Chapter 209: Fugaku Steps Down!
A look of astonishment froze in Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils. Gripping his Kusanagi Sword, he stared intently at the sky.
A thousand meters above, the thick clouds, stained by the scorching magma and appearing to flow with dark-red blood, suddenly lit up with countless, dense, scarlet pinpricks of light!
Like a patch of crimson stars in the night sky.
No...
That wasn't stars; it was an existence far more chilling than stars!
The next moment.
Tear!
Tear!
Tear—
A sharp, grating noise, like countless huge bolts of silk being violently ripped apart, suddenly sliced through the frenzied, chaotic night sky! One massive, crimson "laceration" after another was brutally torn open across the cloud cover!
They're here!
Orochimaru's pupils constricted to pinpoints at this moment! Pouring down through the torn cloud openings, like a waterfall, a rainstorm, or a flood, were volcanic lava bombs, an event akin to a natural disaster!
Molten giant spheres, each about seven to eight meters in diameter, were enveloped in the extreme heat of a volcanic eruption and possessed immense kinetic energy.
They tore through the sky, trailing long, beautiful crimson tails of flame, covering the land and raining down upon the earth!
The countless lava bombs utterly engulfed the area for over ten kilometers in a despairing, constantly twisting and rolling hellish red glow!
The air was compressed, issuing a tangible boom!
"A Ninjutsu of this scale..."
Even Orochimaru, a Konoha Sannin who had witnessed several brutal Ninja World Wars and experienced the Nine-Tails' rampage, couldn't help but squeeze out an incredulous murmur from deep within his throat.
His hoarse voice was even slightly dry.
This was beyond the scope of a battle; it was like facing a natural disaster!
"How can that brat have so much chakra..."
"Is he a Tailed Beast in disguise?!"
Whoosh—
Just then, a shriek so sharp it nearly pierced the eardrums approached from afar, causing Orochimaru's eardrums to buzz.
A molten meteorite, trailing a massive crimson streak, slammed into the base structure, just two hundred meters away from Orochimaru, like a spear thrown by an angry deity!
Boom, Rumble, Roar—!!!!
The impact point was like detonating numerous explosion tags. The deafening explosion made the ground beneath Orochimaru's feet tremble violently, and his already buzzing eardrums were on the verge of deafness.
The next second, a wave of destructive heat, hot enough to instantly carbonize hair and mixed with a shockwave and splashing molten fragments, swept in violently from the right like an apocalyptic hurricane!
Orochimaru's long hair was violently whipped backward by the impact, his clothes flapping and threatening to tear.
He could even feel the stinging sensation of his facial skin being scorched by the hot blast.
Orochimaru violently turned his head to look—
At the center of the impact, a crimson mushroom cloud, laden with shattered rock, steel fragments, and unextinguished lava, was roaring as it expanded and ascended. The shockwave, visible to the naked eye, spread in a circle.
Everything in its path, whether the base's toughest bulwarks or the complex, fragile instruments, was tossed aside like delicate toys.
Rank-A Ninjutsu?
Rank-S Ninjutsu?
Orochimaru's heart felt like it had been hit by a heavy hammer, because this was the power of only one lava bomb!
Boom, Rumble!!!
Another lava bomb crashed down, and the resulting shockwave instantly destroyed the swamp that Ikeizumi Uchiha had created with Earth Release earlier, completely evaporating it into white steam.
The terrifying high temperature generated simultaneously melted the hundreds of Curse Mark black snakes still struggling at the edge of the swamp, along with the weapons in their mouths, without a sound.
The incomparably sturdy main structure of the base let out a grinding groan under this immense force.
Massive alloy crossbeams were easily twisted and torn apart like noodles by the lava shockwave.
The crimson magma flowing everywhere was like a bloodthirsty beast.
Greedily devouring everything around it!
Orochimaru finally understood why Ikeizumi Uchiha had been given the moniker "Lava Beast" by many enemy ninja during the Third Great Ninja War.
If this wasn't a fierce beast, what was it?
But...
This was only the prelude!
Whoosh—Boom!!!
Whoosh—Boom!!!
Whoosh—Boom!!!
As if hell had opened all its gates, more shrieks and explosions rose and fell.
Like the continuous, thunderous pounding of drums.
