Kael's appearance began to change. His black soul-robes and white captain's coat were replaced by the Akatsuki's signature black cloak with crimson clouds. His light lavender hair turned jet-black, and his narrowed blue eyes transformed into the blood-red Sharingan.
With the rogue Leaf Village headband on his forehead and the subtle shifts in his facial features, a man who looked half like Itachi Uchiha and half like Kael soon appeared.
Itachi's memories also flooded into Kael's mind. They were similar to what Kael already knew, but they felt different from Gin Ichimaru's simple quest for revenge.
Itachi's life was full of contradiction and pain. He hated war and loved peace, yet he was stuck in a never-ending cycle of conflict.
He was pressured by his clan, witnessed his best friend's suicide, and was forced to follow cold orders from the higher-ups.
He lived every moment in agony. Only his younger brother was the light in his hellish, dark world.
If not for his brother, he would have wanted to die long ago. But he had to protect him and see him grow strong enough to stand on his own. Because of this, even while facing a terminal illness, he pushed himself to help his brother seal away the Great Serpent.
Some said Itachi was cold-blooded for killing his own parents, but they didn't realize it was a choice made when there were no other options.
He simply couldn't stop the stubborn and prideful Uchiha clan from starting a coup. This was his only choice.
Kael's eyes shifted as the Mangekyo Sharingan appeared. The magic in his left eye was "Tsukuyomi," known as the strongest mental attack.
This magic could pull an enemy's mind into an illusory space. In the world of Tsukuyomi, everything—including time, location, and mass—was controlled by the caster. The enemy would suffer massive physical and mental pain in that world, and the pain felt exactly like reality. Just making eye contact was enough to trigger it.
The magic in his right eye was "Amaterasu," known as the strongest physical attack.
It could release large-scale black flames to burn the opponent. These black flames would not disappear until the target was turned to ash. Since this magic put a heavy burden on the caster's body, the eye would bleed when using it.
Both powers were very strong, but they weren't what Kael was most excited about.
"Susanoo!!"
Kael gave a low shout.
Orange-red ribs appeared around Kael's body, protecting him.
This was the initial form of Susanoo. It could create arms and ribs to be used for attacking, defending, protecting, or controlling the battlefield.
As Kael increased his magic output, the ribs grew quickly. In an instant, they turned into a giant, orange-red skeleton.
This was the first form of Susanoo. Shaped like a skeleton, magic power completely covered his body, and his defense increased further. However, there were still gaps at the feet, and a very powerful attack could still break through.
Soon, veins and flesh appeared on the skeleton's body until it looked human.
This was the second form of Susanoo. Attack and defense were boosted again while keeping great flexibility. For most fights that weren't "super" high-level, this form was the best.
Next, the crow-tengu armor appeared around Susanoo's body.
This was the third form of Susanoo. With the armor, its defense reached a whole new level. Its left hand held the Yata Mirror, and its right hand held the Totsuka Blade.
Kael swung the Totsuka Blade.
RUMBLE—!!
A mountain in the distance was easily sliced into pieces.
"So strong!!"
Kael was very happy with this level of power. The destructive force was a bit lower than Ulquiorra's Cero Spear, but this was just a normal swing from Susanoo.
Kael condensed three orange jewels in Susanoo's palm.
"Yasaka Magatama!!"
Susanoo threw the jewels with great force, and they landed on a very distant mountain.
——————!!
A terrifying explosion went off. The distant peak shattered into pieces within the blast of orange light.
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"Incredible!"
Even if the power wasn't quite as high as the Cero Spear, it was close.
The best thing about Susanoo was that it combined offense and defense. Besides having terrifying attack power, it also had incredible defensive strength.
It seemed he had slightly underestimated Itachi Uchiha.
Before using Susanoo, Itachi's strength was somewhere between a Low-Tier Golden Card and a Mid-Tier Golden Card, leaning more toward the Low-Tier in terms of stats.
But once he activated Susanoo, Itachi's power could reach the level of a High-Tier Golden Card.
"What a deal!"
It really deserved to be called the "Power of a God."
Kael deactivated Susanoo and switched to the Fourth Hokage's Take-Over, using the Flying Thunder God to return to his home.
"Phew—!"
Even though he was only out for a short time, Kael felt half of his magic power was gone. As expected, the stronger the move, the more magic it used.
It was tiring—really tiring.
But the more tired he felt, the more excited Kael became. The more powerful characters he could Take-Over, the more trump cards he had.
Because he was so exhausted, Kael lay on his bed and fell asleep almost immediately.
The next day, around noon, Kael arrived at the guild in a great mood, humming a song.
Many people in the guild were talking. Last night, they had heard a loud noise coming from the western mountains.
Kael felt a bit guilty. If he wasn't wrong, that noise was definitely from his Yasaka Magatama.
"Brat, what took you so long? Didn't I tell you to come early today?"
Makarov said crossly when he saw Kael.
"Uh... I forgot!"
Kael hit his forehead. He remembered now—the old man told him to come early today. But he had used too much magic and overslept. Plus, he was so happy about getting two Golden Cards that he completely forgot about it.
"Hurry up! We're starting the meeting! You're the last one!"
"I'm coming!"
Kael followed Makarov to the second-floor meeting room.
Several people were already sitting there—all of Fairy Tail's S-Class Mages.
"Kid, you actually showed up later than me."
Gildarts joked when he saw Kael. He was never on time himself, and now there was someone even worse than him.
Kael said sheepishly, "Sorry! I accidentally overslept."
He then sat down in an empty seat. The seat was to Makarov's right, across from Gildarts, next to Mira, and opposite Erza.
Makarov sat at the head of the table and said, "Alright, everyone is here. Let's start. The topic for this meeting is the 'S-Class Mage Promotion Trial'."
"The S-Class Trial?! Is it that time already?!"
Kael didn't expect this. A year ago, he took the S-Class trial and passed, becoming an S-Class Mage of the Fairy Tail guild. He couldn't believe a whole year had already gone by.
"Tell me who you want to recommend as candidates."
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