"O... Otou-san..."
Sasuke was dumbfounded. He rubbed his eyes, checking again and again. The familiar figure was none other than his long-dead father.
Fugaku Uchiha, his Mangekyo Sharingan—which he had never shown to outsiders—now blazing, had manifested the Uchiha clan's ancestral dojutsu, the Susanoo.
The massive Susanoo stood before Sasuke, shielding him from the towering wave of sand. After blocking Shukaku's Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral, the middle-aged man within the chakra giant slowly turned his head to look at Sasuke.
"Who... who are you? My father is long dead! Why do you look just like him?" The rational part of Sasuke's mind took over. He suppressed his impulse and cautiously raised a kunai, questioning the figure.
He would never forget that night. His parents, lying in a pool of blood in their home. They were well and truly dead, right in front of him. How could a dead person be resurrected?
"Sasuke, you have done well. You are truly my son." Fugaku's eyes were filled with a complex mix of emotions. The sternness he had always worn in life was gone, replaced by a deep, doting love for his child.
"O... Otou-san..."
With Fugaku's words, "You are truly my son," the last shred of Sasuke's composure shattered. He broke down, tears streaming down his face as he ran to embrace his father.
Fugaku opened his Susanoo, pulling his son into a tight hug. Only one who has died once truly knows what they care about most.
"Sob... Otou-san, it's really you! It's really you!" At that moment, Sasuke dropped his cool demeanor, crying like a child in his father's arms.
"It's me, Sasuke. It's been a long time. You've grown up, and you've become stronger." Fugaku was filled with emotion. When he died, his younger son had still been a little brat, a little kid seeking his father's praise.
But to prevent his children from becoming spoiled, he and his wife had always played their roles: the loving mother and the strict father. His younger son had worked tirelessly, studying ninjutsu to gain his father's approval.
If he had another chance, Fugaku thought, he would never be a strict father again. He would dote on his younger son just as his wife had.
The little six-year-old brat was now thirteen, almost a man. [Sasuke was born about half a year before Naruto.]
"Otou-san, how were you revived? Why is your body so cold?" Sasuke asked the question that had been burning in his mind. But as he asked, he realized that his father's body was ice-cold.
Thanks to Orochimaru's 2.0 version of the Edo Tensei, which didn't make the resurrected look particularly grotesque, the revived looked almost like living people, aside from their cold bodies. If it had been Kabuto's 3.0 version, there would have been no need to ask; one look would have been enough to tell he wasn't alive.
"Someone used the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju's, forbidden jutsu, the Edo Tensei, to revive me. We can talk later. For now, go back. Your mother is waiting for you. It's dangerous here," Fugaku said, smiling as he patted his son's head.
"Okaa-sama? She was revived too?" Sasuke asked, stunned.
Fugaku smiled and nodded, then gently pushed his younger son back before turning to face Shukaku.
On the battlefield, in the short time he had been reuniting with his son, Shukaku and Gamabunta had already clashed several times.
Shukaku slapped its belly, and air cannons, packed with immense chakra, were fired at Gamabunta as if they were free.
These air cannons were Shukaku's unique jutsu, requiring no hand seals. With a slap of its belly, it could fire them like a machine gun. Gamabunta could only nimbly dodge the barrage.
"Go, Boss Toad! Give that guy a good beating!" Naruto cheered from on top of its head.
"Shut up and hold on tight! I'm about to use my ultimate move!" Gamabunta roared, then leaped high into the air.
Soaring through the sky, Gamabunta opened its cavernous mouth and spat out several large water balls. This wasn't saliva, of course; its body couldn't hold that much water. It was a jutsu of the toad clan, also requiring no hand seals.
BOOM!BOOM!
The giant water balls collided with the giant air cannons, creating a sound like thunder on a clear day. The sky immediately broke out in a storm, and the violent chakra, mixed with wind and rain, blew down countless trees. To the humans on the ground, it was like a category twelve hurricane.
But Gamabunta was still at a disadvantage. Shukaku's combat power was not weak. An accident occurred as it landed. Some of the sand from Shukaku's earlier Sand Waterfall Funeral suddenly came to life, wrapping around its legs.
Shukaku then fired several more freebie air cannons. Gamabunta had just used its ultimate move and didn't have the chakra reserves of a Tailed Beast. With its legs trapped, it couldn't dodge in time. Unable to use its water cannonballs again, it could only block one of the air cannons with its blade. The others hit their mark.
