Chapter 244: Mangekyō Sharingan — Yachiho — Sealed Tsukuyomi
"Sasuke. Take back the Byakugan."
The moment that clear, bell-like voice rang out across the room, the black-haired boy standing silently behind the Hokage exploded into motion!
"Insolence!"
Seeing the Hokage genuinely willing to disregard the bigger picture and go after Ao, Utakata erupted with fury, throwing himself directly in front of Sasuke's path.
As Mizukage, there was no way he'd stand by and watch one of his own get attacked by someone else!
But the black-haired boy's eyes had already blazed crimson, and he leapt lightly over Utakata's head, closing the distance!
Yet at that instant, another figure surged forward, blocking Sasuke's path!
A crushing, powerful blade came down toward Sasuke's skull!
Sasuke drew his own sword in an instant to meet it!
The sharp ring of steel on steel echoed through the hall!
"Yo. Kid. Long time no see."
Darui watched the boy who'd once fallen to him three years ago, his lazy expression carrying an unmistakable edge of gravity now.
"Hokage. Don't push this too far."
Killer Bee, as Raikage, rose to his feet, his expression grim as he stared down the still-seated Sakura.
Clearly, it had been him who'd ordered Darui to intercept the young Uchiha in the first place.
"Too far?"
A mocking smile touched the corner of Sakura's mouth.
"Watching one of your own train that eye on someone else, and letting him openly use it on me without a word—"
"Not killing him on the spot already counts as courtesy toward all of you."
With that, Sakura turned back to Sasuke.
"Sasuke. What are you waiting for?"
A cold smile crossed Sasuke's lips at those words.
Looking at the man who'd once nearly killed him three years ago, he waited for the moment Darui's attention flickered — and darted past him straight toward Ao!
"Sharingan."
At that, Gaara sighed and rose slowly to his feet.
He had no choice but to intervene.
Yes, Ao had been reckless, activating a Byakugan in front of the Hokage herself — practically the shinobi-world equivalent of sleeping with another man's wife and taunting him about it to his face.
But whatever Ao had actually done, in the end, all he'd done was look.
With a far greater enemy looming, this could not be allowed to escalate from a scuffle into actual bloodshed.
So — he moved.
Sand poured out from beneath Gaara's feet, streaking straight toward Sasuke!
But right then, Gaara overlooked one crucial fact.
None of the five Kage had actually gotten involved yet — even Utakata's move had been purely defensive, a block, nothing more.
And now Gaara, one of the five Kage himself, had just become the first to strike.
Just as the surging sand was about to reach Sasuke — someone else moved first!
Crack!
The spreading wave of sand burst apart violently, and a single foot landed on the ground.
"Magnetic Release sand?"
"Interesting."
The black-haired Uchiha girl crushed the sand flat under one foot, her tone almost bored.
At the sight, not just Gaara but even Ōnoki and Killer Bee tensed visibly.
Crushing Magnetic-Release sand with a single stomp — even they would struggle to manage that.
Since when did Konoha have a hidden powerhouse like this?
"Hokage. Please, calm yourself."
Ōnoki felt he couldn't stay silent any longer — if this kept escalating unchecked, there was no telling where it might end.
But the Hokage remained utterly unmoved by the Tsuchikage's words, sitting calmly in her seat, her expression giving nothing away.
By now, Sasuke had already closed in on Ao, who stood braced and ready.
"I won't let you harm Elder Ao!"
Chōjūrō, twin swords Hiramekarei strapped to his back, planted himself in Sasuke's path.
"Move."
Sasuke, unfazed by the Kiri boy blocking his way, let lightning crackle to life across his body!
Thunder Tiger Annihilation!
Sasuke unleashed the forbidden technique known only within Kumogakure — and Killer Bee's eyelid twitched violently at the sight.
So it's true! Konoha really did do something to my brother!
Killer Bee moved to intervene — but a hand landed on his shoulder.
Tsuchidai shook his head gently at him.
Killer Bee's body trembled at that.
Am I supposed to just stand here and tolerate this — while someone desecrates my brother's memory?
Tolerate it?
Tolerate THIS?!
Killer Bee couldn't hold back any longer!
If he could stomach this, was he even the Raikage anymore? Was he even still Killer Bee?!
Disregarding Tsuchidai's restraining hand — and with Gaara having already made the first move — the Raikage's own patience finally snapped!
The seven ninja swords strapped across his back unsheathed all at once, and Killer Bee surged forward, straight at Sasuke, who had just kicked Chōjūrō clean off his feet!
Sasuke's Sharingan spun, its tomoe blurring, and his white blade caught Killer Bee's strike dead-on!
But then the remaining swords, each moving under Killer Bee's independent limb-control, came flying in relentless succession, striking at Sasuke from every angle!
