WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎🔥 30→2ch | 60→5ch | 100→8ch | 200→15ch | 400→25ch⏰ Resets Monday!
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Arrogance ignited ambition. Pein's dismissive words were gasoline on the dry tinder of Suigetsu's competitive spirit.
"Touch the hem of your cloak, you said! You said that counts!"
He ripped the scroll from his back—Obito's gift—and unfurled it.
This was the former weapon summoning scroll of his brother, Mangetsu Hōzuki. Sealed within were three of the legendary blades: the Bluntsword: Kabutowari, the Blastsword: Spatter, and the Longsword: Sewing Needle.
Suigetsu, an aspiring member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, had memorized every detail of each blade, even if he'd never wielded them himself.
POOF!
The weapon he summoned was the Blastsword: Spatter.
The monstrous blade had a double-edged body. One side was pure, wicked sharpness. The other was fused with explosive tags, designed to obliterate.
Of the seven Mist blades, Spatter had the greatest area of effect. It was also the most suicidal for an amateur—the explosions didn't discriminate between enemy and wielder.
Right now, Suigetsu didn't care.
He hefted the massive blade and charged through the downpour toward the distant figure of Pein.
Spatter offered three modes: a clean slash, a slash-triggered explosion, or a direct tag detonation.
Suigetsu chose the second. The force depended entirely on his own strength.
"RAAAAAAAAAGH—!!!"
— Water Style: Great Water Arm Technique!
WHOOSH!
His arms bulged grotesquely as he closed the distance. Muscles swelled with chakra-enhanced power. He brought Spatter down in a devastating overhead arc aimed to crush Pein's skull.
"Less youthful vigor. More childish folly."
Pein's gaze was ice. As the explosive blade descended—
— Shinra Tensei!
SHOOM.
An invisible, omnidirectional force field erupted. It halted the blade's descent cold. Then it reversed everything—the kinetic energy, the building detonation, the very air itself—and hurled it all back.
Suigetsu's eyes went wide. "Wha—!?"
BOOOOM!
The rain evaporated in a blast wave. Suigetsu was catapulted backward, a ragdoll in a storm of his own making. He tumbled through mud and filth for dozens of meters before Jugo caught him.
"What… what was that?" Suigetsu gasped, spitting out mud. "He just stood there! An invisible wall… it threw me back!"
The curtain of rain settled around Pein once more. His voice, cold and deep, cut through the drizzle. "Adequate striking power. Decent durability. Still unworthy to stand among the Akatsuki."
"You bastard…!" Suigetsu snarled, using Spatter to push himself up.
Jugo stepped in front of him. "You're rattled. Let me."
Zzt!
The Cursed Seal spread across his skin. Fleshy protrusions erupted from his right arm. His demeanor shifted—predatory, aggressive.
"So that is Orochimaru's 'Cursed Seal.' A visible surge in chakra…"
Pein's left hand lifted casually.
— Banshō Ten'in!
SHOOP.
"Wha—!?"
An irresistible force yanked Jugo off his feet. He flew through the air, helpless.
Shink.
A black rod slid from Pein's sleeve. It pierced Jugo's shoulder with a sickening crunch.
"Guh—!"
Jugo tried to rise. Failed. A powerful, invasive chakra flooded from the rod into his body, locking every muscle.
Zzzzt.
The blurry, concentric rings of the Rinnegan flickered at the edge of his perception.
His Cursed Seal receded, forcibly suppressed. This chakra… it crushed the seal? Who… what is he? And that feeling just now…
But Jugo kept his head. The test was to touch Pein's cloak. Nothing more.
Lying at Pein's feet, he fought against the rod's interference. His hand, trembling, inched toward the crimson hem of the Akatsuki robe.
A boot met his side before his fingers could brush the fabric.
"Spare me the cheap tricks."
WHOOSH!
Pein leapt skyward. His sleeve flicked. A rain of black rods shot toward the immobilized Jugo.
Suigetsu was already moving. Spatter swung in a wide, furious arc.
BOOM!
The explosion cleared the incoming rods in a burst of fire and shrapnel.
"Hey! Jugo, get up!"
"The rod… it's sealing my body! Get it out!"
"This thing?!"
Suigetsu dropped to a knee, reaching for the black protrusion.
"Don't touch it! The interference might spread to you!"
"Tch! Pain in the ass!"
He used the flat of Spatter's blade as a pry bar, leveraging the rod free with a grunt of effort.
Jugo clambered up, clutching his shoulder. "Suigetsu. If he wanted us dead, it would already be over."
Behind the puppet's eyes, Nagato's resentment toward Obito smoldered. He still held a grudge over Kakuzu's death—an affair Obito had a hand in. You recommend these two to me? he thought. Fine. I'll make a point of rejecting them. Let their own weakness be your public embarrassment.
Pein's verdict was final. "You lack the necessary strength. Return in a few years."
Jugo turned. "Let it go. If he's determined to fail us, we're only humiliating ourselves."
Suigetsu's knuckles were white on Spatter's hilt. His youthful face was set in a grim mask.
Yeah. He knew.
Honestly, this whole situation was messed up. Captured by the Akatsuki. Forced to have this damn Sharingan implanted. Press-ganged into joining. He'd planned to grab a sword and run at the first chance.
But that 'Tobi' guy… he brought his brother's scroll.
Mangetsu was a loner. He wouldn't entrust something so precious to just anyone.
There was only one conclusion.
'Tobi' was the one who killed his brother.
Suigetsu could swallow the humiliation done to himself.
But Mangetsu… Mangetsu was his only family. His rock.
This was a chance—a chance to get close to the man responsible.
He couldn't just pack up and leave. Not like this.
"It's too early to quit!" Suigetsu barked, voice firm.
"You still want to fight?"
"Figured it out yet, Jugo? His power… it's attraction and repulsion."
"Obvious. The problem is dealing with it."
"Forces like that… they're beyond ninjutsu. If he could spam them non-stop, he'd rule the world. Not just some shadowy organization."
"Your point?"
"Just a theory. That power… it probably has a cooldown. Find the interval. Exploit it. That's our opening."
"Theory's easy. Execution is hell."
Suigetsu grinned, baring sharp teeth. "That Tobi guy said it, right? A Sharingan's true power comes in a pair. What one of us can't do alone… maybe two can." He scoffed. "Never thought I'd say something so gross as 'teamwork.'"
The sentiment… it stirred something in Jugo. A memory of a fallen friend. Of Kimimaro.
A familiar fire rekindled in his eyes. "Fine. But don't expect us to be friends."
"Hah! Don't flatter yourself. This is just a survival pact in a den of sharks."
SWISH! SWOOSH!
Side by side, Suigetsu and Jugo charged.
Pein watched them come. "Oh? Witnessing an overwhelming gap in power, and still you persist. Very well. Show me what you're truly made of."
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