Chapter 198
2-in-1-chapter :
Note: Ok, so I will now spell the Fourth Raikage's name as Ai instead of just A. It is a little annoying to read his name as just A.
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The wind and snow were steadily growing heavier. At first, the flakes had been so small that a gust of stronger wind would tear them apart into misty powder. Now, however, the falling snowflakes had become broad and hexagonal, each nearly the size of a fingernail. The chill of winter could be felt in the sting of the wind against their faces.
"This damned weather."
Uchiha Fugaku breathed warm air into his palms, feeling the faint trace of heat.
When they had set out, none of them had expected that the Land of Hot Springs would see snowfall so early this year. By the pattern of past seasons, snow would not fall here for at least another month or two. The sudden cold had caught them completely unprepared.
"To be honest, Fugaku, this kind of weather actually favors us."
Uchiha Hachidai approached, his sword resting across his shoulder.
"Hachidai, that's true enough."
Fugaku could not deny his clansman's reasoning. The worsening storm and blowing snow were to their advantage. While the visibility of ordinary shinobi would be badly hindered, the Uchiha's Sharingan was only minimally affected.
In truth, during heavy snow, rain, or mist, it was the Hyūga's Byakugan that performed best. Their sight was almost entirely unaffected by such conditions, making them the ideal counter to Kirigakure's Mist-nin. Against the Hidden Mist's signature jutsu, their vision rendered the technique nearly useless. Unfortunately, because of political struggles within Konoha, it was usually the Uchiha who ended up facing Kirigakure instead.
"They're coming. As expected, the Cloud-nin weren't going to retreat so easily."
"Not many of them," Hachidai added as he peered into the distance.
From where he looked, flashes of lightning were arcing through the storm, weaving past the distant Susanoo locked in combat with the Eight-Tails, racing toward them with incredible speed.
"Few in number doesn't mean easy to deal with. If they came this far, they must be elites. Send the order—everyone below Jōnin level is to retreat."
"That'll leave us at a disadvantage."
"Don't worry. We won't lose. And in a battle like this, Chūnin and Special Jōnin could only hold out for a few minutes at best. There's no need to waste lives. Many of them still have bright futures ahead—having them fall here would be far too great a loss."
Fugaku spoke decisively.
Hachidai was silent for a few seconds, studying the former clan head's expression. Then he turned and went to deliver the command. The formation of over two hundred shinobi thinned out until only a little more than sixty remained, forty of whom were Uchiha Jōnin—the core strength of the entire clan.
"Prepare for battle!"
Standing atop a jutting rock, Fugaku watched the rapidly approaching Cloud-nin and gave the order at the precise moment.
"Release!"
Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
Two ranks of twenty Uchiha Jōnin formed into lines. The front row released the Great Fireball Technique, while the back row followed with Great Breakthrough. Wind fueled flame, and in an instant, a roaring wall of fire several meters high surged forward like a crimson tsunami, sweeping across the battlefield toward the charging Cloud-nin.
Every Uchiha Jōnin possessed at least two chakra natures.
Fire Release was the foundation of the clan, while Wind Release, the perfect complement to it, was often chosen as the secondary element for higher-ranked Uchiha shinobi. Many sword techniques within Uchiha-style kenjutsu required Wind chakra as well. It was only natural that the clan had no shortage of Wind-style users.
And so, when the Cloud-nin came rushing in from afar, the Uchiha greeted them with the most "heated" welcome imaginable.
"Tch, they're strong."
"Four of them—not many."
"Don't underestimate them. If Cloud-nin were that easy to handle, we wouldn't have suffered so many defeats before."
The Uchiha Jōnin exchanged quick remarks as the blazing flames illuminated their eyes. Through the inferno, the Sharingan saw everything clearly: the enemy's rapid movements, the instant reactions, the swift dispersion to both flanks. Only four were caught by the flames and failed to dodge in time. The rest changed direction in a heartbeat, splitting into left and right to encircle the Uchiha.
No—there was still one who didn't retreat.
