Read ahead of public release on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley
Check out Chapter illustrations on Pixiv at unhinged_uchiha
.
.
On the other side, Uchiha Souta was indeed having some trouble.
The tall, burly masked samurai facing him was absurdly powerful. Every swing of his blade carried tremendous force, skill, and technique, which forced Souta to constantly be on edge.
Clang!
Their weapons collided again, and Souta was pushed back.
But even though he was disadvantaged and was getting pressed back, he grinned wildly instead of panicking.
"Hahaha!" he laughed loudly. "Well, well… if it isn't everyone's favorite Cuck... I mean Fugaku himself. Fancy meeting you here."
That's right... the face hidden beneath the mask was Fugaku, and Souta recognized the man quite easily. After all, the man had been his Sensei/Patriarch's enemy... and a major hurdle, how could Souta not have learned many things about Fugaku?
He had observed the man even before he was exiled... and now, seeing the masked Samurai, Souta was able to easily recognize him.
The masked man's killing intent instantly surged. Just not at the fact that he was recognized, but also at the fact that he was called a cuck!
That word brought up bad memories and reminded him of the betrayal that he experienced.
"So after getting exiled from the Uchiha Clan by the Patriarch," Souta continued mockingly, "this is what you've become? Before, you used to suck on that old coward Dōma's milk… and now you're sucking that incompetent monkey's milk instead? You really know how to suck, huh?"
The veins on Fugaku's forehead bulged violently beneath the mask.
His already hateful expression twisted even further as rage exploded from him. "Today is the day all of you bastards die!" Fugaku roared furiously.
"Die?" Souta sneered. "A pathetic bastard like you who only knows how to kneel and suck thinks he can kill me?" His grin widened arrogantly. "Whoever may kill me, I'm not dying by your hand."
Clang! Clang!
Their blades smashed against each other again, creating.
Fugaku pressed forward relentlessly, each attack heavier and fiercer than the last. Even though Souta managed to keep up, the difference in raw combat maturity was obvious. Fugaku's strikes were sharper, cleaner, and packed with killing intent.
"It's time to accept reality, Souta," Fugaku said coldly while forcing him backward across the shattered ground. "You're talented. I'll admit that much. At your age, you're already far better than I ever was…"
Tightening his grip around his sword, he added, "But you're still young. You're still weaker than me."
For the briefest moment, Fugaku wondered whether he should try to bring Souta over to his side.
The boy's talent was undeniable.
Currently, Fugaku lacks followers for his cause of reclaiming the Uchiha Clan. If Souta were to join him then not only would he have a talented subordinate on his side, but Kanzou would also lose one.
'If someone like him could indeed be separated from Kanzou's influence, then—'
But the thought vanished almost instantly.
The memories of his beat down, public humiliation, and betrayal resurfaced. The things Kanzou and his followers had forced him to endure. The mockery. The shame. The rage boiling inside him twisted violently, drowning out every other thought.
Had Uchiha Souta not been one of the people who actively put him through that, Fugaku might have gone on and tried to subdue Souta, but that wasn't the case. If Uchiha Kanzou, Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Tadayoshi, and Uchiha Suzume were the main object of his hatred... then Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Souta not far from it. He hates Souta just as much as he hates that old elder that betrayed him.
'No... he won't live... I won't allow it!'
His killing intent surged explosively.
"Even if you beg for mercy," Fugaku roared, his attacks growing even more savage, "you're dying today! And after you… It'll be others' turn... including that bastard Kanzou!"
"Kill Kanzou-sama? You?" Souta burst into loud laughter despite being pushed back. "Hahahaha! Fugaku… did you develop a sense of humor too?"
Clang!!
Their swords collided once more.
"A pathetic man like you is incapable of kill Kanzou-sama. Not just you, but there isn't a single person in Konoha capable of killing the Patriarch!"
Slash!
Fugaku's blade suddenly cut across Souta's arm, leaving behind a deep wound as blood splattered across the dirt.
Yet Souta barely reacted.
Instead, he laughed even harder, "Yeah… for being a pathetic cuck, you're strong, alright," he admitted mockingly while wiping blood from his arm. "Definitely stronger than me right now…"
Then his grin widened into something arrogant and vicious.
"But if you seriously think this pathetic level of strength gives you the right to even touch Kanzou-sama…"
Boom!!
