Chapter 178: Shocking All Sides! Crushing the Serpent Personality!
Beneath the massive Hokage Rock, the Hokage Tower stood—its structure resembling a round building with a wide, flat white roof.
At this moment, the Third Hokage of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood by the railing atop the building, gazing at the magnificent scenery of Konoha while listening to Namikaze Minato report on the actual battle situation in the Land of Rain.
"Hokage-sama, that's the complete account."
"In this battle, the greatest credit goes to the Konoha strike force led by Uchiha Shinichi and Uchiha Tsukasa. Their surprise attack allowed us to obtain Ebizō's head and countless classified intelligence, which made our subsequent offensive so successful!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe on the railing, furrowing his brow slightly, then asked:
"Uchiha Tsukasa?"
"Minato, what's your impression of this boy?"
Minato's expression grew serious, knowing the Third Hokage had asked the key question.
After so many days, the Third Hokage had long since received Konoha's battle reports. He didn't need advice on rewarding those who'd contributed—what he wanted to know was about the Uchiha clan.
Since Konoha's founding, the relationship between the Uchiha and the village had never been harmonious. Due to the pressures of reality, the balancing of interests, and the flaws of the old system, the two sides had remained at an impasse, and the Third Hokage could only maintain this status quo.
However, if this continued, the marginalized Uchiha clan's pent-up resentment would likely escalate, potentially leading to serious trouble.
The fact that Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin, had accepted Uchiha Tsukasa as a disciple, and the Uchiha clan had subsequently made concessions on the Valley of Hell S-rank mission—signaling a compromise from both sides—had proven quite effective recently.
However, the key issue lay with Tsukasa himself.
Did he have the ability to become a bridge between the clan and the village?
Hiruzen Sarutobi had never met this boy and couldn't judge his attitude toward Konoha, but judging from his actions, he was undoubtedly a new genius of the Uchiha clan! Comparable to Uchiha Kagami in his prime!
But if this boy's mentality resembled Uchiha Madara's, then it would all be over.
That's why he'd sought out Minato for his assessment.
Minato recalled his experiences with Tsukasa these past few days and couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Uchiha Tsukasa—he's a peace-loving boy."
However, before he could finish speaking—
The sky suddenly darkened!
A pitch-black mushroom cloud rose from southern Konoha—
The earth trembled, and the deafening roar of an explosion, along with the shockwave that swept across the entire village, tore through the Hokage Tower—
Even blowing Hiruzen Sarutobi's Hokage hat into the sky.
Immediately afterward, an ominous aura surged forth, causing Hiruzen's face to twitch.
He quickly glanced toward the Uchiha and former Senju territories to the south of Konoha, his gaze flickering.
"What was that?!"
Minato's smile froze, and he awkwardly turned his head, staring at the familiar spiral mushroom cloud on the horizon. He scratched his head uncertainly.
"That..."
"It looks like one of my techniques?"
Underground in Konoha, at Root headquarters—
Danzō Shimura was dozing on the Root leader's throne.
Suddenly, the ceiling shook violently, and a shower of pebbles rained down. One struck him squarely on the forehead, causing him to snap his eyes open.
"This chakra, this ominous aura?"
"A Tailed Beast has invaded the village?"
Shimura Danzō suddenly perked up, standing and immediately issuing orders to his Root subordinates. He then shouted at a hooded man standing in the darkness:
"Ryōma, quick—send someone to subdue the Uchiha!"
"Hold back your forces, don't reveal yourselves yet. We'll make our move after that monkey Hiruzen has cleaned up the mess!"
Danzō was brimming with energy.
This way, he could use this opportunity to oust the monkey!
Haha!
The Fourth Hokage position would be none other than his, Shimura Danzō's!
However, seated before him, Aburame Ryōma frowned, retrieving information from a parasitic insect in mid-air.
"Um, Lord Danzō," he said—
"That... it seems to be a chakra fluctuation originating from the Uchiha clan's territory!"
Hearing this, Danzō's brow furrowed deeply.
"Uchiha? Where would they get a Tailed Beast?"
"Good—I knew it! These evil Uchiha want to instigate a coup by stealing Tailed Beasts from other countries! I told you long ago the monkey was too lenient with them."
Aburame Ryōma paused for a moment, his expression slightly embarrassed, before reminding him:
"Lord Danzō, have you forgotten? That Tailed Beast jinchūriki is your subordinate—Orochimaru's disciple, the one codenamed 'Demon.'"
"Uchiha Tsukasa."
