Chapter 233: Obsession with the Divine

Chapter 233: Chapter 233: Obsession with the Divine

In a small town far from Mount Haruki.

Inside an izakaya, a Root ninja who had been gazing out the window at the night scenery suddenly narrowed his eyes.

He immediately leapt through the window, flipped onto the rooftop, and stared toward the distant Mount Haruki.

A moment later, his companions also jumped out through the windows and landed on the roof one after another.

It didn’t take long for everyone to notice that, far off on the horizon, one or two dazzling flashes of golden light would occasionally illuminate the night sky.

However, because of the enormous distance between them, none of them could tell what those golden flashes actually were.

"Huh? Are they setting off fireworks over there?"

"That direction should be Mount Haruki, right? I don’t remember there being any towns near Mount Haruki."

"That’s right. There aren’t any trade routes near Mount Haruki. Forget towns—there isn’t even a village anywhere around there!"

Among all the nations of the shinobi world, the Land of Fire was the wealthiest and most stable.

Trade routes crisscrossed the entire country, so whether they were towns or villages, most settlements were located on the plains near those trade routes.

There were no trade routes around Mount Haruki, and the area itself was mountainous, so naturally, there were hardly any towns or villages nearby.

In a place without any towns, there obviously wouldn’t be some grand fireworks display.

Thus, everyone quickly realized that the flashes of light flickering on and off along the distant horizon were most likely being caused by shinobi fighting.

Although none of them could explain why a battle between shinobi would produce such intense flashes of light, the village was currently at a critical stage in its campaign to eliminate Kamigami. Every Konoha shinobi participating in the operation had their nerves stretched taut.

After all, everyone understood that Kamigami was far from an ordinary bounty-ninja organization. As a result, no matter what they discovered, they treated it with the utmost seriousness.

The Root ninja leading the group pondered for a moment before ordering, "Fire a signal flare!"

Whoosh... Bang!

Soon, a brilliant signal flare streaked across the night sky and burst into a conspicuous pattern against the darkness.

......

On the battlefield.

Seeing Uchiha Ryota’s Susanoo swing its sword down at him, the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion in Hyuga Kagami’s hand instantly vanished.

Two Truth-Seeking Balls flashed in front of him and transformed into a black wall, shielding his body.

Boom!

The Susanoo’s enormous golden flaming sword crashed against the black wall formed from the Truth-Seeking Balls, unleashing a deafening roar!

Despite the overwhelming momentum of the enormous golden flaming sword, it was completely incapable of breaking through the black wall formed from the Truth-Seeking Balls.

The instant the two collided, accompanied by a tremendous explosion, the flaming sword shattered into countless sprays of golden fire that scattered through the air and fell toward the ground like a rain of flames.

As the flames landed throughout the surrounding forest, they immediately ignited vast stretches of trees.

In mere moments, the forest below had transformed into a sea of fire!

"Cough, cough..."

After unleashing that strike, Uchiha Ryota, within the Susanoo, began coughing even more violently.

Even though he covered his mouth with his hand, blood still seeped through the gaps between his fingers.

At that moment, Hyuga Kagami waved his hand, dispersing the black wall formed from the Truth-Seeking Balls in front of him, and calmly studied Uchiha Ryota.

There was no doubt about it.

Simultaneously using Susanoo and the Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu that enhanced it was placing an even heavier burden on Ryota’s already weakened body.

Through the vision of his Tenseigan, Kagami could even vaguely perceive the life force within Ryota’s body gradually fading away.

It was almost as though Ryota was using his very life as the price to forcibly maintain both his Susanoo and the Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu that amplified it.

With the battle having reached this point, the outcome had already been decided!

Kagami didn’t even need to attack. All he had to do was focus on evading, and he could easily wait until Ryota completely exhausted himself.

But right now, that was obviously not an option.

The fact that both Uchiha brothers had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan had already exceeded Kagami’s expectations. And now, he was fighting Ryota’s golden Complete Body Susanoo in midair.

Anyone within a radius of more than a dozen miles could probably easily detect the battle taking place here. If Kagami couldn’t end the fight quickly and clean up the battlefield, Konoha’s shinobi would very likely arrive before he was finished.

More importantly, considering that Ryota needed to remain alive for Kagami to fuse the brothers’ ocular powers and evolve their eyes into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he couldn’t simply stand by and watch Ryota burn away his life until he died.

Having made his decision, Kagami no longer hesitated.

He immediately stimulated the Tenseigan chakra within his body.

In an instant, one Truth-Seeking Ball after another condensed from the center of his forehead. Including the two from before, a total of five Truth-Seeking Balls now floated around him.

"Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"

With a low shout, all five Truth-Seeking Balls converged into his right hand.

In an instant, they condensed into a glittering golden sword more than a hundred meters long!

Across from him in the sky, Uchiha Ryota suddenly roared, "I... I’m the true god!"

At this moment, blood wasn’t merely streaming from Ryota’s eyes. It was pouring from his mouth, nose, and even his ears.

It wouldn’t be the slightest exaggeration to say that he was bleeding from all seven orifices.

Gazing at Uchiha Ryota, who seemed to have completely lost his reason, a trace of pity appeared in Hyuga Kagami’s eyes.

Kagami could now understand why Ryota had awakened a Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu that amplified his Susanoo.

It was because his Mangekyo Sharingan had faithfully reflected the obsession buried deep within his heart—

his obsession with becoming a god!

Kagami glanced at the shattered Mount Haruki and the mountain fires blazing all around them before saying calmly,

"It’s time to end this!"

Whoosh!

In an instant, Kagami shot forward with the hundred-meter-long golden sword in hand, thrusting it straight toward Uchiha Ryota!

His figure streaked across the night sky, leaving behind a long trail of glowing afterimages like a dazzling meteor.

His speed was simply unbelievable!

BOOM!

Another thunderous explosion erupted!

Changing his slash into a thrust, Hyuga Kagami used the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion in his hand as the spearhead, piercing straight through the flaming armor of Uchiha Ryota’s Susanoo and charging all the way to Ryota himself.

Uchiha Ryota stared at him in disbelief.

"Why... did I lose?"

Kagami didn’t answer.

Nor did he hesitate.

Under Ryota’s stunned gaze, Kagami simply reached out and plucked the pair of Mangekyo Sharingan from his eye sockets.

Whoosh...

The moment Ryota’s Mangekyo Sharingan were removed, a gentle breeze swept past.

His godlike golden Complete Body Susanoo scattered with the wind, fading away without a trace.

At the same time, Uchiha Ryota lost consciousness and began plummeting from the sky.

Still hovering in midair, Kagami lightly pointed a finger and used Wheel of Will to catch the unconscious Ryota and gently lower him to the ground.

He then descended as well and deactivated Tenseigan Chakra Mode.

After placing Ryota’s Mangekyo Sharingan into a small nutrient tank, Kagami stepped forward and gave Ryota’s wounds some basic treatment. He then injected the groaning Uchiha Hideki with an anesthetic.

Afterward, with the assistance of his Tenseigan, Kagami meticulously swept through the battlefield, erasing every trace that might expose his identity.

Finally, taking the Uchiha brothers with him, he quietly disappeared into the night...