"Stop posturing! Iwagakure has no cowards!" Kitsuchi exhaled, clearing his mind. Staring at the Fourth Raikage—his peer in age and generation—he spoke coldly.
Ōnoki, hovering mid-air, clenched his fist, then let it fall limp. He knew that against the Fourth Raikage his son Kitsuchi had virtually no chance of survival.
This Raikage, a generation younger, might lag slightly behind his father in raw offense or defense, but in speed he outstripped the Third Raikage by at least threefold.
That was no longer human velocity; even among the Yotsuki clan who trained in Lightning-Armor, such speed was outright abnormal. Ōnoki could accept the Fourth being a notch faster than his father, but three to five times faster was simply wrong.
It had to be Vegapunk—only that scientist beyond his era could have devised something for the Fourth Raikage. Once Iwagakure possessed Vegapunk, they would catch up fast.
At that instant the Fourth Raikage became a streak of lightning, flashing past Kitsuchi. The obsidian-like Kitsuchi gave a wan smile, looked down, and saw a basin-sized hole in his chest.
Extreme speed carried overwhelming power; Earth Release hardening fared poorly against the supreme Lightning spear that countered it. The black hue faded from his body. Kitsuchi opened his mouth, but no words came before he collapsed.
Ōnoki's body trembled; he clenched his teeth and forced his gaze away from Kitsuchi toward Vegapunk—only to witness something bizarre.
The Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito, having exited her Tailed Beast cloak, walked up to Vegapunk and C, then suddenly fired a Fire Rat Bomb, incinerating C to ash.
"C!!" the Fourth Raikage roared, disbelief on his face. "Yugito, what are you doing?"
When she turned, the Raikage froze: her eyes were blood-red, three tomoe slowly spinning.
"Sharingan?! Damn Konoha Ninja!"
The Fourth finally understood, but by then Yugito had transformed into the massive Two-Tails, spitting countless mini Tailed Beast Bombs at him.
Lightning flashed; the Fourth easily dodged every bomb and appeared atop Two-Tails Matatabi's head. He frowned and slammed a fist down, drawing a screech as the cat flailed.
Enraged, the Fourth delivered several more punches; after them Matatabi staggered and crashed.
Among the nine Tailed Beasts, strengths vary. Matatabi ranks near the bottom—agile, yes, but lowest in raw power and physique.
Since training in Current Propulsion, the Fourth's strength had chased his father the Third Raikage, who once bare-handedly grappled the Eight-Tails. Matatabi was no match for that.
As the cat shrank back into Yugito, the Fourth turned—and his pupils narrowed.
Vegapunk was now encircled by several Konoha Ninja, three badly wounded and forming hand seals for some special jutsu. In front of them Kakashi Hatake and a short masked Ninja blocked the way.
Without hesitation the Fourth became a bolt of lightning and shot forward; the small masked Ninja stepped up, ominous Chakra cloaking his body.
Crack! A sound like shattering space rang out as the Chakra formed a half-body samurai that caught the Raikage's strike—yet the construct was already fracturing.
A soft groan; beneath the mask the tiny Ninja's blood dripped—tears from his Mangekyo Sharingan. One blow had slashed his ocular power drastically.
"One more hit—maybe two—and Susanoo will collapse! This is the Fourth Raikage? Terrifying!"
Before the young Anbu could recover, the Fourth—seeing his first strike fail—leapt back ten-odd metres, then shot forward again like lightning.
With a crash the green Chakra giant shattered into countless shards. The masked youth screamed, vision blackening, nearly fainting.
"Susanoo… actually broken!"
Ōnoki, airborne, gaped; shock for a moment eclipsed even the grief of his son's death.
Susanoo had long been Ōnoki's nightmare—ever since Uchiha Madara crippled him with it during a peace conference. Madara and Susanoo became his psychological shadow.
Seeing that shadow shattered in one blow, Ōnoki could not sort the storm of feelings inside him.
Yet though the Fourth had smashed Susanoo, it was too late: the three injured Anbu finished their seals, a black ring flashed, and every Konoha Ninja vanished.
"Flying Thunder God Technique?"
The Fourth burst through the fading ring, brows locked, face livid. "Despicable Konoha!"
Floating above, Ōnoki looked down at the battlefield, speechless. After such cost, they had gained nothing.
He shook his head, mastered his emotions, and—without a word of threat—flew away, leaving the dead Iwa Ninja below.
After smashing several boulders in fury, the Fourth heard distant shouts; his brother Killer Bee arrived with a group of Kumo Ninja.
