132. Tearing Apart Susanoo by Hand

Found him.

After a brief search, Kisame spotted Might Duy, who had lost an arm, along with his son, Might Guy. At this moment, the gazes of Kisame and Might Duy locked in the air. Unlike the other Konoha ninja, there was no fear or terror in Duy’s eyes as he stared at Kisame; instead, they radiated a sense of unwavering resolve and determination.

Just as Kisame prepared to charge at Duy, a whistling sound of roaring flames erupted from behind him. He turned his head.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.*

Several lifelike, snarling fire dragons flew toward him.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu."

This level of Fire Style posed no significant threat to Kisame. He swung Samehada, slicing the fire dragons apart one by one until they dissipated into a sky full of embers. A man appeared opposite Kisame: Fugaku Uchiha.

"Oh?" Kisame looked at the head of the Uchiha clan with a flicker of interest. He recalled that in the original story, Fugaku had once told his son, Itachi, that he had awakened his Mangekyou Sharingan during the Third Great Ninja War,伴随着血与泪 (accompanied by blood and tears) after a friend sacrificed their life to save him.

With this in mind, Kisame spoke directly to Fugaku: "If you haven't awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, you might as well step down. You aren't worthy of being my opponent."

Fugaku’s expression shifted instantly at having his trump card exposed: "How... how do you know about the Mangekyou?!"

"It seems you have already unlocked it. In that case, use your full power to entertain me." Kisame flashed a grin. Before he finished speaking, he performed a one-handed seal. A massive pillar of water erupted from beneath his feet, transforming into a roaring water dragon as it lunged at Fugaku.

*Whoosh.*

Fugaku dodged the attack clumsily, but the next instant, Kisame appeared beside him and kicked him away.

*Bang!*

Under the sheer force of the blow, Fugaku was sent flying, tumbling across the ground a dozen times before barely managing to steady himself. The gap in their strength was simply too vast. Kisame shouldered Samehada and walked toward Fugaku at a leisurely pace.

*There’s no other way.*

Fugaku knelt on one knee, gasping for air. Facing Kisame, who approached him like a grim reaper, he slowly closed his eyes. It appeared as though the Uchiha clan leader had given up and was waiting for death.

But that was not the case.

*Swish.*

A second later, Fugaku opened his eyes again. His pupils had shifted from the three-tomoe Sharingan to a far more complex pattern: the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Sigh." Fugaku stood up. He was a man of low profile and great restraint; he had never wanted to reveal the power of these eyes unless absolutely necessary. But pushed by the current situation, to defend the honor of the Uchiha clan and secure victory in this war, he had no choice but to unleash the Mangekyou.

*What is up with those eyes?*

On the battlefield, aside from Kisame, the first to notice the change in Fugaku’s eyes was Hiashi Hyuga, who was bound to a pillar. At that moment, veins bulged on the Hyuga leader's forehead. Through his Byakugan, he could clearly see that Fugaku’s eyes were flooded with massive amounts of Yin-style chakra, glowing like two giant lanterns in the dark of night. The spiritual energy contained within those pupils far surpassed that of the Hyuga clan's Byakugan.

A second later, Hiashi saw the pattern in Fugaku's right eye begin to spin violently, and a trail of blood flowed from the corner of his eye. As Fugaku’s gaze focused on Kisame, the power of the Mangekyou was activated.

On the battlefield, a cluster of black flames suddenly ignited out of thin air on Kisame’s body. Centering on his chest, they spread rapidly across his entire form.

*Fire Style?*

Kisame initially appeared indifferent. He performed a hand seal, and a surge of water erupted from his body, attempting to extinguish the flames. But soon, he realized something was wrong.

*Hiss, hiss, hiss.*

When the black flames met the water, instead of being extinguished, they burned more fiercely, completely evaporating the flow. By then, the black flames had engulfed Kisame’s entire upper body.

"Argh!" Unable to endure the excruciating pain of the burning, he let out a scream. Under the gaze of thousands, Kisame’s massive, two-and-a-half-meter frame collapsed to his knees, his entire body wrapped in black fire. Amidst agonizing howls, Kisame became a human torch, burning alive like a rapidly melting candle.

From head to toe, not even a single bone remained. With Kisame’s death, the flames fell to the ground, showing no signs of fading; they even began to burn the earth itself.

