The masked man's eyes narrowed as he stared at the awe-inspiring complete-body Susanoo.
So… this is it. The full form of Susanoo.
It was something he had long known about, yet had never been able to achieve. No matter how much his ocular power improved, having only one Mangekyō Sharingan meant that he simply couldn't manifest it.
Though he understood that awakening Susanoo didn't necessarily require both Mangekyō, when a Uchiha had strong enough ocular power and near-perfect control over Yin Release, even with one eye they could eventually manifest it if they'd already experienced Susanoo.
Just like the true Madara Uchiha.
But that was exactly the masked man's problem, ever since unlocking Mangekyō, he had only ever had one eye. No matter how powerful his Yin Release was, he lacked the key to awaken Susanoo.
If he couldn't retrieve his other eye from Kakashi, he'd never be able to use true Susanoo in his life.
"But so what if it's the complete-body Susanoo?" the masked man suddenly roared.
In the next instant, the nine tailed beasts all roared as well and released their full beast forms. Against such a colossal enemy, sheer size was also an advantage.
This full-body Susanoo was Sasuke's most powerful form, activated while in Sage Mode. It allowed him to unleash all of his power… but it had one fatal flaw, its lack of stamina.
Sasuke stood atop Susanoo's crystalline head, encased in a shimmering violet aura. As he looked at the nine towering tailed beasts, the corner of his mouth twitched.
They want me to take on all nine at once?
Glancing toward Naruto, who was still recovering nearby, Sasuke sighed.
Well, even so… I have no choice but to try.
Thankfully, he only needed to stall for time.
With that in mind, Sasuke pulled back with Susanoo, grabbing Naruto and pulling him into the protective shell as well.
In the next moment, some of the tailed beasts charged forward while others began forming Tailed Beast Bombs.
The towering, armored Susano'o spread its black and purple wings and leapt into the sky. The beasts lunged but missed, none of them could fly.
Except for one... The Seven-Tails, Chōmei.
As Sasuke soared through the air dodging a barrage of Tailed Beast Bombs, Chōmei unfurled its dragonfly-like wings and began vibrating them rapidly, pursuing from behind.
Seeing this, the masked man frowned slightly. Though he didn't intervene, he could sense this might be a problem.
Sasuke saw Chōmei closing in, but remained calm.He only struggled when fighting all nine beasts together. Facing just one, even with support fire, wasn't a real threat.
He deftly dodged Chōmei's charge, and then had Susanoo land a series of heavy punches. Sending the beast crashing back to earth with a thunderous impact.
Seeing this, Sasuke nodded slightly. As long as he stayed airborne, he was relatively safe.
But then, the masked man spoke again.
He'd expected this outcome once he saw Chōmei charging alone. No single tailed beast, not even the Eight-Tails or Nine-Tails, could match Sasuke's Susano'o head-on. Not unless Sasuke foolishly took a Tailed Beast Bomb to the face… which was clearly not going to happen.
So the masked man changed tactics.
He had the nine tailed beasts begin gathering Tailed Beast Bombs again... But this time, the target wasn't Sasuke.
It was the Allied Shinobi Forces behind him.
If all nine tailed beasts fired together…The Allied Forces would be annihilated. Few would survive.
"Sasuke Uchiha," the masked man called out. "If you stay up there… they'll become the next targets."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
He looked back at the battlefield, then slowly descended to the ground, dispersing the wings of Susanoo.
Seeing this, the masked man laughed behind his mask.
"Hahaha… just as I thought. Once you start caring, you reveal your weakness. If you truly didn't care whether they lived or died, then even I would have no way to deal with you in the sky... But you chose to come down, for them." As his laughter stopped, his eyes gleamed coldly.
"Hmph. Don't flatter yourself." Sasuke snorted. "...Just because I came down doesn't mean I'm going to lose."
He turned toward Naruto, "You done resting yet?"
"Yeah… thanks, Sasuke," Naruto said as he opened his eyes. With his and Kurama's cooperation, his recovery was complete.
Kurama's regeneration was indeed monstrous.
"…Huh? Where are we?" Naruto looked around at the glowing violet walls.
"This is the inside of my Susanoo. Didn't notice when I pulled you in?" Sasuke asked, a little surprised.
Naruto scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, "Nope. I just knew you'd have my back, dattebayo!"
Sasuke smirked. Typical Naruto. But that unwavering trust… it felt pretty nice.
"Less talk, more action. I can't hold out much longer on my own," Sasuke urged.
"Right!" Naruto nodded. Golden chakra burst forth around him, layered with a black underlay, his Sage Fox Mode reactivated.
He began forming a massive golden Kurama avatar.
But as he did, Sasuke's expression sharpened.
"Maintain that form," Sasuke said, "But don't block my chakra."
"…Huh? Okay," Naruto replied, still confused but nodding.
Suddenly, the golden Kurama became enveloped in black and purple energy which was spreading like armor.
"What is this…?" Naruto stared in awe as scales formed across the Kurama avatar's body.
Realization hit him. Could this really work?
As the energy spread, it fully coated Kurama in armor.
