Akio hovered in midair, his expression grim as he used sensory perception to track Jitou's movements.
The sea below churned violently, towering waves and sudden ice spears erupted from the water, repeatedly lunging toward Jitou.
"First Step!"
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Strike!"
Countless phantom fists tore through the air, colliding once again with the pale, compressed air cannon. Explosions overlapped in rapid succession.
For a brief instant, the ocean beneath them went unnaturally still, then detonated.
Centered on the clash of techniques, seawater began spinning violently before erupting upward like a volcanic blast, forming a colossal water pillar nearly a kilometer wide that shot straight into the sky.
Akio narrowed his eyes and switched to gravitational control, pulling part of the massive water column aside and reshaping it into a towering waterfall that slammed down between himself and Jitou.
The interruption forced Jitou to abort his second strike mid-motion.
Akio's expression brightened slightly.
"Just as I thought. The Evening Elephant combo requires locking onto my position. Blocking his line of sight with water breaks the chain."
Jitou vanished in a flash and reappeared behind him.
Akio reacted instantly, spinning around and raising another waterfall as a barrier.
"This should work. How much blood can that artificial body really burn through? If I keep this up, it'll end soon."
He exhaled in relief, then frowned.
"…Why did he stop?"
"Sensei… please be careful."
Jitou's discouraged voice echoed from behind the curtain of falling water, sending a chill through Akio.
"This one isn't Evening Elephant. Or rather… it's a different version. Not a combo. Just a single strike."
Akio's face changed instantly.
Another technique?
He remembered Guy's Night Guy from the original timeline but that wasn't something just anyone could pull off.
Akio released control of the water. The waterfall crashed down freely as he fixed his gaze on Jitou.
Jitou had assumed a strange stance: right leg drawn far back, left foot barely touching the water's surface, arms spread wide like a bird of prey taking flight.
It looked almost ridiculous.
But Akio didn't laugh.
Lightning crackled across Jitou's body, crawling over his limbs like living serpents.
"Damn it… I forgot. Jitou is a Lightning Release user. And that body, its chakra nature is lightning too."
Akio drew both arms back, faint white light gathering around his fists.
"This is the first time I've tried this… Hope it works. Running isn't an option."
"Sensei, this really should be the final attack!" Jitou shouted, trying to encourage him.
"You can do this!"
"Evening Elephant—Lightning Step!"
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Strike ×2!"
Akio unleashed both hands simultaneously. The barrage of fists was denser than ever but the lightning-infused air cannon tore straight through them, shattering the attack instantly.
Staring down the weakened but unstoppable blast racing toward him, Akio's veins bulged.
"Almighty Push!!!"
Crack—crack—
The repulsion barrier lasted only two seconds.
But that was enough.
In that instant, Akio layered countless defensive sealing arrays across his body.
Space warped violently. He was completely locked in, no escape.
He bit down hard on his right arm, and at the exact moment the final seal shattered, he dumped another hundred points into Yang Release.
"Pff—!"
The residual force of Evening Elephant slammed into his chest.
Bone cracked. Flesh regenerated. Then cracked again.
Under the combined effects of self-inflicted regeneration and reinforcement, his chest repeatedly broke and healed as he was blasted straight into the depths of the sea.
This time, the seawater meant to cushion the blow was instantly vaporized by lightning.
Akio was driven directly into the ocean floor, blood pouring from his mouth.
Only after half a minute did he finally manage to steady his breathing.
barely alive, but alive.
He kicked off the seabed and shot back into the air, avoiding the collapsing seawater rushing to fill the void left by vaporization.
"It's finally over…"
He relaxed for half a second.
Then his expression froze.
On the sea's surface, Jitou was once again assuming the exact same stance.
"…Didn't you say that was the last one?!"
Jitou's face crumpled.
"Sensei, if this were my original body, it really would've been! But this one is… weird. You can do it! I believe in you!"
Akio took a deep breath.
"You really want your teacher dead, don't you? Saying things like 'you can do it'…"
He straightened.
"…Fine. I can do it. I'm amazing."
At the same time
In the northwestern forests of the Land of Fire, near the border of the Rain Country, a young man lay slumped against a massive tree, unconscious.
He had been kicked hundreds of kilometers away by Jitou.
Akio's curse seemed about to come true.
A massive wild boar snorted as it lumbered out of the trees, its attention drawn to the unmoving body.
Boars were omnivores.
And they didn't bother checking whether something was alive before finishing it off.
Just as it lowered its head to charge
The young man's eyes snapped open.
The Rinnegan spun.
The boar's soul shattered instantly. Its body collapsed sideways but momentum carried it forward anyway, slamming into the man.
"Cough—!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his injuries worsened.
"…I can't even handle a pig anymore," he muttered bitterly.
"No gains at all. Lost Uzumaki Jitou, my final trump card. Damn it… how did Uchiha Madara break free of my control?"
"And that damned Uzumaki Akio"
His curse died in his throat.
Two massive serpents slithered out of the forest, ignoring him completely as they worked together to drag the boar away.
A figure emerged from the trees.
"Sorry," the newcomer said, licking his lips slowly.
"That boar was my prey."
"…And now," he added softly, "so are you."
"…Damn."
Out at sea, the raging waves finally settled.
The battle was over.
Akio stood atop the water, staring at the shriveled, corpse-like body floating before him, his expression unreadable.
"Brother Minato…"
Despite having lost every drop of blood, the vessel was somehow still alive.
"It's me."
A twisted smile appeared on the ruined face, then froze as the body crumbled apart.
Akio withdrew the bone spike from his hand and sighed deeply.
"I'll give you peace. If you'd died back then… maybe this would've been better."
His legs gave out. He collapsed onto the sea's surface, clutching the charred ruin that was once his chest.
"No more regeneration… I really got wrecked."
His Witness Points were completely gone. Darkness crept at the edges of his vision.
Biting his tongue to stay conscious, he forced his hands into seals.
"Summoning Jutsu."
Land of Whirlpools.
Ichiraku Ramen.
Dinner was over.
The massive wooden table created by Wood Release was littered with leftovers.
The fat cat finally escaped Kushina's arms and plopped down in Akio's seat, clearly displeased.
"Meow~ Seriously? Leftovers? This is animal cruelty!"
"…Well, better than nothing. I'm starving."
The cat opened its mouth wide
Poof.
"Meow~? The ocean?"
It looked around, utterly confused.
"Hey! Servant! You've gone too far! You expect me to catch my own fish?!"
"…Huh?"
"Servant?"
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