Chapter 86: The Stage is Set—The Audience Arrives!
On the stage—
A surge of chakra emanated from Uchiha Tsukasa.
He raised his eyes slightly, his crimson Sharingan blazing as he stared intently at Tōgō Hayato.
A wave of black energy, originating from him, suddenly spread in all directions.
The pool of blood churned, the crosses creaked and swayed, and even the light from the crimson ritual circle where Hidan stood seemed to ripple under the influence of this sinister chakra.
At this moment, Tsukasa was in a state of internal conflict.
Under the influence of dark chakra, malicious thoughts surged through his mind.
This fueled his killing intent, and he nearly broke into an embarrassing victory dance, driven by the dark impulses flooding his system.
However, thanks to his combat instincts, he remained grounded despite this extreme corruption.
At least his battle plan remained clear:
Identify the enemy, assess capabilities, accumulate dark chakra, unleash power—and fight!
He would imitate Shikamaru's tactics: dismember and bury the enemy.
Tsukasa had originally planned to accumulate enough dark chakra to maintain his forbidden technique, Physical Regeneration, for five minutes.
However, due to activating Dark Awakening prematurely, his execution of Physical Regeneration was imperfect and couldn't be sustained for long.
Hence—two minutes.
He only had two minutes of explosive power. If he couldn't decide the outcome within two minutes, there would be no second chance.
His current assets:
Two minutes of super-speed regeneration and chakra reserves boosted by his two-tomoe Sharingan—roughly equivalent to an average jōnin.
Without further refinement and control, the raw dark chakra couldn't be used directly for ninjutsu—only as fuel for his forbidden technique, Physical Regeneration.
Of course, Tsukasa still had one critically endangered asset: his younger brother Hidan, currently in the Death Controlling Possessed Blood state. A single stab could effectively wound all three of them simultaneously.
Leveraging the difference in recovery time between Hayato's immortality and his own Physical Regeneration could be exploited strategically.
But judging by Hidan's condition, he'd collapse after just two more stabs.
Therefore, careful strategic planning was crucial.
In less than three seconds, he'd finalized his battle plan.
The first step—
Tsukasa's eyes flashed fiercely, his scarlet Sharingan spinning. He leaped forward, positioning himself in front of Hidan.
His hands flew through seals, then decisively slammed against the ground!
"Barrier Ninjutsu: Four Crimson Ray Formation!"
A massive circular seal rapidly expanded—a pale red barrier locked onto Tōgō Hayato, separating Tsukasa from Hidan before blazing to life!
The barrier technique, adapted from Kumogakure's methods and refined through Tsukasa's own modifications—now unfolded!
At this moment, outside in the ruined castle—
A group of five shinobi landed. The leader, wearing a high-collared dark robe with the Uchiha clan's fan emblem on his back, was tall with a stern expression.
This person was none other than Uchiha Fugaku, who had led a team to search for his missing clan member.
Fugaku took a deep breath as he surveyed the crumbling castle and devastated hall.
In the center of the hall, he saw battle marks identical to those on the outer walls—evidence of Uchiha-style Shuriken Jutsu techniques.
He was now certain that the kid he'd been searching for—Uchiha Tsukasa—had been here!
However, Fugaku frowned slightly as he examined the traces of combat throughout the hall.
The scale of this battle had long since surpassed the capabilities of a Genin.
Furthermore, from the volcanic ruins, the shattered city walls, the collapsed cliffs, and now the castle itself—the intensity of combat had escalated dramatically at each location.
These battlefields, which he'd initially dismissed as minor skirmishes, now impressed even him.
This only intensified his curiosity: who exactly was this kid named Uchiha Tsukasa?!
After surviving all these battles, just how powerful had he become?
Had he already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?
Fugaku was inclined to believe so.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain the absurd fact that this kid could still be alive despite such a dramatic escalation in combat intensity.
Uchiha Shisui had called him the bridge between the clan and the village.
Uchiha Setsuna had been willing to die for him.
Uchiha Seiichiro had risked his life to storm the Jashin Cult's headquarters for him.
Just what kind of person was he?
Then—
"Captain, the ground here isn't normal. There are traces of chakra," an Uchiha stepped forward and reported.
"Hmm?"
Fugaku turned sharply, his three-tomoe Sharingan activating as he examined the ground.
After a moment, his eyes narrowed, and his hands rapidly formed seals:
Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger!
With his breath drawn, he suddenly unleashed Fire Release at the ground:
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The intense heat, far exceeding a normal Great Fireball, instantly collapsed the ground, melting it and revealing a pitch-black cavity beneath.
Another Uchiha member immediately performed a summoning jutsu, bringing forth a red-vested orange ninja cat—none other than Hina, one of the elite ninja cats of the Uchiha clan's contracted summons.
"Hina, track that kid's scent," Fugaku said, crouching at the cave entrance.
Hina bristled, then her ears flattened as she raised her paw threateningly, saying indignantly:
"That's insulting, nya! Fugaku, you actually think I'm some kind of—"
Before the cat could finish protesting, Fugaku pulled out his wallet and slipped a ten-thousand-ryō bill into Hina's paw.
Hina: (◕ᴗ◕✿)
"Ahem, as a trusted partner, nya—in that case, I'll assist you."
Hina happily tucked the bill into her vest, then lifted her dark nose to sniff carefully.
In certain respects, a cat's sense of smell could rival even a ninken's.
Within moments, Hina nodded, saying calmly: "Yes, the kid's scent leads down there."
"But—"
Fugaku, expressionless, pulled out another hundred-thousand-ryō bill and offered it.
Ninja Cat Hina's whiskers twitched as she continued: "There's a strong smell of blood down there, and I can hear screaming from where that kid is. The sound of someone being tortured, nya."
Upon hearing this, all the Uchiha became furious, their Sharingan activating simultaneously:
"Bastards! They dare torture a child of the Uchiha clan?!"
"Captain, give the order—we'll eliminate them!"
"Captain, this is intolerable. We should burn down the entire Jashin Cult!"
"Captain, if necessary, send a messenger hawk to the clan compound. We'll mobilize a hundred Uchiha and overthrow the Daimyō of the Land of Hot Water if we have to!"
Fugaku nodded his thanks to Ninja Cat Hina, then waved his hand, frowning as he commanded his team:
"Calm down. Follow me down, and no one takes action without my direct order."
He narrowed his eyes and said quietly:
"That kid is much stronger than you think. Possibly even stronger than any of you."
Hearing this, all the Uchiha couldn't help but exchange skeptical glances.
They didn't dare refute openly, but privately they thought:
"Him? That clueless brat who got kicked out of the entertainment district?"
"Right... let's not forget this is the same kid who could barely handle D-rank missions."
"I remember Seiichiro telling us about the grandiose dreams that brat spouted."
They could empathize with the kid being in danger, but to say he was stronger than them?
That was impossible—unless Fugaku personally beat them down to prove it!
Looking at the various expressions on his subordinates' faces, Fugaku shook his head.
Without another word, he leaped down—taking the lead by jumping directly into the cavern.
End of Chapter 86
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