Naruto: Power in Play

Shinno's fist struck like a meteor, and the world reeled from the impact. The ground beneath them warped, shrieking as it twisted, the shockwave rippling outward in a violent pulse. Dust and debris erupted into the air, a suffocating storm of shattered metal and stone.

Jiraiya barely had time to register the devastation before a dark red blur cut through the chaos. Shinno was already upon him.

A fist hurtled toward his face—he barely tilted his head in time, feeling the air crackle as the punch grazed past. Jiraiya countered, twisting his hips and launching a knee into Shinno's ribs. The blow landed, but instead of staggering back, Shinno grinned.

He barely felt it.

Shinno struck back with terrifying speed, a rapid succession of jabs aimed at Jiraiya's torso. The Sannin deflected them as best he could, blocking one, dodging another, but a third connected, slamming into his shoulder. A sickening crunch rang out, and Jiraiya was sent skidding backward.

Hiruzen, though wounded, jumped back into the fight.

His staff elongated in an instant, whistling through the air as it arced toward Shinno's temple. The Sky Ninja pivoted, catching the staff mid-swing with one hand. His grip tightened, bending the unbreakable weapon as his eyes locked onto the Hokage.

A smirk flickered across Shinno's face. He yanked the staff forward with brutal force, aiming to rip Hiruzen off balance. But the Hokage vanished.

In his place, a solid boulder shattered under the force of Shinno's attack. Permutation Jutsu. Shinno's eyes widened in realization before a rush of air came from his blind spot.

CRACK!

Hiruzen's staff slammed into his back with punishing force, the impact ringing out like a war drum. Shinno staggered forward, his muscles seizing for an instant, the shock traveling up his spine.

And Jiraiya burst forward.

A cloud of smoke heralded the arrival of two clones, materializing mid-air as they launched a synchronized assault. They came from three directions, a flurry of limbs and chakra-enhanced strikes. The first struck high, the second low, the third came straight down, aiming for the skull.

Shinno twisted. Too fast.

His arms lashed out, deflecting the first blow, then the second. The third came too close, but he still managed to counter with a vicious elbow to the gut. The clone exploded into smoke.

The remaining two Jiraiyas pressed forward, undeterred. One launched into a spinning kick, the force behind it enough to dent steel. The other shot forward, palm outstretched, chakra gathering at his fingertips.

A Rasengan flared to life, whirling with violent energy. Positioned behind Shinno, Hiruzen was not idle either. His staff pulsed with lightning chakra, ready to batter the hulking giant.

But Shinno's reaction time was just too short. Depriving his opponent of the small window of weakness that would have normally appeared. His arms shot out like viper strikes. He caught Jiraiya's leg mid-spin, twisted sharply, and threw him straight into Hiruzen's oncoming strike, sending the two tumbling down into the ground.

Shinno then rolled with his movement, spinning and catching the clone with the back of his fists, destroying it in one fluid motion.

The master of the Ancor Vantian exhaled, rolling his shoulders as he surveyed his battered foes.

"This is your strength?" he scoffed; his voice barely winded. "You Konoha fools rely so much on jutsu, on tricks, on raw chakra. Pitiful. Let me show you just how outclassed you are."

Shinno's body pulsed. Veins bulged, muscles swelled, and the air around him thickened. The cracks in the ground beneath him widened, spiderwebbing outward.

"4th Gate—Gate of Pain, OPEN!"

Jiraiya grit his teeth, feeling the shift in power. Things were getting out of hand.

Hiruzen took a half-step back, his sharp mind calculating. The weight of Shinno's blows had already slowed him; a few more strikes like that and he wouldn't be able to keep up. And even Jiraiya, with all his strength, would be hard-pressed to match the raw physicality of their opponent.

Worse still, Shinno was not even going all out. He was still on the 4th gate. Halfway through the 8 gates. Hiruzen had to find a way to stop the man before it was too late.

"Sensei. Buy me some time, I'm going to summon the toad sages." A mental communication was transmitted to the Hiruzen. A quick glance at Jiraya showed a tense expression.

