"So, you've made me your target, huh? Not a bad idea—just a shame I can't let you have your way."
Ever since acquiring the powers of Magnet Release, Yuhi Shinku had crafted a specialized combat suit for himself. Thin iron plates were carefully embedded into his standard shinobi uniform, giving him the ability to manipulate his own movements in mid-air. By controlling the metallic components with his chakra nature, he gained a unique form of aerial superiority.
Against grounded opponents, this ability proved overwhelming—just like now, against Uchiha Obito.
Soaring into the sky, Yuhi Shinku raised his hand. Instantly, countless grains of iron sand surged from the earth, coalescing into a massive hand that hovered in the air... and flipped Obito the middle finger.
That guy hides in spatial dimensions, making most conventional attacks meaningless. At this point, only mockery seemed to work.
As expected, Obito seethed with rage at the gesture, his Sharingan glaring upward.
His eyes locked onto Yuhi Shinku, brimming with murderous intent.
"What's the matter? Angry? Then stop hiding and fight me!"
When had Yuhi Shinku become this bold?
Unbeknownst to the combatants, the entire battle was being recorded and broadcast live across Konoha via surveillance drones planted in advance.
Kawaki Aoba—a highly respected figure in the current ninja world—never hogged the spotlight. Today, he stood back, allowing others their moment of brilliance.
Though this fight might not match the legendary clash between Kawaki Aoba and Uchiha Madara, it still captivated the audience.
Watching Kage-level shinobi battle offered young ninjas a glimpse of the realm they aspired to reach. It expanded their horizons—one of Elder Aoba's core goals.
While most shinobi were once cannon fodder for war, Kawaki Aoba had transformed the system. Under his leadership, everything moved according to his will.
What's that? Someone said Kawaki Aoba isn't Hokage?
Sorry, couldn't hear you. Want to say that again?
---
"A silver Susanoo? That's Mangekyō Sharingan, right? Lord Tobirama… awakened it?!"
Shock rippled through the watching crowd. Uchiha members were stunned—but more than that, they were excited.
Ever since witnessing Uchiha Madara's god-like power, even ordinary civilians had heard of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Now, seeing Senju Tobirama—a man historically opposed to the Uchiha—wield one, shook the village.
It proved that Madara wasn't the only one with access to such divine power. Perhaps others could master it too.
Though many onlookers were stunned, their reaction was muted. The god-like powers of the Uchiha, once feared, no longer seemed untouchable—especially when Kawaki Aoba could eliminate over twenty Mangekyō-level threats effortlessly.
Despite Tobirama's efforts to reform relations, many in Konoha still harbored distrust toward the Uchiha. In this context, Kawaki Aoba's presence made the village more tolerant of Uchiha growth. A few more Mangekyō awakenings? Fine. As long as Elder Aoba was here, balance would be maintained.
---
In the midst of the battlefield, Senju Tobirama—clad in his signature armor—battled fiercely against Nagato, wielder of the Rinnegan.
His Susanoo flared around him, incomplete but powerful. Tobirama gritted his teeth, feeling the strain on his body and eyes.
Glancing toward the distant battlefield—a clash of titans—he narrowed his eyes and shouted:
"Susanoo no Mikoto!"
His Mangekyō flared.
The half-formed Susanoo solidified, manifesting a complete body. Armor locked into place, weapons emerged, and its aura surged.
The Sharingan reflects the heart, and for Tobirama—who had pursued power to match his brother Hashirama—his awakened Mangekyō reflected that deep desire.
Susanoo no Mikoto wasn't a flashy ability. It was pure enhancement—boosting all of Tobirama's attacks without exception.
His first full-body Susanoo rivaled even Sasuke's in form and lethality. Its weapon: a bow and arrow.
He drew the silver-white arrow back. The power radiating from it was terrifying.
Nagato looked up, eyes narrowing. "Trying to destroy the sealing array too?"
Inside the armored behemoth, Tobirama endured the searing pain in his eyes. Again, he activated his ability—Susanoo no Mikoto—and infused the arrow with pure power.
"This seal won't hold you. But this… might."
The air around the bow crackled. The arrow gleamed like a comet.
---
At the battlefield's edge, Uchiha Fugaku quietly activated his own Mangekyō Sharingan.
He watched Tobirama silently, conflicted.
"So… even Tobirama has it. When did he awaken that power?"
Was it a good thing for the Uchiha that the former enemy of their clan now wielded their bloodline's most powerful dojutsu?
