The three Uchiha's fire techniques burned fiercely—but their prey was a step ahead. Lucien's shadow clones mirrored their seals and spat the very same jutsu back at them, Phoenix Fire, Dragon Fire, and Great Fireball erupting in unison.
"Quick, into the air!" Feng shouted. They leapt as one, barely avoiding the flames' simultaneous convergence.
But Lucien's cold grin stopped them short. "Exactly where I wanted you."
His eyes sharpened. Chakra surged.
"Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm!"
The air itself exploded with an invisible shockwave, smashing against their bodies mid-leap. Unprepared, the three coughed blood at the same time, crashing to the ground in a heap.
"Im…impossible! A Genin using that jutsu?!"
"This monster—he's not human!"
They writhed in pain, all the arrogance gone from their faces. Moments ago they were ready to "teach him a lesson." Now? They were broken, battered, and terrified of the boy they had once called a failure.
Lucien advanced slowly, Sharingan spinning, intent on finishing what they'd started. But then, his vision caught something. Shadows descended swiftly from the rooftops—masked figures in the dark.
"…Anbu."
The black ops landed in silence, surrounding the scene. Their captain's gaze swept across the scorched house, the fallen Uchihas, and Lucien standing defiantly.
"You dare use deadly ninjutsu within Konoha?!" he barked. "All of you—come with us to the Guard Room!"
The words dripped with authority, but Lucien's Sharingan caught something odd—the man's chakra flow revealed unmistakably Uchiha traits. His suspicion crystallized. So. Even the "Anbu" are their kin. This was planned from the start.
He allowed himself to be escorted inside. The interrogation began—but it was a theater of mockery.
"You four went too far tonight," the leader began.
Kaku snarled, pointing. "This started with him! Uchiha Shigure attacked us!"
"Is that so?" The Anbu's head turned towards Lucien, voice stern and sharp. "To lay hands on your own clansmen—you've committed a grave crime!"
Lucien's sneer cut through his mask of calm. "So that's your ploy. An Uchiha-led trial by Uchiha enforcers. You plan to judge me guilty no matter what."
Anger flared in the leader's voice. "A forsaken child dares mock the clan that birthed him? For someone without parents, you drag the Uchiha name into shame!"
He tore off his mask, revealing a pair of scarlet eyes identical to Lucien's—but blood-red, not pale. "Three tomoe Sharingan! This is the true pride of the Uchiha!"
Lucien's teeth ground, rage coiled in his chest. Still, his outward expression was cold steel. Waiting. Watching.
The leader stepped closer, overconfident, consumed in his taunts.
Lucien struck.
"Sharingan!"
His three white tomoe spun, veins of chakra networks flooding into view. A subtle shift in the chest—an opening. The flaw of the heart.
"Soft Fist."
His palm struck as fast as lightning. The Anbu's guard went up—too late.
Bang!
The blow pierced directly into his chest. His movements stilled instantly, his eyes widening in shock as his chakra collapsed.
"You—!" His words gurgled, blood filling his mouth. Stumbling, he grasped desperately at his chest. "But… you're… just…"
The light faded from his Sharingan even before his body hit the ground.
Silence consumed the chamber.
The three who had come to kill Lucien stared, frozen.
"You… you killed… an Anbu!" Wei's voice cracked, trembling as he stumbled back.
"This… this is madness. Do you know what you've done!?" Kaku shouted, fear and disbelief painting his voice.
Feng's hands trembled, sweat pouring down his head. Even for a trained Jonin, striking down an Anbu took skill, strategy, ruthlessness. Yet here—the one standing alive was an "abandoned child."
Lucien's eyes glowed beneath the dim light, three tomoe reflecting their fear. His voice was low, resolute.
"I warned you. I repay kindness with kindness… and cruelty with vengeance. You tried to bury me in the dark."
His clones surrounded the three in perfect formation, blocking every route of escape. The whirling tomoe of his Byakuragan bared into their souls.
"…Now, all that remains is your punishment."
P.S. This chapter escalates the conflict into its first true bloodshed: Lucien kills an Uchiha Anbu outright, shattering illusions of power and leaving the rest trembling. The boy once branded as forsaken now stands as a predator inside the clan itself, his vengeance echoing in the silence that follows.
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