Susanoo

Tell me, when you were young and watched Naruto, who didn't dream of one day becoming a jinchūriki or piloting a Gundam-like Susanoo?

Josuke had thought he had no fate with Susanoo or the Mangekyō, yet somehow, for no apparent reason, his eyes had awakened. It was truly unexpected.

Susanoo!!

Josuke's breathing quickened as he silently called out in his heart.

He felt his chakra rapidly spill outward and take shape around his body!

Yes, that was it. Under Josuke's control, he successfully summoned Susanoo. Its body was white. When it first appeared, Susanoo was merely a small skeletal frame, but it continuously grew larger until it formed a half-bodied skull.

It had started directly at the second stage, skipping the first stage entirely.

Is this the power of the Uchiha?

The power of a god!

At that moment, Josuke possessed the strength to contend with the late-game powerhouses. He just didn't know whether he could improve any further.

Susanoo was powerful, but its chakra consumption was far too great. After maintaining it for just ten seconds, Josuke could feel that one-fiftieth of his chakra had been used up.

It seemed he was still severely lacking in mana. No wonder—if the chakra consumption were low, the Ninja War would have been a joke. Madara could have simply kept Susanoo active forever and crushed the entire Allied Shinobi Forces.

Now that it had come to this, it would be a waste not to put his eyesight to use.

Josuke looked at Kakuzu. Sorry for keeping you waiting so long. Well then, die!!!

Kakuzu was also greatly shocked by the special ability Josuke had displayed.

Though he had no idea what it was, such a massive creature was clearly formidable at a glance.

He hurriedly retreated,

ordering his masks to attack Josuke with water and fire.

This level of attack?

Josuke could not help shaking his head. Too weak. Although Susanoo had suffered some damage, it could not hurt him at all.

He then controlled Susanoo and threw a punch at each of the water and fire clones.

Who would have thought that, due to the distance, the clones simply dodged Josuke's attacks.

What, that works too? Josuke grumbled inwardly. Fine, so that's how you want to play? Second stage, activate~

At that moment, flesh and muscle grew over Susanoo's body. It was no longer just a skeleton. Upon entering the second stage, Susanoo would awaken its specialized weapon, and Josuke's Susanoo was no exception.

What surprised Josuke somewhat was

that his Susanoo had obtained a polearm, and it even had a dual naginata-Kusanagi Sword form.

Great. Instead of talking so much, why not take it out for a spin?

A naginata condensed from white chakra appeared in Susanoo's enormous hand, looking incomparably sharp.

Josuke did not need to mimic Susanoo's movements at all. He only needed to picture an action in his mind, and Susanoo would perform it accordingly. The effect was pretty impressive.

Susanoo's naginata slashed toward the fire mask, cutting it cleanly in half.

The remaining water mask tried to resist, but before it could react, Josuke controlled Susanoo to crush it in its hand.

Only Kakuzu, with one heart remaining, was left on the field.

Kakuzu, already at the end of his rope, no longer posed any threat. Just like in the original story, Kakashi stabbed him to death with a kunai. A great figure like Kakuzu had died here.

Everything was over. Josuke dismissed Susanoo, and two streams of blood flowed from his eyes once again.

Naturally, his vision became blurrier as well.

Whew.

It was even stronger than he had imagined.

That was what Josuke thought. What a shame—if he used it too much, he would go blind as well. His expenditure just now had not been small, and second-stage Susanoo consumed far more than the first stage,

but its effects were equally outstanding.

After Kakuzu was dealt with, Orochimaru would be cut down by Sasuke. But Josuke remembered that before then, Orochimaru seemed to have wanted to capture the Three-Tails.

But the Akatsuki Organization stole it first afterward.

(This Orochimaru capturing the Three-Tails plot was anime-original, but I'm including it too. After all, Kishimoto approved it. Hilarious.)

Then after that, he would be cut down by Sasuke.

After cutting down Orochimaru, Sasuke's Snake Squad would be formed. Then came the battle with Deidara, then Itachi, Jiraiya-sensei's death, Pain's invasion of the Hidden Leaf Village, and the Five Kage Summit.

That was about it.

Josuke sighed helplessly.

The Mangekyō's awakening had both benefits and drawbacks for him. The good thing was that his strength had risen to another level; the bad thing was that he was not far from going blind.

It was hard to imagine how Sasuke, that kid, had ruined his eyes within 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.

For the moment, he would not worry about any of that. Since Ino had not been injured, Josuke was relieved.

Come to think of it, it was pretty ridiculous. His original purpose in coming here had been to protect Ino.

Yet now, he had instead become the main carry of this mission.

It was pretty surreal.

Without saying more, Josuke rested for a moment and decided to leave.

"Ino... I'm leaving first."

Since his goal had been achieved, Josuke had no reason to linger.

"Ino! Don't go!"

A voice came from the distance, and Josuke froze slightly. Judging from the current timeline,

it should be time for him to arrive. However, Josuke had no intention of staying.

He looked gently at Ino. Ino blushed and did not dare raise her head to look at Josuke, merely nodding silently.

A voice sounded in Josuke's mind.

"Mm, I'll miss you."

Ino transmitted her voice using the Yamanaka Clan's unique secret technique.

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

Had he still come too late in the end?

Naruto was filled with regret. He did not blame Kakashi-sensei and the others for failing to stop Josuke.

Instead, he blamed himself for arriving so late.

Shikamaru told Naruto everything that had happened regarding Asuma, making Naruto even more certain of his belief.

Josuke absolutely had some unspeakable reason for choosing to leave.

And their near encounter today further proved Naruto's thoughts.

His wounded heart began beating again at that moment.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Naruto greeted Kakashi.

"Mm. Let me briefly tell you what happened just now."

Kakashi roughly explained what had happened.

Naruto was utterly shocked after hearing it. It seemed Josuke had improved again.

Then he could not fall behind either!!

Naruto rubbed his hands together, his heart filled with fighting spirit. His morale was incredibly high.

He would definitely, definitely bring Josuke and Sasuke back to the village, and he would definitely become Hokage!

Naturally, Josuke knew nothing of Naruto's thoughts. As soon as he returned to Orochimaru's base, he went to Orochimaru's ninjutsu repository to search for sealing techniques.

The kind capable of sealing tailed beasts.

For some reason, neither Orochimaru nor Sasuke was at the base today. They had most likely gone somewhere to train again. Whatever. Uncle Snake would be dead soon anyway, QAQ