Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 45: Charging Toward Death, Gangmon's Justice!

Thanks to chakra, ninjas can fight in all kinds of extreme terrains.

At this moment, Uchiha Ci stood on an almost vertical cliff face, his Sharingan filled with gravity. Ahead of him, the dark night sky loomed, and in the Earth Grudge Fear mode, Kakuzu shot toward him like an arrow! Behind him lay a deadly abyss—there was no retreat, only battle!

The wind swirling from the canyon ruffled Uchiha Ci's long hair. His gaze remained calm as he formed hand seals, and a faint red chakra began to swirl around his palms.

Immediately, his five fingers slammed down onto the cliff face with force! A massive circular inscription pattern rapidly expanded, and a faint red light barrier locked onto Kakuzu, glowing brightly! This was the evolved and surpassed version of the Death Battle Barrier from the Cloud Village.

At this moment, the domain unfolded!

Mid-air, Kakuzu's eyes narrowed as he instinctively sensed something was wrong. This kid, clearly as weak as a chick, wasn't running away but had the audacity to fight back? He even dared to try and trap him with a barrier? Kakuzu was baffled. What did this kid think he was doing to a seventy-year-old veteran? Was this a trick, a sneak attack?

Kakuzu, calm and analytical, possessing high combat intelligence that allowed him to survive since the Warring States period, instantly ran through countless tactical scenarios in his mind, trying to figure out what the kid was planning. Eight tentacles suddenly shot into the cliff to halt his momentum, but it was too late. A faint red barrier had already enveloped both Uchiha Ci and Kakuzu completely!

When the dust settled, Kakuzu stared blankly at the barrier, which now contained only him and Uchiha Ci. His brain was working overtime but still couldn't figure out what this kid was up to. Was his brain fried? He had isolated his teammates outside the barrier. How did a Uchiha with just one tomoe in his Sharingan plan to fight him?

Nearby, Terumi Mei, having heard Uchiha Ci's determined and fighting words, regained her calm. A spark of battle intent even ignited in her pupils. Having always aspired to become the Mizukage of the Mist Village and lead it to glory, she felt ashamed of her earlier performance. Now, she was ready to fight again, determined to display the momentum of a genius from the Mist! With Uchiha Ci's barrier in place, her other Bloodline Limit, Boil Release, could come into full play!

Even though their opponent was Kakuzu, an S-rank rogue ninja and a super enforcer for the underground bounty network, she was ready... Wait a minute!

Terumi Mei suddenly froze.

"Isn't Uchiha Ci's barrier... a bit off?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Uchiha Ci! I'm not inside the barrier!" Terumi Mei frantically banged on the barrier, shouting in shock, "Open the gate! Let me in!"

"What are you doing?"

Terumi Mei's forehead began to sweat as she stared in disbelief at Uchiha Ci, who stood just a step away yet felt as if separated by an unbridgeable gap. It was as if she could see him with a halo over his head, smiling and waving at her as he ascended to the heavens.

Between them, a faint red barrier had risen.

Terumi Mei's pupils shrank, and she yelled urgently, "Are you crazy? Do you intend to fight this monster alone?"

As the barrier fully rose, sealing both himself and Kakuzu in the same space, Uchiha Ci smiled. He turned his head and looked at Terumi Mei, his gaze as profound as the stars, filled with indescribable emotions.

"Sorry, Terumi Mei."

"This is my escape route."

Uchiha Ci paused, then looked back at the two of them and smiled calmly as he explained, "Our opponent is an S-rank rogue ninja with Kage-level strength."

"This is an opponent we have no chance of defeating, even if we give it our all. The only solution I could think of was this."

"I lured him to a suitable battleground, then deployed a barrier to slow him down."

"Terumi Mei, take Hidan and leave immediately!"

"Whatever you want to do afterward, I won't interfere."

"But—"

"Right now, this place is my battlefield!"

After saying that, Uchiha Ci calmly turned around. Then, he drew a kunai from his pouch, reversed his grip, and held it up to his face, the cold blade gleaming as he pointed it at Kakuzu. His lips curled into a defiant smirk as he taunted:

"Kakuzu-san."

"If you want to hurt them—"

"Then you'll have to step over my dead body first!"

"Tch." Kakuzu frowned slightly, looking at Uchiha Ci with mild annoyance.

The scene in front of him, of a young man giving parting words before facing death, struck a chord deep inside Kakuzu. Once, as an elite ninja of Takigakure, he had encountered a similar situation.

Faced with a life-and-death crisis, just like Uchiha Ci now choosing to stay behind, he had experienced betrayal.

During his assassination mission to kill the First Hokage, his squad had fallen apart, his teammates betraying him and escaping. All the responsibility was thrown onto Kakuzu, forcing him to act alone.

When Kakuzu fearfully went to assassinate that god-like existence, he inevitably failed. When he returned to the village, he did not receive comfort, understanding, flowers, or praise—not even a bed to recover on.

Instead, he was met with accusations of failure and harsh punishment.

A ninja who had risked his life for the village was treated cruelly.

"Ah, it's this tiresome ninja game again."

Kakuzu shook his head, glancing at Uchiha Ci. For the first time in a long while, he felt like saying more. It was as if he were looking at his younger self across the passage of time, speaking to that naive version of himself, both awake and indifferent:

"Poor kid."

"See reality clearly! The world doesn't bend to your wishes."

"The longer you live, the more you'll realize that reality is full of frustration, pain, and emptiness."

"Teammates who fought by your side will stab you in the back;

"Beliefs you wagered everything on will be shattered with a single blow;

"And those you offer loyalty to will discard you like a tool, without hesitation."

Kakuzu paused, his gaze flashing with a hint of madness.

"But,"

"Only money will never betray you."

Uchiha Ci listened and took a deep breath, silently thinking, "Old man, you're absolutely right!"

Things like bonds, friendship—those are just for kids.

Everything he had done up to this point was for that five billion bounty! For this very moment!

Uchiha Ci nodded in agreement, then abruptly opened his Sharingan. He adjusted his state to its peak.

From here, he would offer everything he had honed and accumulated over the years, unleashing it all at this moment, transforming it into power!

He looked at Kakuzu, shouting with clarity and force:

"Come, monster!"

"Right here, right now!"

"Grant me my destined death!"

With a flash of scarlet in his eyes, Uchiha Ci leaned forward and charged fiercely!

He flung three shuriken, one aimed directly at Kakuzu's chest, while the other two crossed paths mid-air, altering their trajectories to strike at the masks hidden under Kakuzu's black cloak.

Armed with information about Kakuzu, Uchiha Ci knew the man possessed a "pseudo-immortality." The only way to truly kill him was to destroy the five hearts hidden behind those masks!

However, facing Uchiha Ci's relentless advance, Kakuzu, instead of continuing to attack with his Earth Grudge Fear threads, merely looked at him with growing coldness. He calmly unbuttoned his black cloak and casually threw it aside.

A tall, muscular body covered in stitched seams was revealed to the night wind.

Kakuzu raised a fist, shrugged his shoulders slightly, his face filled with disdain and mockery as he sneered:

"Poor kid, do you think you're a tough fighter?"

"Let me teach you—"

"What reality is!"

[Kakuzu disdains your courage and seems intent on beating you to a pulp.]

[Courage is the crystallization of human wisdom. Anyone who belittles courage will be punished by Gangmon's justice!]

[Triggered S-rank long-term mission—]

[Make Kakuzu understand that courage is greater than money!]

[Mission outcomes will vary based on Kakuzu's level of understanding: Understand, Join, Transcend. Current progress 0/3.]