Chapter 168: Fugaku Steps Down!
A look of shock froze in Orochimaru’s golden slit pupils. He gripped the Kusanagi Sword tightly, staring dead at the sky.
But high above at a thousand meters, the thick heavy cloud layer illuminated transparently by the scorching lava, as if flowing with dark red blood, suddenly lit up with countless dense scarlet light points!
Just like a patch of crimson stars in the night sky.
No…
Those weren’t stars at all, but existences even more heart-palpitating than stars!
The next moment.
Sizzle!
Sizzle!
Sizzle—
Sharp, ear-piercing sounds like countless massive silk fabrics being brutally torn apart suddenly ripped through the frenzied, clamorous night sky! Massive crimson “wounds” were roughly torn open on the surface of the cloud layer!
They’re coming!
Orochimaru’s pupils contracted to pinpricks in that instant! What poured down through the cloud rifts like waterfalls, like torrential rain, like floods were volcano lava bombs akin to a heavenly disaster!
Each one a massive lava sphere seven or eight meters in diameter, carrying extreme heat from a volcanic eruption and impossibly heavy kinetic energy.
They tore through the sky, dragging long brilliant crimson tail flames, blanketing the heavens and smashing down head-on toward the ground!
Countless lava bombs enveloped the heavens and earth across a dozen kilometers in a despair-inducing purgatory red glow of constantly twisting and roiling light!
The air itself was compressed to produce substantive explosive roars!
“Ninjutsu on this scale…”
Even Orochimaru, one of the Konoha Sannin who had witnessed several brutal Ninja World Wars and felt the Nine-Tails’ rampage, couldn’t help but squeeze out an incredulous murmur from deep in his throat.
His hoarse voice even carried a trace of dryness.
This had transcended the realm of battle, more like facing a natural disaster head-on!
“How does this kid have so much chakra…”
“Is he disguised as a Tailed Beast or something?!”
Whoosh—
At that moment, a shrill whistle sharp enough to pierce eardrums approached from afar, making Orochimaru’s eardrums buzz.
A lava meteorite trailing a massive crimson tail streaked like a javelin from an angry deity, crashing onto the base building just two hundred meters from Orochimaru!
Boom rumble rumble—!!!!!
The impact point erupted like numerous explosive tags detonating, the deafening blast making the ground under Orochimaru’s feet tremble violently, nearly deafening his already buzzing eardrums.
The next second, a destructive heatwave hot enough to carbonize hair instantly, mixed with shockwaves and flying lava fragments, swept in violently from the right like an apocalyptic hurricane!
Orochimaru’s long hair was blown back wildly by the impact, his clothes flapping and on the verge of tearing.
He could even feel the stinging burn of the heatwave scorching his facial skin.
Orochimaru whipped his head around to look—
At the impact center, a fiery red mushroom cloud carrying stone and steel fragments along with unextinguished lava boomed as it expanded and rose, the visible shockwave spreading in a ring.
Everywhere it passed, whether the base’s hardest barriers or its complex fragile instruments, were flung away like brittle toys.
A-rank ninjutsu?
S-rank ninjutsu?
Orochimaru’s heart felt struck by a heavy hammer, for this was merely the power of a single lava bomb!
Boom rumble!!!
Another lava bomb crashed down, its impact shockwave instantly destroying the swamp Uchiha Ikeizumi had created with Earth Release, evaporating it completely into white vapor.
The simultaneous terrifying heat silently melted hundreds of curse mark black snakes still struggling at the swamp’s edge nearby, along with the weapons in their mouths.
The base’s indestructibly sturdy main structure groaned tooth-grindingly in the face of this power.
Massive alloy beams were easily bent and torn like twisted ropes by the lava shockwave.
The crimson lava flowing everywhere was like a bloodthirsty ferocious beast.
Beginning to greedily devour everything around it!
Orochimaru finally understood why Uchiha Ikeizumi, this kid, had been given the nickname “Lava Release Ferocious Beast” by many enemy village ninjas during the Third Shinobi World War.
If this wasn’t a ferocious beast, what could it be?
But…
This was merely the prelude!
Whoosh—boom!!!
Whoosh—boom!!!
Whoosh—boom!!!
As if the gates of hell had all flung open, more shrill whistles and explosions rose one after another.
