Mangekyō Revealed, the Shock of Susanoo

"Show me your true strength. Reveal your Mangekyō Sharingan."

Lu Ming's words echoed through the Great Arena, causing a tremendous uproar.

On the training grounds, over a hundred Uchiha stood frozen in place. Everyone stared wide-eyed, their mouths hanging open.

"M-Mangekyō Sharingan?"

On the raised platform, the eldest elder's hand trembled around his cane.

With a clatter, his sandalwood cane fell to the ground. His aged eyes fixed on Fugaku Uchiha in the center of the arena.

Within the crowd, Itachi Uchiha reacted strongly.

He raised his head, his lips parting slightly.

"Father... he awakened those legendary eyes of the gods? How is that possible?!"

Itachi roared inwardly.

He had always thought he understood his father, believing him to be a clan head who bore the burden of the family and whose strength had remained at the Three Tomoe level.

But he had never expected that his usually yielding father had been hiding a trump card capable of overturning the balance of the Shinobi World!

Uchiha Inabi, Uchiha Yashiro, and the other Military Police Force higher-ups stood dumbfounded.

"The Clan Head... has Mangekyō?"

Yashiro swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

Under the gazes of everyone present, Fugaku Uchiha's body stiffened slightly in the center of the arena.

He looked at Lu Ming opposite him, his brows deeply furrowed.

He had hidden it for so many years and had not revealed even a hint to his wife or son. Where had Lu Ming gotten this information?!

Things had reached this point. There was no point in hiding it any longer.

"Whew—"

Fugaku let out a breath and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the Great Arena fell silent.

The three black tomoe in Fugaku's eyes began to spin and intertwine rapidly.

As chakra surged into the sky, the three tomoe finally linked together, transforming into a windmill pattern.

Mangekyō Sharingan, activated!

The moment that pattern appeared before everyone, the Great Arena erupted into noise!

"It really is Mangekyō! My god, it's really the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan!"

"The Clan Head hid himself so deeply! That is the godlike power only Madara Uchiha possessed!"

"This is wonderful! Besides Lord Shisui, our Uchiha actually have a second pair of Mangekyō!"

"With such invincible power, why should we fear the Konoha Leadership!"

Fervor!

Those clansmen who had switched sides because of Lu Ming's overwhelming strength found their hearts wavering when they saw those eyes that represented Uchiha faith.

In the Uchiha Clan's understanding, the Mangekyō Sharingan was synonymous with invincibility!

"Lord Lu Ming is in danger..."

A Genin who had just been shouting support for Lu Ming turned deathly pale, his legs trembling.

"The power of Mangekyō is not something ordinary shinobi can contend with. Lord Lu Ming hasn't even activated his Sharingan. He is surely doomed now!"

"Exactly! No matter how strong Lord Lu Ming's taijutsu is or how exquisite his genjutsu may be, before the Mangekyō's absolute ocular power, it is all futile!"

Listening to the discussions around him and feeling the power within his body, Fugaku let out a cold laugh.

"Lu Ming, I never intended to reveal these eyes. You forced me to." Fugaku looked at Lu Ming. "Since you have witnessed this power, you should understand that your methods are nothing more than tricks before Mangekyō!"

Faced with everyone's pessimism and Fugaku's oppressive aura, Lu Ming's expression remained unchanged.

"Godlike power?"

Lu Ming sneered, drawing the short blade from his back and pointing its edge directly at Fugaku. "Fugaku, stop flattering yourself. They are just a pair of eyes. Do you really think they can preserve your position as Clan Head? Today, I'll grind you beneath my feet!"

Before his words had even faded, Lu Ming moved.

The bluestone tiles beneath his feet shattered into powder, forming a deep crater. Lu Ming shot forward and launched a fierce assault!

"So fast!"

Uchiha Shisui rose to his feet on the raised platform.

The burst of Body Flicker speed Lu Ming displayed was no weaker than his own!

"Overestimating yourself!"

Fugaku snorted coldly and activated the Mangekyō Sharingan's insight.

In his eyes, Lu Ming's movements slowed. He predicted Lu Ming's attack path, raised the kunai in his hand, and blocked the short blade sweeping toward him.

Clang—!!!

The blade collided with the kunai, erupting with a deafening boom!

A ring of air blasted outward from the two of them.

Several Genin standing nearby were swept off their feet by the shockwave, rolling several times before coming to a stop.

"What?!"

Fugaku took half a step back upon contact.

Monstrous strength surged through the kunai and into both his arms. His chakra defense was utterly worthless before that power.

