When the hellish magma demon hound bit through Chiriku's chest, his eyes went wide in utter shock, blood vessels spreading like spiderwebs across the whites of his eyes.
A mouthful of blood, boiled by searing heat, spewed from his lips with a wet gurgle. He felt his internal organs scorched and charred in an instant.
Sensing his life rapidly slipping away, Chiriku clenched his teeth tight. His hand moved, and the Golden Bell transformed into the Wrathful Vajra Form!
The golden chakra swiftly turned crimson. His expression, twisted in agony, revealed the final struggle before death.
Behind him, the red-bodied Wrathful Vajra conjured entirely from chakra continued hurling punches at Uchiha Keizumi with blinding speed!
One crimson fist after another rained down like a storm.
Each strike left deep indentations on Uchiha Keizumi's body.
"Asuma!!!"
Blood spurting from his mouth, veins bulging along his neck, Chiriku roared, "This is the last of my strength! Take your shot now!"
Asuma, eyes bloodshot, stared at Chiriku, whose chest had been pierced by the magma hound's punch.
But there was no time for grief. He gritted his teeth, channeling Wind Release chakra into the trench knives gripped in both hands. The surface of the chakra blades now shimmered with a visible azure glow.
"HRAAAAH!!!"
With a fierce burst of speed, Asuma lunged forward and slashed downward with both blades, severing Uchiha Keizumi's magma-clad right arm.
He followed up with a powerful breath—an explosive gust blasted the severed magma arm far into the distance, kicking up a cloud of sand and debris.
"If you don't want to die, then get the hell out of my way!"
A sudden cruel laugh echoed, prompting Asuma to leap backward instinctively.
At some point, Kazuma had appeared behind Uchiha Keizumi.
Veins bulged on his forehead as he slammed both palms into the ground.
[RUMBLE—]
The ground beneath their feet shook violently. On both sides of Uchiha Keizumi, the earth rose into two massive dome-shaped mounds. They rapidly closed in toward the center.
[BOOM!]
A deafening crash thundered out as the two hemispherical Earth Release mounds smashed together, forming a towering half-dome mountain.
Kazuma kept his hands in seals until both palms pressed directly against the mountain's curved surface.
Dense, black sealing marks spread rapidly across the surface of the dome.
Like chains, they sealed the entire mountain completely.
"Hah…" He exhaled sharply and jumped back, a mocking sneer tugging at his lips. "Tricky, I'll give you that. Never thought one would die even with eleven working together. But that's as far as it goes. My Heavy Earth Binding has sealed even giant summoning beasts over ten meters tall with monstrous strength."
"Now then…"
He spared not a single glance at the lifeless Chiriku, who collapsed to the ground behind him. Instead, he cast a glance at the grief-stricken Sarutobi Asuma, let out a cold chuckle, and turned to the battlefield behind him.
"Once we deal with this ninja cat, the mission from the daimyō will be complete. After that, we'll take care of the Hokage of Konoha as well."
A total of eight of the Twelve Guardian Ninja were besieging the massively enlarged ninja cat, Tachibana Jirō.
"Hmph. One of ours may have died, but this so-called Lava Release Beast clearly isn't as terrifying as the rumors claim."
But before Kazuma had taken even half a step forward, the mocking expression on his face froze in place.
He swiftly turned around, disbelief flooding his eyes.
"…Impossible?!"
At the same time, Asuma, who had been about to lift up Chiriku, also halted his movements. His gaze locked instantly onto the half-dome mountain before him.
What they saw—
Terrifying heat was transmuting the dense layers of earth into flowing magma. In less than three breaths' time, the massive hemispherical mountain collapsed like melting butter. The dense sealing marks covering it faded away like water washing ink from paper.
"Kazuma! Your sealing technique didn't work!" Asuma's pupils contracted as anxiety surged within him again.
"Damn it…" Kazuma's face twisted into an ugly grimace.
Before the two of them, a figure cloaked in lava stood unscathed atop the bubbling magma. Smoke billowed from his body, and the acrid stench flooding the air sent waves of danger pounding at Asuma and Kazuma's hearts.
Uchiha Keizumi's face was half human, half molten rock. Lava streamed continuously down his body, and his expression was icy cold.
But more striking were those eyes—transformed into crimson Sharingan!
"Hah…" Uchiha Keizumi slowly looked ahead, where the wounded and exhausted Tachibana Jirō was locked in a desperate battle. He seemed to disregard Asuma and Kazuma entirely as he spoke coolly: "Eight battle-hardened jōnin ganging up on a single ninja cat... That seems a little unfair, doesn't it?"
"You… You bastard, Uchiha Keizumi!" Kazuma, realizing he was being completely ignored, veins bulging on his forehead, snapped furiously. "I'm standing right in front of you, and you have the time to worry about a damn ninja cat?!"
