Chapter 215: Forest Realm Descent!
“The reason our Hidden Blood Mist Village makes the entire Ninja World tremble in fear is precisely because of the iron-blooded policy unwaveringly implemented by generations of Mizukage!”
This red-eyed Mist Ninja’s emotions surged so intensely that veins bulged on his neck, completely ignoring Elder Yuanshi’s attempt to stop him with his gaze.
He roared hoarsely at Uchiha Ikeizumi standing atop the mountain of corpses: “It’s the Bloody Mist Policy! It’s that cruel graduation assessment, it’s this bloody mist permeating the village, that sifted out true powerhouses!”
“Look at Lady Mei Terumī! Look at the Demon Zabuza! Even that defected S-rank rogue ninja Juzo Biwa! Which one of them isn’t an elite who crawled out from a sea of corpses and blood?!”
His voice trembled, yet it was filled with fanatical faith: “Those eliminated or killed by the policy are just a bunch of useless trash! What right does trash have to live on?!”
“Their deaths save precious resources for the Land of Water! It’s to concentrate more chakra metals, more powerful ninjutsu scrolls, richer mission rewards, to cultivate true ninjas like us who are ruthless, exceptionally talented!”
He suddenly twisted his head, spitting toward a certain direction, his eyes full of contempt: “As for those so-called noble bloodline limit ninja clans? Hmph! A pack of insatiable ingrates!”
“Enjoying the village’s protection and resources, yet scheming in the shadows, attempting to overthrow Mizukage’s rule, end this great Bloody Mist Policy!”
“Traitors like that, so what if we kill them all? This is Hidden Mist Village’s own business!”
“What does this have to do with your Konoha Village? Don’t meddle in others’ affairs, you Konoha bastards!!”
The last word roared out, and the scene fell into a deathly silence.
As if even the sound of blood flowing could be clearly heard.
Mei Terumī’s face instantly turned pale as paper; she could even feel her fingertips slightly chilling.
Ao beside her had cold sweat beading on his forehead, trickling down his tense cheek, his Adam’s apple laboriously bobbing up and down, the swallowing motion strikingly clear in the silence.
Both their gazes simultaneously fixed on Uchiha Ikeizumi, hearts nearly leaping to their throats.
However, they saw Uchiha Ikeizumi standing at the peak of the corpse pile without even changing his stance.
Uchiha Ikeizumi merely slowly turned that pair of eerie Sharingan toward the bellowing Mist Ninja.
That gaze held no offended anger.
“Whether the sins lurking in the Land of Water concern me…” he spoke: “What business is it of yours?”
Mei Terumī and Ao both froze simultaneously.
They hadn’t expected…
Facing such fierce rebuttal, Uchiha Ikeizumi’s response was this rhetorical question abandoning debate.
“You…!”
The ninja’s face flushed beet red, as if punching at empty air; he panted rapidly, trying to regain rhythm, “You Konoha ninjas, don’t you follow any rules at all?! You…”
His words abruptly stopped.
Because Uchiha Ikeizumi standing atop the corpse mountain, his figure suddenly blurred without warning.
The next instant, like teleportation, he was already silently standing in front of this Mist Ninja.
Dense, tangible bloody killing intent crashed over him, mixed with the still-warm aura from the recent slaughter, making the Mist Ninja named Hideki Mizuno feel a violent dizziness and nausea.
This was the first time in his life he felt such intense fear toward the bloody scent he once took for granted, even prided himself on.
He desperately tried to muster courage to meet the gaze, yet found his eyeballs frozen, unable to focus on that pair of close-range, slowly spinning scarlet eyes.
His knees softened, fingers gripping the kunai spasming and trembling unconsciously.
“Rules?”
Uchiha Ikeizumi repeated the word, his tone flatly chilling: “Who made the rules?”
He slightly tilted his head, his gaze dissecting every trace of fear on Hideki Mizuno’s face like a blade: “Which land, which law, explicitly forbids me from interfering in the Land of Water?”
Hideki Mizuno laboriously turned his stiff neck, scanning his comrades around with pleading eyes.
He saw sympathy in some eyes, indignation on more faces, but clearly saw their hesitant steps, their instinctive retreat before that mountain of corpses and blood.
