When the lava beast, like something straight out of hell, punched through Chiriku's chest, his eyes widened in pure shock. Red veins burst across the whites of his eyes.
He choked on a mouthful of blood—boiled by the scorching heat—and felt his organs shrivel and burn up in an instant.
Even with his life slipping away, Chiriku gritted his teeth and changed his stance. His Golden Bell technique morphed into the wrathful Vajra King!
His golden chakra flared red. With his face twisted in pain, the massive red avatar behind him—crafted entirely from chakra—threw a rapid-fire barrage of punches at Uchiha Chizumi.
Each red fist slammed down like a thunderstorm, leaving deep dents across Chizumi's body.
"Asuma!!!"
Blood spilled from Chiriku's mouth. Neck veins bulging, he roared, "This is my last shot! Don't waste it!"
Asuma's eyes burned as he looked at Chiriku's ruined chest, but there was no time to grieve. He clenched his jaw, funneled Wind Release chakra into his twin trench knives, and watched as a bright blue aura lit up their edges.
"RAAAH!"
He dashed in, slashing down hard, and sliced through Chizumi's lava arm.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
He followed up with a gale-force blast that sent the severed magma limb flying, along with sand and rock.
"ASUMA! BACK OFF IF YOU WANNA STAY ALIVE!"
A mocking voice suddenly rang out.
Asuma reacted immediately, jumping away.
Kazuma had somehow appeared behind Chizumi.
Veins bulged across his forehead as he slammed both hands to the ground.
"Earth Release: Sandwich Technique!"
BOOM—The ground shook.
On both sides of Chizumi, the earth rose into two massive hemispheres. In seconds, they collided with a deafening crash and formed a towering half-dome.
Kazuma didn't stop. He kept his hands on the mound, black sealing marks racing across its surface like a swarm of snakes—locking it shut.
"Ninja Art: Heavy Earth Bind!"
He let out a heavy breath and jumped back, sneering. "Gotta admit, he's tough. We lost one already. But this ends here. That seal could hold down a ten-meter-tall summon beast."
"Now…"
Chiriku's body slumped behind him, ignored. Kazuma glanced once at Asuma's grief-stricken face, then turned toward the fight in the distance.
"We just need to kill that damn ninja cat. Once that's done, the daimyo's job is finished. After that, we can take care of the Hokage too."
In front of him, eight Guardians from the Twelve were surrounding the massive ninja cat, Jujirō.
"Honestly, if one guy's already dead, that so-called Lava Beast doesn't seem as crazy as the rumors made him out to be."
But then—Kazuma's smirk froze.
He spun around. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"No way…"
Asuma, who had been about to lift Chiriku's body, stopped as well.
They both stared at the sealed dome.
In just a few seconds, the whole thing began to sag. The intense heat had melted the thick earth into lava. The sealing marks peeled off like dripping ink.
"Kazuma! Your seal didn't work!" Asuma shouted, alarmed.
"Damn it…"
Kazuma's face darkened.
There, rising from the molten ground—completely unharmed—was Chizumi.
His body smoked. His chakra boiled the air around him.
Half of his face looked normal. The other half had turned completely to lava. His whole body oozed molten rock.
But his expression—calm. Cold.
And his eyes were glowing crimson.
Sharingan.
Chizumi looked past them toward the battlefield where Jujirō was locked in a brutal fight.
"Eight elite jōnin ganging up on one ninja cat? Doesn't seem fair."
"You son of a—" Kazuma growled, furious. "I'm right here and you're worried about a damn cat?!"
Chizumi shifted his gaze slightly toward Kazuma.
The moment their eyes met, a wave of cold stabbed into Kazuma's bones.
Despite the unbearable heat, he shivered.
"You're hard to miss," Chizumi said.
Then he raised his right arm—the same arm Asuma had cut off.
It had grown back.
"And that stain of sin on your forehead…"
As his arm lifted, the ground beneath him began to boil.
He formed three hand signs.
"Lava Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet."
No yelling. No dramatic pose. Just a calm sentence.
But Asuma and Kazuma froze like they'd seen death itself.
A monstrous lava dragon burst from the ground, roaring into the sky.
Its jaws opened wide, lava dripping from its fangs.
It dove straight at them.
Like it wanted to devour them both whole.
The blast was so massive that even the eight Guardians surrounding Jujirō stopped and turned.
"Shit!"
One of Kazuma's men shouted, "Water-types, move out! Support Kazuma!"
Two others followed.
"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!" ×3
Three raging torrents merged above their heads, clashing against the incoming lava dragon.
BOOOOMMM!!!
…
At the top of the Hokage Tower, Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at the explosion in the distance.
"So Chizumi really was attacked... But were they outsiders?"
He had already sent the Anbu.
But he couldn't leave himself. Not when the village's top combat power was already depleted.
If both Chizumi and the Hokage left, things inside the village could fall apart.
Spies. Rogue ninja. Uchiha Itachi—
He didn't even want to imagine it.
What if he left… and came back to find the Uchiha clan wiped out?
Or worse, Setsuna wearing the Hokage's robes?
Hiruzen's mouth twitched.
Everything led back to the Uchiha.
For a split second, he almost… understood Danzo.
…
High up on the Uchiha compound's watchtower, Uchiha Setsuna squinted toward the distant explosions, leaning heavily on his cane.
"For them to cause that much of a ruckus… That's gotta be a squad of elite jōnin. What, all of them want that brat dead?" he muttered, sounding almost amused.
He was hoping—no, counting—on it.
Even if they couldn't kill Uchiha Chizumi, forcing him to reveal more techniques or intel was good enough. For Setsuna, that was a win.
But right then—
"Elder Setsuna! We have to head out and back him up!"
A hot-blooded voice rang from behind.
The smirk on Setsuna's face froze.
Damn it.
How had that little punk's 'Absolute Justice' managed to brainwash so many of them?
Chizumi hadn't even personally recruited these radicals. All they had were secondhand stories—maybe some bits of ideology—and they were already this loyal?
Why? What did he do that I didn't?
Setsuna's face stiffened. He didn't look back as he snapped, "Hmph. You really think Konoha's higher-ups will let Uchiha ninja just walk out of the village right now?"
He continued coldly, "Don't forget—last time Fugaku tried to leave to help Chizumi, that geezer Danzo blocked him at the gate."
"They've never trusted us. Not before, not now, and not in the future. If you go out there, they'll stop you."
Truth was: he just didn't want to help.
But Setsuna spun the narrative, aiming all that frustration toward the village leadership instead.
…
Elsewhere in the Uchiha compound, Mikoto approached her husband.
"Fugaku, aren't you going to lead the police force to help Chizumi?"
"…We can't."
His voice was heavy, conflicted. He let out a long, bitter sigh.
"If Chizumi hadn't stirred up so much trouble… maybe. But now? Even the Hokage won't meet him without backup."
"If I step out with our police unit, they'll see it as the Uchiha siding with Chizumi."
"They're already paranoid about him. That paranoia will shift straight onto the rest of us."
"And that—" he paused, "will push our clan off the edge."
"That's exactly why I don't want Sasuke embracing 'Absolute Justice' either. The closer we get to Chizumi, the more dangerous it becomes for us."
Mikoto frowned.
"But Chizumi is one of us. How can there be 'distance' between him and the clan? Why would the higher-ups drag the whole Uchiha into it just because of him?"
"Fugaku, aren't you… overthinking it?"
"You're being too narrow," Fugaku said calmly.
Then he echoed something Itachi had once told him.
"I'm not the one being paranoid. Itachi is already preparing to act."
Mikoto's eyes went wide. "!!"
"He sees Chizumi's behavior as a sign that the Uchiha clan is spiraling out of control."
"If there's anything that can hold him back, it's cutting ties with Chizumi completely. I don't even know if it'll work, but it's the only thing I've got."
That single sigh aged Fugaku by a decade.
Mikoto looked lost.
Her husband. Her eldest son. Both painted Chizumi as extreme.
But somehow, they didn't realize—they were just as extreme themselves.
She opened her mouth to argue.
But no words came out.
…
Outside the village, the collision of water and lava had produced a cloud of scorching white steam that surged straight for Asuma and Kazuma.
They bolted backward.
Chiriku's body was left behind—instantly cooked by the boiling fog.
"Tch—"
Asuma winced as pain lanced through his skin. A quick glance at his arm confirmed it—bright red burns already forming.
He looked back up… and saw something terrifying.
The lava dragon hadn't been stopped.
It was still pushing forward—overpowering the combined Water Release of three elite jōnin.
"That's Kage-level power…" Asuma muttered through gritted teeth.
No wonder Dad won't move against him, even after Shinnosuke…
"Wait—"
He suddenly noticed the dragon glowing brighter.
"Watch out!!"
His shout had barely left his lips when the dragon exploded like a volcano!
The shockwave obliterated the water wall, vaporized everything in its path, and drenched the forest in a searing downpour.
From the blast, massive lava bombs—each the size of a house—shot through the air, trailing smoke and flame.
One Guardian got hit head-on. He didn't even have time to scream—just vaporized.
Another was launched into a tree, half his body cooked.
The third managed to dodge a few—until the ground beneath him cracked open. Molten rock erupted upward and swallowed him whole.
Dead. Instantly.
"DAMN YOU, UCHIHA!!!"
Kazuma shouted in grief. Those men were all backing the effort to dethrone the Hokage!
"Kazuma!!"
Asuma snapped him out of it just in time.
But it was too late.
Chizumi's Sharingan locked onto Kazuma.
In a blink, the genjutsu hit—corrupting every sense.
Kazuma desperately clapped his hands, disrupting his chakra, trying to break free. He succeeded—just enough to realize that something had grabbed his jaw.
He looked up—
Chizumi was standing over him, lava flowing down his body, hand pressed against his face.
Ssszzzzzz…
The molten palm sank in like it was pressing through butter.
Kazuma's eyes froze in terror.
Dead.
Now, only six of the Twelve Guardian Ninja remained.
Asuma stood there, frozen. Kazuma was gone. Chiriku—gone. Three more elite jōnin, all veterans of the Third Shinobi War, wiped out in minutes.
And all of them were strong. Stronger than me, maybe.
But Uchiha Chizumi?
He didn't just beat them. He tore through them like they were paper.
Four dead. One critically injured. Five down. Just six Guardians left standing.
Asuma's heart was pounding like a war drum.
This isn't a man… this is a monster.
The five remaining Guardians were still trying to bring down Jujirō. But now, fear had crept in.
One of them, distracted, didn't see the massive paw swinging toward him.
WHAM!
He tried to dodge—too slow.
Jujirō's claws tore his arm off at the shoulder.
"AGH!!!"
He clutched at the wound, stumbling back in horror.
Even the damn cat is a monster…
The wind howled again.
His eyes darted right—just in time to see a massive orange tail whip toward him.
He had no choice. One-handed, he formed a quick seal.
"Earth Release: Hardened Skin!"
Stone crept over his flesh just as Jujirō's tail smashed into him.
The impact sent him flying like a ragdoll. The forest blurred past him, spinning like a carnival ride.
Wait—that direction… no!
He was flying straight toward Chizumi.
The cat had launched him—on purpose.
In that instant, his spinning vision caught a glimpse of red.
Chizumi. Sharingan locked on.
Oh no—
Time slowed to a crawl.
Chizumi's molten left arm moved like a striking cobra.
SHUNK!
The glowing lance of lava punched clean through his chest, pinning him mid-air like a kebab.
Blood exploded from his mouth.
Even with his Earth-style defense, the lava had melted right through him.
He didn't even understand how.
Chizumi didn't even look fazed.
"Five and a half left," he muttered.
To Asuma, it sounded like death itself whispering.
"Monster…"
The word slipped from Asuma's lips before he could stop it.
Now I get it…
I get why Dad won't fight him.
It's not about politics.
It's because we literally can't afford the cost.
…
At that moment—two figures dashed through the trees.
Kakashi and Might Guy.
Guy pointed ahead. "Whoa! That cat is huge! Kakashi, is that… the fiery justice guy?"
Kakashi blinked. "...You mean Uchiha Chizumi?"
Of course, Guy had forgotten his name again.
Kakashi sighed, eyes narrowing. "That's his companion, Jujirō. If even Jujirō's fighting, this ambush must've been serious."
He frowned.
Who set this up? Outside forces? No… no other village could sneak this many elite jōnin right outside Konoha.
A disturbing thought clicked into place.
What if it was us?
Chizumi had made a lot of enemies in Konoha.
Some of them wouldn't hesitate to strike from the shadows.
"…If that's true…" Kakashi muttered, "Then showing up now means I'm stepping into a mess I can't clean."
Before he could finish that thought—
"LET'S MAKE IT A RACE, KAKASHI!"
Guy yelled as he bolted ahead.
Kakashi's mouth twitched.
"…Screw it. I owe Chizumi one anyway."
Farther behind, Uchiha Izumi was sprinting too. She had pushed her body past the limit, but she couldn't stop.
She clenched her teeth. Who set this trap for Chizumi-senpai? Was it… the Hokage?
She remembered what Chizumi had told her.
"Don't trust Hiruzen."
After gaining her sin-seeing ability, she'd tested it on Hiruzen.
And yeah—Chizumi hadn't lied.
But now—she heard movement behind her.