Like ceaseless drumbeats of thunder being pounded.
Ruthlessly hammering the violently trembling ground!
The entire Human Experimentation Research Base was shaking, groaning, and collapsing. Looking up, the horizon was like a “meteor shower” composed purely of destruction, countless crimson trajectories whistling with despair toward all directions.
Everywhere in sight was soaring firelight, churning smoke clouds, and rampant flowing lava floods!
This was absolutely an apocalyptic scene!
Whoosh—suddenly, a lava bomb with an even more shrill tail tone locked onto Orochimaru’s head! The terrifying hot wind and death omen instantly numbed his scalp!
“Damn…!”
Orochimaru cursed under his breath, kicking off fiercely. His body shot sideways like a released arrow! The Kusanagi Sword in hand traced a silver arc, barely slicing through an oncoming scorching airwave.
Boom rumble—!!!!
A massive fireball erupted where Orochimaru had just stood.
The fearsome shockwave caught his leaping figure, hurling Orochimaru several meters away! The remaining alloy floor was instantly melted through, forming a massive deep pit bubbling with scalding lava!
“Cough!”
Orochimaru was shaken until his qi and blood churned, a sweet metallic taste surging in his throat.
He forcibly steadied himself, even smelling the scorched scent from his hair tips.
He had just thought to move again…
“Sizzle—”
A faint anomalous sound instantly froze Orochimaru’s movements.
He looked down to see he had stepped on a metal plate half-melted by lava, barely able to support standing. Effectively, his entire foot was on scalding molten iron.
That scalding molten iron acted like the most efficient eraser, melting away the soles of Orochimaru’s feet almost instantly upon contact.
No blood.
No screams.
Just a wisp of abrupt green smoke rising, and the veins bulging suddenly on Orochimaru’s forehead from the pain.
Bone-piercing agony mixed with a marrow-deep sense of crisis rushed straight to his head.
“What a… reckless justice-driven kid!”
No trace of elegance or composure remained on Orochimaru’s twisted face, only thoroughly ignited fury. The killing intent in his eyes had nearly solidified in that instant!
Orochimaru abruptly opened his mouth, stretching far beyond previous limits.
A scalp-numbing retch and flesh-tearing sound emanated from deep in his throat.
Urp pfft—!!!!
A brand-new “Orochimaru,” covered in slippery mucus with intact limbs like a newborn infant, weirdly squeezed out hard from his original body’s throat and chest cavity.
Carrying a nauseating fishy stench and mucus, this newborn body flipped agilely in midair and landed.
While the broken old shell, having lost both feet and with parts of its torso scorched black by explosion aftershocks, collapsed softly onto the scalding ground like discarded snake skin.
Immediately swallowed mercilessly by the flowing scalding lava.
Ultimately melting and vaporizing.
Boom!!!!
Then another lava bomb crashed nearby, hurling the entire new Orochimaru away. This made the grim-faced Orochimaru realize… he absolutely could not linger in this Human Experimentation Research Base. He would get caught in such large-scale ninjutsu if not careful.
…
Konoha Village, Police Force Headquarters.
Uchiha Fugaku had been silent for an unknown time. He could clearly see the anger in the eyes of many clan members looking at him.
The clan members’ undisguised resentment and disgust… turned into icy chill creeping up Uchiha Fugaku’s spine.
He tried to demand they “understand” as clan leader, tried to justify with the village’s “big picture,” but every word spoken or unspoken was like pouring oil on an already blazing pile of firewood for the Uchiha clan members.
Making the flames of “dissatisfaction” surge even fiercer.
Uchiha Fugaku’s era…
Was probably truly coming to an end!
A particularly clear thought rang in Uchiha Fugaku’s mind.
Fugaku felt profoundly tragic, like a savior in a novel draped in tattered cloak, forever misunderstood. He wasn’t defeated by enemies but abandoned by the clan members he most wanted to protect, including many who once supported him.
Feelings of loss and absurdity gripped him, mixed with the bitterness of betrayal by his clan members, and… a trace of nearly uncontrollable anger.
After all, being forced to this point…
How could he not be angry?
But Uchiha Fugaku knew even more clearly that if he vented this anger on these clan members now, it would only thoroughly tarnish the “Uchiha” name and shred the fragile “stability and balance” he had painstakingly maintained over the years.
