(2) 19: Chapter 19: Sharp Tongue, Lethal Hands!
(2) “Kazuki Uchiha…” “Shh!” A Foundation ninja had barely opened his mouth before Kazuki cut him off.
Making a gentle shushing gesture, Kazuki smiled and said, “Dead men shouldn’t talk so much.
Goodbye.” As the words fell— “Ugh!” Two Foundation ninjas let out muffled groans, clutching their throats as their bodies began to twitch violently.
Seconds later, they collapsed to the ground, utterly devoid of life.
Only fresh blood continued to seep out from beneath their face masks.
“Genjutsu!” The remaining Foundation ninjas gasped in shock, immediately launching their attacks.
Yet beneath their masks, horror flickered in their eyes.
When had Kazuki Uchiha cast a Genjutsu?
They held detailed dossiers on Kazuki Uchiha and knew he was a dangerous individual.
Because of that, they had been watching him like hawks.
Leave aside weaving hand seals—he hadn’t moved an inch!
“Surprised, are we?” Kazuki maintained his smiling expression.
“You know, you’ve all fallen into a misconception.
Or rather, everyone suffers from the delusion that an Uchiha’s eyes are their everything!
“Now let me tell you—you’re wrong.
Dead wrong!
“Every single Uchiha is capable of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu.
“The requirements for becoming a Genjutsu master are extraordinarily high; there aren’t many in the entire Leaf.
Yet in front of an Uchiha, there is no threshold at all.
*That* is the Uchiha talent!” Kazuki flexed his wrists, his voice swelling with unmistakable pride.
Sure, the Uchiha Clan had plenty of lunatics.
But!
That did not alter the fact that the Uchiha was a grand and glorious ninja clan.
They were immensely powerful!
They were deeply emotional!
They constantly produced legendary shinobi who shook the entire Ninja World.
Sometimes, Kazuki even wondered: if an Uchiha had actually become Hokage, would they really have failed to make Konoha thrive?
Could they honestly have done a worse job than Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Just look at what Hiruzen Sarutobi had done: The Sannin scattered.
White Fang driven to suicide!
Hizashi Hyuga was a formidable Jonin and the head of the Hyuga Branch House—a figure of extraordinary status—yet he was sacrificed without hesitation.
Then there were Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
Kazuki heavily suspected that Hiruzen Sarutobi had a hand in both of their deaths.
And that wasn’t even all of it.
In the original timeline, Shisui died and Itachi turned traitor.
The grandest clan, the Uchiha, was wiped out entirely.
Konoha’s middle and younger generations were virtually wiped clean.
Countless Hokage-level ninjas departed the world in heartbreakingly tragic ways.
The result?
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s throne was rock solid.
He savored the bliss of having no successors left to challenge him!
The Sarutobi Clan gained three thousand elite Sarutobi troops!
Could anyone ask for a worse Hokage than him?
Hiruzen Sarutobi had once said that Itachi Uchiha possessed the mindset of a Hokage at age seven, capable of viewing things from the leader’s perspective.
But would he ever actually let Itachi Uchiha become Hokage?
Would Konoha’s upper echelon allow it?
Never!
To put it plainly, it was nothing more than arrogance and prejudice, tangled up with countless conflicts of interest.
In the original story, the Uchiha clan was exterminated.
That was the cumulative result of numerous factors stacking together.
Those two traitors, Itachi Uchiha and Obito Uchiha, didn’t just act personally—they exposed the location of every single Uchiha member, including active ninjas.
They even broke the Uchiha’s defensive barrier!
That left the Uchiha entirely defenseless against external forces.
Then came the strikes from Anbu and Foundation!
And!
That bastard Fugaku Uchiha chose non-resistance!
Perhaps another factor was that the Uchiha ninjas never imagined Itachi would do something so insane, allowing his sneak attacks to succeed.
Without any single one of those factors, it wouldn’t have worked!
Now, Kazuki had arrived in this world and become an Uchiha.
