"Sage Art: Candle Dragon"
A massive, footless dragon—over a hundred meters long, with a human-like face, a serpentine body, and crimson scales—burst into existence. Majestic and terrifying, it twisted above the lake like a living calamity.
Wherever the Candle Dragon swept past, the air ignited. Flames descended from the sky like burning clouds, surging downward in a crimson torrent. From above, it looked as though the heavens themselves were collapsing into an ocean of fire. The scarlet blaze covered such an enormous range that even the distant Akatsuki members felt a suffocating helplessness wash over them.
Nagato, who took the full brunt of the Immortal Art head-on, felt his blood boil, his temperature spiking as the primal fear of natural disasters rose within him. But he did not panic. With sudden clarity, he drove the gigantic Deva Path body downward, plunging deep into the lake.
Of course, nothing escaped Uchiha Hikaru's eyes. A faint, unreadable smile touched his lips (￣‿￣).
The raging flames hammered the lake's surface, sending up pillars of white steam. The waterline dropped several meters as though the Candle Dragon intended to boil the entire lake dry.
Dozens of seconds later, the inferno faded, the red glow dispersing. In its place rose a vast white mist, and then—softly—rain began to fall.
The rain struck Hikaru's shoulders, and also the Akatsuki members who had retreated nearly a kilometer away.
Kakuzu raised his head toward the dark sky, eyes trembling.
"With a Fire Style that massive… I'd believe you if you said it could burn down a village," he muttered. "Changing the weather, the environment itself… this is monstrous."
He glanced at the lake below the Hashirama and Madara statues. The water had dropped dozens of meters—half the lake was gone.
Suddenly, a muddy-yellow figure shot up from the lake. Nagato stood atop the water again, his voice echoing:
"Uchiha Hikaru, I'll admit the Fire Style you used just now was terrifying. If it had hit me directly, the fight would've ended. But unfortunately for you, you used fire in a water-rich environment."
"With the help of this terrain, I avoided the attack. I don't know if you're stupid or just unbelievably arrogant."
He stared through the white steam toward Hikaru's silhouette.
Hikaru simply raised his right hand. Blue light surged from his palm, splitting the mist apart. The chakra pressure burst outward, clearing everything between them.
"Since you know this place is full of water and steam," Hikaru said calmly, "why would you assume my Fire Style was the final technique?"
"Come now, Nagato. Lightning overcomes water. Basic chakra theory~ (´• ω •`)"
"I'm not sure whether to call you stupid, or just incredibly arrogant."
"Sage Art: Thunder Beast – Kirin!"
A brilliant blue-white column of lightning shot into the heavens. Thunder rumbled violently inside the dark clouds—like a chaotic pack of wolves suddenly obeying a single alpha.
The sky obeyed Hikaru's chakra.
Black clouds became canvas. Divine lightning became ink.
In the heavens, the lightning wove itself into the form of a massive beast—dragon-headed, wolf-hoofed, deer-bodied, covered in azure scales, wrapped entirely in thunder.
A Kirin. A real Kirin. One hundred meters tall.
It stood upon the storm clouds, gazing down at Nagato with cold, divine indifference. It looked less like a ninjutsu construct and more like a living creature from myth—an executioner sent by the heavens.
Compared to this, Sasuke's future Kirin was nothing more than a child's tantrum—an imitation born from shouting and luck.
Nagato's blood froze. Lightning was already his natural fear—this thunder beast was terror incarnate. And everywhere around him—lake, vapor, mist—conducted lightning perfectly.
He had nowhere to escape.
Gritting his teeth, trembling, he roared:
"Was this all… part of your plan from the beginning!?"
"Uchiha Hikaru!!!"
Konan lowered her head silently.
Nagato… I'm sorry. Once Akatsuki joins the Association, I'll teach Hikaru a lesson myself… (╥﹏╥)
The other Akatsuki members felt Nagato's desperation, powerlessness, and final flicker of pride.
Hikaru didn't answer. He simply lowered his palm.
The Kirin leapt.
Its hooves cracked the thunderclouds.
The sky split open with blinding blue-white light. Lightning crashed downward in a torrent. The roar shook the atmosphere itself.
Konan, Hikaru's clone, and the Akatsuki members fled even farther back.
Hidan sprinted with his scythe, getting struck repeatedly by stray bolts, collapsing, then scrambling back up with curses.
"Dammit—! This is bullshit!!"
A normal person would've died ten times over. Only his immortal body let him survive this abuse.
Nagato, trapped with no path to escape, watched as the giant Deva Path avatar—the "father"—began to collapse under the lightning barrage.
Desperate, he used sealing techniques to absorb natural chakra, forcing his broken body to keep resisting.
He no longer hoped to win.
He only hoped to live.
Hikaru exhaled softly.
The Candle Dragon earlier had used only the fire-nature Sage Chakra within his body. Its duration was limited—just long enough to fuel evaporation and generate thunderclouds.
But the Kirin…
The Kirin was different.
This was merely guidance—the channeling of natural lightning and thunder-nature chakra.
As long as the thunderclouds remained…
…it would not stop.
Nearly two minutes passed.
Finally,Nagato's chakra collapsed. His meridians tore. Blood gushed from his ears, nose, and eyes. His consciousness shattered.
He toppled backward, falling into the lake with a heavy splash
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