Rain mixed with hail began to fall over Konoha, tapping against the clustered, scale-like rooftops. The sound echoed from distant streets to nearby alleys, shifting between light patters and heavy drumming.
Fugaku glanced back at Hayashi, who was steadily closing the distance behind him, and his brows tightened.
He was completely pinned down, with no room to maneuver.
Since leaving the Uchiha Clan Compound, most of Konoha's counterattacks had come in the form of exploding tags. However, as the village adapted, those explosions were becoming less and less effective.
Hayashi's relentless pursuit gave Fugaku no opportunity to shift focus elsewhere.
And yet, he did not dare turn and engage directly.
From their brief exchanges, Fugaku had already realized something clear. He had not been in a true life and death battle against a top-tier shinobi for a long time. Against someone like Hayashi, even the smallest mistake would be fatal.
If not for the abilities granted by his Mangekyo Sharingan, he would already be dead.
A heavy gloom settled in Fugaku's heart.
He still did not know how Hayashi had escaped the Six Red Yang Formation, but the fact remained that his plan had already suffered a major setback.
Still, retreating now would turn everything into a complete failure.
He could not allow that.
With that thought, Fugaku stepped onto Hokage Rock and stopped at its highest point, overlooking the entire village.
This was the highest vantage point in Konoha.
He exhaled softly.
"Diji Shen."
At the moment those words left his mouth, silence followed.
Then, a deep, rolling series of detonations echoed out like thunder trapped beneath the earth.
Hokage Rock itself began to split from bottom to top, the fracture line running through the carved face of the Third Hokage as if an invisible blade were carving the mountain apart from within. Massive chunks of stone broke loose and crashed into the village below.
A section of rock more than ten meters wide on the right side of the Third Hokage's monument lifted into the air, suspended unnaturally, while the carved faces of the First Hokage and Second Hokage remained untouched.
Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan spun as he leapt down from the fractured cliff. His descent was controlled and unhurried. Before he even touched the ground, the massive floating boulder remained above him, hovering as though weightless.
He raised one hand and steadied the enormous slab of rock, then hurled it directly toward Hayashi.
From a distance, it looked as if Fugaku had shattered Hokage Rock with a single kick and lifted it with one hand, throwing it like a weapon.
But that was not what had truly happened.
During the exchange, Hayashi had already begun to understand Fugaku's abilities.
Aside from Amaterasu, the other Mangekyo technique was likely related to gravity manipulation.
That explained how Fugaku could float in the air.
However, it was not the same as Nagato's Shinra Tensei or Banshō Ten'in.
It was closer to localized gravitational control, bending the pull of gravity within a limited area around himself.
That was also why he could remain airborne.
In practice, it functioned like a gravitational field centered on his body.
A dangerous ability, especially when combined with his other techniques.
Watching the massive boulder crash forward, Hayashi brought the fingers of his right hand together. Lightning arced violently between them as he pointed straight at the incoming mass.
"Sage Art: Raikiri."
A blade of concentrated lightning erupted.
The incoming boulder, which surged forward like a collapsing wave, was split cleanly in two by the strike.
But this was still Konoha.
The two halves of the shattered stone were still large enough to cause severe destruction if they fell into the village.
Hayashi's chakra surged again. Lightning Release spread through both hands like living wires. The energy embedded itself into the broken rock, fracturing it further, tearing it apart from within until the massive boulder was reduced into thousands of smaller fragments.
Only then did he disperse the immediate threat.
Using that brief opening, Fugaku activated his ocular ability again and rose into the sky, distancing himself from Hayashi.
"What is going on here?"
Several figures arrived beside Hayashi.
He glanced at the Third Hokage and spoke calmly. "Fugaku has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."
"Mangekyo Sharingan…" The Third Hokage's expression darkened as he nodded slowly. "So that is how it is."
By the time Fugaku launched this assault, he had already suspected as much. Only the Mangekyo Sharingan could justify such a reckless attack on the village.
"How is the village?" Hayashi asked.
He had been fully focused on pursuing Fugaku and had not been able to monitor the situation elsewhere.
"The civilians have all been evacuated to shelters. So far, the village has not suffered major losses, mostly damage from exploding tags," the Third Hokage replied. "Kana and Yakushi Nono have already summoned Katsuyu."
Hayashi nodded.
At least the damage had not reached the worst-case scenario.
All eyes shifted upward toward the sky.
The Third Hokage raised his gaze and spoke in a heavy voice. "Fugaku, you are surrounded. Your attack has already failed. Surrender now."
"Surrender?" A faint trace of mockery appeared in Fugaku's eyes. "I prepared for an entire year for this day. Below is my gift to Konoha. Let's see if you can stop it first."
He formed hand seals again.
At the same moment, a barrier that had been prepared at some unknown point a thousand meters above the village was released.
Within it, dozens of massive boulders, each over ten meters wide, hovered in midair.
These had all been transported there gradually by Fugaku using his gravitational technique.
Because his range was limited to about fifteen meters around him, he could only move one boulder at a time, slowly stacking them within the barrier over time.
Their suspension in the sky was maintained by the barrier itself.
The barrier's structure relied on multiple transcription seals that stored his gravitational technique as a central mechanism, sustaining the field for a limited duration.
To keep it active long-term, Fugaku had repeatedly replaced the seals whenever necessary.
This was his preparation.
His true trump card.
A meteor storm.
A moment later, the suspended boulders began to fall.
Dozens of giant stones, large enough to blot out the sky, descended all at once, tearing through the air with deafening roars.
The night sky lit up with their silhouettes as they dropped toward Konoha.
Konoha shinobi quickly spotted them, but the pressure was overwhelming. Even before impact, the compressed air sent tremors through the ground, shaking loose stones and dust beneath their feet.
Not only ordinary shinobi, but even the Third Hokage felt a moment of stunned disbelief.
They had not even fully processed what they were seeing.
It felt unreal.
Almost like a technique beyond what a human should be capable of.
Dozens of falling meteors streaked downward. If they struck Konoha directly, the village would be flattened in an instant. Not even the village barriers would matter. Even a fortified stronghold would be reduced to rubble.
The Third Hokage's earlier anger at the destruction of his monument was gone.
Only despair remained.
A thought surfaced in his mind that felt almost absurd.
If nothing changed, Konoha might be destroyed under his watch.
===
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