Upon hearing this, Danzō froze, his face displaying a complex mix of emotions—a turbulent, unpredictable expression. After a long silence, he coughed.
"Is that so?"
On the other side, at Konoha Hospital—
Countless people looked up at the dark mushroom cloud rising from southern Konoha.
Then, a woman's angry roar echoed:
"Who did that?!"
To everyone's astonishment, a blonde woman wearing a green haori emblazoned with the kanji for "gamble," rushed out of the hospital, clenching her fists and trembling as she stood at the entrance. Behind her followed a nervous young woman with short black hair in a traditional kimono.
This woman was none other than Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin.
At this moment, Tsunade stared helplessly at where the dark mushroom cloud had risen, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes in anguish.
"My property investments!!!"
Meanwhile, on the southern side of Konoha—
Along the Naka River, in the luxurious courtyard belonging to the Uchiha clan—
Uchiha Yashiro suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring in astonishment and horror at Tsukasa, who stood upright, wildly unleashing Hollow Cannons.
A layer of sweat dripped down his forehead.
He swallowed hard, glancing at Uchiha Tekka, who'd been blasted far away by the Hollow Cannon.
"Hah..."
Yashiro gasped for breath, trying to suppress his wildly beating heart and surging blood pressure, his face turning a sickly pale.
However, the sword he gripped was already extended, aimed at Tsukasa's back—
He'd lost control of the situation!
Whoosh!
A shuriken flew past, its steel wires ensnaring Tsukasa's limbs. The momentum, combined with the falling force of the kunai, pulled at him.
'Half-Tailed Beast Tsukasa' suddenly turned his head, staring at Yashiro who intended to attack 'it'.
A flash of killing intent erupted in his crimson serpentine eyes!
The Tailed Beast Cloak, surging with blazing white flames, shifted and transformed, extending eight fiery arms!
These eight hands clenched in mid-air, manifesting eight six-foot-long fire blades!
Without any warning, it simply slashed downward relentlessly—a dense barrage of blades engulfing the entire space before Yashiro!
Yashiro's scalp tingled, his Sharingan widened, and under the onslaught of eight blazing blades, he could only dodge and parry desperately.
The shinobi blade in his hand seemed utterly insignificant at this moment!
The ordinary steel wire that had bound 'Half-Tailed Beast Tsukasa' was burned to ashes by the flowing flames of the Tailed Beast Cloak in just seconds—
And 'it', now free, immediately grinned savagely, the veins around its crimson serpentine eyes throbbing—
In its palm, a jet-black, expanding Rasengan—even more powerful than before and infused with natural energy—slowly took shape.
Then it swallowed it whole!
Soon, its body swelled up again, limbs gripping the ground, head raised, mouth agape!
Seeing this, Yashiro swallowed hard, gasped, and began to tremble uncontrollably. His eyes widened, filled with fear and helplessness!
What could an ordinary shinobi like him possibly use to block such an attack?!
Meanwhile, Tsukasa—observing his own body's movements from a detached, god-like perspective—shook his head.
"Too stupid. With power like that, killing Yashiro is such a struggle."
"If it were me, one glare and one slash would be enough."
"Indeed, this is just a beast—a savage consciousness born from the interaction of natural energy and dark chakra."
"It has no fighting strategy, only relying on raw power to overwhelm."
"In that case, things are simple."
Dealing with this 'Serpent Consciousness,' which hasn't fully matured into a complete personality like the future Sage Mode Kabuto, didn't require using 'Izanami' to crush it.
This nascent, mutated personality was no match for Tsukasa—a member of the Uchiha clan with a powerful soul and an S+ level talent in battle intuition.
With that—
Tsukasa activated his Sharingan, directly entering his mental world through the link of his own chakra!
When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the cramped apartment of his previous life.
Looking at the white-scaled serpent with a face identical to his own at his feet—
Tsukasa remained expressionless.
He untied his belt, and swung it down hard!
CRACK!
The white-scaled serpent screamed and turned into a wisp of smoke, instantly crushed and obliterated.
In an instant, everything cleared, and Tsukasa regained control of his body!
However—
Before the mutated personality was destroyed, it left him with quite a mess.
Feeling the chaotic, raging energies within his body, threatening to explode at any moment—the Sharingan's natural energy, the Dark Expanding Rasengan, his own chakra, the natural energy from the broken Cursed Seal of Heaven, the shredded tissues of his immortal body, and the chakra of Fire Release: Chakra Mode—
Tsukasa's forehead twitched.
He realized:
"Oh no—I've really messed up!"
End of Chapter 178
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