Chapter 116: The Lightning Cage and the Shura's Gaze
The reunion was a study in frigid alienation. Kakashi regarded his former teammates with the detached coldness of a stranger. When Uchiha Obito grabbed his arm, his voice low with attempted empathy, Kakashi's response was a block of ice.
"I've heard about your father…"
"And?" Kakashi's tone was flat, devoid of inflection.
"I know you're hurting, Kakashi. I can understand—"
"Stop." Kakashi cut him off, his single visible eye glaring. "You understand nothing. Save your pity. We are not friends. We have nothing to discuss." He shook off Obito's grip and moved to walk away.
Nohara Rin watched, her face a mask of heartbreak, unable to comprehend the transformation of the boy she admired.
"Kakashi!" Obito shouted, his voice cracking with frustration. "Aren't we friends?"
Kakashi halted, his shoulders tense. He didn't turn around. "Friends?" he spat the word like a curse. "Don't flatter yourself. I have no friends."
As he took another step, Minato Namikaze appeared before him, a gentle but firm barrier. "Kakashi," he began, his voice calm and reasonable. "What Lord Sakumo did… it was the right thing. Comrades are paramount. The tragedy was a result of the village's war-fueled anxiety, that's all."
Kakashi looked up, his gaze piercing through Minato's well-intentioned platitudes. "You say my father was right, yet you blame the village's 'anxiety.' So, who, in your estimation, is truly at fault for his death?"
Minato's brow furrowed, caught in the contradiction. "The war is at fault," he stated, falling back on the abstract. "Without the war, this would not have happened."
A cold, derisive sneer twisted Kakashi's lips. "Just as Sensei Kagenori said. You people, who know nothing, offer empty explanations that absolve everyone of blame." His voice hardened, becoming a blade. "Spare me your lectures. In the eyes of the world, my father was wrong. A shinobi should have no use for comrades. They are nothing but a liability!"
He pushed past Minato, his dismissal absolute.
"Do you believe it too?" Minato called after him, his voice heavy. "Do you believe Lord Sakumo was wrong?"
Kakashi's answer was immediate and sharp, a lie crafted to sever the last thread. "Yes! He was wrong!"
Because Konoha is not worth such a sacrifice!
Minato watched the retreating figure, a profound sadness settling over him. The boy's silhouette seemed to merge with that of his cold, calculating master. Behind him, Obito and Rin stood dejected, the bond they cherished shattered by a cynicism they couldn't fathom.
"He just needs time," Minato said, the words sounding hollow even to himself. "As his friends, you must help him through this."
The ever-optimistic Obito clenched his fists, his spirit rallying. "I'll do it! I'll bring the old Kakashi back!"
Minato forced a smile. "Good. Now, we have a mission."
Meanwhile, Kagenori had begun his bloody campaign. For two months, he was a phantom of death, his Observation Haki scouring the landscape for Cloud-nin patrols. He left a trail of corpses in his wake, a slow but constant drain on Kumo's manpower.
The Cloud command could no longer ignore the attrition. A specialized hunter-nin squad was assembled: twenty strong, a mix of eight Jonin and twelve Chunin, tasked with one objective: find and exterminate the "Blood-Eyed Shura."
Kagenori had just finished dispatching a team of one Chunin and three Genin, sheathing his sword with a flick of his wrist. It was effortless, mundane. Then, his Haki flared. Twenty chakra signatures, powerful and focused, were closing in at high speed.
"Eight Jonin?" he murmured, a predatory smile gracing his lips. "A siege party. Perfect. Killing small fry won't build a legend. These twenty… they will be enough."
A wave of killing intent emanated from him, dark and palpable.
The Cloud-nin squad arrived at the scene of the latest slaughter. Rage simmered among them at the sight of their fallen comrades. "They were just killed," the lead Jonin growled. "If we move fast, we can catch him!"
"No need to chase," a voice called down from the trees. Kagenori dropped lightly to the ground before them, his posture relaxed, almost bored. "I've been waiting. You took your time."
Twenty pairs of hate-filled eyes locked onto him. "Blood-Eyed Shura… Kagenori!"
"That's me," he replied, drawing his ninjato in a smooth, practiced motion. The tip of the blade pointed directly at the massed enemy. "But I won't surrender just because you know my name. Enough talk. Let's begin."
"Use the formation! Now! Don't let him counter-attack!" the lead Jonin barked.
Five Chunin moved in unison, their hands flashing through seals before slamming them onto the earth. "Lightning Release: Lightning Lure Technique!"
Five pillars of earth erupted around the perimeter, arcs of brilliant blue lightning crackling between them, weaving a massive, crackling cage. The prison enclosed Kagenori and all twenty Cloud-nin within its sizzling walls.
Kagenori tensed to activate Thunderclap and Flash, but felt a strange pull on the lightning chakra coursing through his body. The electrical field of the cage was interfering with his own.
"I see," he mused, a flicker of respect in his cold eyes. "You developed a counter to my Lightning Breathing."
Within this prison, his signature speed and lightning-based techniques would be severely hampered. They had come prepared.
But they weren't done. Four of the Jonin blurred, using Lightning Release Chakra Mode to position themselves at the four cardinal points around him. Their hands moved in perfect, synchronized harmony.
"Lightning Release: Hell-Sphere Explosion!"
All four raised their hands, torrents of lightning shooting from their palms to converge high above Kagenori. The energies collided, swirling into a terrifying, condensed sphere of pure annihilation that began to descend, its crackling wall of power expanding to engulf him completely.
Kagenori's entire being screamed in warning. His sixth sense, honed by Haki and battle, told him one thing with absolute certainty: a direct hit meant death.
He stood still for a moment, then a hand rose to cover his face. A low chuckle escaped him, growing in volume until it became a wild, manic laugh that echoed within the lightning cage. "HAHAHA! You've done your homework! You really have! You think this is enough to kill me?!"
His laughter cut off abruptly. He lowered his hand, his expression shifting to one of terrifying, serene menace. "Then come," he whispered, the words carrying an unnatural weight. "Try it."
His eyes snapped open. The grey irises were gone, replaced by the swirling, scythe-bladed crimson of the Mangekyō Sharingan. The air itself seemed to grow heavy as the legendary power awakened, its gaze fixed upon the twenty souls who had come to end him.
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