It's Okay Now

Roar—!!

Mahoraga spewed a torrent of flames from its mouth. The limbless Ibuse struggled to rise, squeezing its poison sacs dry to release a purple mist.

Ibuse could dispel the Summoning Technique, but seeing its master in such a weakened state, it was unwilling to leave.

At the very least... it had to hold this monster back one more time...

Kamizuki's breathing was heavy and ragged. Hanzo was severely injured, but Kamizuki himself was not much better off.

He had not been completely unaffected by Hanzo's poison. His blood production simply outpaced the poison's onset, allowing him to postpone dealing with it for now.

Orochimaru had been right. He was the kind of person who ignored the cost once a fight began.

To keep up with Hanzo's Body Flicker Technique, he had to continuously use the Sharingan at high intensity. His eyes were already starting to burn...

Ibuse's cry distracted Hanzo. It should have been an opening.

However...

Within the Sharingan's vision, Kamizuki could see Ibuse's poison seeping into Hanzo's Chakra pathways.

Rather than corroding them, it had somehow reached a strange balance.

You...

—

Fire Style: Searing Migraine!!

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

The sea of flames roared, about to swallow Ibuse whole—

Drip—

A drop of dark-purple venom shot from Hanzo's fingertip, instantly landing between the inferno and Ibuse.

Strangely, the poison spreading from Ibuse's mouth and the raging sea of fire were drawn toward that inconspicuous droplet of purple liquid.

As though some special chemical reaction had occurred—

BOOOOOOM—!!!!!!!

Poison and flames merged within a devastating explosion, transforming into a violet tornado of destruction!

Poison fire shot into the sky as waves surged forth. The entire battlefield was completely consumed by the terrifying torrent of explosions, leaving no blind spots!!

Smoke, dust, and poisonous mist slowly settled as the violent energy fluctuations gradually calmed.

Across the devastated wasteland.

Hanzo lay sprawled over Ibuse's battered body, continuously coughing up blackish-purple blood.

On the other side.

Half of Mahoraga's shoulder and arm had been blown away. Black tentacles and purple poison battled fiercely within the shattered wound, neither side able to overcome the other for the moment.

Kamizuki stood atop its intact shoulder, stormy waves churning within his scarlet eyes.

"You really did it... you bastard..."

"Heh... hehehe... Growing in battle isn't a privilege reserved for you young people..."

Hanzo straightened up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"I should thank you as well, for helping me make up my mind to try using... the power that had always been part of my body."

Amegakure had once possessed an incomparably venomous Black Salamander. After it died, its poison sac had been implanted into Hanzo's body.

That gave Hanzo resistance to poison, but if the poison sac in his abdomen ruptured during battle, even he would be unable to withstand the toxicity.

Kamizuki's way of fighting—using his blood as a weapon and accepting every part of himself—had made Hanzo think...

Perhaps...

I should accept it rather than fear and reject it.

"You stole my idea."

The corners of Kamizuki's lips curled upward, a smile spreading through his eyes.

Hanzo was smiling too.

"The Uchiha Sharingan is famous for copying other people's ninjutsu. Being copied doesn't feel very good, does it?"

"No..."

Wild excitement surged into Kamizuki's eyes, and he made no attempt to restrain his intense delight.

"It's hard to describe how happy I am right now... Hanzo, you really are..."

"Anyway, don't ever turn into something that disappoints me!"

"Oh, and you should thank me one more time."

"Because..."

"At the very moment you reach your peak, I'll give you the perfect ending!!!"

Hanzo assumed a stance, his smile widening.

I will win.

But if I die by your hand, I can accept that.

Because the one who defeats me...

Will surely bring peace to this world!

Both sides knew that the next strike would be the last.

Chakra visibly flowed from Mahoraga's body into Kamizuki, continuously gathering as his black hair whipped wildly in the wind—

Just then.

Hanzo sensed something unusual. A faint thread of power seemed to have entered the battlefield, heading toward Kamizuki.

The next moment, he focused his gaze.

The boy's unrestrained smile had vanished. His eyes were dark as a frigid pool, all emotion withdrawn, and his presence was colder even than Mahoraga beneath him.

