A Parting Gift

"Kill me? You Leaf Village brats sure have some nerve!"

Every hair on the Fourth Raikage's head stood on end as he flew into a rage. The Lightning Release chakra surrounding his body instantly expanded, growing several times stronger than his previous Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

"Brat, I originally prepared this move for the Yellow Flash. Since you're so eager to die, I'll let you witness the strongest Lightning Release Armor!"

"Lightning Release: Lariat!"

Combining the explosive speed of Lightning Release with immense arm strength, he charged at Uchiha Hanazuki far faster than the Body Flicker Technique.

"This is the end, Uchiha brat!"

"Is that so? No matter how powerful a technique is, it's useless if it can't hit the enemy. I'm right, aren't I, big guy with no rapping talent?"

Dust scattered wildly as the powerful arm gouged furrows in the earth. The Fourth Raikage looked down to see that all that remained was a bent and twisted kunai.

Killer B, who had been picking up his pen and paper to jot down an idea, turned his head. At some point, Hanazuki had silently appeared beside him, brows knitted.

"As I thought, you really have no rapping talent, old man Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."

"Fool! Bastard! You've been going on about me having no talent since earlier! You're one irritating brat!"

A tail resembling an octopus tentacle spread over his arm. Its brown skin, covered in rows of pale suction cups, was deeply unsettling.

"B! Show this brat the power of the AB Combo! Lightning Release: Double Lariat!"

"Fool! Bastard! We'll show you our combo technique!"

Chakra that seemed to have a life of its own shrouded their bodies. A pale red Tailed Beast Cloak appeared, and Killer B raised his hand just as quickly as the Fourth Raikage. Their pincer attack came in an instant.

"A Tailed Beast Cloak? No wonder you're a Perfect Jinchuriki, having mastered how to wield a Tailed Beast. This is my parting gift. It's over."

Bang!

Their powerful arms collided, crushing the kunai into fragments in an instant. As the chakra seal engraved on its handle began to glow, a black sphere surrounded by a halo appeared before them.

"Spiraling Ring."

The dazzling radiance swallowed everything caught in its light. After a long silence, a thunderous explosion followed.

Crash! Boom! Whoosh...

Countless trees and rocks crumbled into dust beneath the piercing chakra needles. At the center of the forest, all that remained was a gigantic crater, as if struck by a meteor.

Tentacles spread in every direction as the enormous creature, with an ox's head and an octopus's tails, stretched its body and roared at the heavens.

"B! You just woke me up so I could take a hit for you? That really hurt!"

"Fool! Bastard! The danger's over."

The Fourth Raikage, who had been sheltered beneath the Eight-Tails, emerged again. He looked around at his subordinates, strewn about and long since dead, as the veins on his forehead bulged.

"Damn brat! How dare you—how dare you toy with me like that! You accursed Uchiha brat! I'll find you, then tear you and that bastard Ōnoki to shreds!"

Seeing this, the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, couldn't help sighing.

"He's completely lost it. Who was that enemy, anyway? Was that brat who made your brother so angry the ninja who just used that technique resembling a Tailed Beast Bomb?"

"Uchiha brat, arrogant! Big brother and I, join forces, escape."

Gyuki was also astonished. He looked at Killer B, who had been rapping and dancing the whole time, and pressed him again.

"You mean a young Uchiha brat escaped from you and A? Judging by A's appearance, he used his strongest Lightning Release Armor. Could that brat use the Body Flicker Technique—and be even faster than the Fourth Raikage? What an incredible guy."

"And what's with that chakra that makes me feel so disgusted? It seems a little like the Nine-Tails', but it fills me with inexplicable revulsion. Am I imagining it?"

While Gyuki was still puzzled, dozens of miles away, near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers, a series of figures dropped from the sky.

"Are we safe?"

Kakashi quickly resumed his guard and looked around. Rin, Obito, Sarutobi Hina... Of the ten three-person squads, only Uchiha Hanazuki had yet to appear.

A moment later, a figure dressed in black robes descended from the sky and landed right in Anko's arms.

"Sorry, I used up a little too much chakra. Flying Thunder God over this kind of distance is still pushing it, but getting out at all was good enough. I'll leave the rest to you."

"Tch. You're the one who keeps showing off, and you call other people fools."

Even so, Anko carried Hanazuki on her back. A number of complicated looks turned their way, each with a different expression.

Some were relieved to have escaped with their lives; some were glad to have survived. Others looked complicated in a way that was hard to describe. But most of all, they were shocked and afraid.

"What kind of monster is that guy? He fought someone like the Fourth Raikage and survived?"

"Flying Thunder God is Minato-sensei's technique. How did he learn it?"

"A monster, a genuine monster—and he's from the Uchiha Clan, of all people..."

Their whispers didn't escape Uchiha Hanazuki's ears. Anko couldn't help murmuring, "You're the one who's been hiding your abilities so well. Now you've dragged me into the spotlight, too."

"Would you rather I had Uzuki Yugao carry me? She probably wouldn't complain as much. Right, Yugao?"

Hanazuki tilted his head, looked the two of them up and down, then flashed Yugao a grin, thoughtful.

Both girls had purple hair and brown eyes, though one had long hair while the other wore fishnet stockings.

The long-haired one was alluring yet innocent; the short-haired one was sweet yet passionate and resolute. Both were beauties in the making.

"You... You have so much to say for someone who needs to be carried. But how did you escape?"

"Thanks to Yugao's Ninja Blade. There wasn't enough time, and I hadn't prepared nearly enough Flying Thunder God Kunai, so I had to make do with whatever I could use."

They turned their eyes to the blade stuck in the grass. The technique etched into it with some kind of sharp tool was clearly visible in the sunlight.

"A Body Flicker Technique of this caliber—and you prepared it in such a rush? This guy..."

Kakashi's pupils shrank to pinpricks. Usually taciturn, he began to doubt himself. As a member of the prestigious Uchiha Clan, why had Hanazuki hidden his abilities so well?

"I've got the gist of what happened. The reconnaissance mission failed, and you ran into a strike team made up of the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. You were lucky to get away?"

"Anyway, thanks to you, we're alive, Uchiha Hanazuki. I'll report your contribution to Lord Hokage exactly as it happened."

"If you've got time to chatter, hurry back to Konoha. How long do you plan to stay here? This isn't the Land of Fire, damn it."

Sarutobi Hina's mouth twitched, and her expression visibly darkened. Even though he'd saved her life, this brat was as irritating as ever.

Suddenly, Hanazuki turned his head and shouted, "Move! Someone's approaching!"