The Five Kage Summit.
At the center of the hall, where Onoki, Mei Terumī, Danzō, and the others sat, the flags representing the Five Kage were sliced by a flash of sword light. A deep gash appeared as the banners fell one after another to the floor.
"Up there?" As Fū Yamanaka looked up, everyone turned their gaze toward the ceiling.
Sasuke was hanging upside down in the air, his eyes burning with rage as he stared directly at Danzō. Suigetsu and Jūgo were still outside, entangled with the guards; at this moment, Karin was the only one who had managed to follow Sasuke inside.
The three-tomoe Sharingan spun slowly in Sasuke's eyes. Danzō tilted his head slightly, meeting the gaze of the inverted youth. Endless hatred radiated from Sasuke's eyes, masked only by his cold, indifferent expression.
Before anyone else could act, Mifune moved. He leaped up with a lightning-fast draw-and-slash technique aimed at Sasuke.
Clang!
The screech of metal on metal echoed through the chamber. Sasuke's Kusanagi sword, wreathed in lightning, actually managed to parry Mifune's strike.
"Quite capable, Uchiha brat."
By the time Ao regained his composure, he saw Danzō taking advantage of the chaos to flee.
"Sasuke, Danzō's getting away!" Karin screamed.
Ao immediately gave chase, calling out to the Mizukage and the others, "Chōjūrō, Mizukage-sama, stay here! I'm going after Danzō!"
"The summit hasn't reached a conclusion yet!"
"I know, but don't go too deep," Mei Terumī warned.
"Understood. I'll leave the Akatsuki thieves to you."
Seeing Ao leave, Sasuke prepared to follow.
"Fine then, I'll leave this to you," Onoki said dismissively.
"Karin, with me!" Sasuke barked.
But before he could take more than a few steps, a surge of Lava Release blocked the doorway. Sasuke turned back to face Mei Terumī, his eyes filled with irritation.
"The Akatsuki... the ones who used the Fourth Mizukage as a plaything and trampled over the Hidden Mist." Mei wiped a trace of Lava Release from her lips, looking at Sasuke with a neutral expression. "Up close, the Uchiha really are handsome men."
"Out of my way!" The Mangekyō Sharingan manifested in Sasuke's pupils, and a purple skeletal frame flickered into existence behind him.
"Sigh, such a waste for a handsome man. At least let me give you a kiss that melts."
Hearing this, Karin instantly lost her temper. "Who do you think you are, you hag! Trying to seduce him? You're just an old woman!"
Mei's face darkened instantly at Karin's insults. Beside her, Chōjūrō looked embarrassed, for he knew their Mizukage was about to get serious!
"Tsuchikage-sama, if you don't intend to fight, please stay back." Mei had already begun weaving hand signs.
Onoki snorted. In that same instant, Mei spat out more Lava Release chakra. Karin stumbled out of the way, while Sasuke used his purple ribs to block the strike.
"Chōjūrō!" Mei shouted.
"R-Right!" Chōjūrō drew the Hiramekarei and swung it toward Sasuke's Susanoo.
"Hiramekarei, Unleashed!!"
The chakra-laden blow slammed directly into Sasuke. The purple skeletal frame was sent flying by the force of the blade, carving a deep crater into the wall.
The impact left Sasuke reeling. Having only recently awakened the Susanoo, the strain on his body was immense, a characteristic side effect of the power. He felt the agony in every cell of his body. If an incomplete form hurt this much, what had Kanon and Itachi gone through?
Sasuke did not possess Kanon's legendary tolerance for pain. He stumbled on the ground, and by the time he stood up again, the entrance was blocked.
"Now it's just the two of us," Mei said with a smile, eyeing Sasuke. "That wall next to you was sealed by my previous attack. This is now a completely sealed chamber with no exit."
"I can use Fire, Water, and Earth natures. Therefore, I possess two Kekkei Genkai."
"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"
A cloud of acidic mist billowed out. Sasuke watched in horror as his purple Susanoo ribs began to dissolve.
"Aaaagh!" Gritting his teeth, he roared and forced the Susanoo into its second stage.
However, the side effects were even more pronounced in this form. He collapsed to one knee, coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood.
"It seems that thing takes quite a toll on you. It's a pity to watch such a fine man dissolve like this, but please... just die."
Suddenly, White Zetsu spores appeared on everyone present. After siphoning chakra from the others, the spores attached themselves to Sasuke. With a thunderous boom, a terrifying purple hand smashed through the wall.
