NOVEL WEB Chapter 180: CHAPTER 180
"Moreover, what I said earlier still holds. The Four-Tails is important to me right now—I can't hand it over under any circumstances."
"However," Kawaki Aoba continued, his voice measured, "this conflict doesn't have to be absolute. Let's make a deal."
Uchiha Madara raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "A deal?" he echoed. "Explain."
"You will obtain the Four-Tails last. I will keep it under my control for the next ten years. In return, I'll help you secure the Nine-Tails—undoubtedly the most difficult of the tailed beasts to capture."
Madara's expression remained unreadable. His voice, calm and dangerous, broke the silence. "That sounds agreeable... but first, I must confirm whether you're qualified to propose such a deal—with me, Uchiha Madara."
Qualification? How does one prove that to the man once hailed as the Ghost of the Uchiha?
There was only one way.
Kawaki Aoba exhaled slowly. "So we're doing this the hard way after all."
He reversed his grip on the blade in his hand—Ryūjin Jakka, the flame-born Zanpakutō. With a swift motion, he slashed through the air.
"Jōkaku Enjō." (Castle-Crushing Cremation)
Flames of overwhelming intensity erupted from the blade, engulfing the battlefield like a devouring sun. The sheer heat—over 6000°C—vaporized the surrounding air and seared the landscape. A suffocating silence followed as the inferno swallowed everything.
But in the heart of the flames, something stirred—and then, with a sharp crack, the fireball shattered.
Nothing remained within it.
Kawaki Aoba's gaze did not waver. He flipped the blade again.
"Ennetsu Jigoku." (Flames of Hell)
Dozens of searing fire pillars burst forth, rising high and fast, surrounding the entire Valley of the End. Trees were instantly reduced to ash, and the mighty waterfall that had flowed between the statues of Hashirama and Madara was obliterated, leaving only scorched rock and steam.
As the fire pillars converged, a thunderous explosion rang out—an apocalyptic sea of fire engulfed the entire valley and beyond.
Even far-off Konoha could see the inferno rise into the sky like a second sun.
This was Ryūjin Jakka—the most powerful flame-type Zanpakutō, a weapon of mass devastation. Even in its Shikai state, it far surpassed the destructive force of most Bankai.
In the hands of Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, it could incinerate everything within a hundred-kilometer radius.
Kawaki Aoba wasn't there yet—but even restrained, Ryūjin Jakka had turned the Valley of the End into a molten wasteland.
The twin statues of Madara and Hashirama were gone—vaporized, not even rubble left behind.
As the blaze subsided, Aoba stood firm, untouched. Not even the hem of his robe had burned.
Across from him, Uchiha Madara remained suspended in the air, equally unharmed—but his expression had turned solemn.
The hellish scene before him was not a concern—not for someone who had awakened the power of the Six Paths. What had shaken him was something far more telling.
All four of his Limbo clones had been obliterated.
Unseen by normal eyes, these spectral shadows existed in a parallel dimension. Even if each was weaker than Madara himself, they still matched high-tier opponents in raw power—and yet, they had been erased in two strikes.
Madara had sent them in to test this mysterious Akatsuki leader.
He hadn't expected this result.
He looked around—at the blackened crater, the melted stone, the smoldering silence.
And the man who stood amidst it all, Ryūjin Jakka glowing faintly in his grip.
"This sword should suffice as proof," Kawaki Aoba said, his voice quiet, calm. "Now, do I have your attention?"
Madara remained silent, regarding him carefully.
Aoba didn't speak again. The two stood suspended above the scorched earth, the superheated air wavering between them.
The silence stretched—until finally, Madara spoke.
"Fine. I'll agree to your terms—but ten years is too long."
He raised three fingers.
"Three years. That's my limit."
After speaking, Uchiha Madara was already prepared to act at any moment.
Shortening a ten-year agreement to just three years—wasn't that also a kind of test?
He claimed it was his bottom line, but in truth, it was more about preserving his pride.
If Kawaki Aoba truly refused to give him even this much face, Madara would have no choice but to fight.
Fortunately, after a brief moment of contemplation, Kawaki Aoba agreed.
"Very well. Three years it is. In three years, I won't just give you the complete Four-Tails—I'll throw in a fully intact Nine-Tails as well."
