—Scorch Style: Flare Expansion!
FWOOSH!
The black fireball, propelled and expanded by pressurized wind force, annihilated the swarms of sharks closing in from all directions. It even threatened to boil the entire massive water sphere from within!
"That terrifying heat wave is approaching… a flame that water cannot extinguish! Amaterasu?!"
"I verified this long ago. The flames of Amaterasu, though a phenomenon ignited by chakra, lie outside the absorption capabilities of Samehada!"
Unable to block it, unable to absorb it, Kisame Hoshigaki could only retreat in panic!
As Kisame pulled back, the colossal water sphere of his Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave shifted forward with him.
Sasuke sensed the sudden shift in water pressure. He instantly pinpointed Kisame's movement.
A better idea than brute-forcing his way out flashed in his mind.
He drove the Susanoo's greatsword into the ground, anchoring himself and the skeletal giant against the water's inertia that sought to drag them forward.
Thus, the battlefield's macro-model transformed: Sasuke and his Susanoo stood firm; the expanding black fireball continued to erode the water sphere; Kisame was retreating, pulling the entire water mass with him.
The next scene was easy to imagine.
Gurgle… gurgle…!
The Susanoo's back breached the water sphere's boundary and pulled free in an instant.
Sasuke had escaped the confinement of the Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave.
Sizzle. He was in his Level Two Cursed Seal state. The gills and fins he'd grown for the underwater environment receded.
Shick!
The Susanoo yanked its greatsword from the earth.
Before Sasuke now lay half a realm of fire, half a sphere of water.
If the Flare Expansion kept growing, it would inevitably consume the water sphere. But Sasuke halted it. That wasn't energy-efficient.
Fzzzt.
The power of his right Mangekyō Sharingan activated, focusing on the 'fire sphere' that had nearly swelled to the size of a small Planetary Devastation.
—Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi!
Whoosh!
The fire sphere dissolved into free-flowing black flames, coiling and adhering to the Susanoo's right-hand greatsword, transforming it into a fire arrow more terrifying than ever before.
Simultaneously, a celestial bow materialized in the Susanoo's left hand. It drew, nocked, and aimed the arrow squarely at the water sphere.
"Burn away to nothing."
—Susanoo: Arrow of Dark Flame!
BOOM!!!
The mountainous water sphere was pierced by the fiery arrow. The black flames within detonated, and the sphere exploded into a sky-filling meteor shower of falling embers, scattering across the mountains and forests for miles.
Each falling ember was a seed of fire, capable of igniting everything flammable—and even things that weren't.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Where they landed, flames erupted, surged, and connected until, in the blink of an eye, the valley was transformed into a sea of black fire.
The only area spared from the conflagration was the clearing where the two fought.
Protected by the water sphere, Kisame ultimately escaped death by the arrow. But the intense heat transmitted through the water at the moment of explosion inflicted severe burns.
So severe that his fusion state with Samehada was forcibly dissolved.
Samehada transferred its last reserves of chakra, desperately healing its master's burns.
Sasuke dismissed his Susanoo. For some reason, facing Kisame Hoshigaki, he chose not to press his advantage.
At the base of the mountain.
Orochimaru mused, "With the Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave broken, the suspense of this fight is gone. Now, let's see how Sasuke-kun handles the aftermath with Itachi's partner…"
Once Kisame's injuries were fully healed, Sasuke stepped forward. "Kisame Hoshigaki. Why did you join the Akatsuki?"
"…" Kisame's thoughts drifted back to the Bloody Mist era. To when he killed his superior, Fuguki Suikazan, claimed the sword Samehada, and met the figure standing behind the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. That figure spoke of an ideal world.
From that moment… Kisame, filled with a fierce longing for the world that man described, decided to fight for it. He joined the Akatsuki.
His thoughts returned to the present. Kisame dragged himself up, hefting Samehada. He laughed, a dry, rough sound. "Heh. Your question sounds more like a victor's declaration. What, feeling confident in your win?"
Sasuke raised a hand, folding his arms across his chest. "Looks like you need more convincing."
—Wood Style: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!
CRACK! BOOM! CRASH!
Trees erupted in chaotic profusion. Flowers bloomed in dazzling competition. These blossoms, symbols of hope, released a poisonous pollen that beckoned death. The sky within the forest domain grew murky, oppressive. Kisame, trapped inside, endured a torment worse than drowning.
The poisoning effect was immediate. Weakness flooded his limbs, his consciousness blurred, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Can't… die…"
Gasping, he fumbled for a scroll.