Violently striking the intensely trembling earth!
The entire human experimentation research base was shaking, groaning, and collapsing. Looking up, the sky seemed to be raining a pure "meteor shower" of destruction. Countless crimson streaks, trailing desperate howls, slammed into all directions.
Everywhere visible was filled with soaring firelight, churning clouds of smoke, and rivers of lava flowing rampantly!
This was absolutely an apocalyptic scene!
Whoosh— Suddenly, a lava bomb, trailing an even more agonizing tail sound, locked onto Orochimaru's head! The terrifying heat and premonition of death instantly made Orochimaru's scalp crawl!
"Damn it...!"
Orochimaru cursed under his breath, forcefully shoving off the ground. His body shot away like an arrow, the Kusanagi Sword in his hand drawing a bright silver arc as he barely managed to slice open an onrushing wave of scorching air.
Boom, Rumble—!!!
A massive fireball exploded where Orochimaru had just been standing.
The terrifying shockwave caught up to his leaping figure, fiercely throwing Orochimaru back several meters! The remaining alloy floor was instantly melted into a huge, deep pit churning with hot, fiery bubbles!
"Cough!"
Orochimaru was so shaken that his blood churned, and a metallic taste rose in his throat.
He forcibly stabilized himself, even smelling the burning scent from the ends of his hair.
He was about to move again...
Szzzt—
A slight, anomalous sound instantly froze Orochimaru's movements.
He looked down and saw that he was standing on a metal plate that was half-melted by the lava, barely able to support his weight. Essentially, his entire foot was planted on scorching molten iron.
The searing molten iron, like the most efficient eraser, instantly dissolved the soles of both of Orochimaru's feet upon contact.
There was no blood.
There was no scream.
Only a sudden plume of smoke, and the veins that suddenly bulged on Orochimaru's forehead as he endured the pain.
The biting pain, mixed with a deep, bone-chilling sense of crisis, shot straight to his head.
"What a... reckless brat of justice!"
The twisted expression on Orochimaru's face no longer held any elegance or composure; only the fury of being thoroughly provoked remained. His killing intent, in that instant, had almost materialized!
Orochimaru suddenly opened his mouth, far beyond his previous limit.
A horrifying dry heave and the sound of tearing flesh and skin erupted from deep within his throat.
Gag, Splurt—!!!
A brand-new "Orochimaru," covered in slick mucus, with intact limbs, like a newborn infant, bizarrely "squeezed" itself out of his original body's throat and chest cavity.
With a nauseating stench and mucus, this newly emerged body performed a nimble flip in the air and landed.
The damaged old body, missing both feet and with parts of its torso scorched black by the explosion's aftermath, collapsed softly onto the hot ground like a discarded snakeskin.
It was immediately swallowed by the flowing, searing magma.
Finally melting and vaporizing.
Boom!!!
Another lava bomb crashed nearby, throwing Orochimaru back entirely. This made a grim-faced Orochimaru realize... this human experimentation research base was no place to stay. He would inevitably be caught in the crossfire of such large-scale Ninjutsu if he lingered.
Konoha Village, Police Force Building.
Fugaku Uchiha had been silent for an untold amount of time. He could clearly see the anger in the eyes of many of his clan members looking at him.
The undisguised dislike and disgust of his clan members seemed to crawl up Fugaku Uchiha's spine like icy coldness.
He tried to use his authority as Clan Leader to ask them to "understand" his position. He tried to defend himself with the "greater good" of the village. But every word, whether spoken or unspoken, only served to pour oil onto the already intense fire of the Uchiha clan's resentment.
Making the flame of "dissatisfaction" burn even fiercer.
The era of Fugaku Uchiha...
It was likely truly coming to an end!
A remarkably clear thought rang in Fugaku Uchiha's mind.
Fugaku felt incredibly tragic, like a savior in a novel, draped in a tattered cloak, forever misunderstood. He wasn't defeated by an external enemy, but abandoned by the very clan he most wished to protect, including many who had once supported him.
A sense of loss and absurdity seized him, mixed with the bitterness of betrayal by his clan, and... a trace of almost uncontrollable anger.
After all, being forced to this point...
How could he not be angry?
