_OUTSKIRTS OF KONOHA, THE SHADOWED WOODS_
The forest's edge, a chaotic blend of Konoha's fading order and the wilderness's raw power, was a stage for a deadly dance. Rain, a relentless shroud, turned the earth into a slick, treacherous morass. Shattered trees, their blackened limbs reaching towards the stormy sky, stood as silent witnesses to the clash of titans. The air, thick with the scent of ozone and damp earth, crackled with residual chakra, an invisible tension binding the clearing.
Kiba, his breath ragged and shallow, pressed himself against the gnarled trunk of an ancient oak, his wounded arm throbbing with a dull ache. A crimson stain, spreading across his skin, was a stark reminder of the battle's ferocity. His eyes, narrowed and wary, darted between the two figures in the clearing, his mind a whirlwind of fear and confusion.
Orochimaru, his pale form a stark contrast to the dark, rain-soaked foliage, stood with a deceptive stillness. His serpentine eyes, narrowed and calculating, were fixed on his opponent. A thin trickle of blood, tracing a path down his cheek, was a testament to the force of the earlier exchange. He held his stance, conserving Chakra, his movements precise and controlled, his mind calculating every possible outcome. 'Hikaru-kun. I know his strength. But this is different. Kiba-kun told me the other one had the Rinnegan. This one... only the Mangekyou. How is this possible?'
Across from him, Hikaru stood, his dark cloak billowing in the wind, his posture radiating a coiled intensity. His eyes, a terrifying spectacle, displayed the swirling crimson of a powerful, red Mangekyou Sharingan. His left shoulder, where a deep gash was slowly closing, the flesh knitting itself back together with an unnatural swiftness. 'This Orochimaru… he is persistent. But his time is over. He will be the first to witness the dawn of the new world.'
"Such tenacity, Orochimaru," Hikaru said, his voice a low, chilling drawl that cut through the drumming rain. "Even after all these years, you cling to life with the stubbornness of a cornered rat."
Orochimaru's lips curled into a thin, unsettling smile. "And you, Hikaru-kun," he replied, his voice a silken whisper. "You return from the shadows, shrouded in mystery. But you are not the one I saw within the village. You have only the Mangekyou. How can this be?"
Hikaru chuckled, a low, humorless sound.
"You concern yourself with irrelevant details, Orochimaru. You saw a fraction of my potential then. Now, you witness the true extent."
Kiba, his heart pounding in his chest, watched the exchange, his mind racing. 'What are they talking about? Rinnegan? Mangekyou? What is going on?' He had always distrusted Orochimaru, and now, watching him converse with this Mangekyou wielding Uchiha, he felt his distrust grow into a deep seated fear. 'Is Orochimaru on their side? What is he planning?'
"Irrelevant?" Orochimaru asked, his voice laced with a morbid curiosity. "You are clearly different. How is it that you both exist?"
Hikaru's eyes narrowed, a flicker of dark emotion flashing across his face. "You are going to die, Orochimaru. There is no point in keeping secrets from a corpse. And it amuses me, to see the confusion in your eyes."
Orochimaru's smile widened slightly. 'He is confident. Too confident. He is hiding something. And his shoulder... it's still healing.' "Then tell me, Hikaru-kun. What is your purpose?"
Hikaru's eyes glowed with an intensity that made the rain seem to pause. "I am here to erase the mistakes of the past. To cleanse this world of its weakness."
Kiba's eyes widened, 'Cleanse the world? What does that mean?'
Hikaru stepped forward. "This world, it's shinobi, they cling to the past, they are weak.
But I, I will forge a new world. A world where the strong prevail."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. 'He is dangerous. He must be stopped.'
Hikaru's gaze shifted to Kiba, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "And you," he said, his voice laced with contempt. "You are a perfect example of that weakness. Hiding like a frightened pup."
Kiba's fear turned to anger. 'I'll show him weakness!'
Hikaru raised his hand. "Now, you will see the true power of the Uchiha."
His hands crackled with raw lightning chakra. He unleashed a barrage of Chidori-like spears, each one aimed with deadly precision. Orochimaru, his serpentine reflexes honed by years of battle, weaved through the projectiles, his movements fluid and graceful.
"Impressive," Orochimaru said, his voice laced with a hint of admiration. "As expected from one who trained under Tsunade. Though I must say, your technique lacks the elegance it once possessed."
Hikaru's eyes narrowed, the red Mangekyou Sharingan swirling within them. "You forget, Orochimaru," he retorted, his voice a chilling drawl. "I was your student as well. It seems age has dulled your memory... and your skills Or perhaps you were always this pathetic."