He blocked another slash before suddenly driving a kick toward Fugaku's ribs, forcing the older man backward.
"…then that shit only happens in your wildest wet dreams. Never in reality."
Fugaku's eyes burned with fury beneath the mask, "You insolent little bastard!"
He lunged again, swinging downward violently.
Clang!!
Souta caught the strike with his blade while weaving one-handed hand signs that was taught to him by Kanzou.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Whoooooosh!!
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth at point-blank range, engulfing the battlefield in blazing heat.
At the same time, Souta's Sharingan spun coldly as he sneered.
"Instead of worrying about Kanzou-sama… you should start worrying about yourself," Fugaku's voice echoed from the Fireball as his killing intent became even sharper, "Because you're not leaving this mission alive."
"That's what you think," Souta replied with a smirk.
Then his expression turned mocking. "By the way, Fugaku… aren't you curious about something?" he asked. "Why neither of us is bothering to attack the representative even when we have the perfect chance to kill him and finish the mission?"
Fugaku's eyes narrowed beneath the mask.
Souta's grin widened further.
"It's because we already knew this was a trap," he said bluntly. "I'll tell you something interesting... The Patriarch predicted that the old monkey was planning something like this against us, and this attack was completely expected."
"That bastard... expected this?" Fugaku was takenaback.
"Yahahaha... of course, he did... Patriarch knows the four fuckers of Konoha quite well and can predict what they'd do," Souta nodded.
The fact that Kanzou had predicted the situation this accurately disturbed Fugaku far more than he wanted to admit. This entire operation should have been impossible to foresee. Yet somehow… Kanzou had seen straight through it.
Even so, Fugaku forcibly suppressed the unease building inside him.
"So what?" he growled coldly. "You're all still going to die here."
Souta laughed loudly and shook his head. "This is exactly why you're the incompetent cuck who got exiled from the clan."
"You little—!!" Fugaku snarled furiously.
But Souta ignored him and continued, "If the Patriarch already predicted all this… then did you seriously think he wouldn't prepare for it too? Did you think he'd just send us here without a backup plan to die?"
The moment those words left Souta's mouth, Fugaku's heartbeat suddenly quickened.
Souta added, "Did you really think you could cause a landslide to stop the real representatives farther away, impersonate them, lure us in, and then catch us off guard?"
Fugaku's eyes widened. 'They even know about the landslide?'
Their group had deliberately triggered several landslides to delay the actual representatives. While the real entourage struggled to clear the blocked paths, they had planned to eliminate the Uchihas here and finish everything before anyone noticed.
Even the carriage had been part of the trap.
It was packed with explosive tags. The moment someone tried to open it and kill the supposed representative of the peace delegation, the entire thing would explode.
That was how it was supposed to happen, which was why they had left the carriage alone.
But these Uchihas had never even approached the carriage. They had ignored it completely, as if it were meaningless, as if they had already known that the carriage was a trap.
Still, that wasn't what truly bothered Fugaku.
What disturbed him was the fact that they knew about the landslides with such precision, 'How…?'
"Yahahaha… curious?" Souta laughed mockingly. "Want to know how I know that? I'll let you know that I even know what's happening with the real entourage?"
Then he waved it off. "Eh, I guess that part isn't that important. It's not hard to figure out anyway." His grin widened viciously. "What's more important is talking about the one and only Cuckgaku standing right here. Patriarch-sama already expected that a dog like you, someone who crawled over to suck on that old monkey's saggy balls, might get deployed here. That's exactly why he sent us with enough preparation."
'Preparation?' Fugaku had a bad feeling... but this feeling is very bad.
At that moment, Souta suddenly leapt backward and shouted at the top of his lungs, "It's your turn now, Might Duy! Don't disappoint the Patriarch!"
"The flames of my youth burn brighter than ever!!!" Duy roared as he clenched his fists tightly. "And these flames were lit by Kanzou-sama... whatever these flames may do, they will never disappoint him!!!"
Boom!!
"Gate of Opening… Release!"
Boom!!
"Gate of Healing… Release!"
Boom!!
"Gate of Life… Gate of Pain… Gate of Limit… Release! Release! Release!"
Each release caused another violent explosion of pressure as the surrounding battlefield trembled.
