Sarutobi Hiruzen was on his way back to the Sarutobi compound when the distant commotion reached his ears. At first, he thought it was trouble outside the village. But when he frowned and looked closely in the direction of the sound, he realized—it was inside Konoha!
"What's going on?!"
A chill gripped Hiruzen's heart. Was this night truly determined to give him no rest at all?
"Hokage-sama."
At that moment, one of his ANBU guards leapt down from the rooftop of a nearby building. His voice was grim as he reported: "Most likely it's connected to Uchiha Keizumi again, because I saw light in that direction resembling Lava Release."
"Keizumi…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen froze, a sudden possibility flashing through his mind.
"Could it be… the Akatsuki members who fought Keizumi outside the village before… this time they've come directly into Konoha?!"
The likelihood was small—but not impossible.
Akatsuki had even dared to recruit Orochimaru. Hiruzen was certain that organization was nothing good.
"Summon all ANBU! Notify every jōnin in the village—have them head to that direction at once!"
Hiruzen's expression hardened as he gave the order.
Then he turned to several other ANBU guards.
"The rest of you, come with me! Be ready to face enemies from outside the village!"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
…
The deafening blast of the "Great Eruption," which split Konoha's river, tore through the silence of the Uchiha compound. On the dining table, a small soup bowl jumped violently, spilling drops of broth.
Fugaku shot to his feet, his sudden movement knocking over the chair behind him with a piercing scrape that cut through the quiet.
Sasuke, who had been eating with his head down, jolted in fright.
The ominous premonition in Fugaku's heart peaked to the extreme. With a grim face, he strode straight to the veranda, flung open the door, and in a flash leapt onto the rooftop.
And there, beneath the heavy night sky, far off in one direction of the village—
A glaring, scorching light was swelling, contracting, and pulsing irregularly, like a massive molten heart.
That light lit up half the heavens, orange-red and bright yellow intertwining in surging waves. Even at such distance, the destructive heat could be felt, carried outward with faint, visible shockwaves rippling through the air.
Lava Release…
Keizumi!
The foreboding…
Had come true!
"…Keizumi… and Itachi… it really has happened!"
Fugaku's voice was low and hoarse, carrying an unconscious tremor. His stern face betrayed the storm within—an ominous dread, a father's restless concern for his eldest son Uchiha Itachi, all focused upon that seething glow of molten light.
Deep inside, a voice told him—this wasn't just about Keizumi. It was about Itachi.
It was very likely the thing he least wanted to see had come to pass!
"Fugaku!" Mikoto came out after him.
But she only caught the silhouette of her husband's back, vanishing swiftly into the thick night outside.
And only heard his fading words, carried on the wind: "It's Keizumi's Lava Release! I suspect the one clashing with him inside the village… is Itachi! Stay here and watch over Sasuke. Don't let him come out. Don't let him find out about this."
Uchiha Mikoto: "!!!"
"Mother, what's wrong?"
At that very moment, Sasuke stepped out as well, finding only his mother outside.
Mikoto drew a deep breath and forced a faint smile.
"There's some trouble with the Police Force. Your father needs to go handle it."
She lied.
"I can help." Sasuke believed her words, his young face serious. "I've learned a lot of useful things from Keizumi-sensei and Izumi-senpai. I can assist Father."
Mikoto rubbed Sasuke's head gently and said softly, "It's nothing troublesome. Your father will be back very soon."
Hopefully…
That single word flickered only within Uchiha Mikoto's mind.
…
A tremendous roar swept through Konoha, carried on a wave of scorching heat. Even the window frames of a certain inn room buzzed with vibrations.
Tsunade, who had been dozing, snapped her eyes open. The blazing orange-red glow instantly lit up her golden hair and furrowed brow.
"Lava Release? That brat again—did he catch some other criminal? What is this village, a second Tanzaku Town? How is the old man managing Konoha as Hokage, letting the place fill up with fugitives just waiting for that brat to hunt them down?"
That familiar, destructive surge of violent chakra made a flicker of doubt flash in Tsunade's eyes.
"Shizune! Go see what that brat is up to this time!"
With a shout, she shot through the window like an arrow from the string, racing without hesitation toward the exploding glow of molten light.
"Tsunade-sama! Wait for me!"
Shizune cried out, clutching Tonton tightly to her chest almost by instinct, then chased after her at full speed.
…
Elsewhere in Konoha—
Jiraiya sat cross-legged atop the Hokage Rock, having just finished a conversation with the two Great Toad Sages, Fukasaku and Shima.
Shima's voice still echoed in his ears: "Little Jiraiya, that child called Hyūga Neji… though his talent is remarkable and his fate bitter, this old lady has not sensed within him the unique light of one who guides change."
"The threads of prophecy spoken by the Great Elder and that impolite Uchiha brat are likely not tied to him. Still, he is a child of potential—he may one day become a companion of the Child of Prophecy."
Shima continued: "If you don't mind the trouble, you could also take him on as a disciple."
Jiraiya scratched at his messy white hair with a troubled sigh.
