Chapter 116: The Hokage Loses Another Child! Twelve Guardian Shinobi Wiped Out!
When the lava demon dog, as if from hell, bit through Jirō’s chest, Jirō’s eyes widened in extreme shock, dense bloodshot veins beginning to spread across the whites of his eyes.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, cooked by the scorching heat, feeling his internal organs instantly carbonized.
Feeling his life rapidly draining, Jirō gritted his teeth tightly. His arm changed its movement, and the golden bell transformed into the wrathful Vajra form!
The golden chakra also quickly turned crimson, his face contorted in agony, revealing his final struggle before death.
Behind Jirō, the wrathful Vajra, formed from chakra and entirely crimson, continuously punched towards Uchiha Ikeizumi at extreme speed!
One red fist after another fell like a storm.
Leaving fist marks on Uchiha Ikeizumi’s body.
“Asuma!!!”
Spitting blood, Jirō’s neck veins bulged, and he roared, “This is my last strength! Seize the opportunity!”
Asuma, standing nearby, looked with bloodshot eyes at Jirō, whose chest was pierced by the lava demon dog’s fist.
But there was no time for sadness. He gritted his teeth fiercely, and wind release chakra was injected into the chakra knuckle knives in his hands, their surfaces now showing visible azure chakra.
“Hyaa!!!”
Asuma attacked at high speed, bringing down his twin blades heavily, quickly severing Uchiha Ikeizumi’s lava right arm.
“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!!!”
Asuma then opened his mouth and spat, the torrential wind blowing the lava arm far away, while simultaneously kicking up large amounts of sand and rocks.
“Asuma, if you don’t want to die, get lost!” A sudden sinister laugh sounded, causing Asuma to quickly jump back.
Kazuma had appeared behind Uchiha Ikeizumi at some point.
The veins on his forehead bulged, and he slammed his hands onto the ground.
“Earth Release: Stone Mountain Technique!!!”
Rumble——
The ground beneath their feet began to shake violently. Two massive earth mounds, shaped like spherical hemispheres, rose high on either side of Uchiha Ikeizumi and quickly closed in the middle.
With a deafening “boom,” the two massive earth hemispheres on both sides fiercely collided, forming a semicircular small mountain that stood majestically here.
Kazuma’s hands continued to form hand seals until his palms were directly pressed onto the semicircular small mountain in front of him.
Dense black curse marks rapidly spread across the surface of the small mountain.
Like chains, they completely sealed the entire small mountain.
“Ninjutsu: Heavy Earth Sealing Chain Technique!!!”
“Hoo…” He exhaled heavily and quickly jumped back, a trace of sarcastic disdain on his face. “Indeed somewhat tricky, I didn’t expect eleven people working together to still lose one, but that’s all. My ‘Heavy Earth Sealing Chain’ can even seal summoned beasts over ten meters tall and infinitely strong.”
“Next…”
Jirō, who had lost his life and was slowly collapsing, was completely ignored by Kazuma. He glanced at Asuma Sarutobi, who had a sad expression, sneered, and turned to look at the battle behind them.
“Eliminate this ninja cat, and the Daimyo’s mission will be complete. Then, we can proceed to take care of Konoha’s Hokage.”
In front of him, a full eight of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi were besieging the size-enhanced ninja cat, Kijiro.
“Heh, even though someone died, it shows that the so-called Lava Release Ferocious Beast isn’t as powerful as the rumors say!”
But before Kazuma could even take half a step forward, the sarcastic expression on his face instantly froze.
Turning around quickly, his eyes were filled with disbelief.
“…How is this possible?!”
At the same time, Asuma, who had been trying to help Jirō up, stopped his actions and immediately locked his gaze onto a semicircular small mountain before him.
And then.
Terrifying heat transformed the thick earth layer into flowing lava. In less than three breaths, the massive semicircular mountain collapsed like melting butter. The dense sealing curse marks on it faded away like flowing water.
“Kazuma! Your sealing technique didn’t work!” Asuma’s pupils contracted, and he became tense once more.
