Even knowing Itachi Uchiha was the enemy, the sight of Makoto Nishikado gouging out his eyes sent a shudder through more than a few players.
One word surfaced in every mind at once
Ruthless.
They'd known what kind of man he was ever since he'd blown Sawanaga Taisuke's head apart in front of every student and teacher at Shuchiin Academy.
But witnessing carnage like this again still put ice down their spines.
A notification flickered into Makoto's blurred vision, visible to no one but him.
[Item acquired: Mangekyou Sharingan (Itachi Uchiha Edition)]
[Detected: This item is compatible with existing item "Mangekyou Sharingan (Fugaku Uchiha Edition)" for fusion.]
[Fuse?]
Of course.
He kicked backward, opening distance between himself and both Obito and the now-blinded Itachi, and willed it silently.
Both pairs of Mangekyou vanished from his inventory, collapsing into something new. Another notification bloomed.
[Item acquired: Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan (Fugaku Uchiha + Itachi Uchiha Edition)]
"Ghhk... hkk...!"
Itachi crumpled to his knees. Already flickering like a dying candle, the agony of losing his eyes snuffed out whatever strength he had left.
Blood surged from his mouth and splattered the stone.
Obito's expression darkened behind the mask. He stared at Makoto across the widening gap.
Damn it... how does he know who I am?
In the original timeline, Obito hadn't cared much about his identity being exposed. But at this stage, exposure meant chaos.
Forget everything else; Nagato would almost certainly stop taking his orders.
"Heh... haha... ahahahahaha!"
Makoto threw his head back and laughed. The sound tore through the arena, clear enough to reach even Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru inside the Four Violet Flames Formation on the rooftop.
Hearing his student's laughter, Hiruzen felt a spark of hope despite being driven back by the Reanimated First and Second Hokage. Has Makoto already finished down there?
Orochimaru's brow furrowed.
That kid who knows the Flying Thunder God Technique?
If he joined the fight up here... that would be a problem.
The thought spurred Orochimaru into motion. He'd been content to watch since activating the Reanimation Jutsu, but now he slowly drew the Kusanagi blade from his throat.
No more wasting time. If Makoto made it up here, things would get ugly.
"You can stop running, Airi, Marina."
Makoto let the laughter die and spoke evenly.
The Akizuki sisters blinked.
They didn't know the reason, but their trust in him was absolute. They turned right back around.
Marina's voice carried a thread of worry. "Makoto, is it really over?"
He smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Everything went perfectly."
"Oh thank god..." Airi exhaled hard, then threw her arms around him before she could stop herself, burying her face against his chest and breathing him in.
The other players slowed to a halt as well.
Opinions on Makoto varied wildly among them.
Hachiman Hikigaya kept a respectful distance, grateful but all too aware of the gap between them.
Sayuri Sawamura wanted to close that gap. Yukino nursed open hostility. And Mrs. Yukinoshita harbored thoughts she didn't dare voice.
But regardless of how any of them felt, one thing was beyond dispute.
Makoto's overwhelming strength.
If he said the danger had passed, then the danger had passed.
He closed his eyes, then opened them.
The irises had transformed into an entirely new pattern, the Mangekyou of Fugaku Uchiha overlaid with that of Itachi Uchiha, fused into a single design.
The Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa, are you serious?!"
White Zetsu, still rooted to his spot, went slack-jawed.
No, seriously, bro. You just stole Itachi's Mangekyou and it's already fused?
Black Zetsu wasn't faring much better.
Transplanting a Sharingan and merging it into an Eternal Mangekyou requires recovery time. That's how it works. That's how it's always worked.
So why the hell can you finish the fusion the instant you get your hands on it?
A colossal question mark materialized over the thousand-year-old schemer's head.
You're f**king cheating, aren't you?!
Or is there some Kekkei Genkai out there I don't know about?
Behind Obito's mask, wariness seeped into his expression like nothing before.
His Kamui meant the Eternal Mangekyou alone didn't scare him.
But this kid... something about him was just wrong.
"Ready for round two?" Makoto asked, grinning.
Obito's eyes narrowed. After a beat of thought, he slung the collapsed Itachi over one shoulder.
"I'll pass. There'll be plenty of chances to fight later."
Space began to warp around him, spiraling inward toward the single eye-hole of his mask.
"I look forward to next time. Until then, I'd suggest keeping certain things to yourself. Talking out of turn wouldn't end well... for anyone."
The warning was clear: don't reveal my identity.
Cross me, and the Shinobi World's Number One Simp won't play nice.
Makoto only smiled and let him go. No point in pushing it.
Securing the Eternal Mangekyou before the Konoha Crush even ended was already exceeding expectations. No need to make more enemies than necessary.
Besides, he'd noticed Itachi's right thumb smearing a drop of blood across his wound just before they left.
The starting seal for a Summoning Jutsu. If that bastard Itachi had pulled out Kotoamatsukami, that would've been its own headache.
There'd be time to deal with those two later.
Now then...
His gaze rose toward the Four Violet Flames Formation crowning the arena.
He was about to go see his dear sensai when...
"AAAAAAGH...!"
Screams erupted across Konohagakure, a rolling chorus of agony from every direction.
Everyone turned to look.
Shinobi from every side, Leaf, Sound, Sand, it didn't matter. Dozens were swallowed by sand flowing across the ground, bodies wrapped tight and then crushed without mercy.
Sand Burial?!
A colossus smashed through Konoha's main gate and lumbered toward the arena. A towering beast sculpted entirely from sand, shaped like an enormous tanuki.
"Wh... what the hell is THAT?!" Eriri Spencer Sawamura shrieked, voice cracking.
She'd more or less adjusted to a world of superpowered ninja, but today was pushing it way too far. Was this thing seriously her problem now?!
"Squished 'em! Squished 'em! Hahaha!"
Shukaku clapped its massive paws together at the sight of the pulverized remains, giddy as a child, already hunting for the next target.
It didn't care whether the dead were Leaf, Sound, or even Sand. It had been caged for too long and needed to vent. And it had never considered itself on Sand's side to begin with.
"Ah..." Makoto sighed. "Almost forgot about him."
Shukaku locked onto a new target fast.
Not far away stood the cluster of players led by the Yukinoshita sisters, along with Sasuke, still sprawled unconscious on the ground from the Tsukuyomi.
Loose sand crept up around Sasuke and the players, coiling around their bodies.
None of them could break free. Sasuke because he was out cold. The players because they simply didn't have the strength.
"SASU-GAY!" Naruto roared, charging in. One punch shattered the sand encasing his rival. Orange-red Chakra blazed visibly across his skin.
Going berserk for the power of love, huh?
The other players watched the sand climb their own bodies, swallowing their legs, their torsos, creeping toward their eyes. Terror unlike anything they'd felt before twisted across their faces.
Is this it? Are we going to die?
"Sand Burial!"
Shukaku's gleeful voice rang out, and raw, primal fear crashed over them like a wave.
Mrs. Yukinoshita screamed until her voice tore. "MAKOTO, SAVE..."
An enormous hand of ashen bone burst into existence, ripping apart the sand engulfing Mrs. Yukinoshita and the others around her.
Susano'o.
But its reach only extended so far.
Some people were beyond it.
A wet, horrible crunch.
One player, too far from Makoto, was crushed inside the sand. Blood erupted from the yellow grains like a burst pipe.
Haruno Yukinoshita and Yukino Yukinoshita both went rigid. Their pupils shrank to pinpoints, tears spilling instantly, and a single wail ripped from them in unison.
"DADDY...!!!"