Hiruko thought he had finally found the perfect counter.
Swift Release. Speed pushed beyond normal limits. Enough, he believed, to pin even Fujimoto Tōma in place.
But as the fight dragged on, something felt wrong.
Earlier, when Tōma had looked relaxed, Hiruko had already unleashed Storm Release: Storm Dragon. Thunderclouds had swallowed the sky, lightning crashing down in relentless bursts. Natural lightning. The kind that didn't wait for hand seals or timing.
Lightning was fast. Absurdly fast.
Dodging it once could be luck.
Dodging it every single time was not.
If Tōma could calmly avoid natural lightning, then how could Swift Release, which Hiruko knew had not surpassed that speed, possibly be "countering" him?
A cold answer surfaced in Hiruko's mind.
One he didn't want to accept.
He was being played.
"What are you even doing?!" Naruto's shout echoed across the mountaintop.
Hiruko snapped his head around.
His three subordinates were already down. Naruto stood over them, arms crossed, while Kakashi wiped blood from his cheek, looking mildly exasperated.
Naruto stared at Tōma. "You're way stronger than this! Why are you dragging it out?"
Tōma glanced their way. Kakashi clearly understood what was happening, but Naruto had said it out loud before Kakashi could stop him.
"So they're getting impatient," Tōma said lazily.
He had already seen enough. Swift Release's chakra pattern was clear now. The rest could wait until he had time to dissect it properly.
Hiruko clenched his teeth.
He noticed the sky.
The darkness was fading. The strange alignment he had been waiting for was gone. The sunlight had fully returned.
His ritual window was over.
His plan had failed completely.
He could retreat.
That thought surfaced clearly, sharply.
He didn't need Kakashi specifically. He could wait. Gather another bloodline. Try again when conditions were right.
Live first. Take revenge later.
Suppressing the rage threatening to tear him apart, Hiruko raised his head and glared at Tōma.
"Sixth Hokage," he spat, "I admit I underestimated you. But this isn't over."
Hand seals snapped together.
Swift Release flared.
Hiruko vanished, his body tearing through the air at full speed.
Tōma blinked. "You really think you can get away?"
"You'll pay for this arrogance!" Hiruko's voice echoed as he fled.
For an instant, Hiruko felt confident.
Even if Tōma was stronger overall, raw speed was his domain now.
Then something slammed into his abdomen.
His vision exploded white.
His body was ripped out of motion, tumbling across the stone floor.
Hiruko lay there, stunned.
That hit hadn't been as painful as the earlier punch.
But it destroyed something far worse.
"How…?" he whispered, eyes unfocused.
He hadn't seen Tōma move.
Flying Thunder God?
The realization hit him a second later.
He tore open the wrappings around his stomach.
A seal was carved into his skin.
"When?" Hiruko stared at it in disbelief. "You marked me from the start?"
So that first exchange… that casual contact… it hadn't been meaningless.
From the very beginning, Tōma had already decided the outcome.
"So this whole time," Hiruko said hoarsely, "you were just humoring me?"
"Pretty much," Tōma replied, nodding. "You noticed quickly, though. Credit where it's due."
Hiruko felt hollow.
There was nowhere to run. No way to fight back. Speed meant nothing if space itself betrayed you.
Despair settled in fully for the first time.
"I remember you also have a bloodline that absorbs ninjutsu," Tōma said, glancing up at the roiling thunderclouds still hanging overhead.
Hiruko didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Tōma smiled faintly. "Good timing. Those clouds save me some setup."
He raised his hands and formed seals.
Lightning erupted around his body, violent and alive, answering the storm above as if called home.
"Try absorbing this," Tōma said calmly. "If you manage it, I'll let you live."
Hope flickered in Hiruko's eyes.
Lightning Release.
Absorption was his specialty.
"Lightning Release: Kirin."
The thunderclouds roared.
Lightning gathered, twisted, and took shape, forming a massive beast of pure electricity. Its roar shook the mountain as it charged forward.
Hiruko thrust both hands out, Dark Release seals flaring as he tried to absorb it.
It failed.
Dark Release broke ninjutsu down into chakra.
Kirin wasn't built that way.
Most of its power came directly from nature itself, not from molded chakra alone. Even if it had been fully chakra-based, Hiruko's absorption had limits.
He realized it instantly.
"This isn't possible—!" Hiruko screamed.
The seal shattered.
The lightning beast filled his entire world.
Hiruko lowered his hands.
For the first time, he felt calm.
Not fear.
Relief.
The Kirin struck.
When the thunder faded, nothing remained but scorched stone and a blackened body.
Tōma waited until the last sparks died out, then approached.
No last words. No dramatic ending.
Just silence.
He took out a sealing scroll and stored the remains away.
"Four kekkei genkai stitched into one body," he muttered. "The research team will have opinions."
He turned back toward Kakashi and Naruto.
The storm clouds finally began to disperse.
The fight was over.