"Keep your distance!"

"There's another one on the right!"

"MOVE!"

BLAM!

The front lines became racked with even more explosions! The enhanced army of inmates from Hōzuki-jō¹Demon Lantern Castlewere the least of Kumogakure's problems

Kyō was completely out of control. Amidst digesting several LIFT pills, his chakra neared Tailed Beast levels! Shortly thereafter, he took control of every ounce of blood on the field. Along with the iron-enriched water he brought from Jigokudani²Valley of Hell, a large pool of red liquid spread over the terrain

"Here! Leftovers from the hell you exiled my clan to...CHOKE ON IT!" Kyō scream vengefully

Utilizing his most powerful Ketsuryūgan³Blood Dragon Eyebased jutsu, torrents of so-called "Blood Dragons" emerged from the spreading pool, attacking every Kumo-nin guarding the village walls

Each entity was massive in size, possessing enough strength to shatter stone, all the while being incredibly difficult to avoid with their exceptional speed

"Yugito! Can you-?!"

"I can't Mabui! Even if I hadn't used up most of my chakra today, it's still too dangerous!"

"Tsk! That crazy son of a...!"

Yugito had been fighting all day, and then some. Having undergone her "Tailed Beast Mode" twice, once during the ambush on Genbu Island, and the other at her initial arrival on the front

In the last hour, she'd been trying to conserve her strength for another transformation...but Yugito still wasn't ready yet

"You aren't safe...NONE OF YOU ARE SAFE!!" Kyō screamed his lungs out in fury

Even worse for the cloud ninja, Kyō still held enough sanity to fight strategically. Whenever a dragon head bit a target, it released steam from its body, creating a "fog" in the area, hampering everyone's vision

He also remained near the village walls in the event he had to fight a Jinchūriki. If either Yugito or Killer B were to unleash a powerful attack, the village would surely suffer

He'd long studied Kumogakure's unique structure in preparation for this day. A village built in, on, and surrounded by mountains. Structures both up and downhill, a significant strike on its foundation would inevitably cause a domino effect

The unbalanced environment was its greatest strength and weakness...

 

♦♦♦

 

"Haaaa..."

[Rei...]

Okay...um...

That was quite an unsightly display earlier...I haven't felt this embarrassed of myself in a while

 

"Haaaa...mmm...haaaa..."

Bliss...the best way to describe what I'm feeling now

Not the word you'd expect coming to mind after the torturous hell I just experienced. I'd never felt such pain in this life, or my last one

Well. Physical pain that is...

"Mmmm...haaaah..."

This breathing exercise is really helping, I'm starting to feel much better

That's it...breathe in the air. It's the essence of life. In through the nose...and out through the mouth. This is how I restore harmony to my body

[You done with your weird, guru meditation?]

"Haaaa..."

The moment I woke up after undergoing my third "Bodily Purification", I snuck out of the hospital and headed straight to my lab. My body was severely drained of chakra and I needed a recharge

So I entered the barren wasteland of a dimension housing the Ten-tails. Nothing but silence and a dark clouded sky to keep me company

"What's so weird about it? It's a standard shinobi exercise for stabilizing chakra"

[It's not weird. You being this calm is what's freaking me out]

Meditation is an effective training method for one's physical energy, perfect for calming rampant chakra

After taking more chakra from the beast, I sat down cross legged on the roof of the Ten-Tails cage, taking slow breaths as I slowed my heartrate. Isshiki's protruding wall of carvings symbolizing different members of his clan right next to me

"And here I thought you came to congratulate me"

[For being a lunatic?]

What I've accomplished is something even the 3rd Raikage only half-completed

[How do you feel now? Your central nervous system is-]

"Beyond perfect. My synapses are firing at an accelerated rate. I already had speed and power, but now, my reflexes are on an entirely new level"

Just by focusing, the world seems to slow down whenever I want it to. Vision and other senses have improved immensely. With total enhanced, kinetic visual acuity

[Excellent. If what you've told me is accurate, you're comparable to a Dōjutsu⁴Eye Techniqueuser. Maybe even better?]

"!"

That's right, there were several characters with incredible "vision"

Our current Raikage, and the late 4th Hokage both had nerve transmission and reaction speed surpassing even the Uchiha's Sharingan⁵Copy Wheel Eye

Now I have as wel--wait...isn't this perfect for fighting Kyō now?

