Chapter 255: Deep Forest Emergence!
"The reason why our Bloody Mist Village is dreaded throughout the ninja world is because of the iron-blooded policy consistently pushed by the successive Mizukage-samas!"
This red-eyed Hidden Mist ninja was so emotionally charged that the veins on his neck bulged, completely ignoring Elder Gensui's attempts to stop him.
He shrieked at Ikeizumi Uchiha, who stood atop the mountain of corpses: "It is the Bloody Mist Policy! It is the cruel graduation exam, it is the bloody mist covering the village, that filters out the true strong ones!"
"Look at Mei Terumī-sama! Look at Zabuza Momochi, the Demon! Even that defected S-rank rogue ninja, Jūzō Biwa! Which one of them isn't an elite who crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood?!"
His voice trembled, but it was filled with fervent belief: "Those who were eliminated and killed by the policy are nothing but useless trash! What right does trash have to live?!"
"Their deaths are saving precious resources for the Land of Water! It is to concentrate more valuable Chakra metal, more powerful jutsu scrolls, and more generous mission rewards to cultivate true ninjas like us, who are ruthless and gifted!"
He abruptly turned his head and spat towards a certain direction, his eyes full of contempt: "As for those so-called noble bloodline limit clans? Hmph! A bunch of greedy, ungrateful wretches!"
"They enjoy the protection and resources provided by the village, yet secretly engage in petty schemes, attempting to overthrow the Mizukage-sama's rule and end this great Bloody Mist Policy!"
"So what if traitors like them are all killed? This is our Hidden Mist Village's own business!"
"What business is it of your Konoha Village? Don't meddle in our affairs, you Konoha bastards!!"
The last word was a roar, and the scene fell into a deathly silence.
It was so quiet that even the sound of blood flowing seemed clearly audible.
Mei Terumī's face instantly turned pale as paper. She could even feel her fingertips growing cold.
Next to her, Ao's cold sweat had gathered into beads and was running down his tense cheek. The difficult gulp of his Adam's apple was particularly clear in the silence.
Both their gazes converged on Ikeizumi Uchiha, their hearts practically in their throats.
However, they saw that Ikeizumi Uchiha, standing at the apex of the piled corpses, didn't even change his stance.
Ikeizumi Uchiha merely slowly turned his pair of ominous Sharingan towards the shouting Hidden Mist ninja.
There was no trace of offended anger in that gaze.
"Whether the latent sin of the Land of Water concerns me..." he began: "And what concern is it of yours?"
Mei Terumī and Ao were both startled.
They hadn't expected...
Facing such intense refutation, Ikeizumi Uchiha's response was such a question, one that rejected debate.
"You...!"
The ninja's face flushed crimson, as if his punch had struck thin air. He gasped urgently, trying to regain his composure: "Do you Konoha ninjas not even respect any rules?! You..."
His words abruptly stopped.
Because Ikeizumi Uchiha's figure, standing on the corpse mountain, blurred without warning.
In the next instant, as if by instantaneous movement, he stood silently in front of the Hidden Mist ninja.
A thick, almost tangible bloody killing intent, mixed with the warm scent of recent slaughter, rushed at the Hidden Mist ninja named Hideki Mizuno, making him violently dizzy and nauseous.
This was the first time in his life he felt such intense fear toward the smell of blood that he had always been accustomed to, and even proud of.
He desperately tried to muster the courage to meet the gaze, but found that his eyeballs seemed frozen, unable to focus on the pair of slowly rotating scarlet eyes so close to him.
His knees were weak, and the fingers gripping his kunai twitched uncontrollably.
"Rules?"
Ikeizumi Uchiha repeated the word, his tone chillingly flat: "Who sets the rules?"
He slightly tilted his head, his gaze dissecting every hint of fear on Hideki Mizuno's face like a surgical blade: "Which territory, which law, explicitly states that I have no right to interfere with the Land of Water?"
Hideki Mizuno desperately twisted his stiff neck, scanning his comrades with a pleading look.
He saw sympathy in some eyes, saw indignation on many more faces, but he also clearly saw the hesitation in their steps, the instinctual retreat in the face of the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood.
He even saw the deep frown on Mei Terumī-sama's face, and the weighty closing of Elder Gensui's eyes...
Why?
Why is no one stepping forward?
Where is the Bloody Mist resolve to risk everything for the village?!
"It's... it's the successive Mizukage-samas! And the Daimyō of the Land of Water!"
