Susanoo

As a kid watching Naruto, who hadn't dreamed of becoming a Jinchuriki one day—or piloting a giant Susanoo?

Josuke had thought he'd never get a Susanoo or a Mangekyo. Who knew he'd awaken one out of nowhere? It was a complete surprise.

Susanoo!!

Josuke's breathing quickened as he repeated the word in his mind.

He felt his Chakra rapidly spilling out, taking shape around him!

With Josuke's control, Susanoo appeared before him. Its body was white. At first, it was only a small skeleton, but it quickly grew into a half-body skeleton.

He'd activated the second stage right away, skipping the first stage entirely.

So this was the power of the Uchiha?

The power of a god!

At that moment, Josuke had the strength to challenge the heavy hitters of the later story. He just didn't know if he could advance further.

Susanoo was powerful, but it consumed far too much Chakra. After maintaining it for just ten seconds, Josuke felt he'd used up one-fiftieth of his Chakra.

He was still seriously short on Chakra. No wonder the Ninja War would've been a joke if it took less energy. Madara could've kept Susanoo going forever and wiped out the entire Shinobi Alliance.

He'd come this far, so he had to try it out. Otherwise, he'd be wasting his eyesight.

Josuke looked at Kakuzu. "Sorry to have kept you waiting so long. Now then, die!"

Kakuzu was shocked by the strange power Josuke had displayed.

He didn't know what it was, but a giant like that was obviously powerful.

He hurriedly retreated, sending his masks to attack Josuke with water and fire.

That's all you've got?

Josuke shook his head. Too weak. Susanoo had taken some damage, but it hadn't even come close to hurting him.

He had Susanoo throw a punch at each of the water and fire masks.

But because of the distance, both masks dodged Josuke's attacks.

"What? That works too?" Josuke grumbled inwardly. "Fine, you want to play it that way? Second stage, then!"

In that instant, flesh grew over Susanoo's bones. It was no longer just a skeleton. When Susanoo reached its second stage, it awakened its own signature weapon, and Josuke's was no exception.

Josuke was a little surprised.

His Susanoo had gained a long-handled weapon, which could shift between two forms: a naginata and the Kusanagi Sword.

All right. Enough talk—let's see it in action.

A naginata formed in Susanoo's massive hand, forged from white Chakra. It looked incredibly sharp.

Josuke didn't need to move along with Susanoo. He only had to picture the movements in his mind, and Susanoo would carry them out. That was pretty impressive.

Susanoo swung its naginata at the fire mask, cutting it cleanly in two.

The water mask tried to fight back, but before it could react, Josuke made Susanoo crush it.

Only Kakuzu remained, with one heart left.

Kakuzu was already at death's door and no longer a threat. Just like in the original story, Kakashi killed him with a Kunai. The once-powerful Kakuzu died right there.

It was all over. Josuke dismissed Susanoo, and two more trails of blood ran from his eyes.

His vision grew blurry again.

Whew.

That power was even greater than he'd imagined.

That was what Josuke thought. What a shame—if he used it too much, he'd go blind. He'd already spent a lot of Chakra, and the second stage consumed even more than the first.

But the results were just as incredible.

After Kakuzu, Sasuke would cut down Orochimaru. But Josuke remembered that before that happened, Orochimaru had tried to capture the Three-Tails.

Then the Akatsuki Organization stole it from him.

(The Orochimaru-and-the-Three-Tails capture storyline was original to the TV anime, but I'm counting it anyway since Kishimoto approved it. Heh.)

After that, Sasuke would cut Orochimaru down.

Then Sasuke's Snake Team would form, they'd fight Deidara, and then Sasuke would take on Itachi. Jiraiya-sensei would die, Pain would invade Konoha, and then there'd be the Five Kage Summit.

That was more or less how it went.

Josuke sighed helplessly.

Awakening the Mangekyo had its pros and cons. The good part was that his strength had reached a new level. The bad part was that he was now dangerously close to going blind.

It was hard to imagine how that brat Sasuke had ruined his eyes in just a few days.

It was also hard to imagine how Obito had used his eyes for so many years without going blind. Did Kamui not consume ocular power?

That was absurd.

Josuke put those questions aside. Since Ino was unharmed, he could relax.

It was strange, really. His original reason for coming had been to protect Ino.

Now he'd ended up as the main carry of the mission.

It was all pretty ridiculous.

Enough of that. After resting for a while, Josuke decided to leave.

"Ino... I'm heading out."

Now that he'd accomplished his goal, there was no reason for him to stay.

"Josuke! Don't go!"

A voice came from the distance. Josuke paused for a moment. Judging by the timeline, that person should have arrived by now.

But Josuke had no intention of waiting.

He looked gently at Ino. Her face reddened, and she didn't dare look up at him. She simply nodded in silence.

A voice sounded in Josuke's mind.

"Yeah. I'll miss you."

Ino sent the words using the Yamanaka Clan's special telepathic technique.

Josuke then left the scene, leaving behind Naruto, who had arrived late.

Had he still been too late?

Naruto was filled with regret. He didn't blame Kakashi-sensei and the others for failing to stop Josuke.

Instead, he blamed himself for arriving so late.

Shikamaru had told Naruto everything that had happened with Asuma, making Naruto even more certain of what he believed.

Josuke must have had some unspoken reason for leaving.

And almost meeting him today only strengthened Naruto's belief.

The wounded heart inside him began beating again.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto greeted Kakashi.

"Yeah. I'll give you a quick rundown of what just happened."

Kakashi briefly explained what had happened.

Naruto was astonished when he heard the whole story. Josuke had gotten even stronger.

He couldn't afford to fall behind either!

Naruto clenched his fists, his fighting spirit soaring.

He would bring Josuke and Sasuke back to the village, no matter what. And he would become Hokage!

Josuke knew nothing about Naruto's thoughts. As soon as he returned to Orochimaru's base, he went to search through Orochimaru's jutsu library for a Sealing Technique.

One capable of sealing a Tailed Beast.

For some reason, neither Orochimaru nor Sasuke was at the base today. They were probably off training somewhere again. Whatever. My snake-sensei is going to bite the dust soon anyway. QAQ