He didn't have an answer.
And then—BOOM!
At this moment, the aftermath of a distant battle surged outward. The fierce clash between Kawaki Aoba and Uchiha Madara had intensified again, and even its residual shockwaves reached far beyond the battlefield.
In today's ninja world, a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan no longer held the overwhelming dominance it once had.
Given that reality, he no longer saw a need to conceal his power.
Uchiha Fugaku finally activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. Unlike most, his dōjutsu wasn't built for direct combat—but for foresight.
Or rather… deduction.
Calling it the ability to see the future was inaccurate. It was more akin to predictive insight—an advanced analytical ability that simulated future outcomes using vast real-time data.
The more variables Fugaku could analyze, the more accurate his deductions became. In situations like this, short-term outcomes could be predicted with near certainty.
But the moment Fugaku's vision locked onto the most probable future, his expression darkened. He suddenly shouted, "Bad news—get out of here, now!"
Without waiting, he leapt into the center of the formation, directly entering the perimeter of the sealing jutsu.
"It's too late! Everyone, behind me—Susanoo!!"
A crimson skeletal frame erupted around him, stunning the surrounding shinobi. That even Fugaku, long thought to be a passive political figure, had mastered the Susanoo was a shocking revelation.
Yet the shinobi reacted swiftly. At Fugaku's command, most immediately took cover behind his towering construct.
Only the shinobi maintaining the sealing formation remained out in the open, hesitant to abandon their positions. Fugaku glanced at them with a heavy heart. Too late.
With that, his eyes blazed once more as his Susanoo entered its third form, summoning its unique weapon—a colossal shield. Its purpose was singular: defense.
Fugaku, nicknamed "Fierce-Eyed Fugaku," had a Susanoo born not of rage or vengeance, but of clarity. Its greatest strength was protection, and this moment proved it.
Then the prophesied disaster struck.
It was Nagato—wielding the Rinnegan—who found himself the target of an unexpected attack. Tobirama Senju, reanimated by Edo Tensei, had launched a jutsu-enhanced projectile: a chakra-forged arrow imbued with devastating energy.
Nagato sensed death approaching.
"Chibaku Tensei!" he roared, forming a black sphere in his palm—his most powerful sealing technique.
With little confidence in blocking the attack by force or jutsu, Nagato gambled on sealing it away entirely. The side effect? Dragging everything else into the sky.
The sphere soared upward, unleashing immense gravitational pull. Trees were uprooted, earth torn apart—entire landscapes distorted.
The arrow collided with the Chibaku Tensei's core. The clash of senjutsu-charged chakra and gravitational seal temporarily froze the world around it. This wasn't genjutsu—this was real.
The sphere trembled violently. Nagato's eyes widened. It's going to explode?
The arrow's power was far beyond his estimation. Veins bulged around his Rinnegan as he pushed his chakra to the limit, expanding the sphere to contain the blast.
At last, the sphere stabilized—barely. Then, with a surge of chakra, it began pulling the entire battlefield skyward.
Everything except the space behind Uchiha Fugaku.
His Susanoo, shield raised, formed an impenetrable barrier against the gravitational onslaught. Though it lacked the Yata Mirror's omnidirectional defense or the Totsuka Blade's sealing power, his shield was a miracle of endurance.
And it held.
Those who'd taken cover behind him were safe—for now. Gratitude filled their eyes.
But the sealing team was not so lucky. Pulled into the air, they had no chance. Earth Release users tried to flee underground—only to be ripped out along with the very ground they tunneled into.
Farther away, Kurenai Yuhi clung to terrain stabilized by iron sand, barely staying grounded, unable to help.
Even Uchiha Obito, ever elusive with his Kamui, remained intangible, unwilling to risk materializing in such chaotic conditions.
Live-feed devices forged by Kawaki Aoba were destroyed en masse—only a few, placed far beyond the battlefield, continued broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Aoba, still dueling Madara, noticed the chaos. Using his Kenbunshoku Haki, he scanned the area. He had entrusted Konoha's shinobi with confronting Nagato, not to get them killed.
Thankfully, he had planned contingencies.
Among the ninja being pulled skyward, one suddenly lit up with golden light—an automatic defensive seal embedded in his armor flared to life.
Aoba had prepared enchanted defense tools for each shinobi under his command. Just as the Chibaku Tensei sealed him, the tool activated, encasing him in a protective barrier.
He was saved—at least for now.
Visit patreon.com/Akeyno to get 30+ chapters