Chapter 141: Awakening
What he saw before death wasn't an illusion. Before dying, Uchiha Torajiro truly did see his "sacrificed" older brother, Uchiha Tatsuhata. But unfortunately, he'd never again have the chance to pester his brother with endless questions all day long until his brother wanted to beat him up.
The rapidly cooling corpse fell to the ground. That still young and tender face showed little pain—only an indescribable peace.
"Torajiro... Tora..."
Uchiha Tatsuhata looked at this scene before him. He wanted to shout his brother's name loudly, but his throat felt stuffed with a rough, uneven stone. He could only produce hoarse despair.
Tears flowed ceaselessly. The pitch-black tomoe in his crimson eyes spun wildly.
He stood rooted to the spot like a wooden puppet, completely motionless.
Sawai glanced at Uchiha Torajiro's corpse, then turned to look at this Uchiha brat dressed all in white who'd appeared from nowhere. His face showed a smile full of malice. Looking at his subordinates catching up from left and right, he said, "My luck's really good today! Too bad gambling's forbidden in the military camp. Otherwise, I guarantee you bastards would lose even your underwear today!"
"Captain, are you interested in my underwear full of holes? I can sell it cheap," a Cloud ninja beside him joked.
Sawai immediately felt nauseated, his eyes nearly rolling back. Without courtesy, he said, "Screw off! Who the hell's interested in your filthy underwear? Get as far away from me as possible."
The other Cloud ninja burst into cheerful laughter.
They were all veterans who'd survived the battlefield multiple times. Even though they'd penetrated deep into the Konoha defensive line, every one of them remained relaxed—as carefree as elementary school students on a field trip.
They completely dismissed the suddenly appearing Uchiha Tatsuhata. Admittedly, Uchiha clan experts were troublesome. Ordinary jonin couldn't match them one-on-one.
But they weren't stupid enough to face this Uchiha in single combat. With numerical advantage, they'd naturally leverage their strength. Moreover, taking a step back, they still had Captain Sawai, nicknamed Thunder Beast—a powerhouse who could duel Uchiha clan experts and win.
However—
At this moment, beside Sawai, a Cloud ninja with golden curly hair and a somewhat thin build suddenly frowned. As a sensory ninja, he was first to perceive the chakra signature that had undergone drastic transformation in an instant.
He said urgently, "Sawai, be careful. Something's not right."
"What?"
The moment Sawai spoke, he also immediately detected the terrifying aura that had become violent emanating from that Uchiha brat dressed in white not far ahead.
His pupils contracted. He instantly raised his guard to two hundred percent.
He didn't forget to remind his other subordinates. "Everyone be damn careful. That brat ahead might have problems."
The Land of Lightning was a mountainous country with many volcanoes within its borders. The vast majority were extinct, but some active volcanoes remained. During one mission, Sawai had happened to encounter a nearby active volcano erupting. That terrifying spectacle left an indelible impression on him.
At this moment, from that short, thin Uchiha brat opposite, he inexplicably drew a connection to the erupting volcano he'd once witnessed.
His association was naturally somewhat exaggerated. How could a person possibly be as terrifying as a volcano?
However, an Uchiha who'd awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan no longer counted as a normal human in the conventional sense. They could be called superhuman. And such an Uchiha indeed possessed might greater than a volcano.
"You people!"
"You all deserve to die!"
"You should all be dead!"
Uchiha Tatsuhata muttered ceaselessly. No more tears remained to flow from his crimson eyes. Only quietly burning flames remained inside, along with the pitch-black tomoe that fused together during high-speed rotation, sketching out an elongated blade pattern—narrow at the center, widening and curving in the middle section, then tapering again to sharp points at both ends.
This peculiar Sharingan transformation completely exceeded the Cloud ninjas' understanding. It made them tense their nerves, facing a great enemy. Their previous ease and composure vanished.
Sawai exchanged a glance with his subordinate.
