"Fourth Form: Susanoo!"
Uchiha Fugaku unleashed the fourth form of Susanoo. Unlike before, it now had a complete lower body, granting full protection even beneath his feet.
Boom, boom, boom!Countless massive hands slammed against Susanoo's armored frame, but none could pierce its defense. Fugaku remained completely shielded within.
"Blade of Susanoo—"
In Susanoo's right hand, a pitch-black longsword appeared. With a single swing, the giant cut through wave after wave of attacking arms.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!Each strike severed a dozen hands at once, until nothing remained in its way. Under Fugaku's control, Susanoo strode forward toward the Zero-Tails.
Clang!Hidan suddenly lunged at Susanoo's left side, his scythe crashing against its foot. Sparks flew, but the armored titan remained unscathed—Hidan himself was hurled back by the recoil.
Hidan's immortality and curse techniques were dangerous, but his raw combat strength was far too low. Against Susanoo's fourth form, he posed no threat. Fugaku ignored him and drove Susanoo straight at the Zero-Tails, black sword descending in a deadly arc.
From the Zero-Tails' body, countless arms erupted to block the strike. But they were cut down instantly, the blade biting deep into the beast itself.
Shhk—!From its mask downward, the Zero-Tails was cleaved in half. Its two halves fell apart… but only for a moment. The grotesque body writhed, knitting itself back together almost immediately.
As long as its dark chakra remained, the Zero-Tails could not truly die.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—More arms shot out, swarming Susanoo. Fugaku swung his massive blade again and again, cutting them down before they could even touch him. Then he slashed through the air itself, sending a long black arc of chakra slicing into the retreating Zero-Tails, cleaving it apart once more.
Yet again, it reformed.
Before Fugaku could finish it, Hidan hurled his chained scythe, binding Susanoo's feet to stall its advance. Fugaku immediately pivoted, black sword swinging down on Hidan instead.
Crack!Hidan raised his weapon to block, but the black blade sheared through both scythe and wielder, cutting his body in two.
The immortal zealot crawled with his upper half, desperately trying to reattach himself. Unlike the Zero-Tails, though, he lacked true regeneration—he would need Shennō's medical ninjutsu to recover, something unlikely to come.
Meanwhile, Susanoo snapped the chains at its feet and resumed its pursuit. The Zero-Tails had already fled into the forest, sliding its massive body away in retreat.
Fugaku would not let it escape. Susanoo barreled forward like a landslide, smashing through trees and boulders until its giant hands seized the beast's tail. With overwhelming strength, it slammed the Zero-Tails into the ground again and again.
Boom, boom, boom!Each impact tore deep scars into the earth and ripped open wounds across the monster's body. Its regeneration kept it alive, but the relentless assault drained its dark chakra rapidly.
Finally, its healing faltered. Wounds stopped closing. Its body dissolved into mist, dispersing completely—the Zero-Tails' dark chakra spent.
Fugaku frowned inside Susanoo. "As I thought… unless its dark chakra is gone, it cannot die."
But he quickly relaxed. With the chakra reserves of Kisame's physiology and his own Yin Seal, he had more than enough to outlast it.
Summoning a massive black spear, Susanoo pinned the Zero-Tails to the ground before raining down a storm of colossal punches. Each blow crushed its body further, consuming what little dark chakra remained until, at last, the creature disintegrated entirely.
The Zero-Tails was gone. Though it might one day revive from humanity's inner darkness, that day would not come soon.
When the mist cleared, Shennō's true form was revealed—not the muscular middle-aged man from before, but a frail, decrepit elder. His hair was thin, teeth missing, body withered.
"Monster… you're more of a monster than the Zero-Tails itself…" Shennō whispered in horror, staring at Fugaku.
Compared to the immortal beast he had just slain, Fugaku's power and chakra reserves were even greater. To Shennō, the Uchiha patriarch was the true monster.
Fugaku released Susanoo and approached. "Hypnosis—"
He attempted to probe Shennō's mind, seeking his forbidden medical ninjutsu and intelligence on Akatsuki. But a powerful seal inside Shennō's consciousness detonated, killing him instantly before any secrets could be revealed.
Clicking his tongue, Fugaku searched the body but found no scrolls. As expected, no shinobi would carry such dangerous techniques on their person.
Disappointed but unsurprised, he sealed Shennō's corpse away, stripped off his Akatsuki ring, and returned to where Hidan still writhed helplessly on the ground.
The zealot smirked despite his broken state. "I'm immortal. You can't kill me."
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