[61] An Earthshaking Explosion

Thankfully, Fugaku stood up just in time, allowing Sora to finally breathe a sigh of relief and set his mind at ease.

"Elders, I am the head of the Uchiha Clan—this matter will be handled by me!"

As he spoke, the three tomoe in Fugaku's eyes began to spin, ultimately forming a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.

"The Mangekyō Sharingan! It really is the Mangekyō! The heavens bless our Uchiha Clan!"

The elders instantly forgot all about Sora's earlier insults. Tears streamed down their aged faces as they clapped with glee.

This, too, was a part of the plan Sora and Fugaku had worked out.

The Mangekyō was the lifelong dream of the Uchiha. Once Sora defeated Fugaku, even with his Mangekyō, the Uchiha would have no room left for rebellion.

That was why Fugaku had chosen this moment to reveal his eyes.

"Mangekyō Sharingan, huh? Now we're talking—let's see what it can do," Sora said, amused, as if he'd just stumbled across a new toy.

The show must go on.

"Since that's the case, I won't hold back!" Fugaku seized the opportunity and responded with serious intent.

Even though this was a staged fight, he still wanted to gauge Sora's true strength. He prepared to go all out, though ready to pull back if Sora couldn't handle it.

"Amaterasu!"

A burst of sinister black flame suddenly appeared on Sora's chest, just beginning to burn—only to vanish the next instant.

He had already stored a fire-sealing scroll in his personal dimension. Lightning crackled around him as he bolted forward like a flash of light.

"What incredible speed!"

Fugaku's Mangekyō whirled frantically to barely track Sora's movements, but he had no time to dodge and was forced to activate Susano'o.

Screeeech!

The sound of a blade scraping across glass stabbed at everyone's eardrums. When Sora's Chidori failed to pierce through, he quickly withdrew.

Shaking the soreness from his arm, he muttered, "As expected of Susano'o. Even a skeletal form can block a Chidori."

"Let's see how much more it can take!"

Now that he was truly intrigued, Sora decided to push it further. Before Fugaku could make a move, he took the initiative, using his near-instant jutsu casting speed.

"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Tailed Beast Bomb!"

A massive wooden dragon—hundreds of meters long—twisted through the air, soaring high above, visible to the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

ROOOOAR!

The deafening roar swept like a hurricane, blowing nearby Uchiha clear off their feet.

As the dragon took flight, the whole village erupted in shock.

"Dear gods! Is that a dragon? A wooden dragon? How is it flying?"

"Wood Style! That's the First Hokage's Wood Style!"

Over in the Senju compound, Tsunade stood frozen as she stared at the raging dragon in the sky. A glimmer of tears welled in her eyes.

"Granduncle… The Senju are gone… Nawaki is gone…"

She wiped her eyes, and in that moment, all the confusion, helplessness, and avoidance vanished from her gaze—replaced by unwavering resolve.

Had there been blood nearby, someone would've realized her hemophobia had just been cured. The Slug Princess of the Legendary Sannin was back.

In the Hokage office, Minato also spotted the wooden dragon. "It's started," he murmured before swiftly deploying the ANBU to calm the village.

He had been involved in the planning—he had even given the final approval—so he understood everything that was happening.

Once the logistics were arranged, he looked toward the Uchiha compound with anticipation in his eyes.

Back at the Uchiha grounds, the wood dragon lunged toward Fugaku's Susano'o.

As they clashed, a shadow clone of Sora appeared and quickly distanced itself from the battlefield.

Once in position, the clone began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb, pouring every ounce of chakra into it without restraint.

The sphere swelled—larger and larger—until it was already bigger than the clone itself within seconds, and it kept growing.

Fugaku grew anxious. His skeletal Susano'o started forming flesh and armor, attempting to reach its next stage.

But this was only his second time using it, and he hadn't developed it fully—he couldn't sustain it.

Fortunately, with that final surge, Susano'o managed to tear the wooden dragon in half, which crashed to the ground in silence.

But Fugaku didn't continue the fight. He calmly dispelled Susano'o and deactivated his Mangekyō.

Why? Because the Tailed Beast Bomb in front of Sora's clone had grown to over ten meters wide—easily rivaling one from the Nine-Tails.

If that thing detonated, not just the Uchiha compound but everything nearby would be annihilated.

Fugaku still had plenty of techniques he hadn't used—another Mangekyō ability included—but there was no counter to this.

"That Tailed Beast Bomb… Are we going to die?"

"Is he trying to wipe out the Uchiha Clan?!"

"No way… The Hokage would never allow this!"

Faced with death, the full spectrum of human emotion surfaced—plain as day.

Most were furious and defiant, ready to die fighting. Only a few were gripped by pure fear and panic.

Fugaku took note of those few—he would be removing them from the clan's core decision-making circles later.

Once the scene had reached its peak, Fugaku voluntarily ceased all action. Sora sighed with relief.

This battlefield had been too limiting for him. He was a chakra artillery tower—but here, he couldn't fight properly.

So instead, he used the overwhelming pressure of the Tailed Beast Bomb to force Fugaku's surrender.

With his chakra clone, Sora gradually shifted the bomb's aim upward—toward the sky.

BOOOOOOM!

The blast was deafening. The entire village shook, like an earthquake had hit.

Thankfully, Konoha's infrastructure was solid—no collapsing buildings or rubble. They rode it out.

Moments later, the Tailed Beast Bomb detonated in the clouds, scattering like a firework display.

For a moment, even the sun's brilliance was dwarfed by the dazzling explosion.

Everyone who saw it stood dumbstruck, jaws agape—big enough to fit whole buns in their mouths.

It was as if a hammer had slammed into their minds—thoughts frozen, brains gone blank.

Once it had launched, Sora's shadow clone dissipated in a puff of smoke, spent of all chakra.

The power of the bomb had come from Sora pouring nearly all of his chakra into it.

Looking at the expressions on the Uchiha faces, Sora was deeply satisfied—this was exactly the effect he wanted.

From now on, no one in the clan would dare ignore his words. And in his presence, their pride? Completely gone.

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