Thirty-Six: Undying Flame

"Black rain..."

Orochimaru stood outside Amegakure, staring blankly as black rain fell from the sky.

No, it wasn't rain.

The moment he saw the drops ignite everything they touched as they fell, Orochimaru finally realized what they were.

Fire.

The flames had cooled to such a low temperature that, under their wielder's influence, they had condensed into a black liquid while retaining their burning properties.

And this black fire wasn't ordinary flame, either.

Ordinary fire would immediately weaken when hit by Water Release, and might even be doused instantly by a large amount of it.

But this fire didn't weaken at all.

No, the moment it touched water, it set the water ablaze too.

"Is this fire... a ninjutsu? Or..."

A curious look appeared on Orochimaru's face.

Who had unleashed such flames in Amegakure?

Could it be...

An image of someone flashed through his mind.

But he didn't remember that person being able to use flames like these.

Then who could it be?

As the flames surged, a thunderous explosion rang out from the direction of Amegakure. A moment later, a black silhouette rushed out of the village.

Orochimaru's eyes widened as the figure gradually emerged from the smoke.

Black hair, red eyes, and a blond woman slung over his back. It was Uchiha Sakuya, without a doubt.

He had indeed rescued Tsunade.

But...

Uchiha Sakuya's eyes... a sun?

Seeing the sun-shaped pattern in Sakuya's pupils, Orochimaru was puzzled.

What was that...?

"Go!"

Sakuya didn't stop beside Orochimaru. He rushed straight past him.

Orochimaru came to his senses and hurried after him.

As they fled, he stole a glance back toward Amegakure.

The black flames continued burning through the village, even after their wielder had stopped controlling them.

And they were only growing more intense.

It was as if they wouldn't stop until they had burned everything in Amegakure to ash.

"Sakuya, that fire..."

"We'll talk later."

Sakuya said no more.

Under Orochimaru's astonished gaze, the sun-shaped patterns in Sakuya's eyes slowly spun.

At last, they turned back into the shape of the Three Tomoe.

"Orochimaru, were you waiting outside to help us?"

Tsunade asked from Sakuya's back. "What about Dan Katō and Jiraiya?"

"I sent them back to the village first," Orochimaru replied. "Ibuse's poison is the priority."

"Mm."

Tsunade looked at Sakuya with concern.

"Sakuya, your body..."

"I can handle it."

They were safe for the moment. Sakuya let out a breath, and the Tomoe in his pupils slowly faded.

A sharp pain coursed through his bones as his Sharingan vanished.

"Kh!"

He groaned, stopping in his tracks. His entire body trembled with the pain.

"Sakuya!"

Orochimaru hurried to steady him.

"Put me down, Sakuya!" Tsunade called anxiously.

"It's... nothing."

Sakuya drew a deep breath, forcing the pain back.

"It's just a side effect from overusing my dōjutsu. I'm fine now."

"Let's find somewhere to rest."

Orochimaru glanced around. Seeing no pursuers, he let out a sigh of relief. "We should be safe for now."

"Mm."

Sakuya nodded and followed Orochimaru to a clean cave.

"Lady Katsuyu, please heal Sakuya at once."

As soon as Tsunade was set down, she spoke to the summoning creature resting on her.

"Understood, Lady Tsunade."

Katsuyu hopped down from Tsunade and crawled onto Sakuya's shoulder.

"Sorry for the trouble."

Sakuya smiled and nodded to the summoning creature.

He was quite curious about the summoning creatures from Shikkotsu Forest, but now wasn't the time.

As Katsuyu's soothing Yang Release Chakra flowed into him, Sakuya let out a deep breath and closed his eyes to rest.

There was no denying that this sage from Shikkotsu Forest was formidable.

In just half an hour, his injuries had almost completely healed. Apart from being low on chakra, he was essentially fine.

He glanced at Tsunade, who also had her eyes closed while another Katsuyu clone treated her, and felt reassured.

Orochimaru, keeping watch at the cave entrance, turned around as if he'd sensed Sakuya waking.

Their eyes met. Sakuya rose silently and walked out of the cave.

"Heh. You look much better, Sakuya."

Orochimaru spoke softly.

"Mm. I'm just a little low on chakra."

Sakuya took out a Military Ration Pill and popped it into his mouth. "My injuries are fine."

"That's good."

Orochimaru nodded, then turned to look toward Amegakure again.

Sakuya followed his gaze and saw the village blanketed in Black Flames.

"Amegakure's still burning. It's been more than an hour since you came out, hasn't it? And yet the fire hasn't gone out. If anything, it's only getting stronger."

As he watched the raging Black Flames, a hint of wariness flashed in Orochimaru's eyes.

He had no liking for flames that could burn away all life.

"That fire can't be put out."

Sakuya explained, "Those Black Flames can burn everything. Not just houses—anything they touch becomes fuel. The earth, ninjutsu, the weather... even the air."

"What a terrifying fire."

Orochimaru's wariness deepened. "Is that fire something from inside Amegakure?"

If Amegakure had flames like that, the Second Shinobi World War raging now would become much harder to fight. And if they were pushed too far and unleashed that fire, he had no idea who could stop it.

"Don't worry. Those Black Flames are called Amaterasu. They're my dōjutsu."

Sakuya said, "My Mangekyō dōjutsu."

"Mangekyō... Sharingan?"

Orochimaru recalled the sunlike red eyes he'd seen on Sakuya earlier and understood.

He had heard the stories about Madara Uchiha, but he'd never imagined that Uchiha Sakuya could possess those same eyes.

"Can Amaterasu ignite poison?"

Orochimaru asked.

"...It can."

Sakuya nodded. "It burns everything. Apart from Sealing Jutsu, there's no way to deal with it."

Of course, in a later version, someone with the Rinnegan could absorb Amaterasu by using a sealing technique and break it down into chakra. But in Konoha's current era—

The Black Flames meant certain death to anyone they touched!

"The Scroll of Sealing... a fire-suppression sealing technique?"

Orochimaru mused. "But as far as I know, no such Sealing Jutsu exists in the Shinobi World today."

"Oh?"

Sakuya raised an eyebrow.

"Jiraiya doesn't know it either?"

He remembered Jiraiya using the Seal of Fire Suppression in the original story to seal the Amaterasu that Itachi Uchiha had unleashed.

But apparently, it didn't exist yet?

Was it simply too early in the timeline for anyone to have developed that sealing technique?