You want to exterminate my clan?
Keep dreaming your bullshit dreams!
The absolute worst outcome would be mutual destruction!
Sacrifice the self for Konoha?
If I don’t beat the shit out of you until it spews out your mouth, you can call me a saint.
“When an Uchiha uses Genjutsu, their favorite tool is the Sharingan!” Kazuki stared at the Foundation ninjas, chuckling playfully.
“That’s only out of convenience and habit.
It doesn’t mean Genjutsu can’t be cast through other means.” “Take me, for example!” Kazuki spread his arms and laughed heartily.
“I’ve lost my eyes, yet I can cast Genjutsu using sound alone.
So tell me…
how do you defend against that?” “Kazuki Uchiha, how dare you attack us—ghk!” A Foundation ninja was shouting in harsh reprimand when Kazuki appeared beside him in a flash.
Slender fingers brushed lightly past the man’s neck.
The ninja’s voice cut off instantly.
His head sloughed right off his neck.
The cut was perfectly smooth.
A beat later, blood geysered into the air.
Kazuki turned his head once more, smiling.
“My Body Flicker Jutsu isn’t any worse than Shisui’s, is it?
“To tell you the truth, I really am exceptionally strong and talented.
“In every aspect, I’ve reached the Hokage level.” As he spoke, Kazuki was eyeing the status panel granted to him by his system.
The numbers on it made him immensely satisfied.
“Kill him!” The Foundation ninjas roared in fury, hurling shuriken and kunai toward Kazuki.
Several others silently flanked him from the shadows.
“Fire Style!” Without hesitation, one Foundation ninja unleashed his best Fire Style Ninjutsu, completely disregarding that they were inside a hospital room.
“Fire Style!” Kazuki merely wove a single hand seal to complete his spell.
“Fireball Jutsu!” A massive sphere of fire over twenty meters in diameter erupted outward, slamming straight into the Foundation ninja’s Fire Style and violently driving it backward.
“No—!” Facing imminent death, the Foundation ninja shrieked in horror before being utterly swallowed by the flames.
The giant fireball crashed out of the room and smashed into a hidden barrier.
Instantly, dense cracks spider-webbed across the barrier surface.
A few muffled groans echoed faintly in the air.
“Tsk, tsk.
Feeling fear?
As a Foundation ninja, you’re utterly unqualified!” Kazuki shook his head with a chuckle, glancing at the barrier.
“Now this makes sense.
I was wondering why no one came running when a fight broke out over here.
“A combination of Genjutsu and a barrier…
mm, there must be other measures blocking outsiders too.
But no matter!
“I actually feel…
it’s pretty great that you Foundation guys came!” “Slicing through you feels remarkably smooth!” Kazuki flashed a bright, sunny smile.
Without even moving his feet, a subtle sway of his body allowed him to effortlessly dodge every single incoming kunai and shuriken.
*Buzz!* A shadow suddenly stretched outward, attaching itself to Kazuki’s shadow.
“It worked!” a Foundation ninja shouted in joy.
Kazuki froze for a split second, then burst out laughing.
“Shadow Paralysis Jutsu, or Shadow Possession Jutsu…
tsk tsk, the Nara Clan.
Foundation really is full of talents—even the Ino-Shika-Cho are included.” “Die!” Kazuki’s laughter only enraged the Foundation ninjas further.
He made them feel like he was just playing a game!
Roaring furiously, they launched another wave of attacks.
With the smile never leaving his face, Kazuki gave a light shudder—and the two connected shadows simply split apart.
Just like that, the Shadow Paralysis Jutsu was broken.
“How is that possible?!” The Foundation ninjas stared in stunned disbelief.
Turning around, they saw the Nara ninja kneeling on one knee, gasping for breath in heavy, desperate pants.
Though masked, the sheer terror emanating from him was unmistakable.
It was like a small beast encountering a horrifying monster.
A natural predator!
Irresistible!