“Damn it…”
Kazuma’s expression was extremely grim.
In their line of sight, a crimson figure of surging lava stood intact atop the rolling lava. Dense smoke emanated from him, and the pungent smell made both Asuma and Kazuma feel a sense of impending crisis.
Half of Uchiha Ikeizumi’s face was normal, while the other half had completely turned into lava. Lava was continuously flowing down his body, and his cold expression could be clearly seen.
Even more so, his eyes had transformed into crimson Sharingan!
“Hoo…” Uchiha Ikeizumi looked up at Kijiro, who was struggling in battle and already heavily wounded. He seemed to ignore Asuma and Kazuma and said indifferently, “Eight battle-hardened elite Jonin bullying a ninja cat, isn’t that a bit unfair?”
“You… you damn Uchiha Ikeizumi!” Kazuma, realizing he was being ignored, felt the veins on his forehead throbbing wildly. “I’m standing right in front of you, and you still have the leisure to care about a ninja cat!?”
Uchiha Ikeizumi’s gaze shifted towards Kazuma’s direction.
The moment his crimson eyes met Kazuma’s.
Kazuma felt a bone-chilling coldness surge through him! Even though the surrounding temperature was so hot that he was sweating profusely, he genuinely felt this bone-deep coldness!
“You’re quite conspicuous…” Uchiha Ikeizumi raised a hand. His right arm, which had been fiercely severed by Asuma and blown away by wind release, had somehow “grown” back.
“…The ‘sin’ on your head.” As Uchiha Ikeizumi raised his right arm, the lava beneath his feet began to surge wildly.
He quickly formed three hand seals with one hand.
“Lava Release: Lava Dragon Bullet Technique.” Without any passionate roars, just the calmest of words, it made both Kazuma and Asuma brace themselves, their faces filled with shock.
An extremely enormous lava dragon shot up from the rolling lava beneath Uchiha Ikeizumi’s feet!
The huge dragon’s head opened its maw, revealing ferocious fangs. The roaring lava dragon swooped down towards Kazuma and Asuma!
As if to devour both of them simultaneously!
The massive commotion stirred up by Uchiha Ikeizumi even alerted the eight Guardians who were besieging Kijiro.
“Not good!”
One of the six Guardian Shinobi accompanying Kazuma’s pupils contracted. He immediately turned and charged towards Uchiha Ikeizumi. “Those who are skilled in Water Release, support Kazuma with me!”
As soon as he spoke, two others followed him.
“Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!!!” ×3
Three powerful streams of water converged, forming a sky-covering force. They swept over Asuma and Kazuma’s heads and collided fiercely with the terrifying lava dragon that was menacingly rushing towards them.
—Rumble!!!
…
“As expected, Ikeizumi is under attack… The question is, are the attackers truly spies from another village?” Gazing at a lava dragon in the distance, Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing at the highest point of the Hokage’s Office Building, frowned, a sinister premonition lingering in his heart.
He had already ordered the Anbu Ninja to act immediately. He himself, as the Konoha Hokage, had not gone out with the Anbu Ninja.
Konoha was already lacking in high-end combat power. With Uchiha Ikeizumi temporarily away from the village, if he, the Konoha Hokage, also left temporarily, Konoha’s internal affairs would likely fall into chaos.
Whether it was spies hidden within Konoha or some of Konoha’s own ninja, none of them gave Hiruzen Sarutobi much peace of mind.
Especially Uchiha Itachi…
Hiruzen Sarutobi even worried that by the time he returned, the Uchiha clan might have been wiped out overnight.
And Uchiha Setsuna…
By the time he returned, Uchiha Setsuna might already be wearing the Hokage’s Robe and have set up a net within the village, waiting for his return?
Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s mouth twitched involuntarily.
Because he realized that these troubles within the village…
All originated from the Uchiha!
For a moment, he inexplicably understood Danzo.
…
“Heh heh… The enemy’s numbers seem considerable.”
