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NAJ Chapter 51: Volcanic Judgment
🕑 Added 2025-06-28 00:53:09 +0000 UTCThrough the sharp clarity of his three-tomoe Sharingan, Uchiha Keizumi locked onto the trajectories of the two incoming Vacuum Blade Techniquesâone large, one smallâhurtling toward him in tandem.
With a precise, almost impossible twist of his body, he sidestepped the attacks. The semi-transparent wind blades sliced through the air, missing him by less than 10 centimeters.
As the devastating Wind Release techniques grazed by, waves rippled across his molten, lava-like skin.
[BOOMâBOOMâBOOM!]
Behind him, the Yamanaka clan compound was torn apart. The twin wind blades had ripped straight through it, splitting the land into three distinct segments.
Countless buildings were obliterated in the blast.
âLava ReleaseâŠâ
âGreat Eruption.â
In response to the barrage of jutsu from the six Root shinobi, molten chakra surged violently through Keizumiâs right arm. As he thrust it forward in a punch, his arm transformedâbecoming a colossal, monstrous fist made of lava.
Every incoming jutsu shattered like twigs before the sheer force of that magma fist.
The explosive momentum mimicked a volcanic eruptionâunstoppable, all-consuming.
Lava splattered outward, each fragment turning into a deadly volcanic bomb, each one carrying devastating force.
They rained down seemingly at randomâbut a deeper pattern hinted they were all homing in on the six Root shinobi, DanzĆ, Baku, and even the two giant turtle summoning beasts.
One of the turtles failed to evade in time.
A single volcanic bombâover a meter wideâslammed squarely into its shell.
At first, the beast didnât think much of it. It believed its shell, tough enough to resist most standard jutsu, would easily absorb the impact.
But the next instant, its eyes widened in shock.
[BOOM!!!]
The bomb pierced straight through its thick carapace. Scalding magma melted the shell like butter, boring directly into its flesh. In that instant, most of its internal organs were seared and cooked alive.
Agonizing pain wracked the giant turtleâs consciousness, paralyzing it with shock. By the time it realized it needed to dodge the volcanic bombs, it was already too late.
[BOOM!!!]
One of the bombs struck its head squarely.
The giant turtle summoning beast didnât even have time to let out a cry. A massive crater split open across its skull.
Its thick limbs instantly gave out, drained of all strength.
It collapsed to the ground in a lifeless heap.
The second giant turtle saw this and panicked. It hurriedly spewed a torrent of water from its mouth, desperately trying to intercept the volcanic bombs plummeting from above.
But it, too, was struckâa single volcanic bomb smashed into its tail.
The intense heat erased the limb entirely, vaporizing it in an instant. Not even the bones remained.
The excruciating pain made it shriek uncontrollably. Then, in a puff of smoke, the second and final turtle summoning beast canceled its summoning contract unilaterallyâand fled.
Uchiha Keizumiâs crimson gaze shifted sharply once more, locking eyes with a Root shinobi whose expression beneath his mask showed clear shock.
ââŠDamn it!â
Panic gripped the Root shinobiâs heart. His pupils contracted as he hastily formed hand seals, attempting to cancel a possible Sharingan genjutsuâwhether real or imagined.
But when he looked up, all he saw was a sky filled with volcanic bombs raining down like a storm.
He couldnât tell which ones were real and which were illusions.
He didnât even know which direction to dodge.
[BOOM!!!]
One volcanic bomb landed just 3 meters behind him.
The explosion shattered the earth, launching a massive chunk of stone into the air. It came crashing down on the back of his skull. Molten droplets sprayed from the impact like buckshot, each searing glob easily piercing into his body.
The Root shinobi convulsed violently, then collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Over a dozen charred, gaping holes appeared across his body.
Tiny flames still licked around the edges of each one.
The remaining Root operatives had no choice but to fend for themselves. Some countered with their best defensive jutsu, clashing against the deadly barrage of volcanic bombs. Others scrambled toward nearby rooftops, leaping onto civilian houses not far from the battlefield.
âBecause they had noticed something.
Although the volcanic bombs werenât deliberately avoiding civilian structures, most of them were falling in open, uninhabited areas.
Even soâ
One unlucky Root shinobi couldnât escape in time.
He was consumed whole by a single volcanic bomb.
Not even a corpse remained.
DanzĆ had thought that using large-scale, high-powered jutsu within the villageâcompletely disregarding civilian casualties and structural damageâwas already extreme enough.
But he hadnât expected to come across someone even more extreme.
He couldnât begin to imagine the scale of destruction that would be caused if the barrage of molten volcanic bombs raining down from the sky wasnât controlled.