At the same time…
It would cost him his last shred of dignity.
After taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling.
Uchiha Fugaku kept a taut face, the complexity in his eyes unmasked. He finally spoke: “Since everyone feels it’s time for me to exit the Uchiha Clan’s stage, then starting today… I, Uchiha Fugaku, am no longer the Uchiha Clan Leader, nor the Police Force Captain.”
“Both the former and latter positions will be newly selected by the Uchiha Clan and Konoha leadership to replace mine. I will draft the resignation letters for clan leader and Police Force Captain positions tonight.”
Uchiha Fugaku didn’t know how much courage he mustered or how much anger he suppressed to say this.
How could being forced off stage not make him angry?
But he knew clearly he couldn’t vent this rage and dissatisfaction on the Uchiha Clan’s clan members.
He could only look deeply at Izumi once.
It was this twelve-year-old Uchiha girl who, riding the momentum of absolute justice, single-handedly stirred all the clan members’ emotions and forced him to step down.
Sigh…
Ikeizumi had “taught” her well!
“…” Uchiha Izumi hadn’t expected Uchiha Fugaku to abandon “resistance” so quickly, but she quickly reacted, meeting his cold gaze without hesitation and saying to Uchiha Fugaku: “Senior Fugaku, I hope you can follow through. Rather than clinging to power, saying this today and pretending nothing happened tomorrow.”
Uchiha Fugaku’s fists clenched hard.
“I’m not that kind of person!” he shot back stiffly.
The other Uchiha Clan clan members looked at each other in somewhat dazed bewilderment.
They hadn’t expected this cowardly clan leader, who had made the Uchiha Clan increasingly ostracized by the village, to finally step down! This meant the Uchiha Clan no longer had to suffer under him.
“Then…”
Just as many Uchiha clan members were about to rejoice, a bucket of cold water came from Lady Tsunade’s mouth: “Who will your Uchiha Clan select to lead? Who will your Police Force select to command? The vacant positions should be filled quickly. Otherwise, your Uchiha Clan will cause a lot of trouble.”
Lady Tsunade’s interjection stunned Uchiha Fugaku.
This Sannin… couldn’t be speaking up for him, could she?
Hadn’t she clearly sided with Ikeizumi? Had she changed her mind? Had she realized absolute justice was unreliable?
But she was ultimately just an outsider.
She probably couldn’t help him much…
As Fugaku’s thoughts reached this point, Lady Tsunade’s voice continued: “I have a suitable candidate you Uchiha Clan can consider. Uchiha Ikeizumi—this one, what do you think? You should be quite satisfied, right?”
Uchiha Fugaku: “…”
“Though, from what I know of that kid, he probably won’t take the Uchiha Clan Leader position, as he’d find it too troublesome. But Police Force Captain? He shouldn’t refuse that, since it perfectly matches his current role.”
Lady Tsunade spoke to herself with arms crossed.
Others might hesitate to meddle in Uchiha Clan affairs.
But Lady Tsunade didn’t care at all; she said whatever she wanted.
Anyway, she was just slacking off now.
“Lady Tsunade, recommending Lord Ikeizumi for Police Force Captain seems to have really provoked that guy, meow.” Kijiro’s voice sounded in Lady Tsunade’s ear.
Lady Tsunade raised an eyebrow, her gaze shifting to Uchiha Fugaku ahead.
“Tch, it’s not like it’ll cost a piece of flesh.” Lady Tsunade said indifferently: “Doesn’t this make that justice kid owe me a favor? After all, I got him a good position. Remember to tell him favors must be repaid!”
Kijiro saw through it at a glance: “Lady Tsunade, you’re not thinking of owing money at the casino someday and having Lord Ikeizumi cover it for you, are you?”
“…Cough!” Lady Tsunade had thick skin; she lowered her voice: “More precisely, have Ikeizumi investigate that casino boss. I refuse to believe those gambling scum have clean hands.”
Kijiro: “…”
It gained a new understanding of Lady Tsunade’s shamelessness.
No wonder Lord Ikeizumi once said Princess Tsunade had the makings of Hokage.
Being Hokage did require that kind of thick skin.
…
…
PS: Monthly egg change time! I’ll write more tomorrow to make up for it!
