Chapter 276: The Weight of an Ultimatum
Mei Terumī subconsciously wanted to retreat, to put distance between them, but she found that she couldn't move at all. His presence, his power, was a physical wall.
"I can give you a dignified way out," Uchiha Akira's voice rang in Mei Terumī's ears, low and persuasive.
"The Kirigakure can merge with Konoha as a whole."
"Just like the Hyūga Clan, or my own Uchiha Clan, within Konoha's structure."
Akira outlined the terms, which were brutal, yet offered preservation. "From now on, the Kirigakure will be renamed the Leaf Village Hidden Mist Department, or perhaps the Clan of Mist."
"And you, Mei Terumī."
Uchiha Akira reached out and gently traced Mei Terumī's tense cheek with his fingertip. The touch was cold, clinical, and intensely provocative.
"You can become the head of this department, or the patriarch of this clan."
"You still possess great power, you can still manage your people. Your ambition can be fulfilled."
"The only difference is that you will henceforth be subordinate to Konoha, and you will obey me."
Akira pressed the political knife deeper. "I can help you end the 'Village of the Bloody Mist' policy immediately. You can save your compatriots, and even allow those shinobi exiled abroad to return to the Hidden Mist."
"Everything you wanted to do, everything you and your allies dreamed of achieving but couldn't... I can help you achieve."
"And all you need to give is your absolute, unreserved loyalty... to me."
End the Village of the Bloody Mist!
Save the compatriots!
Isn't this... isn't this the goal I have always strived to achieve, even at the cost of my life? Mei's mind screamed. He offers me my dream... as a handout.
"No… no…"
Mei Terumī's eyes struggled intensely. Her political reason and her desperate emotion battled fiercely in her mind.
"Everyone in the Village won't agree! Elder Gensui, Ao, and those seniors... they will absolutely not accept such humiliating terms! Becoming subordinates of Konoha!"
"They would rather die in battle! They would rather be shattered jade than intact tile!"
"Is that so?" Uchiha Akira smiled disdainfully, withdrawing his hand.
"Do you truly believe they have the power to choose their preferred method of destruction?"
As his voice fell, Akira's Mangekyō Sharingan instantly flared, glowing with a deep, furious crimson!
Buzz—!
Akira initiated a powerful, instantaneous Genjutsu (Illusion Technique)!
Mei Terumī only felt her vision blur, a sudden dizziness. The entire world began to twist and fade, replaced by a dark, void space.
The genjutsu was absolute. She was trapped in his will.
Before her, incredibly clear, devastating images began to flash rapidly, played out across the void.
The first image: It was the familiar dark, damp underground cave. Ao, Chōjūrō, and all the companions of the rebel army were inside, planning their futile, desperate resistance.
Suddenly! An enormous fist, made of purplish-blue energy—a Susanoo fist—descended from the 'sky' of the genjutsu!
Rumble—!!!!
The entire cave, along with the mountain where it was located, was vaporized, crushed to the ground in an instant!
Everything—her allies, her hope, her resistance—was completely obliterated before that absolute power.
"No… NO!!!" Mei screamed, her voice silent in the void.
The image did not stop. It switched.
The second image: It was the Kirigakure itself. Countless panicked villagers and shinobi were frantically fleeing in the streets, looking up in terror.
In the sky above the village, Uchiha Akira slowly spread his arms, a god of destruction.
"Chibaku Tensei!" (Planetary Devastation). No, worse.
"Super Shinra Tensei."
[Inorin's Note: Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push) is a Rinnegan technique that generates colossal repulsive force. Akira uses a much larger, world-breaking version.]
Then, it was the apocalypse.
Terrifying, sky-obscuring air currents instantly engulfed the entire Village. Buildings crumbled inward. The earth was scoured clean.
The image ended there. The entire Kirigakure was razed to the ground by Uchiha Akira's single strike, leaving only a smoking, massive crater.
Uchiha Akira's voice, cold and devoid of pity, echoed in Mei Terumī's mind.
"Did you see?"
"This is what will happen if you refuse me. This is the truth of my power."
"Your companions, your Village, your legacy... everything you cherish... will completely disappear at my whim."
