Sunday morning.
The group arrived at the former site of the Land of the Sky in the Land of Birds.
"Is this really the Land of the Sky?" Kurenai asked, doubtful.
All she could see was a dense forest—no buildings, not even a single broken wall.
"Underground," Kitazawa reminded her.
"Torune," Yakushi Kabuto called.
Aburame Torune raised both arms, and a swarm of Rinkaichū—his nano-venom insects—fanned out. They wheeled once in the air and then dove into the earth.
"There's a massive structure right beneath our feet," Torune said in surprise. "Feels like a whole city."
"How did they even move it underground?" Uchiha Izumi looked incredulous. The woods ahead showed no signs of being disturbed.
"The only explanation is that after the Second Shinobi World War, the Sky Ninja started building this place below ground," Kabuto mused.
"There's a huge, icy chakra inside that complex," Torune suddenly cut in.
"How huge?" Kabuto asked, curious.
"Wait!" Torune's face changed. "My Rinkaichū were detected!"
"How is that possible?" Kabuto's first instinct was disbelief. The insects are nano-scale; you can't see them with the naked eye. Most shinobi would never notice them.
Kitazawa, however, had a guess—the Zero-Tails must have sensed them.
Shinno had created a weakened imitation of a tailed beast and named it the Zero-Tails. It feeds on the darkness in people's hearts, and the chakra it wields is called "dark chakra." Of course, in the shinobi world there are only seven chakra natures; so-called dark chakra is really just Yin Release. Yin Release can give form to the formless—that's how the Zero-Tails came to be.
"A squad from the Land of the Sky is heading our way," Torune said, a little ashamed. "Kitazawa-sensei, what do we do now?"
His Rinkaichū had failed in front of Kitazawa and even exposed them to the enemy, which made him uncharacteristically embarrassed.
"As shinobi, failed infiltrations are normal; ambushes like this are part of the job," Kitazawa said after a beat, voice firm. "Everyone, get ready to fight."
"Yes!" came the unanimous reply.
"Torune, where's their exit?" Kabuto asked quickly.
"There's a passage twenty meters that way," Torune said, pointing.
"Good." Kabuto flicked both hands; six explosive tags flew out and slapped onto the tunnel rim.
"Kabuto really is excellent," Kurenai said, once again impressed.
"They're coming out!" Torune warned.
Kabuto detonated the tags.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
All six exploded at once. Fire roared outward, becoming a sea of flames in seconds.
Screams and curses rang out. Many Sky Ninja were incinerated on the spot.
"Use Fire Release and Wind Release!" someone shouted.
In the next instant, the firestorm died down by half, revealing the survivors within.
"Bastards! I'll kill you!" A white-haired middle-aged man blurred in with a Body Flicker, face twisted, eyes full of killing intent. He'd lost a chunk of his men before the fight even began; fury boiled over.
"Konoha shinobi?!" He noticed the Konoha headbands on Kitazawa and the others, and his mind cleared. The Sky Ninja wanted revenge on Konoha, yes—but he knew Konoha's strength. Without proper preparation, he wouldn't start a war with them.
He did, however, have a pressing question. "How did you find this place?"
"You're Shinno?" Kitazawa asked back.
"You even know my name?" Shinno looked stunned. He was sure he'd never met them. When he'd stolen secret arts from the major villages, he'd always used the identity of a wandering physician, never his real name.
"Go," Kitazawa said, done with talk the moment he confirmed the man's identity.
"With just you? Where did you get the nerve?" Shinno laughed in anger. While he spoke, the Sky Ninja snuffed the flames and formed a ring around Kitazawa's team.
You couldn't blame him for underestimating them. First, they were young—the oldest were Kitazawa and Kurenai, only about twenty-two. Second, the Sky Ninja still had numbers on their side. The explosion had killed a chunk, but more than twenty remained.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Izumi's two-tomoe Sharingan spun to life; she tilted her head and spat a massive fireball.
"Sharingan?" Shinno's eyes narrowed. The name Uchiha was known across the ninja world. A girl this young with two tomoe—clearly a prodigy. And anyone qualified to lead such a prodigy meant Kitazawa and Kurenai weren't as simple as they looked.
Even so, Shinno felt no panic. This was the Sky Ninja's home base. More importantly, he believed in his own power.
Wind Release: Vacuum Spheres!
At the same time Izumi struck, Kabuto opened his mouth and spat a string of bullet-like wind orbs.
Ninja Art: Profusion of Flowers!
A storm of petals filled the air as Kurenai vanished from sight.
But none of them were faster than Torune.
Secret Technique: Poison Cloud Jutsu!