Now standing tall was a golden Kurama, clad in purple and black samurai armor, wielding a massive sword.
Susanoo: Armored Kurama!
"We did it." Sasuke smiled.
"We really did it!!" Naruto shouted in awe.
Even Kurama was stunned inside Naruto.
He had experienced something similar before, when controlled by Madara, but he hadn't been conscious back then.
Sasuke's Susanoo and Madara's were clearly different. The structure and design varied, too.
Kurama suddenly got excited.
"Naruto. Give me control, I want to take these guys on myself!"
"…Huh? But…" Naruto hesitated. He hadn't even had a chance to try it out yet.
"No buts! I've fought these guys before. I know how they think, I'm better suited for this!" Kurama insisted.
"…Fine." Naruto relented.
In the next moment, Naruto's eyes turned blood red.
"Hey, kid," Kurama said, turning to Sasuke."I'll handle the frontlines. You cover me."
"…You're the Nine-Tails?" Sasuke was caught off guard, then quickly understood.
"Hmph." Kurama snorted, answering without answering.
On the other side, the masked man stared at the newly armored Kurama, stunned.
A Susanoo… fused with the Nine-Tails?!
Just standing there, Armored Kurama radiated overwhelming might.It towered over the battlefield, claws dug into the earth, its nine golden tails swaying powerfully behind it.
And in its hand, it held a titanic katana, glittering with deadly sharpness.
With the power of the Nine-Tails combined with the defense of Susanoo…
The masked man finally began to sense something ominous. Perhaps, even with all nine tailed beasts, he might not be able to suppress them now.
And sure enough, he saw the armored Kurama, wrapped in Susanoo, charge directly toward the nine tailed beasts.
Its first target was none other than the fake Nine-Tails among them.
After all, the real Kurama had been displeased with this imitation for a long time. Now that it had the chance, it naturally went for the imposter first.
The masked man grew uneasy. Unlike the other tailed beasts, this version of the Nine-Tails wasn't a complete beast.
If it were defeated too severely… it might be difficult to restore.
So he had no choice but to order the other eight tailed beasts to protect the fake Nine-Tails.
Kurama snorted in disdain. Still, instead of forcing a path through all eight beasts to reach the imposter, he refocused.
With a mighty swing of his Susano'o blade, armored Kurama continued the assault.
Inside Naruto's body, Kurama found it odd.
He was the Nine-Tail, so why did it feel like he was remote-controlling his own body through someone else?
It was like operating his own form… but needing an extra interface.
Still, Kurama was Kurama. He quickly adapted to the peculiar setup.
Meanwhile, the masked man frowned as he watched the armored Kurama clash with the nine beasts.
Something felt… off.
It wasn't just the power, it was the way it fought.
It looks like it knows exactly how to fight tailed beasts…
Indeed, when controlled by Kurama, the armored Nine-Tails wasn't necessarily stronger than Naruto's version, but it was far better at fighting other tailed beasts.
"All right, you know what to do now, don't you?" Kurama said with satisfaction after a while.
"I do!" Naruto replied, eyes sparkling.
He resumed control of his body.
But what Naruto didn't notice… was the faint glimmer of hope in Kurama's eyes as he relinquished control.
Once back in control, Naruto turned to Sasuke.
"Sasuke, how long can you still hold out?"
"Not much longer. Did you figure out a way to deal with them?" Sasuke asked.
This couldn't go on forever, they couldn't just keep stalling.
"Yes," Naruto nodded. "When Kurama was controlling things, I noticed black rods embedded in the beasts. I think the masked guy's controlling them with those! If I can pull them out, we can free all the tailed beasts!"
Inside Naruto, Kurama smirked.
He hadn't just been "interested."
While controlling the armored Kurama, he had specifically exposed the locations of the black receivers, after learning about them from the other beasts in their mental space.
If Naruto truly intended to save the beasts… he would definitely notice.
And now, it seemed Naruto hadn't let him down. Kurama smiled, pleased.
Maybe this kid really is the one the Sage of Six Paths spoke of…The one we've all been waiting for…
"It sure took you long enough to arrive, old man…" Kurama murmured.
Back in the real world, Sasuke let out a breath of relief upon hearing Naruto's plan.
"Then let's do this. Don't worry about me, I'll keep up."
"Thanks!" Naruto grinned.
While controlling the armored Kurama, Naruto continued clashing with the tailed beasts, each swing of the colossal sword and every Tailed Beast Bomb shaking the earth and sky alike.
After thinking for a moment, Naruto formed a shadow clone using a hand seal.
Meanwhile, Sasuke received a message from Shikaku:
Fugaku Uchiha is coming to meet you…
Sasuke fell silent.
After a long moment, he sighed.
Maybe… this is the last chance. I can't refuse.
Besides, seeing his father wouldn't interfere with his control over the armored Kurama. It wouldn't be a problem.
Soon, Fugaku appeared before Sasuke.
"…It's been a long time, Father," Sasuke said with a complicated expression.
"Yes… it has, Sasuke." Fugaku looked at him with deep emotion.
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Currently on Chapter 405: Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion