Both Sasuke and Itachi slowly stand up and activate the 'Senjutsu Seal' on their wrist.
The damage to their inner organs and external wounds swiftly regenerates with the help of nature energy. Other than a source of Senjutsu, the seal can also use the stored nature energy to accelerate their healing process.
Whoosh… swoosh…
Itachi's Susanoo opens its arms and throws multiple Yasaka Magatamas toward Kabuto while Sasuke's Susanoo nocks several arrows on its bow and aims them at Kabuto.
Fwoosh… swoosh…
Kabuto's snake eyes trace the movement of every explosive chakra bead and he jumps on the ceiling and dashes upside down while avoiding the explosion from them.
Itachi also controls the power of his attack to not demolish the entire hideout on top of them.
Swish… swish… swish…
Sasuke fires several giant chakra arrows toward Kabuto after calculating his trajectory with his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Bang… bang… bang…
The arrows pierce through the ceiling while Kabuto narrows and dodges them.
Hmm…
Sasuke's eyes narrow, and he switches his target from Kabuto's body to the snake appendage hanging out from his body.
Bang…
The arrow pierces through the head of the snake and pins Kabuto on the ceiling.
"Oh! I almost forgot I have something like this after being used to the human body for so long." Kabuto hangs upside down from the ceiling.
He liquefies his body to escape.
Shiing…
Suddenly, Itachi appears in front of him.
"Tsukiyomi!"
Blood leaks from Itachi's eyes as he casts his Mangekyo genjutsu on Itachi. Kabuto's body turns limp as soon as he makes contact with Itachi's eye.
"Did you get him?" Sasuke asks him with caution.
Fwoosh… Splash…
All of a sudden, Kabuto stabs his arm through Itachi's stomach, prompting the latter to puke blood out of his mouth. He pulls out his arm, splashing blood more blood in the process.
"NII-SANN!!" Sasuke yells in shock.
"Kuku… do you think I haven't studied your abilities and prepared countermeasures for them?" Kabuto licks his lips.
SWOOSH…
Caw… Caw… Caw…
Itachi's body explodes into several crows and disappears. He reappears beside Sasuke with his 'Crow Substitution Jutsu'.
"Nii-san, are you alright?" Sasuke asks him with worry.
"I am fine!" Itachi nods and glances at Kabuto.
"Hehe… you might be wondering how did I counter your so-called most powerful genjutsu?" Kabuto pulls an Edo Talisman from the mouth of the snake on his back.
"I see! No wonder I couldn't trap you in my Tsukiyomi for so long." Itachi glances at the talisman and understands Kabuto's methods.
"You have overwritten several personalities within your mind by using these special 'control talismans' of yours."
"Hehe… I hate smart people like you. Since it's harder to surprise them as they can see through others with a glance." Kabuto clicks his tongue.
"You are right! Orochimaru researched Edo-Tensei for several years. He even stole the Fuinjutsu records of the Uzumaki clan from the village to learn several of their techniques. The initial version of the 'Edo Tensei' created by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju just summoned a mindless immortal puppet that follows only a single command. That was its limitation since the 'Edo Tensei' won't be able to perform complex actions.
Orochimaru-sama researched a method to restore 'Edo Tensei's personality or even rewrite a new personality for 'Edo Tensei'. After years of fumbling around, Orochimaru-sama found some knowledge about souls in the scrolls of the Uzumaki clan."
Hmm…
Sasuke's, and Itachi's interest is piqued by this information. They recover their chakra and stamina while listening to Kabuto's banter. Kabuto adjusts his glasses and continues.
"Knowledge is power and the Uzumaki clan members were aware of it since they researched several miscellaneous techniques from all over the world. Among their collection, there was a record of demons and soul reapers, the so-called Shinigami." Kabuto continues.
"It's a common belief that after a person's death, a soul reaper harvests the souls and then guides it to the pure land. However, how can a reaper harvest a soul and then send the soul to the afterlife at the same time?" Kabuto pauses and looks at the Uchiha duo, not minding their attempt at recovery.
"It's because a living being has two types of souls, a True Soul, and a secondary soul. The reaper harvests this secondary soul and sends the True Soul to the afterlife. Now, this secondary soul is further divided into seven souls, which are Body Soul, Life Soul, Spirit Soul, Mind Soul, Yin Soul, Yang Soul, and the Free Soul." Kabuto explains the names of the seven souls to the Uchiha duo.
