If they attacked at the same time, there was no way he could block it!
Everyone in the shinobi alliance began drawing on every shred of Chakra they had, pouring their all into their ninjutsu.
Wind, Lightning, Water, Fire, Earth...
The techniques interwove, merging into a surging torrent that slammed savagely into Susanoo.
A thunderous roar kept exploding through the air, and the ground shuddered as if an earth dragon were turning beneath it.
In the blink of an eye, the smoke and dust thrown up by the blast swallowed everything.
Every last person stared wide-eyed at the churning haze ahead.
With power like that, there was no way that bastard Uchiha Yuzuru could withstand it!
All at once, an invisible shockwave spread outward. A gale swept the smoke aside, and Susanoo's massive body appeared before them again.
"H-How is that possible... That attack didn't do anything at all."
"Heh... heh heh...
Damn it, what kind of monster is this?!"
"No... We don't even know how we're supposed to win. Can a person really be this strong?"
Looking down at the shinobi alliance below—ants that had already lost the will to fight—Uchiha Yuzuru folded his arms and let out a soft snort.
"Having the nerve to challenge me is impressive," he said. "But that's the only thing I can praise you for, because...
to challenge a god is—reckless folly!"
Susanoo's hand closed around the long blade at its waist.
"Kamui Rift-Cleaving Slash!"
The sword flashed from its sheath, and a jet-black blade aura burst forth in an instant.
Wherever it passed, space itself split in two like a mirror cleaved down the middle.
At the touch of that black aura, thousands of shinobi from the shinobi alliance were reduced to dust.
Everything seemed to freeze. Between heaven and earth, not a sound remained.
In that moment, whether they were Cloud ninja or shinobi from the alliance, everyone stood rooted in place, stunned.
No one knew how long it was before a voice rang out from the alliance—ragged, trembling, on the verge of tears.
"No... We can't beat him! R-Run! Everyone, run!"
As the words fell, terror spread through the shinobi alliance like wildfire.
The next second, what remained of the alliance fled in desperate panic, sprinting back the way they'd come.
Each of them squeezed out every last ounce of strength, as if anyone who slowed for even a heartbeat would be reaped on the spot by the scythe of death.
And so, the shinobi alliance formed by the four great shinobi villages...
Collapsed in rout!
I got carried away. The drain really is a bit much...
Uchiha Yuzuru returned to Third Raikage and the others, smiling bitterly to himself.
Even with the boost from the bloodline power of the Yotsuki clan and the Chinoike clan, he'd overdone it with that last strike.
A single attack that wiped out thousands of shinobi... the ocular power it consumed was beyond measure.
Until he obtained a way to restore the Mangekyo Sharingan's ocular power, he'd have to conserve as much as possible.
Otherwise, no matter how much ocular power he had, every use only left him with less.
And for Uchiha Yuzuru—who had a bit of a pack-rat streak—that was deeply unnerving.
After a brief moment of thought, Uchiha Yuzuru looked over at Orochimaru, who was standing off to the side in a daze.
"Orochimaru, you should go back for now."
"I hope the next time we meet, you'll be ready to accept the destiny I've prepared for you."
Uchiha Yuzuru knew Orochimaru's temperament well; he wasn't the kind of person who would give his loyalty easily.
So Yuzuru didn't rush it. With his strength, it was only a matter of time before he had Orochimaru firmly in hand.
Of course, that was assuming Orochimaru didn't keep making his skin crawl.
Otherwise, he could just kill him—Impure World Reincarnation wasn't off the table.
Only after hearing Uchiha Yuzuru did Orochimaru finally snap out of his shock.
His lips felt dry. By habit, he tried to extend his tongue to wet them—only to realize he couldn't.
After staring deeply into Uchiha Yuzuru's eyes, Orochimaru used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished from where he stood.
So this was the power Uchiha Madara once used to pacify an era of chaos—terrifying... and irresistibly alluring.
Compared to power like that, what did all the things he'd once been proud of amount to?
Maybe Uchiha Yuzuru was right. Human life really was far too fragile.
He... didn't want to be human anymore!
After Orochimaru left, Third Raikage, A, Uchiha Fugaku, and Hatake Sakumo all came back to themselves as well.
Third Raikage clapped Uchiha Yuzuru on the shoulder and laughed loudly. "Yuzuru, you had strength like that in reserve? At this point, I'm afraid even I wouldn't be your match."
His instincts told him that the power Yuzuru had just used could tear through his Lightning Release Armor with ease.
And with a range that huge, even with his speed, there would've been nowhere to dodge.
A and Hatake Sakumo both looked a little shaken.
They'd been holding back a stubborn fire, determined to train hard and one day defeat Uchiha Yuzuru.
But now...
There was no chance. None at all.