Blades flashed in a chaotic storm of steel, strike after strike, falling like rain upon Sasuke without pause!
Yet even against an assault ferocious enough to overwhelm anyone else, Sasuke's own blade — wielded through the White Fang swordsmanship passed down from Kakashi — held steady, parrying every strike without missing a beat, even finding openings to counter!
"This kid — actually trading blows evenly with the Raikage himself?!"
Darui watched, unable to hide his shock.
With Sasuke now locked in combat with Killer Bee, Sakura glanced at Hikaru.
Her expression unchanged, Hikaru caught the signal and surged forward on a wave of heat, straight toward Ao behind the Mizukage.
"How dare you!"
Seeing Sakura still refused to abandon her designs on the Byakugan, Utakata's chakra flared violently, an unsettling pressure filling the room.
Six-Tails Beast Transformation!
"Stop!"
Ōnoki was horrified at the sight — if the Mizukage actually unleashed his tailed beast's full power right here, the army stationed outside wasn't just there for decoration!
But as Utakata prepared to transform in Hikaru's path, all it took was a single glance from her.
A jinchūriki?
Just an Uchiha pet, that's all.
And Utakata wasn't even a perfect jinchūriki to begin with.
With that single glance, the sheer weight of her genjutsu instantly seized control of the Fifth Mizukage's body!
He froze in place like a puppet with its strings cut, and Hikaru walked straight past him.
"WHAT?!"
Ōnoki stared, utterly horrified. Controlling a jinchūriki with a single glance — he'd only ever seen that kind of eye technique from one man in his life.
That man's name had been Madara Uchiha.
"Dust Release..."
A white glow began to build in Ōnoki's hand, ready to intervene against Hikaru bearing down on Ao — but a voice cut him off.
"Old man. Sure you want to try that?"
The flat, unbothered tone froze Ōnoki mid-motion. His expression turned ugly as he looked at the still, calmly seated pink-haired girl.
Damn it!
If I actually make a move, at this range, there's no way I dodge whatever she throws back.
"Oho!"
"Now THIS is getting good!"
Deidara's eyes lit up, watching the chaos unfold. He'd expected a mind-numbingly boring meeting — he hadn't expected this much excitement.
As far as Sakura was concerned, out of everyone in this room, only Ōnoki and Deidara posed any real threat.
One was a molecular-level attacker. The other, nanometer-level.
Both operated at a tier of destructive potential well beyond the norm — but fortunately, both had crippling weaknesses.
Ōnoki's Dust Release had far too long a wind-up.
And Deidara's had just as long a wind-up, plus a hard counter in lightning-release.
All she really needed to do was keep an eye on those two.
If it had just been Sasuke alone, he'd genuinely be outmatched against a room full of this many top-tier fighters.
But add Hikaru into the mix, and the equation changed entirely.
Together, Sasuke and Hikaru had no real match in this room — aside from those two Iwagakure fighters.
Not even Killer Bee, a perfect jinchūriki and sitting Raikage.
"Water Release — Raging Wave Palm!"
Facing Hikaru's direct assault, Ao met her head-on, his expression grim.
He hadn't expected that a single glance would provoke a reaction from Konoha this severe.
But there was no time for regret now — he had to protect this Byakugan!
"Heh. Cute little trick."
Watching Ao refuse to surrender and instead go on the offensive, Hikaru's mouth curled into a cold smile.
Uchiha Style — Sword Leap Flame!
She drew her blade, fire igniting fiercely along its edge, and a single swing scattered Ao's water technique like it was nothing!
"WHAT?!"
Ao stared, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Water beat fire, in almost every conceivable matchup.
And yet this woman had just cleaved his Raging Wave Palm apart with a single flaming sword strike?!
But there was no time left to process it — Hikaru's wrist had already twisted, and her blade was closing on him fast!
"Lord Hanzō!"
With the pink-haired girl's eyes fixed on him, Ōnoki couldn't act — his only hope now lay in the demigod known as Hanzō the Salamander.
As far as Ōnoki was concerned, with Hanzō's strength, protecting Ao would be effortless.
But Hanzō the Salamander didn't move. He simply sat there, calm as ever, as if none of this concerned him in the slightest.
Which, in a way, was true.
Even if he'd wanted to protect Ao, he had no capacity to do so.
The moment he moved, he'd be exposed.
The real Hanzō had been a master of swordsmanship, poison techniques, Fire Release, Water Release, Body Flicker, and Summoning Jutsu.
And Hiruko — this impostor — had none of those skills.
Even his own summon hadn't been a salamander.
He was simply using a specialized technique to disguise himself as Hanzō the Salamander.
