Sunday morning
The group arrived at the ruins of Soragakure in the Land of Birds.
"Is this really Soragakure?" Kurenai asked, doubt lacing her voice.
Before her lay only dense forest—no ruins, not even a broken wall.
"It's underground," Kitazawa reminded calmly.
"Torune."
Kabuto called out immediately.
Torune raised his arms, releasing a cloud of poison bugs. They swirled in the air before vanishing into the earth below.
"There's a massive structure beneath us," Torune reported, surprise in his tone. "Like a hidden city."
"How could they have built this underground?" Izumi asked in disbelief. The untouched forest around them showed no trace of disturbance.
"The only explanation," Kabuto mused, "is that Soragakure began construction after the Second Shinobi War, deliberately burying their stronghold."
"There's a huge… cold chakra inside," Torune suddenly interrupted, his expression tightening.
"How huge?" Kabuto asked.
"Wait!" Torune's face darkened. "My bugs have been discovered!"
Kabuto's eyes widened. "Impossible. They're microscopic, practically undetectable."
But Kitazawa already suspected the reason—
The Zero-Tailed Beast.
Created by Shinno, it mimicked a true Tailed Beast, feeding on the darkness in human hearts. Its so-called Dark Chakra was, in truth, Yin Release—form conjured from nothingness, given shape through malice.
"Kitazawa-sensei…" Torune said uneasily. "A squad of Soragakure ninja is heading straight for us. What should we do?"
Failing reconnaissance in front of his sensei weighed heavily on him.
Kitazawa's gaze sharpened. "As shinobi, infiltration failures are normal. Skirmishes are lessons we must embrace." His tone dropped. "Prepare for battle."
"Yes!" the squad answered as one.
"Torune, from where?" Kabuto asked quickly.
"Twenty meters—there's a passage beneath that ridge."
"Perfect." Kabuto flicked his hands, six explosive tags flying into position around the spot.
"Kabuto, excellent as always," Kurenai remarked with quiet praise.
"They're coming out!" Torune warned.
Kabuto detonated the tags instantly.
Boom!
The ground erupted in flame, a sea of fire swallowing the emerging shinobi. Screams pierced the air.
"Use Fire Release! Wind Release!" someone shouted from within.
Half the blaze died down, revealing surviving Soragakure ninja.
"Damn you! I'll kill every last one of you!"
A white-haired man appeared in a blur, fury burning in his eyes. His rage was clear—dozens of his men had perished before the fight had even begun.
"Konoha shinobi?!" He froze, recognizing their headbands. His fury tempered into wary calculation. Soragakure longed for revenge against Konoha, but he knew better than to provoke them outright. Still, one question burned in him:
"How did you find this place?"
"Are you Shinno?" Kitazawa countered coldly.
"You… know my name?" Shinno was taken aback. He was certain they'd never met. He always traveled under the guise of a wandering physician, his true identity hidden.
Kitazawa didn't waste time. "Attack!"
Shinno laughed in disbelief. "With just you brats? Who gave you that courage?"
The remaining Soragakure ninja extinguished the last flames and closed in. Their numbers still exceeded twenty.
Izumi's Sharingan spun, releasing a blazing Great Fireball.
Shinno's eyes narrowed. "Sharingan?" Even he couldn't ignore an Uchiha prodigy.
But he remained confident. This was Soragakure's main base—and more importantly, he trusted his own power.
Kabuto unleashed Vacuum Bullets.
Kurenai vanished in a flurry of crimson petals.
Torune was faster still. "Secret Technique: Poison Dust!"
A poisonous mist spread like a living fog. Several Soragakure shinobi inhaled it—collapsing instantly, dead before they hit the ground.
Shinno's face twisted. "Such lethal venom…" Even as a seasoned medical-nin, he had never seen poison this swift. Only one choice remained—eliminate Torune first.
"Forbidden Technique: Cellular Activation!"
Shinno's body swelled, muscles bulging as his speed skyrocketed. In an instant, he was upon Torune.