Hands together, Torune blew out a hazy cloud—the venomous insects spread like smoke on the wind.
"What is this?" The nearest Sky Ninja inhaled twice on reflex. He didn't even get a second sentence out before he clutched his mouth and nose and collapsed.
"Careful!" Shinno's pupils shrank. "There's poison in that mist!"
Too late. The Sky Ninja near Torune toppled one after another, dead where they stood.
"Such a lethal toxin!" Shock and anger flitted across Shinno's face. He'd seen many poisons as a skilled medical-nin, but none like Torune's Rinkaichū.
He decided instantly: contact kills—there was no saving the afflicted. The only solution was to take Torune out as fast as possible. In Shinno's eyes, Torune was the greatest immediate threat—though Kitazawa, still idle, lingered in the corner of his vision.
Medical Forbidden Art: Body Activity Technique!
Shinno flashed through signs. His ordinary frame bulged with muscle; his clothes stretched tight.
A blur—and he vanished.
With Body Revival, his speed spiked. To Kitazawa, the technique felt reminiscent of the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode—only this was Yang Release chakra doing the "activation." Same concept, different nature. And unlike Lightning Mode, it had glaring flaws: short duration, heavy strain.
While Kitazawa pondered, Shinno's fist crashed toward Torune. He looked nothing like a medic now—pure taijutsu bruiser.
Body Flicker!
Kurenai flashed in front of Torune. She met him with still-awkward Monster Strength.
The impact thundered; Kurenai staggered back several steps, while Shinno didn't budge—he had the edge in raw power.
But he couldn't press immediately—the Rinkaichū were already surging toward him. He retreated without hesitation. He'd seen what the poison did; medic or not, he wouldn't risk contact with nano-insects.
He did have an answer, though.
Activity Strike!
Shinno punched the air; dark chakra surged out, forming countless orbs. Where they struck the Rinkaichū, the orbs swelled and shredded them to pieces.
"What?" Torune's heart lurched. It was the first time he'd seen his Rinkaichū destroyed like that.
Shinno sneered, lunging for Torune again.
Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!
Kurenai flickered in front of him. Their eyes met—and Shinno found himself buried in a tree trunk. Genjutsu. He dispelled it at once—and a Rasengan was already descending.
He threw both forearms up to block. Flesh tore the moment they touched the spinning sphere.
"Argh!" Shinno roared and lashed out with a kick. Kurenai sprang back; distance opened.
She frowned at his forearms. The Rasengan hadn't done what it should have. "He's in some kind of mode," Kitazawa said. "With his body in that state, speed, defense, and offense all get a boost."
"That strong?" Kurenai asked, shocked. "Then what do we do?"
"His body can't sustain that for long," Kitazawa said. "Drag it out and we win."
"Who are you?!" Shinno felt a chill. Kitazawa had described his Body Revival so precisely—knowledge only Shinno should have had. How did this man know? It's not like he told him himself…right?
Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!
In the split second he hesitated, Kabuto Body Flickered behind him. Shinno reacted instantly—he turned and punched the kunai right out of Kabuto's hand with frightening force. Kabuto's face tightened and he leapt back.
As Shinno stepped to follow up, a massive fireball swept toward him; he had to dodge. When he landed and looked around, he realized the remaining Sky Ninja had already been taken out by Kabuto and Izumi. Rage at their incompetence warred with a second realization: the two were stronger than he'd thought.
The tables had turned. Now it was Shinno surrounded by five Konoha shinobi.
Medical Forbidden Art: Body Revival Technique!
Shinno stopped holding back and formed more signs.
Medical Forbidden Art: Body Revival Max Technique!
With three medical techniques stacked, he transformed—middle-aged became youthful; white hair turned black. Muscles swelled; power radiated off him.
"There's a jutsu that makes you younger?" Kabuto's face hardened.
"My insects say his aura just tripled," Torune said gravely.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!
Izumi didn't hesitate—she weaved signs and spat flames, flicking out a flurry of shuriken wreathed in fire that streaked toward Shinno from every angle like bursting blossoms.
Shinno didn't retreat—he charged straight in, batting every shuriken aside with a single punch, then dashed for Izumi.
Secret Technique: Poison Cloud Jutsu!
Torune clapped and blew a thick screen of venomous "smoke" across Izumi's front.
Shinno vanished again.
"Where is he?" Kabuto's eyes swept the field.
"Torune!" Izumi's Sharingan caught an afterimage.
A hiss of wind—and Shinno appeared at Torune's left.
Activity Strike!
Cautious as before, he didn't touch Torune directly, throwing a ranged punch instead. The air howled; the pressure dwarfed his earlier blows, whipping up a gale. Even with Izumi's warning, Torune couldn't react in time.