"Arghh!" Gamabunta's blood splattered across the sky. It had been severely injured by the air cannons.
[Hahaha! I'll kill you! I'll kill you all!]
Shukaku roared in excitement. After being sealed away for so many years, to be able to come out, stretch its legs, and fight—it was ecstatic. For it, there was nothing better than this.
After dealing with Gamabunta, Shukaku turned its attention to Fugaku Uchiha. It had encountered this annoying Susanoo Gundam before, used by that Mangekyo Sharingan user, Uchiha Nagi.
[Hateful red eyes! Hateful Uchiha! This one doesn't have a weapon! I'm going to kill you!]
Shukaku looked at Fugaku Uchiha with rage. This Gundam didn't have a sword; it would be easy to beat. The last guy had a weapon, that Sword of Totsuka, which was the only reason it lost. Shukaku would never admit it was a matter of strength. It was just because the other guy had a weapon.
[Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!]
Shukaku slapped its belly, and another barrage of air cannons shot toward Fugaku.
"Okaa-sama..." "Sasuke..."
Mother and son hugged tightly. Uchiha Nagi, aside from Asuma, hadn't controlled the consciousness of any of the Uchiha. So, Mikoto Uchiha had followed her husband.
Fugaku had originally planned to get revenge on Konoha first, but Mikoto had persuaded him. Compared to revenge, she was more concerned with finding her younger son, who was still in the village. After being persuaded by his wife, Fugaku had thought it over and agreed.
So the two of them had searched, and just outside Konoha's forest, they had found Sasuke fighting Gaara. They didn't know how to face their younger son and were still hesitating when Gaara transformed into his complete Tailed Beast form.
Shukaku had immediately unleashed a massive sand tsunami. Seeing his younger son about to die, Fugaku had stopped thinking and manifested his Susanoo to block the attack.
"Mother..." Sasuke sobbed, clinging to his mother, then glanced at Sakura.
Mikoto had already rescued Sakura. Don't be fooled by her housewife appearance; Mikoto was a three-tomoe jonin. Rescuing Sakura, who was trapped in the sand on a tree, was no difficult task.
"What exactly happened? Didn't Itachi kill you, Okaa-sama? But someone told me that the Uchiha clan was wiped out by the Third Hokage. I want to know the truth," Sasuke asked, his voice choked with emotion.
"That..." The kind-hearted Mikoto couldn't bring herself to tell her younger son the truth of the clan's destruction. It was too dark. "Let your father tell you. After he defeats Shukaku, he'll tell you."
"Father?" Sasuke turned to look at his father, his face filled with shock. "Mother, Father is this strong? Why didn't he fight back then? Could it be that even with this much power, he couldn't beat Itachi?"
"Don't ask, Sasuke." Mikoto covered her mouth, her face etched with sorrow. "Later, whatever you want to ask, let your father tell you, alright?"
Seeing that his mother was unwilling to speak, Sasuke could only take a deep breath and wait patiently. "Alright. I'll ask Father later."
[Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!]
Shukaku fired far more air cannons than it had against Gamabunta, locking down all of Fugaku's possible escape routes, trying to finish him in one go.
BOOM!
After a series of violent explosions, it was revealed that Fugaku hadn't dodged at all. He had simply stood his ground, holding a shield.
[Hm? A shield? Where did you get that?]
Fugaku didn't answer, but Shukaku soon found out. The arm of Fugaku's Gundam, the Susanoo, rapidly extended and then transformed into a longsword. The shield had appeared in the same way.
"Kagutsuchi. This is the ability of my Mangekyo Sharingan," Fugaku said with a faint smile. He then controlled his Gundam, one hand holding a shield, the other a sword, and charged at Shukaku.
Kagutsuchi was an ability of fine control. On the surface, it didn't seem like much. Fine control could be achieved through constant training. But if one's imagination was good enough, the power of Kagutsuchi was immense.
It could manipulate any ninjutsu, changing its appearance. One of the abilities Fugaku had never shown to the world was Kagutsuchi. He could control the shape of his Susanoo, directly forming a Susanoo shield, a Susanoo longsword. If he wanted, he could even form a bow and arrow, a spear. He could even manipulate Water Style jutsu and form them into weapons.
As he closed in, Shukaku, remembering the night it had been subjected to the Thousand Years of Death, instinctively protected its rear with its tail and manipulated the sand, hoping to bind Fugaku.
Unfortunately, this was Konoha, not the desert. There was a limited amount of sand. It had to first turn the soil into sand before it could use its sand-based jutsu.