Kawaki Aoba appeared agreeable and compliant, nodding without hesitation.
How could he not agree so easily? He never intended to fulfill this promise in the first place.
The three-year deadline was merely a smokescreen. If his Saiyan bloodline wasn't perfected by then, not even Madara Uchiha—or the Sage of Six Paths himself—could take Son Goku, the Four-Tails, from his grasp.
But if the bloodline was completed...
"I'll be a damn Saiyan. We'll be playing on completely different levels. I'll do whatever the hell I want!"
If he was in a good mood, he might humor them and let them walk away with some dignity.
But if he wasn't... he'd send them flying straight to the Sage of Six Paths.
These were Kawaki Aoba's ruthless, unfiltered thoughts. With time, he had drifted further and further from the kind-hearted person he once was.
Well... not that he'd ever been all that pure to begin with.
Madara Uchiha was unaware of Kawaki Aoba's true intentions. Seeing the supposed leader of the Akatsuki compromise so readily left him with a complex mix of emotions.
Nevertheless, now that the deal was made, he saw no reason to linger.
After exchanging a few parting words, Madara vanished into the void using his space-time ninjutsu.
Kawaki Aoba glanced at the hellish terrain around him, then disappeared with Instant Transmission.
Shortly after both had left, a Konoha scouting team—composed entirely of elite Jōnin—arrived at the edge of the battlefield.
Well, about ten kilometers from the center, to be precise.
Staring at the scorched, unapproachable wasteland that radiated intense heat and malice, the Konoha shinobi were silent.
"What the hell happened here? Was there a volcanic eruption?"
They all knew this wasn't a natural disaster. But even so, they struggled to find words to describe the apocalyptic scene.
Could someone have fought here?
No—that was impossible. Absolutely impossible.
"This is beyond our capacity to investigate. We can't even approach the core. Return to the village and report this to Aoba-sama."
The team leader hesitated, then added, "And to the Hokage, too."
The fact that Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage and a living legend, was now being referred to second, showed just how far Kawaki Aoba's influence had risen. In all of Konoha's fifty-year history, no one had ever overshadowed the Hokage like this.
And unless Kawaki Aoba died, it was unlikely anyone ever would.
The scouting team worked quickly, and news from the Valley of the End was swiftly relayed to Konoha.
Upon receiving the report, Kawaki Aoba put on a solemn expression and prepared to investigate personally.
Truth be told, he didn't want the trouble. But for the sake of appearances—especially in front of a certain schemer—he had to.
With a serious face, Kawaki Aoba took to the skies using Repulsion and flew back to the very battlefield he had just left, heading straight into its molten core.
"If I remember right, this is the Valley of the End... How did it end up like this? What on earth happened here?" His voice was filled with mock bewilderment as he activated his Tenseigan to its fullest, scanning the area for any "clues."
Suddenly, his expression changed to one of horror.
"This is... leftover chakra? Impossible! Someone fought here just now!"
Anyone looking at him now would never suspect that he was the one responsible for this destruction.
Just then, Kawaki Aoba's face contorted again, this time in response to a real threat.
In the next instant, radiant sky-blue chakra enveloped his body.
Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
Six Truth-Seeking Balls appeared around him, summoned naturally under this mode. His instincts moved faster than thought.
The six spheres merged into one, rapidly forming a pitch-black circular shield in front of him.
Just as it solidified, a spear tore through space itself—a pitch-black projectile launched with Amenotejikara.
The spear slammed into the shield, and using the moment of impact, Kawaki Aoba vanished from his position.
The shield shattered almost immediately after deflecting the strike. The residual force of the Amenotejikara Spear blasted off toward the horizon, carving a deep scar in the landscape.
Kawaki Aoba remained tense—he knew the danger wasn't over.
He recalled the shattered fragments of his defense, reforming them into six Truth-Seeking Balls.
Then, the orbs fused once more, transforming into a brilliant golden blade that he gripped tightly.
Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
Earlier, he didn't have time to fully form this technique. The black shield had been a desperate measure.
But now, even with the sword in hand, he couldn't let his guard down.
He could feel it.
Whoever had attacked him wasn't done yet.
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