Confronted by the carnage, the unconscious Yugito, and the bodies of Darui and C, even the usually flippant Bee dropped his rap, clenched his teeth and asked, "Brother! What happened here?!"
Fourth Raikage's face was ice-cold. "Konoha and Iwagakure raided Dr. Vegapunk and abducted him… Killer Bee, make ready! I'm declaring war on Konoha and Iwagakure!"
Killer Bee nodded. "Got it, big bro! When do we strike?"
A savage grin flashed across Fourth Raikage's face. "Now. Right now—war!!!"
"…Finally… I'm back…"
Kakashi gazed at the distant Hokage Monument, certain he had returned to Konoha Village. Relief washed over him—then every inch of his body screamed in pain and he nearly blacked out.
He barely stayed on his feet; the short Anbu beside him collapsed outright. Thin blood trickled from beneath that Ninja's mask. Kakashi's face tightened as he stifled his own agony, pulled off the Anbu's mask, and fed him a few pills.
The Anbu looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, delicate-featured with a button nose, eyes streaming crimson.
"Shisui, are you okay?" Kakashi asked anxiously. The small Anbu swiped at his face. "I'm fine—just overused the Sharingan. My Chakra's spent."
It looked far worse than simple overuse, but Ninja prized privacy; no one pried into another's secret arts. Kakashi merely nodded and changed the subject.
"Good. In any case, mission accomplished! Thanks to your genjutsu and Susanoo. I never expected… you already possess the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan!"
"If I could choose, I'd rather never have these eyes…" Uchiha Shisui sighed. Kakashi, who knew too well how the Sharingan evolved, fell silent.
"Was that Space-Time Ninjutsu just now? The legendary Flying Thunder God Technique?"
Just then Kakashi heard a voice beside him. He turned to see Vegapunk's clone studying the three black-cloaked Root Ninja sprawled on the ground, curiosity written on his face.
"Oh? So it was a disposable Sealing Technique? These three were consumables from the start—how brutal."
The Blond Youth knelt, ran his hands over the fallen Root operatives, then shook his head. Outwardly unmarked, they were internally mangled—organs haphazardly fused. Long since dead.
Evidently the long-range mass-transfer jutsu—rumored Flying Thunder God Array—came at a price. Only disposable pawns could wield it more deftly than the Fourth Hokage's Kage Guard Unit.
"You…" Kakashi was speechless. The escort who had protected Vegapunk—Shi—had died for them, yet the clone seemed indifferent.
At first the scientist's cooperation had been enforced by Shisui's genjutsu, but with the illusion lifted, why did he still act so nonchalant?
Involuntarily Kakashi recalled their first meeting; even then the Blond Youth had hinted at the madness of a true scientist.
Yet compared with this copy, the original Vegapunk had seemed almost humane—especially in his affectionate ties with his two female companions, Hancock in particular.
Reading Kakashi's thoughts, the clone looked up and smiled. "You're right. As a replica my emotions are frigid; I understand little of human feeling."
After all, this body was merely a split consciousness. When Vegapunk managed two lines at once, one self remained primary, receiving the lion's share of attention.
Though Quantum chips left the clone's intellect and logic intact, divided focus rendered it seemingly heartless, even ruthlessly apathetic.
Shisui, eyes shut on the ground, was startled. For an instant he considered hitting the clone with Kotoamatsukami, but searing pain and a darkening field of vision warned him this was no time to wield the Mangekyo.
Kakashi showed no reaction, yet his heart sank further. What scheme had the original Vegapunk unleashed by releasing this copy?
He knew, whatever it was, the Three Great Ninja Villages could not resist the bait—it was their sole chance to catch up with the other powers.
"Excellent. The brain-wave reader is capturing ever finer detail," Vegapunk remarked, beaming at Yakushi Nono.
Yakushi Nono bowed her head, a smile blossoming at the praise. "It is all thanks to your wisdom, master. I am grateful for your gift!"
Seated on a stool, Vegapunk reached out in satisfaction. Yakushi Nono instantly knelt, rubbing her cheek against his hand like a pet puppy, gazing up in devotion.
For the first half-month, Yakushi Nono spent nearly two days under nanite discipline; agony signals directly manipulated her brain, enough to kill a normal person yet leaving her unharmed under mechanical protection.
Beyond pain, the nanites could induce depression, despair, and every negative emotion. The moment she entertained escape or defiance, she tasted a living hell.
With no refuge even in thought, within days her will crumbled, replaced by meek obedience.
Once even her mind dared harbor no disrespect, her convictions collapsed; soon she developed full Stockholm syndrome, becoming Vegapunk's devoted maid.
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