The Dagger Revealed

In a barren mountain range in the Land of Lightning, Shin'yu was traveling with the Gold and Silver Brothers. The wind howled, and the scenery on both sides rapidly fell behind them.

The two brothers chatted idly along the way.

"That beast sure had a lot to say, didn't it?"

"Yeah. I didn't get the chance to use the ninja tools last time, but I can use them now."

"Kinkaku, I'm still not very proficient with my Tailed Beast Transformation."

"Then I'll take the lead. Partial Tailed Beast Transformation will make me lose consciousness, so I'll leave the ninja tools for you to control."

As he spoke, Kinkaku spat out miniature versions of the Basho Fan and Seven Star Sword, handing them to Ginkaku.

With just a few simple exchanges, they had established a battle plan against the Nine-Tails. Their coordination was evident.

Several times, Shin'yu nearly activated Spirit Body Separation and directly entered either Kinkaku's or Ginkaku's Mental World to extract information.

But after considering it again and again, he restrained that impulse.

After all, these two were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths. They had been swallowed by the Nine-Tails without being digested, and had even turned around and gnawed on the Nine-Tails' flesh and blood. If their souls possessed some special trait as well, he would have no one to blame but himself.

In the Original Timeline, they had even boasted the remarkable feat of killing both the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage. Attacking rashly had a high chance of backfiring.

To be safe, he decided to stick to the original plan.

Before long, the three crossed several mountains and arrived at a gorge shrouded in clouds and mist.

"My lords, this is where we encountered the Nine-Tails!" Shin'yu called back.

Kinkaku and Ginkaku immediately stopped. Seeing the corpses of Cloud Ninja strewn across the area, they frowned deeply and stepped forward to inspect them.

These ninja had died horribly. Their bodies had been hacked to pieces, as if torn apart by sharp claws. Ginkaku could not help wrinkling his nose; the stench of blood in the air was so thick it would not disperse.

"Yotsuki Sora, so you died here." Ginkaku discovered a pale head.

Kinkaku frowned slightly. "Strange. I haven't sensed the Nine-Tails' presence..."

"Omoi, when was the last time you saw the Nine-Tails? At this distance, we should have been able to sense it."

"Splat!"

Ginkaku instinctively looked down. Through his blurred vision, a brilliant blue Light Blade protruded from his chest, and scalding blood poured down.

"Ah, that's exactly what I wanted to ask you two." Shin'yu pressed against his back and whispered into his ear.

"Omoi, you..." Ginkaku stared in disbelief and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His heart had already been pierced through.

Shin'yu withdrew his hand, moving with incredible speed, as though pulling something from a bag.

The next instant, the enraged Kinkaku arrived in a flash, his roar like thunder!

"How dare you hurt Ginkaku? Whether you're Omoi or not, die!"

His beard and hair stood on end as his two powerful arms seized Shin'yu's left and right hands. With a sudden burst of immense strength, Shin'yu—or rather, Omoi—was torn in half. Shattered organs sprayed through the air and fell in a pattering rain of blood!

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A series of explosions rang out at their feet. White Smoke spread, filling the gorge in an instant. It turned out Shin'yu had thrown all his smoke bombs at the last moment.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I'll kill you! I'll... kill everyone!"

Kinkaku panted violently like a beast. Air currents surged around him as deep crimson Tailed Beast Chakra tore through his skin and spilled from countless cracks, enveloping his entire body.

A dragon's reverse scale—touch it, and death was certain. Ginkaku was Kinkaku's reverse scale, and watching his brother be killed before his eyes, he could no longer suppress the hatred in his heart!

His desire for slaughter swelled wildly!

Tailed Beast Chakra was inherently violent and difficult to control. Even descendants of the Sage of Six Paths were no exception. Completely enraged, the last remnants of his reason were devoured by the Tailed Beast's will!

Chakra erupted, and the surging gale immediately blew away most of the smoke. Even the ground beneath his feet could not bear that crushing force and cracked inch by inch.

"Roar!!!"

Kinkaku threw back his head and howled. He had already entered Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, six red tails dancing savagely behind him.

With a sweep of his claws, the smoke split in two. But the instant he charged out of it, he met a pair of blood-red Mangekyo Sharingan. A Bug-level Illusion Technique, ready to strike, had been waiting for him.

"Tsukuyomi!"

The unexpected move struck Kinkaku directly in his crazed state. His eyes instantly went dull, and he collapsed helplessly, sliding like a puppet with its strings cut to Uchiha Hikari's feet.

Hikari staggered, her pretty face turning pale at once. Subduing Kinkaku had consumed too much of her mental energy, and blood trickled down her cheek.

Kinkaku's consciousness had long since fallen into Tsukuyomi's illusionary realm, unable to break free.

"That went unexpectedly smoothly." Shin'yu's voice came from beside her. He patted Uchiha Hikari on the shoulder. "Are you okay?"

When Kinkaku killed Omoi with his bare hands, Shin'yu's Spirit Body had already separated a moment earlier and returned to his own body.

"Yeah. I didn't expect this guy to make me use so much Chakra." Uchiha Hikari covered her left eye and panted lightly.

"No time to waste. Let's extract the information now."

Suddenly, a flash of white light shot through the thin smoke. Shin'yu's pupils contracted. He pulled Uchiha Hikari toward him and activated his Mangekyo in an instant. A pitch-black skeletal frame enveloped his body.

"Clang!!!"

A piercing metallic crash rang beside his ear. Shin'yu stood unmoving beneath Susanoo as a silver weapon shaped like a door panel was knocked into the air, spinning as it returned to someone's hand.

Ginkaku!

At that moment, wine-red Tailed Beast Chakra covered the surface of his body, and six long tails swayed freely behind him. Unlike Kinkaku's, his Chakra was semi-transparent. His eyes were lively and cunning, and he did not look as though he had lost his reason at all.

"Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak?" Shin'yu narrowed his eyes and gave a mocking smile. "So among you two brothers, you're the one truly skilled at controlling Nine-Tails Chakra."

The Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak was a precise technique that borrowed Tailed Beast Chakra without undergoing Tailed Beast Transformation.

A ninja could still retain their individual consciousness in this state, with all their abilities enhanced. Tailed Beast Chakra would also heal their wounds, leaving almost no scars. It possessed exceptionally formidable combat power.

In the Original Timeline, this was Killer B's signature technique, the man known as the "perfect Jinchuriki."

"Which is why I kept my life, isn't it?" Ginkaku tilted his head with a sinister smile and pointed to his chest. "Ah, so it was you bastard who ambushed me. That stab... hurt a lot!"

The ground beneath his feet cracked open in an instant, and he transformed into a red blur as he lunged forward. He moved so fast that the Seven Star Sword became a vague streak of silver light!

But Shin'yu kept up with his speed. A massive skeletal hand appeared out of thin air and hammered Ginkaku into the stone wall beside them with a single punch.

"Rumble!"

Black Qi writhed and coiled as another skeletal hand grew from the ink-black ribs surrounding Shin'yu's body. The two fists smashed down in succession, shattering the stone wall and kicking up dust that filled the sky.

This was Susanoo's initial form. It could be used for attack, defense, protection, control, and many other purposes. Aside from its renowned defensive power, even an arm-only Susanoo possessed tremendous strength!

With only a few punches, Shin'yu had excavated a small Mountain Cave where he stood.

Hikari was dumbstruck. She deeply envied that power, but for some reason, despite awakening her Eyes earlier than Shin'yu, she had been unable to awaken Susanoo.