Chapter 78: Neji: "Nine-Tails, Didn't We Have a Deal?"
Standing on a rooftop, Obito watched the terrifying ethereal cat demon in the southeast corner of the village, a hint of amusement in his eye. "The Two-Tails Jinchuriki? Things are certainly getting lively."
Black and White Zetsu emerged from the roof. White Zetsu chuckled. "Obito, it looks like the Cloud Village's real reason for attending the Chūnin Exams was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
Obito sneered. "Isn't that just their usual style?"
"Should we go take a look?" White Zetsu asked.
"The Third Hokage will definitely go to stop the Cloud ninja himself. We can't expose ourselves at this time," Obito shook his head, then glanced toward the crimson giant in the northwest. "Let's go. We'll see what the Uchiha's Mangekyō is all about."
Black Zetsu said in his raspy voice, "Without the Third Hokage, Danzō alone will have a hard time stopping a Mangekyō user."
Space began to warp around Obito. "It doesn't matter," he said faintly. "I'll intervene if necessary."
"Lightning Release: Chakra Mode!"
White lightning enveloped Neji's body. Stimulated by the electricity, his physical abilities instantly increased several times over. He then bypassed Guy and charged straight for Kakashi.
Seeing Neji enter Lightning Release Chakra Mode, both Kakashi and Guy were startled. The technique was famous throughout the shinobi world, so of course they recognized it. However, very few ninja could actually master it. They both became extremely vigilant, their faces filled with caution and apprehension.
This was where the benefit of the mask became apparent. People fear the unknown. The mask not only gave Neji an air of mystery, but it also made those who couldn't gauge his true strength instinctively assume the worst. If Neji had revealed his true face, a six-year-old child, it would have had no intimidating effect whatsoever.
Seeing Neji charge at him, Kakashi, though surprised, did not panic. A dazzling light erupted from his right hand.
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
The sharp cry of a thousand birds suddenly rang out.
SWOOSH!
Amidst the crackle of lightning and the sound of rushing air, two figures, moving too fast for the naked eye to follow, instantly crossed paths.
Neji's brow furrowed. Kakashi's Chidori had struck his shoulder, tearing his clothes. A trickle of blood flowed down his sleeve and dripped onto the ground. The Lightning Release Chakra Mode greatly enhanced his speed, strength, and defense. In this state, Neji could ignore most conventional ninjutsu, yet he had still been wounded by Kakashi.
Kakashi wasn't much better off. He staggered a few steps before collapsing to the ground. Guy, who was about to charge Neji, rushed to help him up. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern.
Kakashi waved his right hand dismissively, but his left hand pressed against his abdomen. Guy glanced down and saw beads of blood seeping through his fingers.
"Guy, don't worry about me," Kakashi gasped. "You must not let him get Naruto!" By now, his chakra was nearly depleted; he was running on pure willpower.
"Alright, I'll handle him." Guy took a deep breath. A terrifying amount of steam erupted from his body, and his aura swelled dramatically. Green steam—the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates.
Neji's eyelids twitched. He had no intention of fighting Guy to the death. He quickly extended his palm, and an invisible repulsive force shot out. The beauty of the Tenseigan's repulsive force was that it required no hand seals and could be used at will. Even if an enemy blocked the attack, their body would inevitably be pushed back.
BANG!
The repulsive force washed over Guy like a tidal wave, sending him flying back seven or eight meters. For Guy, covering that distance was the work of a single blink. However, he didn't immediately charge forward again. Instead, he stood his ground, clenching his fists. After opening the Sixth Gate, he could use the long-range taijutsu known as Morning Peacock, a wide-area attack that even Neji in his Lightning Release Chakra Mode would struggle to block.
But when Neji realized Guy's intention, a slight smile played on his lips. With his other hand, he aimed at Naruto and used the attractive force to pull the boy into his arms, holding him up as a shield.
"You—!" Guy was dumbfounded, his rampaging aura freezing in place.
"Fighting you would be endless," Neji laughed, "so I'll be taking the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Farewell, everyone!"
Wreathed in lightning, Neji shot into the air, moving with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he broke through the encirclement and raced toward the village outskirts, looking like a streak of white light from a distance.
BOOM!
On the other side of the battlefield, Yugito saw that Neji had successfully captured Naruto. She didn't linger, quickly deactivating her cat demon state and leaping away in the direction Neji had gone.