Kurenai intercepted, fists glowing with raw strength. Their clash sent shockwaves through the clearing. She staggered back, while Shinno remained firm—overwhelming in raw power.
But Torune's swarm was already upon him. Shinno retreated swiftly, unwilling to risk the nano-poison.
Then—
Dark Chakra exploded from his fist, scattering the bugs like shredded paper.
Torune's eyes widened. "He destroyed them…?"
Shinno sneered, lunging forward again—only to lock eyes with Kurenai.
Genjutsu snapped into place. For a split second, he was trapped in the embrace of an illusory tree.
"Tch—Genjutsu?" He dispelled it instantly—
—but not fast enough.
Kurenai's Rasengan slammed into his arms, tearing flesh into bloody ribbons.
"Ahhh!"
Shinno roared, lashing out with a vicious kick.
Kurenai reacted instantly, retreating several meters. The two squared off again, distance opening between them.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied his arms. That Rasengan should have done more damage…
"It's cellular activation," Kitazawa explained, his tone grim. "His body's in an enhanced state—speed, power, defense, all heightened."
"That strong?" Kurenai asked, startled. "Then how do we fight him?"
"His body won't endure prolonged activation," Kitazawa replied coolly. "If we stall, victory is ours."
Shinno froze mid-breath. Kitazawa's words cut deeper than he expected. He… he knows the secret of my technique? Only Shinno himself should have understood the details of Cellular Activation. How could this Konoha jōnin know?
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!"
Kabuto appeared behind Shinno in a blur, kunai poised to strike.
Shinno reacted instantly, twisting and slamming a fist into the weapon. The kunai shot away like a bullet. Kabuto's face tightened as he flickered back to safety.
Shinno surged forward to pursue—but a roaring fireball forced him to dodge aside. Landing in a crouch, he glanced around. His fury deepened. Every last Soragakure ninja had already been cut down by Kabuto and Izumi.
His men were useless… and Konoha's team, far stronger than he'd anticipated. Now he was surrounded.
"Forbidden Technique: Body Regeneration!"
With overlapping hand seals, Shinno's body underwent a grotesque transformation. His middle-aged form melted away, replaced by that of a towering young man. White hair turned jet-black, muscles bulged like stone, and raw power radiated from his frame.
Kabuto's eyes darkened. "A jutsu that restores youth…?"
Torune spoke, his voice low. "My bugs report his chakra's tripled."
Izumi didn't hesitate. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
Flames engulfed her shuriken, turning them into a blazing storm of steel and fire. They rained down on Shinno like a phoenix in bloom.
But Shinno advanced instead of retreating. His fists smashed the flaming weapons aside, and in a heartbeat he was on Izumi.
"Secret Technique: Poison Dust!"
Torune exhaled a dense, poisonous fog, forming a deadly barrier.
Shinno blurred, vanishing from sight.
"Torune!" Izumi's Sharingan caught his afterimage.
Whoosh!
Shinno appeared at Torune's flank, his fist already cocked.
The punch detonated the air, a shockwave howling outward. Kitazawa's eyes sharpened. In one swift movement, he grabbed Torune and yanked him clear. Shinno's strike smashed empty ground.
"Wind Release: Great Vacuum Sphere!"
Kabuto countered, launching a massive sphere of compressed wind.
Shinno snarled and met it head-on with his fist.
Boom!
The clash shook the clearing, chakra waves erupting in all directions. Kabuto's jaw tightened. Shinno's strength, bolstered by forbidden techniques, exceeded even his estimates.
"Ninja Art: Moonlight Beauty!"
Kurenai's petals swirled into existence, surrounding Shinno. He struck out, scattering them, but missed the subtle play—her disappearance.
Kabuto lunged in. "Chakra Scalpel!" His blade gleamed as he swung.
Whoosh!
Kurenai dropped from above, a compressed Rasengan whirring in her palm. She twisted midair and slammed it down.
Unseen, she and Kabuto had orchestrated a flawless pincer strike.
But Shinno only smirked. Both fists shot up, chakra roaring to life.
"Ninja Art: Divine Fist!"
