Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode.
Five years ago, Akira learned of the sacred land Shikkotsu Forest through Tsunade.
He traveled there alone and passed the trial set by the Slug Sage—one that no one had cleared in a hundred years—thus inheriting Shikkotsu Forest's legacy.
Silent Sage Art.
Compared to Ryūchi Cave's "Violent Sage Art" and Mount Myōboku's "Balanced Sage Art," it offered the greatest overall enhancement.
At the same time, it was also the most difficult of the three to master.
It was said that to cultivate Silent Sage Art, one had to achieve absolute inner tranquility—reaching the "Śamatha" state of meditation, second only to samadhi in Ninja Sect practice.
Moreover, entering this mode required at least ten minutes of deep meditation.
Because it emphasized extreme focus and singularity, Naruto's trick of using shadow clones to store senjutsu chakra—effective for Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode—was useless here.
Furthermore, Silent Sage Art had no sustain method like Jiraiya's fusion with the two Great Toad Sages.
These two fatal weaknesses—long activation time and poor endurance—greatly reduced its combat practicality.
This was intentional.
The progenitor of Shikkotsu Forest, the Slug Sage, never designed this art for slaughter and warfare, but for cultivating the practitioner's character.
Yet Akira— the only person in a century to master Silent Sage Art—used a single method to perfectly compensate for both weaknesses.
Time-stop explanation over!
Naruto was still frozen in shock, bound by the "back-appearing Susanoo."
Akira, who had entered Sage Mode instantly, swung his right palm through the air.
—Slug Sage Palm!
Boom!
Natural energy turned into a roaring shockwave!
"Toad Kata…!?"
Naruto was blasted out from the shattered Susanoo bones.
As he flew back, blue-white viscous slime poured out from within Kurama's chakra cloak.
It seeped through and released intense acid, burning the golden mantle into steaming smoke.
"Slugs? Why does it burn so much?!"
Kurama shouted, "Naruto! Strip it off now, or the acid will melt you!"
Naruto's scalp went numb.
Gritting his teeth, he tore off the chakra cloak along with the attached slugs.
Boom!!
His back slammed into a century-old tree and stopped.
He stared at Akira, who had already closed to within twenty meters at terrifying speed.
"What… was that just now!?"
Kurama warned, "Naruto, be careful of his senjutsu and dojutsu! You don't have my chakra protection right now!"
Naruto staggered up amid the ringing in his head and raised his guard.
Ten meters.
Akira's right eye focused again.
—Toyomiketsu-no-Mikoto!
Crack!
Naruto watched in horror as a massive silver blade appeared out of thin air, piercing straight through his abdomen and pinning him to the tree behind.
"Heh…"
Blood poured from Naruto's mouth and nose as he let out a grim laugh.
"Susanoo's sword…? He can fire it directly with his eyes?!"
This wasn't like Shin's toy-level wounds.
This could actually kill him.
Akira glanced at his watch and recorded the time.
5:08:32 a.m.
Then he raised his gaze.
—Toyomiketsu-no-Mikoto!
Amid the shadows of the treetops, over a dozen executioner greatswords descended.
Naruto forced a bitter smile.
"Heh… damn it…"
—Amenotejikara!
Whoosh!
At the critical instant, Naruto was swapped with a rock, which became lodged in the tree hollow.
Twelve dark-silver greatswords slammed down, forming a sword formation around the tree.
In a forest clearing fifteen meters away—
Sasuke stood in front of Naruto protectively, staring at Akira twenty meters away as if facing a great enemy.
"Naruto…"
"Don't talk. Heal yourself first!"
Sasuke formed a seal with two fingers before his chest, eyes dark and solemn.
We underestimated him… completely.
That man's dojutsu is terrifying.
He only used his right eye, and he almost killed Naruto.
Buzz!
Kurama's golden cloak reignited around Naruto.
Only then did he carefully form chakra hands from his shoulders and slowly pull out the silver blade.
Pull a little.
Heal a little.
Prevent massive bleeding.