"Are you sure you can take him on with sage mode?" Hiruzen replied.

"I'm not sure. But it's the only thing I have right now that can help us turn this around." That didn't sound too reassuring… Sure, Jiraiya pushing into sage mode would even the fields for a while. But not for long.

It would only push the enemy to open another gate, then another, until they were inevitably crushed by his raw power.

A thought entered Hiruzen's mind before he could stop it. The Reaper Death Seal.

A final, absolute solution. If Shinno could not be bested, he could be taken down with Hiruzen. The village would mourn him, but Konoha would stand. It would endure. His sacrifice would be worthwhile.

Hiruzen started to plan, but before he got far, a sharp voice cut through his thoughts. "Lord Hiruzen, reinforcements are heading your way."

Shikaku's voice, steady but loud, echoed in his mind. "We have a plan to deal with Shinno. The Hyuga can stop him, his power is reliant on this dark chakra—if we can create an opening, we can stop him from absorbing more of it by blocking off his tenketsu."

The words snapped Hiruzen out of his grim resolve. A chance. A better way.

His eyes flicked to Jiraiya, who had also heard the telepathic transmission. Without speaking, they moved.

Shinno turned just as Hiruzen lunged in, his staff elongating, twisting through the air in a brutal arc.

And Shinno, as if demonstrating his brutal strength, simply punched the staff away. Not even bothering to use any technique. He just employed brute strength to deal with his opponents. With a single step, he closed the distance, and kicked Hiruzen's hastily formed guard. Sending the old man tumbling back once again.

Jiraiya swore, moving to attack, but Shinno's stats were through the roof. The difference between the two could have still been bridged with skills and tactics when Shinno was in the 3rd gate. But now, as Jiraiya was being pummeled by the giant of a man, he was painfully aware of his limitations. It seemed like he had to step into Sage Mode after all.

He had to find an opportunity. An opening, just a small reprieve from the fight. But would he ever get the chance?

Just as Jiraiya was despairing, reinforcements arrived. A blur of green and white streaked across the battlefield.

Might Guy. Hiashi Hyuga.

They struck in unison.

Guy was the first to reach the enemy, his fist cocked back, wreathed in the emerald energy of the 5th gate as he lunged forward. The moment his knuckles met Shinno's forearm, the force of the impact detonated outward like a cannon blast. A violent shockwave split the air, scattering debris and sending waves of pressure through the ground.

Shinno snarled, his muscles tensing as he absorbed the impact. He lashed out with a brutal roundhouse kick, the sheer speed of it causing the wind to scream. Guy ducked just in time, the air displacement from the kick carving a deep trench in the battlefield behind him.

Before Shinno could capitalize, Hiashi struck.

The Hyuga clan head glided forward, his Byakugan glowing like twin moons beneath his brow. His hands moved with surgical precision, fingers dancing through the air like a flurry of needles, each strike aimed directly at Shinno's chakra network.

"Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

Hiashi's palms struck Shinno's ribs, then his shoulder, then his forearm in rapid succession. The Hyuga's movements were fluid, almost effortless—but the moment his attacks landed, they carried the weight of decades of mastery. Each blow disrupted the natural flow of chakra, threatening to shut down key points in Shinno's system.

Shinno hissed. His body convulsed for half a second—but then, his chakra surged back violently.

Hiashi's chakra flared in alarm. His byakugan scanning the giant ninja's still glowing tenketsu. His attacks had failed. The strikes had been too shallow.

Before he could retreat, Shinno twisted, his foot already rising in a devastating counter-kick. But a blur of green intercepted it.

Guy.

He blocked with both forearms, but even then, the force was monstrous. The impact hurled him backward, his feet carving trenches into the ruined battlefield before he managed to halt himself.

Jiraiya exhaled sharply. Readying himself for another bout.

Hiruzen coughed as he staggered back to his feet, pain lacing through his ribs. His old bones ached, but his mind remained sharp. His gaze flicked to Shinno, then to Hiashi.