"Now let me add something! Edo Tensei is a summoning jutsu. Just like other summoning jutsu, it also requires a summoning contract and a sacrifice to summon something over. But who is the contract bearer in Edo Tensei?" Kabuto glances at Itachi.
"Hmm… it's the Shinigami!" Sasuke answers him.
"Hehe… smart!" Kabuto's lips curl up.
"A summoning contract with a reaper is much, much harder to sign than a regular summoning animal. Not only are the terms of the contract unfair since it defies the laws of nature, even the cost or the sacrifice is brutal. A regular summoning contract requires blood and chakra to initiate. However, an Edo Tensei requires an additional ingredient, a living soul, to perform the summoning ritual." Kabuto adds.
"So, the Edo Tensei exchanges the soul of one person to summon another person." Sasuke enquires.
"Yes, but not quite exactly. When a person dies, a part of their secondary soul disperses into the world before a Shinigami's arrival. However, with the Edo Tensei, the Shinigami harvests almost the entire secondary soul of the sacrifice, excluding the free soul, which is the memories of an individual in this world. Usually, the Shinigami harvests three to four secondary souls, but with Edo Tensei, the Shinigami manages to harvest six souls. So, it's a win-win situation for him."
"What does it have to do with the personality of a dead individual?" Sasuke interrupts him.
"Kuku… impatient, aren't you? I am getting to that point. The Shinigami trades three to four secondary souls of an already dead person, with the six souls of a living sacrifice."
"Hmm… these secondary souls are responsible for the identity and personality of a living being." Itachi remarks.
"Exactly!" Kabuto points out.
"And the 'control talisman' has a Fuinjutsu seal to bind the secondary soul to the body, thus giving it a personality. The more the number of secondary souls bound, the closer is the Edo Tensei to their original form. Also, since it's a control talisman, I can suppress or erase the personality whenever I want by cutting the connection with the secondary soul. Kuku…" Kabuto laughs manically.
"I understand now. You sealed your secondary souls in these talismans. This not only fortifies the defense of your mind but can also overwrite any external influence, including genjutsu, by changing the command seals on your secondary souls." Itachi realizes Kabuto's method.
"Quite a smart method, isn't it?" Kabuto licks his lips.
"This is my insurance to escape the 'Eye of the Moon Plan' of Madara Uchiha."
-----
Back at the HQ,
Izuna, who was also paying a portion of his attention to their battle, shakes his head.
'This snake bastard is a madman. He has the balls of the steel If I have to say. The matters of souls are no joke. A slight mistake and his soul will obliterate from existence, barring him any chance of reincarnation. He is just lucky that he didn't just turn himself into a living vegetable. Nevertheless, he has fool's luck to not only survive but even complete his technique.
Still, what intrigues me more is the person who saved Kabuto's life. Back then, I thought he won't survive after witnessing his situation at the Ryuchi cave. And I don't think the Snake Sage possesses the skills to save him. Now I am interested in this third party, who is stirring the undercurrents from shadows.' Izuna rubs his chin.
'There is already Kaguya, Black Zetsu, Isshiki Otsutsuki, and now this unknown third person.'
Hmm…
"Oh, Minato-san is already on the battlefield. He is fighting against Grandpa's technique." Izuna's words snap Ayaka's and Kushina's attention to the battlefield. They watch in surprise as Minato destroys the giant meteorite with his new technique.
Sigh…
"This Minato never learns. He and his naming sense." Kushina shakes her head.
"I think it's a good name." Izuna chuckles.
"Not you too, Izuna!"
While Kushina and Ayaka are focused on Minato and Madara's battle. Izuna focuses a portion of his attention on the coastal battlefield.
'Looks like my wife is struggling against Obito's Rinnegan. Hmm… Naruto is already on his way. Looks like another interesting battle will unfold before us. This tripartite confrontation is getting more and more amusing. Now, even I am itching for some action.'
---------------------------------------------------------
Note:- These battles are happening at the same time. It's just that I am writing them separately and I don't want to mix them together to ruin the fun.
Shiing...
Kabuto infuses a large amount of nature energy in his hands and creates a chakra blade in both hands.
"I have revealed several secrets to you. So, now you can both join my Edo Tensei army."
Whoosh…
Kabuto flickers behind Sasuke and attacks him with his chakra blades.