The next second, the Cloud ninja rapidly formed hand seals, raised his right hand horizontally, aimed at Uchiha Tatsuhata standing motionless on a distant tree branch, and as chakra circulated and released, bright, dazzling spherical lightning bolts shot toward Uchiha Tatsuhata.
Lightning Release: Lightning Ball.
A C-rank Lightning Release technique.
The Hidden Mist Village lightning prodigy Ringo Ameyuri had used this very move when hunting Ritsu. Had to admit, the genius girl's skill had real substance.
Back then, the lightning balls Ringo Ameyuri released were each as large as an adult male's head. Right now, this Cloud ninja's lightning balls were merely cantaloupe-sized. The quantity also fell short—Ringo Ameyuri easily released over a dozen lightning balls, while this Cloud ninja only managed six cantaloupe-sized balls before running dry.
Of course, considering this was merely a probing method to test the enemy's depth, it was actually sufficient.
The Cloud ninja all stared intently at the opposing Uchiha brat, waiting for him to reveal his methods so they could assess his depth, then make corresponding decisions based on that evaluation.
The next second, pale yellow special chakra surged like smoke from chakra points all over Uchiha Tatsuhata's body. In less than an eyeblink, this pale yellow chakra constructed dozens of giant bones—ribs, arm bones, hand bones—arranging themselves according to the human upper body's skeletal structure into a translucent giant half-body that enveloped Uchiha Tatsuhata within.
The six cantaloupe-sized lightning balls struck it and truly couldn't create even the slightest ripple.
In the dense tree canopy not far away, a massive pitcher plant concealed itself. That half-black, half-white yin-yang face constantly fixed on Uchiha Tatsuhata. Seeing him deploy Susanoo, that face immediately showed an extremely excited smile.
Black Zetsu couldn't help murmuring, "Susanoo... finally succeeded!"
His voice brimmed with emotion.
Uchiha Obito's failure had depressed him for a long time. But fortunately, all this suffering proved worthwhile. This time, without unexpected interference, the plan had finally advanced smoothly to the next stage.
White Zetsu also curiously watched Uchiha Tatsuhata and asked aloud, "Black Zetsu-sama, what kind of ocular jutsu do you think Uchiha Tatsuhata will awaken? Will it be Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Kagutsuchi, Kamui, Amenotejikara, or one of the others?"
He rattled off a string of names like a tongue twister.
These strange-sounding names were none other than Mangekyō Sharingan ocular jutsu the Uchiha clan had birthed throughout history!
Over the past thousand years, the Uchiha clan had dominated the shinobi world. Brutal warfare prompted the Uchiha clan to birth one after another powerhouse who'd awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, creating different legends in every era!
Though to this day, due to repeated wars, the Uchiha clan itself had lost related knowledge and records, leaving only a handful of documents.
However, Black Zetsu, who'd lived a thousand years, had also entangled with the Uchiha clan for a thousand years of time. He'd recorded all Mangekyō Sharingan ocular jutsu the Uchiha clan had ever manifested.
Hearing White Zetsu's question, Black Zetsu in good spirits didn't rebuke him. Instead, he answered, "Whichever ocular jutsu is fine. Even the most useless Kagutsuchi is actually decent—it inevitably appears alongside Amaterasu, and Amaterasu's destructive power is beyond question. If it's other ocular jutsu, they all have their own wonderful uses."
Ultimately, regardless of what ocular jutsu Uchiha Tatsuhata awakened, at the moment of awakening, he'd already become one of the shinobi world's current top-tier powerhouses, possessing the capability to execute the Moon's Eye Plan.
After all, after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, the most important power was Susanoo.
This was genuine "divine power."
If it were an ordinary Uchiha clan member, because the Mangekyō Sharingan's consumption was enormous and overuse caused blindness as a side effect, even obtaining this power, they'd always restrain its use. However, Uchiha Tatsuhata's situation was different. He'd lost his left arm and both legs on the battlefield. Now these missing limbs were all dismantled from White Zetsu and transplanted onto him.
The transplanted limbs not only made him whole again but also granted him the powerful vitality from First Hokage Senju Hashirama, allowing him to sustain the Mangekyō Sharingan's consumption without risk of blindness.
