"DIE, SHINTARO!"
Shintaro responded with a contemptuous smirk, standing with his hands behind his back as an inky-black skeletal claw materialized behind him to meet Kai's attack head-on. The two Susanoo claws collided with tremendous force, sending shockwaves rippling outward. Uchiha Teruya immediately stepped in front of Kagami and Naori, shielding the children from the backlash.
"Uchiha Kai, you're still wet behind the ears when it comes to the Susanoo." Shintaro had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan in his prime—decades before Kai. And Kai? He'd only unlocked his a year ago. His mastery was no match for Shintaro's.
After just a few exchanges, Kai was already on the back foot.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
The moment Kai began forming hand seals, Shintaro mirrored him perfectly. Twin tsunamis of flame erupted from their mouths, crashing into each other with apocalyptic force. The surrounding trees instantly carbonized. Even boulders shattered under the extreme heat, exploding into razor-sharp fragments. Fortunately, this was one of the Uchiha clan's training grounds—no residential buildings nearby. Otherwise, the entire compound might have been reduced to ashes.
When the flames subsided, both combatants stood unharmed—but the inferno was now spreading uncontrollably. Uchiha Teruya immediately ordered clansmen skilled in Water Release to contain the blaze before it reached nearby homes.
"I expected more from you, Kai. Pathetic."
Shintaro, having lived long enough to master the art of psychological warfare, was very skilled at hitting people where it hurt. As expected, Uchiha Kai immediately blew his top when he heard these words: "Don't think you've got it all figured out just because you awakened your Mangekyō a few years earlier than me!"
With an angry roar, layers of white bones enveloped Uchiha Kai, forming a huge white skeleton around him!
Torifū, watching the battle in the Uchiha clan grounds through the white feathered bird, saw that Uchiha Kai's Susanoo was not comparable to Madara's at all. They were not even on the same level. Madara's Susanoo was a Complete Body, while Uchiha Kai's was only a skeleton.
Uchiha Kai controlled the claws of the Susanoo, clawing towards Shintaro! But the latter was not afraid at all. Shintaro leaped into the air, a vast amount of chakra surged, and then layers of skeletons surrounded him. Blood vessel networks quickly spread throughout the entire skeleton! Then, a layer of jet-black armor was donned, and a long sword was held in his hand. With one strike, he slashed at the bone claw coming from Uchiha Kai, cutting Uchiha Kai's bone claw into two pieces like cutting tofu!
"Damn it! A complete body Susanoo?!" Kai panted heavily, one hand clutching at his eye in obvious pain.
"Eighth! Ninth! Quit spectating and move!" Kai's furious roar snapped the two observing elders from their stupor. The truth was, the eighth and ninth elders had wanted to intervene earlier—but what could they possibly do against this level of Susanoo combat? Ninjutsu would be useless here.
Were they supposed to throw kunai at a Susanoo? But having already pledged themselves to Kai's faction, there was no turning back now. While they stood no chance against Shintaro directly, with Kai keeping him occupied, the elder would be too distracted to stop them!
"We'll start with him first!"
As if sharing one mind, both elders turned their attacks toward Uchiha Teruya, unleashing twin Fireball techniques directly at the clan head!
"Father!" Kagami moved to intercept the incoming flames, but Teruya held out an arm to stop him.
"No need."
"Lightning Release: Thunder Slash!"
In the blink of an eye, a flash of blade light intertwined with crackling lightning! A piercing screech of electricity later, both fireballs were cleanly bisected before dissipating entirely. Standing protectively before Teruya was an elderly man in deep blue robes, a long sword gripped firmly in hand.
"Second Elder."
Kagami, Naori, and the gathered clansmen all bowed respectfully at his appearance. This was the Uchiha clan's Second Elder—one who typically remained neutral in faction disputes but had been forced to intervene in today's conflict.
"Thankyou for stepping in, Second Elder," Teruya said respectfully.
The elder waved him off. "It was nothing."
Then his hawk-like gaze locked onto the eighth and ninth elders. "Daring to raise your hand against the clan head—have you considered the consequences?"
The two elders looked thoroughly dismayed, grinding their teeth in frustration. Their failed ambush was one thing—they hadn't truly expected to kill the clan head so easily anyway. But provoking this particular elder into action was an unforeseen complication.
"Must you interfere today?" the eighth elder spat. "Wouldn't it be better if we all left Konoha to establish a new village?"
The Second Elder's disdainful look made it clear he thought them utter fools. "Which of you incompetents could possibly lead a village?"
His scathing remark struck deep—Not only did the Eighth and Ninth Elders freeze at these words, but even the younger clansmen standing behind them were stunned into silence. But the Second Elder wasn't finished.
"Back then, when Uchiha Madara wanted to lead the clan away from the village—had you left with him, perhaps you might have stood a chance at building something new."
"But now? Without Madara, you are nothing. And yet you still dream of founding a village?"
His merciless mockery lashed out not just at the two elders but also at the clansmen who had been swayed by their empty promises.
"Let's not even discuss whether you could escape Konoha. Even if you somehow slipped away, do you really think you'd make it out of the Land of Fire alive? Your eyes would be plucked from your skulls before sunrise."
The Eighth and Ninth Elders seethed—not because his words were baseless, but precisely because everything he said was true. They were nearly convinced themselves.
"SHUT UP!"
The Eighth Elder unsheathed his sword and lunged at the Second Elder! But all he earned was a scornful laugh.
"What delusions of grandeur make you think you can challenge me?"
"Lightning Release: Thunder Slash!"
A single strike, wreathed in crackling lightning! A blinding flash later—A charred corpse collapsed onto the scorched earth. One move. One kill.
The Ninth Elder, trembling like a leaf on the verge of death, stared wide-eyed. He hadn't expected the Second Elder to actually execute one of their own.
"So… you've chosen their side?" His voice was hoarse, laced with confusion.
The Second Elder's reply was simple.
"I have only ever been Uchiha."
What a statement. The Ninth Elder let out a bitter chuckle. Had he possessed even a fraction of that strength, perhaps he, too, could have chosen freely. But he didn't.
A dying old man—he had to think not just of himself, but of his descendants. He had simply chosen wrong. Or perhaps this was all just the Ninth Elder's feeble attempt to justify his betrayal.
"Fire Style - Great…"
The speed of forming hand seals was extremely fast, but it was useless. A white light flashed, and still in a burst of thunder, the Ninth Elder turned into a charred corpse. The electric shock of Lightning Style would paralyze people, so there would be no pain in death.
After all, they were both members of the Uchiha clan, even if they had done wrong in their old age. But the contributions they had made to the clan could not be erased. The Second Elder clasped his hands and nodded towards the corpses of the two Elders, then left here.