Inside the Hokage Building.
"Clack."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, dropped the pipe in his hand onto the desk. Scalding ash spilled across the floor.
He rose and looked toward the Uchiha District.
The office door was pushed open, and the two Hokage Advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, rushed inside.
Utatane Koharu said,
"Hiruzen, did you feel it? This enormous Chakra... It's a Mangekyō Sharingan! And an incredibly terrifying form at that!"
Mitokado Homura said,
"Other than Madara Uchiha's Nine-Tails' Attack back then, I've never seen such astonishing ocular power! Could the Uchiha Clan be preparing to launch an armed coup?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing.
"This aura is violent, but there's no sign of it moving toward the village center."
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked to the window.
"In the entire Uchiha Clan, the only person who possesses the Mangekyō Sharingan is Body Flicker Shisui. This power must have been unleashed by Shisui."
"Shisui? What is he trying to do? Is he warning us?!"
Mitokado Homura asked.
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.
"Danzo's relentless pressure on the Military Police Force has already driven the Uchiha to the edge of a cliff."
"We've been aware of the radical faction's movements for some time. The risk of a coup has been doubling every day."
"Hiruzen, what should we do now?"
Utatane Koharu asked,
"If the Uchiha really make their move tonight, our current troop deployments are nowhere near ready to deal with it comprehensively."
"Once war breaks out, Konoha will undoubtedly suffer catastrophic losses!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent.
Faced with this kind of power, even he, the Professor of Ninjutsu, had no way to deal with it.
"Transmit my orders!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around and issued an order toward the empty shadows,
"Send the elite ANBU to investigate the situation around the outskirts of the Uchiha District."
"Remember, do not alert the enemy, and absolutely do not provoke a conflict."
"Until we understand Shisui's true intentions, our priority is to stabilize the situation."
"Yes!"
Several responses came from the shadows, and several ANBU shinobi vanished from the spot.
At the same time, in the Uchiha District, at the Great Arena.
The dozens-of-meters-tall Complete Body Susanoo stood amid the ruins, dark-red Chakra burning across its surface.
That pressure bore down on the hundreds of Uchiha Clan members present, forcing them to keep their heads lowered.
"Hahahaha, Ren, do you see this?! This is the power of a god!"
Fugaku stood within the crystal at Susanoo's brow, blood tears streaming from his eyes.
"Die!"
Fugaku controlled Susanoo as it drew its dozens-of-meters-long Chakra greatsword and brought it crashing down at Ren on the ground!
A thunderous boom rang out!
Before the greatsword even landed, its sword wind carved a chasm across the arena floor. Gale-force winds howled as sand and stones went flying.
"It's over! Lord Ren can't dodge that!"
"With such a wide-reaching, destructive attack, there's nowhere to run!"
On the raised platform, the clan members who had just defected to support Ren closed their eyes.
However, Ren, standing directly at the center of the sword wind, did not move.
He raised his head amid the gale and looked at the descending Chakra greatsword.
"The power of a god?"
Ren demanded.
"Fugaku, your understanding of power is laughable to the extreme."
Ren drew the short blade from his back and pointed its tip at the enormous Susanoo.
"Today, I'll show you what so-called gods..."
"...are meant to be broken!"
The Chakra within Ren's body began to circulate.
Buzz—!
A wave of energy surged from Ren's body and enveloped the short blade in his hand.
A cluster of blue-gold flames ignited along the blade.
These flames lacked the searing heat of ordinary Fire Release. They were ethereal and hazy, radiating a dangerous aura.
"Wh-what kind of flame is that?!"
Uchiha Inabi stared at the blue-gold flames on Ren's blade.
"No temperature? How can Fire Release possibly have no temperature?" Yashiro said in shock.
Susanoo's greatsword descended toward the top of Ren's head.
"You're on the verge of death and still playing tricks! I'll tear you into pieces!" Fugaku shouted.
Ren gripped the hilt with both hands and urged the blue-gold Glazed Karmic Fire onward.
"Glazed Hellfire: Severing!"
Ren swung his blade at the dozens-of-meters-long Chakra greatsword!
Swish—!!!
A blue-gold blade arc tore free from Ren's weapon and collided with Susanoo's greatsword.
