"Surprised, Hiruzen Sarutobi?"
Uchiha Fugaku's voice was icy, devoid of the slightest emotion.
He felt the surging ocular power in his eyes, as though it could destroy heaven and earth, yet his heart was calmer than it had ever been.
These eyes had once been his greatest secret and his greatest source of pain.
Back in Konoha, he had neither dared nor been able to use them.
He knew that once they were exposed, what awaited him and the entire Uchiha would not be glory, but deeper suspicion and swifter destruction.
He could only watch helplessly as they continued to devour his vitality and sight.
Until that man's arrival.
It was Uchiha Gen'yō who had made him understand that power itself was neither right nor wrong; the fault lay with cowards who dared not use it.
It was Uchiha Gen'yō who had helped him reclaim his pride and glory as an Uchiha.
And it was Uchiha Gen'yō who had used that miraculous "Spring of Rebirth" to greatly alleviate the side effects of awakening his Mangekyō, allowing him to unleash the power of these eyes without reservation!
"These eyes exist to protect my family and clansmen."
Fugaku slowly raised the Flame Gunbai in his hand and pointed it at Hiruzen Sarutobi in the distance.
"And you and your Konoha are now enemies of the Uchiha!"
"Obstinate fool!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned utterly grim.
Fugaku's Mangekyō had completely disrupted his plans.
But he was, after all, the "Shinobi Hero" who had stood at the pinnacle of the shinobi world for decades. After a brief moment of shock, he quickly regained his composure.
"So what if you've awakened the Mangekyō?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted coldly. "Susanoo will keep devouring your vitality. How long can you possibly last against me?!"
"I won't need Susanoo to deal with you."
The corners of Fugaku's mouth curved with confidence.
"Besides, who told you Susanoo was my Mangekyō ability?"
"Mangekyō Sharingan: Right eye!"
"Divine Majesty!"
Hum!
With Fugaku's low shout, the black Fūma Shuriken in his right eye began spinning wildly!
An invisible, terrifying pressure as heavy as a mountain instantly descended upon Hiruzen Sarutobi!
"What?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his body suddenly sink, as though an invisible mountain had pinned him down!
His bones creaked under the unbearable burden!
His movements became incredibly sluggish!
Even the circulation of his chakra was severely affected!
Was this a gravity-type dōjutsu?!
"I'm not finished yet!"
Fugaku's voice was like a death sentence.
"Mangekyō Sharingan: Left eye!"
"Souls of the Ancestors!"
An eerie ocular power erupted from Fugaku's left eye as well!
The space behind him warped. Several warrior figures made entirely of chakra, clad in ancient Uchiha armor, slowly materialized!
Though their figures were illusory, the aura each of these warriors exuded had reached the level of a Jonin!
They held various weapons, their pairs of scarlet Sharingan fixed firmly on Hiruzen Sarutobi!
"Th-this is...?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was utterly stunned!
His right eye exerted absolute suppression by controlling gravity!
His left eye summoned a genjutsu legion of ancestral spirits?!
One ability focused on control and the other on attack. Together, they were practically seamless!
Fugaku actually possessed such terrifying Mangekyō abilities!
Just how much had he hidden?!
"Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
Holding the Flame Gunbai and surrounded by several phantoms of the Souls of the Ancestors, Fugaku resembled an Asura war god who had stepped out of myth!
"Today, you'll pay with your life for the sins you've committed against the Uchiha all these years!"
"Uchiha Reflection!"
Fugaku swung the gunbai in his hand fiercely!
Faced with "Divine Majesty," powerful enough to crush mountains, and several "Souls of the Ancestors" watching for an opening, Hiruzen Sarutobi dared not let his guard down in the slightest!
"Summoning Technique: Enma!"
He summoned his most trusted partner.
"Enma! Transform into the Adamantine Staff!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
At the same time, the "Souls of the Ancestors" attacked as well. Fireballs blanketed the sky, sealing off every escape route around Hiruzen Sarutobi!
"Five Release: Great Combo Technique!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was solemn. His hands formed hand seals as chakra of all five natures erupted within him simultaneously!
Earth Style Wall! Water Formation Wall! Fire Dragon Bullet! Wind Blade! Lightning Ball!
Ninjutsu of five different natures moved as naturally as his own limbs in his hands, combining with exquisite precision to form an absolute defensive perimeter that integrated offense and defense!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions rang out continuously at the center of the battlefield!
The battle between Kage-level powerhouses instantly reached a fever pitch!
The entire rocky wasteland shook violently beneath their clash!
The distant Konoha ninja and Uchiha clansmen could no longer intervene at all. They could only stare in shock at the two godlike figures in the sky.
"I never imagined Clan Head Fugaku was this strong!"
A young Uchiha murmured to himself, his eyes filled with admiration.
"Of course! Clan Head Fugaku is the pride of the Uchiha!"
"Kill them! For Clan Head Fugaku! For Lord Gen'yō! Kill these Konoha bastards!"
Fugaku's strength greatly boosted the Uchiha Clan's morale. Their attacks grew fiercer, driving the already disadvantaged Konoha ninja back again and again until their ranks collapsed.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Uchiha Gen'yō frowned slightly.
As he watched Fugaku locked in fierce combat with Hiruzen Sarutobi, a barely perceptible trace of worry flashed through his eyes.
Though Fugaku's Mangekyō abilities were powerful, they also consumed enormous amounts of chakra and ocular power.
A powerful control-type dōjutsu like "Divine Majesty" was particularly burdensome.
He could sense the light in Fugaku's eyes dimming at an extremely rapid pace.
His foundation was still somewhat lacking, after all. He couldn't evolve straight to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Gen'yō thought to himself.
Looks like I'll have to find a way to give him a hand.
However, just as Gen'yō was about to intervene and end this farce.
Something suddenly changed!
Hum!
At the center of the battlefield, where Fugaku and Hiruzen Sarutobi were fighting most fiercely, space suddenly began to warp violently like rippling water!
A deep black vortex appeared out of thin air!
Immediately afterward.
A figure wearing an Akatsuki cloak and an orange spiral mask slowly stepped out of the vortex.
He exuded an extremely unsettling air, flippant yet full of evil.
"Well, well, what a lively party."
A deliberately breezy voice came from beneath the mask, yet it sent chills down the spine.
"But all this fighting and killing of yours is interfering with my plans."
The sudden intruder made both Fugaku and Hiruzen Sarutobi stop fighting at the same time and regard him warily.
"Who are you?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi demanded sharply.
But the masked man ignored him entirely.
His gaze swept over the corpses littering the ground, then over the Konoha ninja and Uchiha clansmen still fighting. Finally, it settled on Uchiha Gen'yō, who had been watching coldly from a distance all along.
An exceedingly complicated emotion flashed through the single eye beneath his mask.
There was surprise and curiosity, but above all, there was anger at having his plans disrupted!
"A bunch of disobedient pawns."
The masked man, Obito, slowly turned his head toward the Konoha ninja closest to him.
Three tomoe slowly appeared in his sole eyehole, then spun wildly, transforming into a cold, merciless Mangekyō!
A bone-chilling killing intent erupted!
"You eyesores, you trash."
"Just disappear, all of you!"
Before he had finished speaking, his figure vanished from the spot!
The next second, he appeared behind a Konoha Jonin!
"Kamui!"
Before the Jonin could even scream, the power of space forcibly twisted his entire head off and sucked it away!
The headless corpse fell heavily to the ground, spraying blood!
What exactly did this sudden, indiscriminate, bloody slaughter mean?
Who was this mysterious masked man's true target?!