"Figures. The flashiest entrances always come last."
Amamiya Raizen muttered under his breath as every Hatake ninja in the courtyard froze, their eyes wide. The night glowed red around him, the air thick with pressure. Beneath his feet, chakra pooled like liquid flame, rising into a skeletal titan of crimson energy.
The five assassins who'd charged at Gintama earlier didn't even slow down. Their blades came down hard—but the strikes bounced off the chakra ribs with metallic clangs.
The red skeleton didn't even flinch.
"Who the hell are you!?" one of the five shouted, steadying himself.
Raizen smirked. "Me? Just a guy who hates cleaning up other people's messes." His eyes sharpened, crimson spinning like whirlpools. "Amamiya Raizen."
The moment his name left his lips, the skeletal avatar moved.
Its massive arms shot forward, hands made of burning chakra closing around the five assassins like a god's grip.
"Wha—let go of—!"
Their blades slashed uselessly at the chakra arms, sparks flying. Not even a scratch.
Raizen's lips curled. "Sure. I'll let you go."
He flicked his wrist.
The red skeleton slammed the five into the ground with a bone-rattling impact. The earth split open; the men screamed once—and then nothing but silence and smoke.
When the dust cleared, five Hatake ninja lay unconscious, bloodied and broken.
From the moment Raizen appeared to the second he ended the fight, it had taken less than ten seconds.
The Hatake warriors around the courtyard stood frozen, whispering. The name Amamiya Raizen rippled through the crowd like a ghost story.
"The patriarch of the Amamiya Clan…? Why is he here?"
Then realization hit.
Gintama had once sought refuge with the Amamiya. That meant… this man had come for him.
The Third Elder's face twisted. He stepped forward, voice slicing through the silence.
"Well, well. Hatake Gintama—consorting with outsiders now? Do you plan to drag the entire clan into ruin!?"
Raizen tilted his head, unimpressed. "You really wanna talk about ruin? You just ordered your own men to stab your patriarch and his heir."
The crowd murmured. Eyes turned toward the elder, cold and doubtful. Even the samurai shifted uneasily.
The Third Elder's smile faltered. His gaze swept over the onlookers—seeing loyalty crumble right before him. If he didn't act now, his grip on power would vanish completely.
"Enough!" he bellowed. "Hatake Gintama has betrayed the clan! All loyal shinobi, obey my command—kill Hatake Gintama and Amamiya Raizen!"
No one moved.
The Hatake warriors exchanged glances, uncertain. A few diehards of the elder's faction drew their swords and charged, but most stood still, torn between fear and reason.
Raizen sighed. "So this is the great Hatake clan. Half divided, half brain-dead."
The Third Elder roared again. "Anyone unwilling to fight—fall back!"
The loyalists retreated, dragging the wounded patriarch to safety. Only Raizen, Gintama, and the elder's strike force remained under the broken moonlight.
Raizen cracked his neck, eyes glinting. "Guess I'll have to finish this fast."
He raised his hand, and the crimson skeleton behind him began to burn brighter.
Chakra surged around him in waves, like fire erupting from his soul. The skeletal ribs expanded—legs, spine, skull—until a full humanoid form stood towering above them all, its hollow eyes glowing red.
"What kind of jutsu is that…?" a Hatake ninja whispered, trembling.
Raizen's Mangekyō spun faster. Blood traced down his cheek, and his voice came out cold and sharp.
"Susanoo."
The crimson giant moved, its massive arm sweeping across the courtyard. The ground exploded under the impact. A shockwave tore through the night, flinging the rushing ninjas back like ragdolls.
"Dammit—attack together!" the Third Elder shouted.
The surviving Hatake swordsmen regrouped, leaping high, blades glowing with chakra.
"Thunder Flash!"
"Blaze Cut!"
"Luminous Strike!"
Steel arcs streaked through the air—dozens of sword strikes descending like falling stars.
Raizen's smirk deepened. "Impressive swordsmanship. But hitting's the hard part."
The crimson avatar crossed its arms, chakra condensing between its hands. A warped ripple bent the air, space itself twisting.
"Kamui…," Raizen whispered.
The incoming slashes vanished, sucked into the distortion like dust into a void.
The battlefield fell silent.
The Third Elder froze mid-command, eyes wide. The Hatake ninja below him stared in disbelief as their attacks dissolved into nothingness.
"This… this is impossible…"
Raizen wiped the blood trailing from his right eye and muttered, "Combination successful. Susanoo… with Kamui transfer."
He grinned faintly. "Once I master this, I might just match Kakashi someday. Maybe even merge Flying Thunder God into it. Now that would be fun."
He lifted his hand, and the crimson titan behind him raised its arm in sync, light burning at its palm like a newborn sun.
"Your move, old man."
The battlefield held its breath as the Third Elder realized too late—
the era of Hatake politics had just been erased by fire and lightning.