Chapter 139: Pyrrhic Victory - Near-Death Crisis!
After unleashing the massive fire dragon, the Kusanagi Sword instantly lost its luster, along with Tsukasa's blazing arm, which dimmed—turning his entire right arm into a charred mess.
The Zero-Tails within his abdomen was completely drained, and even its core form shrank drastically.
Correspondingly, the Forbidden Technique: Body Modification immediately ceased.
In an instant, Tsukasa felt his eyelids drooping, and without the support of the forbidden technique, his injuries flared up instantly.
The penetrating wounds from the fierce battle against Sunagakure's siege, the muscle strain from dragging the hurricane-like water vortex tornado, the searing pain of his charred right arm, the various non-fatal sword and knife wounds that hadn't been immediately repaired to conserve chakra, and the overwhelming fatigue from overdrawing his chakra...
Pain. Unbearable pain!
The agony made it impossible for him to close his eyes. He could only watch helplessly as he plummeted from a hundred meters in the air.
And the ultimate technique unleashed at such a cost—the Sword Technique: Flame Wind Dragon Dance!
Almost instantly, this fire dragon descended from the sky, crashing headlong into the astonished Sunagakure forces!
Before it even touched the ground, the entire desert—its vegetation and rocks—began to tremble!
Vultures flapped their wings, antelopes raised their heads in fear, desert predators and prey alike—countless animals raised their heads in unison, then instantly began to flee in panic!
Tsukasa calmly surveyed all of this from the night sky, glancing at the Sunagakure elites at the center of the fire dragon's impact point.
He suddenly smiled—a smile like a child who had received a new toy.
And then he slightly opened his mouth, adding this fatal finishing touch to his masterpiece—
"Bang."
The fire dragon slammed into the Sunagakure members in the center of their ranks, who, unwilling to sit and wait for their doom, tilted their heads back, their eyes wide, unleashing all their most powerful techniques into the sky!
Countless ninjutsu techniques intertwined, converging into a white sphere of light that shot wildly upward!
The fire dragon and the white sphere collided instantly!
A distorted, shrill scream—the air shattered, almost tearing eardrums apart!
The next moment!
BOOM!
A dazzling dark red mushroom cloud rose from the ground!
Instantly engulfing all light and sound, the violent aftershocks causing air tremors—a visibly distorted shockwave spreading outward!
Blowing everything away, vaporizing, evaporating, and destroying it!
Until it crashed into the pale red barrier covering a radius of three hundred meters!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Countless spiderweb fractures appeared on the barrier. Even the aftershocks possessed terrifying attack power comparable to a Kage!
After a sound like shattering glass, the barrier exploded!
A violent wind instantly spread out, forcing all the Konoha assault party members standing outside the barrier to lean back and shield their faces from the sand.
Finally, a long, chilling silence ensued.
When they finally opened their eyes, the assault force immediately looked up at Sunagakure's position.
The next moment, everyone gasped, their eyes blankly fixed on the ruins, utterly horrified.
"A twelve-year-old chunin could unleash such a technique?"
"After that attack, will anyone survive?"
"Captain, what did you just say? You were going to save that brat?"
"In this situation, who's saving whom?"
Shin'ya and Shisui stood side-by-side in the front row, staring blankly at the center of the battlefield.
This absurd reality completely shattered their understanding of the shinobi world.
Although Shisui didn't want to boast, he had been known as a genius since childhood. Everyone in the clan praised him, saying he was young and promising, destined for greatness.
Even this genius had only recently awakened his three-tomoe Sharingan, at best able to fight a clan jonin on equal terms.
But, but... who exactly was that boy, Tsukasa?!
The last time Shisui had seen him, he'd been collecting bottles and doing odd jobs in Konoha, completing D-rank missions that everyone in the clan looked down on. He was just a genin that even passing dogs would ignore—a genin who couldn't even activate his Sharingan.
And now—this guy who'd been doing menial labor, the 'disappointment' in the eyes of his clan, had become the beloved student of a Sannin, made a name for himself in the Land of Hot Water, and now he'd single-handedly fought against three hundred Sunagakure soldiers!
