join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Every 500 powerstones = free membership | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr
Just as the Ryumakyu Rainbow Bridge spanned thousands of miles, directly entering the Land of Lightning.
"Hmm?"
Uchiha Hikari, who was in the Land of Earth, suddenly turned her head and gazed into the distance.
A hint of surprise inadvertently appeared in her Mangekyo Sharingan, which resembled a three-bladed windmill, as if she had detected something that astonished even her.
"This power, so immense..."
"But it's not Kiri."
"Then what exactly is this?"
Under these slight tremors, Uchiha Hikari subconsciously let go, and a 'thud' sound of something falling echoed before her.
Ōnoki's short, stout body fell heavily to the ground, his already hunched frame, due to old age, curled up even further, and a bitter expression flashed across his face.
He looked up, gazing at the surrounding wasteland.
At this moment, on this wasteland in the center of the Land of Earth, members wearing the Moon Organization's standard black cloaks with gold inscriptions still stood in place, seemingly impervious to pain or sensation.
Meanwhile, the last elite group of Iwagakure Ninja lay on the ground.
Crimson blood soaked every inch of the dry soil of this ancient plateau; faint moans and wails intertwined, yet most people lacked even the strength to get up. The phrase "corpses strewn across the field" was not a metaphor but a stark reality in the center of this plateau.
The ground centered around the two of them was several feet lower than other areas, appearing from a distance like a crater left by a meteorite impact.
Even now, Ōnoki still remembered the terrifying, god-like power that erupted from this young girl just moments ago.
The power of those eyes, no different from Uchiha Madara of old.
At this moment, Ōnoki seemed to be transported back decades, to the first and last time he met that man, under the guidance of That Person.
He was similarly prostrated on the ground, and similarly helpless.
Recalling this, the old man's face revealed a sigh of lament, and he murmured, "Decades of effort and research, in the face of bloodline, are ultimately so fragile, aren't they?"
"Heh."
"What a disgrace."
Noticing Uchiha Hikari's gaze return to him, Ōnoki gave a bitter smile, yet seemed to have found peace, and said, "Do it."
Compared to most other Ninja, he had lived long enough.
Aside from making a wrong decision that led Iwagakure into conflict with Sawara Kiri and then confronting this woman, which he felt somewhat regretful about towards the Village, he had nothing else to regret. Naturally, he wouldn't humble himself and beg for mercy before this young girl.
Facing death directly was a Ninja's basic skill.
This was the one thing he had never forgotten.
"You still have some backbone."
Uchiha Hikari's tone was indifferent. She looked down at the short old man from above, reached out, and grabbed his collar again, saying indifferently, "However, it seems you've misunderstood something?"
When the girl spoke, there was a hint of playfulness on her face: "Who said my goal was to kill all of you?"
"Hmm?"
Ōnoki's expression froze, and he looked at her, bewildered.
But the next moment, his vision reflected a pair of crimson eyes shaped like a three-bladed windmill.
"Dojutsu: Yachihoko."
The suddenly unleashed ocular power, following the contact between Chakra, surged into Ōnoki's mind like a torrent. Almost instantaneously upon contact, it broke through all his resistance—both physical and mental.
Not just the Third Tsuchikage before her.
As this Dojutsu was activated, A deep glow also bloomed on the surface of the 'Iwagakure corpses' lying around.
If one looked closely, they would notice that the objects impaled into various vital points on these corpses, like Kunai, were actually 'branches' with a deep metallic sheen.
Just as Sawara Kiri and the major Hidden Villages had rapidly developed over the past seven years, Uchiha Hikari, while spending most of her time studying, naturally didn't neglect the advancement of her grand plan.
Even before Black Zetsu betrayed her and ran to that idiot Nagato, they had already begun preparations for the 'Engraved Tsukuyomi' plan.
Among them, the most crucial point was undoubtedly the release channel for Yachihoko.
Unlike the Boruto era in the original work, where the Ninja World had fully entered the age of electrification, with even VR becoming commonplace in every household.
