Hokuto sneered. The Magma Release Rasenshuriken in his hand dispersed into drifting heat haze as he looked calmly at Uchiha Futada.
"Magma Release? A trump card?"
"I think you've misunderstood. That was just a little trick to make them quiet."
His contemptuous gaze swept over the battered Uchiha below.
Futada's heart sank. A heavy sense of foreboding surged through his chest. Ever since the clan assembly began, things had already slipped completely out of his control.
And now—
Was Hokuto about to reveal something else?
He still had another card to play?
"My real trump card…" Hokuto said slowly, eyes narrowing, "is this."
[Mangekyō Sharingan Experience Ticket -1]
In an instant, an overwhelming surge of ocular power detonated within Hokuto's eyes.
Cold. Evil. Chaotic.
A violent tide of negative emotions flooded his mind, dragging with it a savage urge to destroy everything in sight. The pressure was so intense it felt like a blade scraping directly against his soul.
No wonder every Uchiha who awakened the Mangekyō eventually went mad. Merely bearing this power was enough to crush a person's sanity.
But then—
A cool, cleansing wave swept through his consciousness, forcibly suppressing the madness.
The roulette system intervened.
"Hahahaha!" Hokuto threw his head back in wild laughter. "So this is the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan! Absolutely intoxicating!"
With the system stabilizing the backlash, Hokuto perfectly controlled the borrowed power.
Only now did he truly understand why, back when Sasuke had just awakened the Mangekyō, he'd dared to charge alone into the Five Kage Summit.
This kind of explosive leap in strength could intoxicate anyone.
At this moment, Hokuto felt as if ten versions of his former self wouldn't even be enough to compare. The gap between a three-tomoe Uchiha and a Mangekyō user wasn't just power—
It was a difference in species.
Right now, even if someone told him to fight Senju Tobirama head-on, he wouldn't hesitate.
The Mangekyō's might far exceeded anything he had imagined.
Hokuto laughed atop the platform, completely unconcerned about Futada attempting a sneak attack.
"Impossible… impossible…"
"This level of power—Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
"You awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
Futada shouted in disbelief, his voice trembling.
The Mangekyō was the dream he had chased his entire life—the sacred eyes every Uchiha longed for.
The Susanoo that could blot out the sky.
The power that could cleave mountains and seas with a single strike.
The might once wielded by Uchiha Madara himself.
Today—
It had appeared again.
"Hahaha! Heaven truly favors us!"
"The Mangekyō has appeared!"
"The divine power of the Uchiha clan!"
"Konoha's future belongs to the Uchiha!"
The clan elders—who moments ago had still been watching cautiously—suddenly erupted into frenzied cheers.
They could clearly feel the terrifying Mangekyō chakra radiating from Hokuto.
They knew this presence better than anyone.
It was the same oppressive aura once carried by Madara.
From this moment on, Hokuto was destined to become the Uchiha clan head. No one could stop it.
Anyone who dared oppose him?
Kill them.
The elders instantly accepted Hokuto as the future leader. Only he could return the Uchiha to the era of absolute dominance.
After all—
Hashirama Senju was long dead.
Tobirama was dead too.
Who in Konoha could still stand against the Uchiha's divine power?
"Clan Head Futada," Hokuto said calmly. His Mangekyō fully manifested into a six-pointed star pattern, its crimson glow burning with terrifying intensity. "Now do you understand my trump card?"
A towering Susanoo phantom—tens of meters tall—rose faintly behind him as he drew upon Mangekyō's power. The colossal outline loomed like a god of war, casting a suffocating shadow over the entire assembly.
Futada was speechless.
Fear. Envy. Obsession.
All of it twisted violently in his eyes.
Those eyes he had dreamed of his entire life.
Why couldn't they belong to him?
"Uchiha Hokuto!"
"He is the clan head of the Uchiha!"
"He is the future!"
The elders led the chanting, pointing excitedly at the looming Susanoo behind Hokuto.
"That's it!"
"Susanoo!"
"The invincible power of the Uchiha!"
"Hokuto!"
"Hokuto!!!"
A tidal wave of cheers exploded—far louder and more frenzied than before.
The Uchiha had gone completely mad.
The presence of the Mangekyō erased all memory of Hokuto's earlier recklessness.
A man this powerful—what was wrong with being arrogant?
Wasn't it only natural that those who dared challenge a superior being should face annihilation?
The fact that they were still alive should already be counted as Hokuto's mercy.
In mere seconds, the entire crowd completed its mental shift, transforming into Hokuto's fervent supporters.
"Silence."
Hokuto spoke lightly.
The roaring cheers vanished instantly.
Every eye turned toward him with something dangerously close to worship.
Even the dozen Uchiha who had just been blasted now wore expressions of reverence. Any lingering resistance had completely collapsed.
"Uchiha Futada," Hokuto said slowly, "I'll give you one chance."
"One chance to challenge me. If you win, the clan head position remains yours."
He intended to crush not only Futada's strength—
But also his will.
After saving that experience ticket for so long, using it at a moment like this was more than worth it.
"I… I…"
Futada found he couldn't even form words.
Fight?
Fight what?
Just Hokuto's ocular pressure alone already felt suffocating.
"Will you slink away without a fight," Hokuto pressed, eyes gleaming, "or will you act like a true Uchiha and challenge me bravely? Even if you lose, it won't be disgraceful."
The provocation was deliberate—leaving Futada no room to retreat.
Otherwise, Futada might actually kneel on the spot.
And that would be far too boring.
In an instant, Futada understood.
Hokuto was killing the chicken to scare the monkeys.
And he—Uchiha Futada—was that chicken.
There was no path left for him.
Being forced off the clan head seat by a Mangekyō user wasn't shameful.
But lacking the courage to even fight?
That would strip him of all pride as an Uchiha.
At worst—
It was only death.
Futada wasn't afraid to die. And he was confident Hokuto wouldn't truly kill him. A man capable of disguising himself for sixteen years and awakening the Mangekyō wouldn't casually slaughter a former clan head. Hokuto still needed him to stabilize and control the clan.
"…Then let us fight."
Futada straightened, regaining the dignity of a clan head as his gaze locked onto Hokuto.
Hokuto smiled.
A slow, deeply satisfied smile.
Today—
This stage was finally ready to burn.
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