Chapter 15: Damn It, It's Jiraiya!
BOOM!
A deafening roar echoed through the underground chamber as the massive fireball shattered the ancient stone wall.
"UCHIHA KAZUKI, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
Fugaku's horrified scream nearly cracked with panic. His heart practically stopped, and his entire body went numb with terror.
He couldn't even imagine what would happen if the sacred stone tablet was destroyed. Those stubborn old bastards on the clan council would do absolutely anything to vent their fury—including tearing him apart alive and feeding his remains to stray dogs!
For one fleeting, horrible moment, he could practically see his position as clan head slipping through his fingers.
"Lord Fugaku, there's someone hiding inside the wall!" Kazuki cut him off before his panic could escalate into full rage. "This intruder has trespassed on sacred Uchiha territory—they might be one of Danzo's spies!"
What?!
Upon hearing the name 'Danzo,' Fugaku's entire demeanor shifted like someone had flipped a switch. His expression turned deadly serious as his sharp gaze pierced through the smoke and dust.
Sure enough, within the smoke-filled cavity in the wall, he detected a mass of distinctly wrong chakra—dark, cold, and fundamentally alien.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu remained completely stunned.
How was I discovered?!
His concealment ability was such that even the legendary Sage creatures of the Three Great Holy Lands couldn't detect him unless he wanted to be found.
How did this random Uchiha brat manage to pinpoint his exact location?!
Unfortunately, before Black Zetsu could formulate any theories, Fugaku launched himself forward like a predatory big cat—objective crystal clear: capture the intruder, and absolutely do not let him escape alive. If Danzo and the Third Hokage learned about the clan's secret meetings, the Uchiha would be finished!
Right now, he didn't give a single damn about whether the stone tablet got damaged in the crossfire.
If this 'spy' escaped and reported back to the Hokage's office, the entire Uchiha clan would be in mortal danger!
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
The clan head's execution of technique was truly on another level.
The same ninjutsu that Kazuki had used earlier, when performed by Fugaku, had its destructive power multiplied several times over. A simple B-rank technique was unleashed with the raw force of an A-rank jutsu!
ROOOAAAAAR!
The moment the enormous fire dragon materialized, the temperature in the entire underground chamber skyrocketed to nearly unbearable levels.
The roaring serpent of flame, carrying a heat wave that distorted the very air, surged forward with devastating momentum before crashing into the chamber walls. The explosive impact created a visible shockwave that rippled outward.
Kazuki was pushed back several steps by the sheer force, feeling the fine hairs on his arms curl and singe from the residual heat.
Retreat!
Black Zetsu didn't hesitate for even a microsecond. Like viscous black liquid, he flowed into a hairline crack in the damaged wall and began phasing through the stone itself.
It wasn't that he feared Fugaku and Kazuki in direct combat. Although not particularly skilled at fighting, he possessed numerous methods to protect himself and escape danger.
No—Black Zetsu's concern was that premature exposure would jeopardize centuries of careful planning. Mother's resurrection couldn't be risked over something this stupid.
But Kazuki had absolutely no intention of letting him escape so easily.
He locked onto Black Zetsu's spiritual signature through spirit vision, drawing and throwing a shuriken while simultaneously calling out to the clan head.
"Lord Fugaku, he's moving toward the eastern wall!"
"AAAAGH, YOU DAMNED UCHIHA BRAT!" Black Zetsu, intercepted yet again despite his stealth, cursed in absolute exasperation.
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT LEAVING HERE ALIVE!"
Fugaku, filled with righteous fury and genuine terror about the political implications, stomped his foot with tremendous force.
CRACK!
The instant his chakra erupted, the surrounding stone floor shattered like a spiderweb of fractures radiating outward.
The next moment, Fugaku completely vanished from his original position, leaving only trailing afterimages and the sharp crack of a sonic boom.
WHAM!
Black Zetsu, attempting to phase through the wall to safety, was suddenly punched clean through the stone by Fugaku's chakra-enhanced fist.
The Uchiha clan head wasn't just skilled in ninjutsu—his taijutsu was absolutely devastating. Before Black Zetsu could even process what had happened, Fugaku twisted his body mid-flight with perfect form, his right leg whipping out like a steel cable.
"Konoha Style: Power Whirlwind!"
The brutal spinning kick slammed directly into Black Zetsu's face with the force of a battering ram.
"URGH!"
Black Zetsu was instantly launched like a cannonball, his body ragdolling through the air before crashing heavily into the opposite wall with a sickening crunch.
Run! RUN!
Black Zetsu immediately transformed into a puddle of semi-liquid biomass, using the same phasing technique to escape through another crack in the masonry.
"Lord Fugaku, he's escaped the chamber! He's heading for the surface!"
Kazuki called out helpfully, secretly sneering as he continued tracking Black Zetsu's spiritual signature.
Sensing Fugaku closing in from directly behind like an avenging demon, Black Zetsu fled in absolute panic, internally cursing Kazuki with every ancient profanity he knew.
If it weren't for that damned brat's ability to sense me, how could I have possibly ended up in this humiliating situation?!
Just reach the surface! Once I'm outside, I can disappear into the earth!