The Hyuga could do it—if they could just land a decisive strike. If they could sever the flow of chakra at its source, Shinno's Gates would be meaningless.

But the sky ninja wasn't giving them an opening. He roared, and moved back into action.

Jiraiya's darted towards Hiashi, arriving just in to time intercept Shinno. His mane-like hair moving to drag the hyuga away. An instant later, the ground where Hiashi stood exploded into a shower of debris, courtesy of Shinno's axe kick.

Shinno didn't stop. Pivoting on his foot, he turned to chase after the Hyuga. But Hiashi was prepared this time. A well timed Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation deflected Shinno's following charge. Briefly providing an opening him up for Guy to land a devastating kick.

Sending the giant straight into the path of Hiruzen punishing staff. Jiraiya was not standing idle, with a roar, he joined the fray. The combined might of the four men was just enough to keep Shinno on the defensive.

But a small slip up from Hiashi broke the rhythm. Allowing Shinno to release another burst of chakra that pushed his opponent back. Shinno was about to gather his chakra for another gate when he was interrupted.

"Sixth Gate—Gate of Joy, OPEN!"

The air itself seemed to ignite as Guy's aura burned around him. The veins along his temple bulged, his muscles screaming under the pressure of the technique. The ground beneath him shattered, unable to withstand the weight of his power.

Shinno smirked. "That's more like it."

Then they collided.

Their fists met, and the sheer force of their clash cracked the sky itself. Dust and debris were blasted away in all directions as they exchanged blows at speeds that defied the human eye.

Guy ducked, weaving between Shinno's devastating hooks. He countered with a brutal knee to the ribs, but Shinno absorbed the blow and retaliated with a spinning backfist that Guy dodged by a hair's width. Their battle became a storm of motion, each strike powerful enough to annihilate lesser shinobi on impact.

Jiraiya and Hiruzen watched the fight unfold, their minds racing. This was their chance.

Guy was keeping Shinno occupied—but it wouldn't last.

They needed to end this.

Hiruzen's gaze flicked to Hiashi, who stood steady despite his injuries. Blood trickled from his lip, but his Byakugan was sharp. Determined.

Jiraiya took a deep breath.

"Hiashi!" he called. "We make the opening—you finish it!"

Hiashi's eyes locked onto his. He nodded.

Jiraiya and Hiruzen shot forward, their hands flashing through seals.

Jiraiya inhaled deeply, his chest expanding.

"Katon: Gamayu Endan!"

Beside him, Hiruzen's fingers twisted into another set of seals as a clone popped up beside him.

"Katon: Roaring Dragon Bomb!"

"Futon: Roaring Dragon Bomb!"

A tsunami of oil and fire surged toward Shinno, enveloping a scalding white dragon's fire that seemed as if it was alive, roaring as it rushed forward.

Gai seemed as if he had been waiting for the attack, and with a shout of "ASAKUJAKU!", he pushed the sky ninja right into the path of the combined attack. Shinno barely had time to react—his arms came up in a desperate block, but he was attacked from two directions, the firestorm swallowed him whole.

This was the moment.

Hiashi moved.

He was a ghost, slipping through the fire and debris. His Byakugan locked onto the vital of the enemy's already regenerating form. Hoping, and willing to make it just in time.

Shinno, still engulfed in flames, turned—but he was too late.

Hiashi's fingertips flared with chakra.

" Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

An invisible force slammed into Shinno's ribs, his body jerking for just a fraction of a second.

A fraction of a second was all Hiashi needed.

Then—

A sickening squelch.

Hiashi's body jerked. Blood sprayed into the air.

Jiraiya's eyes widened in horror.

Shinno's arm was buried elbow-deep in Hiashi's chest.

Time seemed to slow.

Hiashi gasped, his Byakugan flickering, breath hitching as reality settled in. His fingers twitched, struggling to raise an arm, but his body refused to move. He had never even seen it coming.

"Did you really think you could outmaneuver me?" Shinno's mocking voice echoed in the stunned silence. His golden eyes gleamed with something dark, something knowing.

