Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 178: Shocking All Sides! Crushing the Dragon-Formed Persona!

Beneath the towering Hokage Rock,

The Hokage building stood firm, resembling a circular earthen structure with a broad, white flat roof.

At this moment, The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was standing by the railing atop the Hokage building, gazing at the vast scenery of Konoha Village. Behind him, Namikaze Minato was reporting the actual situation in the Land of Rain.

"Hokage-sama, that's the full account of what transpired."

"In this battle, the greatest credit undoubtedly goes to the Konoha surprise attack unit led by Uchiha Shinichi and Uchiha Ci. Their ambush secured Ebizo's head and obtained countless classified pieces of intelligence, paving the way for our subsequent offensive."

Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his smoking pipe against the railing, his brows slightly furrowed as he asked,

"Uchiha Ci, hmm?"

"Minato, what's your impression of this child?"

Namikaze Minato's expression turned serious, understanding the core of the Third Hokage's inquiry.

By now, the battle reports from Konoha had long been delivered to the Third Hokage. Minato didn't need to offer suggestions on rewards. What Hiruzen truly wanted was to address the matter of the Uchiha clan.

Since Konoha's establishment, relations with the Uchiha clan had been strained. Due to political pressures, balancing interests, and flaws in the system, this stalemate persisted. The Third Hokage could only maintain the current precarious balance.

Yet this status quo was far from ideal. The marginalized Uchiha clan had been harboring grievances for years, potentially leading to unrest.

The situation seemed to take a positive turn when Orochimaru accepted Uchiha Ci as his disciple. This led the Uchiha clan to make concessions regarding the Hell Valley S-rank mission. Both sides taking a step back had produced significant results over time.

However, the crux of the matter lay in Uchiha Ci himself.

Could he be the bridge between his clan and the village?

Hiruzen had never met the boy and couldn't discern his attitude toward Konoha.

Judging by his performance, he was undoubtedly a new Uchiha prodigy on par with the legendary Uchiha Kagami!

But if the boy's mindset resembled Uchiha Madara's, it would spell disaster.

Thus, Hiruzen sought Minato's opinion.

Recalling his recent interactions with Uchiha Ci, Minato smiled faintly.

"Uchiha Ci... he's a child who loves peace."

Before he could elaborate further—

The sky suddenly darkened!

A pitch-black mushroom cloud billowed upward from Konoha's southern side.

The ground shook violently, and a deafening explosion echoed across Konoha. The blast wave swept over the Hokage building, blowing Sarutobi Hiruzen's hat high into the air.

Then,

An ominous aura erupted, causing Hiruzen's expression to twitch.

He quickly turned to the southern area of Konoha, where the Uchiha and Senju compounds were located, his gaze trembling.

"What... is that?!"

Minato's smile froze. He turned stiffly to stare at the familiar spiral-ripple mushroom cloud rising on the horizon, scratching his head uncertainly.

"That… seems like my technique?"

---

In Konoha's Root Headquarters

Shimura Danzo sat on the leader's throne, feigning sleep.

Suddenly, The ceiling trembled violently, debris raining down. A piece struck his forehead, jolting him awake.

"This chakra… this ominous presence?"

"Did a tailed beast invade the village?"

Danzo's spirit surged as he rose swiftly, barking orders to his subordinates. Turning to a hooded man standing in the shadows, he commanded,

"Ryoma, quickly, deploy people to control the Uchiha!"

"Gather our forces but stay hidden. Let that monkey Hiruzen clean up first—then we'll strike!"

Excitement lit Danzo's face.

This was his chance to topple Hiruzen.

The Fourth Hokage's position would undoubtedly be his!

But—

Yamanaka Ryoma hesitated briefly, his face awkward as he interrupted,

"Danzo-sama… actually, the disturbance seems to be coming from the Uchiha compound."

Danzo's brows knitted tightly.

"The Uchiha? Where did they capture a tailed beast from?"

