Chapter 74: The Price of a Lesson
The ground for tens of meters around collapsed directly, and all the surviving Konoha ninja in the vicinity were gathered into the newly formed pit.
The scorching heat wave roared over the heads of the Konoha ninja, full of menacing power. The blistering heat was still agonizing for everyone below.
BOOM!
The next moment, the distant Konoha wall collapsed with a deafening roar, as if struck by an invisible giant's fist. The tall, two-meter-thick wall crumbled just like that. The surrounding Konoha defensive structures were completely obliterated, the ground exploding outwards. The casualties were undeniably heavy.
From a distance, it looked like a smaller-scale version of the damage caused by Pain's Shinra Tensei during the original invasion. The area was a swath of scorched, crimson earth.
And this was the result of Uchiha Naoki compressing his power, focusing its eruption at Konoha's main gate. Had he not, with his current control over his Kekkei Genkai, the blast's range could have easily covered half of Konoha. While it wouldn't have decimated Konoha's fighting power like the Almighty Push, causing hundreds, perhaps nearly a thousand, casualties through incineration would not have been a problem.
He had restrained his power for one reason: his goal was to teach Konoha a lesson, not to indiscriminately slaughter the innocent.
"Hmph, quick to hide, but is it useful?" Uchiha Naoki sneered, landing and looking at the massive crater. "Pain was right. Unless you know pain, you cannot understand."
He stomped the ground and roared, "Youton: Funka!" (Lava Style: Eruption!)
BOOM!
If aiming on the surface was difficult and the lethality limited, the Third Hokage gathering everyone into a pit had just made Uchiha Naoki's job much easier.
"Not good!" The Third Hokage realized the danger the moment the ground trembled and radiated intense heat. But he was given no chance to save them as a massive pillar of lava spewed forth before his eyes.
"AHHH—!!!"
Screams erupted, then were swiftly silenced. At least thirty ninja were annihilated on the spot, not even ashes remaining. Among them were jonin, chunin, and especially tokubetsu jonin. Only a handful, using substitution and evasion techniques, managed to dodge.
Whoosh!
The Third Hokage reappeared thirty meters from Uchiha Naoki. Seeing the damaged Konoha gate and the maimed, surviving ninja around him, his heart bled. His face turned icy. "Uchiha Naoki! Are you determined to make an enemy of Konoha?"
His killing intent was palpable. Such a terrifying monster, already bearing a grudge against Konoha, could not be allowed to live.
"Pfft, stop joking, Sarutobi Hiruzen!" Uchiha Naoki scoffed. "This is just payback for your words earlier. As I said, collecting a little interest first! So you understand the price of saying the wrong thing!"
But the Third Hokage would not accept this.
"You've caused such damage to the village! So many are injured and dead! Uchiha Naoki…!" He was not a tall man, his body somewhat stooped, but he erupted with a mountainous, majestic pressure that cracked the ground at his feet. "…You will not leave here alive!"
As the words fell, the Third Hokage glared and shouted, "Doton: Doryūso!" (Earth Style: Earth-Style Spear!)
Just as Uchiha Naoki was about to use his elementalization to evade, a voice rang out from behind the Hokage. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" (Mind Body Transmission Technique!)
Uchiha Naoki felt a strange, powerful spiritual force violently invade his mind, fighting for control of his body. His elementalization was instantly interrupted, and the sharp earth spear was already upon him, about to pierce his skin.
At this critical moment, Uchiha Naoki roared, "Kōka!" (Harden!)
His body sheathed in the black armor, he was still sent flying back by the force of the earth spear. But he immediately flared his chakra, forcing himself to land firmly, avoiding being a vulnerable target in mid-air.
The moment his feet touched the ground, a slender shadow quickly connected to his own. "Kagemane no Jutsu!" (Shadow Imitation Technique!) It froze him in place instantly! The shadow quickly wrapped around his body, completely restraining him.
"Now's our chance!" a booming voice shouted. "Bai no Jutsu: Chō Zōfuku!" (Secret Technique: Super Multi-Size Technique!)
A red-haired man with sumo-style markings on his face rushed forward, his body swelling to a gigantic size. He clenched a fist like a boulder and slammed down with immense force, making the air howl.
"Hmph!" Trapped, Uchiha Naoki's three-tomoe Sharingan blazed. With a surge of potent mental energy, he expelled the invading spiritual force from his mind. His body grew intensely hot, and the shadow binding him immediately recoiled, freeing his movements.
"Armament… Harden!" Watching the oppressive air pressure from the giant fist descend, he grinned fiercely. He clenched his own fist, sheathing it in the jet-black armor that now glowed with inner heat. "Gōka no Inu!" (Crimson Canine of Hell!)
He threw a punch as if to shatter the world, meeting the gigantic fist head-on.
BOOM!
The impact was like a massive explosion, blasting the ground into rubble. But something astonishing happened: the diminutive Uchiha Naoki actually forced the giant fist back. Moreover, the intense heat radiating from his fist instantly melted the flesh and bone of the giant's hand, breaking through it completely.
"GET… LOST!!!" he roared, his power exploding outwards.
A pained scream echoed as the giant was thrown backward, the sickening sound of shattering bones clearly audible.
Suddenly, Uchiha Naoki abruptly retreated, as if sensing something. The next instant, a bold and powerful earth dragon burst from the ground, roaring as it charged toward him.
The Third Hokage's "Doryūdan!" (Earth Dragon Bullet!) It was agile and terrifyingly powerful, making the air crackle. But Uchiha Naoki was not just a punching bag.
His three-tomoe Sharingan immediately sensed the one who had rebounded from the mental attack preparing another assault. He instantly blasted a volley of searing, fist-sized magma rocks in that direction. "Youton: Housenka no Jutsu!" (Lava Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!)
The attack perfectly covered the Third Hokage and his allies, forcing them into a hasty retreat and disrupting their offensive rhythm.
"Gōka no Hasu!" (Crimson Lotus!) His body turned elemental, allowing the earth dragon to pass through him harmlessly. Simultaneously, he thrust a palm forward, and a sleek, hound-like projectile of lava shot instantly toward the Third Hokage, who had just landed.
"Tch!" Even though the Third Hokage reacted swiftly, dodging with an Earth Clone, a gash was still torn from his right arm. The lava hound, its momentum unchecked, shot toward the three people behind him—the trio who had just trapped Uchiha Naoki and nearly injured him.
"Look out!" The first in the projectile's path was Nara Shikaku, Konoha's head strategist. Facing this super-heated, piercing attack, he had no time to counter.
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