"After them!" The "Eternal Genin," Kosuke Maruboshi, was the first to react, using a Body Flicker Technique to give chase.
Having the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki snatched from under their noses filled every Leaf ninja with a burning frustration. They followed Kosuke, their faces grim, in hot pursuit.
Neji noticed the pursuers but wasn't too concerned. Lightning Release Chakra Mode excelled in speed. After Minato Namikaze's death, the Fourth Raikage was the fastest ninja in the world. While Neji wasn't as fast as him yet, he was still far beyond any ordinary shinobi.
But in the next instant, the expression under Neji's mask turned grave. Through his Byakugan, he saw another group of ninja rushing toward them. The chakra of their leader, in both quality and quantity, surpassed that of any ninja he had ever encountered, even the Fourth Raikage.
'Such a terrifying chakra signature... the Third Hokage is pursuing me himself.'
Neji came to a conclusion in a split second. In the current shinobi world, the only one who could definitively defeat the Third Hokage was Nagato with his Rinnegan. Unless absolutely necessary, Neji didn't want to clash with him. If the Third Hokage managed to delay him and he became surrounded, the consequences would be dire.
There was another serious problem: by now, Neji only had about thirty percent of his chakra left. Forgetting the Third Hokage, he wasn't even sure if he could shake off Kosuke and the others.
Thinking of this, Neji shouted at the boy in his arms, "Nine-Tails, I need your help now!"
In Naruto's spiritual world, the Nine-Tails heard Neji's voice and slowly opened its eyes. But it only let out an arrogant snort before closing them again.
Seeing no response, Neji's heart sank. 'Nine-Tails, didn't we have a deal?'
Uchiha District.
The Susanoo was terrifyingly powerful. In just a few short minutes, dozens of ninja had fallen to Fugaku's massive blade. Jōnin could barely put up a fight; anyone else was killed on contact. Even the iron-willed ANBU and the inhuman Root operatives couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines at the sight.
The Uchiha rearguard had all activated their Sharingan. They were older, experienced veterans, and the elites with three-tomoe Sharingan could easily hold their own against two opponents at once. For a short time, these hundred or so ninja actually managed to hold back the combined forces of the ANBU, Root, the Sarutobi, Shimura, Mitokado, Utatane, Kazama, and Ise clans, who outnumbered them several times over.
However, Fugaku Uchiha was not as decisive as his Susanoo's blade. He was growing anxious. They had reached their limit. The Hokage's faction, however, had a continuous stream of reinforcements arriving. The Uchiha couldn't hold out for much longer. If Hiruzen dealt with the Cloud ninja quickly and returned, they would be instantly crushed. The situation was not optimistic.
A grim look appeared on Fugaku's face. He clapped his hands together. The three-bladed pinwheel in his eyes glowed an even deeper crimson, and a vast, tumultuous aura burst forth. The crimson Susanoo suddenly began to crackle with brilliant lightning.
"Lightning? That's not a transformation of the Susanoo!" Hidden within the circle of Root ninja, Danzō's single eye narrowed as a possibility occurred to him. When a Mangekyō Sharingan awakens, it grants the user exclusive dōjutsu. The lightning erupting from the Susanoo had to be Fugaku's unique technique. Unlike ordinary ninjutsu, this one required the Susanoo to be active.
"Takemikazuchi!" Fugaku's left eye began to bleed, and his chakra was instantly depleted by more than half.
As the whispered words fell, a terrifying azure lightning covered half of the Susanoo's body, forming a suit of Karasu-Tengu armor.
"What is this ability?"
"Hand-seal-less Lightning Release?!"
"Is it a forbidden jutsu?"
As the crowd watched in horror, the lightning spread to the Susanoo's arms, crackling violently. With a downward swing, over a dozen thick pillars of lightning shot toward the crowd.
Danzō, who had sensed the danger in advance, was about to leap back, but several of the lightning pillars seemed to have a mind of their own, cutting off his escape route. In the next instant, the pillars of light began to spin rapidly before exploding. Any ninja caught in the blast let out blood-curdling screams. The dōjutsu known as Takemikazuchi was like a divine punishment from the god of thunder.
Within the area covered by the lightning, only Danzō remained standing, leaning on his cane. Everyone else had been turned into charred corpses in an instant.