Whether it was the Uchihas or the so-called ninjas from the other side. All of them instinctively slowed their fighting and turned toward the monstrous chakra suddenly surging into the sky.
Duy didn't stop with just five Gates. His muscles swelled violently while blood vessels strained beneath his skin under the overwhelming force tearing through his body.
"Gate of View… Release!"
BOOM!!!
The air itself seemed to rupture from the pressure as the dust particles rose into the air around him.
And then—
"Seventh Gate… Gate of Wonder… OPEN!!!"
BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!
A massive explosion erupted from Might Duy's position as an overwhelming torrent of chakra burst out of his body. It felt endless. The pressure alone distorted the surrounding air and shook the entire battlefield. Trees bent violently under the force, stones cracked apart, and the earth beneath Duy's feet collapsed continuously as blue chakra surged around him like a raging beast unleashed from its cage.
Every single expression on the battlefield also felt the danger.
Souta, Satoru, and Kurumi stared at Duy with widened eyes. The disguised ANBU operatives posing as shinobi from the Land of That instinctively stiffened.
Even Fugaku's eyes widened in alarm. "What the—?!"
An intense sense of danger exploded inside him.
The so-called Eternal Genin, the pathetic joke of Konoha whom nobody had ever taken seriously, was now releasing chakra so monstrous that it felt comparable to a Kage... no perhaps even superior!
Their hearts involuntarily tightened.
"Get ready…" Duy declared that every muscle and bone in his body throbbed under the tremendous Chakra that was difficult for him to bear. But he just gritted his teeth like a CHAD that he is and smiled, "Because… I am about to start burning!!!"
Boom!
And then he vanished.
No, that wasn't even the right word. He moved so fast that most of the battlefield couldn't process his movement at all. He was faster than the speed of sound, and only the Uchihas barely managed to follow the blur through their Sharingan.
And the first person Duy targeted was, without a doubt, Fugaku.
The instant Duy moved, Fugaku's instincts exploded with warnings.
Dodge! Dodge! Dodge! Dodge!
His entire body screamed in terror.
His body roared at him that if he didn't move, if he didn't dodge that, then he might as well be dead!
Without hesitation, Fugaku forced chakra into his legs and threw himself sideways with every ounce of speed he possessed.
BOOOOM!!!
The place where he had been standing exploded instantly. A terrifying shockwave erupted outward, blasting apart the ground and uprooting nearby trees. Dust and debris were scattered violently through the battlefield.
And the most horrifying part was that the attack had only been the pressure from a single punch.
No ninjutsu.
No weapon.
Just a fucking punch!
Let that sink in.
Fugaku's pupils shrank violently beneath the mask, 'What kind of monster is this—?!'
But he didn't even have time to think because another fist was already coming toward him.
And another.
And another.
And then another one!
Boom!! Boom!! BOOM!!!
Each strike generated enough pressure to resemble a high-ranking ninjutsu. The shockwaves alone shattered rock and forced nearby shinobi to retreat in panic. Even those who weren't being targeted directly felt their hearts sink while watching the monstrous assault that Fugaku was dealing with.
The only ones enjoying the sight were the Uchihas... Souta and Satoru, who laughed and cheered for him. "Yahahahaha... that's it, Might Duy... fuck him up!!"
Kurumi rolled her eyes at the two... but then gulped nervously, looking at Duy, feeling that this guy is really some kind of crouching tiger, hidden dragon whose strength is as great as the great Mount Tai. She also understood that people who always mocked Duy were simply courting their death; it was only Duy's magnanimity that they were alive, otherwise the grass on their graves would have been six feet tall already.
'Fortunately, Patriarch tamed this monster... otherwise...'
Anyway—
Fugaku pushed his Sharingan to its limits as he desperately evaded. Sweat poured down his body beneath the mask while his heartbeat thundered wildly in his ears.
"This is bad…" he thought as another punch narrowly missed his face, the pressure tearing apart the trees behind him. "This is really bad…!"
For the first time since the battle had begun, Fugaku genuinely felt death breathing down his neck.
.
.
Give me Powaaahh Shtoness!!!!
Read ahead of public release on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley
Check out Chapter illustrations on Pixiv: unhinged_uchiha
If you like this story, then you might also like my other story: One Piece: The Incubus' Adventure. Give it a try.