Kapitel 101: Destiny

Ōnoki stared at Chen, trying to find something human in those deep, starry eyes of his, but all he saw was indifference, a dark abyss similar to the night sky.

That empty gaze showed no trace of emotion, as if life itself held no value.

What disturbed him the most was that, unlike Madara, who looked down on the world and his enemies with a smug arrogance, Chen didn't even see them as living beings.

For Ōnoki, that complete lack of recognition was scarier than any look of superiority. It wasn't that Chen was looking down on them from above—he simply wasn't looking at them at all.

To him, they were nothing more than an irrelevant obstacle, like grass that's cut down without a second thought.

Ōnoki's heart froze. The thought of being so insignificant in front of someone filled him with a fear he hadn't even felt when facing Madara Uchiha.

"You're too cruel," said the Third Kazekage, his eyes falling on the mutilated corpses lying at Chen's feet.

But Chen didn't even flinch at the accusation. He gave a slight smile, void of any trace of compassion.

"Cruel? Don't get it twisted," he replied calmly, though laced with deep disdain. "You're no better than me. In war, there's no good or bad. You're in no position to judge me."

Clang

The sound of Chen's swords dragging on the ground echoed, filling the air with tension.

They, who had started this war and were willing to kill for their own gain, now dared to call him cruel just because the body count wasn't in their favor.

"A bunch of hypocrites who start a war to fill their pockets, and now, you call me cruel?" He spat the words with a hint of irritation in his voice. His smile faded, replaced by a look of absolute contempt. "You have no right."

The atmosphere became heavy.

Ōnoki and the Third Kazekage felt small under Chen's overwhelming presence. They knew their words wouldn't change his attitude, that anything they said would be empty in front of someone who saw no value in human life.

Chen let out a small sigh, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Heh, seems like it's time for the world to feel what real pain is."

Looking at the chaos around him, then speaking with a voice filled with strange fervor, he said: "To end war, to bring peace to this world... I've spilled rivers of blood, carried more sins than anyone could imagine." His tone started calm, almost cold, but slowly gained intensity, as if he were trying to justify something within himself.

"And yet, I dare to say I'm a good person!"

His voice deepened, his gaze darkened. "But, of course... no one sees it. No one understands what I do. To them, I'm just a demon, the Devil." A flicker of rage crossed his eyes for a moment, but then his expression changed.

He raised his head toward the sky, his voice becoming almost solemn. "Where there is light, there must be darkness. Then let me be that darkness! Let me bear all the sins of this world, even if they hate me, even if they curse me."

His words, filled with melancholic resignation, seemed directed at something beyond the mere mortals surrounding him. "It doesn't matter if no one understands now... sooner or later, everyone will know that even Chen Hyuga has a big heart." The fervor in his voice began to soften, transforming into a strange tenderness.

He paused, closing his eyes for a moment, trying to hold back the tears of emotion.

His own words had moved him deeply.

"Hope exists because people don't know death!" he suddenly exclaimed, with renewed energy.

"But they must feel despair... they must know pain!"

"Only when they have known true pain can they understand the real value of peace."

With a gesture, he sheathed his swords, which vanished into the air. Then, effortlessly, he began to float slowly, rising above the battlefield.

He spread his arms wide, with an expression of total surrender, his face showing serenity.

"Embrace your destiny!"

"Super... Shinra Tensei."

Boom

The air around Chen seemed to explode, a wave of repulsive power emanating from him with devastating force.

"N-NO! QUICK, USE A DEFENSIVE JUTSU!" Ōnoki screamed, panic clear in his voice. Deep down, he knew this wasn't just a simple attack.

It was a catastrophe.

The energy he felt from Chen wasn't normal. This was an attempt to destroy everything around him.

The ninjas, aware of the magnitude of what was coming, frantically tried to form seals and raise barriers, but it was useless.

It was too late.

Boom!

The explosion of Chen's repulsion was so intense that the sky seemed to split open. The clouds were blown away, dispersed, and the earth beneath their feet collapsed several meters, forming a deep crater.

The ground trembled violently, cracking in massive fractures that spread in all directions. Trees were uprooted, and rocks were pulverized by the pressure.

The repulsive force spread in waves, crushing everything in its path. But despite the destruction, Chen had been deliberately precise: he controlled the range of devastation.

Those who weren't directly around him weren't affected, but for Ōnoki, the Third Kazekage, and the thousands of ninjas who had tried to corner him, the situation was desperate.

Of the seven thousand ninjas who faced him, barely ten survived, and even then, they barely stood.

The ground beneath Chen simply ceased to exist.

It was a crater, an empty expanse of devastated land, while he floated in the air, unbothered.

"It's clean now," he muttered with a slight smile. To him, the destruction he had just caused was trivial.

