Chapter 197 – Annihilation (Part 2)
For years, Uchiha Shin's bamboo retreat had been a place of serenity—quiet, refined, almost idyllic.
But tonight, the air had curdled. A suffocating aura of slaughter bled through the walls, seeping into the courtyard beyond.
Inside one of its chambers, five corpses lay sprawled across the floor. Each of them slain in a single, decisive strike.
Their killer stood calmly among them, one hand clamped around the throat of another Uchiha shinobi, holding him helplessly in the air.
The others froze. None dared to move, none dared to strike again.
How could they? The memory of his movements—graceful as a butterfly, every strike as natural as breath—was seared into their minds. Combat, in Kei's hands, had looked like an art form. And now, clad in his black combat gear, he seemed less like a man than a nightmare given flesh.
Uchiha Kei ignored their fear. His scarlet eyes fixed on the struggling captive, and a cold smile curled at his lips.
"Elder… is this all you have?"
His free hand reached casually to the table, plucking up a porcelain teacup and setting it beside him. His expression darkened, tinged with cruelty.
"If this is the extent of your plan, then I should thank you. Because—"
He stopped mid-sentence. His hand shot to the captive's face, fingers digging into the socket.
"Ahhhh!"
A scream tore through the chamber as blood trickled from the man's eye.
The Uchiha present flinched, gripping their weapons tighter, trembling despite themselves.
When Kei's hand came away, a Sharingan eye gleamed between his fingers. He dropped it into the teacup with chilling calm. Then his hand returned to the other socket.
A second scream. A second eye. Another drop into porcelain.
Only then did Kei tighten his grip, silencing the man's cries for good.
"These eyes," Kei murmured as if speaking to himself, "make excellent material."
He lifted his gaze to Shin at last. His voice was quiet, mocking:
"Izanagi. Surely even you, Elder, have heard of it?"
"You damned wretch…" Shin's eyes bled scarlet, his voice trembling with fury. "Those are your clansmen!"
"Yes," Kei said flatly. "And? You, and all of them, are my enemies. Don't forget—it was you who struck first. So now, I'll be the one to finish it."
His words snapped like a blade.
Kei vanished.
The chamber shook as a blackened skeletal arm erupted from his Susanoo, smashing through the air. One Uchiha shinobi was hit squarely before he could react, hurled backward like a ragdoll.
His body crashed into several of his comrades, flattening them beneath the blow. Wood splintered, beams cracked. The entire wall gave way, sending them flying clear into the courtyard.
"Kill him! Kill that demon!"
Only five or six remained, their faces pale, their eyes wide. Terror writhed in them—but the greater terror was not acting. If they hesitated, if they didn't strike now, Kei would slaughter them all.
And so they rushed him. Desperation in their eyes, no thought of holding back.
But Kei was too fast. Far, far too fast.
"Mind if I borrow this?"
His Sharingan spun, and one swordsman froze as though bewitched. Kei wrenched the blade from his hands in an instant, carving across another's chest. Blood sprayed in an arc.
Now armed, his efficiency only grew. Each swing was merciless, clean, inevitable.
The chamber became a killing floor.
Even in the cramped space, Kei moved like water, slipping past every strike. His eyes read every motion before it began. And his counters were unstoppable—seen, but never avoided.
Less than a minute later, silence fell.
One by one, the last Uchiha shinobi crumpled to the ground.
Kei pulled his blade free from a final body, flicked the blood from its edge, and let the corpse collapse at his feet. His gaze shifted, locking onto the elders who had retreated from the battlefield, their faces drained of color.
"Well, well…" Kei sneered. "Looks like you're out of pieces."
He exhaled slowly, his voice mocking yet icy.
"Truthfully, killing you was never my task. That was Fugaku's burden, not mine. But you chose me instead." His eyes narrowed. "A mistake you won't live to repeat."
Shin's breath rasped, his eyes glowing like coals. "Kei… I'll admit it. I misjudged you. But do you really think you've already won?"
His voice rose, thick with bloodlust.
"Yes, it's true. I have only one card left to play. But if I can hold you long enough… the clan's full strength will arrive. Do you think you can stand against two-thirds of the Uchiha elite?"
Kei laughed softly, shaking his head.
"Why don't we find out?"
His gaze swept the room, cold and disdainful.
"And besides… do you really think some rat skulking in the shadows can stop me from killing you all?"
His smile was thin and merciless.
"So goodbye, Elders. May your next lives grant you better judgment in choosing your enemies."
He took a single step forward—
—and froze. Danger prickled against his skin, sharp and undeniable.
Kei's eyes narrowed. That hidden assassin again. The vermin in the dark.
But he was no fool. A moment's carelessness meant death. And Uchiha Kei was never careless.
Chakra surged. Black skeletal arms unfurled around him, bones locking into place, Susanoo's armor shielding him completely.
Hand seals blurred in rapid succession.
"Fire Release: Majestic Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
The assassin's blade crashed against Susanoo in that same instant. Sparks screamed against bone.
And then Kei's jutsu roared forth.
A colossal dragon of flame tore free of Susanoo's ribs, shrieking across the room toward the black-clad assassin.
The figure had expected as much. His earlier ambush had failed—this strike was meant as a probe, nothing more. His role was not merely to kill, but to measure, to test.
But Kei had moved faster than he anticipated.
Still, assassins were never without options. Every shinobi trained for direct combat as well. Assassination was only one blade in their arsenal.
The fire dragon howled toward him. In the confined chamber, there was nowhere to hide. But retreat to the open air was unthinkable—if he abandoned his position, Kei would slaughter Shin where he stood.
"Careful!"
The elders shouted in unison, fleeing the collapsing room as Kei's flames consumed it whole.
Once, they too had been renowned shinobi. Though their years had caught up with them, their old skills were not so easily forgotten.
The blazing dragon of fire rampaged through the wooden house, igniting everything in its path.
Uchiha Kei watched coldly as the elders and their followers scrambled to flee. With a sharp, disdainful snort, he caused the fire dragon to suddenly detonate.
"BOOM!"
The violent explosion thundered through the bamboo forest. Within the Uchiha compound, everyone who wasn't working—or who happened to be resting that day—felt the tremor.
When they saw the column of black smoke rising into the sky, and realized where it was coming from, their hearts sank. That was the residence of the Grand Elder.
The wind blew gently through the forest. Kei stepped out of the burning wreckage, snowflakes drifting down onto his figure—yet not a single one seemed able to touch him.
His sharp gaze swept the area, quickly falling upon the body of the shinobi who had stolen his weapons earlier. The man now lay motionless in the snow, scorched by Kei's fire dragon.
Walking over, Kei retrieved his ninja pouch and secured it back at his waist. At the same time, he drew the blade Kakashi had given him.
As the long sword slid free of its sheath, Kei could almost feel its emotions—subtle yet distinct, like the warmth of an old friend reunited.
A faint smile curved his lips. In his past life, he had heard people say that swords shared a bond with their wielders. He had never believed such tales, dismissing weapons as nothing more than tools. Yet now, holding this blade, he sensed something… intangible, mysterious.
Chakra pulsed gently through him, flowing into the weapon. At once, the ninja blade shone with a brilliant azure glow. He even thought he heard it hum softly, like a whisper of approval.
"How interesting," Kei murmured. "When all this is over, I should give you a name—if I don't forget."
His eyes then shifted to the masked shinobi in black. The assassin, too, held a blade in his hand. That only deepened Kei's amusement.
Extending his sword forward, Kei dropped into a ready stance. If the enemy wanted a duel of blades, then so be it.
Only, Kei's smile grew sharper.
"Don't forget… I'm still a shinobi."