Naruto: Starting with the Granted Strongest Eye

Inside the monstrous castle, several black-robed "cultists" moved silently toward another lighthouse. Their steps, however, felt off—different from ordinary cultists. Whispered conversations floated in the air:

"Sensei, how did you think to tunnel underground? Why didn't we use that earlier?"

Disguised as a tall youth in a flowing black robe, Tō coughed awkwardly before admitting, "I'm not skilled with Earth Release, so I thought to tunnel in. And yesterday, our enemy emerged from underground. That gave me the idea."

Tō and Itachi rolled their eyes in exasperation—sometimes their teacher was astonishingly slow to catch on. But if none of them had thought to tunnel in, so be it. After all, the castle was protected by powerful barriers; a misstep could bring an overwhelming horde of cultists rushing in.

"Itachi, why are we heading to that lighthouse?" Tō asked.

"It's time to see what they're experimenting on… the screams we've been hearing are coming from within," Shisui answered with a dark smile. "And that lighthouse gives me the creeps."

Within moments, the trio stood near the lighthouse. Two cultist guards stood watch. "Hey! What're you doing here? Don't you know this is off-limits?"

Shisui and company froze. This was their target—it was where the experiments originated. Before the guards could react, Shisui appeared before them, Sharingan pulsing. The guards clutched their heads and collapsed, dead, caught by a brain-searing barrier inhibitor.

Tō, Itachi, and Shisui exchanged glances and entered the lighthouse.

The interior was pitch-dark—an infernal realm. A massive silhouette loomed ahead. A deep voice echoed:

"Welcome to my version of hell! Since you're here… you'll stay here!"

As the figure spoke, he vanished—and his voice continued: "When you enter hell, remember my name: Kuina!"

A brutal punch erupted toward Shisui. With triple-tomoe Sharingan active, Shisui easily tracked the man's speed. He caught the fist and struck the man's waist with a kick.

The giant was unmoved. He retaliated, kicking Shisui away. Tō and Itachi landed and exclaimed, "Another of those jutsu? This cult's something."

This man's resilience was extreme—even a direct heart strike left him unaffected. He wielded nauseating speed and power, likely from multiple forbidden techniques.

The giant stood and sneered, "Oh, so it's those kids again." He paced toward them.

They dropped their disguises.

Tō frowned. "Then what were those screams?"

The giant laughed venomously: "You thought the chakra-carrying crows evaded the High Priest's Sight? Or that our cult only uses those innate jutsu? We've got barrier scrying too!"

He vanished again. All three drew their Sharingan, positioning themselves back-to-back. Tō felt the air currents, noticing they were confined—no large tunnels. The front entrance had been blocked by stone.

The cultist's form continued shifting, hand signs flowing. He intended more jutsu.

In an instant, Tō sprang into action. Shuriken flew like a flower in the wind while his other hand gripped his shoulder-placed blade. Itachi flipped onto the ceiling to form a genjutsu seal. Shisui materialized behind Kuina, launching a kick.

Their assault seemed flawless—but was that enough?

Kuina absorbed Shisui's kick and, in the moment of Tō's Iai cut, clamped it with his bare hands, like metal on steel. He also blocked Itachi's Fire-Release: Phoenix Flower Claw jutsu, the red vortex colliding with a red flash and neutralizing it.

As falling shuriken clanged on an invisible shield, Shisui reappeared before him. Kuina's voice boomed, "Sharingan!" He jumped back.

All of this happened in just two seconds.

The moment he landed back, Tō's blade severed Kuina's neck—but there was no gasp, only sudden silence. Blood arced into the air as the head fell.

"He—his jutsu surpasses even the other cultists," Itachi observed, landing quietly. "He absorbed Tō's Iai with bare hands and blocked my fire jutsu."

Shisui nodded. "If it weren't for my shunshin, things could've been much worse. If we had used something too destructive, we'd have drawn more cultists."

Tō sheathed his blade and took a breath. "We need to leave. These guys are no joke."

Shisui took out the giant stone blocking the entrance with a blazing Fire Release—Great Fireball Jutsu—and they vanished outside. A deep, ominous voice echoed within:

"Sharingan… hm… Kuina has fallen."

"He was a test subject!" an older voice chuckled.

"Those shinobi are not united—it may cause infighting. We'll focus on this: the boy with the savage spirit resists the dark jutsu—he's promising."

Shadows crept through the air as the trio vanished from the fortress — their presence unknown, their mission unfinished.