Thirty seconds later, the blade was fully removed, and the fatal wound healed.
"Whew… I survived."
Naruto exhaled in fear.
The Nine-Tails' chakra hand crushed the blade into dissipating chakra.
Sasuke finally relaxed a little.
Looking at Akira—who had not pressed the attack, whether out of caution toward the Rinnegan or sheer contempt—he demanded:
"Uchiha Akira! What is your real objective?!"
Akira looked at them calmly.
"My goal… or rather, what I want to achieve, isn't much different from the Hokage of every generation."
"What?!"
"Don't rush, Naruto. I'm not finished," Akira said evenly.
"It's just that our perceptions differ. We see different things, so our methods differ."
Naruto exploded, "That's nonsense! What you've done has nothing to do with the Hokage! Stop flattering yourself!"
Akira chuckled.
"See? You're rushing again. You should learn from Sasuke."
Sasuke said coldly, "Madara and Obito said similar things and tried to overturn the shinobi world too. You know how they ended."
So you fully believe Shikamaru's judgment, huh?
Fine.
"I know. And?"
"And your ending will be the same."
Lightning crackled in Sasuke's palm, entwined with black Amaterasu flames.
—Takemikazuchi!
A form created by fusing Chidori with Amaterasu via Kagutsuchi.
The same move he used in his final battle with Naruto—when he lost his left arm.
He gave Naruto a knowing look.
"Got it!" Naruto replied instantly.
Buzz!
Sage Art: Rasenshuriken formed in his left hand.
Sasuke flicked his wrist, using his cloak as cover, and threw two explosive-tag kunai into the ground nearby.
Then he and Naruto charged toward each other—
At the same time, Sasuke's Rinnegan snapped toward Akira.
—Amenotejikara!
Whoosh!
Space warped.
Akira was instantly dragged between Naruto and Sasuke—
Right into the pincer of Takemikazuchi and Sage Rasenshuriken.
Akira: "So that's the play."
They had already confirmed their plan.
"My attack slows near him!"
"Yeah. His right eye's ability. But with flame release and wind release combining, it'll create a continuous scorching field. He won't escape!"
From afar, Madara and Obito watched intently.
"Akira… how will you respond?"
"Like this."
Shikkotsu Sage Mode allowed him to chain multiple ocular techniques in extremely short intervals.
In simple terms—
It removed the internal cooldown of his dojutsu.
Akira's right eye trembled with crimson light.
—Shinsō! (Divine Erasure)
Slash! Slash!
In the instant his eye flared—
Naruto's Rasenshuriken.
Sasuke's Takemikazuchi.
Both disintegrated into motes of light.
"What?!"
Before their shocked expressions could fade—
Akira's hands flashed like lightning toward their throats!
Sasuke reacted first.
His Rinnegan pulsed.
Amenotejikara—double shift!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The explosive-tag kunai from the ground were swapped into Akira's hands.
"!?"
Even Akira was momentarily startled.
"Take this!" Sasuke formed seals.
Boom!!
Explosions engulfed Akira's position.
"Just now… what was that?" Naruto asked shakily.
Sasuke clenched his fist.
"That delayed barrier, the instant chakra projection, and the disintegration of our jutsu…"
"That was his third right-eye technique!"
"I'm almost certain—"
"That's not an ordinary Mangekyō."
"It's an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"What?! Eternal Mangekyō? But that requires transplanting a sibling's eyes…"
"Yeah. He probably used Jin's eyes."
"That blast caught him completely off guard. He had no time to defend."
"At best, both his hands are ruined."
Sasuke stated firmly.
Naruto looked at the smoke and sighed.
"Even with Eternal Mangekyō, losing both hands should cripple him…"
"But yeah, the scales are tipping our way now."
"Nice curveball, Sasuke."
Then—
A voice came from the smoke.
"That really was a beautiful move."
Akira walked out calmly.
Naruto and Sasuke's expressions—
The confidence that had just risen—
Was instantly replaced by pure shock.
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