Kitazawa frowned, darted in, grabbed Torune, and yanked him back. Shinno's brutal punch tore through empty space.
Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!
Kabuto arched back and spewed a massive high-pressure wind sphere. Dust exploded; grass flattened in its wake.
Activity Strike!
Shinno turned and slammed a fist into it.
Boom!
The two forces locked, chakra shockwaves rippling outward. Kabuto's expression sank. With three medical arts stacked, Shinno was stronger than he'd expected.
Ninja Art: Moonlight Beauty!
Kurenai lifted her hands; petals billowed again. Shinno punched; petals scattered—but some still drifted in the air. Noting Kurenai's disappearance, he started to search—just as Kabuto rushed in.
Chakra Scalpel!
Kabuto slashed for Shinno's side. A tearing whistle—Kurenai dropped in above Shinno, a tightly compressed sphere of chakra blooming in her right hand. She flipped and brought the Rasengan down.
Their timing was perfect. Shinno didn't act like someone in danger. Calmly, he raised both fists—one toward Kurenai, one toward Kabuto.
Super Activity Strike!
Dark chakra surged like a waterfall, waves of pressure flooding outward and swallowing both Kurenai and Kabuto. Kurenai instinctively set her Rasengan in front of her, but the force shattered it and hurled her away. Kitazawa leapt up and caught her.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Izumi reacted fast, dropping a massive fireball between Shinno and Kabuto.
Yin Healing Wound Destruction!
Kabuto dismissed the scalpel and covered his head and heart with both hands. A heartbeat later, the dark-chakra surge blew the fireball apart and kept coming. Kabuto braced to tank it—when a wall of earth rose before him.
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.
Kabuto exhaled in relief.
"What an infuriating pest!" Shinno glared at Kitazawa. "I'll kill you first!"
Super Activity Strike!
He drove both fists at Kitazawa—another chakra tsunami.
Composite Ninjutsu: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!
Kitazawa stood his ground, flew through signs, and launched a roaring water dragon wreathed in lightning. It plunged into the torrent; the clash erupted into a blinding screen. In that instant of visual cover—
Leaf Body Flicker!
—Kitazawa vanished and reappeared behind Shinno, drawing Zangetsu without hesitation.
Uchiha-Style: Gale Sword!
The blade burned crimson, fire climbing into a massive flaming edge. Danger prickled down Shinno's spine—he spun and threw a hasty punch.
Activity Strike!
The moment dark chakra formed, the flame blade tore it apart.
"Damn it!" At the brink, Shinno bellowed; terrifying chakra burst from him, hair standing on end as a storm of power formed a shield and shockwaves around him, forcing the flame blade back. Kitazawa retreated at once.
"Is that the Eight Gates?" Kurenai stared, wide-eyed. The hair, the aura—just like Might Guy after opening the Gates. "Blood-red…?" A thought struck her and she blanched. "Is that the Eighth Gate?!"
"Isn't the Eight Gates a Konoha Forbidden Art? How does he know it?" Kabuto felt his breath hitch under the crushing pressure. Torune and Izumi both wore grim looks.
"That's right—the Eight Gates. My medical arts let me open all eight without dying," Shinno laughed. "I won't die—so you will!"
His face twisted; he lunged at Kitazawa without another word, speed and momentum like a collapsing mountain. Worry flashed through the others' eyes—but at this point, they could only trust Kitazawa. With the Eighth Gate open, none of them could stand toe-to-toe.
Torune tried to push Rinkaichū toward Shinno, but the raging chakra around him blasted them away before they could get close.
Kitazawa slashed again—the flame blade cleaved toward Shinno. Shinno didn't dodge; he rammed straight into it. The fire shattered on impact, leaving patches of burns that healed the moment they appeared—Bodily Metamorphosis at work, regenerating everything.
Right now, Shinno was like Creation Rebirth—Strength of a Hundred—stacked atop half an Eight Gates.
His punch hit—Kitazawa crumbled into dirt and was shredded by the shockwaves. Earth Release: Earth Substitution.
Shinno frowned and scanned the field. A whistle—one shuriken flew in. He traced its arc, locked onto Kitazawa, and ignored the shuriken to charge.
The shuriken twitched midair and split into a cloud of real blades.
"What—" Shinno halted. He had tough hide and crazy regen, yes, but a storm like that would turn even him into a sieve.
Super Activity Strike!
He punched; dark chakra burst outward and batted all the blades aside.