In Konoha Year 48, which was still in the early stages of the electronic age, wireless networks had not yet been widely deployed.
It was not easy to repeatedly inject ocular power into everyone's brains.
Fortunately, Uchiha Hikari had thought of the simplest release channel very early on.
Each of these wooden Kunai, subtly metallic in color, carried the Yachihoko Chakra she had separated.
Except for those shattered by explosive tags and various jutsu, the vast majority of people's deaths were due to these small Kunai.
At the same time, this also fulfilled the condition of 'contact with Yachihoko ocular power.'
This was why Uchiha Hikari seized the time to launch a sudden war so urgently.
It was not just Iwagakure Ninja who were controlled by her in this manner.
Naturally, Takigakure was the same.
The bleak cold wind on the loess plateau swept across the land, clearing away the vast dust while also lifting the hoods on the standard Moon Organization uniforms of those still standing among the corpses.
What met the eyes of those around them were blank faces, like walking corpses.
Yachihoko was indeed a rather overbearing and unique Dojutsu.
It could completely alter everything about a person at a spiritual level.
Now, the only thought filling the minds of everyone still standing here was to obey all the commands of Uchiha Hikari.
Furthermore, if there were a Byakugan user present, they would clearly see that a continuous Chakra chain connected everyone present to Uchiha Hikari.
Their power was Uchiha Hikari's power.
Now, new members were about to join the Moon Organization.
Ōnoki's expression fluctuated between blankness and resistance in a very short time, as if he had struggled for a long time purely by sheer willpower.
Unfortunately, it was like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot.
In just a short while, his expression gradually stabilized, and he quietly bowed his proud head, like a most loyal servant.
Only then did Uchiha Hikari release his collar and turn to walk towards the plateau strewn with corpses.
Ōnoki followed her step by step, like a most loyal servant.
Soon, Uchiha Hikari's steps halted.
The surrounding 'Moon Organization' members quietly looked at her.
Then, Uchiha Hikari's eyes widened, and she suddenly unleashed her ocular power to its limit, loudly commanding everyone before her, "Get up!"
Spreading along with it was a massive amount of Chakra, surging and boiling like a tide.
The field instantly fell silent.
"Click."
Suddenly, a 'corpse' with a broken arm and a Kunai still embedded in its waist made a faint sound.
The body, which should have been in shock from blood loss, swayed precariously in place, and then, truly, following Uchiha Hikari's command, it difficultly but firmly rose from the blood-soaked plateau, crushing the soft earth beneath its feet.
The movement generated by this one 'corpse' was like pushing the first domino in the center of this vast plateau.
On the battlefield, covered with dense 'corpses', centered around Uchiha Hikari, corpses from all directions—as long as they maintained their general shape and had the specialized Wood Release Kunai embedded in them—all rose from the ground like puppets, one after another, upon hearing that faint command.
All the people wearing black cloaks with gold patterns around them quietly watched this scene, as if it were commonplace, or perhaps they had completely lost their self-will.
More and more figures began to stand up, gradually surrounding Uchiha Hikari, encircling her as if to lift her to the highest point in the sky.
However, Uchiha Hikari was no longer the little Village girl who would make a fuss over a slight scare.
Even facing such a scene, she still looked on with a gentle smile, like a mature person with many followers.
Proportional to the massive consumption of ocular power was the total amount of Chakra continuously transmitted back to her own body through the bodies of everyone present.
One-tenth, two-tenths, three-tenths...
The strength of the Iwagakure elite was incomparable to ordinary Ninja.
Yet, there were dozens, even hundreds, of such elites in this crowd now.
Under this massive Chakra replenishment, Uchiha Hikari could even clearly feel the cracks on the surface of her Susanoo armor being continuously repaired, the wounds on her body healing rapidly, and her brain, which had long been exhausted from the long and arduous pursuit, also becoming clear.
It was a sublimation from within, from the collective to the individual.
Vaguely, Uchiha Hikari could even clearly perceive that deep within the center of her Mangekyo, something was continuously gestating.