Black Zetsu sprinted recklessly through corridors and up hidden passages, with Fugaku pursuing him like a man possessed. The clan head seemed to have unlimited chakra reserves, unleashing technique after technique without pause.
His strategy was brutally simple: if precision wasn't guaranteed, overwhelming firepower would compensate!
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Technique!"
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
"Fire Release: Running Fire!"
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"
"AAAAAAHHH—"
Black Zetsu screamed as he ran, dodging desperately. No matter how skilled his evasion techniques were, he couldn't completely avoid the wide-area fire release bombardment. Flames licked at his body from every angle.
He had existed for over a thousand years, and aside from those two unfilial sons Hagoromo and Hamura, he had never hated anyone this intensely!
"UCHIHA KAZUKI!!!"
Black Zetsu's eyes flashed with absolutely insane rage and murderous hatred, his metaphorical teeth grinding to powder. "When I get back to Lord Madara, I'll make him hunt you down and kill you slowly!"
Finally, through desperate and frantic effort, Black Zetsu successfully burst through to ground level—emerging near the Naka Shrine's exterior grounds.
"FIRE RELEASE: GREAT FIRE ANNIHILATION!"
Fugaku's furious roar echoed from below as his absolutely monstrous chakra signature flared.
The clan head's chest expanded to its absolute limit. The massive amount of chakra accumulated in his throat, combined with rapid hand seals, unleashed a literal tsunami of scorching flames that erupted from the shrine entrance like a volcanic eruption.
BOOOOOM!!!
The enormous tidal wave of fire was so incredibly intense that even people dozens of meters away could feel its scorching heat radiating outward in waves.
Especially at night, almost half the Uchiha residential district could see the raging inferno in the direction of the shrine—flames so bright they turned night into day.
"Uchiha Fugaku! Uchiha Kazuki!"
Black Zetsu, now completely engulfed in flames and forced to abandon his physical form, revealed a terrifying, venomous expression in his yellow eyes. "I'll remember this! We will settle this score later!"
The raging flames consumed dozens of meters of ground around the shrine entrance. The earth itself began crystallizing under the sustained intense heat.
Black Zetsu's form seemed to melt away entirely within the flames, slowly sinking and disappearing into the ground like water absorbed by sand.
Gone.
Fugaku's face remained extremely grim as he stared intently at where the intruder had vanished. "He still managed to escape. Such bizarre techniques—I've never encountered anything like it before. And that chakra signature felt fundamentally wrong."
He frowned deeply. "This can't be one of Danzo's operatives. His techniques are too unusual. Who sent this spy to monitor us?"
"Lord Fugaku, why couldn't it be Danzo's agent?" Kazuki raised an eyebrow, glancing at Fugaku with feigned curiosity.
Fugaku shot him a look, his tone calm and measured despite the chaos. "If you were the Third Hokage, would you entrust someone with abilities like that to Danzo's command? Think about the political implications."
Oh. That actually makes perfect sense.
Kazuki had a sudden realization.
Don't be fooled by Danzo and the Third Hokage's seemingly cooperative relationship. Behind the scenes, they were constantly plotting against each other, jealously guarding their respective power bases.
"Keep today's events absolutely secret. Don't let anyone outside our immediate circle know what happened."
Fugaku frowned, thinking rapidly as clan members began gathering in the distance, drawn by the massive fire. He turned back to Kazuki with firm instructions.
"If anyone asks, tell them I was conducting a high-intensity combat assessment. Testing your abilities under pressure."
"I understand completely, Lord Fugaku." Kazuki nodded seriously. "Don't worry—I'll keep this confidential."
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu, having finally escaped that nightmare scenario, rested on a thick tree branch in the forest outside Konoha's walls.
His form was still smoking slightly, damaged tissue slowly regenerating.
"Damn that Uchiha Kazuki! How dare he make me suffer such humiliation!"
Black Zetsu seethed through metaphorically gritted teeth, his yellow eyes burning with hatred. "That brat can somehow sense me even when I'm completely concealed! He's too dangerous to leave alive! I need to convince Lord Madara to eliminate him as soon as possible!"
"Oh? And who exactly are you planning to kill?"
A cheerful, almost lazy voice suddenly spoke from directly above him.
Impossible! There's someone here? I didn't sense—
Black Zetsu froze completely, then slowly, very slowly, looked up in the direction of the voice.
Bathed in moonlight, a tall, powerfully built figure crouched on a branch above him with perfect balance.
Long, wild white hair cascaded down like a lion's mane. A massive scroll—easily half his body height—hung from his waist. The kanji for "Oil" (油) was prominently displayed on his forehead protector.
"Just got back to the village after a long journey, and I'm already running into suspicious characters lurking in the woods."
The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring at Black Zetsu with obvious interest. His grin widened. "Since this is such a convenient coincidence, why don't you come along with me for a nice chat? I'm sure the Hokage would love to hear your story."
Damn it all—it's JIRAIYA!
Black Zetsu couldn't help but curse Kazuki's name hundreds upon hundreds of times in his mind.
This is ALL that Uchiha brat's fault!
Author's Note: Black Zetsu's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day continues! From Kazuki's detection to Fugaku's assault to running into JIRAIYA of all people. Poor ancient evil entity just can't catch a break. Thanks for reading!
[End of Chapter 15]
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