He then inhaled deeply, and a torrent of fire erupted from his mouth, a searing inferno that illuminated the rain-soaked clearing. It was a technique reminiscent of Sasuke's powerful fire style. Orochimaru countered with a Water Style: Water Wall, creating a thick, swirling barrier of water that extinguished the flames.
Kiba, his heart pounding in his chest, watched the clash, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. He remembered his loyal companion, his fur matted with rain and blood, standing defiantly against Hikaru's earlier assault. 'He died protecting me. That bastard… I'll make him pay!' A wave of grief washed over him, followed by a surge of anger. He took a step forward, his wounded arm forgotten.
"Kiba-kun, stay back," Orochimaru commanded, his voice sharp and authoritative, never taking his eyes off Hikaru. "You are in no condition to fight. Without your dog, you'd be a liability. I will not be responsible for your demise. You are a mere distraction."
Kiba's anger flared, but he hesitated, remembering the sheer power Hikaru had displayed. 'He's right. I'm useless like this. But I can't just watch!'
The clash of elements echoed through the forest, the rain a relentless backdrop to their deadly dance. Hikaru then formed a unique Rasengan in his hand, a swirling sphere of chakra that crackled with dark energy. He launched it towards Orochimaru, the attack leaving a trail of distorted air in its wake. Orochimaru, his movements precise and controlled, dodged the attack, his mind racing, analyzing Hikaru's fighting style. 'His control is remarkable. He's adapting techniques with frightening ease. He is not like any foe I have ever faced. And I must admit, I never realized he possessed such strength. We fought as comrades, yes, but never truly against each other. His power... it has grown exponentially.'
"You are strong, Hikaru-kun," Orochimaru said, his voice laced with a morbid curiosity. "But your purpose… it remains unclear. You spoke of cleansing the world. What do you mean?"
"You are strong, Hikaru-kun," Orochimaru said, his voice laced with a morbid curiosity. 'His control is remarkable. He's adapting techniques with frightening ease. He is not like any foe I have ever faced. And I must admit, I never realized he possessed such strength. We fought as comrades, yes, but never truly against each other. His power... it has grown exponentially.' "But your purpose… it remains unclear. You spoke of cleansing the world. What do you mean?"
Hikaru's eyes flashed with a cold intensity. "I am not from this present timeline, Orochimaru. I am from a time before. I am here to aid my older self. To retrieve the turtle.
Its power can unravel the fabric of time. This world will never know peace."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, his guard never faltering. 'Time manipulation. He speaks of it with such certainty. This changes everything.'
"Time? You seek to alter time?"
Hikaru used the opening to unleash a barrage of lightning chakra enhanced punches. "I will ignite the flames of war once more. The villages will tear each other apart. This world will burn. And you, Orochimaru, will be nothing but ash."
Kiba, his eyes wide with terror, listened to Hikaru's words, his mind reeling. 'Time manipulation? War? He's insane!'
"You are insane," Orochimaru hissed, his voice laced with a cold calculation. 'His plan is… ambitious. And dangerous. He must be stopped.'
"You have no choice," Hikaru replied, his voice a chilling echo. "Join us, Orochimaru. Serve the true power. You could be a valuable asset. Or are you too senile for that?"
Orochimaru's lips curled into a disdainful sneer. "I will never serve you." 'His arrogance is his downfall. He underestimates me.'
Hikaru then summoned the power of Kirin, calling down a massive bolt of lightning from the stormy sky, aiming to obliterate Orochimaru. Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly. 'Kirin… I taught Sasuke kun this technique. But this… this is far more powerful. How?' He countered, summoning a massive earth wall, but the sheer power of the lightning caused cracks to form. 'His lightning is beyond anything I have seen.'
Kiba, his eyes wide with terror, watched the scene unfold, his mind reeling. 'This is insane.
They're going to destroy everything. I have to do something!'
Hikaru's eyes glowed with an eerie light, the Mangekyou Sharingan swirling within them.
"This world is a disease," he declared, his voice echoing through the clearing. "And I am the cure. A cure you are too blind to accept."
He then formed a Rasen Ring in his hand, the spiraling chakra crackling with immense power, and launched it towards Orochimaru, aiming to tear him apart. The battle was far from over. 'He is going to pay for my partner's life.'
Orochimaru, his face grim, weaved through the destructive Rasen Ring, the force of the attack ripping through the trees behind him. He landed, his eyes narrowed, and formed a series of hand seals. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" he shouted, slamming his hand onto the rain-soaked earth. A massive snake, its scales gleaming in the dim light, emerged from the ground, its eyes fixed on Hikaru.