Clang…
Sasuke blocks his attack with katana.
Chirp… Chii…
He channels Chidori through his katana and slices through Kabuto's chakra blades.
Fwish… Slash...
Kabuto tilts his head and narrowly avoids his neck. Sasuke's blade grazes along his cheeks and slices one of his horns.
Whoosh…
Kabuto swiftly retreats and touches the snout of his missing horn.
Smoke rises from his cheek, and the sword cut heals rapidly. He claps his hands and makes a dragon hand seal.
"Sage Art…"
"Be careful, Sasuke! I can sense the disturbance in chakra in the surrounding terrain." Itachi warns Sasuke.
"… Inorganic Animation,"
Rumble… rumble...
The walls and the ceiling of the cavern shake and distort. Kabuto manipulates their molecular structure with nature energy. The stalactite and stalagmite turn harder and pointier and the floor and the ceiling close like a clamp with Sasuke and Itachi in between.
RUMBLE…
Tremor spreads across the entire hideout. Gojo and the other anbus who just escaped from the hideout stare at it in trepidation.
"Vice-captain, captain Itachi… will he be…" One of the anbu stares at the building.
"Captain and his little brother will be fine. You should trust their abilities a bit more." Gojo shakes his head.
"Man-nn… those two sure turned this place upside down." Suigetsu glances at the fortress in shock.
"What… are you disappointed?" Another anbu asks him.
"Tch… of course not. If given an opportunity, I will be the first person to demolish this place and escape. Also, just to let you know, I was captured by that snake bastard against my will. Both my elder brother and cousin died in the civil war, fighting against each other.
I barely made it out alive of that massacre. After my brother's death, I made an oath to collect all 'Seven Mist Blades' to recreate the legend of the 'Seven Mist Swordsman' and become their leader. But that damn snake, he caught me and other refugees for his experiments. I have to suffer his torture for almost a year. Fortunately, that bastard met his end at someone's hands.
I thought I was free until that double-eye bastard took his place. His experiments were even more brutal, and he violated my body in all sorts of ways." Suigetsu shivers at the thoughts.
"Well…" The anbu glance at each other.
"It was actually our captain who dealt with Orochimaru." One of the anbu reveals.
"What, really?" Suigetsu's eyes widen in surprise.
"Then, I am a big fan of him."
Argh… ugh…
The group hears a groaning noise and notices Jugo slowly open his eyes.
They quickly enter into full alert; afraid he will transform into that hulking monster again.
"Hehe…This Jugo is a different breed. Out of us all, he is the only one who joined Orochimaru willingly because he wanted to die." Suigetsu grins at Jugo.
Jugo ignores his sarcastic remark and inspects everyone around him. Finally, he closes his eyes and ignores everything in his surroundings.
--------
Bang…
Back in the underground cavern,
Two giant purple and orange hand tears down the rock formation to reveal Itachi and Sasuke huddled within their Susanoo.
Shiing…
The pattern in both of their Mangekyo Sharingan spins rapidly.
"Sage Art: Inferno Release: Great Pheonix Decimation Wave,"
"Sage Art: Raikan Hengoku,"
A bright phoenix-shaped beam of red chakra and two giant purple lightning cross blade flies out of the debris.
Kabuto quickly claps his hands and takes a deep breath.
A figure of a giant white dragon appears behind him.
"Sage Art: Rage Dragon Destruction Beam,"
Kabuto opens his mouth and spews out a gigantic scarlet dragon of energy.
ROOAR…
The white dragon above his head roars and the scarlet dragon of nature energy charges towards Itachi and Sasuke's attack.
BOOM…
The collision of the three attacks generates a blinding explosion. Itachi and Sasuke quickly shield themselves with their Susanoo, while Kabuto's body splits into several small white snakes and splits.
-----
BOOM…
A pillar of energy rises from the center of the hideout. Numerous cracks spread across the ground and the entire forest trembles due to an earthquake.'
"What intense chakra fluctuations!" Yuri and the Uzu clan members gasp in surprise.
"Fall back!"
Gojo swiftly warns everyone, and the group quickly distances themselves from the location of the hideout.
Rumble… Rumble…
The cracks spread across the surface of the entire hideout and it slowly falls apart.
With another tremble, the entire hideout is demolished to the ground. The debris of the hideout collapses underground and a massive pit appears at its location.
"Captain, and his brother!"