The ropes of sand snaking along the ground were cut apart by Fugaku in two or three strikes. He rushed past Shukaku, and with a single slash, severed one of its arms.
[Damn you, red eyes!]
Shukaku was unique. Unlike the Eight-Tails, whose severed horn would fall to the ground as a solid object, its arm simply dissipated into sand after the chakra holding it together dispersed.
Watching Shukaku's arm regenerate with a flick of its wrist, Fugaku frowned. It seemed normal attacks were ineffective.
FWOOSH—
The Susanoo's longsword was suddenly wreathed in flames. Black flames.
Fugaku Uchiha's dual Mangekyo abilities were Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi. He had awakened them on the battlefield of the Great Ninja War, after witnessing the tragic deaths of his dear friends and family. His heart had craved revenge for his loved ones, so he had awakened the vengeful flames of Amaterasu. Then, he had wished to escape the war, to no longer be controlled by it, so he had gained the ability of free transformation and control, Kagutsuchi. Those were the powers of his two eyes.
The Susanoo's longsword, now coated in Amaterasu's flames, dodged Shukaku's attack and plunged deep into its body. The domineering, inextinguishable black flames instantly engulfed Shukaku's entire body.
[Ahhh! Die! Die! Die! You damn red eyes!]
Unwilling to accept defeat, Shukaku spat out a Tailed Beast Bomb. But this time, because it had charged too quickly and was being distracted by the Amaterasu, the Tailed Beast Bomb exploded before it was fully formed.
BOOM!
A mushroom cloud slowly rose from the battlefield.
"Otou-san!" Sasuke cried out, but Mikoto held him back.
"Don't worry, Sasuke. Your father can't die. No, wait, we're already dead. We're Edo Tensei..."
"..."
Sure enough, after the explosion cleared, Shukaku's complete form had dissipated, leaving only Gaara lying unconscious on its massive sand body.
Fugaku Uchiha had already recalled the Amaterasu and dismissed his Susanoo. He was now walking toward his wife and son. His own shattered body was being rapidly repaired, paper-like scraps of his vessel flying back to him.
The Susanoo's defense was not weak, but Fugaku hadn't used its complete, fully-armored form, so his real body in the center had been caught in the blast. But his Edo Tensei body had regenerated in an instant.
"Thank goodness, Otou-san, you're okay..." Sasuke said, happily throwing himself into his father's arms.
"Sasuke, I know you have a lot of questions for me. Ask what you want, but let's make it quick. I don't know when the caster will take control of us," Fugaku said.
"Father, you're being controlled by someone?" Sasuke asked, stunned.
"Yes. The Edo Tensei is a forbidden jutsu. The one who revived us is Uchiha Nagi."
"Uchiha Nagi?"
What is he doing right now?
In Konoha's Hokage Building—
A dozen or so Anbu lay on the floor. Uchiha Nagi stood, holding the Scroll of Seals, which only the Hokage were allowed to read. Across from him stood Kakashi and Guy, a formidable duo.
After raiding the Hyuga clan for their Byakugan, Nagi had gone to the Hokage Building to steal the Scroll of Seals. With Konoha currently under invasion, what better time to steal the scroll containing countless forbidden jutsu?
He himself was strong enough, but the Swordsmith Village was still too new, its foundation too shallow. So, the Scroll of Seals was Nagi's target. He planned to take it back to bolster his village's strength.
But he wouldn't be like Konoha, hoarding so many forbidden jutsu and only allowing the Hokage's direct lineage to learn them. In Nagi's plan, any student in the Swordsmith Village with good character and talent would have the opportunity to learn the jutsu in the Scroll of Seals.
The Flying Thunder God technique—was Minato Namikaze really the only one who could learn it? Unlikely. The truth was that most people never had the chance to even see the jutsu, so they never knew if they had a talent for space-time ninjutsu. The reality was that only those in the Hokage's direct line who also happened to have a talent for space-time ninjutsu could learn it.
"This Scroll of Seals, I'm taking it. What do you think? Guy, are you still planning to open the Eight Gates? In the face of space-time ninjutsu, even if you open the Gate of Death, it's useless. Don't forget what happened last time you opened the seventh gate," Nagi said with a smile, looking at Might Guy.
You open the gates, I'll just run away. When you close them, I'll come back. What are you going to do, huh? Hit me, stupid?
Might Guy's pained expression was particularly fun to tease.