Uchiha Setsuna also arrived at a high point in the Uchiha Clan Compound. Leaning on his cane, he gazed at the scene in the distance, narrowed his eyes, and murmured, “To cause such a commotion, it must be at least a group of elite Jonin… Are they all enemies of that brat?”
Uchiha Setsuna was gloating. He wished that the group attacking and ambushing Uchiha Ikeizumi could kill him!
Even if they couldn’t kill him, if they could force Uchiha Ikeizumi to reveal more of his trump cards and more information…
It would be a huge profit for him, Uchiha Setsuna.
“Elder Setsuna, let’s immediately leave the village to support Uchiha Ikeizumi!” However, when a young man from the Uchiha Radicals behind him spoke, the gloating expression on Uchiha Setsuna’s face froze.
Damn it!
How did Absolute Justice brainwash these people?
Uchiha Ikeizumi shouldn’t have actively contacted them, right?
They had only heard about Uchiha Ikeizumi’s deeds, only learned a little about the so-called extreme Absolute Justice, and they already had such good feelings for that brat?
Why?!
Uchiha Setsuna’s face hardened. Without turning his head, he said coldly, “Hmph! Do you think the people of Konoha would allow us Uchiha clan members to leave the village for no reason? Don’t forget last time, when Fugaku wanted to go out to support Uchiha Ikeizumi, that old geezer Shimura Danzo stopped him.”
“Konoha’s higher-ups have never trusted our Uchiha clan. It was like this some time ago, and it’s still like this today. This distrust will not change. Even if you go, you’ll just be stopped by them.”
Uchiha Setsuna cleverly shifted the conflict towards Konoha’s higher-ups.
In reality, he didn’t want to support Uchiha Ikeizumi.
…
“Fugaku, aren’t you going to lead the clan members of the Police Force to help Ikeizumi?”
Uchiha Mikoto asked Uchiha Fugaku.
“…It’s already too late to help.” Fugaku’s expression was complicated and filled with unspeakable entanglement. He sighed deeply and said, “If Ikeizumi hadn’t caused so many problems, I could indeed have led the clan members of the Police Force to support him. But now, he has made the higher-ups extremely vigilant, and even the Hokage doesn’t meet with him alone.”
“Once I lead Police Force Ninja out of Konoha to support Ikeizumi, in the eyes of the higher-ups… the relationship between the Uchiha clan and Ikeizumi will appear very close. Their vigilance towards Ikeizumi will be transferred to the Uchiha clan.”
“This… will cause the Uchiha clan, which is already on the brink of an abyss, to completely fall into an abyss of mutual distrust with the higher-ups.”
Fugaku paused and continued, “This is also one of the reasons why I don’t want Sasuke to believe in Absolute Justice. The closer the Uchiha clan is to Ikeizumi, the more dangerous the Uchiha clan becomes.”
After hearing this, Uchiha Mikoto’s beautiful eyes flashed with disbelief.
She couldn’t help but say, “Fugaku, Ikeizumi is a member of the Uchiha clan. What is there to say about being close or not close? How could the higher-ups implicate the entire Uchiha because of Ikeizumi?”
“Fugaku, are you becoming increasingly sensitive?” Uchiha Mikoto didn’t quite understand her husband’s behavior of wanting to ruthlessly sever ties with Uchiha Ikeizumi.
“Mikoto, your perspective is too narrow.” Fugaku slowly repeated a sentence that Uchiha Itachi had once said to him.
Fugaku was silent for half a second, then said, “It’s not that I’ve become sensitive, it’s Itachi… he’s already restless.”
Uchiha Mikoto: “!!!”
“And the reason Itachi is restless is because Ikeizumi’s extreme actions make him feel that the Uchiha clan has completely lost control. The only way to calm Itachi down a bit might be to completely distance ourselves from Ikeizumi, though I don’t know if it will be effective.”
Fugaku’s sigh made him seem several years older.
Uchiha Mikoto was bewildered.
One was her eldest son, the other her husband. She couldn’t understand the thoughts or actions of either of them.
