In the heart of the battlefield, Kurogai stood alone, his gaze cold and unwavering as he stared at the massive Kree warship looming ahead. The devastating energy beam that had just scorched the earth was useless against him, but his fury simmered beneath the surface.
He had waited a long time—too long—for the saturation of his Fourth Ring. He was mere moments away from reaching that elusive breakthrough. But now, in a single reckless attack, the Kree had obliterated the soldiers he needed to reach the threshold. Fury burned in his eyes.
"Fool. Since you're so eager to die, I'll oblige," Kurogai said coldly.
As the Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes morphed, a jet-black flame erupted into existence before him. The flames swirled into the shape of a long, obsidian sword, forged entirely from Amaterasu. Without hesitation, he swung it toward the Kree flagship.
Boom!
The blade of living fire tore through the ship's hull with ease, splitting the armored vessel apart. The flames clung to the wound, unrelenting, unquenchable.
"It's on fire! Contain it—fast!"
"What is this flame?! It won't go out!"
Panic rippled through the crew as they scrambled to suppress the blaze, but nothing worked. Fire extinguishers, vacuum seals, energy dampeners—none of it mattered. Amaterasu devoured everything in its path.
But Kurogai wasn't watching. His attention had shifted to the battlefield again, to the tall figure now stepping forward through the smoke. It wasn't an ordinary Kree soldier. This one radiated power and command.
Korath the Pursuer had arrived.
Shock crossed Korath's face. He had seen the black flames manifest and watched as they sliced through his battleship. That alone was enough to unnerve even a veteran like him.
It meant only one thing—Kurogai had never been fighting seriously.
Kurogai had been baiting them.
"He's been holding back... waiting for this moment," Korath thought grimly. "This whole battle was a setup."
The realization struck like thunder. They weren't the hunters—they were the hunted.
"I need to order a retreat," Korath thought, panic creeping in. But before he could act, a golden portal shimmered in the air beside him. Kurogai stepped through, eyes glowing red with eerie calm.
"Kree. Weren't you here to kill me? Why the rush now?"
His voice was calm, emotionless, deadly. Korath froze. Those crimson eyes were unlike anything he'd faced. There was no arrogance in them, no anger—just cold finality.
"You planned this all along," Korath said, forcing composure into his voice.
"Well, well... one of you has a brain," Kurogai replied with a dry smile.
Korath's stomach sank.
They thought they had cornered prey. In truth, they had walked into a trap laid by the very thing they hoped to destroy.
"I can't let you win!"
Korath roared, tossing down a tactical smoke charge. Instantly, thick black fog engulfed the battlefield. Using the chaos as cover, he turned and fled.
But he didn't make it far.
A golden ring opened ahead of him—another portal—and Kurogai stepped out once more, swinging his scythe with deadly precision.
Shlick!
The blade cleaved through Korath's neck in a single motion. Blood sprayed across the ground. His head rolled to the ground, eyes still wide in shock.
"No one escapes the Byakugan's gaze," Kurogai muttered. His eyes were now milky white, the Byakugan fully activated. "Not even darkness can hide you."
Kurogai knelt over the corpse, his scythe humming softly. The bloodthirsty weapon pulsed as it drew every last drop of Korath's blood, feeding it into the Ultimate Eye.
He wouldn't waste a single drop—not when he was this close.
As the scythe finished its grim harvest, a notification echoed in his mind:
[Fourth Ring fully saturated. Upgrade available. Proceed with enhancement?]
Kurogai's heart surged with triumph.
"A whole year," he whispered. "I've hunted, even launched a war on a Kree planet just for this moment."
He was moments from giving the command to begin the upgrade when something strange caught his attention.
Wait.
He read the system prompt again carefully.
"Fully saturated?" he muttered. "Not 'resaturated'? Not 'ready again'?"
It hit him then—this wasn't a typical upgrade prompt.
This was different.
Those two words—fully saturated—held a deeper meaning. He wasn't just leveling up the Fourth Ring again.
He had reached its limit.
Kurogai's eyes narrowed. He delved into the Ultimate Eye's interface, mentally parsing through layers of its arcane structure. He needed to understand.
Minutes passed.
Finally, his eyes opened, and a smile slowly crept across his face.
"So I've reached it... perfection."
His Fourth Eye had evolved to its final state. It could no longer be upgraded. It was now perfect, complete—a power honed through blood, battle, and will.
"The Fourth Eye," he said softly, "is now maxed out."
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