Hideki Mizuno almost screamed out his response based on residual instinct. His teeth uncontrollably chattered, making a soft "clack" sound.
"They are the rule-makers! It is their wise leadership that allows the Hidden Mist Village to stand tall and the Land of Water to rank among the Five Great Shinobi Nations!"
"Oh." Ikeizumi Uchiha uttered a monotone sound, then slowly nodded, as if genuinely considering the answer.
"Then, let us deduce in reverse." He leaned slightly forward. The invisible pressure made Hideki Mizuno nearly suffocate: "If we... purge them all. Will the old rules that the Land of Water and the Hidden Mist Village rely on then completely collapse?"
His Sharingan locked onto Hideki Mizuno's scattered pupils: "When the old rules of a nation and a ninja village collapse, new rules are bound to fill that power vacuum. Is this logic correct?"
Hideki Mizuno was completely dumbfounded.
He vaguely felt something was wrong with the statement, but under the terrifying pressure that was practically crushing his soul, his mind was blank.
He actually nodded subconsciously.
"Very good." The corner of Ikeizumi Uchiha's mouth very subtly twitched upwards, forming an arc that offered no warmth but was utterly chilling.
"Then, let us kill them all. From this moment forth, the Land of Water and the Hidden Mist Village will be taken over by 'Absolute Justice.'"
Hideki Mizuno: "???"
He opened his mouth wide, his mind a mess, completely unable to comprehend the logical leap, and even less able to believe what he had just heard.
"Ikeizumi-sama..." Elder Gensui's aged and tired voice rang out again, making a final effort to salvage the situation sliding toward the abyss: "Please... please hear this old man out. The Land of Water and the Land of Fire have vastly different national conditions. Their customs, history, and traditions are all unalike."
"The philosophy of 'Absolute Justice' that you believe in... perhaps... perhaps it will fail to take root here, and be impossible to truly implement."
However, Ikeizumi Uchiha did not even spare a glance for the Hidden Mist Elder.
His gaze remained fixed on Hideki Mizuno throughout.
As if he were the only person worth speaking to here.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"...H-Hideki Mizuno!" Hideki Mizuno clenched his fists, his fingernails digging deep into his palm, trying to use the pain to dispel his fear, and responded with what little courage he had left.
"In the Hidden Mist Village, there are many people like you, who genuinely believe in the correctness of the Bloody Mist Policy and willingly, tirelessly uphold it, yes?" Ikeizumi Uchiha continued to ask.
Elder Gensui, standing behind, sharply twitched his brow and let out another cough, this one carrying a clear warning.
But Hideki Mizuno, at this point, had been completely overcome by fear and a distorted sense of loyalty.
He completely failed to grasp Gensui's hint. Instead, he raised his voice excitedly, as if he had found evidence that he was not fighting alone: "Of course! The village is full of ninjas like me!"
"We are the most steadfast supporters of the Bloody Mist Policy, the most loyal subordinates of the Mizukage-sama! An outside invader like you is the public enemy of our entire village!"
"Even though you know full well that the Bloody Mist Policy leads to countless broken families and the tragic deaths of many innocent people who have committed no evil, you still have no regrets?" Ikeizumi Uchiha's voice remained devoid of any emotional fluctuation.
"Are you deaf?" Hideki Mizuno seemed to have his deepest conviction struck. His emotions completely unravelled, and he screamed hoarsely: "I already told you, those who die are the weak! They are trash!"
"They died, so what? Their deaths are yielding limited resources to the true ninjas! Everyone thinks the same way as me! Everyone!"
Ikeizumi Uchiha's gaze slowly swept over the face of every Hidden Mist ninja present.
He saw those whose eyes burned with the fire of rage, who wished they could devour him alive; he saw those whose faces showed agreement, nodding frequently, clearly concurring with Hideki Mizuno's words.
He also saw those whose eyes flickered, brows furrowed, whose lips moved but ultimately fell silent, and who subconsciously avoided his gaze.
"Hideki Mizuno," Ikeizumi Uchiha said: "You are an 'excellent' ninja. You have saved me a lot of time in terms of selection."
Was he smiling? The Konoha monster who had just slaughtered a hundred Hidden Mist comrades was actually smiling?
The absurd thought just flashed through Hideki Mizuno's mind, and he hadn't even had time to ponder the meaning of the phrase "saving time."
The next second, an indescribable, ultimate agony instantly swallowed all his senses!