"Even with your summons, you cannot stop me," Hikaru said, his voice laced with cold confidence. He formed another unique Rasengan, this time a swirling sphere of black chakra, and launched it towards the snake.
The attack impacted with a deafening roar, the dark chakra tearing through the snake's scales and causing it to writhe in agony.
Orochimaru, however, used the distraction to launch a barrage of hidden kunai, each one coated in a potent paralysis poison. Hikaru, his reflexes honed by years of training, dodged most of the projectiles, but a few grazed his skin.
"Clever," Hikaru said, his voice laced with a hint of amusement. "But your tricks are futile."
He then unleashed a powerful wind style attack, a whirlwind of razor-sharp wind blades that tore through the remaining trees and sent the injured snake crashing into the ground.
Orochimaru, his eyes wide with surprise, barely managed to dodge the attack, his cloak ripped and tattered.
"You are a formidable opponent, Hikaru-kun," Orochimaru said, his voice laced with a grudging respect. "But your plan… it will bring ruin to this world. Even now, I must ask you, what is your true purpose?"
Hikaru's eyes flashed with a dark intensity. "My purpose, Orochimaru, is not to rule. It is to destroy. To erase this world that destroyed me. This current timeline is a mockery, a fragile peace built on lies and compromise.
My older self understands this. With the turtle, we will unravel the very fabric of reality, and watch it burn."
"Destroy?" Orochimaru said, his voice laced with a cold calculation. 'He seeks annihilation. A far more dangerous ambition.' "You seek to erase everything?"
"Everything," Hikaru retorted, his voice filled with contempt. "This village, these villages, they made me suffer. Now, they will suffer as I have suffered. They will all burn."
He then charged forward, his movements a blur of speed, his eyes fixed on Orochimaru.
He unleashed a flurry of lightning-enhanced punches, each one aimed with deadly precision. Orochimaru countered, his movements fluid and graceful, but he was beginning to tire. 'He is pushing me to my limits. This cannot continue.'
Kiba, his eyes wide with fear and anger, watched the clash, his mind racing. 'They're both monsters. I have to do something. But what can I do?'
Hikaru landed a powerful blow, sending Orochimaru crashing into a nearby tree. Orochimaru, his breath ragged, struggled to stand.
"It is over, Orochimaru," Hikaru said, his voice a chilling echo. "Your time has passed. Now, you will witness the end of everything."
He raised his hand, his eyes glowing with an eerie light, preparing to unleash a final, devastating attack.
"No!" Kiba shouted, his voice filled with desperation. He lunged forward, his wounded arm forgotten, his heart filled with a desperate resolve.
Just as Hikaru unleashed his attack, Kiba threw himself between them, shielding Orochimaru with his own body.
Just as Hikaru unleashed his attack, Kiba threw himself between them, shielding Orochimaru with his own body.
Hikaru's attack struck Kiba, sending him crashing to the ground. He lay still, his breath shallow. Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
"Foolish," Orochimaru said, his voice devoid of emotion. "It was a useless gesture. I possess multiple lives. Your sacrifice was in vain."
Hikaru, his eyes blazing with dark energy, turned his attention back to Orochimaru. "Now, Orochimaru," he said, his voice a chilling echo. "Witness my true power. The end of your existence."
He activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, the crimson eyes swirling with an ominous intensity. "Kagetsu."
The world around Orochimaru fractured, reality itself seeming to splinter and distort. It wasn't just speed; it was as if time became a canvas, and Hikaru painted upon it with his eyes. Orochimaru's perception became a broken mirror, reflecting fragmented moments of past, present, and future.
Hikaru didn't simply move fast; he shifted between these fractured moments. He was a phantom, appearing and disappearing, his strikes landing from impossible angles. Orochimaru saw afterimages, echoes of Hikaru's movements, the air around him shimmering with temporal distortions. A blow landed from behind, then from above, then from a point that shouldn't have existed at all.
It wasn't just physical speed; it was a speed of perception, a manipulation of time that allowed Hikaru to anticipate and strike before Orochimaru even formed a thought.
Orochimaru's senses were overwhelmed by the chaotic flux, the world a blur of fractured moments and impossible angles.
Orochimaru, however, was not easily defeated. His body, infused with countless lives, endured the onslaught. He was torn apart, reformed, and torn apart again, his regenerative abilities pushed to their absolute limits. 'This… this is beyond anything I have encountered. He is not just fast; he is breaking the rules of time itself. But I will not yield.'
Hikaru's attacks grew more intense, the Kagetsu reaching its peak. The very fabric of reality around Orochimaru seemed to unravel, threatening to erase him from existence.
