Chapter 23: Nice! He Actually Wants to Kill Me!
Gurgle, gurgle—!
Boiling water bubbled and hissed violently, churning beneath a haze of white steam that rolled upward in thick clouds. The air reeked of sulfur and scorched minerals, so sharp that every breath burned the lungs.
In the center of that hellish darkness, a faint light shimmered — a glowing barrier, floating precariously above a vast lake of scalding water. Its pale radiance rippled against the blackened volcanic walls, painting distorted reflections across the molten mist.
Crack, crack!
Fragments of rock and ash tumbled continuously from the jagged ceiling.
The air was thick, heavy, and alive with the tremor of a volcano's pulse. It felt as though the world itself had become a sealed kettle sitting atop a furious flame — pressure building, roaring, desperate to explode.
Every inhalation stung.
The heat was unbearable — fifty degrees? Sixty? Maybe higher. Even for a trained shinobi, every breath scalded the throat.
Sweat instantly evaporated the moment it formed, leaving the skin dry and burning.
Uchiha Ci staggered slightly, his vision swimming. The heat pressed down on him like a living weight, twisting the air into waves of distortion. His head felt light, his heartbeat thundered in his ears.
For a fleeting moment, the world wavered —
Through the thin veil of white light, he thought he saw the night sky, starry and distant, beckoning him. Up there, amid the glittering specks of light, he could almost see his great-grandmother, waving proudly, as if to welcome him home.
That hallucination was enough to jolt him awake.
Ci's eyes snapped open, and clarity surged back like a bucket of ice water.
Instantly, everything clicked.
This space — this suffocating pit of heat and darkness — was the volcano created by Tsuchidai's Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation!
The boiling lake beneath him was a pool of scalding groundwater drawn up from the earth's veins. A natural execution ground, hotter than any furnace.
Ci blinked, the corner of his mouth twitching.
So this is it, huh? My burial ground.
But then, he couldn't help it — he grinned.
"When the cart reaches the mountain, there's always a road. And when the willows darken, there's always another village beyond…"
He muttered softly, half to steady himself, half because humor was the only weapon he had left.
He'd thought his life was over so many times tonight that the word despair had lost meaning. He'd been beaten senseless, his explosive tags had failed, his wallet was gone, and his body had been thrown through more rock walls than he could count. And yet, somehow, it all turns around — awakening the Sharingan and even forcing a Kumogakure elite onto the back foot.
Then, just as he gave up on dying— Tsuchidai, that boss-level lunatic, decided to flip the script again.
Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation — to create the volcano.
Lava Release: Rubber River — to seal it shut.
Together, those two techniques had created a deathtrap from nature itself. Boiling water over a hundred degrees, crushing subterranean pressure, molten rock and earth collapsing inward — Even a jonin would melt alive.
To Ci, though… it was perfect.
His eyes sparkled as though he'd just found treasure.
"This… this must be divine intervention!"
A smile crept across his soot-streaked face, half hysterical, half delighted.
"Trying to fake your death for insurance in this world sure ain't easy— thankfully, fate is lending a hand!"
He really thought he wouldn't die tonight. That would've been a nightmare.
While Ci was nearly weeping tears of gratitude, a few meters away, another man was boiling — literally and emotionally.
Moloi.
The Cloud's elite barrier specialist stood trembling, his entire body slick with sweat and burns. His eyes, however, blazed with raw hatred.
The contrast was absurd — one man crying with relief, the other consumed by rage.
Moloi's breathing turned ragged, steam rising from his mouth with each exhale. His bloodshot eyes locked on Ci with murderous intensity.
All because of this brat.
Because of this damn brat, everything had fallen apart. The mission, the formation, the plan.
And now, Tsuchidai had thrown him into the same pit, treating him as expendable to somehow salvage the situation.
Moloi's heart twisted between fury and despair.
He clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked, veins bulging along his arms and temples.
"Uchiha Ci!" he screamed hoarsely. "It's all your fault! If not for you, how could I have ended up like this?!"
His voice broke, echoing through the steaming chamber.
