"!"
The moment Susanoo: Evil Radiance Shadow-Facing Heavenly Demon appeared, everyone in the Uchiha Clan Compound saw it. So did nearly all of Konoha. The giant seemed to tower between heaven and earth.
Its purple Eye of Thunder Punishment Evil Radiance stretched across the sky above Konoha, as though staring down everyone who dared look up at it.
Anyone caught in that eye's gaze felt a chill to the bone.
That power did not belong in the mortal world. Only a god of legend, perhaps even the Sage of Six Paths, could possess such strength!
What terrifying thing had the Uchiha Family been hiding?
It was like the god of thunder had descended!
Everyone who witnessed it found themselves asking the same question.
Could anyone truly defeat the Uchiha Family now?
Had Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo been playing with fire all along?
The next moment, the enormous purple blade rose high, then swung down toward the Nine-Tails with enough force to split heaven from earth.
When it struck, all of Konoha seemed to quake. Nothing remained between heaven and earth but blinding white light and a deafening roar.
Faced with that dazzling, overwhelming strike, Minato used the Flying Thunder God almost by instinct and vanished.
Even the Nine-Tails, though still under the Mangekyō Sharingan's Illusion Technique, felt a surge of terror.
That blade was bigger than his entire body! How could he not be afraid?
Obito's Mangekyō technique was not an Illusion Technique to begin with, and he had only one eye left. His control over the Nine-Tails was extremely limited.
Even with Wood Release Cells restoring his ocular power, his Mangekyō was no Eternal Mangekyō. He could not control the Nine-Tails for long.
Facing a strike that seemed capable of destroying the world, the Nine-Tails broke free of Obito's Illusion Technique at the last moment. Humanlike fear appeared in his eyes.
Was that thing even human!?
He had seen Susanoo before, but apart from that man's Susanoo, he had never witnessed such terrifying destructive power.
And that strike had not even come from a Perfect Susanoo!
Dodge. I have to dodge.
Otherwise, I'll die!
Even calamities like the Tailed Beasts feared death.
A Tailed Beast would be reborn somewhere else in the Ninja World after dying, but the reborn beast would be a new consciousness carrying its predecessor's memories. In a sense, it would no longer be him!
But how could a creature bound to the earth face the might of thunder?
The blade fell. The Nine-Tails, a corner of Konoha behind him, and several kilometers of forest beyond the village were all swallowed by the Thoughtless Blade, leaving a bottomless canyon!
The massive shock wave shoved the forest apart on both sides, as if parting its vast canopy down the middle.
Purple lightning still danced within the canyon, silently proclaiming the strike's power.
For a moment, Uchiha Genya's strike left all of Konoha utterly silent.
Even the insects stopped chirping in the night, as though they, too, feared that godlike power!
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was hurrying back; Danzo, who had been watching; and the great clans that had meant to confront the Nine-Tails but had not acted in time... all fell silent.
Some of the older generation recalled the legends of the Valley of the End.
They had heard that the mightiest ninja could reshape the land with a single blow, but they had always treated such stories as legends, even fairy tales.
Now, though, perhaps the outlandish accounts in certain family records had been true after all.
Who knew how many people would lose sleep tonight?
Danzo, in particular, felt an urge to give up when he saw that world-splitting blow.
"No, I haven't lost yet!" Danzo immediately rallied himself. If he did not tell himself that, his fear might drive him to surrender on the spot.
He knew the Uchiha Family would never forgive what he had done over the years. His only choice was to keep going down this dark road.
Surrender offered him no way to cut his losses. Even if he had to gamble all of Konoha, he would keep fighting!
So what if the Uchiha Family was strong?
A blade was not the only way to kill. Hadn't even White Fang fallen to rumors and slander back then?
If he could not kill his enemy's body, he would destroy his spirit!
No one could endure the torment of isolation forever.
At the thought of obtaining such a powerful pair of Mangekyō Sharingan after his plan succeeded, Danzo perked up again and eagerly began plotting things that could never see the light of day.
After unleashing the Thoughtless Blade, Uchiha Genya released Susanoo and slowly descended from the sky.
He glanced at Fugaku, who stood just as dumbstruck as everyone else, then ignored him and swept out an arm.
"Security Division, move out—all of you!"
Everyone froze for an instant, then understood.
"Yes!"
The Uchiha Family revered strength. Now that Uchiha Genya had displayed power beyond comparison, the entire family would naturally follow his lead.
Clan head? Who the hell is that? Never heard of him.
Not to mention, Uchiha Genya had awakened the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan.
Among the Uchiha, once you awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, whatever you said was right.
Under Uchiha Genya's command, the Uchiha Family moved with astonishing efficiency.
Before a man who had just displayed such world-shattering power, his word was law. Even Fugaku, the clan head, could not overrule him.
If Fugaku had not spent years working for the Uchiha Family, and if this had not been the wrong time for infighting, several Elders would have stepped forward on the spot to force him from power and send him home to retire.
This time, Fugaku did not try to stop them. He watched Uchiha Genya race toward the Nine-Tails and recalled that blade, which had seemed to span heaven and earth. His expression grew grave.
Was that... a divine weapon of Susanoo?
Every Susanoo had a different divine weapon. That was no secret to Fugaku, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
In the original story, Itachi had the Yata Mirror and Totsuka Blade, while Sasuke had the Amenonuhoko Bow. All were divine weapons of Susanoo. Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, so he naturally had one as well.
But what kind of divine weapon possessed such power? It had exceeded what a normal Susanoo should have been capable of.
Fugaku, at least, knew his own Susanoo could never achieve such might.
He imagined himself in his opponent's place, facing that strike. How would he block it?
After thinking it over, he could reach only one conclusion: trying to withstand it head-on would mean certain death.
For all his confidence in Susanoo's absolute defense, Fugaku did not believe he could block that attack.
Uchiha Genya, meanwhile, paid no attention to what anyone else thought.
The Nine-Tails was made of Chakra, not ordinary flesh and blood. That strike probably had not killed him outright.
There was still time to go and finish him off.