Dark chakra exploded outward like a tidal wave. The torrent swallowed Kabuto and Kurenai whole.
Kurenai braced, thrusting her Rasengan forward. The wave shattered it instantly, hurling her back. Kitazawa leapt forward and caught her mid-flight.
Izumi's fireball streaked between Shinno and Kabuto, but Shinno's dark chakra crushed it in an instant, surging onward.
Kabuto's eyes narrowed. "Yin Healing Wound Destruction!" He hardened his chakra around his heart and brain just as the blast crashed down. At the last second, an Earth Flow Wall erupted before him—Kitazawa's intervention.
"Tch… annoying brat!" Shinno snarled. His gaze locked onto Kitazawa. "I'll kill you first!"
"Divine Fist!"
Twin chakra tsunamis tore forward.
Kitazawa didn't flinch. "Combination Ninjutsu: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!"
A water dragon surged forth, crackling with lightning, colliding head-on with the raging chakra. The explosion blinded the battlefield.
In that instant, Kitazawa flickered out of sight.
He reappeared behind Shinno, Zangetsu drawn. "Uchiha-Style: Raging Wind Sword!"
The blade ignited, stretching into a crimson arc of flame that roared skyward, then cleaved downward.
Shinno spun in alarm, throwing a desperate punch. But the fiery blade sliced through his chakra defense.
"Damn it!" Shinno bellowed, forcing his body to erupt with raw power. Blood flushed his skin, chakra surging into a crimson storm that blasted the flames apart.
Kitazawa retreated immediately.
Kurenai's eyes widened. "That aura… it's like Gai's Eight Gates…" Her voice trembled. "Blood red? Is that—the Eighth Gate?!"
Kabuto's face hardened. "Impossible. The Eight Gates is Konoha's forbidden art. How could he know it?"
Torune and Izumi's faces mirrored dread.
Shinno's laughter rang out, wild and unhinged. "That's right! This is the Eight Gates Formation! But my medical techniques let me open them without dying!" His voice rose into a roar. "If I cannot die—then all of you will!"
Then he blurred, charging Kitazawa with crushing force, like a mountain falling from the sky.
The others could only watch, breath caught in their throats. Against the unleashed Eighth Gate, only Kitazawa could stand.
Izumi's Sharingan tracked him desperately. Torune tried to send his insects forward—but Shinno's raging chakra shredded them before they could touch him.
Kitazawa slashed once more, his fiery blade roaring to life.
Shinno didn't dodge. He crashed straight into it, shattering the flames, his body healing instantly.
There would be no easy end to this fight.
Kitazawa judged Shinno's current state to be something monstrous—like combining the Strength of a Hundred Seal with half the power of the Eight Gates Formation.
Shinno closed the distance in a flash, his fist tearing through the air. Countless shockwaves erupted outward.
Kitazawa's body shattered into mud, ripped apart by the blast.
"Tch."
Shinno frowned, scanning the battlefield.
A sharp whoosh cut the air.
A kunai whistled toward him.
He immediately locked onto its source—and ignored the blade, intent on killing Kitazawa instead.
But then, the kunai shimmered, splitting into dozens of solid duplicates that filled the sky.
"What?!"
Shinno stopped cold. Even with his reinforced body and regenerative power, getting skewered by so many weapons would shred him.
"Divine Fist!"
He swung both fists, dark chakra surging outward in waves, scattering the storm of kunai.
A calm voice drifted from behind him.
"It seems your Eight Gates Formation lacks youth."
Shinno's eyes narrowed. Unlike Gai's techniques—the Evening Elephant, the Night Guy—his crude imitation lacked refined taijutsu to match the opened Gates.
He spun around instinctively—straight into Kitazawa's gaze.
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death."
And then, overlapping:
"Uchiha-Style: Sword Leap Flame!"
The genjutsu caught him only for an instant—Shinno's wild chakra burned it away immediately. But that single heartbeat was enough.
Kitazawa's blade cleaved downward, glowing red-hot, warping the very air around it.