This scroll was inscribed with a trigger-type Water Prison Trap, designed to ensnare any enemy who carelessly opened it.
Kisame opened the scroll himself. He used the trap meant for enemies… on himself.
A seemingly desperate move, yet a stroke of genius in this critical moment.
Use the Water Prison… to block the pollen.
Inside the water prison, some strength returned. Kisame formed hand seals.
—Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Technique!
ROAR…!!!
The water prison encasing him morphed violently, transforming into a shark-shaped water bullet. It launched upwards from within the Flowering Tree barrier, rocketing into the sky and soaring away at high speed.
He had no reason to fight Sasuke to the death. Even less reason to be killed by him.
So, knowing he was outmatched, he made the wisest choice—escape.
Kisame was escaping. Sasuke leapt into the air. White cursed wings sprouted from his Cursed Seal form, and he gave chase.
Inside the Water Shark Bomb, Kisame looked down at the endless expanse of black fire below.
"Black flames covering the mountains and fields… Itachi, your brother is truly something else…"
Just then, Kisame glanced back at Sasuke, hot on his trail.
"Heh. Itachi, looks like I might go before you. But… who knows the final outcome without putting up one last fight?"
Splash! Inside the water bullet, Kisame twisted his body. He gathered his chakra to its limit, pressed his palms together, interlocked his fingers slightly, formed a tiger-mouth seal with his hands, and then thrust them forward with explosive force.
—Water Style: Great Shark Bomb Technique!
ROOOOOAR…!!!
From the tail of the Water Shark Bomb, a super-caliber chakra great shark water bullet shot forth, its maw gaping wide, swallowing the air behind him with terrifying momentum.
The Great Shark Bomb could absorb the chakra from any projectile attack, making it a virtually unbeatable technique in a direct ninjutsu clash. Even Might Guy had to use his signature Seventh Gate taijutsu, Daytime Tiger, to counter it.
Sasuke didn't know the specifics of this technique. Driven by the urge to catch his foe, he had no intention of clashing ninjutsu. He directly summoned his skeletal Susanoo and met the attack head-on with its greatsword.
CRASH!!! SPLASH!!!
The explosive slash shattered the Great Shark Bomb. But the resulting tidal wave of water slammed into the Susanoo, blunting its forward charge and preventing Sasuke from closing the gap.
Kisame looked back. "At this distance, as long as I watch out for his Susanoo's arrow, he can't touch me!"
Crack… crack…!
Muscle-like striations began coiling around the Susanoo's skeletal right arm.
Kisame smirked. "Heh… That form. He's going for the arrow after all?"
He prepared to adjust the Water Shark Bomb's trajectory to dodge the incoming shot.
But then, he saw the Susanoo clench its right hand into a fist, drawing its arm back for a punch.
Kisame's eyes widened. "At this range… he plans to use his fist!?"
Sasuke's voice was cold. "You… aren't getting away."
Down below, Orochimaru's lips curved into a smile. "That move… is it coming?"
—Susanoo: Earth Grudge Fist!
WHUMP…!!!
The Susanoo's fist detached from its wrist. It shot forward, connected to the arm by purple, Susanoo-materialized tentacles, rocketing toward Kisame in a devastating strike.
Kisame's eyes bulged in utter shock. "THE SUSANOO'S FIST… CAN BE LAUNCHED?!?!?!"
BOOM…!!!
The Water Shark Bomb around him was obliterated by the heavy blow. The Susanoo's fist opened mid-flight, snatching Kisame from the air. Then, the tentacles retracted, reattaching the fist to its severed wrist.
The cursed wings vanished. Sasuke landed, the black flames parting for him voluntarily.
He looked at Kisame, now clenched tightly in the Susanoo's grasp, and delivered his final ultimatum. "Answer my question."
Kisame chuckled, blood trickling from his mouth. "Heh. I've got no complaints about losing to you. Kill me, cut me up, do as you please."
"I… gave you a chance."
The Susanoo's hand began to squeeze shut with crushing force.
Whoosh!
But at that critical moment, a dark, ink-like haze seeped out from between the Susanoo's fingers.
From a distance, Karin's voice rang out, laced with shock. "It's appearing… that hidden chakra within Kisame Hoshigaki!"
Caw! Caw! Caw!
Countless crows streamed out from the black haze. They swirled into the sky, coalescing, merging… forming into the silhouette of a person.
Sasuke's eyes, fixed on that descending figure, widened slightly. The Susanoo's crushing grip… slowly loosened.
Within his gaze, an unfathomable torrent of complex emotions surged.
—"Itachi."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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