Lightning Style: Kirin.
Developed by the future Sasuke Uchiha, it was hailed as the ultimate pinnacle of Lightning Release ninjutsu! It boasted a massive range, overwhelming destructive power, and required minimal chakra—all while striking with a speed that made evasion nearly impossible.
However, its flaws were equally prominent. It demanded specific weather conditions and required the Sharingan to perceive the speed and flow of natural lightning to guide it.
Such a technique would typically be useless against a man like the Third Raikage, who moved as lightning himself. His speed was too great; while Kirin covered a vast area, that very scale meant its power was dispersed. Whether it could even breach the Lightning Release Armor remained an unknown variable.
Furthermore, while Ren Uchiha understood the principles and had attempted it during his month and a half of combat training, performing it with only two tomoe was incredibly taxing and prone to failure. For these reasons, he had avoided using it against the Raikage.
But now, everything had changed.
With the addition of Master of All Arms and the mutation of his Sharingan under the influence of natural energy, his two-tomoe eyes had leaped past their limits. He now possessed the insight of the Mangekyo!
Add to that the swirling storm clouds brought by the Raikage's arrival and the massive, stationary target of the Eight-Tails currently condensing a Tailed Beast Bomb—the time, the place, and the conditions were all perfectly aligned!
Ren realized instantly: this was the only way to save Setsuna Uchiha and the others from the impending Tailed Beast Bomb.
Ren raised his right hand, channeling the very last of his chakra. The blue electricity of Chidori: Raikiri—usually meant only for blades—erupted across his palm. The intense current, forced into his bare hand, caused his skin to crack and bleed instantly.
Chirp... Chirp... Chirp...
The gloomy sky suddenly ignited! As if the heavens themselves were bowing to Ren Uchiha, brilliant lightning spread across the sky like a colossal spiderweb, extending far beyond the reach of human sight. Thousands of bolts roared in unison, blooming like radiant kale blossoms.
The pale light illuminated the world, casting a ghastly white glow on the faces of everyone on the battlefield.
"What... what is that?"
The Eight-Tails looked up at the sky and subconsciously swallowed. A moment later, its expression shifted to pure terror. Inside the mental landscape, it roared at Killer B:
"B! Disperse the Tailed Beast Bomb! Right now!"
"If that technique hits, it will detonate the bomb right in our faces!"
However, Killer B, perched on the beast's nose, looked up at the sky in a daze, seemingly deaf to the Eight-Tails' warning. He murmured blankly:
"It's too late... It's already too late."
"There is no dodging this one."
Killer B paled, leaning back as if all strength had been drained from his body. He collapsed against the Eight-Tails' snout, his voice filled with despair.
"He has finished the preparation."
"And the strike... takes only a thousandth of a second!"
"It's faster than the speed of sound!"
Standing before the skyscraper-sized Eight-Tails, Ren Uchiha's face twisted into a savage mask. He snapped his open fingers into a tight fist!
"COME!"
Accompanied by the roar in his heart—
—BOOM!!
The lightning that had extended to the horizon flashed violently. Guided by the spark in Ren's palm, the celestial bolts converged above his head in a single instant. Then, a thunderous beast, larger and more majestic than the Eight-Tails itself, peeked its head out from the clouds.
It opened a ferocious maw, its eyes glowing red, its entire form composed of pure lightning. Even a fleeting glimpse of its silhouette was enough to etch itself into the souls of everyone present.
Then—
—ROAR!!
The angry beast's roar shook the world as it descended!
"Begone with the thunderclap!" Ren hissed in a silent, raspy scream, his eyes fixed on the Eight-Tails.
The strike was too fast for the eye to track, too fast for the mind to react, and a thousand times faster than the sound that followed it. It transformed into a vertical, impossibly thick pillar of light. It didn't look like it was falling; rather, it looked as if it had instantly tethered the heavens, the earth, the Eight-Tails, and the bomb in its mouth together.
Then, it crushed downward!
Pure white light exploded! Everything was drowned in the roar of thunder, turning into white light, charcoal, and dust.
BOOM!!!
The Tailed Beast Bomb was hammered back into the Eight-Tails' throat by the endless lightning, detonating deep within its gut. A muffled explosion sent a sandstorm howling outward from the cliff's center.
Under such terrifying celestial power, mortals could not even look. The shinobi covered their faces and used chakra to block their ear canals to avoid being deafened by the sonic boom. The entire cliff was charred black in an instant, leaving only residual fires to tell the tale of the ultimate ninjutsu's horror.
As the dust settled, the onlookers opened their eyes.
The massive, sky-touching Eight-Tails was gone, reduced to charred fragments of flesh. Only Killer B remained, lying on the blackened earth, his body scorched and motionless.
Having taken the full brunt of Kirin and his own maximum-power Tailed Beast Bomb, Killer B was, at the very least, completely incapacitated.
However, before the crowd could reel from the beauty of that lightning, they saw a shadow moving. A youth, covered in soot and black blood, was sprinting toward Killer B like an arrow!
It was Ren Uchiha!
Ren knew that his chakra was gone. The Third Raikage was still standing, and no one else was his match. His only hope was to capture the defeated Killer B and use his life to force the Raikage to retreat, buying them precious time.
Though the combat felt like it had lasted hours, barely fifteen minutes had passed. Minato would need at least half an hour to reach Hell Valley from Konoha. Their only lifeline was B!
"Ren, watch your back!!"
Hearts leaped into throats. Ren wasn't the only one running. Another figure was moving—earlier, faster, and more ruthless.
It was the Third Raikage, A!
A strange, unreadable light flickered in A's eyes. During that high-speed clash just moments ago, the boy had clearly found an opening to pierce his Lightning Armor and stab his heart from behind. But to protect the people standing behind him, Ren had abandoned that chance and chosen to strike at B instead.
The gesture had shocked the Raikage, leaving him in a momentary, solemn silence. This choice in the face of death allowed him to truly see who Ren Uchiha was.
"I see..."
"The things that truly matter to you... you will protect them with your own hands, even at the cost of your own life."
A sense of recognition colored A's gaze. Shinobi were not all treacherous rats. A man like this—compared to the sniveling cowards of the world—appealed to the martial culture of Kumogakure.
"Ren Uchiha, you are undoubtedly a true shinobi!"
"A young genius who truly possesses the resolve of a Kage!"
"If only you had been born in Kumogakure, I would have certainly named you the Fourth Raikage..."
A suddenly spun his body, raising the massive jar from his back. He dropped into a deep stance, pulling his arm back as if the jar were a javelin.
"However..."
His eyes turned sharp, a fierce light exploding within them. It was part anger, part shame, and a hint of regret—but mostly, it was pure determination.
"You are far too dangerous!"
"Even if it means losing B... I must kill you here and now!!"
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