If Uchiha Izumi was the blade of justice, then Ringo Ameyuri would only become Keizumi's sharp blade.
The former was Keizumi's fellow traveler; the latter would only be a blade in his hand. But no matter how finely made a blade was, without a mind of its own, it was still a dull blade. Absolute Justice had no need for dull blades!
"Please do not refuse! Before my father died, he taught me that kindness must always be repaid! As for my mother..." At the mention of her mother, Ameyuri felt a pain in her heart so sharp she could barely breathe. She had actually called that beast her brother for so many years. If her mother could see all this from the Pure Land, how much pain would she feel? "In any case, please do not refuse! No matter what you ask of me, I will risk my life to accomplish it!"
Keizumi frowned slightly. Ameyuri might truly be able to assist him in carrying out justice, but could a sharp blade that placed Keizumi's will above [Absolute Justice] really become a blade of justice?
If Izumi was a believer in Absolute Justice, then Ameyuri was more likely to become a believer in Keizumi.
"Please accept her loyalty!" Mei suddenly spoke up in persuasion at that moment. When she had first seen Ameyuri ask to follow Keizumi, she had still been lamenting the loss of a Lightning Release genius for Kirigakure. But when Keizumi declined her, Mei thought of another possibility. "You cannot possibly remain in the Land of Water forever. When the time comes, you could let Ameyuri serve as your eyes and supervise the implementation of Absolute Justice in the Land of Water in your stead."
Mei did not care whether Ameyuri would become Keizumi's loyal hound in the future. No matter how loyal Ameyuri might be to him, her strength had its limits. Compared with Keizumi, who could suppress Kirigakure by his own power alone, at best Ameyuri would only become an outstanding elite jōnin in the future.
There were many things Keizumi could do with ease that Ameyuri could only compromise over by force of circumstance. Once Keizumi left, Kirigakure would have no shortage of room to play tricks.
"I will give you a chance for now." After a moment of thought, Keizumi swept his gaze across the Kirigakure shinobi present, then finally let it settle on a man whose square red marker above his head had deepened to a dark purplish red. "Ōhashi Jirō. Twelve years ago, you attacked a merchant ship to seize its valuables, causing all fourteen people aboard to die. Eleven years ago... three months ago... If you want to follow me, then go kill him."
The moment his words fell, lightning flared around the prone Ameyuri once more. Ōhashi Jirō, the man Keizumi had singled out, tried to flee, but the Sharingan's genjutsu nailed him firmly in place.
"Lightning Flash Slash!" Ameyuri's figure flickered, and his head was severed in a single stroke. At the same time, Keizumi also received a prompt from his golden finger.
[Ding! One of the believers in Absolute Justice you have nurtured has joined forces to carry out an act of absolute justice! Your chakra has received a slight increase! Congratulations, you have successfully obtained: Kirigakure Swordsmanship Experience Book ×2]
[At the same time, Ringo Ameyuri has also received a slight increase in chakra!]
...
'So even followers who are loyal enough will be regarded as believers in Absolute Justice...' Though Keizumi was surprised, it also made sense. As long as he did not stray from the path of Absolute Justice, then his diehard followers would naturally also be diehard believers in Absolute Justice.
"Keizumi-sama?" Ameyuri did not think that completing such a small task would be enough to earn her the qualification to follow him. But as long as he was willing to give her a chance, she would complete any test, no matter what it was. "Hm?"
Yet at that moment, she felt some kind of change come over her body. Her chakra reserves seemed to have increased a little?
"Bastard! They lured us here just to kill us! Let's fight them to the death!" With three Kirigakure shinobi dead in succession, the rest immediately erupted, especially the conservative faction's shinobi. Some among them had committed crimes even worse than Kurō, Kukurin, and Jirō. Keizumi clearly had no intention of sparing them just because there were many of them. If they kept waiting, sooner or later they would all die anyway.
Dozens of Kirigakure shinobi roared as they charged at Keizumi. Seeing that, Ameyuri flew into a rage and clenched her short swords, about to rush forward and stake everything on the fight.
But just as lightning flared around Ameyuri again, Keizumi's Mangekyō Sharingan began to spin and transform, forming a pattern that was even more complex, more sinister, and more profound!
Susanoo!
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!
With the complete release of his ocular power, the earth let out a violent roar. A colossal crimson skeletal frame, vast beyond imagination, stood upon the land like a demonic god crawling up from the deepest pits of hell!
Crimson chakra surged forth like a rushing torrent of molten lava, rapidly constructing an incomparably robust, sinewy body over the skeletal frame.
Immediately afterward, layer upon layer of heavy, ancient, and ferocious crimson armor spread over the demonic god's mighty body as if alive.
The extreme heat radiating from the crimson chakra flames was so intense that even the ground beneath Susanoo's feet began to melt and boil, forming a rolling lake of lava that kept spreading outward in bubbling waves.
A pair of enormous chakra wings suddenly unfurled from Susanoo's back, and within those crimson wings, countless streams of blazing magma seemed to flow.
Complete Body Susanoo!
Crimson light illuminated the night sky over Kirigakure. With each beat of its wings, waves of scorching, burning wind were stirred up, evaporating the dense mist that blanketed Kirigakure all year round!
Under Keizumi's control, the enormous Susanoo stretched out a hand and seized fiercely at the empty air!
Buzz—!!!
Endless Lava Release chakra gathered and condensed into a gigantic magma blade that radiated an aura of total incineration, then slashed violently toward the dozens of charging Kirigakure shinobi.
Just one strike!
Dozens of Kirigakure shinobi were burned away by the magma blade. The elite jōnin leading them tried to resist with Water Release, but the Water Release he unleashed was laughable before the might of Lava Release Susanoo, like a toy water gun.
"So strong!" Ameyuri's eyes widened in shock. In her heart, that Susanoo towering beneath the heavens was like a god descending from above!
The remaining Kirigakure shinobi were scared out of their wits by the power Keizumi had displayed. Yet some of them still turned and ran without the slightest hesitation. The stronger he appeared, the more resolute they became in their flight!
Yet Keizumi merely cast a glance at the fleeing Kirigakure shinobi, and Susanoo's left hand transformed into a massive mass of lava. Wrapped in scorching magma and howling burning wind, a single blow blasted the ground several kilometers away into a deep lake of lava.
Along with it, those fools who had not even thought to scatter as they fled were reduced to ashes as well, their crimes completely settled!