"So it seems I've been looking in the wrong direction. Forget about taking him as a disciple—what would that be but snatching someone from the Hyūga clan? There are plenty of other names on the list, like that Uchiha girl following around Keizumi…"
He was just about to bring up "Uchiha Izumi," the girl who always stayed by Uchiha Keizumi's side, when—
From far away—
A pillar of molten fire painted the black night sky an eerie orange-red.
In an instant, it seized all of Jiraiya's attention.
"What a racket! This…"
On Jiraiya's shoulder, Fukasaku narrowed his somewhat cloudy old eyes and asked, "Little Jiraiya, is there some sort of festival firework display in Konoha tonight?"
"Firework display? That's no festival! That's Lava Release—Keizumi's at it again, fighting someone! And fighting with everything he's got!" Jiraiya's expression darkened at once.
If someone could force Keizumi to unleash Lava Release on such a scale inside the village, the opponent's strength had to be truly extraordinary!
Countless possibilities flashed through Jiraiya's mind, but one worst-case thought struck him like ice water pouring over his head.
Because in Jiraiya's memory, there were only a handful of people in all of Konoha who could fight Keizumi like this.
"Hss! Could it be… that brat Keizumi has turned his blade on the Hokage?!"
The thought startled even himself.
...
The flocks of crows scattering in all directions—more than half of them were engulfed by magma in an instant, crushed into ash.
When Uchiha Keizumi fixed his gaze on a certain spot, several crows landed atop a utility pole and gathered together into a human figure.
That figure's scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan had already transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan!
"Tsukuyomi!!!"
For the very first time inside Konoha, Uchiha Itachi unleashed his ultimate dōjutsu of the Mangekyō Sharingan against a fellow shinobi of the village. At that moment, the pattern of his left Mangekyō eye rotated faintly.
From the riverbank, the reflection of Itachi's Mangekyō pattern was etched deep into Uchiha Keizumi's eyes.
Yet, in the very next second—
Uchiha Keizumi's body rippled and collapsed like flowing water.
"A shadow clone? A Lava Release clone? He predicted I'd definitely use my Mangekyō, so right after that move, he created a Lava clone? Wait—he knew I had the Mangekyō!"
Itachi's mind sharpened in alarm.
A critical thought struck him—
If Uchiha Keizumi could uncover so many people's hidden secrets… could he also know the secrets of his Mangekyō Sharingan?
Did he know his left eye was Tsukuyomi?
Did he know his right eye was Amaterasu?
And…
Did he even know he carried Shisui's Mangekyō?
The sudden unease in his heart did not extinguish the killing intent in Uchiha Itachi's gaze. His scarlet Mangekyō flared with a cold gleam. He drew in a sharp breath, and instead of retreating, he surged forward!
[Whoosh!]
Several kunai laced with explosive tags whistled through the air, shrieking as they cut the night.
Almost at the same moment, his hands completed a dizzying string of seals.
Leaping high into the air, his expression taut, he exhaled—dozens of blazing fireballs poured down like torrential rain from above the veil of steam.
The searing fireballs sealed off every escape route above Uchiha Keizumi!
Yet the only response was a voice, calm and indifferent.
"A dying struggle."
Even before the storm of kunai—sharp enough to pierce steel—Uchiha Keizumi did not move a single step. His outstretched arm instantly transformed into molten rock.
The burning red magma twisted like a living creature, condensing into the half-formed head of a massive, jagged magma hound.
The lava beast snapped its jaws shut—every kunai blade, sharp enough to tear through steel, melted away like snow, dissolving rapidly into puddles of glowing iron.
[Boom!!!]
[Boom!!!]
The explosive tags detonated one after another, tearing the magma hound's body into a thousand gaping holes—yet not harming Uchiha Keizumi in the slightest.
Uchiha Itachi's pupils shrank. This overwhelming gap in power forced even his usually calm face to sweat coldly.
But in that moment, he had confirmed one thing—
The Uchiha Keizumi before him was the real body!
A flash of grim resolve flickered across Itachi's eyes.
If Tsukuyomi had been seen through, then he would unleash the black flames that incinerated all!
His right Mangekyō eye widened to its very limit, the distorted pinwheel pattern spinning visibly!
All of his spirit, all of his chakra, all of his murderous resolve—poured into a single point!
He locked his gaze on that vague silhouette within the shroud of steam.
He wagered that Uchiha Keizumi only knew of Tsukuyomi! He wagered that his opponent was not truly "all-knowing, all-powerful"! How could there be such a shinobi in this world—that would make him a god, wouldn't it? How could so-called Absolute Justice possibly give rise to a god of the shinobi world?
Uchiha Itachi's focus narrowed—
Unprecedented ocular power boiled within his right eye!
"Amaterasu!!!"
In that instant, a darkness beyond description surged into existence before Uchiha Keizumi—darkness so absolute it devoured even light itself.
It was black fire! Flame without kindling, flame that could not be extinguished, flame that burned all things as its fuel—the inextinguishable fire.
The black flames ignited soundlessly, suppressing even the searing heat of magma, as if to consume Uchiha Keizumi's body completely.
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