This father and son pair always talked about Uchiha Ikeizumi being very extreme.
But…
They seemed to have not noticed that they themselves were also quite extreme.
Mikoto opened her mouth.
But she was speechless.
…
Outside Konoha.
The moment the sky-covering torrent of water collided with the lava dragon, scalding white steam surged and swept down towards Asuma and Kazuma below. The incredibly hot touch made their expressions change simultaneously.
They quickly retreated, not even having time to move Jirō’s corpse, and could only watch as the scalding, terrifying steam directly cooked Jirō’s corpse!
“Hiss…”
The pain on his skin made Asuma gasp. He glanced down at his arm and saw that it was already bright red, clearly burned by the churning steam.
Looking up again, he saw that the crimson lava dragon was pushing forward against the water!
The combined attack of three elite Jonin was no match for Uchiha Ikeizumi’s Lava Release Ninjutsu!
“He has already reached the Kage level!”
Asuma gritted his teeth and squeezed out the words. He finally understood why the old man was so hesitant and unwilling to confront him, even though his eldest son had died at Uchiha Ikeizumi’s hands.
Uchiha Ikeizumi’s terrifying power, so strong it was shocking, was likely the reason the old man dared not turn against him!
“Huh?!”
Suddenly, Asuma keenly noticed that the lava light emanating from the lava dragon seemed to be growing brighter.
“Careful!!!”
As soon as his anxious shout fell, the lava dragon, its crimson light at its peak, exploded like a volcanic eruption! The powerful impact instantly shattered the surging water into pieces, scattering water droplets over hundreds or thousands of meters. The dense forest here seemed to experience a hot, torrential downpour.
The exploded lava dragon then differentiated into dense lava bombs, each as large as a house, trailing flames and thick, pungent black smoke as they swooped down towards the three Twelve Guardian Shinobi who had used Water Release.
One of them, caught off guard, was directly hit in the face by an astonishingly fast lava bomb.
His flesh and blood were immediately enveloped in lava.
Asuma couldn’t even tell if the opponent had been vaporized by the lava, or burned to a crisp!
Another person was frantically dodging but was still a step too slow.
The shockwave created by the lava bomb falling to the ground sent him flying, his body hitting a large tree heavily, embedding him within it.
“Pfft!!!”
He vomited a mouthful of blood. Having failed to dodge in time, half of his skin was scorched black by the scorching lava from a distance, and the festering skin had even stuck to his clothes.
The last person finally managed to dodge several incoming lava bombs in a panic.
Seeing his two companions dead and injured, his face was filled with lingering fear.
But in the next second.
Before he could even rejoice at having saved his life, he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet tremble slightly.
His expression changed drastically, and he looked down to see cracks appearing in the ground, with lava subtly flowing within the cracks!
“…Bad!”
—Boom!!!
The ground within a ten-meter radius centered on him collapsed and shattered. A lava torrent with a diameter of ten meters erupted from underground, instantly engulfing his body.
He didn’t even have time to scream, nor could he use any Ninjutsu or Taijutsu.
He died on the spot!
“Damn Uchiha!!!” Kazuma’s reaction was more grief-stricken and furious than Asuma’s, because the three dead Guardian Shinobi were all people who supported the abolition of the Konoha Hokage!
“Kazuma!!!” It was only until Asuma’s shout that the emotionally agitated Kazuma suddenly realized the danger approaching.
The next moment.
A pair of crimson Sharingan appeared within Kazuma’s line of sight. The genjutsu from the Three-Tomoe Sharingan infiltrated his mind, affecting his sense of touch, hearing, smell, sight, and taste, causing them to become exceptionally disordered.
In a state of urgency and panic, Kazuma clapped his hands together, attempting to disrupt the chakra within his body with his own power to break free from the genjutsu.
However, after regaining a bit of his five senses, Kazuma suddenly felt as if the lower half of his face was being gripped by five fingers.
When his horrified vision finally returned to normal, what he saw was Uchiha Ikeizumi, with lava flowing on half of his body.
