unfamiliar.
Ash's Name Spreads
After this battle, Ash's name exploded across the entire ninja world.
Whispers spread through every nation—fear and awe woven together.
Most concerning were the Uchiha of Konoha and Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.
Reports recorded:
Ash Ketchum, missing-nin from Amegakure, 16 years old.
Suspected wanderer of the Uchiha lineage.
Possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Specializes in Lightning, Fire, and Water Release.
Master of Sage Jutsu and wielder of unidentified foreign power now referred to as Aura.
Rising stars appeared often in the shinobi world—but none like him.
Under siege by the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, the Fourth Raikage, the Yellow Flash, plus two Sannin, and still emerging dominant—this was beyond the level of any typical shinobi.
Iwagakure
"Damn it—how can a brat like that possess the Mangekyō Sharingan!?"
In the Tsuchikage office, Onoki slammed the intel sheets onto his desk, face dark with disbelief. He had seen the Uchiha power firsthand in his youth; he remembered the terror.
"Dad, there's no need to panic," Kurotsuchi said calmly. "We don't have any conflict with him."
"You know nothing. The Mangekyō isn't some toy to observe from afar!"
Onoki's voice trembled, anger and fear mixing.
"When I was young, I fought beside the Second Tsuchikage against Madara Uchiha. He crushed us with a single strike. We had no chance—no resistance."
The paper in his hand crumpled.
"Someone like that appearing again will change everything."
Hearing Kurotsuchi's words, Onoki exhaled sharply, agitation still visible in his eyes.
"Sharingan… no, Mangekyō Sharingan is a nightmare. You don't understand what that means," he muttered bitterly. The fear of that eye had left an unerasable scar in his heart.
Sunagakure
"Is there any chance we can persuade him to join Sunagakure?"
In the Suna council hall, the Fourth Kazekage looked toward the elders seated on both sides of the long table.
One elder shook his head firmly.
"Unlikely. According to our intel, he holds deep resentment toward the great nations. Considering he was born in the Land of Rain, it's not hard to guess why."
Everyone silently agreed.
The Land of Rain had always been the first casualty whenever war broke out—crushed again and again between the major powers.
Hatred for the Great Villages was almost the default sentiment there.
Kirigakure
"What an impressive young man… though he's still a bit too young."
In the Mizukage's office, Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage, studied Ash's profile closely, a strange trace of admiration in her tone.
"Lady Mizukage, this isn't the time for praise!"
Ao, her trusted guard, protested helplessly.
"You know what happened to us before. Don't you think there's a chance that this boy caused it?"
Ao—wielder of a transplanted Byakugan and renowned analyst—had always been vigilant regarding anything connected to the Sharingan.
Mei shook her head immediately, her expression turning cold.
"Impossible. No one would dare reveal themselves so openly after what happened. Not unless they have a death wish. The only reason he's acting so boldly is because he knows nothing about that incident."
She clenched her hands, recalling the brutal tragedy—the man with the Sharingan who controlled the Third Mizukage and slaughtered countless Kekkei Genkai bearers of Kirigakure.
Her voice trembled with fury.
"If I ever find that monster, I'll kill him myself."
Kumogakure
"Put a bounty on that brat immediately!"
The Fourth Raikage roared in rage, smashing furniture across the room.
"I don't care if he's dead or alive—500 million for a corpse, one billion if captured alive!"
"Lord Raikage, please… I've told you many times, stop destroying the office," his secretary,
Mabui, begged helplessly. "All of this costs money."
"Let it go, Mabui," someone whispered nearby, wincing at another crash.
"The boss is in a terrible mood right now…"
The office shook as another desk shattered.
...
TN:
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