But Fugaku Uchiha knew clearly that if he were to vent his anger on his clan members at this moment, it would only thoroughly defile the Uchiha name, and completely tear apart the meager "stability and balance" he had painstakingly maintained over the years.
At the same time...
It would also cause him to lose his last shred of dignity.
After taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling.
Fugaku Uchiha's face was strained, his complex emotions unmistakable. He finally spoke: "Since everyone feels that it is time for me to step away from the stage of the Uchiha clan, then from today forward... I, Fugaku Uchiha, will no longer be the Uchiha Clan Leader, nor the Police Force Commander."
"Both the former and the latter will be replaced by two individuals newly selected by the Uchiha clan and the Konoha Elders. The letters of resignation for both the Clan Leader and Commander positions will be drafted by me tonight."
Fugaku Uchiha didn't know how much courage he had gathered, or how much anger he had suppressed, to utter these words.
How could he not be angry about being forced to step down?
But he knew he couldn't unleash that anger and dissatisfaction onto the Uchiha clan members.
He could only look deeply at Izumi.
It was this twelve-year-old Uchiha girl who, leveraging the momentum of Absolute Justice, single-handedly manipulated the emotions of the entire clan and forced his resignation.
Hmph...
Ikeizumi Uchiha truly "taught her well"!
"..." Izumi was also a little surprised that Fugaku Uchiha gave up "resisting" so quickly, but she quickly recovered. She met his cold gaze without hesitation and said to Fugaku Uchiha: "Senior Fugaku, I hope you stick to your word. And not be greedy for power, saying these things today and acting as if you said nothing tomorrow."
Fugaku Uchiha's fist clenched.
"I am not that kind of person!" he retorted stiffly.
The other Uchiha clan members exchanged somewhat dazed glances.
They never imagined that this timid Clan Leader, who had caused the Uchiha clan to be increasingly ostracized by the village, would finally be willing to resign! This meant that the Uchiha clan would finally no longer have to suffer under his influence.
"Well then..."
Just as many Uchiha clan members were about to cheer, a bucket of cold water was poured by Tsunade: "Who will your Uchiha clan choose to lead? And who will your Police Force choose to control? The vacant positions should be filled quickly. Otherwise, your Uchiha clan will cause a great deal of trouble."
Tsunade's interjection surprised Fugaku Uchiha.
This Sannin-dono... surely isn't speaking up for me, is she?
Didn't she clearly side with Ikeizumi? Has she had a change of heart? Has she realized that Absolute Justice is unreliable?
However, she is only an outsider.
She probably can't help me much...
Just as this thought crossed Fugaku's mind, Tsunade's voice continued: "I actually have a suitable candidate that your Uchiha clan could consider. Ikeizumi Uchiha what do you think of this choice? You should be quite satisfied with him, shouldn't you?"
Fugaku Uchiha: "..."
"However, knowing that brat, he probably won't accept the position of Uchiha Clan Leader because he'd find it too bothersome. But, he probably won't refuse the Police Force Commander position, as it's a perfect professional match for his current job."
Tsunade wrapped her arms around herself and spoke casually.
Others might be wary of interfering with the Uchiha clan's internal affairs.
But Tsunade didn't care at all; she said whatever she wanted.
She was just going with the flow now anyway.
"Tsunade-sama, recommending Lord Ikeizumi for the Police Force Commander position seems to have thoroughly provoked this guy, meow," Kijirō's voice rang out near Tsunade's ear.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, looking at Fugaku Uchiha in front.
"Tch, he won't lose a limb." Tsunade said nonchalantly: "Doesn't this mean I'm making that righteous brat owe me a favor? After all, I've secured a good position for him. Remember to tell him that favors must be repaid, you know!"
Kijirō saw right through her: "Tsunade-sama, could you be planning to lose money in a casino one day and have Lord Ikeizumi cover your debt?"
"...Ahem!" Tsunade, with an incredibly thick skin, lowered her voice: "To be precise, it's to have Ikeizumi investigate the casino owner. I refuse to believe those guys who collect gambling debts have clean hands."
Kijirō: "..."
It gained a new appreciation for the extent of Tsunade's shamelessness.
No wonder Lord Ikeizumi once remarked that Konoha's Princess Tsunade had the potential to be a Hokage.
Having such thick skin was indeed a prerequisite for becoming Hokage.
......................
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