Heavenly Phenomenon Descends

"It's over."

The Toad Mouth Binding Technique slowly dissipated, and Jiraiya emerged from within.

Behind him, the Three Ninja Swords lay powerless on the ground. Raiga Kurosuki and Pipa Juzo no longer showed any signs of life.

Suikazan Fuguki still had a faint trace of life left, but a huge, twisted, spiraling wound had opened in his lower abdomen. A special Five Elements Curse Seal pattern was imprinted over the wound.

"Lord Jiraiya."

Aburame Shibi hurried over.

"Take the two corpses and the three ninja swords back."

Jiraiya spoke in a deep voice. "Suikazan Fuguki is the head of the Mist Intelligence Division. I sealed his Chakra—take him back for interrogation."

"Yes, Lord Jiraiya."

"Where's Fugaku?"

"Lord Fugaku went after Yuki Yoru."

Aburame Shibi said, "Southeast. My Kikaichū had been following them, but they were destroyed halfway there. The two have most likely already begun fighting."

"Pursuing him alone?"

Jiraiya frowned deeply. It wasn't that he doubted Fugaku. As the Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan, Fugaku's strength was something Jiraiya knew well. Moreover, clans like that always had special secret techniques and trump cards. Jiraiya had considerable faith in Fugaku, which was why he had initially let Fugaku handle the Three Ninja Swords.

But pursuing someone alone could easily lead to unexpected complications, especially when the opponent was that boy with such bizarre methods.

"Hm?!"

The two of them raised their heads almost simultaneously, staring in astonishment at the distant sky.

The previously clear sky changed abruptly. Thick storm clouds blanketed the heavens, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and the oppressive atmosphere made it hard to breathe.

A violent wind swept through, and in the blink of an eye, rain poured down in sheets!

"This..."

The sight before them left both men stunned. How was this possible?!

This was not the Land of Rain. Kumamoto Prefecture was a famous tourist destination within the Land of Fire. It had nothing else going for it except beautiful scenery, bright sunshine, and pleasant weather.

How could it have been blazing under the scorching sun one moment, then covered in dark clouds and drenched in torrential rain the next?!

"Something's wrong..."

"Wait! Lord Jiraiya, that's the direction Lord Fugaku went!"

Aburame Shibi suddenly cried out.

Jiraiya's heart sank. Looking at the lightning-filled heavens, his expression became exceedingly grave.

With ordinary methods, it was simply impossible to create a heavenly phenomenon of this scale. Even a forbidden technique could not produce such an extent of abnormality.

Unless...

Senjutsu!

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Jiraiya formed hand seals and created a shadow clone.

"Shibi, go with my clone and take the three ninja swords and Suikazan Fuguki back first. I'll go find Fugaku."

"Yes, Lord Jiraiya!"

Aburame Shibi nodded solemnly, sealing the three ninja swords, Pipa Juzo, and Raiga Kurosuki into a Scroll.

Then, he controlled his insect swarm to lift Suikazan Fuguki from the ground.

After the two Jiraiyas exchanged a glance, the clone and Aburame Shibi hurried toward the Konohagakure camp, while Jiraiya's original body raced toward the battlefield where Yoru and Uchiha Fugaku were fighting.

At the same time.

As the second stage of Susanoo took shape, dark clouds suddenly filled the sky and rain began pouring down.

The falling rain hung like curtains of beads, connecting heaven and earth. A biting cold wind howled, and Uchiha Fugaku, standing within Susanoo, suddenly felt waves of chill seep into his body. He involuntarily narrowed his eyes.

Within his field of vision, Yoru, who should have been waiting to die, suddenly experienced a geometric surge in both his aura and the Chakra within his body.

Most importantly, there was the sword in his hand!

That was right.

The changes in Hyōrinmaru had not escaped Fugaku's Three-Tomoe eyes. What had originally been an ordinary long sword now had a chain extending from the pommel, its end shaped like a crescent moon.

And at the blade's tip, traces of ice crystals had appeared as well.

Wait...

Ice crystals?!

"Gunnou Hyōchū!"

Yoru swung Hyōrinmaru fiercely, sending a dense barrage of ice bullets shooting out toward the massive Susanoo.

Susanoo swung its blade, annihilating every ice spike, but Uchiha Fugaku's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Hyoton..."

"According to the intelligence, you never possessed the Hyoton Kekkei Genkai. Did you awaken it under extreme pressure, or have you been concealing your strength all along?" Uchiha Fugaku said in a deep voice. "But unfortunately, Hyoton of this level cannot alter your fate in the slightest. Before the Divine Power of the Uchiha Clan, the so-called Yuki Clan is nothing more than a joke!"

"Is that so?"

Yoru neither confirmed nor denied it.

Compared to the Six Paths Sage's sons—the core of the ninja world's main storyline—the Uchiha Clan indeed stood above the Yuki Clan. Whether in terms of upper or lower limits, the Sharingan also surpassed Hyoton.

But—

This wasn't Hyoton!

"Ice Dragon Roar!"

Facing the incoming Sword of Susanoo, Yoru did not retreat a single step. Hyōrinmaru swung in his hand, and a roaring ice dragon burst from its blade, crashing fiercely against the Sword of Susanoo.

Fugaku's expression turned cold as he increased his Dojutsu Power, intending to smash this chunk of ice to pieces.

Yet in the next instant, his pupils abruptly shrank, filled with shock.

"Boom!!"

Just as he had expected, Susanoo at full power was not something an ice dragon of this level could stop. With one slash, the ice dragon shattered, scattering countless fragments of frozen ice through the sky.

But immediately afterward, the ice fragments filling the air suddenly spread out. Countless streaks of frost connected and condensed, forming a layer of ice across Susanoo's surface.

Susanoo's movements noticeably stalled.

"Wait, water vapor?!"

Uchiha Fugaku frowned tightly.

As if sensing something, Uchiha Fugaku suddenly raised his head toward the gloomy sky, then fixed his gaze firmly on Yoru before him.

That Yuki Clan brat had actually raised the sword in his hand high at that moment. Frigid energy surged into the heavens, and then the sky and earth changed color as wind and clouds churned.

The rainwater that had originally been dripping onto Susanoo was turning into frost at a visible rate, layer upon layer spreading over it and continuously restricting Susanoo's movements.

Feeling the temperature around him steadily dropping and Susanoo growing increasingly sluggish, Uchiha Fugaku's expression became ever more solemn.

If it had only been a single layer of frost, Uchiha Fugaku would not have been so shocked.

But that originally thin layer of frost expanded into layers of ice crystals in the blink of an eye. The crystals linked together, and within only a few breaths, completely froze the entire Susanoo within a shell of ice!

"This brat is actually... controlling the weather?!"

How could this little ghost possibly possess power on this level—the power to command heaven and earth?