Chapter 25: The Fruit's Awakening
The Iwa ninja in close pursuit of Akatsurugi stared, their eyes wide with disbelief. They had never seen anything like the pale golden, skeletal giant that materialized before them.
Few in this era had witnessed Uchiha Madara in his prime, let alone the legendary power of Susano'o.
Uchiha Kagami made a gentle, almost casual sweeping motion with his arm. The skeletal arm of the Susano'o mirrored the movement. The force of it sent the pursuing Iwa ninja flying. The Chūnin among them were knocked unconscious or worse upon impact; only the Jōnin and Special Jōnin managed to keep their footing.
Without a second glance, Uchiha Kagami formed a sequence of hand seals. The massive Susano'o skeleton mimicked the gesture. Kagami took a deep, chakra-infused breath, and the Susano'o's skull opened its maw, expelling a fireball the size of a small house. It flew like a meteor, crashing toward the Iwa positions.
To their credit, the elite Iwa shinobi reacted instantly. Hands slammed onto the earth, and thick walls of rock erupted to form a defensive barrier. The colossal fireball impacted with a thunderous roar, scorching the earth but failing to break through.
By the time the dust settled, Uchiha Kagami had already retracted his Susano'o. "Go!" he commanded Akatsurugi, his voice tight.
Akatsurugi caught a glimpse of the twin trails of black blood streaking from his teacher's eyes before they turned away. The toll of such a technique was brutally evident.
The Iwa ninja watched them flee, their leader frowning deeply. A fight to the death against a foe wielding such power would undoubtedly cost them dearly. It wasn't a price they were willing to pay.
"Forget it," the Iwa Jōnin grunted. "Our primary mission is to eliminate the Kiri Swordsmen. Let them go."
Uchiha Kagami and Akatsurugi fled without pause, crossing into the Land of Grass and pushing straight through to the Land of Fire's border. Here, Konoha's presence was strong. They finally reached the safety of a Konoha border camp.
The camp was currently under the command of Danzō Shimura. This Danzō was not yet the scheming, shadowy figure of the future. He was still a staunch, if severe, proponent of the Will of Fire.
Uchiha Kagami immediately reported their gathered intelligence. Danzō was visibly shocked. So that was why Iwa and Kiri forces had been clashing so intensely recently. The simultaneous deaths of the Second Tsuchikage and Second Mizukage was momentous news. No one knew what the two Kage had been plotting, but their demise would send ripples across the entire shinobi world.
Akatsurugi, standing silently to the side, was inwardly impressed. This is Uchiha Kagami for you. While I was just trying to survive, he was gathering crucial intel even while being hunted. This is the difference between us.
"Kagami, you've done excellent work," Danzō said. "I will relay this to Hiruzen immediately. You have my thanks. Both of you, get some rest." He concluded with a nod of acknowledgment towards Akatsurugi, a clear sign of approval.
Exhausted, the two retreated to an assigned tent. The non-stop flight, culminating in Kagami's use of the Mangekyō, had drained them completely. Uchiha Kagami was asleep almost the moment his head touched the pillow.
Akatsurugi wasn't far behind. The next morning, Kagami was summoned by Danzō shortly after waking. With nothing else to do, Akatsurugi remained in the tent, his mind turning over the insights he'd gained into chakra nature transformation.
Witnessing the sheer scale and power of the fireball unleashed by his teacher's Susano'o had been a revelation. Combined with his own accumulated experience, he felt a breakthrough was imminent.
He found a secluded spot at the edge of the camp. Settling into a stance, his hands formed the familiar seals for the Great Fireball Technique, but this time, he consciously guided the change in chakra nature. He exhaled, and a massive fireball roared forth. Where it passed, the grass didn't just burn—it was instantly carbonized, turning black and crumbling to ash.
This was the power of a Jōnin-level technique, amplified by nature transformation. It was at least three times more potent than his previous efforts.
Mastering this felt like unlocking a fundamental truth. No amount of theoretical explanation could substitute for this tangible understanding. With nature transformation under his belt, Akatsurugi's combat effectiveness had skyrocketed.
Then he thought of the Flame-Flame Fruit.
He formed the seals again, focusing not only on the chakra nature change but also on channeling the unique energy of the fruit.
The result was startling. The fireball's color shifted from orange-red to a menacing black-red. It struck a large boulder, and instead of shattering it, the rock was silently, instantly reduced to a fine, gray-white powder.
Akatsurugi stared, a chill running down his spine. It's this powerful?
The chakra cost, however, was equally staggering. A single enhanced Great Fireball consumed roughly a tenth of his total reserves. He could manage about ten before being completely drained.
It was a frustrating bottleneck. He had developed a devastating technique, but his "battery life" was insufficient. If only I could seal a Tailed Beast inside me as a personal power bank, he mused wryly. Every Tailed Beast was accounted for, and even if captured during war, they were assets to be returned or re-sealed.
The Four-Tails, Son Goku, with its lava-based powers, seemed like it would be the most compatible. But facing a Tailed Beast in his current state was pure suicide.
"Elementalization!" Akatsurugi whispered. A faint, crimson flame flickered over his entire body, then solidified, encasing him in a sheath of living fire. He clenched his fist, and a ball of intense flame bloomed above it without any conscious effort to form a hand seal.
It worked! Elation surged through him. This was no longer partial transformation; this was full-body elementalization. He could feel it now—a fundamental connection to the Flame-Flame Fruit that had been dormant before. He had truly awakened its power.
Considering the abilities displayed by Flame-Flame Fruit users in their world of origin, if he could fully develop this, his chances of survival in the ninja world would increase exponentially.
He shaped his fingers into a pistol. "Fire Gun!" A concentrated jet of flame shot from his fingertip, punching a neat, smoldering hole in the ground a short distance away.
Akatsurugi grinned. Yes! This is more like it! The pathetic sparks of before were gone. He finally had a worthy foundation.
If he encountered those Kiri or Iwa ninja now, he wouldn't be forced into such a pathetic, desperate flight.
"Wait," he muttered, a new idea forming. "Can the Flame-Flame Fruit enable flight?" In the stories, users could propel themselves through the air.
He focused, trying to direct flames from the soles of his feet to act as jets.
To his utter astonishment, a burst of fire erupted from his backside instead. With an undignified yelp, he was launched forward, skimming erratically a few feet above the ground in a most peculiar posture before crashing back to earth.
"What the hell?!" he exclaimed, picking himself up and dusting off his pants, his face flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and frustration. This was not the majestic, controlled flight he had envisioned. If anyone had seen that... the humiliation would be worse than any battlefield injury.