Ōnoki, bruised and bloodied, could barely form words before coughing up a torrent of blood.

"D-Devil... you're the devil who will destroy the world..." he whispered with a broken voice before collapsing unconscious.

The Third Kazekage, who had used his iron sand defense technique, had fared better than Ōnoki, but he hadn't escaped unscathed.

Several fractures ran through his body, and his movements were slow and clumsy, twisting with each attempt to stay upright. His gaze, however, reflected pure despair.

In front of him, the seven thousand ninjas who had accompanied him had simply vanished.

In the blink of an eye, his entire army had been wiped off the map.

The repulsive force unleashed by Chen had not only crushed his enemies but also silenced everything.

The few survivors, scattered among the rubble, stared in disbelief at the remnants of what was once an army. Bodies with broken bones, distorted in unnatural ways, lay strewn about like broken toys.

None of the survivors could comprehend the magnitude of what had just happened.

Gasping for breath, they struggled to recover from the shock.

"This has transcended the realm of ninjas and crossed into that of the gods!" Orochimaru murmured in awe as he surveyed the destruction around him.

Hanzo, with a gaunt face and eyes filled with despair, couldn't hide his critical condition.

His strength was greatly diminished. Tsunade, in her current form, wasn't the same woman as in the original. Her medical skills were so advanced that Hanzo's most feared weapon, poison, was practically useless against her.

The battle had been disastrous for him. With minimal help from Orochimaru and Jiraiya, Tsunade managed to cut off Hanzo's arm, and his summoned beast was eliminated, banished back to its world.

Hanzo, watching the situation unfold, realized he had to act quickly.

His reputation as the Demi-God was at stake, and he couldn't afford to be humiliated.

"You three have exceptional talent. Among the younger generation, you are some of the strongest and most promising I've seen," Hanzo declared.

"From this day forth, I name you the Sannin of Konoha!"

Though the battle had taken a different turn, Hanzo still granted them that title.

The naming of the Sannin provided him with an excuse to retreat without completely losing face. If not for Chen Hyuga's overwhelming presence, Hanzo might have considered these three to be the strongest ninjas of their generation.

"What the hell do I need that title for?!" Tsunade exclaimed furiously, clenching her fist tightly. Without a second thought, she threw a punch directly at Hanzo.

The arrogance with which he continued speaking, despite being brutally injured, was simply intolerable.

Seeing Tsunade's fist approaching, Hanzo reacted swiftly. With a quick flash, he dodged the attack just in time.

"Take the Tsuchikage and the Kazekage! We're retreating!" he shouted urgently.

He knew that psychopath was still watching, observing, and any attempt to continue the battle would be suicide. Now that defeat was inevitable, the only sensible option was to flee and preserve his forces.

He couldn't afford to face Chen. The number of ninjas who had fallen to his sword surpassed ten thousand, a figure not even Madara Uchiha could have reached so easily.

Hanzo valued his life too much to take that risk.

Chiyo and Ebisu didn't object to the retreat. Chiyo quickly gathered her puppets and took hold of the Kazekage, retreating immediately from the battlefield.

As Hanzo and the others fled, Hiruzen, always alert, didn't miss the opportunity to mobilize Konoha's ninjas to pursue them. The chance to corner their enemies was too good to pass up.

They chased Hanzo and his forces back to their camp, but when they arrived, Hiruzen decided not to venture further.

He didn't want to risk falling into a trap, so he ordered his men to withdraw, returning cautiously to Konoha's camp.

...

"BRAT! Why did you chase after the enemy? Are you aligning yourself with them?!" Danzo roared furiously, directing his anger at Chen as soon as he returned to camp.

Chen, who had just finished slaughtering over 7,000 enemy ninjas, looked at Danzo with disdain, almost incredulous at what he was hearing. "Stupid..." he muttered, shaking his head in visible irritation.

He had no intention of wasting words on someone so limited. Accusing him of collaborating with the enemy right after he had massacred thousands of them?

What's wrong with this guy?

Danzo, furious, furrowed his brow as he noticed the expressions of those around him.

The mocking and confused looks from the others made him realize he had attacked Chen for the wrong reason, which left him a little disoriented.

For a moment, his face showed embarrassment. He felt dizzy, desperately searching for another reason not to lose face.

"Chen Hyuga!" he shouted again, this time with a more authoritative but less confident tone. "You insulted the assistant to the Hokage... what punishment should you face for that?"

Danzo was trying to regain control, but his accusation lacked weight, a clear attempt to maintain his grip on the situation.

Chen let out a contemptuous laugh. At that moment, he understood just how ridiculous Danzo could be.

He knew all too well how strong Chen was, yet he still dared to insist on these absurd accusations.

________

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