Uchiha Yuzuru was more like a monster—every time he moved, he pushed their understanding past its limit again.
Uchiha Fugaku, meanwhile, wore an expression of arrogant pride, his nose practically tilted up to the sky.
What Yuzuru had just used was their clan's power.
Just thinking back to how dazzling Uchiha Yuzuru had looked made Fugaku so excited his body trembled.
Flashy, flawless, and strong...
That was the allure of a pureblood Uchiha!
At that thought, a hint of yearning appeared in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes.
If only one day he could obtain the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan as well.
Uchiha Yuzuru didn't bother with any of their reactions. He simply looked at Third Raikage and asked, "Third Raikage, were you satisfied with today's battle?"
Third Raikage dug a finger in his ear, his face lit with excitement. "Satisfied? I'm beyond satisfied—I was high as hell!"
Not only had he gotten to slaughter to his heart's content, he'd also witnessed the Uchiha clan's godlike power.
And most importantly, in the face of a ten-thousand-strong shinobi alliance, Kumogakure hadn't suffered so much as a single casualty.
It all felt like a dream.
"Yuzuru, come with me."
Third Raikage grabbed Uchiha Yuzuru's hand and led him to the edge of the platform.
He looked down at the Cloud ninja below and shouted, "Tell me—did you enjoy this fight?"
The Cloud ninja answered in unison, "Yes!"
"Then whose contribution was the greatest?"
"Lord Yuzuru!"
"Then I'll announce it here: from now on, in the Land of Lightning, Yuzuru's orders are my orders."
"As Raikage, I grant Uchiha Yuzuru the same authority I possess!"
As Third Raikage's voice fell, thunderous applause erupted below.
"Long live Raikage!
Long live Lord Yuzuru!"
Listening to the cheers, Third Raikage nodded in satisfaction.
Ever since Uchiha Yuzuru had led the Uchiha clan to settle in Kumogakure, it was as if the heavens themselves were helping them.
Now that he'd seen Uchiha Yuzuru's terrifying power with his own eyes, Third Raikage's resolve only hardened further.
So what if he gave a little more power?
Was that even a problem?
Yuzuru and his clan were living in Kumogakure now. No matter how strong they were, Kumogakure was the one benefiting.
And even if it came down to it—so what if he stopped being Raikage?
People said he wasn't bright, but Third Raikage thought someone like Sarutobi Hiruzen was the real idiot.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't driven away powerhouses like Uchiha Yuzuru and Hatake Sakumo, how could Kumogakure have become so glorious?
No one had expected the shinobi alliance—everyone's great hope—to be routed.
No.
"Routed" didn't quite fit. "Annihilated" was more accurate.
The Eight-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb bombardment, the rampage of Third Raikage, Uchiha Fugaku, A, and Hatake Sakumo...
And above all, Uchiha Yuzuru's final slash, which harvested the lives of thousands of alliance shinobi in one stroke.
Out of a ten-thousand-strong shinobi alliance, aside from the commanders stationed in the rear, fewer than 100 survived.
The ones who escaped by sheer luck were already swallowed by shadow.
Shimura Danzo, Elder, and the others didn't even hold a meeting to discuss what came next—they went straight back to their respective villages.
At first, when facing Third Raikage and his group, they still believed they could win through endless reinforcements.
But Uchiha Yuzuru's world-shaking blade severed their hope of revenge completely.
Sure, using power that great couldn't be without a price...
But no one wanted to gamble their comrades' lives on whether Uchiha Yuzuru still had another round in the chamber.
News of the shinobi alliance's defeat spread with the returning shinobi and sent shockwaves through the shinobi world.
Iwagakure.
Kitsuchi looked at Onoki with eyes full of admiration.
This time, in the shinobi alliance's assault on Kumogakure, they had only dispatched 1,000 shinobi.
Most of them were Genin. The few Chunin were already past their prime—shinobi with little hope of further achievement.
Their deaths were still sorrowful, of course, but compared to the other villages, Iwagakure's losses were almost negligible.
"Tsuchikage-sama, you really did have foresight."
"You didn't see it—Uchiha Yuzuru's slash was absolutely terrifying."
"Thousands of people...
turned into dead souls with a single strike!"
Even now, Kitsuchi couldn't shake the lingering dread.
If Shimura Danzo hadn't insisted they stay in the rear, Kitsuchi might have died by Uchiha Yuzuru's hand.
Hearing Kitsuchi's awe, Onoki let out a slow sigh.
"It wasn't foresight. I've simply witnessed the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan before."
"Back then, when my teacher and I faced Uchiha Madara... you wouldn't understand that kind of despair."
As if remembering something unpleasant, Onoki shook his head.
"With what I know of the Uchiha clan, this won't end here."
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