Chapter 18: Blood, Madness, and Promise! The Fury of the Uchiha!
A ruined forest stretched in all directions.
Uchiha Setsuna clenched his fists tightly. His eyes burned with a chilling, cutting light as he turned toward the three Cloud shinobi—Moloi, Ramii, and Tsuchidai.
Never in his life had he felt pain so searing, so deep it seemed to carve through his very soul.
He was the Great Elder of the Uchiha—an eagle soaring through the skies, proud and untamed.
He was the model for all the young eagles of his clan—the noble figure they all looked up to.
But now—here—he could only watch as that young eagle, destined to one day soar nine thousand miles above the clouds…
…used his own flesh and blood to carve out a desperate path of escape for him.
The tomoe in Uchiha Setsuna's Sharingan spun faster and faster, nearly forming into a new, black pattern.
But that was as far as it went.
Setsuna knew, with cruel clarity, that he was not like Uchiha Kagami. He did not possess the talent to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
So he could only stare, his eyes bloodshot and trembling, the whites filling with spiderwebs of crimson veins— His gaze burned red, demonic.
A single tear of blood slid silently down his cheek.
Setsuna shut his eyes in agony—and in the darkness behind his lids, countless familiar faces appeared.
Uchiha Tajima.
Madara.
Izuna.
Kagami.
One after another, the fallen Uchiha formed a wall before him.
They stood silent, their faces stiff, their crimson eyes wide and full of resentment.
Their lips, their teeth, even their flesh trembled as they glared at him—
In hatred. In fury. In accusation.
Why?
Why is it that, from the Warring States to this day, the one who survived… is a useless man like you?!
Setsuna's eyes snapped open. All hesitation vanished.
He glared at the three Cloud shinobi, his Sharingan weeping blood and light.
Then, suddenly—he threw back his head and laughed.
"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
He was laughing—
But his laughter was like nails tearing through his own flesh.
"Good!"
"Good!!"
"Uchiha Ci! As the Great Elder of the Uchiha, as the leader of the Hawk Faction, and as your godfather—"
"I recognize your will!"
Setsuna roared, his voice shaking the heavens:
"Go on and die!"
"Die without hesitation—die gloriously!"
Inside the barrier, Uchiha Ci froze, heart pounding. He looked toward Setsuna, terrified the old man might actually rush in and pull some suicidal stunt.
He'd gone this far—could that geezer please not go crazy now?
If you can't win, just run! Is that really so shameful?!
But—
Setsuna raised his long blade, pointing it straight at the Cloud shinobi, his eyes as cold and sharp as ancient ice.
He declared, voice like thunder:
"Don't worry! I'll flee like a mangy dog!"
"But these three…"
"These three will bear the eternal wrath of the Uchiha!"
"From this day forth, I swear on the clan's name—I will mobilize the entire Uchiha to hunt you down!"
"The daimyō mansions and shinobi villages of all Five Great Nations will receive a permanent bounty notice!"
"And in the black market—the bounty for your heads will never be taken down!"
"Every organization, every group—Star, Taki, Grass, Rain, Hot Water, the Kunoichi Village, the Land of Iron, Ryūdōin, Akatsuki, the Xuanyuan Sect, Mori, Rin, the Pāra Monks, the Yangflame Brotherhood—"
"All of them!"
"Every last one of them will know—"
Setsuna's eyes went mad. Blood streaked his cheeks as he roared each word, voice grinding like steel on stone:
"Your heads are worth one hundred million ryō each!"
Every syllable burned with hatred and grief.
"You—what the hell are you saying?!" Ramii trembled violently, his face pale with fear.
"Uchiha Setsuna—you've lost your mind!"
"You'd destroy the balance of the shinobi world?!"
"That's suicide!"
Tsuchidai and Moloi both froze, their minds ringing like struck gongs.
Mad. They're all mad.
The brat's insane.
The old man's insane too!
In the hidden world of shinobi, every clan had its share of hatred and blood debts.
But no one—no one—had ever gone this far.
At most, a family might post a quiet bounty through the underground network.
That much was tolerated.
But to publicly declare an eternal vendetta against three people— To spread it across every nation and every faction— That was a declaration of endless war.
And yet… the Uchiha were different.
They were one of the two supreme clans of the Warring States era. They could pull this off—their influence reached everywhere.
Few would dare imitate it, but everyone knew they had the means.
Still, such a massive bounty—one hundred million each, plus hidden costs easily exceeding a billion— would bankrupt most clans.
Just for three heads!
But the Uchiha? The Uchiha were rich. Obscenely rich.
This wouldn't even scratch their reserves.
And besides—the Hawk Faction of the Uchiha was full of maniacs.
They'd probably love to donate their own fortunes just to fund such revenge.
Setsuna sneered at the trembling Cloud shinobi. His voice was ice:
"Rules? You think I give a damn about rules?"
"You must have me confused with someone else!"
"I am—"
"Uchiha Setsuna!"
At that name, all three Cloud shinobi paled instantly.
Of course.
That Uchiha Setsuna.
The same man whose name echoed among every high-ranking shinobi of the Five Nations.
The man who once attempted to assassinate the Second Hokage during diplomatic talks!
He was no different from their own Gold and Silver Brothers of Kumo.
Only difference?
Those brothers succeeded.
Setsuna's coup had failed.
But either way—he was a terrorist through and through.
"You—you're a lunatic! A goddamn lunatic!" Tsuchidai shouted, face twisting in panic.
Ramii pointed a shaking finger, so furious and afraid he couldn't even form words.
Moloi's face turned ashen—utterly defeated.
Who could understand his misery?
In front of him stood a young madman wearing explosive tags as clothing.
Behind him stood an old madman who had just placed a hundred million-ryō bounty on his head.
He was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Even Uchiha Ci felt his scalp tingle.
For a brief moment, he wasn't so sure about dying anymore.
Because if Setsuna went back alive…
the Uchiha might destroy themselves faster than they ever did in history!
Inside, he screamed in despair:
Someone save me!
Why are all Uchiha complete lunatics?!
He'd finally escaped one psycho—Uchiha Shisui— only to run straight into someone even worse!