Chapter 51: Darkness Descends
Inside the valley.
Kitō Hotaru stared in disbelief at the corpses of his four fallen comrades.
He knew the Uchiha clan's jōnin were terrifyingly powerful. Very few people could withstand their genjutsu. But he had never imagined that those few—including an elite jōnin of the Hōzuki Clan—would be killed so quickly.
The Hōzuki were renowned throughout the ninja world for their Water Release techniques.
Yet one of their elite jōnin had been burned to death by Fire Release.
And the enemy hadn't even used genjutsu.
The sight stunned everyone present.
This wasn't the one-sided slaughter they had envisioned.
"Don't panic!"
Kitō Hotaru roared at the dumbfounded chūnin beside him before pointing at Asuka.
"Pin down his movements!"
Earth Release!
The moment he spoke, a slender ninja sank into the ground and silently burrowed toward Asuka.
Headhunter Technique!
Almost simultaneously—
A faint tremor came from beneath Asuka's feet.
His reflexes were extraordinary.
Relying purely on muscle memory, he lifted one leg and drove it downward with tremendous force.
Boom!
The ground beneath him exploded into a massive crater.
The Earth Release user who had just emerged was blasted apart midair, bursting into a cloud of blood that quickly mixed with the surrounding mist.
"Hm?"
A bestial roar suddenly echoed through the valley.
Turning toward the sound, Asuka saw a massive water dragon rushing straight at him.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!
The dragon clamped onto his waist and shoved him backward with overwhelming force.
Feeling the crushing pressure around his abdomen, Asuka raised his right elbow and smashed it into the dragon's head, dispersing it instantly. He then spun through the air several times to absorb the remaining momentum before landing lightly on his feet.
"Tch."
Before he had fully landed, two more water dragons lunged toward him.
Asuka swiftly formed the Tiger seal.
A vast amount of chakra compressed inside his body before gathering in his throat.
Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!
Three blazing fire dragons erupted from his mouth.
They collided violently with the incoming water dragons.
One of the fire dragons was knocked high into the air before plunging straight down toward the Mist shinobi below.
Boom!
The ground became a sea of scorched earth.
The impact shattered the terrain and forced several Mist ninja to interrupt their ninjutsu.
At the same time, Asuka pulled four explosive-tag kunai from his pouch.
His Sharingan spun rapidly as he locked onto four different targets before hurling them into the air.
Clang! Clang!
The kunai repeatedly collided with one another, creating an erratic flight path that threw off the enemy's judgment while steadily closing in on their targets.
"Got you."
Asuka lowered his gaze slightly.
A Hidden Mist shinobi had silently slipped through the fog and pressed a sword against his throat.
After a brief silence, the assassin spoke.
"I wonder... have you ever seen eyes that can talk?"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The four explosive-tag kunai detonated simultaneously.
The deafening blasts left the Mist shinobi temporarily stunned.
Before he could recover—
He saw the three tomoe in Asuka's Sharingan begin spinning rapidly.
So... the Sharingan really can talk?
"The Sharingan can't."
"But I can."
As if reading the confusion in the man's dying thoughts, Asuka smiled.
He seized the assassin's arm and slammed him violently into the ground.
Crack!
His skull and lower body smashed into the earth, creating a small crater as the unmistakable sound of bones shattering echoed through the valley.
After delivering the finishing blow to the incapacitated Mist ninja, Asuka looked ahead once more.
Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!
The surrounding Hidden Mist ninja felt their hearts skip a beat as his gaze swept across them.
Immediately, several of them spat out dense mist.
Visibility dropped to almost nothing.
The valley had already been shrouded in fog.
Combined with multiple Hidden Mist Techniques, the battlefield became nearly impossible to see.
Asuka slowly raised one hand.
"Hm..."
"I can feel my arm..."
"...but I can't see it."
"What a terrifying assassination technique."
"The Mist really does live up to its reputation."
Hearing Asuka mutter to himself, the surrounding Mist shinobi couldn't help twitching at the corners of their mouths.
They had grown up in mist-covered lands and were naturally better adapted to fighting in fog.
But...
The mist blocked their own vision too.
"Damn it. Where did this Uchiha come from?"
"No idea."
"Could Konoha have sent him to rescue Sarutobi Shinnosuke?"
"Impossible. Shinnosuke is on the other side of the Land of Water."
"Should we call for reinforcements?"
"Reinforcements?"
One Mist ninja laughed bitterly.
"The village has already opened three battlefronts."
"We sent a large force to capture Sarutobi Shinnosuke."
"We sent another group here to stop Pakura."
"At this point..."
"...the only one left in the village who can still move is the Mizukage."
"Then bring over some genin."
"They can gain some battlefield experience."
The surrounding Mist shinobi stared at the speaker in shock.
Many of them had family members who were still genin.
Everyone knew exactly what that suggestion meant.
It wasn't experience.
It was sending children to die.
Pfft!
Kitō Hotaru suddenly drew a kunai and drove it into the speaker's back.