At this moment, Uchiha Tatsuhata used the "divine power" Susanoo without restraint, bringing tremendous pressure to the Cloud ninja.
Seeing the probing attack completely ineffective, Sawai's expression became exceptionally solemn.
But before he could say anything, he saw the previously stationary Uchiha Tatsuhata move, deactivating Susanoo and charging swiftly toward Sawai and the others.
White Zetsu's half-face immediately showed incomprehension. "Why did Uchiha Tatsuhata deactivate Susanoo?"
Black Zetsu's eyes gleamed. He didn't speak.
In contrast, the Cloud ninja with limited intelligence didn't think that much. They instinctively judged that such a technique probably consumed tremendous chakra, so Uchiha Tatsuhata changed tactics to conserve chakra.
Sawai's eyes lit up. "Good opportunity!"
He wasn't frightened into retreating. Instead, he judged this was an excellent opportunity. He even thought about capturing this special Uchiha brat and bringing him back. This guy's value absolutely exceeded the brat he'd easily killed earlier by many times over.
Thus—"Boom!"
Lightning wreathed Sawai's entire body. He charged boldly toward Uchiha Tatsuhata.
His nickname was "Thunder Beast"—not because he excelled most at the C-rank Lightning Release: Thunder Beast technique, but because his combat style was both ferocious and cunning, like a wild beast.
His earlier probing showed his cunning, careful side. Now seeing this opportunity and immediately engaging showed his fierce, brave side.
His greatest specialty was Hidden Cloud Village's secret Lightning Release taijutsu, using "Lightning Release: Chakra Mode," a B-rank Lightning technique, as the core to drastically enhance his speed and defense, then deploying other Lightning techniques to form this unique taijutsu style.
Uchiha Tatsuhata watched the charging Sawai and suddenly stopped, clapping both hands together.
Wood Release: Adamantine Recruiting Timber.
Square, iron-hard wooden pillars suddenly burst from the earth, heavily striking Sawai. Such collision force would break bones and tendons, leaving even a bear half-dead.
But Sawai wasn't an ordinary human. Having mastered Lightning Release taijutsu, his physique had long been forged to inhuman toughness. The wooden pillars shattered on contact with his body while he remained completely unharmed.
However, Sawai's charge was indeed forcibly interrupted.
The next instant, Uchiha Tatsuhata's tightly clenched hands maintained the "rat" seal as he deployed a new Wood Release technique.
Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees.
In an instant, the earth beneath churned. Countless plants grew wildly. Thick tree trunks twisted and coiled, branches and leaves interlinking. In the blink of an eye, the forest was swallowed by an even more terrifying forest. All Cloud ninja including Sawai were caught within.
Sawai was startled at first.
But he quickly detected these trees' attacks weren't strong. With some effort, he could smash through the surrounding trees. However, not being a sensory ninja, after this confusion, he'd lost track of Uchiha Tatsuhata's position.
Moreover, he discovered white phantom-like threads drifting around him. However, when they touched the lightning on his body, they were deflected.
"What is this?"
Sawai frowned tightly, following the threads' source. He discovered they came from his subordinates' direction. The Uchiha brat's corpse he'd killed earlier was also there.
The next second, the other Cloud ninja broke free from the trees' entanglement, bursting from this wind-tight dense forest. However... the problem was there were too many people.
For this mission, he'd brought three chunin subordinates. The squad he'd supported as bait had four members. No casualties occurred during combat. Meaning besides Sawai himself, there should be seven Cloud ninja on scene.
But now, fourteen Cloud ninja appeared before Sawai.
Sawai asked in confusion, "Why are you using shadow clones?"
However, the next moment, everyone's answer made Sawai furrow his brow.
"We didn't!"
The Cloud ninja answered in unison.
At the same time, their nearby comrades suddenly attacked. Instantly, blood sprayed. The fourteen Cloud ninja fell into chaos, slaughtering each other mercilessly.
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