The one gripping the lower half of his face was the opponent’s lava arm!
“Sizzle—”
“Sizzle—”
The sound of flesh being seared by lava was exceptionally clear. Uchiha Ikeizumi’s lava palm, as if pressing on a block of butter, easily pierced straight through.
Kazuma’s shock and despair were completely frozen in his eyes.
The combat strength of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi…
Only six remained!
Witnessing all that had transpired in mere moments, Asuma felt a chill run through his entire body. The expression on his face as he looked at Uchiha Ikeizumi’s receding back, flowing with lava and billowing with smoke, was filled with horror and shock.
Jirō, Kazuma, and the other three were elite Jonin from the Land of Fire, seasoned ninjas who had crawled out of piles of dead bodies during the Third Shinobi World War.
If he, Sarutobi Asuma, were to face those five alone, it would likely be a path to death.
However.
Uchiha Ikeizumi, alone, had in a short period of time “easily” killed four of them and severely wounded one!
Especially Jirō and Kazuma, whose strength was not to be underestimated.
Yet, before Uchiha Ikeizumi, they were so weak!
This guy…
He must be a monster!
The deaths of four Twelve Guardian Shinobi and the severe injury of one also caused the five individuals attacking the ninja cat Kijiro to become greatly alarmed. One of them, distracted, caught a glimpse of Kijiro’s palm rushing towards him with a whistling gale. Realizing this, he hastily chose to evade.
However, his evasion was ultimately too slow. The ninja cat Kijiro’s claws instantly tore off one of his arms.
“Hiss!!!”
The intense pain made his expression one of great alarm as he clutched his shoulder.
Not only was Uchiha Ikeizumi a monster.
This giant ninja cat was also a monster!
Whoosh—
The whistling of the wind sounded once more. The one-armed Guardian Shinobi’s pupils contracted sharply. As his gaze quickly shifted to the right, he saw a massive tail whipping towards him.
He was forced to form hand seals with one hand.
“Earth Release: Hardening Stone Skin!”
Boom!!!
As his skin began to show signs of petrification, Kijiro’s tail struck him heavily. The one-armed Guardian Shinobi was sent flying backward like a hit volleyball, all the scenery within his vision rapidly receding like a dazzling stream of light.
Wait!
This direction…
Bad!
Before he could make any further physical reaction, in the moment his expression drastically changed, a terrifying figure of flowing lava and billowing smoke brushed past him as he was sent flying backward.
—That ninja cat deliberately sent him flying in this direction!
As this thought flashed through his mind.
In these mere zero-point-zero-zero-zero-few seconds, the one-armed Guardian Shinobi was horrified to find that Uchiha Ikeizumi’s pair of crimson Sharingan seemed to have turned towards him!
The flow of time seemed to slow to a crawl at this moment.
He watched with his own eyes as the “lava monster” before him swung its left arm, its searing crimson lava arm thrusting towards his location like a sharp spear!
The speed was even faster than the speed at which he was being sent flying!
—Boom!!!
The lava arm, with its rather sharp tip, instantly pierced his chest, skewering him like a kebab and abruptly halting his backward flight.
“Puwah!!!”
The one-armed Guardian Shinobi spat out a mouthful of blood with a horrified gaze.
His “Earth Release: Hardening Stone Skin,” which could even defend against the tail strike of that giant ninja cat, proved so weak against Uchiha Ikeizumi’s Lava Release!
He couldn’t understand!
“There are… five and a half left.” Uchiha Ikeizumi’s faint voice, upon reaching Asuma’s ears, was like the voice of a hellish demon, evoking nothing but a shudder of dread!
“…Monster!!!”
This word was squeezed out from Asuma’s stiff expression.
At this moment, he finally understood his father.
Perhaps it wasn’t that his father had become indecisive with age.
But rather, it was truly impossible to have a conflict with Uchiha Ikeizumi within Konoha!
The price to take down this monster…
Was something the current Konoha Village could not afford!
…
Swoosh—
Swoosh—
Simultaneously, two figures were rapidly traversing the dense forest outside Konoha; they were Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy.
