Chapter 56: The Ultimate Sharingan

Shikamaru was truly at a loss with his two companions. Not only could they not grasp the heart of the matter, they were wildly suspicious, and taking action was the least of it. He looked up at the sky, but saw nothing—another reason for his habitual laziness. He simply had no common ground with these companions; everything was such a bother.

"You... you actually hit me!" Sakura clutched her face in disbelief, her eyes wide, tears of grievance streaming down. Lee was equally stunned; he hadn’t guarded against it, letting Shikamaru succeed in striking him.

"Shikamaru!" Lee wanted to retaliate. Shikamaru, disinclined to argue with either of them, jumped off the moving fortress and strode toward the energy tornado.

He didn't enter the tornado itself, but kept a certain distance, letting his shadow stretch out to catch the shadow of the energy whirlwind.

"Orochimaru-sama, I hope you don’t mind me borrowing a bit," Shikamaru called ingratiatingly.

Green energy was drawn from the tornado, attracted by Shikamaru. Orochimaru glanced at him but didn’t interfere. In truth, the power of the Grell Stone vein was immense—no one could absorb it all. If Shikamaru had the ability, let him absorb what he could. His rivalry with Itachi Uchiha and Kisame had nothing to do with this.

On the fortress wall, Lee comforted Sakura, "Sakura, don’t cry. I’ll avenge you!"

With that, he prepared to jump off the fortress to deal with Shikamaru.

Sakura wasn’t foolish; quite the contrary, she was a clever girl. It was only in certain things that she was delicate, and that had shaped her less likable personality. She watched Shikamaru leap down to absorb energy, saw him proactively greet Orochimaru and admit his weakness, and recalled Shikamaru’s recent odd behavior. Gradually, she began to understand.

"We’re right beside Orochimaru. Our life and death rest on his whim. Shikamaru is scheming desperately to save our lives!"

Furthermore, seeing Shikamaru absorb energy so diligently, she realized he might well harbor the resolve to endure humiliation for now, so that he might rebel once he became stronger.

"I misjudged Shikamaru."

Suddenly, Sakura felt a pang for Lee. Everyone was grieving over the destruction of the village, yet Shikamaru not only had to protect their lives, but shoulder the responsibility of appeasing the enemy. Surely, his heart was heavy and pained.

Just then, Lee declared he would avenge her by beating Shikamaru, which sparked her anger. Avenge what? Stop making trouble!

"No! Stay away!" Sakura’s expression was troubled; she missed Sasuke. If only Sasuke were here.

...

Orochimaru had nearly complete control over the energy storm, making it impossible for Itachi Uchiha and Kisame to absorb any, but neither of them were weaklings.

"Orochimaru, you ultimately came too late," Itachi’s eyes closed and then opened, now transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan.

He tore off the white bandage covering his left eye, revealing the transplanted eye of Shisui. The left eye was entirely different from the right, fused with Shisui’s Mangekyō form, appearing more intricate and profound.

"Ultimate... Mangekyō!"

Itachi’s left eye changed once more, and upon its original pattern emerged an illusory black flame, quietly burning.

Itachi had succeeded. Building upon the Eternal Mangekyō form, he advanced further, attaining the Ultimate Mangekyō! Rather than evolving to the Rinnegan, this was an extension of the Mangekyō, and though his ocular power wasn’t fully charged, it didn’t hinder its use.

"You are truly gifted, Itachi," Orochimaru praised.

Throughout the ninja world, few sought new powers; most only knew regression or bloodline, never realizing that innovation and development were the true sources of strength. Aside from Orochimaru’s group, Itachi was rare in creating new power.

"But it’s still not enough," Orochimaru shook his head.

Itachi’s innovation was more about desperation and mutation than research; such a path of innovation only suited the wild and untamed.

"And me," Kisame began to transform as well, merging with Samehada, his form undergoing a monstrous change.

He grew huge, his upper body turning entirely into a shark. A tail sprouted from his backside—Kisame had become a single-tailed shark beast!

Violent chakra erupted as Kisame mutated.

Orochimaru nodded, "Kisame, you are the first to mutate into a tailed beast."

Tailed beasts were unique and could not be copied; since ancient times, there had only been nine. Now, with Kisame’s transformation, he could be called a single-tailed beast.

Orochimaru asked, "Do either of you wish to join the Sound Village?"

The coming era of ninja interstellar warfare against the Otsutsuki clan would require many talents like Itachi and Kisame. Orochimaru’s admiration was evident.

"I could never join the Sound Village," Itachi replied calmly.

His beloved Leaf Village had been destroyed—how could he join the Sound Village? He still sought vengeance against Orochimaru.

"What about you, Kisame?" Orochimaru asked.

Kisame grinned, "Not interested."

Orochimaru nodded, disappointed, but only momentarily. In the world after the coming upheaval, strong individuals would surely abound.

Though conversing, the three were also competing. With Itachi’s eyes awakened and Kisame transformed, their combined efforts exerted even more influence on the energy tornado.

Moreover, part of their power already came from the tornado, so in the end, they stood toe-to-toe with Orochimaru!

The entire energy tornado split in two, forming two smaller whirlwinds.

Orochimaru controlled his smaller tornado, pressing it against the one belonging to Itachi and Kisame. This was not a fusion, but a collision.

Itachi and Kisame responded in kind—the two small energy tornadoes spun in opposite directions.

"This is bad!" Shikamaru stopped absorbing energy and sprinted back toward the moving fortress. With fire at the gates, even those in the moat could be affected; if he didn’t run, he might die in the clash between Orochimaru and Itachi and Kisame.

"Boom!"

The two small tornadoes collided, one spinning clockwise, the other counterclockwise. In an instant, the rapid rotation halted, producing immense torsion that rippled outward in invisible waves.

"Boom boom boom!" The earth trembled.

At the moment the two tornadoes merged, nothing stood between Orochimaru and Itachi, Kisame. Itachi unleashed the power of his Ultimate Sharingan!

The illusory black flames in his eyes shot forth, merging into the air—this was Amaterasu, the strongest physical attack.

With a hum, from the center of Itachi’s gaze, black flames spread rapidly across a hundred miles!

In an instant, everything within a hundred miles was laid waste.

A serpent’s head extended from Orochimaru’s neck, the Sharingan in its eye transferring all the black flames burning the moving fortress into a separate dimension with Kamui.

Within a hundred miles, only the moving fortress remained unscathed.

Meanwhile, Kisame, in his half-human, half-fish form, used his tail to spout water, forming a raging river beneath him.

After Itachi finished his ocular technique, he climbed onto Kisame’s back. Kisame twisted his hips, lowered himself, and dove into the river he'd created, swiftly carrying Itachi away.

After a while, the aftermath of the collision faded. The green energy of the Grell Stone vein was gone, and everything within a hundred miles, except for the moving fortress, was scorched barren.

The black flames had not completely disappeared; possessing the property of never extinguishing until their target was destroyed, many remained, attempting to burn mountains, rivers, and the earth.

Because the black flames never ceased and were extremely dangerous, this place became known in later generations as the Black Flame Deadlands, where many adventurers met their end.

Orochimaru shed his skin to escape the black flames, watching the direction in which Itachi and Kisame fled.

The Ultimate Sharingan had upgraded Amaterasu. With a single surge of ocular power, a hundred miles became desolate.

What then would Tsukuyomi and Susanoo become?

Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, Itachi and Kisame had fled...