The shinobi gulp their saliva as they stare at the destruction from a distance.
Rumble… Rumble…
Suddenly, two gigantic humanoid chakra constructs leap out of the ground. Both of them flap their wings and lands on the ground.
Sasuke and Itachi dispel their Susanoo and glance at the debris. They inspect their surroundings to search for Kabuto's traces.
Hiss…
Soon, several white snakes crawl out of the debris. All these snakes squirm and melt into liquid. The liquid then reforms into Kabuto.
Itachi and Sasuke enter into a battle stance. After his reformation, Kabuto opens his eyes and glances at Sasuke.
"So, I am not the only one to learn the Snake Senjutsu from the Ryuchi cave. And from the looks of it, you are a perfect sage close to the Second Sage Transformation. However, it seems like that old coot didn't teach you any Sage techniques of the Ryuchi cave."
Kabuto notices the purple pigmentation around Sasuke's eyes and his snake-like iris.
Haha… Muhaha…
Kabuto adjusts his spectacles and laughs like a maniac.
"Your transformation is just the starting point, a beginner's step. While I reached new heights."
Kabuto infuses chakra in his hand to create a chakra scalpel.
Slash…
He stabs the chakra scalpel in his chest and slashes a chunk of flesh. There is a 'Goyuba Mitsudomoe' seal on his chest.
"This curse seal is the combination of Orochimaru-sama's heaven and earth seal. I merged both seals to achieve perfect harmony. With this seal, I am one with nature."
Shua…
The seal on his chest glows with an orange hue and several curse marks spreads all across Kabuto's body. Thick black-striped lines run along his chest. A Mitsudomoe mark with single, double, and triple tomoes appears on his shoulders and back.
The curse lines extend from the Mitsudomoe mark and stretch all the way up to his feet and wrists where they end in a circle with a black bead in center.
Shoom…
Kabuto's aura suddenly skyrockets by several folds. A cyan glow covers his entire body due to the thick concentration of nature energy around him.
Kabuto stares at the transformation in his body and clenches his fists.
"With this transformation, I have surpassed the limits of mortals. Now, I have become the closest being to the Sage of Six Paths. I have touched the realm of gods. Haha… Muhaha…"
Sasuke's and Itachi's expression turns ugly at Kabuto's new transformation. The sheer amount of his chakra, his energy, sends a shiver down their spine.
"This power, this pressure… I have only felt something like it from Izuna Nii-san!" Sasuke gulps his saliva.
"Sasuke, we can't hold back any longer."
Both of them activate the 'Senjutsu Seal' on their wrist. Sasuke enters into the second transformation stage of the Sage mode while Itachi enters into the First transformation stage of Senjutsu.
Swish… swish…
Four snake heads appear around Kabuto. He makes a series of rapid hand signs and takes a deep breath.
"Sage Art: Heaven Earth Decapitation Breath,"
The snake fire a beam of black and white beam.
Bang…
The ground beneath Kabuto's feet crumbles. The four beams shoot toward the Uchiha brother at an incredible speed.
"Yata No Kagami,"
Sasuke drops a colossal tower shield in front of his Susanoo.
Vrmm…
A powerful hum echo through the battlefield as the eyes of Yaksha face on the shield glows with a bright green hue. Numerous kanji inscriptions for Fire, water, wind, Earth, and lightning shine brightly around the Yakasha face.
Sasuke's Susanoo grabs the shield. Another diamond mark on Sasuke's wrist disappears as he infuses a large amount of nature energy into the shield. A multi-layer elemental barrier forms around the shield.
Both Sasuke and Itachi take shelter behind the seal.
"That's… that's Izuna Nii-san's shield," Itachi exclaims in surprise.
"Nii-san gave it to me." Sasuke focuses his attention on defending.
BOOM…
The four powerful beams of chakra explode on top of the tower shield.
A mushroom cloud of fire, smoke, dust, debris, and cyan energy rises in the sky. The impact and shockwave of the explosions engulf the giant Susanoo.
Rumble… rumble…
Another earthquake spreads through the entire forest. Birds, insects, and wild animals quickly flee from the forest.
Yuri quickly stands in front of the Anbu group and makes a series of hand signs.
"Adamantine Barrier,"
She creates a yellow barrier to protect the group from the powerful shockwaves of the explosion. Ripples flash across the barrier due to the continuous damage.
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