Silence fell over the entire field. The once invincible Fifth Mizukage, Kisame Hoshigaki, had actually died to a Fire Style jutsu—and was burned alive without the slightest ability to resist. What kind of method had Fugaku Uchiha used?

Amidst countless stunned gazes, Fugaku wiped the blood from his face and extinguished the Amaterasu flames. Yes, the black fire he had summoned with his right eye was the strongest Fire Style, "Amaterasu." These black flames possessed immense heat and destructive power, capable of burning everything in this world to ash, even water itself. The flames would not extinguish until the target was reduced to nothingness; it was said they could burn for seven days and seven nights.

That was the terrifying power of the Mangekyou.

After killing Kisame, Fugaku breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to deactivate his Mangekyou. After all, maintaining these eyes consumed a massive amount of chakra, placing a heavy burden on his body.

But just then, the blade of Samehada suddenly emerged from the ground nearby, looking like the dorsal fin of a shark. To Fugaku’s shock, Samehada tore through the earth, rushing toward him as if a shark were swimming underground.

"Earth Style: Hidden Mole Jutsu."

This jutsu allowed the user to turn solid ground into fluid with chakra, enabling rapid movement beneath the soil.

Finally—

*BOOM.*

Kisame’s massive body burst from the ground, slamming into Fugaku and sending him flying once again, stars dancing before his eyes.

As the saying goes: ninja combat is, at its core, a battle of intelligence. Amaterasu was indeed powerful, a dojutsu with a lethal "first-hit kill" capability, but for a powerhouse at Kisame’s level, it wasn't hard to deal with if one was prepared. When he had summoned the water dragon to attack Fugaku earlier, he had used the cover of the water pillar to create a Shadow Clone, while his true body hid underground.

Although Kisame had never seen Fugaku’s Mangekyou abilities, he had made a bold guess that Amaterasu was likely one of them. After all, both of Fugaku’s sons—Itachi and Sasuke—had gained Amaterasu after awakening their eyes. As it turned out, Kisame had guessed correctly.

As for the ability of Fugaku’s other eye, based on the original story, it was likely not an offensive jutsu, but an illusion capable of predicting the future. Fugaku had once used a Mangekyou genjutsu on Itachi, showing him a scenario where the Uchiha clan launched a coup and manipulated the Nine-Tails to destroy the village. When Itachi came to kill him, Fugaku had seemed to anticipate it, ready to accept his fate. These signs all pointed to his eyes having precognitive abilities.

Having grasped the nature of Fugaku’s Mangekyou and confirmed it posed no further threat, Kisame lost all hesitation.

*Swish!*

He charged straight at Fugaku. Taking advantage of the man's injuries, he swung Samehada to finish him off. Just as the blade was about to decapitate Fugaku, a massive, skeletal arm suddenly extended from behind him, gripping Samehada mid-air. Another large hand appeared, clenched into a fist, and struck Kisame’s massive frame, sending him reeling backward.

"Hah!" Fugaku let out a sharp cry, performing the Tiger seal with both hands. A vast surge of chakra erupted from his pupils. The chakra spiraled upward, evolving into ribs, a spine, and a skull, eventually forming a translucent, black skeletal giant several meters tall, shrouding Fugaku within.

The appearance of the skeletal giant shocked everyone on the battlefield once more.

"Is that giant also a technique of the Sharingan?" Hiashi Hyuga stared fixedly at the skeletal figure, muttering to himself. He could feel the incredible, overwhelming power contained within that giant formed of materialized chakra—a power far beyond the reach of the Hyuga clan’s Gentle Fist or Rotation. Only then did Hiashi realize that when Kisame said the Hyuga were far inferior to the Uchiha, it wasn't out of arrogance, but a simple statement of fact.

As the Susanoo appeared on the battlefield, a strange "person" emerged from the ground on a distant hill. He had short green hair, beady eyes, a face that was half-white and half-black, and a giant Venus flytrap-like structure around his head.

It was Zetsu, formed by the fusion of White Zetsu and Black Zetsu. He had been sent by Obito to the Hidden Mist battlefield to scout the situation and gather intelligence. He hadn't expected to see such an explosive scene upon arrival.

"Is that big guy Kisame Hoshigaki? He looks terrifying. No wonder Master Madara’s clone and Obito both fell to him," White Zetsu said, eyeing Kisame with surprise.

"Still, I never expected Fugaku Uchiha to awaken the Mangekyou and even bring out the Susanoo. This is going to be a good show," Black Zetsu chuckled wickedly.