Instead, that figure accelerated even more, lightning surging around his entire body. He charged headlong through the sea of fire.
"They're all Jōnin! Taking down four at once is no small feat—fall back, retreat!" one of the Uchiha shouted in alarm. The combined wind-and-fire technique of twenty Jōnin could incinerate stone, yet someone had forced his way through it unharmed.
Was that even human?
Yes—and more than that, it was none other than the Raikage himself.
Bursting from the flames, A's speed reached its utmost limit. His entire body crackled with serpentine lightning, every strand of hair standing on end. This was his most powerful state—the Lightning Release Chakra Mode. In that instant, both his speed and his defense reached their peak.
Then came the strike.
Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop!
Before most of the Uchiha could even register his movement, A's arm hooked around Uchiha Suo's neck. With overwhelming strength, he twisted, snapping the fragile spine as if it were nothing.
In the next heartbeat, the world before Suo's eyes spun like a shattered jar—and then everything was swallowed by endless darkness.
Uchiha Fugaku's heart clenched as he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Suo!"
His cry of anguish tore through the battlefield, but no amount of rage could change the truth—Uchiha Suo had fallen in battle. The talented young man who had once been Fugaku's most trusted aide was gone, his life cut short before he had even married.
What face did he have left to see Suo's late father now?
Staring at Suo's headless body, still gushing blood onto the ground, an inferno of uncontainable fury ignited within Fugaku's chest. Suo's father, an older comrade who had once saved Fugaku's life on the battlefield, had died in his place. At the man's grave, Fugaku had sworn to protect Suo—to look after him as family.
Now that oath had been shattered.
"Everyone, out of my way!"
In that instant, Fugaku's crimson eyes began to turn. The black tomoe within his Sharingan spun rapidly, then fused together, transforming into a strange new pattern—three slender, curved black blades, and three dark orbs forming a perfect symmetry between them.
From his body surged a violet-red radiance.
A gigantic spectral arm burst forth and reached toward the Fourth Raikage, Ai. With a roar, Ai slammed into the skeletal arm head-on, his monstrous strength shattering the translucent fingers wreathed in crimson flame-like energy.
"What is that?"
"Susanoo?"
"How can that be? Elder Fugaku too…"
The Uchiha jōnin had no time to mourn Suo's death; they were struck dumb by the overwhelming power their former clan leader now revealed. Apart from a few, such as Uchiha Yashiro, most stood in stunned disbelief.
"So it's true," Yashiro murmured. "You've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan as well."
"The Mangekyō Sharingan… how incredible," Uchiha Meirei breathed, his gaze fixed with awe upon the towering half-formed upper body of Fugaku's violet-red Susanoo. A fierce longing burned within him. When only the clan head had possessed the Mangekyō, he had felt reverence; when he learned that Shisui had awakened it too, that reverence had turned to desire.
And now, seeing that even their former clan head had achieved it, the yearning in his heart blazed uncontrollably.
It was not only Meirei. Uchiha Inoka, Uchiha Tekka, Uchiha Hokuto, and many of the clan's elite jōnin all felt the same irresistible pull. The Uchiha, a clan that worshiped strength above all else, were driven by an unyielding obsession with power.
"Damn it!" Fugaku's voice trembled with rage.
His mood had plunged to the depths.
Once again, he cursed his own cautious nature. He had always held back, always chosen to conceal his strength. Even when he knew he faced enemies many times stronger, even when he had resolved to give everything for the clan, at the decisive moment he had still hesitated to act first.
That hesitation had cost Uchiha Suo his life.
No—more than Suo. Including him, four Uchiha jōnin had fallen to the Fourth Raikage's hands. It was all his fault. His restraint, his need to hide his power, had doomed them—men who might have survived, who should never have died so pointlessly and in vain.
Guilt, regret, self-reproach, anger, and fury—all tangled within his chest, fusing into a single consuming emotion.
Fixing his gaze on the Fourth Raikage, Fugaku squared his stance, ready to fight him to the death.