Fugaku leaped into the air, rushing toward Danzō, his crimson eyes filled with undisguised killing intent. In this battle, anyone could live, but Danzō had to die. This was not just for Itachi's revenge, but for the anger and hatred of the entire Uchiha clan. The Third Hokage had his own indelible stains, but the Uchiha's current predicament was almost entirely Danzō's doing. From the moment he decided to stay behind as the rearguard, Fugaku had resolved to kill Danzō, no matter the cost, if the opportunity arose.
"Heh heh, you evil little Uchiha brat. You want to kill me?" Despite the terrifying wave of power washing over him from the Susanoo, Danzō's face remained calm.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere!" With quick hand seals, several spheres of green wind appeared out of nowhere and shot toward Fugaku's Susanoo.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The wind spheres exploded against the Susanoo's armor but failed to do any damage. Using this opening, Danzō's eye narrowed. He bit his finger and slammed his hand on the ground.
Poof!
With a cloud of white smoke, a massive, orange, rhinoceros-like beast appeared. Danzō leaped up and landed on its head.
Baku! Danzō's unique summoning beast, a master of Wind Release.
A cold light flashed in Fugaku's eyes. He stomped his foot, launching himself into the air. High above, his figure was like a hawk, all of his chakra focused in an instant. Two massive chakra blades, wreathed in azure lightning, formed on the Susanoo's arms. The violent energy caused the temperature in the area to skyrocket. As the lightning glowed brighter, Fugaku's sharp gaze locked onto Danzō's position.
"Hah!" With a low roar, he swung the two chakra blades down. Where the blades passed, a storm of wind erupted, descending like a divine punishment with overwhelming force.
"Stop him!" Danzō's voice, though still calm, was now sharp.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
Over a dozen Root ninja appeared around Danzō, simultaneously forming hand seals and unleashing defensive jutsu of earth and water. High walls rose from the ground, layer after layer, forming a solid composite defense.
The greatswords slammed into the defensive walls.
CRACK! RUMBLE!
Amidst the continuous roar, the earth walls crumbled and the water walls exploded. A violent shockwave shot out in all directions. The ground shook, and dust and debris filled the air, obscuring everyone's vision.
But just as his sight was blocked, an intense chill came from his left. Fugaku's brow furrowed.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
It was Danzō and Baku, unleashing a combination Wind Release technique. The vacuum waves combined with Baku's powerful suction to form a raging tide that rushed toward him, layer upon layer.
BANG!
The wind storm slammed into the Susanoo's outer wall, and Fugaku's figure trembled.
Crack!
A faint but clear cracking sound reached his ears. The Wind Release had torn a fissure in the Susanoo's outer layer. The power of Danzō's combination jutsu far surpassed that of an ordinary A-rank Wind Release, approaching that of an S-rank technique. Fugaku's current Susanoo was not an absolute defense; against a high-intensity, high-density, focused attack, even an A-rank jutsu could break through.
Almost simultaneously, Danzō noticed his attack had been effective, and a hint of a smile crossed his face. But in the next second, the pinwheel in Fugaku's left eye began to spin rapidly. A bone-chilling sensation washed over Danzō, and a cluster of black flames appeared on his chest without any warning.
Amaterasu! The other dōjutsu of Fugaku's Mangekyō.
"Aaaargh!" A sharp scream escaped Danzō's lips. His chest was instantly consumed by the black flames, and his body went limp, falling to the ground.
Phew.
Seeing this, a smile appeared on Fugaku's face. But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, Danzō's cold voice suddenly rang out.
"Four Violet Flames Formation!"
Fugaku's eyes widened in disbelief. 'He should be dead!'
At the same time, four purple barrier walls appeared, instantly trapping both Fugaku and Danzō inside.
Fugaku stared at Danzō, who had reappeared on Baku's head, completely unharmed. His brow furrowed. No, not completely unharmed. The three-tomoe Sharingan transplanted into his right eye was now a dull gray, blind.
Fugaku suddenly recalled a lost forbidden jutsu of the Uchiha clan. "Izanagi?" he asked in a low voice.
"That's right. It is Izanagi," Danzō said coldly. "Such an evil forbidden jutsu can only be used for a just cause when in my hands."
"Why are you wasting your breath on him?" another raspy voice interjected. Space warped, and Obito stepped out, standing between Baku and the Susanoo.
Fugaku looked at the suddenly appearing, mysterious, single-eyed masked man. His gaze fell on the crimson right eye, and he had a sudden realization.