"Now, tell me again, Mei Terumī."
"Will your companions, those seniors, choose to die meaninglessly, disappearing along with the entire Village... or choose to kneel before me, in exchange for a chance to live, to continue their bloodline?"
The genjutsu was instantly dispelled.
Everything around them returned to the cold, sea-breeze-whipped coast.
With a "thud."
Mei Terumī's legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the sand.
Her entire body was trembling violently and uncontrollably. Her mind, ravaged by the vision of absolute destruction, was broken.
Reality was so cruel. So despair-inducing.
After a long, shuddering silence.
Mei Terumī looked up at Uchiha Akira, her red eyes filled with tears, shame, and a terrible realization.
Her lips moved for a long time.
"I…"
For them. For Ao. For Chōjūrō. For the survivors.
"…agree."
Speaking these two crushing words seemed to drain all the strength from Mei Terumī's body.
She chose to compromise. But Ao, Chōjūrō, and everyone else could live. The Bloody Mist policy could end.
That... was enough. That was her victory.
Uchiha Akira looked down at Mei Terumī from above, nodding with a cold satisfaction.
"Very good, Mei."
"You made a wise choice. A choice worthy of a Kage."
He slowly extended his hand.
"Get up."
"From today, you are the head of the Konoha Hidden Mist Department."
Mei Terumī looked at the large hand suspended before her. She hesitated for a long, painful moment.
Finally, trembling, she placed her small hand upon his.
Uchiha Akira exerted force with his wrist.
An irresistible force came, and Mei Terumī could not stand steadily at all. She lost her balance, stumbling forward.
She was directly pulled into Uchiha Akira's embrace.
Bang.
The collision was firm.
"You!" Mei Terumī subconsciously wanted to struggle, to push him away.
But Akira's arm was already tightly wrapped around her waist, holding her close, making her unable to move an inch.
Mei Terumī was about to scold him.
But Akira's fingers, a step ahead, pinched her smooth chin, and with a slight force, he forcefully lifted her face, commanding her gaze.
Mei Terumī was forced to meet Akira's intense, dark eyes.
"Don't worry, Mei. I never break my word."
"I said I would help you end the Village of the Bloody Mist and save your compatriots. And I will definitely do it."
These were originally comforting, political words.
But spoken in such an extremely ambiguous, intimate posture, they made Mei Terumī's body tremble slightly and uncontrollably.
A strange, unfamiliar current, like a shock of static electricity, shot from her earlobes throughout her body.
Her fair cheeks, flushed with shame and anger, were stained with a captivating crimson, spreading all the way to her snow-white neck.
Damn it...
Why... why does my body feel like this?
Mei Terumī bit her lip tightly, preventing herself from letting out a shriek of shame and anger.
"Besides," Akira said, a genuine, possessive chuckle in his voice, his eyes tracing the curve of her lips. "You're quite pretty, Mei."
"If possible, would you consider following me? Personally."
Mei Terumī's cheeks instantly turned so red they looked as if they were about to drip blood.
What did he mean by… following him?
He means... he actually wants her... to become his woman!
"You… you're dreaming! You arrogant fool!" Mei Terumī trembled, glaring at Uchiha Akira, desperately trying to maintain her dignity.
Uchiha Akira merely chuckled heartily at her resistance.
He released Mei Terumī.
The sudden freedom made Mei Terumī even somewhat at a loss, and she subconsciously staggered backward a step before barely regaining her balance.
"Now, let's go," Uchiha Akira spoke indifferently.
"It's time to go back and see your companions. I need to meet Gensui."
"Don't keep them waiting too long."
After speaking, without giving Mei Terumī time to react, he reached out again and grabbed her wrist.
The moment their skin touched.
Buzz—!
The familiar, nauseating sensation of space twisting came again.
The entire world before Mei Terumī's eyes once again transformed into a spinning uzumaki.
The feeling of the world spinning only lasted for an instant.
When the solid sensation returned to her feet, the damp, dark, familiar air—the air of her hidden base—once again filled Mei Terumī's nostrils.
They had returned to the underground cave.
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