Naruto: Born Gifted in Konoha

Drip! A drop of blood landed on the ground beneath Saitama, who stared wide-eyed at the droplet slowly spreading across the earth.

At this moment, his entire body felt weak. His left leg was twisted out of shape, rendering him completely unable to move.

Judging from this situation, Saitama's death seemed imminent.

Enemies began closing in around him, their shadows blocking out the very last moonlight above. In an instant, it became a moment of life or death!

"Is this really how it ends?" Saitama half-squatted on the ground with his injured left leg stretched awkwardly sideways, bent so severely that his calf and thigh pointed in opposite directions—an unsettling sight.

The [Tomoe] within his eyes had already vanished, returning them to their normal black-and-white clarity, though the whites were still filled with terrifying red blood vessels.

The chakra within his body could no longer meet the Sharingan's demands.

"I'm still not satisfied!" he muttered. "To fall down like this on the road... I thought I'd get to see even more of what life has to offer!"

The nearest enemy's weapon was already at Saitama's chest, its cold blade raising goosebumps on his skin.

Clang! Saitama swung desperately, knocking the ninja's weapon aside with a single strike.

It was just a regular strike—with none of the Chidori Current behind it—yet the Stone Shinobi scattered like birds caught in a storm.

A gap cleared around Saitama as enemies scattered.

"Hehe!" Saitama glanced around, suddenly finding it amusing.

The retreating shinobi, however, felt humiliated. After quickly confirming that Saitama truly lacked any ability to retaliate, they circled back around.

Shihara Shin stood at the outer edge of the encirclement, his gaze calm. Looking at Saitama's state, he no longer had any desire to fight.

"It's over, kid from Konoha!"

He glanced briefly at the fallen bodies of his subordinates and the ruined [Camp], then shut his eyes slightly—as if unwilling to witness the scene unfolding before him.

"But I still feel a bit resentful!" Saitama murmured. After trying so hard for such a long time, he hadn't even fulfilled his wish yet!

In that second, many thoughts rushed through Saitama's mind. Flashes of many people passed through his consciousness—

Ka Po-pu, Shisui, Fugaku, Hayashi and Mori, and Shizune!

Then, in the next instant, several kunai pierced Saitama's body, lifting him upward.

Puchi! Blood spurted from Saitama's mouth. His body was even more battered than before—yet his eyes burned brighter than ever!

As if some kind of power was brewing deep inside him.

"How can I die in a place like this?!"

A low growl escaped Saitama's lips, drowning out his cries of pain. At that instant, the world seemed to fall silent!

Time itself appeared frozen!

Thump-thump! Thump-thump!

Saitama heard the pounding of his own heart—strong and powerful. A force began surging from his heart outward!

In the blink of an eye, it spread throughout his entire body!

Swish! Saitama's narrowed eyes suddenly flew open—the Sharingan's Tomoe once again swirling within them.

Three tomoe spun violently, almost appearing ready to merge into one.

The enemies seemed to sense something wrong with Saitama too. They prepared to deliver the final blow, seeking to end this battle they found impossible to describe.

In unison, the Stone shinobi drew their kunai and stabbed forcefully toward Saitama once again.

"Hehe!"

Saitama let out a cold chuckle as he slowly lifted his head, a smirk curling the corner of his lips.

Blood trickled from the corners of his eyes, and he shut them again.

Snap! Boom! Boom!

A swirling blue-white chakra aura surrounded Saitama. In an instant, it transformed into a rib-like skeletal frame—mainly white, laced with glowing blue light. As soon as the skeleton appeared, it tightly enveloped Saitama.

"What kind of ninjutsu is this?"

The Iwa ninja were stunned, staring together at the bony structure wrapping around Saitama.

Although only part of a ribcage, the skeleton exuded a sinister aura, prompting the group of Iwa ninja to quickly distance themselves.

"What!?"

Shihara Shin heard the commotion from his subordinates, opened his half-closed eyes, and witnessed the bizarre scene unfolding within the crowd.

A skeletal frame, similar to bones, encased Saitama, who had already lost much of his ability to resist. Saitama stood on one leg inside the framework, blood steadily flowing from his tightly shut eyelids.

"A Secret Art perhaps?"

Instantly, Shihara Shin assessed the situation. However, for Saitama—who was like meat already on the grill—it would be impossible to turn the tide with just another ninjutsu alone.

His chakra and physical stamina simply couldn't support such a reversal!

"Kill him!"

Merely a skeleton, it seemingly posed no real threat. Shihara Shin issued the order to attack.

Standing firmly on the ground, Saitama sensed the changes in his eyes and realized that he must have broken past his limits—the Sharingan had evolved into the Mangekyou Sharingan!

Even though he hadn't killed a loved one, nor witnessed someone dear perish before him, he had still awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"Must be the effect of [Ultimate Talent]?" A smirk played on Saitama's lips. For the first time, he felt more confident about escaping this predicament.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The skeletal form of Susanoo began to change. Initially, only ribs protected Saitama.

Now, the skeleton started extending upward, rapidly evolving into something more complete—two arms formed in an instant, but it didn't stop there. Two weapons appeared in the skeleton's hands. In the right hand was a longsword resembling pure lightning incarnate, while the left held a great blade composed entirely of flame.

But the flame blade in the left hand was noticeably smaller than the lightning sword on the right, its glow fainter and less vibrant.

It seemed dormant—nothing more than a superficial imitation.

Swish! Suddenly, Saitama flung his eyes open, revealing the strange pattern within.

At the center was a bold cross-shaped pattern resembling the character 'person' (ren). Over it were pale curved arcs reminiscent of Obito's eyes, connecting the three segments of the 'person'. The arcs connected at the central point of the 'person', each having a sharp outward protrusion in the middle—an angular shape like the tip of a triangle.

And at the pupil area, a thick black dot sat centered, enhancing the visual balance of the entire 'person'.

"That eye…?"

Through the gaps between the skeletal frame, the Iwa ninja glimpsed Saitama's eyes.

Instinctively, their bodies shivered. An inner voice warned them—something terrible was about to happen!

"The roles are reversed now!" Feeling the change in his eyes, Saitama shifted his focus, and with a thought, swung the Susanoo's right arm forward!

[Lightning Surge!] 

Blinding lightning surged forth!

The Stone Shinobi showed a flicker of confusion before starting to dodge, but still, several ninja were cut at the waist by Susanoo's blade.

"Damn it!"

Shihara Shin also witnessed the transformation of Susanoo's skeletal frame, and noticed the change in Saitama's eyes.

Just as Susanoo launched its attack, his body hair stood on end. He shouted.

But it was already too late—by the time he cried out, Susanoo's blade had already cut down a group of Stone Shinobi.

"Scatter! Get away!"

Shihara Shin yelled while rushing toward Saitama. As a commander, this was the moment he needed to step forward.

However, even before he spoke, the Stone Shinobi had already begun retreating.

Anyone with half a brain could tell that this monstrous skeleton, made only of ribs and arms, was beyond their ability to resist!

Would Saitama really let off those enemies who had just moments ago been chasing and attacking him?

Absolutely not!

Although his Susanoo lacked legs at the moment, it was still massive in size, covering an area with a ten-meter radius.

[Whoosh!]

Controlling the dual blades of Susanoo, Saitama swung his blades, cutting down every ninja within range in an instant.

Howls of agony rose one after another—most of the attacked ninja were directly sliced at the waist.

But their tough resilience kept them clinging to life, writhing in pain and screaming.

"No!"

Shihara Shin halted abruptly, staring at the area around Saitama which had instantly been cleared.

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