He even saw Lady Mei Terumī’s furrowed brows, Master Gen’s heavily closed eyes…
Why?
Why was no one stepping forward?
Where was the promised Bloody Mist Will to give everything for the village?!
“It’s… it’s generations of Mizukage! And Lord Daimyo of the Land of Water!”
Hideki Mizuno roared almost on instinct, teeth uncontrollably clattering with a “clack clack.”
“They are the rule-makers! It’s their wise leadership that keeps Hidden Mist Village standing, the Land of Water among the five great nations of the Ninja World!”
“Oh.” Uchiha Ikeizumi uttered a monotone syllable, then slowly nodded, as if truly pondering the answer.
“Then, reverse inference.” He leaned slightly forward, the intangible pressure nearly suffocating Hideki Mizuno: “If we… eliminate them all. Won’t the old rules the Land of Water and Hidden Mist Village rely on crumble?”
His Sharingan locked onto Hideki Mizuno’s scattered pupils: “A nation, a ninja village—once old rules collapse, new rules are needed to fill the power vacuum. This logic, correct?”
Hideki Mizuno was utterly stunned.
He vaguely felt something wrong with this, but under that terrifying pressure nearly crushing his soul, his mind went blank.
He subconsciously nodded.
“Good.” The corner of Uchiha Ikeizumi’s mouth twitched ever so slightly upward, forming an arc devoid of warmth, instead chillingly eerie.
“Then, kill them all. From now on, the Land of Water and Hidden Mist Village will be taken over by ‘Absolute Justice.'”
Hideki Mizuno: “???”
He gaped, mind in chaos, completely unable to grasp the leaping logic, much less believe what he’d heard.
“Lord Ikeizumi…” Elder Yuan’s aged, weary voice rang out again, with a final effort to salvage the situation sliding toward the abyss: “Please… hear this old man out. The Land of Water and Land of Fire differ vastly in national conditions, customs, history.”
“The ‘Absolute Justice’ you uphold might… might not take root here, hard to truly implement.”
However, Uchiha Ikeizumi didn’t spare even a glance at this Hidden Mist elder.
His gaze remained firmly nailed on Hideki Mizuno from start to finish.
As if he were the only one here worth talking to.
“You, what’s your name?” he asked.
“…Mi, Hideki Mizuno!” Hideki Mizuno clenched his fists, nails digging deep into his palms, using pain to dispel fear, mustering his scant courage to respond.
“In Hidden Mist Village, people like you who from the depths of your heart firmly believe in the correctness of the Bloody Mist Policy, wholeheartedly and relentlessly upholding it—there are many, right?” Uchiha Ikeizumi continued.
Elder Yuan at the rear had his brows twitch sharply, issuing another cough with clear warning.
But Hideki Mizuno at this moment was already addled by fear and a warped loyalty.
He completely missed Elder Yuan’s hint, instead as if finding proof he wasn’t alone, excitedly raising his voice: “Of course! The village is full of ninjas like me!”
“We are the Bloody Mist Policy’s staunchest supporters, Mizukage’s most loyal subordinates! Outsiders like you are the whole village’s public enemy!”
“Even knowing full well the Bloody Mist Policy shatters countless families, dooms many innocents to gruesome deaths, you have no regrets?” Uchiha Ikeizumi’s voice showed no emotional fluctuation.
“Are you deaf?” Hideki Mizuno seemed touched on a sore spot, emotions fully losing control, shrieking, “I already said, the dead are all weaklings! All trash!”
“Dead is dead! Their deaths mean limited resources go to true ninjas! Everyone thinks like me! Everyone!”
Uchiha Ikeizumi’s gaze slowly swept over every Mist Ninja’s face present.
He saw those with eyes burning angry flames, itching to devour him alive; those nodding in agreement, deeply endorsing Hideki Mizuno’s words.
He also saw those with flickering eyes, furrowed brows, lips twitching yet falling silent, even subconsciously avoiding his gaze.
“Hideki Mizuno,” Uchiha Ikeizumi said: “You’re an ‘excellent’ ninja. You’ve saved me a lot of screening time.”
He was smiling? This Konoha monster who just slaughtered over a hundred Mist comrades, actually smiling?
