"…That really was a long dream."
Sasuke lay still for a moment after opening his eyes. When he finally exhaled, the breath felt heavier than it should have been.
The world in front of him looked real, yet distant, as if separated by a thin veil. The path he had taken to awaken the Mangekyō had been reckless even by Uchiha standards. Three days had passed in the real world. To him, it had felt like centuries.
If his thoughts had slowed for even an instant back then, he would have lost himself completely. What remained would have been a body without awareness, driven only by instinct. Even now, fragments lingered. Cold detachment brushed against surging desire, two opposing currents colliding at the edge of his consciousness.
Sasuke closed his eyes once, then opened them again.
The turbulence settled.
He lifted his gaze, and the Mangekyō spun.
Fire answered.
Dark flames burst to life around him, rising in silent arcs. Heat rolled outward in widening rings, the air warping as if bowing away. The fire deepened in color, red sinking into black, until the light itself seemed to be swallowed.
Black flame gathered behind him, shaping itself into a pair of wings.
With a single motion, Sasuke rose.
A shockwave cracked the air as he shot upward, a streak of black fire tearing through the sky. Wherever the flames passed, the damp air and poisonous miasma of Grass Lizard Marsh burned away, leaving a clear path behind him.
He climbed higher, the ground shrinking beneath his feet. Even Shusaki's massive form was reduced to a dark shape below.
For the first time since awakening, a faint curve touched Sasuke's lips.
Freedom.
The blade at his waist trembled.
At first, he thought it was the rush of flight. Then the vibration sharpened, resonating in time with his chakra. Sasuke drew Fire Kagutsuchi and studied it midair. The sword hummed, responding to the black flames surrounding him.
Understanding flickered.
Without hesitation, Sasuke let the black fire surge.
The blade was engulfed.
For a heartbeat, nothing existed but flame.
Then his Mangekyō spun violently. Chakra flooded outward, dense and dark, shaping itself into a towering half-formed warrior around him. The Susanoo emerged in shades of black and violet, its presence heavy enough to bend the air.
The giant reached out.
In its grasp appeared a katana of black glass, wreathed in living flame. Its edge gleamed with a sharpness that felt absolute.
Sasuke stared.
"A spirit weapon…"
The moment the sword formed, his fire chakra surged, deeper and purer than before. He felt it instantly. This was not merely an extension of Susanoo.
This was a bond.
Sasuke willed the giant to release its grip. The great blade vanished, and Fire Kagutsuchi reappeared in his hand, intact. Yet it no longer felt like a tool. Every ridge, every edge responded as if it were part of him.
He understood.
A weapon could be wielded by Susanoo as either form. Solid steel in his hands, or a manifested spirit in the giant's grasp. The difference lay not in shape, but in connection.
Fire Kagutsuchi dissolved into black flame and sank into his wrist, leaving behind a faint mark shaped like a blade.
"Then let's finish this properly."
Sasuke reached into a storage scroll. Smoke cleared to reveal broken twin blades and a blue-gold crystal.
Lightning Blade: Fang.A condensed lightning chakra core.
Black flame receded. Thunder rose.
Purple lightning snapped into existence, violent and sharp, its glow carrying a strange, disorienting brilliance. Sasuke's Mangekyō burned crimson as he guided the current, feeding it into the fragments before him.
This time, resistance met him.
The lightning raged, refusing to settle. His vision blurred. Pressure built behind his eyes. For a moment, Sasuke considered stopping.
Then the sky answered.
Thunder roared, splitting the air with a sound so vast it echoed across the marshlands. Light exploded outward, swallowing the world in white and violet.
When it faded, Susanoo stood once more.
In its hand rested a long sword, radiant and severe, its blade wrapped in endless arcs of lightning.
Sasuke knew its name without being told.
The Sword of Futsunomitama.
He steadied his breath as the thunder finally died away.
This was not borrowed power.
This was something that belonged to him.