Still, DanzĆ understood one thing very clearlyâneither he nor his summoned beast could afford to be struck by that magma!
He had already experienced firsthand the terror of magma several days ago.
âWind Style: Vacuum Serial Bullets!!!â
DanzĆ took a deep breath of the thick, sulfur-laced air, and the dream tapir beneath him raised its head, opening its jaws wide.
A flurry of compressed wind bullets shot rapidly from its mouth, so densely packed that they looked like they might hold their own against the descending volcanic bombs.
The two forces collided violently in midair.
But just thenâ
Out of the corner of his eye, DanzĆ suddenly noticedâ
Uchiha Keizumi had vanished!
Damn it!
His gaze darted frantically in all directions, worried that Uchiha Keizumi was using the chaos as cover to close the distance.
However, this time, DanzĆ was overthinking it.
Because Keizumiâs first targets werenât him or the tapirâbut rather those pesky little 'flies'.
A blazing, molten-orange handâseething with terrifying heatâhad already grabbed one of the Root shinobi by the face.
The Root agentâs mask instantly melted away. The lava-like hand pressed in, branding itself onto his face like a branding iron.
âAaaaarrrghhhhhhâ!â
Amid the agonizing shrieks, Keizumi didnât even need to push down.
The ninjaâs face collapsed inward like softened butter, melting nearly halfway through on its own.
The screaming stopped.
Life extinguished.
âHeâs open!!!â
While DanzĆ and the dream tapir focused on defending against the magma bombardment, one Root shinobi gritted his teeth and charged in from behind, determined to land a fatal blow on Keizumi.
He tore open his flak jacket, then ripped through the underlayer beneath.
Biting his thumb, he slashed it across his abdomen.
Immediatelyâ
A series of twisted, crisscrossing black seal patterns erupted across his stomach.
His chakra was rapidly being consumed by the techniqueâso much so that his muscles visibly withered and shrank right before the eye.
âNinja Art: Puppet Binding Seal!!!â
[Whooshâ]
From the dark sealing marks on his abdomen, three black chains suddenly burst forth, tearing through the air toward Keizumiâs back.
[Thud! Thud! Thud!]
The chains pierced straight through Keizumiâs body.
Although not a single drop of blood was spilled, the iron links spread eerie seal patterns outward, gradually crawling over the lava-like surface of his skin.
Under the gaze of the withered Root shinobi, now little more than skin and bones, Uchiha Keizumi appeared to be struggling against the iron chains binding himâbut no matter how he moved, he couldnât break free.
âHahâŠâ
Drained of chakra and deathly pale, the Root agent let out a cold sneer.
âThis technique⊠itâs from the Uzumaki clanâŠâ
âWhat are you doing?! Heâs behind you!!!â
A sudden shout cut through the air, catching the Root ninja completely off guard.
Before he could reactâ
He felt the ninja blade at his waist being drawn from behind.
[Shlkkâ]
His head, large and bloated, slid cleanly from his neck and tumbled to the ground.
Uchiha Keizumi glanced impassively at the headless corpse at his feet, then shifted his gaze to the black iron chains still lodged in the illusion before him.
The Sharinganâs genjutsu really was overkill.
Especially in a battle where every second meant life or deathâ
Even a single momentâs illusion could determine everything.
...
âMeow! These bastards are ganging up on Keizumi-sama! Rookieâmove it! Weâve got to help him!â
Tachibana JirĆ rushed ahead, leading a swarm of ninja cats as they raced toward the Yamanaka clanâs compound.
Izumi followed right behind.
âJirĆ, what is that thing?!â
As they darted through the streets, Izumi looked up, stunned, at the towering dream tapir in the distance.
JirĆ quickly corrected her: âCall me JirĆ-senpai, thank you very much!â
Then he added, âThat thing is Shimura DanzĆâs old mutt of a summonâsomething called a dream tapir. A really powerful beast. Specializes in wind-style jutsu without hand signs.â
As the cats and Izumi leapt from rooftop to rooftopâ
Suddenly, a cloaked figure appeared on a building ahead, catching both her and JirĆâs attention.
As Izumi passed by, she instinctively turned to get a better lookâ
But the figure had vanished.
As if it had never been there.
As if it were just her imagination.
âJirĆ⊠senpai!â
Her pupils shrank as she shouted, âDid any of you see that person just now?â
JirĆâs feline face turned grim.
âI saw them⊠but I couldnât see how they disappeared. Meow⊠I think I caught a glimpse of a mask. Looked like one of those single-eye masks. Doesnât matter for nowâwe need to back up Keizumi-sama!â