“What a big cat!”
Might Guy looked up at a giant orange cat in the distance and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Kakashi, is that passionate and righteous man fighting this monster cat?”
The description “passionate and righteous man” made Kakashi pause for two seconds.
After a moment, he realized Might Guy was referring to Uchiha Ikeizumi.
This caused Kakashi’s eyelids to twitch slightly.
What kind of description was that?!
Could it be that this hot-blooded, youthful idiot couldn’t remember Uchiha Ikeizumi’s name and had come up with this nickname?
Kakashi spoke in a deep voice, “That ninja cat is likely Uchiha Ikeizumi’s companion. I recall its name is Kijiro. The fact that Uchiha Ikeizumi’s ninja cat is involved in the fight indicates that this ambush targeting Uchiha Ikeizumi… is extremely perilous!”
As he said this, a hint of doubt flashed in Kakashi’s eyes.
Who exactly could set up such an ambush outside Konoha?
Enemy spies from other villages?
But which ninja village had the capability to arrange so many powerful elite Jonin outside Konoha?
It’s only been a few years since the Third Shinobi World War ended; shouldn’t all the major ninja villages still be quietly licking their wounds and recovering their strength?
A bold guess suddenly popped into Kakashi’s mind.
—The ones ambushing Uchiha Ikeizumi are Konoha ninja!
Because…
Uchiha Ikeizumi had offended quite a few people within Konoha Village!
In fact, some of them were owed a life-or-death debt!
“If that’s the case…” Hesitation flashed in Kakashi’s eyes, “Am I getting involved in a muddy mess by going over there?”
But Kakashi’s peripheral vision suddenly caught Might Guy speeding up, and he heard him exclaim, “Kakashi! Let’s take advantage of this rare opportunity and race to see who gets there first!”
Kakashi’s lips twitched.
Forget it…
If I’m getting involved, I’m getting involved!
I’ll consider it repaying a favor to that guy Uchiha Ikeizumi.
…
“Hoo… Senior…” Far behind Kakashi and Might Guy, Uchiha Izumi had also left the village after realizing something was wrong.
The young girl gritted her silver teeth, trying to increase her speed slightly.
However, her still-unmatured body had already been pushed to its limit.
As she dashed, Izumi also rack her brain, wondering who could have set up an ambush for Senior Ikeizumi outside the village?
Could it be… the Hokage?!
It wasn’t that Izumi thought of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, first without reason. Uchiha Ikeizumi had once told her that the Third Hokage of Konoha was not a good person either.
Furthermore, after obtaining the ability gifted to her by Senior Ikeizumi that allowed her to see through others’ “sins,” Izumi had actually tried to secretly peek at the Third Hokage of Konoha.
And she had reached a conclusion.
—Senior wasn’t lying!
However…
This guess was dismissed by Izumi three seconds later, as she acutely heard a lot of movement behind her! She quickly stopped and looked back in a hurry, only to see ninja after ninja wearing Anbu masks rapidly passing by in her direction.
“These people are… Anbu?!”
Watching one Anbu ninja after another surpass her, Izumi couldn’t help but murmur in astonishment, “Is this the entire Anbu force mobilized? So, the people ambushing Senior in front were not Anbu ninja dispatched by the Third?”
Then…
Who exactly were the enemies?!
…
As Asuma sensed that the terrifying lava monster’s crimson gaze was shifting towards him, the sudden alarm and bone-chilling dread that surged within him caused him to quickly retreat, while simultaneously spitting forward.
“Fire Style: Ash Hiding Technique!!!”
Rolling ashes were spewed from his mouth, completely obscuring Uchiha Ikeizumi’s vision. This was Asuma’s way of blocking Uchiha Ikeizumi’s Sharingan dōjutsu.
The ashes also contained astonishing high temperatures, causing the leaves of some nearby trees to ignite when they landed on them.
If they landed on human skin, they would instantly sear the skin to a crisp.
