If Uchiha Izumi was a blade of justice, then Ameyuri would only become Uchiha Chizumi's blade.
The former walked the same path as Uchiha Chizumi. The latter was simply a weapon in his hand. But no matter how fine a blade was, if it had no will of its own, it was still a dull blade—and [Absolute Justice] had no need for dull blades.
"Please don't refuse me! My father taught me that any kindness must be repaid! My mother…" The moment she mentioned her mother, Ameyuri felt a pain so sharp she could barely breathe. She had called that beast her brother for so many years. If her mother could see all of this from the Pure Land, how much pain would she be in? "Anyway, please don't refuse me! No matter what you ask of me, I'll stake my life to accomplish it!"
Uchiha Chizumi frowned slightly. Ameyuri might indeed be able to help him carry out justice—but could a blade that placed Uchiha Chizumi's will above [Absolute Justice] truly become a blade of justice?
If Uchiha Izumi was a believer in [Absolute Justice], then Ameyuri was far more likely to become a believer in Uchiha Chizumi.
"Please accept her loyalty," Mei Terumi suddenly interjected. At first, when she saw Ameyuri asking to follow Uchiha Chizumi, all she felt was regret that Kirigakure was about to lose a Lightning Release prodigy. But when Chizumi turned her down, Mei thought of another possibility. "You can't stay in the Land of Water forever. When the time comes, Ameyuri could act as your eyes and oversee how [Absolute Justice] is being carried out here."
Mei didn't care whether Ameyuri would become Uchiha Chizumi's loyal hound in the future. No matter how devoted she was to him, her strength had limits. Compared to Uchiha Chizumi, who could suppress Kirigakure all by himself, Ameyuri's ceiling was probably just that of an excellent elite jōnin.
There were many things Uchiha Chizumi could do with ease that Ringo Ameyuri would be forced to compromise on. Once he left, Kirigakure would have countless ways to start working around her.
"I'll give you a chance—for now." Uchiha Chizumi fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the Kirigakure shinobi before finally landing on one whose frame was so red it had turned purple. "Ōhashi Jirō. Twelve years ago, you attacked a merchant ship to steal its cargo, causing all fourteen people aboard to die. Eleven years ago… three months ago… If you really want to follow me, go kill him."
The moment those words fell, lightning chakra flared around Ameyuri again. The marked shinobi, Ōhashi Jirō, tried to flee, but Sharingan genjutsu pinned him firmly in place.
"Lightning Flash Slash!"
Ameyuri vanished in a blur and severed Ōhashi Jirō's head in a single stroke. At the same time, Uchiha Chizumi received another notification from his cheat ability.
[ Ding! A believer in [Absolute Justice] that you cultivated has joined in carrying out Absolute Justice once! Your chakra has increased slightly! Congratulations, you obtained: Mist Swordsmanship Experience Book x2 ]
[ At the same time, Ringo Ameyuri has also received a slight increase in chakra! ]
…
"So even a follower who's loyal enough will be counted as a believer in [Absolute Justice]…" Uchiha Chizumi was surprised, but it also made sense. As long as he himself never strayed from the path of [Absolute Justice], then his die-hard followers would naturally become die-hard followers of [Absolute Justice] as well.
"Lord Uchiha Chizumi?" Ameyuri didn't think doing something that small was enough to earn the right to follow him. But as long as he was willing to give her a chance, no matter what kind of test it was, she would pass it. "Huh?"
At that moment, she suddenly felt something change inside her body.
Her chakra reserves seemed to have increased slightly.
"Bastard! They lured us here just to kill us! Get them!" With three Kirigakure shinobi already dead, the rest erupted into chaos. The conservatives in particular had truly lost it. Some of them had committed even worse crimes than Fuha Kuroō, Kūkūrin, and Ōhashi Jirō. Uchiha Chizumi clearly had no intention of sparing them just because there were so many of them. If they waited any longer, death was all that remained.
Dozens of Kirigakure shinobi roared and charged at Uchiha Chizumi. Seeing that, Ameyuri flew into a rage and gripped her short blade, about to rush forward and fight with everything she had.
But the instant lightning chakra lit up around her again, Uchiha Chizumi's Mangekyō Sharingan began to spin and transform, forming a pattern even more intricate, more eerie, and more profound than before.
Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!
"Third Power—Susanoo!"
RUMBLE—!!!
As his ocular power was fully unleashed, the earth let out a violent roar. A gigantic crimson skeleton, so enormous it defied imagination, rose from the ground like a demon god crawling up from the deepest depths of hell.
Crimson chakra surged out like a flood of molten lava, rapidly forming an incomparably powerful, sinewy body over the skeletal frame.
Then layer after layer of thick, ancient, savage-looking crimson armor spread across the godlike figure as if it were alive.
The extreme heat radiating from the crimson chakra was so intense that even the ground beneath Susanoo's feet began to melt and boil,
forming an ever-expanding lake of bubbling lava.
A pair of colossal chakra wings suddenly unfurled from Susanoo's back. Within those crimson wings, it looked as though countless currents of molten lava were flowing.
Perfect Susanoo!
The crimson glow lit up Kirigakure's night sky. With a single flap of its wings, waves of scorching wind tore outward, evaporating the heavy mist that shrouded the village year-round.
Under Uchiha Chizumi's control, the massive Susanoo thrust out one hand and clenched at empty air—
Hummm—!!!
Infinite Lava Release chakra gathered together, forming a gigantic molten blade that radiated an aura of total annihilation. It came crashing down toward the dozens of charging Kirigakure shinobi.
Just one strike.
That single blow incinerated dozens of Kirigakure shinobi on the spot. The elite jōnin leading the charge tried to defend himself with Water Release, but the technique he unleashed was laughable before the overwhelming might of Lava Release Susanoo—it looked like nothing more than a toy water pistol.
"So strong!" Ameyuri's eyes widened in utter shock. In her eyes, the Susanoo towering beneath the heavens looked no different from a god.
The remaining Kirigakure shinobi were scared out of their minds by the power Uchiha Chizumi had displayed. But some of them turned and fled without hesitation. The stronger he appeared, the more determined they became to run.
"Great Eruption!"
Uchiha Chizumi merely glanced at the escaping Kirigakure shinobi. Susanoo's left hand transformed into a mass of molten lava, and the blazing magma—wrapped in a howling inferno-wind—struck once, blasting the earth thousands of meters away into a deep lake of lava.
Along with it, the idiots who had fled without even thinking to scatter were reduced to ashes on the spot—
their sins completely settled.