Susanoo was the ultimate dojutsu available only to Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyou. It materialized chakra to form a massive guardian deity outside the user's body, moving according to the user's will and performing any action. It was a super-jutsu that combined both offense and defense.

"If Fugaku Uchiha can kill Kisame Hoshigaki, Obito will surely be very pleased when he hears the news," White Zetsu said, looking forward to the outcome as he watched the battlefield intently.

On the field, Fugaku stood with his arms crossed, his expression one of arrogance. "This technique is the power of the gods possessed by our Uchiha clan. Once seen, death is inevitable. Fifth Mizukage Kisame Hoshigaki, I acknowledge you as a powerhouse, but your life ends here." He stared intensely at Kisame, raising his voice.

After awakening the Mangekyou, Fugaku had deciphered part of the stone tablet in the Naka Shrine, learning that the Uchiha were descendants of the Sage of the Six Paths. He held a deep sense of pride and confidence in his noble bloodline.

"Is that so?" Kisame looked at the Susanoo behind Fugaku, unimpressed by the boast. He only ever believed in the power of his own fists.

As far as Kisame knew, the Susanoo had several stages, from weak to strong. If it were Madara Uchiha’s "Perfect Susanoo"—a two-hundred-meter-tall warrior capable of cleaving mountains with a single swing—Kisame would have turned and fled immediately. If it were Itachi’s Susanoo, wielding the spiritual weapons Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror, Kisame would not have held back and would have fought with everything he had.

But before him was Fugaku Uchiha, who had only just awakened his Mangekyou; his Susanoo was only in its first stage—nothing more than a large skeleton. At this stage, the Susanoo could sweep through ordinary ninja, and most attacks were ineffective against it. But in front of Kisame, it looked a bit lackluster.

He noticed that while the Susanoo encased Fugaku, there was still a gap at its feet—the weakness of the partial-body Susanoo.

Immediately, Kisame slammed his left hand into the ground, sending a surge of Explosion Style chakra through the earth toward Fugaku.

*Not good.*

Fugaku’s expression changed instantly. He hadn't expected Kisame to spot the weakness so quickly, and he leaped into the air. As the user moved, the Susanoo followed, jumping into the air to dodge the explosion.

Kisame had anticipated every move. Taking advantage of the fact that Fugaku couldn't change direction while airborne, he opened his mouth and spat out a blue orb of energy.

"Hiramekarei: Release!"

*Whoosh.*

The orb shot out like a bolt of lightning, striking the torso of the Susanoo dead center and knocking it out of the sky.

"It’s useless! The Susanoo is protected by the power of the gods; your attacks cannot—" Fugaku landed on the ground, speaking with confidence, but before he could finish, a sharp *crack* echoed through the air.

He turned his head quickly to look, only to see cracks forming on the surface of the skeletal Susanoo. In the original story, Chojuro had used the twin blades Hiramekarei to smash Sasuke’s Susanoo, causing it to crack. Now, with the power of that blade absorbed by Kisame, the force he exerted was stronger than anything Chojuro had ever displayed. Facing such a violent attack, the first stage of the Susanoo clearly couldn't hold up.

Kisame’s assault was far from over.

*Swish.*

He moved like a tiger descending a mountain, crossing dozens of meters in an instant, and delivered a heavy headbutt that slammed into the torso of the Susanoo. The power of the Blunt Blade Kabutowari was triggered once more.

*Crack.*

Under Kisame’s follow-up strike, the cracks on the Susanoo’s surface widened, exposing the ribs beneath.

*Step, step, step.*

Fugaku retreated several paces, a sharp, stabbing pain shooting through his eyes. As his ocular power rapidly drained, the Susanoo began to sway, on the verge of collapse. Unwilling to yield, Fugaku commanded the giant hands of the Susanoo to grab Kisame.

Just then—

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.*

Kisame fired a barrage of chakra threads from the index finger of his right hand. One end anchored into the ground, while the other wrapped around the hands of the Susanoo, pinning its massive frame in place.

It was unable to move.

Then, under Fugaku’s horrified gaze, Kisame flashed a cruel grin. He thrust his hands through the cracks in the Susanoo’s surface, reaching inside. Grabbing a rib of the Susanoo in each hand, he let out a low, beast-like roar, and pulled with all his might.

Under the shocked eyes of thousands—

*Riiiiiip.*

The massive Susanoo was torn apart, ripped in half by Kisame’s bare hands!