Super Kage Level! Old Man Third, You're Too Late!

"If we don't eliminate this wild card, tonight's massacre may not get its perfect finale."

As Obito's grim words faded into the air, a cataclysmic upheaval was unfolding at the other end of Konoha.

RUMBLE-!!!

Without warning, a patch of ground on the outskirts of Konoha violently collapsed.

A pillar of golden fire hundreds of meters across erupted through the surface like a roaring dragon, piercing straight into the heavens!

At that moment, Konoha's night sky lit up completely.

Even the crimson blood moon paled before the fire's overwhelming, heavenlike radiance. Scalding magma scattered with the shock wave, igniting the surrounding forest and instantly turning the area into a mountain of flames.

"Wh-what is that?!"

"It's coming from the Root Base!"

"What terrifying chakra! This pressure... has the Nine-Tails gone berserk again?!"

All of Konoha erupted into uproar.

Countless sleeping villagers jolted awake, trembling at the apocalyptic sight outside their windows. The ninja on missions or patrol turned deathly pale. They could clearly sense a terrifying presence climbing higher and higher at the heart of that pillar of fire, making their very souls shudder!

At the center of the ruins.

The once unfathomably deep underground Root Base had become an enormous lake of lava.

Chiya hovered quietly above the lava, his feet resting on footholds formed from chakra.

His eyes were closed as he savored the earth-shattering evolution taking place within his body.

[Ding! Detected "Mangekyō Sharingan (Indra's Chakra)" and "Perfect Wood Release Cells (Asura Chakra vessel)" within the host!]

[The power of all creation is converging...]

[Congratulations, host! Physical limits shattered! Chakra reserves have broken through!]

[Current level: Super Kage Level (early stage)!]

BOOM!

As the system notification ended, Chiya snapped his eyes open.

His right eye had become a deeper red after absorbing Shisui's ocular power, while his left still retained its original, eerie Mangekyō pattern. Yet deep within both eyes, there now seemed to be a trace of endlessly renewing emerald green and an all-destroying golden gleam.

His soul, which had grown somewhat restless from frequent use of Ryūjin Jakka, was now more stable than ever, nourished by the tremendous vitality of the wood release cells.

"So this is... the power of Super Kage Level?"

Chiya clenched his fist, and the air cracked explosively in his palm.

He felt that even without activating Susanoo, his physical strength and Flash Step alone would let him easily crush his former self.

More importantly, his reiatsu and chakra had finally fused perfectly, forming a higher-order energy field.

HUM-!

With a thought, Chiya sent that energy field spreading outward from him.

Every living creature within several kilometers felt its heart sink, as though a mountain had settled on its chest, making even breathing difficult.

This was Spiritual Pressure Intimidation!

"Looks like the audience has finally arrived."

Chiya tilted his head slightly, his gaze cutting through the rising heat waves toward the edge of the ruins.

Dozens of dark figures were racing toward him.

At their head was a man in a tight black combat suit, an enormous Adamantine Staff strapped to his back and a Hokage hat on his head. Shock and anxiety filled his aged face.

It was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, known as the "Shinobi Hero"!

Behind him came his fully armed personal Anbu, along with the heads of Konoha's major ninja clans-Hyuga Hiashi, Shikaku Nara, Akimichi Chōza, Shibi Aburame...

Nearly every top fighter Konoha could currently muster had mobilized!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others landed on a broken wall at the edge of the ruins.

When they saw the scene before them, even the Third Hokage, who had witnessed countless spectacles, couldn't help drawing a sharp breath.

Root... was gone?

That enormous, intricate underground military base had been completely reduced to a bubbling pit of magma?

What level of destructive power was this? An S-rank jutsu? No, even a forbidden jutsu couldn't cause such total destruction!

"Th-this is..."

Hyuga Hiashi activated his Byakugan to investigate, but a moment later, he covered his eyes with a muffled groan.

"It's burning! The chakra there... is as scorching as the sun! Even the Byakugan can't look straight at it!"

Under everyone's gaze, the young man standing above the magma, radiating the presence of a demonic god, slowly turned around.

"Chiya... Uchiha?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils contracted sharply as he recognized the Chunin whose village records had always marked him as utterly unremarkable.

But he quickly recovered, and towering rage surged through him.

"Chiya! What have you done?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, his voice infused with powerful chakra as he tried to drown out the surrounding flames. "Where's Danzo? Where are the rest of Root? You openly used such a destructive jutsu inside the village-are you trying to destroy Konoha?!"

Faced with the Hokage's interrogation and the hostile stares of dozens of elite ninja around him.

Chiya showed not the slightest fear.

He couldn't even be bothered to take a fighting stance.

He merely slipped one hand into his pocket and casually rested the still-scorching Ryūjin Jakka on his shoulder with the other, a mocking smile curling his lips.

"Well, if it isn't the Third Hokage."

Chiya's voice wasn't loud, yet every person present heard him clearly. "Out here in the middle of nowhere with all these people, watching fireworks instead of sleeping? You certainly know how to enjoy yourself."

"Enough nonsense!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the Adamantine Staff down, shattering the rock beneath his feet. "I'm asking you where Danzo is!"