"Looks like you never learned the real thing of the Eight Gates," Kitazawa's voice came from behind him. Shinno had opened the Gates without the matching taijutsu—no Evening Elephant, no Night Guy.
He turned on instinct and met Kitazawa's eyes.
Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!
Uchiha-Style: Sword Jump Blaze!
With all eight gates open, Shinno's chakra raged; genjutsu only snagged him for a heartbeat—but it was enough. Kitazawa's flaming blade fell. Heat shimmered, air warping in its wake. Shinno's face changed; too late to dodge. He gritted his teeth and punched the spine of Zangetsu.
Power detonated. Kitazawa's right arm went numb and he slid back.
"Arghh!" Shinno screamed. His fist split; five severed fingers hit the ground.
Medical Forbidden Art: Body Revival Technique!
He blanched—and the fingers regrew in an instant.
"Limb regrowth?" Kabuto's pupils shrank. "How do we even fight that?"
"How can a jutsu be this broken?" Izumi swallowed, nerves jangling.
"I trust Kitazawa," Kurenai said, voice steady. "With his personality, if he couldn't win, he'd have already pulled us out."
Kitazawa didn't hear them. He watched Shinno instead. Body Revival Technique had a time limit; canon never gave specifics, but as a medical-nin, Kitazawa could read a body. Peak and decline have different tells.
"I'll kill you!" Shinno, stung, grew even angrier. He flashed in and drove a fist straight for Kitazawa's heart.
Monster Strength!
Kitazawa planted his feet and answered with a straight right.
"Die!" Shinno grinned, cruel.
Boom!
Their fists met; shockwaves rolled. Shinno's eyes flew wide. How was he that strong? He poured more chakra in. Kitazawa slid back two steps.
"In the end, you still can't match me," Shinno panted.
"Time's about up. Let's end this," Kitazawa said with a faint smile—he'd seen the signs in Shinno's body.
"It is time to end it!" Shinno snarled. "I'll send you to the Pure Land!"
Senju Chakra Mode!
Feeling chakra surge, Kitazawa flashed through signs.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!
A dragon of water materialized and slammed toward Shinno.
"Pointless," Shinno snorted, double-punching the dragon to slurry. But before he'd even retracted his fists, a giant fireball was already on top of him. He Body Flickered away—and landed in a ring of flaming, shuriken-laced Phoenix Flowers.
Activity Strike!
He stepped back and punched; dark chakra swept the blades aside. Crackling thunder raced along the ground—Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder
Shinno sprang up to avoid it—only to be peppered midair by bullet-fast wind spheres. He couldn't react in time; his back blossomed with a cluster of bloody holes.
He screamed—no time to breathe.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
Kitazawa exhaled a torrent. The moment it hit the ground it billowed into a scorching gale that swallowed Shinno.
"Damn it!" Panic flashed in Shinno's eyes. Kitazawa's unbroken chain of jutsu had thrown him off. Why were Kitazawa's hand seals so fast? Why was there no cooldown between techniques? Worst of all, Kitazawa commanded all five natures—strikes from above and below left him nowhere to run.
"So this is Kitazawa-sensei's true strength?" Kabuto was as shocked as Shinno. He'd never seen anyone cast ninjutsu as easily as drinking water.
"A-amazing…" Izumi stared, mouth open. Kitazawa had always felt strong, but seeing it was another thing entirely.
"...?" Kurenai, stunned, had a face full of question marks. She wanted to ask if Kitazawa had been secretly training behind her back. In her mind, he was around elite jōnin level—about on par with Kakashi. But Kakashi couldn't weave seals that fast, nor chain ninjutsu like instant-cast spells.
Kitazawa and Shinno fought on—but the fight had become one-sided. Shinno was a stat monster facing a mechanics master. He had crazy regen, speed, and power, but he couldn't get close. Under Kitazawa's relentless jutsu, he was reduced to a ragged retreat.
"No—I can't keep this up!" Discomfort gnawed inside Shinno. At this intensity, Body Revival was burning out fast. The end was near.
He gritted his teeth and charged Kitazawa head-on. A water dragon crashed into him; he didn't flinch. A heartbeat later—a massive fireball. He accelerated, blasted through the flames, and threw a punch that warped the air.
Monster Strength!
Kitazawa met his fist exactly. This time, Kitazawa didn't budge. Shinno's pupils tightened.
Wind Release: Rasengan!
Kitazawa braced Shinno's fist with his right and pressed a wind-charged Rasengan into Shinno's abdomen with his left.
"Arghhh!"
Shinno's belly went to pulp. And then, like a punctured skin, his body deflated—youth vanished in an instant, wrinkles crawling across his face as his hair flashed white again. He withered where he stood.
~~~
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