He felt it...

Beneath that calm expression was an ultimate fury that would tear everything apart!!

What... had happened?

Tap—

Kamizuki leaped down from Mahoraga, his steps growing wider and faster with every stride.

"W-What happened...?"

Lulu had no idea either. Having spent years with Kamizuki day and night, she had never seen such an expression on his face.

She did not dare approach him. Her instincts told her that if she dared try to stop him now, Kamizuki would definitely kill her!

In the instant Hanzo blinked, Kamizuki, who had just passed by him, completely vanished from sight.

BOOM—!

The thunderous sound arrived late.

A long, black fissure tore straight across the ground. The sound of air splitting had been utterly drowned out, leaving only the heavy roar of the earth breaking apart to prove the horrifying speed of that charge!

So fast!

Faster than any of his previous movements!!

He still had power like this!

What could make a madman who reveled in battle abandon the fight...

What on earth had happened!!

—

—

—

The blood-red color faded from Kamizuki's eyes, leaving them pitch-black.

Extreme explosive force coursed through his limbs. The instant his foot came down, the hardened earth could not withstand the terrifying kinetic energy erupting in an instant.

His face was expressionless.

His heart was calm as well.

The mark he had left on Mikoto had been triggered. That meant something had happened to make her lose consciousness.

Ah...

I knew something like this would happen. Family really is such a troublesome thing.

Happiness and pain existed in equal measure.

From the moment one began accepting happiness that existed because of others, there would one day come a time when their gains and losses threw one's emotions into chaos.

He truly hated it.

They were all idiots. If a mission was dangerous, then they should not go. The one who had gone to die for love was an idiot too.

He alone should have been enough, yet they insisted on adding an even more idiotic burden. He truly hated it.

Living in the same world as a bunch of idiots was such a pain.

She should be dead, right? It would be best if she were dead.

Then everything could return to how it had been at the beginning, back when he did not have to care about anyone. How easy would that be?

Idiot, don't die too horribly... cleaning up would be troublesome.

Don't...

Her body was almost completely intact, and even her wounds were healing.

Yet her entire being was drenched in blood beneath the shroud of negative emotions.

—

—

At the border of the Land of Fire.

Upon seeing flashes of light in the forest at their designated rhythm, the two Kumogakure shinobi traveling with Hiruko breathed a sigh of relief.

The other team had completed its mission as well. Once they left the Land of Fire, they would be safe!

Hearing footsteps, Kushina first saw Hiruko's Konoha forehead protector at the front of the group, and joy had yet to rise in her eyes...

Before the Kumogakure forehead protectors worn by the male and female shinobi behind him plunged her into despair.

The female shinobi was carrying a petite girl over her shoulder. Kushina could not see her face due to the position, but her Chakra felt somewhat familiar.

Inside Kushina, the Nine-Tails watched the outside world indifferently.

Heh... These idiots seem not to have realized that this girl is a jinchuriki. They must be after her physique.

Do they intend to use her to seal that bastard Gyuki?

Good. Once you start doing that, I'll be able to join him—

Wait.

The other brat is an Uchiha?! Don't tell me they also intend to...

Wait!!

Bound by the seal, with only its head able to move, the Nine-Tails suddenly realized something. It strained to stretch its neck, baring its fangs.

That presence...

What is this... Can a living creature even possess such malice?!

Its ability to sense malice had never reacted so intensely before!!

"Is she still alive?"

The Kumogakure shinobi who had arrived first asked. A dead Kekkei Genkai was worth far less, and would not justify the sacrifices made during this operation.

"She's still—"

The female shinobi answering stopped after speaking the first word.

So cold...

Why had it suddenly become so cold...

She slowly lowered her head. Before she could see what had happened, her vision tilted to one side.

Then she saw it.

It was her own body, except half of it was gone.

How...

—

Mikoto's eyelashes trembled faintly, her blurred vision unable to see clearly.

A familiar, warm hand pressed against her forehead and gently stroked it. The voice was so soft, as though soothing a child to sleep.

"Don't be afraid... Your brother is here."

"It's okay now."

Then,

The roar of the air being torn apart arrived late.