Dust Release: Limit Removal Technique was an upgraded version of Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Technique. Even Ōnoki couldn't use it at will.
The Uchiha were a proud clan. After saying what he had, he certainly wouldn't use space-time ninjutsu to escape. That was the conclusion Ōnoki had reached based on what he knew of the Uchiha.
He squeezed nearly all the chakra from his body and unleashed the technique.
But the outcome left Ōnoki speechless.
His ninjutsu had no effect. It was absorbed with ease!
After all, Ōnoki was merely a native shinobi of the Shinobi World, not an alien from the Ultra World. Naturally, he didn't know the "common knowledge" that you shouldn't use beams against Zetton.
The solid chakra giant gradually dissipated, like torn black cloth, revealing the figure inside Susanoo.
The same long black hair, the same Mangekyō Sharingan in essence despite its different pattern, and the same haughty expression.
Memories flickered through his mind like scenes from a film. The Uchiha Madara he'd encountered in his spirited youth had seemed just as arrogant, just as powerful, just as dismissive of everything.
The blood-soaked battlefield fell briefly silent. Only the howling wind, whipping up yellow sand, swept across the wilderness.
Uchiha Yuji raised his right hand level with his body. A pure white glow, brimming with conviction, shimmered in his palm.
That unmistakable light and chakra nature!
"W-wait!"
The stunned Ōnoki snapped back to his senses and shouted in terror.
He knew all too well how powerful his Dust Release was. If it struck the Iwa shinobi's formation, none of the shinobi in that area would survive.
Dust Release was supposed to be a technique that disintegrated its target! It was a Kekkei Tōta! Could even this technique be reflected?!
Uchiha Yuji answered with action.
Brilliant white light spread from Uchiha Yuji's palm, transforming into a streak of light the instant it met the air.
The thick beam roared as it scraped through the air. In the silence, it shot past Ōnoki at tremendous speed.
The eye couldn't follow its passage. By the time he saw the beam—
It had already passed through him.
His heart raced beyond its limits. In a daze, Ōnoki twisted around to look behind him.
But he saw nothing that would have made his heart stop.
The more powerful Dust Release: Limit Removal Technique had skimmed over the Iwa shinobi's heads. Carefully controlled, it had taken not a single life, but a huge circular hole had appeared in the crater behind them.
Through it, the blue sky was visible.
"We are fundamentally different."
"In strength and spirit alike, the gap between us is as vast as heaven and earth."
"You've already lost, Ōnoki."
Uchiha Yuji calmly met Ōnoki's gaze and delivered his simple declaration of victory.
"How about surrendering here?"
Though phrased as a question, he stated it plainly.
Ōnoki didn't answer right away. He lowered his head and studied the expressions of his subordinates.
The battle hadn't lasted long, yet a great many Iwa shinobi had already died, and countless more were wounded. But whether alive or dead, they all shared the same emotion in their eyes.
It was genuine fear.
He let out a long sigh. "The Sage of Six Paths must truly have favored the Uchiha. Uchiha Madara appeared not so long ago, and now, in such a short span of time, another shinobi this powerful has emerged."
"I give you my word: as long as you're alive, we Iwa shinobi won't wage war against Konoha again."
"There's no need to make promises," Uchiha Yuji replied calmly. "In this Shinobi World, even peace treaties can be torn up at any time. A verbal promise means nothing."
"Besides, I welcome you to wage war against us. It would mean you'd gained the strength to stand against me. It would mean courage, bright as the stars, shone in your hearts. It would mean I'd face an Iwa shinobi army more resilient and united than ever before."
"When that day comes, I'll eagerly await your challenge—and give you the same respect in return."
"I'll grant you another defeat."
Arrogant, yet full of mettle; scornful of others' strength, yet willing to acknowledge their character. Add to that his terrifying power, and Ōnoki had to admit that even as an enemy, he couldn't help but respect him.
With a conflicted expression, he gazed at that handsome face, as if carved from the same mold as Madara's, and let out another long sigh.
There was no shame in losing to someone like him.
If only he'd been a comrade from the same village.
But there would never be an if.
Now he understood: the Uchiha Yuji before him and Uchiha Madara were, in the end, two different people.
If it had been Uchiha Madara, he would probably have mocked them for overestimating themselves. Even though Madara would accept their challenge, he wouldn't give them any praise until they'd demonstrated a certain level of strength.
Perhaps the Uchiha were powerful because they never feared a challenge.
Uchiha Yuji turned his back on Ōnoki and the others and walked toward Hatake Sakumo and the rest.
They exchanged slight nods, then turned around without a care.
Though the Uchiha were battered and a little ragged from the long battle, the red in their Sharingan and the desire in their eyes burned brighter than ever. They gazed at Uchiha Yuji with fervor.
At the clan leader who had brought honor and change to the Uchiha.
They followed close at his heels.
The Iwa shinobi surrounding them silently stepped aside as they advanced. The packed crowd quickly opened a long passage from before them to the edge of the encirclement.
Perhaps "encirclement" wasn't the right word?
Charging straight into the enemy's stronghold with fewer than a full company—what recklessness.
"It's tragic to have been born in the same era as you, Uchiha Yuji."
Such strength! Such spirit! The geniuses who should have defined their era seemed dim beside him.
Even the Kage, who could have stirred up the battlefield, had been trampled beneath his feet. It was as though the whole world existed only to make him shine.
The Uchiha had gone far, but the sorrow and dejection on the battlefield lingered.
"What are those expressions for?!"
"What good will those looks do you?!"
Ōnoki's roar seemed all the more striking coming from his small frame. At his words, the Iwa shinobi silently raised their heads.
"We can't defeat the Asura of the Ninja World in this new era! There's no shame in that!"
"You're strong. There's no doubt about it!"
"Turn the army around! We're heading for the Cloud!"
"Let's use the Cloud shinobi's defeat to show the world that we, the Iwa shinobi, are still the same resilient, powerful, united force!"
There was no quicker or more effective way to restore the fighting spirit lost in defeat than with a victory.
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