Orochimaru, his body battered and broken, clung to his remaining lives, his will unwavering.
Suddenly, Hikaru staggered, his eyes losing their crimson glow. He gasped, his hand clutching his head. "No… not yet…"
The Kagetsu faded, the world returning to its normal flow. Hikaru, his body trembling, collapsed to his knees. "Damn it," he said, his voice filled with rage. "I can only use it once a day."
Orochimaru, his body regenerating, stood tall, his eyes fixed on Hikaru. "Your arrogance has betrayed you, Hikaru-kun," he said, his voice laced with a cold satisfaction. "Even with such power, you are still bound by limitations."
He turned his gaze to Kiba, who was slowly regaining consciousness. "He lives,"
Orochimaru said, his voice devoid of emotion. "A pointless act of defiance."
A crimson aura erupted around Hikaru, solidifying into a massive, skeletal warrior. The Susanoo's eyes glowed with the same malevolent red as Hikaru's Mangekyou Sharingan.
"You will witness the end," Hikaru said, his voice echoing from the Susanoo.
He then unleashed his final attack: "Temporal Rupture." The Susanoo's chest cavity pulsed with raw, crimson energy, and a sphere of distorted space formed before it. This wasn't a simple blast; it was a tear in the very fabric of time and space, a singularity that threatened to unravel reality itself. The air around it warped and shimmered, the rain seeming to freeze and then accelerate in erratic bursts.
The ground beneath Orochimaru began to crack and distort, as if the very earth was being pulled apart.
Orochimaru, his serpentine eyes widening in horror, felt a primal fear he hadn't experienced in decades. 'This… this is not just an attack.
It's an annihilation. It will erase everything.' He could feel the raw power of the Temporal Rupture, its chaotic energy threatening to consume him.
"Rashōmon!" he roared, his voice strained with desperation. He summoned not one, not two, but five colossal, demonic gates. The gates slammed into the path of Hikaru's Temporal Rupture, their massive forms glowing with dark energy, a desperate attempt to anchor reality itself. The clash was cataclysmic, the forest floor erupting as the two forces collided. The very air around them vibrated with destructive energy.
At that moment, the other Kage, along with their assistants, Moegi, Mirai, and Misuno arrived, drawn by the overwhelming chakra signature. They emerged from the shadows, their eyes widening in shock at the scene before them.
"What is this?" Gaara gasped, his sand swirling around him protectively.
"Incredible power," Kurotsuchi murmured, her gaze fixed on the crimson Susanoo.
"Orochimaru… and that Susanoo…" Darui muttered, his expression grim.
Kiba, who had regained consciousness, watched the scene unfold, his heart pounding in his chest. 'This… this is insane. What is going on?'
Hikaru, seeing the sudden arrival of the Kage, his eyes narrowed. He had no desire to be seen by them, not in this state. He dispelled the Susanoo, and with a swift series of hand seals, he activated his unique space-time technique: "Dimensional Fracture."
The air around him shimmered and cracked, like glass shattering into countless fragments. He didn't simply teleport; he tore a rift in space, fracturing the very dimensions around him, allowing him to slip through the cracks.
He vanished in a burst of distorted space, leaving behind a trail of shimmering, fractured air.
"He's escaping!" Gaara shouted, sending a wave of sand after him.
"After him!" Darui commanded, his lightning chakra flaring.
They gave chase, but Hikaru's Dimensional Fracture technique was too swift. He left behind a trail of distorted air, but no trace of his presence.
Orochimaru, his Rashōmon gates dissipating, watched them go, his expression unreadable. "He is… resourceful," he said, his voice laced with a hint of morbid curiosity.
---
QUIZ QUESTION:
* Hikaru claims to be from a "time before" and seeks to "aid his older self." What does this imply about his relationship to the timeline and his motivations?
* a) He is a time traveler seeking to prevent a catastrophic event.
* b) He is an alternate version of himself, seeking to correct perceived errors in the present timeline.
* c) He is a spirit from the past, possessing a body in the present to enact revenge.
* d) He is a clone created in the past, sent to the present with a specific mission.
Share your answers in the comments down below!
_AUTHOR'S NOTE_
*A crucial clarification for our readers: The Rinnegan man, the older man, and the Mangekyou Sharingan Hikaru are all the same person, but exist at different points in time. To be precise, there are two distinct Hikaru's in this narrative. One resides in the present timeline and wields the Rinnegan, while the other—the one showcased in this chapter—has traversed time and space using a unique ninjutsu, arriving from the past. Understanding this distinction is key to unraveling the complexities of the story unfolding.