Boom!
Chōjūrō was sent flying by a single punch. Sasuke stumbled back into the main hall.
"Sasuke! Are you okay?" Karin asked hurriedly.
Mei, having had her chakra drained, realized the acid would leak through and that she needed to adjust the concentration.
Onoki said coldly, "Akatsuchi, let's join in."
"Right!"
The two used their respective jutsu to shake off Zetsu's control.
"Earth Release: Weighted Boulder Technique!"
Rushing stones fell, sending Karin tumbling to the side next to Sasuke. Onoki flew down in front of the Uchiha, staring into the hatred-filled Mangekyō Sharingan. "So, you're the brother of Kanon Uchiha?"
"I have no personal grudge against you, but the shinobi world wants you dead."
A white, transparent rectangular prism of light appeared in Onoki's hands.
"Goodbye..."
Sasuke sensed the danger and tried to retreat, but the Dust Release had already enveloped him.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Technique!"
Crack!
Sasuke vanished instantly. Or more accurately, he was annihilated. The space where he had stood was reduced to nothingness, leaving a square hole in the floor.
"Sasuke!" Karin screamed. "Sasuke's chakra... it's gone..."
"How can this be? If that's the case..."
Onoki answered her. "It's only natural. His body was broken down at a molecular level. You're next."
At that moment, Gaara returned with the injured Raikage. A was in a wretched state, barely clinging to consciousness. Without immediate medical attention, he was finished. A group of medical ninja immediately began treating the Fourth Raikage.
"Brat of the Cloud, you're in a sorry state," Onoki mocked.
"Where is Sasuke?" the Raikage asked.
"I turned him to ash..."
"What?!" The Raikage gritted his teeth, his body trembling. In the battle with Kanon just moments ago, he had nearly died; if not for Gaara, he wouldn't be standing.
Suddenly, a voice drifted into the room. It was Kanon's voice.
"Old man, you haven't kicked the bucket yet?"
Everyone froze. In the next heartbeat, pupils constricted as Ao was sent flying into the wall like a cannonball, covered in blood. The impact startled everyone. Ao was unconscious, his hands pinned to the wall by lightning-wreathed kunai.
"You really are fast, aren't you?" the masked man's voice followed indifferently.
Everyone turned to see a masked man wearing an Akatsuki cloak manifesting before them. And beside him...
A vortex of roses appeared, and a feminine figure emerged. Standing at 163 cm, her slender frame was perfectly accentuated. Her refined, calm face looked upon the crowd with utter indifference. Her long, black hair cascaded down as the space fluctuated. A fox mask rested on the left side of her forehead. Her long legs touched the ground silently, her shinobi boots making barely a sound.
"This person who brings shame to the Uchiha... how helpless he makes me feel." Kanon released her grip. The unconscious Sasuke, looking like a discarded dog, was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor.
"He is indeed a bit of an embarrassment," the masked man noted with a slight shake of his head.
"You!" the Raikage's eyes bulged as he looked at Sasuke and Kanon.
"Sigh, a bunch of boring old men. I'll sit for a bit; you keep talking." Kanon sat down on the table, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands. Facing the four Kage, her eyes held nothing but mockery.
"Kanon-chan!" Karin shouted with a smile, running to stand behind her.
A cold chakra radiated from Kanon's body, but she said nothing to Karin. She simply looked at the four Kage before her, contemplating whether she should just kill them all right now.
"Kanon Uchiha, is it?" Onoki snorted.
"Quiet down for a second. I'm thinking," Kanon said, closing her eyes in thought.
"Thinking about what?!" Mifune asked, confused.
"Whether or not to kill you all right here," Kanon said flatly.
"What?!" Onoki's temper flared instantly, white light beginning to glow in his hand once more. But in the next fraction of a second, his pupils shrank. His shoulder had been pierced by a beam of white light.
A bloody hole appeared, and every atom within that wound was obliterated.
"Tsuchikage-sama!" Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi cried out in shock.
"Behave yourself, old man," Kanon said, retracting her finger.
"You can use Dust Release...?" Onoki was dumbfounded.
"Old man, speak again and the next one goes through your head." Kanon raised her slender finger, white light flickering at the tip.
Cold sweat poured down Onoki's face. He clutched the hole in his shoulder, not daring to utter another word. For at that moment, Kanon's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan surfaced. In her presence, he felt the exact same terror he had once felt before Madara Uchiha.