At that moment, the forces grouped against Chiyu were ten times stronger than those in the prison. Not only was Sarutobi Shinnosuke, a true elite jōnin, present—every one of these Anbu at headquarters was far more capable than any who had guarded the prison.
In short, it was a battle with almost zero chance of victory.
Yet Chiyu showed no sign of backing down.
If he ever took one step back, he wouldn't be "Uchiha Chiyu."
Moments ago, he and Sarutobi Shinnosuke had met in a head-on clash; though Chiyu held the upper hand in raw power, his Blade of False Darkness was slightly restrained by the Wind Blade's elemental advantage. Moreover, he was already critically low on chakra and riddled with wounds. His hands, numb and bleeding from the jarring clash, attested to his own difficult situation.
But still… he would fight.
Call it foolish, call it reckless, say he can't see the big picture if you like—he didn't care. He just wanted justice. If the ones who deserved to die were still alive, then he would be the one to kill them. If he gave an inch, he might as well have never come to this world. If he dodged even once, his so-called "fair justice" would be meaningless.
Kill.
With a hoarse shout, Chiyu propelled his Sharingan's ocular power to the max. His eyes glowed with deep-red light as he darted forward like crackling lightning, streaks of crimson trailing behind him. His Blade of False Darkness, shimmering like a silver bolt slicing through space, paired with his superior insight to parry every incoming attack. And in a gap between the relentless assaults, he drove his sword straight into an Anbu's chest.
Lightning exploded.
Boom!
There was a thunderous detonation, and that Anbu's chest instantly burst open in a gory spectacle—ripped wide apart by the current!
Ding!
[You successfully freed "Naiken" from his dark, hopeless life. Good deed! +80 Virtue Points!]
"Naiken!"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke, enraged, let out a furious cry and lunged at Chiyu again.
"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!
"Fire Release! Fire Dragon Bullet!
"Combined Jutsu—
"Wind-Fire Twin Barrage!"
In a flash, the combined wind and fire transformed into a howling column of flames, twisting like a burning dragon tornado, surging toward Chiyu.
Even he felt a jolt of alarm. As the Hokage's son, Shinnosuke may not compare to Hiruzen at full power, but… he clearly possessed multiple elemental affinities—wind and fire at least—blending them perfectly into a custom composite jutsu. Along with his ability to channel chakra into his sword, similar to Danzō's Vacuum Blade, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was indeed formidable. Otherwise, he could never have become Anbu Commander, known as the "right hand" of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
But as long as the jutsu failed to land, its might was irrelevant. Relying on his Sharingan's unmatched insight, Chiyu dodged past the raging wind and fire. The Wind-Fire Twin Barrage blasted instead into the rocky outcrop and trees behind him, tearing the earth apart in a landslide of rubble and reducing a tall tree to ash in the blink of an eye.
Chiyu never paused for an instant—he sensed the barrage of shuriken and projectiles whistling in from behind Shinnosuke's big attack, but to him it was just a futile swarm. With his Three-Tomoe Sharingan spinning, every incoming threat was like slow motion. He slipped through the barrage with fluid speed, avoiding most of the attacks.
In the next moment, the Blade of False Darkness ripped through the remnants of incoming blows to strike at Shinnosuke himself. No matter the chaos around him, Chiyu had eyes only for that arch-culprit.
Shinnosuke, equally enraged, swung his Vacuum Blade in a head-on collision with Chiyu's fierce assault.
Crash!
Once again, their swords collided in a storm of thunderous force.
"Die!"
They bellowed as the swirling power erupted—taijutsu, ninjutsu, physical strength, chakra flow, insight, technique, battle instincts, and will—everything merged in a deadly exchange.
Because of elemental disadvantages, Chiyu's Blade of False Darkness was partially suppressed, but his raw strength outmatched Shinnosuke's. And his visual insight from the Sharingan soared far beyond Shinnosuke's. In this tight, close-quarters showdown, Chiyu clearly had the upper hand.
This was his fighting style: no matter your strengths, as soon as he avoided your first rush and dragged you into his specialty—close combat—he could secure the advantage.
Now Shinnosuke could feel it slipping away. His foe's Sharingan insight was too overwhelming, leading him into one precarious spot after another. If not for Shinnosuke's extensive combat experience and instincts, he would've died many times over.
And with them locked in melee, the Anbu around them couldn't attack freely for fear of hitting their commander. Doubtless part of Chiyu's plan.
"Damn you… I won't rest until you're dead!"
Yet the more furious Shinnosuke became, the more he fell into Chiyu's rhythm. Before long, Chiyu's Blade of False Darkness had Shinnosuke completely on the defensive. With a flash of blood-red in his Sharingan, Chiyu's sword rammed aside Shinnosuke's weapon, flicking it high into the air.
This is bad… thought Shinnosuke, but it was too late.
Relying on the fine-tuned synergy of his eyes and sword, Chiyu brought the Blade of False Darkness down with ruthless accuracy.
No…!
Before Shinnosuke could even gasp, the blade fell—
At that instant, three different parties appeared from three directions at once:
Sarutobi Hiruzen, rushing from the Hokage's office,
Yashiro from Police HQ, along with Yakumi and others,
And Patriarch Fugaku, under Anbu custody, forced here to halt the looming conflict.
Lightning-swift, all three leaders shouted:
"Chiyu! Stop!"
Chiyu had sensed their arrival already. Shinnosuke, in a desperate moment, felt his father's chakra and let out a breath of relief. No matter what, as long as he survived now, there was still hope. Chiyu wouldn't dare kill him right under the Hokage's nose… Right?
But in that split-second, the entire world seemed to watch only one person—Chiyu—watching that blade crackling with electricity…
Inwardly, Chiyu was unusually calm, a single phrase echoing:
"Even if countless stand in my way, I shall press on."
And so he did. With no hesitation, the Blade of False Darkness dropped.
Splurt!
A flash of steel, a burst of lightning—Chiyu drove the blade straight through Shinnosuke's chest.
Then—
Boom!
The resulting electrical blast blew out Shinnosuke's chest in a bloody eruption. His eyes went blank, as though he didn't even comprehend what had happened. Soon his empty, shattered torso collapsed onto the dusty ground before the Anbu base.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke…
Dead.
"Noooo!!!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's agonized wail ripped across the skies of Konoha.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!