First striking with his Heaven-Piercing Greatsword, then breaking into the enemy camp under the moonlight, sweeping across the battlefield with his sword, soaring into the sky with his dazzling dragon fire, breaking through their formation with a single strike!
It was simply terrifying!
Compared to him, Shisui felt that his reputation as a genius was nothing more than empty words, making him feel utterly ashamed.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Shin'ya stared wide-eyed at the ruins, muttering:
"How could he be so strong?!"
"Swordsmanship, taijutsu, genjutsu, even ninjutsu—he has surpassed me in every aspect!"
"He's so strong... what can I teach him?!"
"I understand!"
Shin'ya suddenly looked up with a look of realization, as if he had suddenly understood something. His face was filled with complex emotions. He clenched his fist and slammed it against his thigh.
"Damn it! This is the Hawk Faction showing off to us!"
"The Great Elder is making a statement!"
Since the death of the previous clan head, Kagami Uchiha, the position of clan head of the Uchiha clan had been vacant.
It was originally intended for the strongest member of the clan, Fugaku Uchiha, to succeed him, but for some reason, the Great Elder, Setsuna Uchiha, stubbornly refused to approve it. In the end, Fugaku could only become the captain of the police force, making him a de facto junior clan head.
Fugaku's appointment as police chief was a result of the combined efforts of his own neutral faction and the dove faction within the Uchiha clan.
Now the hawk faction had suddenly produced such a rising star, and Setsuna had brought him to the Land of Rain, to their dove faction, and even wanted one of the dove faction leaders to teach him.
What did this mean?
Was it to show off their strength, or to gain the dove faction's approval?
And then make this kid the next clan head?!
For a moment, Shin'ya's expression was complex, thinking of many implications.
Fugaku's poor performance in the Land of Hot Water had already caused dissatisfaction among many in the clan, and now this kid had done something so extraordinary.
Whether in terms of strength or the support of his backers, this kid certainly had the ability to compete with Fugaku and was qualified to become the Uchiha clan head.
Shin'ya raised his head with a complicated expression, looking at the kid who had done all this to save them.
For a moment, he didn't know how to object, and even secretly wondered—if this child became the head of the Uchiha clan, what path would he lead the Uchiha down?
However, at that moment, Shisui's exclamation brought him back to his senses:
"Shin'ya-san, look!"
"Over there—Tsukasa is in danger!!"
Shin'ya suddenly looked up at the center of the Sunagakure camp.
There, on the desolate ruins where the fire dragon had scorched and crystallized the earth, a figure shakily pushed aside the corpses on him and got up.
It was the jonin who commanded the Sunagakure camp.
At this moment, he was covered in burns, staring blankly at his surroundings. Within a radius of fifty meters, apart from the three elite squads he had sent out to stop Manda, only he remained alive among his immediate forces. Apart from the battlefield against Manda, the chunin and genin of Sunagakure further away were cowering in corners, completely incapacitated.
This single strike had wiped out half of Sunagakure's forces!
The devastated ruins, the blood-stained crystalline earth, the molten metal from melted kunai, the charred remains, the severed limbs—all these scenes painted a picture of absolute devastation!
They struck him deeply, causing his eyes to widen, his face contorted with shock, fear, and a dazed, utterly desperate madness.
Then he turned his head abruptly and saw the culprit behind it all—
The boy lying in the ruins, his legs broken from the fall, his right arm charred, his neck twisted at a dangerous angle, his body covered in burns, knife wounds, and sword wounds—only a faint breath remaining, proving he was still alive.
This executioner of the Uchiha clan!
The Sunagakure jonin's breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened instantly, his trembling teeth clenched, and a crazed killing intent rose in his eyes!
He abruptly stood up, pulling a kunai with a gleaming edge from his ninja tool pouch.
"You... you... YOU!"
Treading through the night and desolation, this last Sunagakure ninja roared, a tear of blood streaming down his face, as he charged toward the defenseless boy!
"You demon! You demon!"
"DIE!"
"DIE, DIE, DIE!"
End of Chapter 139
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