Although he and Danzo disagreed politically, and Danzo had schemed behind his back many times, Danzo was still his old comrade-in-arms, Konoha's "root." Now that the Root Base had been destroyed, he had to find him, alive or dead!

"Danzo?"

Chiya raised an eyebrow, as though he had heard some irrelevant name.

He extended a finger, casually pointing at the churning magma beneath his feet, then at the dust drifting through the air.

"There he is."

"Or rather... he's everywhere."

"Lord Hokage, if you take a deep breath, you might even inhale some of that esteemed 'Darkness of the Shinobi's' ashes."

Silence.

Utter silence.

Everyone stared at Chiya with wide, disbelieving eyes.

Danzo... was dead?

Shimura Danzō, who wielded such immense power in Konoha that even the Hokage had to be wary of him, had been reduced to ash?!

"Wh-what did you say..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi swayed, his face instantly turning pale. "You killed Danzo? You actually killed Danzo?! Do you know what you've done? He was one of the village's council elders!"

"An elder? He was nothing but trash who stole power from the dead and butchered his fellow village ninja."

Chiya sneered, the Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes slowly spinning as they released icy killing intent.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, stop pretending to be so heartbroken. Didn't you all tacitly approve tonight's plan to wipe out the Uchiha Clan?"

"Danzo was merely the executor. You... you're the hypocrite hiding behind the scenes, pretending you knew nothing!"

Those words struck the crowd like a thunderclap.

The Uchiha Clan Massacre?!

Hyuga Hiashi, Shikaku Nara, and the other clan heads exchanged looks of horror. They had only received an emergency assembly order tonight; they knew nothing about what had happened to the Uchiha!

If this was true... it changed everything!

"Utter nonsense!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed dramatically, and he hurriedly rebuked him. "The Uchiha Clan intended to stage a coup. The village has been doing everything it can to mediate..."

"Mediate? By sending Uchiha Itachi in with a blade?"

Chiya cut him off disdainfully, then swung Ryūjin Jakka.

BOOM!

A wave of heat drove back several Anbu who had tried to approach.

"Old man Third, you're too late."

"I've already slaughtered that ungrateful bastard Uchiha Itachi, and that old dog Danzo is ash."

"Now..."

Chiya slowly raised his head. His crimson eyes swept over everyone present before finally settling on Hiruzen Sarutobi's aged face.

"It's your turn."

"I wanted to talk things out too. I wanted us to coexist peacefully. But, Lord Hokage..."

Chiya gently stroked Ryūjin Jakka's scorching blade, as though caressing a lover's skin.

"My blade hasn't drunk enough blood yet."

"If Konoha has no room for the Uchiha, if you want us dead, then don't blame me... for punching a hole in the heavens!"

BOOM!!!

Before his words had finished, Chiya's aura surged once more.

His Super Kage Level chakra erupted without restraint, forming a solid, visible skeletal apparition behind him. Golden flames burned atop it, like a fiery demon god from hell declaring war on the mortal world!

"This power..."

A bead of cold sweat ran down Shikaku Nara's forehead. As Konoha's strategist, he assessed the situation instantly. "This is bad. He's no ordinary rogue ninja anymore. Chakra on this scale... he's practically like Madara Uchiha back then!"

"Hiruzen! We have to stop him here!"

The two advisers, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, had also arrived. Seeing the "site" of Danzo's gruesome death, they were scared out of their wits and shrieked their orders.

"Everyone, heed my command!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath. The hesitation in his eyes finally vanished, replaced by the resolve of a Hokage.

Whatever the reason, Chiya Uchiha had killed Danzo, destroyed Root, and declared war on the village. He had become Konoha's greatest threat!

"Form up! Take down Chiya Uchiha, dead or alive!"

"Yes, sir!"

Dozens of elite Anbu scattered instantly, while the clan heads assumed their fighting stances.

Hyuga Hiashi activated his Byakugan, Shikaku Nara's shadow began to stretch, and Akimichi Chōza enlarged his body...

Faced with this formidable lineup of Konoha's strongest fighters.

Chiya showed no intention of fleeing. Instead, he threw his head back and laughed, his voice brimming with unbridled arrogance.

"Hahahaha! That's more like it!"

"That's how it should be! The will of fire, bonds-all that shit is empty!"

"In this shinobi world, truth lies only on the edge of a blade!"

Chiya raised Ryūjin Jakka high with one hand, its tip pointing straight at the blood moon overhead.

System notifications flooded his mind.

[Ding! Detected that the host is confronting the full combat strength of Konoha!]

[Hidden mission triggered: One Man Against a Nation!]

[Mission reward: Ryūjin Jakka's "Bankai" progress will be calculated according to the destruction inflicted and the number of kills achieved by the host!]

Bankai!

The ultimate form capable of evaporating the entire Soul Society-the shinobi world!

"If we're going to raise hell, let's turn the whole world upside down!"

"Ryūjin Jakka: Flame Hell-full power unleashed!!"

RUMBLE-!!!

This time, it wasn't a pillar of fire, but a sea of flames!

Golden flames surged outward from Chiya like a tsunami, sweeping furiously in every direction.

That night, Konoha was destined to go sleepless.