A lot of movement.
She stopped, turned—and saw dozens of masked Anbu flash past her.
"Wait… that's the whole ANBU unit?!"
Her heart skipped.
So Hiruzen didn't do this. He's reacting, not leading it.
Then who the hell are the enemies?
…
Chizumi's burning gaze shifted toward Asuma.
Pure instinct kicked in.
"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"
Asuma spewed out thick clouds of high-temp ash, blinding Chizumi's vision.
Then—"Wind Release: Verdant Mountain Slash!"
He hurled his chakra-charged trench knives through the smoke.
SHNK!
One pierced Chizumi's chest, slicing all the way through.
The other? Straight through his left eye, out the back of his skull.
Asuma held his breath.
Got him—
Nope.
Both blades hit the ground with a soft clatter, half-melted by the lava.
Chizumi didn't even flinch.
Gritting his teeth, Asuma pulled out every scroll he had left.
"Wind Release: Dust Spiral Tornado!!"
A massive cyclone formed, dragging in his weapons, hundreds of explosive tags, and tons of ash.
He detonated everything.
KABOOOM!!!
The fireball reached dozens of meters into the air.
Even Asuma was hurled across the clearing, spinning through the air like a rag doll.
Metal shards shredded everything in sight—friend or foe, it didn't matter.
Asuma crashed down hard, coughing up blood.
His vest was torn, soaked red.
A broken kunai had pierced his thigh—right through an artery.
Blood sprayed like a busted pipe.
But he didn't care anymore.
His only thought:
Did I get him?
He tried to stand. His legs trembled.
There's no more tricks. That was everything. If I couldn't hurt him with that—
He froze.
Drip. Sizzle.
The sound of lava footsteps.
And from the fading smoke, a red-hot silhouette emerged, walking steadily toward him.
Completely unharmed.
"Asuma Sarutobi."
Chizumi's voice was quiet. Cold. Final.
"When you raised your blade with evil in your heart, you became the enemy of Absolute Justice."
"…Justice?" Asuma scoffed, blood dripping from his chin. "So your version of justice is just butchering people in Konoha now?"
"You murdered my brother—Shinnosuke."
"I don't care about your twisted ideology. Just for that alone, we have to finish this."
He staggered.
"But tell me—revenge for my brother... does that count as a sin too?"
Chizumi didn't even blink.
"Your brother was executed for murder. His family, in turn, vowed to destroy Konoha. If you think that's right—then we have nothing to talk about."
"You're already beyond saving."
In a flash—Chizumi's molten arm punched through Asuma's chest.
Asuma's eyes trembled. Blood pooled in his mouth. His knees buckled.
As he looked down, he realized—lava had pierced his vest like it was paper.
His final thoughts were cold and silent.
"You're not like your brother," Chizumi murmured. "When death came for him, he understood. You… still don't."
Chizumi yanked his hand back.
The light faded from Asuma's eyes.
He collapsed face-first into the dirt.
Dead.
Both of Hiruzen's sons—gone.
Chizumi turned away, lava dripping from his fingers.
"Four and a half left," he said softly.
Then he started walking toward the last of the Guardians still fighting Jujirō.
…
"Almost there," Kakashi muttered as he sprinted through the trees, the acrid stench of sulfur and scorched flesh thick in the air.
Just from the suffocating heat and sulfur alone, he could tell—
This wasn't a battle.
It was a massacre.
Guy wasn't far behind, still running at full speed.
"But something's weird…" Kakashi said under his breath.
The sounds of combat—the roars, the jutsu explosions—they were getting quieter.
Like everything had already ended.
No... like everything had already been wiped out.
When they finally broke through the treeline—
Kakashi stopped in his tracks.
His one visible eye widened.
The clearing ahead was death incarnate.
The massive orange ninja cat, Jujirō, stood over a blood-drenched corpse, fangs still dripping.
Another body lay nearby—its entire upper half missing.
A third corpse was nothing but charred black remains—possibly once human.
And then there was Chizumi.
Standing still. Silent.
Steam rising off his lava-coated skin.
No flourish. No wasted movement.
He calmly stepped forward and—crack—punched a jōnin's skull in with a single, deliberate blow.
Blood sprayed. Brain matter splattered.
The jōnin's final strike? A last-ditch stab—buried halfway into Chizumi's ribcage.
It didn't even make him flinch.
To Kakashi, the sight felt unreal.
That desperate strike…
And Chizumi had ignored it like a breeze.
"…We're too late," Kakashi said quietly, his voice dry.
~~~
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