After tossing the corpse aside, he calmly looked into the dense fog.
"I can die."
"But I don't want my family to."
"What a miserable way to die."
A quiet sigh came from directly behind him.
Kitō Hotaru froze.
A warm hand had suddenly settled around his neck.
He's still alive?
Impossible...
But this warmth...
Slowly, he turned around.
Standing behind him was the Uchiha.
His eyes were closed.
"After listening to ninja cats sing for so long..."
"...my hearing has become very sensitive."
The instant he finished speaking, Asuka gave his opponent no chance to form a clone.
A chakra scalpel sliced cleanly across Kitō Hotaru's neck, severing the major blood vessels.
Without another glance, Asuka charged toward his next target.
Boom!
Just after taking down two more enemies—
His body disappeared inside a massive explosion.
Watching Uchiha Asuka step directly into an explosive-tag trap, the Mist shinobi collectively let out relieved sighs.
Some even smiled.
"Nice work."
"No..."
A sensory ninja swallowed hard.
His face turned pale as he stared into the smoke.
"It's... not over yet!"
"I know who he is."
"He's the Uchiha..."
"...the one they call Darkened Asuka!"
"Impossible..."
"That kind of power—"
Before he could finish—
A lone silhouette slowly emerged from the smoke.
Whoosh!
Violent chakra erupted outward, whipping the surrounding air into a fierce gale.
Dust and mist were blown away.
Rare sunlight finally pierced through the valley, bathing both the scorched battlefield and Asuka in golden light.
Rip!
He casually tore away his tattered shirt.
His muscular upper body was revealed.
On his chest—
Mysterious black markings began spreading outward.
They crawled across his limbs, climbed his neck, and reached his face.
From a distance, his entire upper body looked as though it had been encased in exquisite black armor.
"Pfft..."
Asuka spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground before raising his head.
His voice was low.
Cold.
"You trash..."
"...you have ten seconds left."
The human body couldn't simply ignore explosive tags.
Asuka wasn't the Raikage.
He was still flesh and blood.
The only difference was that his body healed so quickly his external wounds vanished almost immediately.
"Seal..."
"Release."
The moment his two index fingers touched—
An overwhelming torrent of chakra burst from his body, enveloping him completely.
"That chakra..."
Fear flashed across the Mist shinobi's faces.
They had never witnessed chakra on this scale.
This wasn't something an ordinary jōnin could possess.
If we'd known he was this terrifying...
Why did we come back?
"Who... what exactly is this monster?"
One Mist shinobi collapsed to the ground in despair as he watched Asuka leap high into the sky.
His speed was overwhelming.
His taijutsu was monstrous.
Even making eye contact with him was dangerous.
"His chakra isn't infinite!"
"Force him to run out!"
"If that doesn't work..."
"...scatter and flee!"
The words had barely left his mouth—
When a searing heat suddenly swept across his scalp.
He instinctively looked up.
The sky had turned crimson.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
A colossal fireball descended from the heavens like a blazing meteor.
It slammed into the earth.
The flames exploded outward, instantly becoming an endless sea of fire that swallowed the entire battlefield.
The moment it landed—
Every Mist shinobi capable of using Water Release desperately wrapped themselves in water to survive.
Through the dense clouds of steam, one Mist ninja stared at Uchiha Asuka with a deathly serious expression.
"It's him..."
"Black hair."
"Those strange black markings."
"And Fire Release on this absurd scale..."
"There's no mistake."
"Captain..."
"Run!!"
Far from the battlefield—
A group of ninja cats sat comfortably on a tree branch, eating cat food while watching what looked like three suns hanging in the distant sky.
The orange cat had invited them all to watch the show.
At that moment, a black ninja cat licked its whiskers and said excitedly,
"Congratulations, Mist Village."
"You've won the grand prize."
A tabby cat glanced at the fat orange cat before turning back toward the battlefield.
Its hoarse voice carried a trace of admiration.
"What a vicious Uchiha..."
"Uchiha Asuka suffers from persistent psychological trauma caused by personally experiencing, witnessing, or being exposed to events involving actual death, threats of death, serious injury, or danger to himself or others."
The orange cat held a senbon in its mouth while gazing at the slowly descending sun.
It spoke softly.
"Attack Uchiha Asuka."
"Whether through physical attacks, genjutsu, or any other method..."
"...if you trigger an intense emotional response and force painful memories to surface..."
"...you activate Seal Release."
"If he isn't completely killed before those markings spread across his body..."
"...all the chakra stored inside his seal will be released within two seconds."
"After the seal is released—"
"Defense doubles."
"Ninjutsu casting speed doubles."
"Ninjutsu range doubles."
"Ninjutsu power doubles."
"Long-range saturation attacks double."
"Overall offensive power doubles."
"Fatty."
A nearby cat suddenly called out.
The orange cat turned around.
"By the way..."
"Does Uchiha Asuka's chakra really have no upper limit?"
"Idiot."
The orange cat rolled its eyes.
