Chapter 53: The Annihilation of the Hyūga
The five orbs of S-Rank fire, compressed by the ten A-Rank blasts, did not explode outward. Instead, they collapsed inward for a split second before erupting in a silent, blinding sphere of pure white annihilation. The sound came a moment later—a deep, world-ending roar that tore across the landscape.
The Hyūga perimeter, the first line of their proud defense, was not just breached; it was vaporized. The superheated air incinerated everything in a wide radius, leaving behind a glassy, smoldering crater where skilled shinobi had stood moments before.
Uchiha Raizen watched, his face an unreadable mask. The sheer power was terrifying, even to him. The system notifications for dozens of dropped items—[Byakugan Proficiency Fragments], [Gentle Fist Techniques], [Hyūga Primary Physique Fragments]—flashed at the edge of his vision, but he ignored them. There was no triumph in this, only a grim, necessary finality.
"Forward!" Uchiha Tajima's voice bellowed from behind the main Uchiha line, seizing the moment of catastrophic shock.
The Uchiha forces, a tide of black and red, surged through the breach. The battle was no longer a fight; it was a rout. The Hyūga, reeling from the initial cataclysm, struggled to form coherent defenses. Their Gentle Fist was a peerless dueling style, but it was less effective against the wide-scale, elemental devastation the Uchiha specialized in.
Uchiha Raizen did not move. He stood at the edge of the crater, his assigned task complete. The ten ANBU guards formed a protective circle around him, their duty now to ensure the clan's ultimate weapon was safeguarded.
He saw Uchiha Madara at the forefront of the charge, his newly-awakened Sharingan spinning with a ferocious, grief-stricken rage. He saw Uchiha Ryoken and Uchiha Natsume fighting back-to-back, their movements a fluid, deadly dance. He saw the Fūma clansmen, their controlled transformations making them terrifying blurs of strength and speed on the battlefield.
It was over in hours.
The Hyūga clan, one of the three pillars of the shinobi world, was broken. Their compound was seized, their survivors scattered or captured. The name "Uchiha Raizen" and his "Silent Annihilation" technique would be whispered in fear across the nations.
As the sun began to set, painting the smoky sky in hues of blood and orange, Uchiha Tajima approached him. The patriarch's clothes were spattered, but his posture was that of a victorious conqueror.
"You have done a great service to the clan today, Elder Raizen," he said, his voice thick with satisfaction. "With the Hyūga's resources and land, our position is unassailable. The Senju will think twice before challenging us now."
Uchiha Raizen merely nodded, his eyes still fixed on the devastation. He had secured the Uchiha's dominance. He had avenged the dead. But standing in the ashes of an entire clan, he felt only the heavy, chilling price of power in this world. He had become the very instrument of the war he had once hoped to avoid. The path he walked was drenched in blood, and there was no turning back.