Hiashi's mouth opened, but no sound came. And Shinno casually wrenched his arm free, watching as Hiashi crumpled. Blood pooled beneath the fallen ninja's twitching body.

"Did you really believe you could conspire against me?" Shinno mused. His body straightened, his charred body slowly healing. The opening that the four ninja had painstakingly fought for closed slowly in front of their stunned eyes.

"I could hear you." Seemingly enjoying their reaction, Shinno made a show of slowly knitting his body together. He tapped his temple with a charred arm, his grin widening. "Every word. Every thought. Ever since I set foot in your precious village. All thanks to the Reibi!"

Hiruzen froze. The realization was like ice in his veins.

The Reibi… Mind reading? Who knew that it possessed such an ability?

Shinno had been playing with them.

Every feint. Every counter. Every struggle. Turns out, it was all orchestrated by the enemy. In Hiruzen's mind, the desperate idea of using the reaper death seal showed again.

But before Shinno could relish his victory, before he could solidify his dominance—

A single eye, embedded in the palm of a gloved hand, slowly closed.

High above the battlefield, perched atop a great hawk, Danzo Shimura lowered his hand.

And in that instant, Hiashi Hyūga's body pulsed with chakra.

His gaping wound—a fatal injury, the kind no shinobi could recover from—sealed shut. Muscles realigned; flesh stitched itself back together in an instant.

Izanagi.

A technique that defied fate itself.

Hiashi's eyes snapped open. His Byakugan flared with renewed clarity.

He was alive.

He was behind Shinno who had no time to react. Hiashi did not hesitate.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

Shinno turned his head, his form still healing from the horrifying burns inflicted by Jiraiya and Hiruzen's combined jutsu. He wanted to move, but he was one step too slow.

Hiashi's hands blurred.

The first two strikes landed—one to Shinno's shoulder, the second to his ribs.

Two Palms!

Shinno reeled, momentarily stunned. His chakra flickered, but his instincts fought back.

Four Palms!

His breath hitched.

Eight Palms!

His muscles seized up.

Sixteen Palms!

His knees buckled.

Thirty-Two Palms!

Shinno's body shuddered violently, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

Then, his chakra flared. He still had one card to play!

The Reibi retaliated. Shadows burst forth from the ground, morphing into grotesque tendrils of black chakra, blocking the next set of strikes.

The technique had been interrupted.

But the damage had already been done.

Half of Shinno's tenketsu were sealed. His body slowed. His chakra staggered. For the first time, Shinno was deprived of his unholy healing ability. He was vulnerable!

He growled, forcing his chakra to surge, summoning the Reibi's power in full. The air around him darkened as the phantom beast manifested, its sinister aura coiling around its host. Shadowy tendrils lashed out, writhing like living blades, shielding him in an instant.

But a thunderous voice cut through the battlefield.

"HIRUDORA!"

A roaring explosion of compressed air tore through the battlefield. Might Guy burst forward, his body a green-and-white comet as his Daytime Tiger surged ahead. The massive shockwave blasted forth, shredding the Reibi's tendrils into nothingness. And even flinging Hiashi's form away.

And Shinno was left wide open.

Jiraiya's hands flashed through seals, his body moving on instinct. His clones gathered, a storm of chakra swirling around them as a deep breath expanded in his lungs.

Beside him, Hiruzen mirrored his movements, his own chakra crackling like a violent tempest.

They knew exactly what needed to be done.

A final, decisive blow.

"Katon: Gamayu Endan!"

Jiraiya exhaled—a massive tsunami of oil, thick and suffocating, flooding toward Shinno like an unrelenting tide.

"Futon: Daitoppa!"

Hiruzen followed, his jutsu twisting the flames into an unstoppable inferno.

The combined forces of oil, wind, and fire ignited into another roaring hellstorm, swallowing everything in its path. The flames whitened from sheer intensity, the temperature soaring to unimaginable levels as the wave of destruction engulfed Shinno.

AN: Thanks for reading :)