Chapter 32: Sayonara, Shinnosuke-sensei...

Sarutobi Shinnosuke kept one part of his mind focused on suppressing the chakra inside his body, trying to lessen the influence of the Sharingan genjutsu—and during that time he never met Uchiha Chizumi's eyes.

Even so, he still fell prey to the enemy's Sharingan illusion!

When he saw the last Anbu operative collapse at Uchiha Chizumi's feet, Sarutobi Shinnosuke's face showed equal measures of shock, dread, and sheer dismay.

The genin of yesterday had already grown so strong that even he, the jōnin instructor, could no longer contain him.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke realized he had become a spent wave breaking on the shore.

The half‑shattered sword in his hand offered no sense of security.

Uchiha Chizumi asked, "Shinnosuke‑sensei, even now are you still refusing to wake up?"

Shinnosuke was silent for a long moment, then clicked his tongue and gave a bitter laugh.

"Uchiha Chizumi."

He flung away the half‑melted blade, straightened his back, formed the Seal of Confrontation, and said solemnly, "Tonight let me correct your warped sense of justice. A ninja's justice begins with the interests of the village: only justice that benefits the village is true justice."

"Your justice, on the other hand, is purely self‑centred. No one in the entire shinobi world will acknowledge it, because you have set yourself against everyone alive!"

Uchiha Chizumi stood his ground, less than ten metres away, and formed the same textbook seal.

"Shinnosuke‑sensei—'My heart and my deeds are clear as a mirror; everything I do is justice.' I told you that a very long time ago, back when I was still a genin," he said in a calm voice.

"Hah …" Shinnosuke sighed. "You truly are beyond saving. Sooner or later you'll destroy Konoha."

Chizumi replied, "Sensei, you take me far too extremely— you won't even spend a moment to understand your own student. You know less about me than a rookie who's been with me only a few days."

Shinnosuke's eyes narrowed. "Then I suppose I'll never have the chance, because you'll soon be in the Netherworld."

With those words—

He flashed through hand‑signs, chest swelling, and spat out:

"Fire Style: Crimson Earth Spider!"

A torrent of flame poured from his mouth, shaping itself into a giant spider that hurtled toward Uchiha Chizumi.

Chizumi did not rely on his Lava‑Release Chakra Armour to tank the blaze; he formed seals as well.

"Fire Style—… Great Fire Annihilation!"

Flames of even greater scale and heat erupted from his mouth, devouring the fiery spider in an instant and surging toward Shinnosuke like an unstoppable inferno.

Shinnosuke threw himself behind a corner; the wall of flame skimmed past his nose, hot enough to curl his eyelashes.

"Tch— a battle between master and pupil and you're still holding back? Uchiha Chizumi! Has that self‑centred justice gone soft?"

Gritting his teeth, he bit open his right thumb and slapped his palm on the ground.

Dense summoning scripts rippled outward.

"Summoning Technique—Great Ape!"

Bang! A puff of smoke revealed a red‑furred ape more than three metres tall—Shinnosuke's strongest summon, a bruiser with jōnin‑level power.

The ape took in the magma, the sea of fire, and Uchiha Chizumi ahead.

"Shinnosuke, this scene looks nasty—should I sit out a teacher‑student quarrel?" it rumbled half‑jokingly.

Shinnosuke drew a steady breath. "Great Ape, it's life and death now—save the jokes."

The ape positioned itself behind him, confronting Chizumi.

"Uchiha Chizumi's so‑called absolute justice is already threatening Konoha," Shinnosuke said gravely.

"Shouldn't you have expected that?" the ape replied. "You've never tried to understand him, and from his character and methods this clash was inevitable… Still, Shinnosuke—do you really think he's wrong?"

Shinnosuke paused half a beat. "Justice that brings no good to Konoha is wrong. A ninja stands with the village. Great Ape, it ends here and now."

"…Understood."

…

Elsewhere

Sarutobi Hiruzen hurried toward the secret research base with a squad of Anbu. From afar he could already see the installation, ravaged by lava, and the forest beyond—now a sea of fire.

Even before reaching it he could smell the faint sulphur in the air.

Hiruzen's heart sank.

"Get in there and fight the fire—now!" he snapped. "Don't let it spread to Konoha! And… stop this pointless battle—block both sides!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

The Anbu accelerated. They all knew the man posted at the base was the Hokage's eldest son—and that the intruder was a Uchiha prodigy the Hokage favoured.

Plainly, the Hokage did not wish to lose either.

Just as he once halted the clash between Uchiha Chizumi and Shimura Danzō, he meant to stop tonight's—

—a conflict that might already be beyond stopping.

…

Inside the base, the fight among Uchiha Chizumi, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, and the summoned Great Ape had entered a fever pitch.

"ROAR!"

The Great Ape swung up a concrete pillar weighing over ten tonnes and charged.

Shinnosuke circled behind Chizumi, lightning surging in his palm.

"Lightning Style—Lightning Blade!"

A two‑metre blade of lightning hacked at Chizumi's back, while the concrete pillar came crashing from the front.

Slash!

Boom!

The lightning blade cleaved Chizumi in two; the pillar hammered his bisected lower half deep into the ground.

"Shinnosuke, look out! Something's off—his body feels wrong!" the ape suddenly warned.

Shinnosuke's eyes flew wide.

The bisected Chizumi—body writhing like molten rock—slowly stood back up.

"Hydrification Technique?" Shinnosuke muttered, no longer sure which trump card this was.

"Shinnosuke! Move!" the ape roared in panic.

"If you were good at Water Style, you might have lasted longer."

Chizumi's right arm curled, fingers talon‑like, transforming into the gaping jaws of a magma hound lunging for Shinnosuke's chest.

"Farewell, Shinnosuke‑sensei."

"Shinnosuke! Dodge!" came the belated, frantic cry of the Third Hokage.

~~~

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