Looking toward the burning battlefield, it muttered,
"It only has no limit..."
"...for ten seconds."
"And because he can cast S-rank ninjutsu without hand seals..."
"...he saves even more time."
"In those ten seconds..."
"...he could burn a hole through the sky."
BOOM!!
The instant those words fell—
Half the sky turned scarlet.
Explosions echoed endlessly across the heavens.
---
Land of Water.
The capital.
The civilians walking through the streets heard distant thunder.
They looked northeast.
The sky there had become brilliantly red, like another sunrise.
"Is another sun coming up?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"The sun's right above us."
"Really?"
"But..."
"Why does it look like the sky is on fire?"
Ordinary people naturally had no idea what was happening.
The Mist ninja did.
The battlefield wasn't very far from the village.
They could clearly feel an immense wave of heat washing toward them.
"Hey."
One ninja stared at the burning clouds overhead and slowly rose to his feet.
"I think..."
"...there's an enormous amount of chakra over there."
"Congratulations."
"You finally qualify as a sensory ninja."
"Idiot."
The man snorted.
"I sensed it ages ago."
"You're the slow one."
Something major had happened.
"Hm?"
Looking around, he realized that a large number of shinobi had quietly gathered nearby.
"The Mizukage has ordered all available shinobi to move in four-man squads."
"Investigate the source of the red light."
"Yes, sir!"
The assembled ninja vanished in an instant, racing toward the crimson horizon.
Among them was Terumī Mei.
About the same age as Kakashi, she was already an elite chūnin and was expected to become a jōnin within a year.
Leading three genin as their temporary captain, she sped toward the now-fading red sky.
One of the genin quietly asked,
"Captain..."
"What happened over there?"
"I don't know."
Mei shook her head, her expression solemn.
The village elders had only told her one thing before she left.
The crimson sky...
...was man-made.
Actually man-made.
"Stop!"
While racing through the forest, Mei suddenly spotted two figures ahead and immediately raised a hand.
As they approached—
She saw a bald man covered in black soot.
Even his eyebrows had been burned away.
In his arms was an unconscious woman.
"Who are you?"
Mei landed in front of him.
Seeing that the woman he carried had already stopped breathing, she frowned slightly.
He's strange...
Why does he seem vaguely familiar?
"Huff..."
Asuka exhaled a puff of black smoke.
Looking at the woman before him—with her long reddish-brown curls, one eye hidden beneath her bangs, and soft pink lips—he asked curiously,
"You're Terumī Mei?"
Mei narrowed her eyes.
Her pale hand instinctively tightened around her kunai.
"You know me?"
Without answering, Asuka carried Pakura two steps closer.
He studied Mei carefully for a moment before hesitantly saying,
"...Smile?"
"...?"
Mei stared blankly at the bald stranger.
Did I just run into a pervert?
Are shameless people this bold nowadays?
Trying to flirt the moment they see a pretty woman?
She narrowed her eyes and prepared to arrest him.
"It's fine."
"You probably don't smile on your own anyway."
"What exactly are you—"
Before she could finish—
His eyes suddenly turned crimson.
Three tomoe rotated within them.
The Sharingan.
Genjutsu.
When Mei became completely motionless, Asuka walked over.
Using his index finger like a toothbrush, he casually brushed the ashes off her teeth twice.
Then he simply walked past her and continued on his way.
"I told you ages ago."
"Your interrogation skills are terrible."
"The woman with the sharp teeth wasn't Terumī Mei."
"But she said she was."
"How was I supposed to know?"
"This one should be the real one."
"Her teeth are normal."
"If you say so."
"By the way..."
"Can Pakura still be saved?"
"Yes."
"Don't tell me you're planning to use the Impure World Reincarnation."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I'm Konoha's number one medical ninja now."
"Tsunade isn't even qualified to kiss my feet."
"Can you stop bragging?"
"Grow your hair back first."
"I'm getting tired just looking at you."
"My hair will take another year or two to grow back."
"When I get home..."
"...I'll just buy a hat."
After Mei's genjutsu was dispelled by her companions, she blinked in confusion.
"What happened, Mei?"
"I think..."
Asuka's bald head and crimson Sharingan flashed through her mind.
She spoke quietly.
"I met..."
"...a bald Uchiha."
"A bald... Uchiha?"
The surrounding Mist shinobi frowned.
They had encountered plenty of Uchiha over the years.
But...
A bald one?
Just then, another Mist ninja pointed at Mei's teeth in confusion.
"Mei..."
"What did you eat?"
"Why are your teeth black?"
"What?"
She instinctively licked her teeth.
Realizing her mouth was full of ashes, she slowly turned back, her expression darkening.
That bastard...
What exactly did he put in my mouth while I was under genjutsu?
I really did meet a pervert.
I wonder...
Will this affect my chances of getting married?
A short while later—
After hearing the reports from the battlefield, Mei's expression became extremely complicated.
Molten stone.
Scorched earth.
Bottomless craters.
Even if she chased after him...
She probably couldn't win.