Naruto: Unlocking Kaido Template

Sasuke lay on the ground, exhausted and gasping for breath. Even with the power to control lightning, he hadn't expected to come this close to death. Itachi's genjutsu was truly hard to defend against.

He stared blankly at Itachi's lifeless body. Although his revenge had succeeded, he felt no joy—only an endless void and confusion lingered in his heart.

What now? he wondered. What do I do with my life? Where do I go from here? Was all this even meaningful? He had no answers.

Raindrops splattered across his face as if nature mourned with him. In the final moments before death, Itachi had said something—Sasuke couldn't quite make it out. Yet, for some reason, he recalled words Itachi used to tell him when they were little.

Thinking back to Itachi's strange behavior, Sasuke suddenly realized—Itachi had been hiding something from him.

"Even without these eyes... I can still stand at the peak..." Sasuke muttered as he struggled to his feet. Rain soaked his entire body, water sliding down his cheeks—tears or rain, it was impossible to tell. Lightning crackled in his hands. He wouldn't allow Itachi's body to be desecrated. The pride of the Uchiha Clan would not be tarnished.

A swirling space vortex appeared, and Tobi—his spiral mask slowly turning—emerged. His body seemed to twist unnaturally from the eye hole, like noodles stretching. He reached out with one hand and absorbed Itachi's body into a mysterious space. With the other, he made a halting gesture toward Sasuke.

Sasuke clenched his fists, irritation flaring. This bastard had shown up out of nowhere just to take Itachi's body. His intentions were clearly suspicious. But what shocked him more than the theft was the eye behind Tobi's mask—a blood-red Sharingan, slowly rotating.

"Who the hell are you? Another Uchiha?" Sasuke demanded. He wanted to say he was the only one left, but he couldn't rule out the possibility that the man had transplanted a Sharingan.

"My name is... Uchiha Madara. And Itachi's story is not as simple as you think," Tobi said flatly. Even just standing there, his presence was suffocating.

"What kind of sick joke is this? Uchiha Madara? The guy who founded Konoha with the First Hokage? No way you're still alive," Sasuke snapped. He had mostly recovered by now, lightning gathering quietly in his palm. His eyes glowed red with the Sharingan once again. He wasn't buying a single word from this weirdo.

But suddenly—pain.

Blinding, stabbing pain surged through his eyes. Darkness swallowed everything. His world faded into pitch black.

Eventually, dim light returned, but it was all blurry. Something was wrong. His vision... it was damaged.

"Was it him? Did he do this?" Sasuke couldn't be sure. Tobi, or rather Madara, didn't attack further. He simply said a few words and turned to leave.

"I'll tell you the truth about the Uchiha massacre. You have no idea what Itachi was carrying. And your eyes—if you want to save them, I have a way." With that, Madara vanished into the vortex.

After a moment's hesitation, Sasuke followed.

---

Elsewhere, in the Daimyo's residence, violent shards of ice shot out like blades, tearing through waves of insects. Yellow acid corroded swarms midair. Frozen bugs fell like rain. Terumi Mei's red hair whipped through the storm. Her expression was twisted, as if she were barely holding something back.

Aburame Hatsuizumi held Shigure in one hand, summoning an insect tsunami beneath her. But the swarm froze instantly in the face of Mei's rampaging ice.

Seeing that the insect wave strategy had failed, Hatsuizumi activated Sennin Mōdo (Sage Mode). Her Sage Insect Armor formed—thick, scaled plating resembling the Three-Tails encased her. She appeared monstrous—barbed, sharp, with phoenix-feather-like protrusions behind her back. Her helmet resembled a bony dragon skull, and Shigure, gripped in her silver gauntlet, was now covered in jagged bone spikes. It gave off a completely different aura.

Water surged around her—after all, ice was just a form of water. Using the Three-Tails' affinity for Suiton (Water Release), combined with the Sage Insects, she had crafted this battle armor to counter the Mizukage.

Mei's mind seemed clouded, on the verge of losing control. Her Hyōton (Ice Release), usually cold and elegant, now felt violent and chaotic.

Water is just ice in motion..., Hatsuizumi realized. Using her own affinity for water, she fired countless ultra-thin water needles like a Gatling gun toward Mei.

Mei reflexively released freezing mist to defend, but the water needles only transformed into razor-sharp ice—doubling their lethality.

Realizing the danger, Mei swiftly summoned an ice wall to shield herself.

But Hatsuizumi had already leapt forward.

Her armor granted immense defense—and with that came power. She slashed down on the wall with brutal force, elbow pivoting into the blow. Ice shattered. She roared with laughter, putting away her sword only to slash diagonally again.

Inside the cracked ice shell, Mei's eyes rolled back—white, vacant. A chilling wave burst from her. Even Hatsuizumi's hands froze instantly. But she didn't stop—her blade plunged forward.

The attack worked—if only slightly. The freezing slowed. Hatsuizumi's blade pinned Mei to the ground. She shook free of the ice clinging to her armor. Even with her Sage Armor, she shivered.

Mei, pierced and grounded, staggered to her feet. The wound in her body crystallized into jagged ice. Her body turned semi-transparent—an ice sculpture given life.

"Can't kill her? This is bad..." Hatsuizumi muttered, stepping back.

"If I can't kill her, I can at least buy some time." She was a practical shinobi. Fighting to the death was pointless. Footsteps echoed all around. Reinforcements were coming—the Daimyo's mansion had been attacked. Ironic. The Mizukage, sworn to protect him, was the one who'd caused this chaos.

Escaping the berserk Mei wasn't difficult. By the time the guards arrived, Hatsuizumi had already vanished into the forest. She flexed her stiff arms, ice chipping off her armor.

That woman... That was the first time I've seen someone literally turn into ice... she thought. I could've killed her—but there's no point.

"We'll take the intel back to Uzumaki Zixu, Hyuga Neji, and the others. Something's coming. I can feel it. The peace we've had... it's on the verge of collapse."

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