"Hmph, I knew it! Those treacherous Uchiha are trying to incite a coup by stealing another nation's tailed beast! I've always said Hiruzen's too lenient on them—"

Ryoma hesitated again before reminding,

"Danzo-sama, you might've forgotten, but the tailed beast's Jinchūriki is your subordinate, Orochimaru's disciple, codenamed Shura… Uchiha Ci."

Danzo froze, his face an indecipherable mix of emotions. After a long pause, he coughed lightly.

"I-is that so?"

---

At Konoha Hospital

Countless people tilted their heads upward to watch the pitch-black mushroom cloud rising from Konoha's southern side.

A woman's furious roar pierced the air.

"Who did this?!"

Amid the crowd's stunned silence, a blonde woman clad in a green gambling jacket stormed out of the hospital, her fists trembling with rage. Following closely behind her was a nervous, short-haired girl in a black kimono.

The woman was none other than Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin.

Standing at the hospital entrance, Tsunade stared powerlessly at the mushroom cloud. Gritting her teeth, she shut her eyes in grief.

"My gambling money…!"

---

Meanwhile, at the Scene

In the southern part of Konoha, at Naka River, amidst the Uchiha's grand estate—

Uchiha Yatsushiro froze in place, horrified as he watched Uchiha Ci release a destructive beam into the sky.

Sweat poured from his forehead.

Swallowing hard, he glanced at the direction where Uchiha Ketsu had been blasted away.

"Hah… hah…"

Yatsushiro struggled to steady his breathing, suppressing his racing heart and skyrocketing blood pressure. His face turned pale.

Still, the sword in his hand swung toward Uchiha Ci's back.

Swoosh!

Shuriken flew, bound by wires that ensnared Uchiha Ci's limbs. But the searing flames of the tailed beast's cloak incinerated the wires within seconds.

Freed, the half-tailed beast Uchiha Ci grinned maniacally, his crimson serpent-like eyes flashing with killing intent. Eight flaming arms extended from the cloak, each wielding a fiery six-foot blade.

The flaming swords descended relentlessly, forcing Yatsushiro to dodge desperately. His own blade seemed pitifully inadequate against this assault.

As he struggled to defend himself, Uchiha Ci's monstrous form prepared an even deadlier attack. A black, energy-infused spiral sphere slowly formed in its hand before being swallowed whole.

The entity's body swelled, its jaw opening wide for another devastating attack.

Uchiha Yatsushiro froze, his Sharingan spinning in fear and despair. He trembled uncontrollably.

This power… how could a mere shinobi like him possibly resist?

---

From a detached perspective, Uchiha Ci observed his own body's reckless actions. He shook his head in disdain.

"Ridiculous. With this power, killing someone like Yatsushiro should take a mere glance and a single strike."

"Clearly, this is nothing but a beast—an instinctual consciousness born from the interplay of natural energy and dark chakra."

"Without strategy, it relies purely on brute force."

"In that case, this will be simple."

Unlike the fully developed personality of a Sage Kabuto that required Izanami to defeat, this nascent aberrant persona posed no significant challenge for someone like Uchiha Ci.

With his innate spiritual strength and S+-level combat intuition, this was a straightforward task.

Activating his Sharingan, Uchiha Ci connected to his inner world.

Opening his eyes again, he found himself back in the cramped confines of his previous life's cabin.

Before him lay a grotesque, white-scaled snake with his own face.

Without hesitation, Uchiha Ci unfastened his belt, raising it high.

Smack!

The snake howled in agony before dissolving into a puff of smoke, obliterated entirely.

---

Instantly, clarity returned. Uchiha Ci regained full control of his body.

However, as the aberrant persona dissipated, it left him with a mess.

Inside his body, various energies raged chaotically: Sharingan's natural energy, the dark spiral sphere, his own chakra, natural energy from the broken Heaven's Curse Mark, fragmented immortal tissues, and the chakra from his Fire Release mode.

Feeling the impending explosion, Uchiha Ci's brow twitched.

"Great… I've really screwed this up!"