The Death of Fuyue

However, the regenerative capacity of the Susanoo seemed incredibly potent; right at the breach, a vast network of meridians and blood vessels was replenishing itself, slowly restoring the form.

"It's useless. Ordinary attacks cannot break the defense of the Susanoo. This is the ultimate power residing within the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Uchiha Fugaku began to laugh maniacally, for reasons unknown.

Because Du Yang, having unleashed that strike, did not dodge.

He watched with his own eyes as the black thorns completely engulfed his opponent.

Uchiha Fugaku was so exhilarated that the massive Susanoo trembled, as if it intended to crush the Ancient Bronze Mirror in its hand to pieces, along with the reflection of Du Yang within it.

"Be shattered into nothingness."

Fugaku continued to pour his Mangekyou Sharingan's ocular power into the mirror frantically, and more and more mirrors manifested around Du Yang, each thrusting out black thorns.

Countless black thorns, like a forest of darkness, completely buried his opponent.

With so many Yin Release Black Thorns, there was no need to control the opponent's mind; they would have already been turned into a honeycomb, dead beyond any hope of resurrection.

However, something occurred that was entirely beyond Uchiha Fugaku's expectations.

Those black thorns, which were supposed to control a person's mind upon penetration, began to crack and disintegrate inch by inch, revealing Du Yang's body, which was encased in Advanced Conqueror's Haki.

Clearly, if the black thorns could not pierce through, they would be unable to exert any effect whatsoever.

The strength of the black thorns simply could not overcome the Advanced Conqueror's Haki.

Du Yang merely glanced at him indifferently, released his Ninja Blade, and slid it back into its scabbard, producing a crisp, resonant chime.

His expression remained unchanged, his cheeks pale, his breathing steady; there was not a hint of exhaustion, and not even a single strand of his hair was disheveled.

And just as that chime echoed, from the gaps in the giant Susanoo, waves of surging white ripples erupted from the body that housed the ultimate power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, overlapping like ocean tides.

"What? What is happening?"

Uchiha Fugaku discovered with horror that he could not control the Susanoo in the slightest, watching helplessly as the massive form was eroded by the white light.

The Evolutionary Power triggered by the Level 5 Omega-Level Mutant had taken effect!

Under the reinforcement of that power, which seemed capable of purifying the void, it was as if the Gate of Heaven had been opened upon the body of the Susanoo, and the fragments shattered by the white light were merely the ripples of space being crushed.

Under the Purification Power, the Susanoo's meridians, skeleton, flesh, and armor were all thoroughly purified into nothingness.

"You!"

"What kind of ninjutsu is this?!"

The next moment, streaks of white light began to tear through Uchiha Fugaku's own body.

A look of terrified wonder appeared on Fugaku's face, for he finally saw the ultimate outcome of their duel.

Without exception, 100 outcomes, 1,000 outcomes—all of them ended with his death.

Du Yang turned and left without looking back.

Behind him, that massive, god-like warrior Susanoo was reduced to nothing but a skeleton supporting a hollow frame, collapsing like a tower of dominoes.

The once-grand Susanoo, under the flashing of the white light, left behind only the continuously disintegrating remains of Uchiha Fugaku.

He collapsed to the ground, letting out a muffled groan of agony; the Mangekyou pattern in his eyes flickered violently, dimming and brightening, as a trail of blood slid from the corner of his eye.

With just a single strike, he felt as though he had been completely consumed.

The cramped bedroom had been reduced to absolute ruins.

Fugaku could not move a muscle, but his tilted head remained fixed on Du Yang with a single eye, asking as if possessed: "Just now, what was that blade? What was the power of that white light?"

Du Yang turned his head, his gaze lowering: "The power to bring change to the Uchiha Clan, nothing more."

Fugaku's expression shifted constantly; anger, unwillingness, suspicion, and even a trace of wavering intertwined and replaced one another.

However, before he could ponder for long, his life force ebbed away entirely.

Uchiha Fugaku, the current patriarch of the Uchiha Clan, had died just like that.

Du Yang suddenly looked around; although the entire bedroom had been reduced to ruins, one could still vaguely see the shattered walls and the floor covered in wood shavings.

In the center of the ruins, a chair that was barely intact remained, one he had taken special care to protect.

Du Yang sat on this chair, his spine straight, as if waiting for the arrival of the Uchiha clansmen.

Not far in front of the chair, the remains of Uchiha Fugaku continued to lie there, his face still frozen in a look of astonishment from his final moment.

The garment bearing the clan crest, symbolizing his status as patriarch, drifted into the air at some point.

Du Yang felt a sense of quiet—a very reassuring quiet.

However, this silence lasted for only a breath or two.

"Pat, Patriarch?!"

"Lord Fugaku."

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Uchiha Du Yang, why are you here?"

The Uchiha elites who had been standing by outside arrived one after another, crowding into the shattered doorway and holes in the walls to witness a scene that made the vast majority of the Uchiha feel a chill run down their spines.

In an instant, dozens of Uchiha elites activated their three-tomoe Sharingan, waves of killing intent circulating through the air.

The clan head had just died like this; this was a matter of grave importance.

"Uchiha Du Yang, what have you done to the clan head?"

"It was you, you killed the clan head."

"Traitor, you damned traitor."

"Take him down, avenge the clan head."

"Kill him."

The reason these Uchiha elites were so filled with hatred was not only because the clan head had died under such unclear circumstances, but because with their leader gone, their plan to revolt against the Hokage might fall through.

In a flash, sharp kunai, shuriken, and long swords were drawn, gleaming with cold light and aimed at the figure sitting in the chair amidst the ruins.

The chakra fluctuations on every person surged violently, their eyes wide with rage, desperate to pounce forward and tear Du Yang to shreds.

They felt humiliated; the clan head had been killed, Right at the moment before the plan was to be launched, Right under the noses of every one of them, Right on the eve of the Uchiha's rise.

Facing the accusations of these dozens of Uchiha elites, Du Yang finally raised his head.

There was no fear on his face, no panic, and not even much expression at all.

He slowly swept his gaze over every face twisted with anger, over every pair of scarlet Sharingan.

This look actually caused a few of the most agitated individuals to subconsciously pause their movements.

Du Yang tilted his head slightly, his gaze seemingly landing on the remains of Fugaku, then seemingly piercing through the walls, seemingly seeing the entire Uchiha compound, and finally seeing his own family.

In the end, he spoke calmly, just as he always had:

"That's right, the head of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku, is the one I killed."