...

"No...that isn't the correct word"

[Correct word?]

Convenient...

Every single time I use this thing

Whenever I've broken one of the four "locks", the new "perks" always grant me a very specific edge for whatever problem I'm dealing with at the time

[Rei?]

"The Black Scroll...who the hell created this thing? Do you know Notitia?"

[Nope. It's history is too mysterious and old. I might be able to figure it out if you use a Lifeline]

"..."

I wonder...Darui said Kumogakure's ancestors "discovered" this thing. Meaning they didn't "create" it...

[You still have three available. Do you want use one now?]

"...No. They're too important"

If this thing has a history, that means I can trace it. It'll just take a little more time

RUSTLE!

[Hm? You're getting up already? I take it's time to leave?]

"Yup. I've loitered around enough. I'm done recharging my chakra with the Ten-Tails. My reserves are bigger than ever"

[I noticed, that meditation really did help. Your current levels are now 40% higher than Naruto's during his early career as a Ninja]

ZUUUU...

Waltzing through the strange sounding, space-time torii gate nearby, I left the barren dimension. Reentering my lab's basement...

"Now, time to get bac--huh? Oh...crap. I knew I forgot something"

[?]

...to only now realize upon getting back to the lab that I already used the last of Mabui's traveling pots in my stash to get here in the first place

Great, now how am I gonna get back in time?

[Psst! Rei! Your left]

"Hm? My left--oh. That's what you're getting at..."

One of many giant vats containing my other "project". I've been working on it ever since my departure from Summoning Island over a year ago. Spent quite a bit of money on the growing process, but now it looks done

However...

"You think it's safe to use them?"

[If you can't trust them now, the project can already be considered a failure. Might as well find out, right?]

True. I still have the seal formula for traveling. It can serve as a proper substitute for the pot

The marker at home should still work...

"Okay..."

[Okay?]

 

 

"Kyō did try to kill me. Be rude if I didn't return the favor"

 

♦♦♦

 

"Our only option is to get closer! We need a precision strike on him!"

"F, even we could get past all that blood, just fighting Kyō isn't exactly a cakewalk in his current state!"

In a trench near the supply chain towards the village walls, F attempted to put forward a new strategy with his allies. Gathering as many as he could, away from the expanding blood pool

F opted to ignore the blood constructs and move straight for Kyō himself, but a familiar Genin voiced his objection

"I know it's not my place F-sensei, but that won't work!"

"Hey, when we want the opinion of a Genin, we'll ask for-!"

"Quiet! What do you mean Tai?" F asked after silencing another Chunin

Tai pointed towards the field, in the direction of Kyō, who was in the midst of being attacked by several ninja

"HAAH!"

"All together now! Maintain formation!"

"Don't give him a chance to escape!"

WEAVE!

With a wave of is hands, Kyō formed the necessary hand seals as his unusual eyes glowed bright red

{Genjutsu: Ketsuryūgan⁶Illusion Technique: Blood Dragon Eye!}

"Uh?!"

"A-Ah...eh?!"

"Can't...move!"

THUD! THUD!

With merely a glance, the attacking ninja fell to the ground. Kyō managed to placate them with his visual prowess. But even more disturbing, the ninja soon rose to their feet like puppets, devoid of any sense of self

Each taking a kunai from their holsters before lightly cutting themselves

"W-What the hell is he making them--?!" F questioned aloud as he watched the horrid spectacle

"HEY! YOU GUYS TAKE COVER!" Tai screamed to their allies still fighting near Kyō

Blood oozed from the cuts of the shinobi under Kyō's illusion, puffing up and engulfing their bodies

Their forms expanding until...

BOOM!

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

...they exploded. The resulting blasts sent every person near them flying away!

"Damn it! He turned them into-?!"

"Exploding humans, F-sensei. I witnessed the spectacle many times during the evacuation. The Chinoike first place the victim under genjutsu, infecting them with their chakra, and with the slightest of cuts on their skin...boom"

"What a horrid Ninjutsu..."

"GULP!"

