The moment Hagoromo's summoning jutsu was completed, it erupted with overwhelming presence.
Because he had no idea what Hagoromo had summoned, and faced with an unknown threat, the masked ninja was forced to abandon his killing blow and retreat immediately.
Clatter—clatter—
The sound of heavy iron rang out as thick metal chains appeared before his eyes.
One end of the chains fell to the ground, while the other extended skyward, fixed to the upper edge of a gigantic iron gate that had appeared out of nowhere—over fifty meters tall, more than forty meters wide, its surface painted with a crimson oni face.
The massive gate rose abruptly from beneath Hagoromo's feet.
This was his summon.
Ninja Art: Summoning jutsu — Rashōmon.
This was the ultimate defensive jutsu once used by the First Hokage to withstand tailed beast attacks. It was an A-rank summoning, colossal in both size and weight. Only someone with the First Hokage's absurd, almost broken chakra reserves could freely summon five Rashōmon gates at once.
Another person capable of using this jutsu was Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin—but even he could only summon three gates at most.
As for Hagoromo…
Well, he could barely manage to summon one—and only sustain it for a limited time.
But no matter how powerful Rashōmon was, it was still purely a defensive jutsu.
Did summoning it now actually make sense?
It did.
The enemy's Water Clone was instantly obliterated by the violent emergence of Rashōmon, and the Water Whip binding Hagoromo dissolved immediately.
Had the enemy's real body not retreated in time, that summoning impact would likely have dealt him a heavy blow as well.
Now standing at a distance, the masked ninja stared at the colossal gate, his expression dark and uncertain.
He couldn't understand it.
What was the point of summoning something like this?
To block kunai?
That was absurdly excessive.
At that moment, the torrential rain abruptly thinned into fine threads.
The storm clouds above, however, sank even lower, their thickness swallowing every trace of light.
The rain hadn't stopped—but the wind had.
And the sky grew even darker than before.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound of ninja boots striking iron echoed clearly.
Step by step, Hagoromo walked vertically up the back of Rashōmon, then calmly emerged onto its summit.
"There's one thing you said that was correct," Hagoromo said. "My chakra really is running low. After using a summoning like this, I only have enough left for one more jutsu."
His voice wasn't loud, but in the silence, it carried clearly.
The Chidori Nagashi around his body had already faded completely.
"But there's another thing you were wrong about—from beginning to end."
"If Lightning Release consumes so much chakra," Hagoromo continued calmly, "why do you think I kept it active the entire time?"
He looked down at the enemy.
From this height, he could clearly see faint arcs of residual lightning still flickering across the ground.
Yes.
From the very start of the battle, Hagoromo had been continuously releasing Lightning Release chakra.
Not wastefully.
His goal had been to create a large-scale electrical field across the clearing.
And because of that field—
Thunderclouds had steadily gathered above this location.
Next, in order to unleash the forbidden, S-rank jutsu he had prepared, he needed one more thing.
Height.
So he summoned Rashōmon.
He wasn't trying to reach the sky—but he needed to get closer to the storm clouds.
"On a rainy day," Hagoromo said quietly, "Lightning Release ninjas have the advantage over Water Release ninjas."
With those words, he prepared to expend all his remaining chakra.
Strictly speaking, it was a single chakra release—
But it would trigger two jutsus.
Hagoromo spread his right hand naturally, then raised his arm straight toward the sky.
Lightning Release: Chidori Spear — Second Stage!
A lance of lightning pierced the heavens.
At that instant, the low rumble of thunder and the dim flashes in the clouds vanished.
No—
They hadn't vanished.
They had been drawn together.
Though it was daytime, the sky suddenly blazed brighter than noon.
Behind Hagoromo, there was no sound, no sense of danger—
If not for the colossal bolt of lightning descending from the clouds, stretching across the entire sky, its origin having just gathered in Hagoromo's raised palm, radiating absolute destruction.
Lightning shaped like a divine beast—
Majestic brows, carved features—
A thunderous qilin, like a god or sacred creature.
The masked ninja stood frozen, muttering unconsciously:
"…It's like a qilin."
"Yes," Hagoromo replied calmly. "Because it is Kirin."
"After our exchanges, I understood something. In pure speed, it's hard to say who's faster—but in terms of movement and agility, you're more flexible than I am."
"With your single-target speed, no matter how fast I am, landing a decisive blow is difficult."
"So I abandoned that approach."
"And chose a wide-area jutsu instead."
His voice was as calm as ever—yet now carried a cold, merciless edge.
This was the S-rank Lightning Release that pushed environmental usage to its absolute limit—
Lightning Release: Kirin.
Kirin's advantages were obvious:
Enormous range
Overwhelming power
Surprisingly low chakra cost
And speed so great that evasion was impossible
For its original creator, Kirin required the Sharingan, whose perception was necessary to track the lightning's speed and trajectory.
It was classified as a forbidden jutsu because its power was too great—one mistake, and even the user could be electrocuted to death.
But here stood someone who didn't need that level of precision.
Because no matter how much lightning struck him—
He would be just fine.
Thus, Hagoromo's requirements were simple:
Gather thunderclouds in advance to maximize power
Personally guide Kirin down from the heavens
Standing atop Rashōmon, with empty air before him, Hagoromo stepped forward—
And plunged straight down from fifty meters above.
Not truly falling.
After dropping several meters, he kicked off Rashōmon's surface and sprinted down its vertical face.
For the first instant, Kirin was still behind him.
But as Hagoromo began his descent, the jutsu seemed to ignore space and time entirely—
Passing him in a blink.
And then—
It struck the ground.
BOOM!
Kirin slammed into the earth.
Lightning exploded outward from the impact point in concentric rings, like water pouring onto polished glass.
This time, the jutsu was anything but silent.
After the initial thunderclap, deafening electrical crackles erupted—thousands of times more violent than Chidori Nagashi.
Massive bolts of lightning tore across the ground, shattering and pulverizing everything they touched.
This was a jutsu capable of reshaping terrain.
Within its range, nothing survived.
No escape.
No evasion.
Hagoromo landed lightly.
Poof.
Rashōmon vanished.
Kirin's form had existed for only an instant. Though residual lightning still danced across the ground, the divine beast itself was gone.
And the enemy—
Lay motionless.
Hagoromo walked toward him—
If what remained could still be called "a body."
Most of it had been carbonized.
A strange scent of scorched flesh lingered in the air.
Hagoromo's expression didn't change.
Did he feel anything special?
Probably not.
This was a world undergoing violent change. No matter which village they came from, shinobi were forced to move faster than ever before.
And yet—
No matter how hurried their steps, no matter how forced their arrivals or departures, no matter the grief or reunion—
There was always something that reminded them, three times a day, through their senses:
Where they came from.
And where they were going.
Willing or not, reality pushed shinobi relentlessly forward.
They prepared.
They set out.
They endured.
They arrived.
And here, in this moment—
The young ninja Kamishiro Hagoromo of Konoha, Land of Fire, finally discovered the correct way to cook a ninja.
Yes.
The true title of this chapter is:
"A Bite of the Fūma Clan."
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