"Open the doors!"
At Gen'yō's command, two Uchiha taijutsu experts worked together to slowly push open the armory's heavy doors, forged from hundredfold-refined steel and covered in sealing formulas.
Creak.
An icy, razor-sharp aura rushed out through the gap, carrying faint smells of rust and gunpowder.
Unlike the refined elegance of the medicinal vault, this was a place of pure slaughter.
Weapon racks stood before them like a forest.
Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, kunai, shuriken, chains, iron fans. Almost every conventional weapon in the Shinobi World was represented.
Rows of armor hung on the walls, maintained to an oily shine. Everything from lightweight leather armor to heavy samurai armor was available.
In the deepest part of the storeroom, wooden crates plastered with explosive tags were stacked neatly. Their dangerous aura seemed to distort even the surrounding air.
"Hiss..."
Even the Uchiha clansmen could not help sucking in cold breaths at the sight of such immense military stockpiles.
They had only known that the clan's armory was large. They had never imagined it was this enormous!
These weapons and equipment were enough to outfit a regular army of several thousand!
"These are the reserves that generations of Uchiha paid for with their lives on the battlefield."
Standing beside Gen'yō, Fugaku sighed, his gaze complicated.
"During every great shinobi war, Konoha would send our Police Force enormous orders for ninja tools. But they only provided half the funding. We had to cover the rest ourselves."
"By doing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi drained our finances while forcing us to forge weapons frantically to complete our missions. That also gave him a rough grasp of our military stockpiles."
Fugaku's voice brimmed with resentment and anger.
"What a fine way to kill two birds with one stone."
A cold glint flashed through Gen'yō's eyes.
"That old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi has been scheming against us Uchiha for decades. Sooner or later, I'll collect that debt with interest!"
He turned toward Elder Uchiha Shusa, whose admiration for him had reached unparalleled heights after the distribution of medicine.
"Elder Shusa, do as we discussed."
"Take every standard-issue ninja tool that can fit into sealing scrolls. Destroy anything we can't take on the spot. Don't leave Konoha so much as a needle!"
"Yes, Lord Gen'yō!"
Elder Shusa had now reached the point of obeying Gen'yō's every command.
He immediately directed the clansmen as they threw themselves into a second round of sweeping the place clean.
Gen'yō, meanwhile, strode deeper into the storeroom.
His targets were not those mass-produced standard weapons, but the divine weapons stored here that truly belonged to the Uchiha.
Passing rows of weapon racks, he reached a wall built from volcanic rock.
Three weapons of different designs were embedded in the wall.
On the left was an enormous gunbai bearing blazing flame patterns. It was none other than the Flame Gunbai passed down through generations of the Uchiha Clan!
Rumor had it that this fan could reflect all ninjutsu. It had once been Madara Uchiha's weapon.
In the middle was an ancient-looking tachi. Its blade was pitch-black, yet faint lightning flowed across it, and its guard bore the Uchiha's mitsudomoe clan crest.
This blade was called Lightning Flame. To win over the Uchiha, Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had specially invited a master smith from the Land of Whirlpools to forge this divine weapon for the Uchiha Clan Head of that time. It was incomparably sharp and inherently amplified both lightning- and fire-nature chakra.
On the far right was a strangely shaped scythe. Its enormous blade was connected to a counterweight by a pitch-black chain.
"Is this Soul Reaper, the weapon Senior Kagami Uchiha once used?"
Shisui followed behind Gen'yō. As he looked at the scythe, reverence appeared in his eyes.
Kagami Uchiha had been the Second Hokage's direct disciple. Aside from Madara Uchiha, he was also the greatest idol of their generation.
"That's right."
Gen'yō nodded.
His gaze lingered mainly on the Flame Gunbai and the Lightning Flame Tachi.
[Ding! High-energy items detected!] [Item: Uchiha Gunbai (damaged)] [Description: Forged from a branch of the God Tree, it contains a trace of Yin-Yang Release power and can reflect ninjutsu below A-rank. Its core is currently damaged, leaving its functions incomplete.] [Repair recommendation: Spend 5,000 Clan Procreation Points to repair its core and raise its reflection limit to S-rank!] [Item: Lightning Flame Tachi] [Description: Forged from metal containing sage power. Provides a 30% amplification to Lightning Release and Fire Release Ninjutsu.] [Upgrade recommendation: Spend 10,000 Clan Procreation Points to infuse it with the host's Kamui power, granting it a space-cutting attribute!]
Repair! Upgrade!
Gen'yō issued the commands silently without hesitation.
He had plenty of procreation points now. Why not use them!
[Ding! Successfully spent 15,000 points! Uchiha Gunbai repairs complete! Lightning Flame Tachi upgrade complete!]
Hum!
Both divine weapons let out a soft hum at the same time.
The cracks on the Flame Gunbai vanished instantly. An immense repulsive force flashed past, pushing the surrounding air outward in a ring!
The Lightning Flame Tachi's blade grew even darker, as though it could devour light. Faint spatial rifts flickered along its edge!
"W-what's going on?"
Fugaku and Shisui stared in amazement.
They had both tried using these weapons before, but such phenomena had never occurred!
"It's nothing. Maybe they can't wait to get out there and taste blood."
Gen'yō brushed it off with a casual remark.
He pulled the Lightning Flame Tachi from the wall and held it in his hand.
A feeling of bloodline connection came over him, as though this sword had been meant to belong to him from birth.
He could feel that, if he wished, a gentle swing would be enough to cut through space!
"Uncle Fugaku, take this gunbai to protect yourself."
Gen'yō tossed the repaired Flame Gunbai to Fugaku.
"As for this scythe..."
His gaze turned to Shisui.
"Shisui. Your Body Flicker Technique is unmatched in the Shinobi World. Pairing it with Soul Reaper will make up perfectly for your lack of variety in close- and mid-range attacks."
Shisui excitedly accepted the scythe, feeling the tremendous power coming from it. He nodded firmly.
"Thank you, Brother Gen'yō!"
Just as the three finished distributing the divine weapons, an Uchiha ninja on guard duty suddenly rushed in, his expression drastically changed!
Extreme fear and anxiety made his voice piercingly shrill!
"Lord Gen'yō! This is bad!"
"The fire-the fire in the direction of the Konoha Gate suddenly went out!"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others-they've realized what happened! They're leading a large force at full speed to surround our clan grounds!"
"They'll be here in five minutes at most-at most!"
What?!
Fugaku's and Shisui's faces instantly turned deathly pale!
Five minutes?
Many of their clansmen, including the all-important women and children, had yet to evacuate!
Now...
"What are you panicking for?"
Gen'yō remained perfectly calm, even leisurely twirling his sword.
"Five minutes?"
His lips parted in a sinister grin.
"That's enough."
"Enough for me to give them a demolition gift they'll never forget!"
Just what other contingency had he prepared?