"I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you!!"
But instead of fear, Ci's eyes lit up.
His heart almost leapt out of his chest in joy.
"Nice! This guy still wants to kill me!"
His mind, absurdly enough, found that exhilarating — like realizing mid-fall that your bungee cord might still be attached.
Suppressing a laugh, Ci straightened his posture, composing himself. He gave Moloi a solemn nod, face completely serious.
"That's the spirit!"
Then, with perfect dramatic timing, he tilted his chin upward, adopting the smug, second-brother expression that begged to be punched.
A faint, dismissive chuckle escaped his lips.
"Before these eyes of mine… your struggle is meaningless."
And with that—
Sharingan, open!
The crimson pupils flared to life, the single tomoe spinning lazily in the molten light.
Its glow reflected across Moloi's distorted, furious face, turning the scene into a demonic painting of red and ash.
A suffocating aura surged outward — arrogant, defiant, unbearably cool.
The kind of "main character" energy that made bystanders want to throw rocks.
And indeed, faced with that provocation, Moloi completely snapped.
His nostrils flared. His teeth clenched. His chakra exploded outward in a violent surge.
With a roar that shook the chamber, he stomped down — The boiling lake beneath him detonated into a pillar of white steam.
He lunged forward like a maddened beast, fists swinging.
But Ci only shifted his weight to the side, letting the blow brush past. His body moved on instinct, with a flash of motion. His heel smashed into Moloi's face, sending the Cloud shinobi hurtling backward into the steam.
"Give it up," Ci said calmly, flicking ash from his sleeve.
"I've already seen through all your moves."
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Moloi's scream tore through the chamber, his face a mask of fury and humiliation.
He ignored the blood trickling from his mouth, his hands flying into seals.
"Sealing Art — Lightning Binding!"
Ci's smirk faltered.
"Wait, you can still—?!"
He tried to dodge, but it was too late.
The boiling water beneath his feet glowed with a blazing blue sigil — the kanji for Thunder ("雷") pulsing beneath the surface.
Crack!
Four chains of lightning erupted upward, spearing through the air and wrapping around Ci's body like burning serpents. He convulsed, muscles locking, electricity searing through him. The scent of ozone and scorched cloth filled the air.
Moloi's grin returned — wide, savage, triumphant.
But before he could even gloat—
Splash!
The ground beneath him collapsed.
Moloi's body slipped, plunging beneath the boiling lake beneath. The moment his skin met the liquid, he convulsed violently. His mouth opened in a silent scream, eyes wide, muscles writhing.
The boiling water cooked him alive within seconds.
Blub—!
A single bubble rose to the surface.
Then, stillness.
The chains of lightning flickered, then vanished.
Uchiha Ci blinked, panting, smoke rising faintly from his clothes.
"…Wait. That's it? You're done?"
He stared at the steaming water in disbelief.
"Bro, couldn't you have held on two more seconds? At least come up here and stab me first! Damn it—"
He sighed, shoulders slumping.
"You spent all your chakra just to show off, huh? Not even enough left to stay afloat. Seriously—are all Cloud shinobi this hot-headed?"
He let himself fall backward, landing with a dull splash atop the barrier's fading surface.
His limbs felt heavy. His chakra was nearly gone. Every muscle screamed.
The faint glow around him flickered weakly, then dimmed.
Through the shimmering heat, he caught sight of his reflection in the boiling water —
a soot-streaked, blood-smeared face that once could've graced a magazine cover.
Now, it looked like a miner who'd crawled out of a collapsed shaft — if that miner had also been set on fire.
Ci chuckled softly, breath rasping.
"So… this is the end of my road, huh?"
He sat cross-legged on the steaming surface, smiling faintly. The world around him trembled as pressure built up the volcano's final heartbeat before eruption.
He was exhausted.
"Finally..."
And then—
Out of the suffocating darkness—
A golden flame burst forth.
A radiant blaze split the gloom like dawn breaking through a storm. Its light poured down, illuminating the black cavern walls with molten gold.
A familiar voice — fierce and commanding — rang out above his ear:
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"