The absurd thought had just flashed in Hideki Mizuno’s mind, not even time to ponder the “saving time” meaning.
The next second, indescribable ultimate pain instantly devoured all his senses!
“Pfft—!”
That was the teeth-gritting weird sound of flesh forcibly torn, then instantly scorched and carbonized by extreme heat.
Hideki Mizuno’s pupils wildly trembled, contracting.
He incredulously lowered his head.
Only to see an arm wrapped in dark red viscous scalding lava, silently piercing through his chest!
His custom ninja vest was like fragile parchment before that arm, instantly melted through and torn.
The inner defensive steel plate wailed “sizzle,” quickly turning red-hot, softening, ultimately melting into scalding molten iron, dripping into the blood pool at his feet, stirring a wisp of green smoke.
He could even clearly see his chest cavity’s instantly carbonized organ fragments, smell the pungent charred odor of his own flesh and organs burning, mixed with blood.
“Guh… heh…”
Hideki Mizuno gaped, throat issuing only bellows-like meaningless gasps.
Scalding blood uncontrollably surged from his mouth.
With his last strength, he raised eyes filled with ultimate fear and confusion, glaring fixedly at the close-range Uchiha Ikeizumi.
With Master Gen already mediating…
How could he possibly… dare…
“Pfft!”
Uchiha Ikeizumi expressionlessly slowly withdrew the surging lava arm.
As the arm left, the huge scorched black cavity in Hideki Mizuno’s chest, constantly smoking, was fully exposed to the air.
His body lost all support, softly pitching forward.
“Thud” splashing into the viscous blood pool.
Stirring a small ripple of dark red.
Uchiha Ikeizumi raised his eyes, that Mangekyo Sharingan sweeping the field, his icy voice clearly piercing every soul: “The Bloody Mist Policy that turned the vast Land of Water into a hotbed of sin, nurturing countless tragedies, is the mortal enemy of Absolute Justice.”
“Whether villains, good folk, or innocents caught up… all who unconditionally uphold and support this policy have actively stood against Absolute Justice.”
“From this moment, Absolute Justice’s execution will no longer spare any because some aren’t red name villains. Those who don’t wish to oppose justice, inwardly reject the Bloody Mist Policy, and haven’t committed sins themselves…”
“You have three seconds to leave this area, declare your stance.”
“Three…”
The icy countdown rang like a death knell, the crowd instantly stirring, suppressed breaths and weapon clashes rising and falling.
Mei Terumī, Elder Yuan, Ao and others’ pupils sharply contracted; they realized any words now were powerless.
Uchiha Ikeizumi had already given Hidden Mist Village chances, multiple chances.
“Two…”
Numerous Mist Ninjas with savage expressions began channeling chakra, kunai blades glinting coldly in dim light, many more swiftly forming seals.
However, at the same time, some…
Their eyes underwent fierce struggle, ultimately turning to quiet resolve.
They silently sheathed their just-drawn kunai or ninja swords, or gently set them down.
Amid stunned, puzzled, even angry and contemptuous gazes from surrounding comrades.
They hung their heads, stepping backward bit by bit.
Retreating to the battlefield’s edge.
They couldn’t betray their conscience to support that policy stained with comrades’ blood, even if seen as betrayal.
If made to admit willingness to support the Bloody Mist Policy.
That would be worse than killing them.
“One.”
“Fight him to the death! For the Village of the Bloody Mist! Kill this Konoha monster!!!”
The suppressed-to-extreme killing intent erupted like a volcano!
The still numerous Mist Ninjas previously halted by Elder Yuan surged like a breached tide, with hysterical roars, launching desperate charges at Uchiha Ikeizumi from all directions.
Dense rain-like shuriken sliced air, lit explosive tags flickered dangerous glows, surging Water Dragon Bullets took form.
All attacks instantly engulfed Uchiha Ikeizumi’s position completely.
“Wood Style…”
A massive, indescribably vast sea-like chakra energy centered on Uchiha Ikeizumi explosively diffused like a nuke!
The ground wailed under heavy load, beginning to violently quake, heave, crack!
Countless thick shadows burst from the earth!
“Tree Realm Descent.”
……
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