~ Every 100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter! Your votes keep this climbing. Thanks!
Orochimaru smiled. "Found your rhythm?"
"Yeah. But I'm still not going to do things your way. I'll do it… my own."
Sasuke retrieved a mask and fitted it over his face. Then, he charged straight into the Five Kage Summit grounds.
The armored samurai guarding the perimeter saw the masked intruder. "Halt! This is a restricted area for the Five Kage Summit!"
Sasuke knew words were useless. These men were just doing their duty. He shot forward without breaking stride.
"Take him down!!!"
The samurai surged, chakra flaring around their blades.
Sasuke's Sharingan spun. He wove through the slashing swords at a dead sprint, a blur that plowed through their ranks, sending men and armor crashing to the ground.
—BOOM!!!
"Gahhh…!!!"
Thud-thud-thud!
He was among them now. Fists flew, a fluid, brutal dance. Swords clattered from stunned hands. Samurai went down like wheat before a scythe.
The commotion outside reached the main chamber.
A battered samurai stumbled in. "Lord Mifune! An intruder! We… we can't hold him!"
Mifune frowned. "An intruder? With the Five Kage assembled?"
Mei Terumī's eyes narrowed. "Ao. Confirm."
"Yes!"
Ao formed a seal. The Byakugan beneath his eye-patch activated, piercing the floors below.
—"A masked shinobi… with the Sharingan!!!"
"What?!" The room erupted.
Tsunade's voice cut through. "Obito Uchiha always wears a mask!!"
Kabuto's mind reeled. Obito? Here? What's happening? Did Sasuke… lose to him?!
SLAM!
The Raikage stood, the table cracking under his fist. "Hmph! Saves me the trouble of hunting him down. I'll spill his blood right here!!!"
CRASH—!!!
Before anyone could react, the Raikage exploded through the wall.
In the hall below, Sasuke stood amidst the fallen samurai. He was about to move deeper when a sound from above—a crunch of breaking stone. He looked up.
KABOOM!!!
A giant wrapped in a crackling cloak of lightning crashed through the ceiling, blocking his path.
Behind the mask, Sasuke's eyes sharpened. "The Raikage. Same as ever. Charges in screaming without a word…"
"OBITO UCHIHA! GIVE ME BACK MY BROTHER'S LIFE!!!"
SHOOM—!!!
The Raikage shattered the floor, a bolt of pure rage.
So. Obito's deeds are known, Sasuke deduced. Tsunade, the witness, must have told them. And with this mask… the Raikage sees only his brother's killer.
Fine. A direct fight with the Five Kage was the goal anyway. This works.
Swoosh!
The Raikage's fist blurred for his face. Sasuke dropped low at the last possible instant.
Whoosh…!
The fist tore through empty air. The Raikage's eyes widened. He dodged? My fist in Lightning Release Chakra Mode?!
Sasuke's gaze was calm. His lightning armor can tank a normal Chidori. Needs a little extra.
Crackle…!!
Lightning erupted in Sasuke's palm. But he pushed more into it—a pulse of White Cursed Seal energy. The blue-white glare shifted, bleaching into a blinding, pale incandescence.
—White Chidori!
The Raikage's breath hitched. "That technique is…!!!"
SHINK!
The white lightning sheared through the lightning armor like paper. Three of Sasuke's fingers pierced the Raikage's abdominal muscle.
A searing jolt of pain—a primal alarm. BANG! A burst of reflexive lightning, and the Raikage was ten meters back, panting.
Sasuke murmured, "Instinctive evasion. Fast."
The Raikage stared at the blood welling from the shallow puncture. Cold dread trickled down his spine. "That Lightning Release… Kakashi's 'Raikiri'? But white… Like Darui's Black Lightning, an advanced nature transformation…" His thoughts raced. Kakashi. That Obito Uchiha was Kakashi's teammate. Of course he'd know similar jutsu.
From behind pillars, Darui and Shi watched, tense.
Shi: "So that's Obito Uchiha. His build… looks almost boyish."
Darui: "Don't judge a book by its cover. That white lightning almost gutted the boss."
"HMPH…!!!"
CRACKLE—!
The Raikage's aura exploded. Lightning clawed higher. His hair stood rigid, electrified.
Darui whistled low. "Whoa. Activating his reflexes to that level right off the bat? He's not playing around."
Sasuke watched, assessing. A heightened state of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. In all the world, speed is the ultimate truth. In this form, his velocity surpasses even Mangekyō perception. A certainty. He settled into a stance. A good warm-up before the main event.
"Haa…"
He closed his eyes. Focused on his breathing.
The Raikage vanished.
—Lariat!!!
His elbow shot forward, a thunderbolt made flesh.
Sasuke's lips moved, barely a whisper. "The flow of the air… I feel it."
Swoosh!
—Wood Release Taijutsu: Immovable Vajra!
His arms crossed before his chest in a solid 'X'. The Raikage's elbow smashed into the guard. The impact was monstrous. But Sasuke's spine, from shoulders to waist, stayed ramrod straight. His feet gripped the floor like ancient roots. The stone beneath him powdered, but he did not yield an inch.
Shi's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me!! How can that scrawny frame withstand the Raikage's taijutsu?!!!"
Darui's expression was grim. "The next move might be different…"
CRACKLE…!!!
At the tail end of the Lariat, the Raikage's hand became a blade, sheathed in razor-sharp lightning. It swept horizontally for Sasuke's neck.
—Lightning Release: Lariat Level!!!
To block this head-on would be suicide.
Swoosh…!!
Sasuke's torso bent backwards at an impossible angle, his spine a fluid curve, letting the lethal hand-chop pass over him.
—Adaptive Modification: Supple Body!
Shi gasped. "That movement… It's not human! It's like a…!!!"
Darui finished, voice low. "Yeah. A snake."
The moment he avoided the strike, Sasuke's hands were already in a seal. A torrent of fierce fire erupted from his mouth, forcing the Raikage into a hasty retreat.
WHOOSH—!
By now, the other Kage and their guards had arrived, lining the upper balcony. Their expressions were a mix of shock, fury, and calculation.
All eyes were on the masked youth in white.
Shikaku leaned close to Tsunade. "Lady Tsunade, that's…"
"I know," she said tightly. "It's Sasuke Uchiha."
Her fists clenched. She made to step forward, to expose him.
Shikaku's hand on her arm stopped her. "Wait, my lady. See, but do not speak."
"What are you saying?"
He kept his voice a whisper. "This may be an opportunity. To ascertain Sasuke Uchiha's true stance… and his motives."
Tsunade's gaze grew heavy. A memory flashed—Sasuke by the Konoha memorial stone.
"Hokage, rather than worrying about me… you should be more concerned about Naruto."
"He was taken… by someone in Akatsuki called 'Black Zetsu.'"
She exhaled, her clenched fists slowly relaxing. "…Alright."
Behind Mifune, disguised as a samurai, Kabuto saw it all and understood. A smirk touched his lips. So that's it. Wants to fight, can't be bothered with explanations, so he puts on a mask. Very much Sasuke's style. Really, had me worried he'd actually lost to Obito…
Behind his mask, Sasuke's eyes swept the assembled Kage.
"Everyone's here. Good."
His voice was low, meant only for himself.
"Then… the second half of my seven battles begins now."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
Read up to (180+ ) advanced chapters on Patre\on
Visit us here: patreon.com/BingeInk
Happy reading, everyone!