"A venomous snake? And that massive explosion from the detonating tags... I see." Kakashi muttered as he took in the overwhelming scene, eyes narrowing slightly with a flicker of satisfaction.
There was no way an ordinary snake could appear here and cause such a large-scale blast. That left only one possibility—Ishikawa, the one capable of using the Spirit Transformation Technique.
That was no ordinary creature—it was a venomous snake Kakashi himself had helped Ishikawa forge a blood contract with.
"Let's go..." Sensing this hard-earned opening, Kakashi didn't hesitate. He called on the remaining ninja dogs and launched an assault.
The massive explosion had blown apart the dense fog, exposing Kurosuki Raiga and giving Kakashi a clear visual of his position.
"Damn it, I didn't expect to fall for such a cheap trick!" Tattered and furious, Raiga growled as Kakashi and the four ninja dogs surged toward him.
He still didn't understand why Ranmaru had failed to detect the snake's ambush in time—but there was no point dwelling on it.
He had hastily thrown Ranmaru into the sea earlier. Now, he had to act fast—kill Kakashi first, then get back to Ranmaru and remove the poison.
"Lightning Dragon Tornado!" Driven by panic, Raiga gripped both swords and summoned his lightning with a violent explosion.
With a thunderous roar, lightning coursed through his body. Raiga spun like a furious gyroscope, and within moments, a dragon-shaped thunder tornado had formed, ripping through the sea and sky like a force of nature.
"Puff! Puff! Puff!"
Almost immediately upon contact, the four ninja dogs were sent flying, knocked out of the battle, and forcibly released from their summons.
And even Kakashi, with his Sharingan, was forced to rely purely on evasion—he didn't dare take that attack head-on!
At this moment, with thunder from the heavens and the sea amplifying his power, Raiga had become a monster.
"Sensei... hang in there. You've dealt with Zabuza before—you can handle Raiga without backup!" Watching the roaring thunder dragon wreak havoc like a natural disaster, Ishikawa gulped, shouldered the black bag, and turned to retreat.
What a joke! A Genin like him joining a fight on this level? That was asking to be killed.
No—he'd return to the ship and regroup with his two brothers. Worst case, he'd stake his life again and use Black Hawk for one last Spirit possession strike against Raiga.
"Zabuza? Did you say Kakashi defeated the Demon Zabuza?" As Ishikawa dashed across the sea under the cover of night and lingering mist, a weak and anxious voice rose from the black bag on his back.
It was, of course, the red-eyed boy—Ranmaru.
A poisoned and paralyzed child like him was no challenge. Ishikawa had easily captured him after the explosion.
"You can't even protect yourself, and you're still worried about him?" Ishikawa snorted coldly and picked up his pace, ignoring the boy's concern.
Even knowing the plot, he had no sympathy for Ranmaru—the accomplice who had nearly gotten both him and Kakashi killed beneath the sea.
Being kind to the enemy is being cruel to yourself and your comrades. Ishikawa wasn't some protagonist like Naruto with talk-no-jutsu, able to convert bloodstained enemies mid-battle with one heartfelt speech.
Even in the original story, Naruto hadn't managed to sway Ranmaru right away. Instead, the boy had tricked and manipulated him into reviving Raiga, putting the whole team in even more danger!
Without Naruto's luck, even Neji's team might have been wiped out.
So no—Ishikawa had neither the obligation nor the interest to suck up to Ranmaru. The only reason he hadn't killed the kid yet was because of his Bloodline Limit—Red-Eyes, which surpassed the Byakugan.
Until today, Ishikawa had never once considered getting himself a Byakugan or Sharingan.
Not because he didn't want to. But because he didn't dare.
There was no other reason. Not to mention issues like the origin of the eyes and the side effects of transplantation—even if he somehow overcame all obstacles and successfully implanted the Byakugan or Sharingan—by the next day, he'd be targeted by Danzō, the Third Hokage, or the Hyūga clan.
The risks far outweighed the benefits.
But now, when a pair of red eyes—no less powerful than the Byakugan—had landed in his hands, and he'd even suffered at their power, how could Ishikawa continue to turn a blind eye in the face of reality?
As for side effects? The Red Eyes were known to counter the Byakugan, but beyond that, there was little else. Would a dōjutsu not descended from the Ōtsutsuki clan really carry more side effects than the Sharingan?
Worst case, he could just try transplanting one first. If it didn't work, he could simply replace it. In the ninja world, eye transplants were smoother than USB ports in his past life—there was no reason to hesitate...
"No! Raiga is everything to me—he can't die! We still have two men en route to the cargo ship! If you want to get back and rescue them in time, leave me behind—quickly, leave me!!"
As Ishikawa considered his options, Ranmaru once again betrayed his teammates for Raiga without a shred of doubt.
If left behind, he could swim in the sea and use his Red Eyes to create chakra illusions to assist Raiga in battle. Without him, Raiga was almost certainly doomed!
"What? You still have reinforcements?" Ishikawa's expression darkened the moment he heard Ranmaru's slip.
He had already fought Raiga's two subordinates earlier—both were Kirigakure Chūnin-level. One he'd only wounded through surprise, and the other was killed by Kakashi.
If the other two were of similar strength, this was bad. Taro and Jiro wouldn't be able to hold them off alone...
With that realization, Ishikawa's injured body stiffened—and then, with a flash of grim determination in his eyes, he made his choice.
"Sorry. I can't take you with me." He tore the black bag from his back and growled. In a blink, the chakra knife at his waist was drawn, and he swung it cleanly.
With zero hesitation, he decapitated Ranmaru in one swift, fluid stroke.
"You—!" Before Ranmaru could even be relieved, he felt the chill of steel at his neck. His head spun. Literally.
Just before his consciousness faded, he saw Ishikawa's cold, merciless face framed against the torn remains of the black bag.
"I was planning to keep you alive until Konoha for the eye transplant... but now, I'll just have to take the risk!" Without missing a beat, Ishikawa pulled out a blank scroll and quickly formed hand seals.
"Seal..." With a burst of chakra, the boy's head vanished into the sealing scroll.
Then, with an explosive surge underfoot, Ishikawa transformed into a blur of black shadow and darted toward the cargo ship.
It wasn't cruelty that made him act this way. But in a world this harsh, there was no place for weak, self-important saints to survive.
This is the ninja world!!
"Ranmaru—!!"
As if connected by some spiritual thread, the instant Ishikawa beheaded Ranmaru, Raiga let out a crazed, guttural roar that tore across the storm-tossed sea!
In that moment, the raging Lightning Dragon Tornado vanished without a trace—leaving behind only Kurosuki Raiga, standing alone on the ocean, gripping both his lightning swords as he summoned bolts from the heavens.
"Is he insane? Even if he cast the jutsu himself, there's no way he can survive this level of lightning release while standing on water!" Kakashi's eyes widened in shock at the sheer recklessness.
And yet, this madness was also a rare opportunity—a fleeting, golden chance to end it all in one strike.
Lightning had already pierced the heavens.
As the scarlet glow in his eye began to pulse, Kakashi's chakra flared. It gathered in his palm, condensing into a blade of lightning as he launched forward.
"Raikiri…"
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P@atreon/Arvinstorm (35+ Advanced Chapters)
Check out my other novels:
-->Harry Potter: The White Devil Who Grows Stronger with Reputation
-->Naruto: I'm a Teacher, But the System Thinks I'm Naruto's Classmate! (Completed)