Chapter 94: The Titan and the Puppeteers
For a moment, the area was cleared. Uchiha Akira's experimental fusion of Kamui and Lightning Release had annihilated the bulk of the puppet army.
'My pupil power took a noticeable hit,' he noted internally, the strain a faint throb behind his eye. 'Not surprising. I lack the Six Paths chakra boost that allowed Kakashi to spam such techniques.' He had used the large-scale attack deliberately, to test its efficacy and cost. The results were clear: devastatingly effective, but a significant drain. Even with Hashirama's cells mitigating the strain, he estimated he could only unleash a "Kamui Lightning Burial" of that magnitude three, perhaps four times in a short engagement before needing serious recovery.
Vwoom… Vwoom…
Before he could ponder further, a low hum filled the air. Streaks of golden light cut through the dim atmosphere from multiple directions—dense, spiraling energy spheres. They arced with pinpoint accuracy, sealing every conceivable angle of evasion, converging on his location.
Akira didn't bother to move. He let the barrage come, his singular crimson eye fixed instead on three figures who had materialized on a rooftop several dozen meters away.
BOOM! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
A chain of deafening explosions detonated, swallowing him in a vortex of incandescent light and concussive force. Heat waves rolled outward, and where he had stood, a crater thirty meters across was scorched into existence, plumes of greenish smoke rising from vaporized stone and ancient materials.
As the glare and smoke dissipated, Uchiha Akira remained precisely where he had been, untouched. His gaze never wavered from the three newcomers.
They were two men and a woman, all clad in the same pristine white robes and turbans, their eyes serenely closed. A potent, controlled chakra radiated from them, distinct from the puppets' artificial energy.
Sensing his unscathed state, a ripple of shock passed through their composed facades.
"Finally, you show yourselves," Akira's voice echoed, modulated to the older, deeper timbre of "Madara." "The lunar Ōtsutsuki, I presume? From what I see, the vaunted clan of the Sage's brother is… less than impressive."
"Sharingan…" the lead, middle-aged man intoned, his head tilting as if 'seeing' through other means. "A descendant of the Sage. Who are you? How do you know of our existence?"
"Who am I?" The masked figure's tone was laced with theatrical arrogance. "Uchiha Madara."
"Uchiha… Madara?" The trio exchanged blank, confused expressions. The name meant nothing to them.
The lunar Ōtsutsuki were profoundly isolated. They rarely descended to Earth, and when they did, their focus was singularly on the Hyuga. The wider politics and legends of the shinobi world were beneath their notice—a failing world, in their view, destined for erasure. They had noted the summoning of the Gedo Statue years prior as a sign of the world's corruption, but the summoner's identity was irrelevant. Their mission was all.
"Pathetic," Akira sneered, the contempt dripping from his voice. "Frogs at the bottom of a well. You don't even know the name that shook the world? The descendants of Hamura are truly ignorant."
The insult struck a nerve. The lead man's face darkened. "We have no interest in the names of the doomed. You have trespassed upon the sacred moon. Your life is forfeit. We need know nothing more."
"How bold!" Akira chuckled darkly. "Then let me educate you on the power of Uchiha Madara!"
He vanished.
In the next fraction of a second, he reappeared instantly beside the younger woman of the trio. A kunai, gleaming with malicious intent, thrust towards her heart. It was a test of speed and perception.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu?!" All three reacted with genuine surprise. True instantaneous movement was a rarity, even for them.
Though eyeless, their perception, fed by the Great Tenseigan, was extraordinary. The woman, despite her shock, reacted instinctively. Her palm snapped up, facing the incoming threat.
BAM!
A tremendous, invisible force—a wave of pure repulsion—erupted from her hand. The air itself screamed as it was compressed and hurled outward. A swath of the ancient buildings in front of her was flattened instantly, pulverized into dust.
Yet, Akira's form passed through the shockwave and her body like a ghost. The kunai found no purchase.
Simultaneously, the other two—the middle-aged leader and the younger man—flicked their wrists. Orbs of condensed, viridian green chakra shot forth, screaming through the space Akira occupied.
"They passed through?!" The trio's confidence wavered, replaced by intense focus.
KABOOM!
The green orbs impacted the ground where Akira had been moments before, carving out another deep crater in a violent eruption.
"Repulsion… Chakra Spirit Orbs…" Akira mused, having already phased back to a central position. His Sharingan narrowed thoughtfully. 'They're borrowing the Tenseigan's abilities directly. Not just puppetry. Gravity manipulation, energy projection…'
Their combat style was alien, reminiscent of the elevated battle tiers of the future—less about intricate hand seals and close-quarters taijutsu, more about raw, area-denying energy attacks and force manipulation. It was a style designed for devastation, not dueling.
'Dealing with all three at once, with just Kamui's intangibility, is inefficient,' he assessed. They covered each other, their perception was keen, and their borrowed powers offered potent area control. More critically, they had no physical eyes. Visual genjutsu, his usual trump card against groups, was useless. Even if he sucked one into the Kamui dimension, the standard follow-up—trapping the disoriented victim in an illusion—wouldn't work on the eyeless.
'Annoying,' he concluded. 'A target resistant to both physical and genjutsu attacks.'
His decision was swift.
The next moment, a torrent of deep blue chakra exploded from him, shooting skyward like a reverse waterfall. Within the towering pillar of energy, a colossal form took shape—a gigantic, humanoid skeleton that rapidly armored itself in plates of glowing chakra, culminating in a majestic, tengu-like helmet.
A Susanoo, over a hundred meters tall, clad in warrior's armor and wielding a titanic chakra blade, now dominated the lunar landscape. It stood like a wrathful god of war, its presence pressing down on the entire pocket dimension.
Standing within the Susanoo's forehead crystal, Akira frowned slightly. 'Still not the true, perfected form. My pupil power isn't refined to its peak yet. This is just the armored stage, amplified.' It lacked the ultimate solidity and detail of a "Complete Body — Susanoo," but its size and power were undeniable.
"It seems my recovery is not yet complete," his voice boomed from the titan, resonating through the hollow space. "But this… is more than enough to deal with the likes of you."
On the distant rooftop, the three lunar Ōtsutsuki, who perceived the world through the Great Tenseigan's senses, finally showed unmistakable terror. They could 'see' the monolithic, blue-armored giant, a concentration of power that dwarfed their borrowed abilities. For the first time, the certainty of their mission wavered before the sheer, physical might of the invader.
(End of Chapter)
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