The other Chunin next to them swallowed their saliva. Had F done as them and ignored Tai's advice, they'd have ended up like the ones who just died

"Far as I know, the only way to counter is if you have someone with exceptional skill in Genjutsu"

"Right, it's caused by the Chinoike's chakra"

"There's still another problem. You see what's left of their bodies?"

"...Yeah, I see it"

Kyō hadn't just been observing, but taking the initiative to fight. Each death, each "Exploding Human" only added more blood to field. The more blood around, the more ammunition for him to use

Close or long range, he'd covered all his bases

"We need a powerful Genjutsu user, but the best one I know is C, and he can't leave his post at the hospital. There's also the need for someone to run interference on those weird blood creatures" F noted

The other ninja began voicing their opinions

"They keep regenerating even after we strike one down. And the steam they create only makes things more difficult. But he remains unhindered thanks to his eyes"

"He can move freely in this fog. Whoever's gonna keep them busy while said Genjutsu user takes on Kyō will have to be powerful...very powerful"

"One capable of dealing massive amounts of destruction, like Raikage-sama"

"HQ already informed us he's finishing off the Fūma clan at the northern coastline. Even with his speed, it'll still take some time before Raikage-sama arrives"

"Yugito-sama is exhuasted, and Killer B-sama is still purging the saboteurs within the village, alongside Darui"

As they pondered, F tapped Tai's shoulder

"Tango told me what you did at HQ, the creation of those oxide bombs was very well done. I wanted ask if you still have that weapon on you?"

"I do, but there's not much of it. You think it'll help with this situation?" Tai asked skeptically

"Yes, with the proper support, we might be able to take him down"

TAK! TAK! TAK!

"You need a hand with that?"

"?!"

In an abrupt manner, Team Mabui had landed right outside the trench. The kunoichi trio wasted no time as they jumped in for cover

"Finally, a spot to cool down. I told Mabui and Yugito we should've retreated already, but they're more stubborn than me"

"Speak for yourself Samui, I was just trying to stay alive"

"Phew! Got tired of fighting those blood things. They just don't let up. F, you got a plan?" Yugito asked

With the clearing of his throat, F gathered everyone's attention to suggest a new strategy

"Since you three are here, I was thinking we get Tai close enough to use his poison to hinder Kyō's-"

"NEW CONTACT!"

"Eh?! Now what?!"

Before F could finish his sentence, a Chunin on watch in the trench spotted a glowing figure approaching the battlefield from the sky

"What the hell is that? A meteor...or a shooting star?"

"Wait, I've seen that thing before" Tai remarked

"You have? In the village? What is it Tai?" F hurriedly asked

RUSTLE

Tai stood up and squinted his eyes, trying to get a better view of the object

"I don't know what it is, but I saw it when we found Rei unconscious outside the hospital"

"Found him unconscious where?!" Mabui exclaimed in surprise of Tai's comment

"It's okay, it's okay...your cousin is fine! Just passed out, C-senpai is looking after him!"

"Hey! Look!"

CRASH!

The object crashed in the middle of field, right in front of the expanding blood pool. As the dust cleared, it became obvious a person had arrived, cloaked in powerful chakra

"Wait, that chakra...is it Killer B-sama? Or...Raikage-sama?" Samui asked

"I'm not...sure. That doesn't look like B's, and Raikage-sama's lightning cloak is different" Yugito answered

VWOOOOO!

The present wind suddenly increased in speed as the individual's appearance became visible

"Yugito's right, that person is too short to be Killer B-sama or Raikage-sama" Mabui stated

"Don't tell me it's a new enemy?"

"I don't think so? Wait...don't I know that person?"

"How could she have such chakra?"

"...Huh? It can't be...NO WAY?!"

"SUZU!" Tai yelled with glee upon realizing his friend was alright

Yes. It was none other than Suzu who arrived, still in her new form due to the LIFT Rei "altered" with Kisshōten⁷Auspicious Heavens

"..."

Remaining dead silent, the girl ignored everything else as she glared directly at Kyō. Oddly enough, she held a near-dead member of his clan by the throat

The new white chakra and hair made Suzu somewhat unrecognizable at first, but as her teammate, Tai knew who she was the moment he could see her

With more seconds of observation, some of the others in the trench familiar with girl came to understand this was indeed the Suzu they knew, though she had undergone some major changes since they last met

THUD!

