Ōnoki's Fury

"You may have nothing to do with Konoha, but you've crossed me," Tianqi said furiously.

"Lord Tsuchikage, are you all right?" At that moment, the Tsuchikage's guards rushed in.

"This is our first time meeting, isn't it, young man? I don't know what I've done to offend you." Ōnoki waved off the guards and addressed Tianqi.

"You don't know? Let me name a place, and you'll understand. Does the Land of Hot Water ring a bell?" Tianqi kept his eyes fixed on Ōnoki, paying no attention to the Shadow Guard.

"Oh, the Land of Hot Water. That's not your Konoha's territory, is it? What I do to build up my forces there has nothing to do with you, does it?" At the mention of the Land of Hot Water, Ōnoki understood what Tianqi was getting at. Since it was the Land of Hot Water, he didn't care at all.

Seeing how unconcerned Ōnoki looked, Tianqi grew even angrier. "You secretly invaded another country, which could be considered an act of war. I might have let it go if I hadn't seen it, but now that I have, I have to do something about it."

"And most importantly, your actions got my teammate hurt. She's lying in bed right now. Don't you think you owe me an explanation for that?"

"So you're here to demand an explanation because your teammate got hurt. Why bring up war? I thought Konoha had become an ambassador for peace." Ōnoki crossed his arms and spoke with a mocking look.

"Ōnoki, don't change the subject. What are you going to do about my teammate getting hurt?" Tianqi said impatiently. He wanted Ōnoki to lose his temper so he could teach him a lesson.

"What am I going to do? Heh. You're just a lowly Konoha Ninja. I don't know how you snuck in here, but you're alone. Do you think you'll make it out alive?" Ōnoki swept a hand through the air, and his guards surrounded Tianqi.

Looking at the circle around him, Tianqi smiled. "Ōnoki, becoming Tsuchikage has really gone to your head. You care so little for life that you kill people on a whim."

"Hmph! I've never had a kind word for Konoha Ninja. I could kill you right here today, and Sarutobi wouldn't dare do a thing. You insolent brat!" Ōnoki shouted. He had no liking for a village as untrustworthy as Konoha.

"Kill him!" Ōnoki ordered his subordinates to attack.

At his command, the Shadow Guard didn't hesitate. They rushed at Tianqi with Kunai. The members of the Shadow Guard were no weaklings, and they obeyed the Tsuchikage without question.

As they attacked, Tianqi stood still and activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Seeing him stand motionless, they thought he had accepted his fate and stabbed him with their Kunai.

"Got him!" one of the Ninja cried happily, thinking he'd struck Tianqi. Tianqi's voice cut short his celebration.

"You're celebrating too soon." Tianqi smiled at the Ninja.

The other Ninja saw that Tianqi could still speak and immediately stabbed at him with their Kunai.

Clang, clang, clang.

The Kunai pierced Tianqi's body, but no blood flowed. Instead, the sound of metal striking metal rang out.

That was right—Tianqi had used Kamui to make himself intangible.

"What's going on? Why hasn't he fallen?" A few of them pulled their Kunai out and exchanged bewildered looks.

"The brat had a reason for coming here alone after all. The Kunai went right through his body. What a strange jutsu." Ōnoki was worthy of his title as Tsuchikage; he saw the problem at once.

"Are you done attacking? Then it's my turn. Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi!" Tianqi summoned black Amaterasu flames. They formed fiery spikes that pierced several Ninja at once.

In an instant, the entire Shadow Guard was wiped out. The flames didn't go out; they kept burning the corpses until, before long, not even ashes remained.

"What terrifying black flames." Ōnoki was already shocked to see the Shadow Guard wiped out in an instant. He hadn't expected the black flames to leave nothing behind, either. "A strange ability to pass through attacks, and now these terrifying black flames. This won't end peacefully."

"You've killed my Shadow Guard. That should be enough, shouldn't it? Leave now, and I won't hold you responsible." Ōnoki hadn't figured out Tianqi's jutsu. Believing he could pass through attacks and that there was little he could do about it, he decided to let Tianqi go.

"Heh, that's funny. You kill when you want and let people go when you want. Ōnoki, I don't know whether you're too naive or just oversimplifying things." Seeing Ōnoki back down, Tianqi started provoking him.

"What do you want, then? Don't push me too far. This is Iwagakure. I still don't understand your strange ability, but it must have serious limitations. I don't believe you can use it forever. Push me too far, and I'll bury you under sheer numbers today!" Ōnoki threatened when Tianqi tried to push his luck.

"Bury me under sheer numbers? Heh, Ōnoki, let me jog your memory. Do you remember who you and the Second Tsuchikage ran into when you went to Konoha to form an alliance? Do you think that man would be afraid of being outnumbered?" Tianqi said with a mischievous grin. He wanted to bring that shadow back to Ōnoki's mind.

!!! At Tianqi's words, Ōnoki's face darkened. That man—the man no one could look down on. He had beaten Ōnoki and his teacher until they couldn't hold their heads up. He'd even threatened them, grinding their dignity into the dirt.

"Too bad you're not him." Ōnoki glared at Tianqi. He remembered why the young man had seemed familiar: he looked so much like that man, with the same arrogance and the same air of invincibility.

"Looks like you remember." Tianqi stared at Ōnoki with his Eternal Mangekyo, his crimson eyes shining brightly.

"That's right! That's right! Those eyes, that arrogant expression—Uchiha Madara! It's you! Today, I'll reclaim the dignity I lost back then!" In Ōnoki's mind, Uchiha Madara's image merged with Tianqi's. He saw Tianqi as Uchiha Madara himself.

At that moment, the humiliation of the past resurfaced, and rage overcame reason.

Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!

"Uchiha Madara, die!" Ōnoki unleashed his signature technique, a Kekkei Tōta combining Earth, Wind, and Fire Release, and attacked Tianqi.

"So that's it—you're so furious you're seeing me as Uchiha Madara. Madara really is the shadow in Ōnoki's heart." Tianqi watched the incoming Dust Release without a care. With Kamui, what did he have to fear?

A transparent white cube of energy enclosed Tianqi, then disintegrated him. He vanished, leaving a square hole where the floor had been.

"Hahaha! Uchiha Madara, weren't you so arrogant, so untouchable? And yet I've still destroyed you!" Seeing Tianqi disappear, Ōnoki burst out laughing.

As Ōnoki laughed, Tianqi slowly reappeared. The instant the attack hit, he had escaped into the Kamui Dimension.

"Unharmed? How is that possible? I hit you!" Ōnoki said in disbelief.

"An ant is still an ant. You actually thought you could challenge me?"

"Susanoo!"

An enormous surge of blue energy erupted around Tianqi. Cracks appeared across the walls and floor as the Susanoo's skeletal frame began to take shape.

"This! This is—" The terrifying memories of the past returned. As he watched the frame take shape, the shadow in Ōnoki's heart surfaced once more. "No! This is impossible!"

The upper body of Susanoo's second form took shape. Tianqi slowly rose into the air as a pair of legs began to grow beneath it.

Roar!

Its enormous form reached the ceiling. With a roar, Susanoo smashed through the roof with both fists. It kept growing, reaching a height of 600 meters.