Uchiha Keizumi slowly shifted his gaze toward Kazuma.
In that instant their eyes met—those crimson Sharingan boring into him—
Kazuma felt a chill cut straight to the bone!
Despite the sweltering heat that drenched him in sweat, that icy cold penetrated deep, undeniable and real!
"…You really stand out," murmured Uchiha Keizumi as he raised his right hand. The arm that Asuma had severed and blown away with Wind Release had, at some point, inexplicably "grown" back.
"The 'sin' on your head," he added coldly.
As his right arm rose, the magma beneath his feet began to surge wildly.
With one hand, he rapidly formed three hand seals.
"Lava Release: Flaming Dragon Bullet."
There was no furious roar—just a calm, quiet voice.
And yet, both Kazuma and Asuma reacted as if facing death itself, terror scrawled across their faces.
From the magma churning beneath Uchiha Keizumi's feet, a colossal lava dragon burst forth toward the sky!
Its massive head opened wide to reveal jagged fangs, and with a thunderous roar, the magma dragon dove straight toward Kazuma and Asuma—
As if to swallow them both whole!
The eruption caused by Uchiha Keizumi's technique was so overwhelming that even the eight Twelve Guardian Ninja who had been surrounding Tachibana Jirō were startled.
"Not good!"
One of the six Guardian Ninja accompanying Kazuma narrowed his eyes sharply. Without hesitation, he turned and charged toward Uchiha Keizumi. "Those good with Water Release—support Kazuma with me!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, two others followed immediately.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!!" ×3
Three massive torrents of water converged into a roaring surge that swept overhead, soaring above Kazuma and Asuma to clash violently against the terrifying, snarling magma dragon that had lunged at them.
[—BOOOOM!!!]
…
"So it really was Keizumi who was attacked… The question is, was the attacker truly a spy from another village?"
From the top of the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen gazed solemnly at the distant magma dragon, his brow deeply furrowed. A heavy sense of foreboding weighed on his chest.
He had already ordered the ANBU to act, but as Hokage of Konohagakure, he had not moved out with them himself.
Konoha was already suffering a shortage of top-tier combat power. With Uchiha Keizumi temporarily outside the village, if the Hokage himself were also to leave—even temporarily—the internal situation in Konoha might spiral into chaos.
Whether it was spies still lurking within the village, or certain shinobi among their own ranks, Sarutobi Hiruzen found them equally troubling.
Especially Uchiha Itachi...
Hiruzen couldn't help but worry: if he went out and came back… would the entire Uchiha Clan have already been slaughtered?
And what about Uchiha Setsuna…
Would he return only to find Setsuna already donning the Hokage's ceremonial robes, having woven a perfect web across the entire village, just waiting for his return?
The corner of Hiruzen's mouth twitched involuntarily at the thought.
Because he suddenly realized—all of these internal headaches…
They were all caused by the Uchiha!
For a brief moment, he even found himself… somewhat understanding Danzō.
…
"Heheh… Looks like the enemy numbers aren't small."
Uchiha Setsuna had also ascended to a high vantage point within the Uchiha Clan's compound. Leaning on his cane, he squinted toward the distant commotion and murmured, "To cause such a stir, there must be at least a group of elite jōnin... All enemies of that brat, huh?"
Setsuna was gloating. He hoped those who ambushed and surrounded Uchiha Keizumi would kill him.
Even if they couldn't kill him, if they could at least force Uchiha Keizumi to reveal more of his trump cards—more of his secrets—
That would still be a massive gain for Uchiha Setsuna.
"Elder Setsuna, let's head out and support Uchiha Keizumi right away!"
But the moment a young radical from the Uchiha shouted this from behind, the schadenfreude on Setsuna's face froze instantly.
Damn it!
How exactly had [Absolute Justice] managed to brainwash these people?!
Uchiha Keizumi had never even directly interacted with them, had he?
They had only heard about some of his deeds, only gained a basic understanding of his so-called extreme [Absolute Justice]—and that was enough to make them hold such admiration for that brat?!
Why?!
Setsuna's face went cold. Without even turning his head, he said sharply, "Hmph! Do you think the people of Konoha would let members of the Uchiha Clan leave the village for no reason? Don't forget—last time, when Fugaku tried to leave the village to support Uchiha Keizumi, that old bastard Shimura Danzō stopped him."
"The higher-ups of Konoha have never trusted the Uchiha Clan. It was like this before, and it's still the same now. That mistrust will never change. Even if you go, they'll just stop you."
Uchiha Setsuna subtly redirected the resentment toward Konoha's leadership.
In truth, he simply didn't want to support Uchiha Keizumi.
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