Finding her intended target, she dropped the beaten Chinoike member in her grasp, tossing him aside like garbage. An act that only served to infuriate an already enraged Kyō even further

"You again..." Kyō snarled

"..."

{What happened? How did she change so much?} "Hm?!"

DASH!

Clearly not in the mood for chit chat, Suzu blasted the ground from under her foot, dashing towards Kyō with clear killing intent. The young girl still was in a daze since her transformation. But her primary objective remained the same...

Eliminating the ones who harmed Rei

"Hmph! I doubt you could even touch me, brat!!"

GURGLE!

With a flick of his wrist, Kyō manifested more creatures from the blood pool spreading on the ground. The blood constructs sped right through the field, knocking away inmates and Kumo-nin alike as they bolted right at Suzu

Despite the newfound power, even Kyō acknowledged the girl before him was now a threat. Completely different from their previous encounter...

The one in question continued to charge forward, uncaring for the "dragon heads" in her path

"Tch! Suzu!"

"Tai wait?! Think before you act!"

"But F-sensei!"

"I think it's pretty obvious where this new power of hers came from. With that said, we can't be sure she won't attack you!"

They managed to surmise Suzu gained her new power through the LIFT. But that only made F more cautious, he'd seen what happened to the inmates. Nearly all of them went berserk upon consumption, many struggling to hold their sanity

No one knew what was happening to Suzu now, nor what she would do if one of them approached

TAK!

But Tai still jumped out of the trench to help her...

"TAI!"

"She dropped Rei off at the hospital in that state. If she has enough sense of mind to do that, she can distinguish between friend or foe! Besides, she's fighting to help everyone! I can't abandon my friend!"

"Ugh...that little idiot! There's still much we don't--wait, where are you three going?!" F yelled as Team Mabui followed suit and left the trench

"Sorry, but they're Rei's friends. I can't let anything happen to them" Mabui affirmed

"I'm a Jinchūriki myself, there's no way I'll hesitate to help Suzu just because of some strange power"

Mabui and Yugito took off first, with Samui issuing an apology to F

"Sorry F, but I think it's pretty uncool to sit around while my teammates fight"

"Even you Samui-san?! Come on! Sigh...!"

"S-Sir? What do we do now? Should we follow?"

"And leave this area complete open to attack. Absolutely not. I'll contact command and inform them of the new--?!"

TAK!

As he spoke, another shinobi landed on ground right next to the trench. The newcomer looked down at F

"Looks like I just missed them. A shame, I would've preferred we move as a group. Oh well, even with this steam fog, I can still catch up in time"

"Eh?! Y-You're...but they just said you were in-!!"

"Good seeing you again F. Let's talk more when this is over"

"W-Wait a sec...!"

DASH!

 

The individual left as quickly as he came, heading towards Suzu and rest

 

♦♦♦

 

Team Mabui ran after Tai, all of whom struggled to catch up with Suzu. Avoiding the blood dragons on their way, doing everything they could to avoid getting bitten by them

Suzu on the other hand...

"What the hell?!"

"Who's that girl?! I don't remember us having a kunoichi like that?!

ZUZUZU!

In no time at all, attention of the battlefield focused on her as she manifested large, white chakra arms

"What the?! Samui, how can she do that despite not being a-?!"

"I'm not sure Mabui. Some old documents I've read on the Kin-Gin Brothers suggest they could do the same but...!"

"This scale...those traitors don't even come close! She's not even a Jinchūriki?!" Yugito said in surprise

The bright, ethereal arms curled into fists as they struck every dragon head in her path

"Tsk. As if it'd be that easy!" Kyō yelled as he moved

{Fūton: Shinkūha⁸Wind Style: Vacuum Wave}

PFOO! VWOO!

Suzu took a deep breath and spun her head as she exhaled. Compressing the released air into a thin blade, slicing apart every obstruction at least thirty meters within her eyesight

Kyō managed to dodge at the last second, but the construct he stood on was sliced apart

"Amazing..."

Though Team Mabui was delayed, Tai had almost managed to catch up to Suzu. Completely flabbergasted at her performance, this new power had increased the strength of her Ninjutsu several fold. Suzu's wind style had never been so strong

"Hmph! Just a brat, don't you get it yet?! My constructs won't stop until one of us is dead!!" Kyō screamed as his eyes shined again

{Not again, what's he gonna-?!} "Ah! Suzu! Move!"