Why not use White Zetsu for this instead? Not only was White Zetsu's temperament genuinely unreliable, but even though White Zetsu had originated from Wood Release cells, its chakra alone maxed out at roughly chūnin-level — no way to disguise anything convincingly in front of powerhouses like the ones gathered here.
And as for Hanzō himself — the man was long dead, buried deep enough that grass had grown three stories tall over his grave. There was simply no chakra left for a White Zetsu to absorb and mimic.
Meanwhile, the Akatsuki's actual members — Itachi, Obito, Kisame, Sasori — were all still on the road back, with no one available to spare for impersonating this shinobi-world demigod.
"The conflicts in this world have been building for a long, long time. One meeting, one speech from you, isn't going to fix that."
Even so, Hiruko forced himself to speak up.
"As far as I'm concerned, this isn't a bad thing. Let it all come to a head here, and everyone can have a proper conversation afterward."
Hiruko's words made Ōnoki's brow furrow.
Is this really how this demigod thinks?
That seemed like a wildly naive take.
"I'm getting too old for this. I'll leave this be — going out for some air. Call me when they're done fighting."
Hiruko was already contemplating slipping away.
He hadn't anticipated things spiraling this far, and figured he'd better make himself scarce before the fire spread to him too.
"Not so fast."
Just as Hiruko was about to make his exit, a voice rang out.
"I hear Lord Hanzō once granted my senior — Tsunade and Jiraiya — their titles as two of the Legendary Sannin."
"A shame, though — young as I am, I've always been curious about that story, but neither of them ever wanted to talk much about it."
"Lord Hanzō, would you care to tell me more?"
Sakura fixed the shinobi-world demigod of Amegakure with an unreadable little smile.
Ōnoki felt something was off.
The Hokage, who moments ago had been openly disrespectful to Hanzō, had suddenly turned pleasant and warm.
Something was going on here.
And the Hokage had clearly known it all along!
Hiruko's body stiffened, just slightly.
What the hell would I know about any of that?
He'd defected from Konoha out of jealousy over the Sannin title in the first place.
And just as Sakura had said — neither Tsunade nor Orochimaru had ever wanted to talk much about it.
Only Jiraiya, that idiot, brought the title up constantly, practically every waking hour.
But press him for actual details, and even that white-haired toad would just laugh it off and dodge the question.
Just then, Hikaru had already forced Chōjūrō — who'd only just gotten back to his feet after Sasuke kicked him aside and was still trying to protect Ao — back with a single sword strike.
"Damn it!"
Ao broke into a cold sweat, watching the Uchiha girl closing the last few feet toward him.
Even though his own skill was nothing to scoff at, standing against someone like Hikaru was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
At this rate...
Ao's eyes turned fierce.
The sealing device on his face wasn't there just to hide the Byakugan — or rather, hiding it was only a secondary function.
His true purpose was to destroy the Byakugan himself, the instant things came to this.
He would never allow it to fall into enemy hands.
Kirigakure had made the exact same choice the Hyūga clan had.
To protect the Byakugan, the Hyūga had chosen the Caged Bird Seal. Kirigakure had chosen this specialized sealing device instead.
Right now, every ounce of Ao's chakra surged toward the device — and seeing this, Hikaru gave a cold snort, the three tomoe in her eyes spinning rapidly, twisting into a new shape!
Something SHE wanted, and no one gets to say no!
If she failed here, wouldn't Pinky just get to gloat in her face endlessly afterward?
Mangekyō Sharingan — Yachiho — Sealed Tsukuyomi!
That overwhelming, unmatched genjutsu poured into Ao's mind like a raging flood!
Obey me as your master!
Four simple, direct words carved themselves straight into Ao's consciousness!
And at the same instant, every ounce of chakra in Ao's body began visibly flowing toward Hikaru!
Yachiho's Sealed Tsukuyomi didn't just rewrite the target's memories — it could drain the caster's chakra at will, at the same time!
Every drop of Ao's chakra was pulled from him, and his body went limp, collapsing to the ground, no longer able to trigger the sealing device.
Hikaru gave a cold laugh at the sight, her long blade falling, driving straight into that white eye!
Blood sprayed in an instant!
Ao let out an agonized scream and passed out cold!
Sakura's brow rose slightly at the sight.
She'd wanted to extract the Byakugan intact — not stab it clean out.
But Hikaru had moved too fast, giving her no time to intervene.
What was done was done, though — nothing to do but accept it now.
Fortunately, it was only a single Byakugan. What Sakura actually needed was simply for the Byakugan to exist nowhere outside Konoha — whether or not Konoha could actually recover this particular eye of Ao's wasn't the important part.
Meanwhile, Utakata — freed at last from the genjutsu Hikaru had locked onto him with a single glance — finally broke free of his paralysis...
(End of chapter)
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