Before the dozens-of-meters-tall Susanoo, the blade arc seemed insignificant.
Yet the moment the two came into contact,
Susanoo's Chakra greatsword was split cleanly in two by the blue-gold blade arc!
"What?!"
Fugaku stared at the greatsword.
The blade arc's momentum did not lessen. After cleaving through the greatsword, it struck Susanoo's thick Tengu Armor.
Screech—!!!
The Susanoo armor, reputed to be an absolute defense, was cut open before the blue-gold blade arc.
The blade arc traveled upward from Susanoo's chest, cleaving apart the dozens-of-meters-tall dark-red demon god!
"No! That's impossible!"
Fugaku shouted. Before he could react further, a sudden change occurred.
The Glazed Karmic Fire clinging to the blade arc spread across Susanoo's massive body as it split the construct apart.
Whoosh—!
The blue-gold flames swallowed the dozens-of-meters-tall Susanoo.
"Die down! Die down!"
Fugaku squeezed every bit of Mangekyō power from his eyes, sending Chakra into Susanoo in an attempt to extinguish the flames and repair its body.
But what drove him to despair was this:
The more Chakra he sent in, the more fiercely the Glazed Karmic Fire burned!
The flames were using Susanoo's Chakra as fuel, strengthening themselves!
"Arghhhhh—!!!"
Fugaku let out a shriek. His ocular power, Chakra, and life force were all being devoured by the blue-gold flames!
Under the burning of the Glazed Karmic Fire, the Complete Body Susanoo rapidly melted and collapsed.
The enormous dark-red skeleton shattered into a sky full of specks of light, which were completely devoured by the Glazed Karmic Fire.
"Pfft!"
When Susanoo collapsed, Fugaku suffered ocular backlash and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Watching the Glazed Karmic Fire burning in midair and spreading toward him, Fugaku's psychological defenses collapsed.
He no longer cared about the clan leader's dignity or the outcome of the duel.
"Monster... You're a monster!"
Fugaku shrieked as he fell from midair. He did not even bother with the ninja blade lying on the ground. Covering his bleeding eyes, he fled the Great Arena and disappeared into the night.
The entire arena fell silent.
Not a sound could be heard.
Only the blue-gold Glazed Karmic Fire continued to burn in midair above the Great Arena.
On the raised platform, hundreds of Uchiha Clan members stood rooted to the spot.
The elder's mouth hung open, and his false teeth lay on the ground.
Uchiha Inabi, Uchiha Yashiro, and the others' legs went weak, and they collapsed onto the ground.
Uchiha Shisui gripped the railing, breathing rapidly.
No one had expected this!
Who would have dared imagine it?!
The legendary power of a god, capable of contending with the First's Wood Release and revered by the Uchiha Clan as their ultimate faith—the Complete Body Susanoo!
It had actually been shattered by a single slash from Ren!
"Gulp..."
Someone swallowed, breaking the silence.
Immediately afterward, the entire arena erupted in astonishment.
"Oh my god... What did I just see? Susanoo was cut down in one slash?!"
"How could this happen? That was the ultimate power of the Mangekyō! Lord Ren hasn't even awakened the Sharingan!"
"What exactly is that flame?! It can actually burn Chakra away completely!"
"This is simply ten thousand times more terrifying than the legendary Amaterasu, which can burn away everything!"
As the clan members looked at Ren, their earlier fervor faded.
While the entire arena was still marveling,
a young female shinobi stepped forward from behind Ren.
She was Ren's trusted core subordinate, Nanami Uchiha.
Nanami Uchiha raised her chin and swept her gaze across the arena before explaining, "You frogs in the well naturally can't understand Lord Ren's greatness!"
"This is a brand-new Kekkei Genkai that Lord Ren independently developed by combining the ultimate Yin Release spiritual power with Fire Release Chakra—Glazed Karmic Fire!"
Nanami pointed at the blue-gold flames in midair.
"It has no physical form and no temperature, yet it can seep directly into an enemy from within and burn them."
"Whether it's ninjutsu, genjutsu, or tangible Chakra like Susanoo, the Glazed Karmic Fire can devour it all and convert it into energy to strengthen itself."
"Before the Glazed Karmic Fire, any defense is nothing more than futile energy replenishment!"
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