However…
In front of Uchiha Ikeizumi, who possessed “Lava Release,” this temperature was not even noteworthy and could not cause him the slightest harm, though it did obscure his vision.
“Wind Style: Gale Force Whirlwind!!!”
Asuma gritted his teeth and threw his chakra-infused knuckle knives. They tore through the rolling ashes at extreme speed, thrusting towards Uchiha Ikeizumi’s location.
Chk!!!—One of the chakra knuckle knives accurately embedded itself in Uchiha Ikeizumi’s chest, penetrating deep inside and exiting through his back.
Chk!!!—Another chakra knuckle knife drew closer and closer in Uchiha Ikeizumi’s left eye. As it approached a certain point, the pervasive smoke could no longer obscure his vision.
But… even though the superb dynamic vision of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan had captured the incoming chakra knuckle knife.
Uchiha Ikeizumi did not dodge. The blade tip plunged into his eye, then into his skull, and finally exited through the back of his head.
With two consecutive “clinks,” Asuma’s two ninja tools flew backward and fell to the ground less than ten meters away.
The Wind Release chakra that had wrapped around the ninja tools had been completely eroded by the lava.
The high temperature of the lava began to melt the hardened steel.
As a result, half of the blade of both ninja tools melted into a pool of molten iron.
“Tch!” Asuma’s expression turned grim as he rapidly retreated. After escaping the area covered by the ashes, he clapped his hands together. His expression was one of unwillingness to accept the facts, and he gritted his teeth and roared, “Wind Style: Dust Tornado!!!”
The raging wind stirred the vast amounts of ash, forming a visible tornado.
Braving the fierce gusts of wind, Asuma pulled out several scrolls and unrolled them all.
White smoke rose, and a large number of ninja tools, along with explosive tags, poured out from the scrolls.
The tornado formed by the ash and wind engulfed all the ninja tools and explosive tags. Countless sharp blades furiously cut through everything in their path, instantly shredding many large rocks into fragments.
—Boom!!!
A deafening roar finally erupted. The tornado emitted a fireball dozens of meters high, and the airwave it generated even sent an elite Jonin like Asuma flying.
Countless ninja tools were pulverized into innumerable metal fragments by the explosion. These metal fragments scattered in all directions like a torrential downpour, splashing indiscriminately, almost without regard for friend or foe.
Uchiha Ikeizumi, located at the center of the tornado and the explosion, naturally suffered the brunt of it.
A large number of metal fragments cut into his body.
Asuma, tumbling uncontrollably in mid-air, was blown dozens of meters away before he finally managed to land on the ground.
“Cough, cough, cough… Is it a mutual destruction?!” Asuma’s face was covered in blood, the result of scratches from the scattered metal fragments, as he too had not dodged this indiscriminate attack.
Blood continuously seeped from his skin, soon dyeing his ninja vest a deep red.
The tip of a kunai had ruptured an artery in his thigh, and blood spurted out like water from a faucet.
But Asuma no longer cared about his own injuries.
What he cared about was how Uchiha Ikeizumi was doing?
“Heh, already… out of options.” Asuma supported himself and stood up, though his posture was quite pathetic. He muttered, “With all my strength, I should be able to inflict mutual damage, right? He can’t be invincible, can he? Even if normal physical attacks can’t harm him, ninjutsu or elemental attacks from explosions should be able to cause him elemental-counter damage, right?”
He knew it was too late to regret it now. All he could do was risk his life to take that monster down!
Allowing that monster to remain in Konoha would only pose a threat to Konoha.
Any existence that posed a threat to Konoha…
He had the obligation to… Huh?!
Drip.
“Sizzle—”
Drip.
“Sizzle—”
The sudden faint sounds caused Asuma’s eyes to widen. He looked up ahead in disbelief and saw, within the billowing smoke, a crimson, searing figure flickering in and out of view!
The figure’s gait was not unsteady, nor did it falter in the slightest, as if all of Sarutobi Asuma’s full efforts had caused no limiting damage to him!