"Pffttt—!"
It was the sickening, strange sound of flesh being violently torn, and then instantly charred by extreme heat.
Hideki Mizuno's pupils frantically trembled and constricted.
He lowered his head in disbelief.
He saw an arm, encased in dark red, viscous, scorching magma, had silently pierced through his chest!
His specialized ninja vest was like fragile parchment in front of that arm, instantly melted and ripped apart.
The steel plate lining used for defense emitted a "sizzling" whine, rapidly turning bright red, softening, and finally turning into molten iron, dripping into the pool of blood at his feet, eliciting a small wisp of blue smoke.
He could even clearly see the fragments of his own organs instantly carbonized within his chest cavity, and smell the pungent, burnt odor of his own flesh and organs being seared, mixed with the stench of blood.
"Glu... hock..."
Hideki Mizuno opened his mouth wide, but only meaningless, air-pump-like gasps could escape his throat.
Scalding hot blood gushed uncontrollably from his mouth.
He used the last of his strength to raise his eyes, filled with extreme terror and confusion, and stared fixedly at Ikeizumi Uchiha, who was right in front of him.
With Elder Gensui already stepping in to mediate...
How could he... how dare he...
"Pffttt!"
Ikeizumi Uchiha expressionlessly and slowly withdrew his magma-surging arm.
As the arm was pulled away, the massive, charred hole in Hideki Mizuno's chest, which was constantly smoking, was fully exposed to the air.
His body lost all support and slumped forward softly.
"Thud," he fell into the viscous pool of blood.
Stirring a small, dark red ripple.
Ikeizumi Uchiha raised his eyes, his Mangekyō Sharingan surveying the entire scene. His cold voice clearly penetrated the depths of every person's soul: "The Bloody Mist Policy, which turned the entire Land of Water into a breeding ground for sin and nourished countless tragedies, is the mortal enemy of Absolute Justice."
"Regardless of whether one is a villain, a good citizen, or an innocent caught up in it... anyone who internally chooses to unconditionally uphold and support this policy is actively standing against Absolute Justice."
"From this moment, the execution of Absolute Justice will no longer leave any room for leniency just because some individuals are not marked as red-name villains. Those who do not wish to be enemies of Justice, who internally resist the Bloody Mist Policy, and who have not committed sin themselves..."
"You have only three seconds to leave this area and declare your stance."
"Three..."
The chilling countdown sounded like a death knell. The crowd instantly stirred. Suppressed gasps and the sound of weapons scraping against each other rose and fell.
Mei Terumī, Gensui, Ao, and others' pupils constricted. They realized that any words were now pale and powerless.
Ikeizumi Uchiha had given the Hidden Mist Village a chance, and he had done so multiple times.
"Two..."
A large number of Hidden Mist ninjas with fierce expressions began to pump Chakra through their bodies. The edges of kunai reflected a cold light in the dim environment, and many Hidden Mist ninjas began performing hand seals rapidly.
However, at the same time, there was also a fraction of the crowd...
Their eyes went through intense struggle, before finally settling into silent resolve.
They silently returned the kunai or ninja swords they had just drawn to their sheaths, or gently lowered them.
Under the astonished, confused, and even angry and contemptuous gazes of their surrounding comrades.
They lowered their heads, retreating step by step from the scene.
Retreating to the edge of the battlefield.
They could not go against their conscience to support the policy that stained their hands with the blood of their fellow villagers, even if this was seen as betrayal.
If they were forced to admit that they were willing to support the Bloody Mist Policy.
That would be more unbearable than death itself.
"One."
"Fight him! For the Bloody Mist Village! Kill this Konoha monster!!!"
The suppressed killing intent exploded like a volcano!
The still numerous Hidden Mist ninjas, whom Elder Gensui had previously stopped, surged like a breached dam. With hysterical roars, they launched a desperate charge from all directions towards Ikeizumi Uchiha.
Shuriken sliced through the air like rain, burning explosive tags flashed with dangerous light, and powerful Water Dragon Bullets coalesced.
All the attacks instantly completely engulfed the position where Ikeizumi Uchiha stood.
"Wood Release..."
An energy of Chakra, vast beyond description, as immense as a sea, violently expanded from Ikeizumi Uchiha's center like a nuclear explosion!
The earth groaned under the unbearable pressure, beginning to tremble violently, swell, and crack!
Innumerable thick shadows broke through the soil!
"Deep Forest Emergence."
... ... (End of Chapter)