Amaterasu

The world fell silent, listening to the sound of space-time distortion!

"Kamui!"

What?

Kakuzu was surprised. He knew whose skill that was, that power capable of distorting space. Even an immortal like himself was wary of it.

He quickly retreated, trying to escape the range of Kamui. He didn't care about anything else; as long as he was out of Kamui's range, everything else could be dealt with.

But Kamui's speed still surpassed Kakuzu's escape speed as space gradually distorted.

In just an instant, Kakuzu's left arm was twisted off by Kakashi.

Kakuzu, having created distance, had a grim expression.

At least, that's how it appeared to Kakashi and the others. Losing his right arm would greatly affect Kakuzu's combat ability. Now, before Kakuzu could react...

He might as well go all out and finish Kakuzu off.

This was Kakashi's current thought. He condensed Chidori in his hand and charged forward. Kakuzu used Earth Style: Earth Wall to block. Seeing Kakashi advance, Josuke also moved forward, deciding to join the fray for some merit.

Two Flying Thunder God Kunai appeared in his hands.

He held one and, finding the right moment, threw the other behind Kakuzu.

A pincer attack. This time, if he couldn't defeat Kakuzu, his name wasn't Uchiha. Joy at the prospect of victory filled Josuke's heart.

The Akatsuki weren't that strong, huh.

The Flying Thunder God Kunai quickly arrived behind Kakuzu. Kakuzu didn't block, just like last time. Without a second thought, Josuke teleported over.

Having suffered once, Kakuzu wouldn't be foolish enough to fall for the same trick twice.

He had already figured out how to deal with two opponents. As an ancient monster who had lived for a very long time, what kind of storms hadn't he weathered? He wasn't even afraid when he went toe-to-toe with the First Hokage.

Did he really go toe-to-toe? Just an old boastful man.

Kakashi's offensive from the front also approached quietly. A clone of Kakuzu used Earth Style: Earth Wall to block Kakashi's Chidori.

Kakashi's Chidori struck the Earth Wall, creating a large, deep pit, but it didn't cause any substantial damage. Kakashi immediately began condensing his next Chidori.

Meanwhile, behind him...

Josuke used Flying Thunder God to instantly appear behind Kakuzu, tossing the Kunai in his hand upward. The Rasengan had already been condensed in his other hand, and he charged towards Kakuzu.

Kakuzu was prepared. How could he fall for the same trick twice?

He immediately blocked with his left hand, and simultaneously, his mask unleashed Fire Style to burn Josuke. Josuke grinned. Did he think I didn't know? Sorry, Flying Thunder God, Second Stage!

Josuke leaped into the air and, using the previously thrown Flying Thunder God Kunai, appeared in front of Kakuzu. The Rasengan gathered in his right hand, smashing towards Kakuzu's crown.

Naive!

The expected shattering of Kakuzu's mask didn't happen. Instead, Josuke himself was tightly bound in the air by ropes!

What?

How could this be?

He looked closely and saw that the ropes binding him were actually the ropes connecting Kakuzu's right arm to his body. Josuke and Kakashi had fallen into Kakuzu's trap from the beginning.

Kamui was indeed powerful, but Kakashi and Josuke had forgotten that Kakuzu's severed arms could be repaired and regenerated by his masks, as long as there were masks to perform the repair.

Kakuzu's original target was to kill Kakashi first, but who could have predicted?

Josuke delivered himself to his doorstep.

Then Josuke, you'll just have to die! Shine!

The ropes were like swords, about to pierce Josuke's chest. Kakashi and the others were extremely anxious, but Kakashi was blocked by the Fire Mask in front of him.

He could only watch helplessly!

Is this it? Josuke felt his life flash before his eyes. He probably wouldn't die, depending on where Kakuzu stabbed him, but the probability of him dying was still high. He might even be reanimated like Itachi.

Then he'd fight the Allied Shinobi Forces, likely as a gatekeeping boss.

His life flashed before his eyes. So unwilling!!!

So unwilling!

I'm sorry, Ino... It's all my fault for underestimating him. Naruto should be here soon. Then, you can avenge me. Sigh, if only I had Amaterasu right now.

I could burn through these ropes directly...

Perhaps people only understand at the last moment of their lives... Josuke opened his eyes and looked at the attacks rapidly approaching him, feeling unusually calm.

He just felt his eyes itching, as if something black was emerging.

It seemed to be nullifying all of Kakuzu's attacks. What was that?

Josuke stared at the black, fire-like substances, utterly shocked. What was this?

"Amaterasu!"

More black matter poured from his eyes. When it poured from his eyes, it was colorless, but once it reached its destination, black, inextinguishable flames appeared!

What's going on?

Why is this?

When did I awaken my eyes?

Josuke was incredulous. He was one hundred percent sure that he had indeed awakened his eyes, and his right hand, which had bound Josuke, was also burned to ashes by Amaterasu.

This left Kakuzu with no possibility of repairing his arm.

Josuke fell towards the ground as if in freefall. Fortunately, Kakashi summoned a clone in time to catch him.

Mangekyo Sharingan. Kakashi only heard Josuke muttering incessantly, "Mangekyo?"

Indeed, Josuke's eyes had transformed into the shape of a captivating scarlet Fuma Shuriken. A pair of terrifying eyes, that was Kakashi's first impression.

Scarlet blood gushed from both of Josuke's eyes. Josuke knew this was the backlash of the Mangekyo. Without obtaining the Mangekyo from a close relative and transplanting and integrating it, he would not achieve eternal light.

Josuke felt his eyesight had slightly decreased. The symptoms were minuscule, yet Josuke keenly noticed them.

"Josuke... are you alright?"

Just as Josuke was still lost in thought, Kakashi woke him up from his dazed state.

Right, they were still fighting Kakuzu. It wasn't the time for him to space out. Josuke took several deep breaths, adjusting his state. Since he had Amaterasu, did that mean Susanoo was also available?!

Susanoo, the third power that could only be unlocked by awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, was known as the power of the gods. Susanoo symbolized destruction. The world said: anyone who saw it with their own eyes would inevitably die.

It was divided into initial stage (transforming into arms and ribs), first stage (the form resembling a skeleton), second stage (the skeleton covered with meridians and flesh), third stage (adding a Tengu helmet to the original Susanoo), fourth stage (adding the lower body and legs to the original second form). The third and fourth stages were not evolutionary relationships.

And finally, the Perfect Susanoo!!!

Only those who had pushed their Mangekyo Sharingan's pupil power to the extreme and possessed immense Chakra could activate the Perfect Susanoo.

The volume of Susanoo would become extraordinarily large, its Chakra would stabilize, and its power could not only easily split mountains and meteorites but also possess the ability to fly. At the same time, it could form hand seals to unleash the jutsu the caster excelled at.