Perhaps…
When Jirō realized that his Chakra Golden Bell defense couldn’t withstand Uchiha Ikeizumi’s Lava Release Demon Dog, was he also filled with disbelief like himself right now?
Was his expression exactly the same as his own right now?
“Sarutobi Asuma.” Uchiha Ikeizumi’s voice slowly rang out, his cold tone making Asuma feel as if all his strength had drained away. “When you wield a cleaver filled with malevolence against 「Absolute Justice」, you have already become an enemy of 「Absolute Justice」.”
“Heh… Absolute Justice…” Asuma suddenly laughed. “Uchiha Ikeizumi, is your justice to go on a killing spree in Konoha and become a murderous fiend? Don’t forget, you killed my brother, Sarutobi Shin’nosuke.”
“Even setting aside the threat you pose to Konoha’s future, the fact that you killed my elder brother alone… means that a conclusion must be reached between us.”
“Gasp, cough cough! Is avenging one’s elder brother a sin in your eyes, eyes of absolute justice?”
The blood seeping from his skin made Asuma’s consciousness hazy.
But he still gritted his teeth and questioned Uchiha Ikeizumi.
Uchiha Ikeizumi’s emotions remained undisturbed as he said, “A murderer’s evil deeds were exposed, and Konoha executed him. The murderer’s family, therefore, regards Konoha as an irreconcilable enemy, and attempts to destroy Konoha, killing everyone in Konoha—if you think that kind of behavior is correct, then there’s nothing more for me to say to you.”
“Sarutobi Asuma, you are beyond saving.” As this sentence fell into Asuma’s ears, in the blink of an eye, his already wide eyes began to tremble wildly.
Asuma’s whites were filled with countless bloodshot veins.
His body, barely able to stand steadily, became completely rigid.
As he slowly moved his gaze downwards.
He could only see that crimson lava had somehow passed through his body!
The ninja vest, capable of blocking shuriken and kunai, seemed to have no defensive power against the lava.
The thick smoke rising from the lava arm obscured half of Asuma’s face.
His trembling gaze fell directly in front of him.
“Both of us are on the brink of death, but you haven’t understood as clearly as Teacher Shinnosuke,” Uchiha Ikeizumi said faintly. “This is perhaps why you, as the younger brother, are inferior to him, your elder brother. When your soul reaches the underworld, you can ask him for advice.”
“Although he doesn’t agree with my absolute justice, he understands what I am doing better than many others. He also understands better what these four words, ‘absolute justice,’ carry.”
When Uchiha Ikeizumi withdrew his hand.
The remaining spirit in Asuma’s eyes had lost its sparkle.
His stiff body pitched forward, falling stiffly.
Uchiha Ikeizumi sidestepped, allowing Asuma’s corpse to fall face down heavily onto the ground.
Thus, the Third Hokage’s eldest son, second son…
Both dead!!!
“There are… four and a half left…”
Uchiha Ikeizumi’s indifferent gaze swept past the devastated scene before him, past the mangled corpses.
It landed on the four guarding ninja locked in combat with the ninja cat Kijiro.
He walked in the direction of Kijiro.
…
“Phew! We’re almost there!” Kakashi breathed in the acrid air. The sheer intensity of the sulfurous smell alone told him how fierce the battle here had been.
“But…”
He felt the commotion not far ahead seemed to be growing weaker, giving him the impression that the battle was reaching its final moments.
As he and Might Guy emerged from the dense forest at the same time.
Kakashi’s eyes couldn’t help but widen slowly.
He saw…
The enormous ninja cat Kijiro had a bloody corpse in its mouth; a corpse whose upper body had disappeared lay on the ground; and a small piece of suspected scorched corpse lay not far ahead.
He also saw Uchiha Ikeizumi, without any flashy movements, punch through half of a ninja’s head.
The ninja sword that the other party had desperately thrust into Uchiha Ikeizumi’s body before dying appeared so comically absurd.
“Looks like… we’re too late.”
Kakashi took a deep breath and uttered this sentence with a dry tone.
…
…