Shinno's face twisted in shock. Too late to dodge—he grit his teeth and slammed his fist into the descending Zangetsu.
The collision shook Kitazawa to the bone. His right arm went numb as the force hurled him backward.
"Ahhhh!"
Shinno screamed. His fist split open, five severed fingers scattering onto the ground.
"Forbidden Technique: Body Regeneration!"
His face paled, but flesh wriggled and sealed, restoring his hand.
Kabuto's pupils shrank. "Limb regeneration? How are we supposed to fight this?"
"This ninjutsu…" Izumi swallowed nervously. "It's terrifying."
"I believe in Kitazawa," Kurenai said firmly. "If he couldn't win, he would've already pulled us out."
Kitazawa ignored them, eyes fixed on Shinno.
Regeneration has limits… He couldn't know its exact duration—the original texts never mentioned it—but as a medical ninja, he could read Shinno's body. Even peak states eventually frayed, and decline always revealed itself in subtle ways.
"I'll kill you!" Shinno roared, fury blazing from his earlier loss. He lunged forward, his fist aimed at Kitazawa's heart.
Kitazawa stood rooted, countering with his own strike of fully powered monstrous strength.
"You dare?!" Shinno sneered, his grin cruel.
Boom!
The clash split the ground. Shockwaves thundered outward. Shinno's eyes went wide—Kitazawa's strength was pushing him back.
"How…?" His chakra surged wildly, but Kitazawa absorbed the force, only taking two steps back.
"You're strong," Shinno gasped, "but not stronger than me!"
Kitazawa smiled faintly. "Time is almost up. This battle's ending soon."
Shinno's fury spiked. "Then I'll send you straight to the Pure Land!"
"Senju Chakra Mode."
Kitazawa's chakra flared, his hands weaving seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A roaring dragon surged forth, crashing down on Shinno.
"It's useless!" Shinno snarled, his fists exploding with chakra. He shattered the dragon apart.
But before he could recover, a massive fireball swallowed his vision.
He flickered away, landing hard—only to find himself surrounded by flaming kunai.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Claw Crimson!"
"Divine Fist!" Shinno punched outward, dark chakra scattering the flaming blades.
Crack! Lightning arced across the ground.
"Lightning Release: Ground Flash!"
Shinno vaulted into the air, avoiding the currents—only to meet a barrage of whistling projectiles.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Wind bullets struck him midair. He twisted desperately but still took the hit. Blood blossomed across his back in ragged holes.
"Aaaah!" Shinno howled.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Kitazawa unleashed a tidal wave of flames, engulfing him.
"Damn it!" Panic flickered across Shinno's face. He staggered, overwhelmed by Kitazawa's relentless onslaught.
Why is his hand seal speed so fast?
Ninjutsu after ninjutsu—no pauses, no cooldowns…
And Five Elements? All five? Impossible!
Kabuto's jaw dropped. "Is this Kitazawa-sensei's real strength?"
Izumi gaped. "S-so amazing…"
Kurenai's thoughts churned. I thought he was only Kakashi's level… but Kakashi couldn't do this. Not even close.
On the battlefield, Shinno was being pushed into desperation. His overwhelming stats were useless against Kitazawa's sheer versatility.
I can't keep this up…! Shinno felt the cracks spreading. His body trembled. The limit of regeneration was near.
"No! I won't lose here!"
He tore through a water dragon, plowed through a fireball, and drove his fist forward. The air twisted under the strike.
Kitazawa met it calmly. "Superman Punch"
The impact resounded like thunder. This time, Kitazawa did not retreat.
Shinno's pupils constricted.
"Wind Release: Rasengan."
Kitazawa held Shinno's fist in his right hand. His left slammed a rasengan of wind-chakra into Shinno's abdomen.
"AAAHHHHHH!"
The scream ripped through the battlefield. Shinno's stomach exploded into a bloody ruin. His body shriveled, skin sagging, muscles collapsing.
In moments, the towering figure with black hair and crimson aura aged into a withered husk—wrinkled, white-haired, his strength gone.
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