Fugaku was sent flying backward. His feet dug into the ground, but he could not withstand the force. His legs plowed two trenches through the bluestone floor as he was blasted away!

Everyone's eyes widened.

"H-How can this be?!"

Uchiha Inabi cried out in disbelief.

"The Clan Head activated Mangekyō! How could he be forced back in a clash of strength?!"

"This is not strength a human could possess!"

Yashiro sucked in a cold breath.

Before Fugaku could steady himself, Lu Ming's next attack arrived!

"Is that all the strength you have, Fugaku? Is your Mangekyō just for decoration?!"

Lu Ming laughed loudly. The short blade in his hand transformed into a web of slashes, each strike carrying immense force as they locked onto Fugaku's vital points.

Dense clashes of metal rang throughout the Great Arena as sparks flew everywhere.

Fugaku gritted his teeth!

The Mangekyō Sharingan could predict Lu Ming's attack routes, and his mind could issue commands to respond, but his physical ability could not keep up with close-quarters combat! Lu Ming's blade attacks were too fast!

Fugaku swung his kunai, barely managing to block. He could not even find an opening to form hand seals and cast ninjutsu. With every strike he took, the web between his thumb and forefinger split a little further, blood dripping down his wrist.

Crack!

Amid the sound of breaking, the kunai in Fugaku's hand cracked under Lu Ming's slash!

"Damn it!"

Seeing his weapon on the verge of shattering, Fugaku broke out in a cold sweat. Borrowing the force of Lu Ming's slash, he rolled backward several times and widened the distance between them.

All the clansmen were stunned.

The Clan Head with the Mangekyō Sharingan had been suppressed and driven into a disadvantage in a clash of taijutsu and blade techniques!

"I can't let him get close again!"

Fugaku panted heavily. His hands blurred as he completed his seals, his chest expanding as he converted the chakra within him into fire-natured chakra.

"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

Rumble—!!!

Fugaku opened his mouth, and blazing flames gushed forth.

It was a sea of fire! Accompanied by scorching heat, the flames swallowed the training ground where Lu Ming stood!

The heat distorted the air. Even the clansmen on the raised platform dozens of meters away could feel the searing waves.

"What terrifying Fire Release! Is this the power enhanced by Mangekyō chakra?!"

"Lord Lu Ming has been swallowed! With flames of this scale, there is nowhere to run!"

Just as everyone believed Lu Ming was about to be reduced to ashes in the sea of fire.

Clang—!

A blade's cry sounded from the center of the flames, piercing through the roar of the inferno and reaching every ear.

A streak of blade light rose from below, shooting into the sky!

Slash!

Before everyone's eyes, that sea of fire was cleaved in half by a single strike!

The flames rolled back to either side.

Within the passage carved through the flames, Lu Ming emerged slowly, short blade in hand, stepping across the scorched earth. Not even the corner of his clothing was burned, and every strand of his hair remained intact!

"H-He split the flames?!"

Fugaku's eyes widened as he watched Lu Ming emerge. He knew that ordinary taijutsu and ninjutsu were useless against the monster before him.

"It's over, Fugaku."

Lu Ming did not give Fugaku another chance to catch his breath. He pushed off with both legs and leaped into the air.

Chakra poured into the short blade in his hand, and lightning flickered along its edge.

"Die!"

Gripping the blade with both hands, Lu Ming slashed down at Fugaku's head!

The power of this strike was immense!

At the critical moment between life and death, the corners of Fugaku's eyes split open. Bloody tears slid down his cheeks as he threw back his head and let out a roar.

"Susanoo!!!"

Chakra erupted from Fugaku's body!

As chakra condensed, a skeletal arm appeared around Fugaku! This skeletal arm was incomparably massive.

Lu Ming's descending slash struck the skeletal arm.

Sparks scattered, and shockwaves churned!

The skeletal arm blocked the slash without even leaving a crack!

A shockwave swept outward from the two of them, grinding the weapon racks and wooden stakes around the Great Arena into powder.

"It... it blocked it!"

"What kind of monster is that?! Chakra materialized into a skeleton!"

All the clansmen stared at the skeletal arm and descended into madness!

"This is Mangekyō's ultimate power! This is the power of a god!"

"The Clan Head is invincible!"

The entire arena erupted into clamor. Their worship of the Mangekyō restored Fugaku's prestige to its peak. Looking at that skeletal arm, everyone present had the same thought arise in their minds—before such power, Lu Ming was undoubtedly doomed to defeat!