"...!"

BOOM!

Utilizing his Ketsuryūgan, Kyō launched another dragon from beneath the surface, knocking Suzu high in the air. Not letting up, Kyō sent the head right at the girl as she plummeted towards the ground

"Like hell!" {Suiton: Hōmatsu Rappa⁹Water Style: Wild Bubble Wave!}

FWP! SPLOOSH!

As the dragon head ventured to consume the girl whole, Tai weaved several hand seals before spitting out a considerable amount of foam-like bubbles, washing away any traces of blood from his teammate

Possessing the mindset of a chemist, he quickly deduced how to counter blood attacks of the Chinoike clan

"Cheh! Another brat to get on my nerves. That foam is a pain!"

SPLISH! SPLISH!

Running along the wet ground, Tai grabbed his friend and retreated several feet away from Kyō

"Suzu, are you alright?!"

"Uhhhh...T-Tai...ugh...urgh!"

"Yes, yes! It's me, it's your friend Tai!" {Thank heavens, she recognizes me. I knew she would!}

"Tai...I...! Don't know...urgh...how long I can keep this form! The more chakra I use, the more my sense of self returns"

"Isn't that good?"

"No. The fact I can even form sentences means it's probably going away soon"

GURGLE!

"?!" {Another attack already, bastard's not letting up! It's too wide for my Suiton...can't get away!}

"Tai, get out of here! I'll--agh! My head...!"

Not giving them a chance to catch their breath, Kyō unleashed a torrent of blood in their direction

"Now you're dea-?!"

ZWIP!

Just as things seemed their darkest, someone else had managed to grab both Tai and Suzu, carrying them safely out of danger at incredible speeds!

{Who just...?!}

"A-A-Ahh! R-R-R...!"

{R? Raikage-sama? No, it's...!}

"R-REI!!" Suzu cried out

Rei arrived in the nick of time, managing to move both of his squad mates in the blink of an eye!

"Glad to see you're okay...both of you. Loving the new look Suzu"

"Rei, what are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be in the hospital?"

"Yeah. Doctors will let me out tomorrow"

"Tomorrow huh?"

Rei approached the tattering Suzu and placed his right index and middle fingers on her forehead

{Her chakra is still a bit unstable, it's my fault. This kind of thing takes time, but she had to rush into battle immediately to protect me. It's a testament to her willpower she's still standing at all}

"What are you doing?"

"Giving Suzu some help. She's not used to her new chakra, it's very difficult to manage. Fortunately, I excel at chakra control"

After scanning her body, he connected his chakra with Suzu's, helping her regain control of this strange new power

"U-Uhhh...Rei, Tai"

"Aaaaaand, she's back! I was getting worried"

"I'm sorry...for the trouble"

"You saved my life, I'm the one who should be saying that. You need help getting up?"

Suzu shook her head and stood up her own, smiling at her two friends

Team Tango had finally reunited, taking the moment to catch their breath before Kyō attacked again

 

"I love touching reunions as much as the next guy, but that lunatic is charging right at us!" Tai pointed out

"Not to worry, I think maintaining this new form for a little longer isn't too difficult"

"It's okay Suzu, you're not the only one with new tricks"

"?"

 

CRASH!

Kyō landed right in front the team, standing atop one of his "dragon heads". There were others rising from the expanding blood pool on the ground as well, surrounding him in a protective formation

"You too? Figures you both didn't die. Which means those three of my clan are probably dead... I've lost so many in this operation. F**K! THIS DAY JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE!!"

"Don't speak too soon asshole, the night's not over yet. I'm about to ruin your whole goddamn career..." Rei callously remarked

"You've got something in mind?" Tai asked

"Don't I always. You guys got my back?"

"!"

His teammates glanced at one another before smirking at him

"Don't we always?" Tai and Suzu said simultaneously

"That's what I like to hear. As usual, I'll be the vanguard!"

CHOMP!

Rei bit his thumb until it lightly bled before slamming his hand on the ground. A seal formula instantly emerged following this action

Looking directly at Kyō, he smiled before muttering...

 

 

 

 

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu¹⁰Summoning Technique..."