NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35: ch 30
Chapter 30: The Betrayal
Shinsui's POV
The air was heavy, thick with tension.
Something was wrong.
I had walked into this gathering expecting discussions, debates, and perhaps even heated arguments, but not this feeling—a shift in the atmosphere so subtle yet undeniable.
I glanced at Hashirama, his usual warmth still present in his expression, but there was something beneath it. His shoulders were tense. His hands, resting on the table, were unnaturally still.
I let my senses expand, reaching out—not just with sight, but with instinct, with experience.
That's when I noticed it.
The way Tobirama's fingers twitched ever so slightly, the way Madara's arms remained crossed, unmoving, like a man forced to be still against his will. The way the Raikage's breathing was slow, controlled. The faintest hint of chakra flickering beneath the Mizukage's robes.
They were waiting.
For what, I didn't know yet.
Then it happened.
A whisper of movement. A flicker of chakra.
And before I could react—
The attack came.
The entire summit room erupted.
Hashirama moved first.
His hands came together in a blur, faster than the eye could track. Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs! Thick wooden tendrils burst from the ground, their sharp edges racing toward me with terrifying speed.
In the same instant—
Tobirama struck.
He vanished in a flash of light, his blade appearing behind me. Flying Thunder God Slash! His chakra surged as his sword aimed for my spine.
The Raikage lunged forward like a bolt of lightning, his entire body cloaked in a blinding aura of raw power. Lightning Release Chakra Mode! His fist, heavy with destruction, shot toward my chest.
The Tsuchikage, deceptively slow, slammed his hands together. Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu! A crackling white cube of energy formed in his palm, ready to erase me from existence.
The Mizukage whispered a command, and from the mist that had begun creeping into the room, a massive wave of water shaped like a dragon surged toward me. Water Release: Great Water Dragon Jutsu!
And the Kazekage?
Sand exploded from his gourd, filling the air with an avalanche of golden death. Sand Burial!
It was an ambush.
They had planned this.
They had planned to kill me.
My mind processed everything in an instant. There was no time for thought, only instinct.
I moved.
Faster than the human eye could follow.
The moment Hashirama's wood tendrils erupted, I blurred into motion, weaving through them as though I had seen their paths before they were even created.
Tobirama's blade whistled toward my back—
I twisted.
The blade passed harmlessly through the space where my spine had been a fraction of a second ago.
The Raikage's fist came next, a thunderous force of nature—
I ducked, pivoting on my heel.
His strike shattered the table where I had been standing, turning the summit's stone floor into rubble.
The Tsuchikage's Dust Release cube was already forming—
I vanished.
Reappearing just in time to see the cube consume empty air, erasing everything in its path, turning the walls into nothingness.
The Mizukage's water dragon crashed toward me—
I raised a single hand.
With a flick of my fingers, the air around me distorted, a ripple of power expanding outward. The water froze mid-air, suspended as though time itself had stopped.
And the Kazekage's sand—
I clenched my fist. A barrier erupted around me, repelling every grain.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Then I straightened, my gaze sweeping across them all.
"…So this is how it is." My voice was calm, steady.
Hashirama's expression was filled with regret, but his stance was firm. "Shinsui… we can't allow you to continue."
Tobirama's grip on his sword tightened. "You are too dangerous. What you've created—what you are—it threatens the balance of this world."
The Raikage cracked his knuckles. "A man who builds a weapon that feeds on the world itself… how can we trust someone like you?"
The Mizukage's voice was cold. "If we do nothing, you will become a force beyond control."
The Tsuchikage added, "This is not a matter of hatred, but necessity."
The Kazekage simply stared, silent but resolved.
And then—
I turned to Madara.
He had not moved. He had not attacked.
His eyes met mine, unreadable.
"…You knew," I said.
Madara exhaled through his nose, his arms still crossed. "I warned them. I told them you were too unpredictable, too unknown. But they didn't listen to my way of doing things."
"So you chose to stand back?"
"I chose to watch."
Hashirama stepped forward. "Shinsui, please—if you surrender, we can find another way."
I looked at him.
The man who had once been my friend.
The man who had once listened to my vision of unifying the world under one banner.
And now?
Now he was standing against me.
I let out a breath.
"Hashirama." My voice was quiet. "You always were naïve."
His eyes widened.
And then—
I moved.
To Be Continued…