Quietly awaiting the day it would break free.
Even without any prompting, Uchiha Hikari understood its capabilities the moment she came into contact with it.
"Engraved Tsukuyomi."
This should be a power that changed the fundamental logic of the entire world, much like the war between the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya in ancient legends, right?
"Just a little more…"
Uchiha Hikari looked at her palm and subconsciously clenched her fingers.
To completely eliminate the possibility of mutual slaughter from human biological instinct, fulfilling the grand ideal that her era failed to achieve.
Just as she valued Sawara Kiri and would do everything to obtain him, Uchiha Hikari could also go to such lengths to achieve her ideal.
The only thing she regretted was probably just one thing.
"Kiri."
"In the end, I still have to stand opposite you, huh?"
The upcoming war could no longer be as opportunistic as the current conquest of the Land of Earth.
Uchiha Hikari was well aware of this.
Facing Sawara Kiri made her feel both regretful and vaguely excited, as if she had to face a life-or-death crisis.
"This time…"
"Please, watch me closely."
Uchiha Hikari gazed at the vast distant land and murmured softly, her voice eventually carried away by the howling north wind.
Several days later.
Tens of thousands of Ninja, fully equipped and also wearing black uniforms with gold patterns, marched south.
"Has Orochimaru already used that thing?"
Listening to the report from across the desk, Sawara Kiri held a pen between his fingers, twirling it like jade, yet his attention seemed undivided. He simply sat there, listening quietly.
After hearing the entire course of the war from beginning to end, he finally shook his head with a hint of helplessness:
"Jiraiya really encountered a Beyonder."
"I didn't expect the Raikage to take such an extreme path either."
"No wonder the Village sent you here…"
"You've worked hard on this journey, Megumi."
Sawara Kiri said, flashing what he considered a polite smile at the woman before him.
However, when he looked up, he saw that Megumi's attention was already firmly drawn to someone else. Three jet-black tomoe spun steadily and powerfully in her pupils.
Although she was seated on the sofa in front of the desk, her slight forward lean indicated that she was clearly a predator in a state of readiness for a kill.
Only when she heard Sawara Kiri speak did she pick up the gift beside her and say, "It's Sawara who has worked hard."
"After all, you have to toil day and night in the vast desert, it must be very tiring, right?"
Although both her tone and phrasing were no different from usual, seeing the subtly discordant smile on Megumi's face, Sawara instinctively felt his hair stand on end.
At the same time, Konan, who was being stared at by Uchiha Megumi, felt inexplicably guilty and subconsciously tightened her clothes.
In the Sunagakure's environment, where the temperature difference between day and night was extreme, her usual long robe was just right, only its color had been changed to white to absorb less heat. The fabric was quite thick, a little stuffy, but enough to conceal her shapely figure.
However, in an environment that often maintained temperatures above forty degrees Celsius, sweating was inevitable.
It was fine when her attention was on work, but now, suddenly being stared at by Uchiha Megumi with such a gaze, the sticky and damp feeling all over her body immediately became even more pronounced.
Konan suddenly felt a strange guilt and instinctively tightened her clothes.
But soon, she immediately reacted.
She hadn't done anything shameful! Even if she had, it was that person from your family who initiated it!
Thinking this, Konan's back straightened instantly, and her chest even puffed out a bit.
'That's right, just like that!'
However, Konan did not know that Megumi's focus was not on that aspect.
Uchiha Megumi's sharp gaze swept over the woman's entire body. Her Sharingan's keen vision was even more precise than a caliper.
Soon, she reached a conclusion that made her grit her teeth.
She wasn't wearing anything underneath!
Sweat trickled down Sawara Kiri's temples.
The spacious office was filled with this eerie silence, which lasted for a full minute.
Just as his Adam's apple bobbed and he subconsciously wanted to change the subject, Sawara Kiri seemed to suddenly discover an urgent matter.
His deep blue eyes sharply swept towards the office door, and even his previously slightly meek expression became serious and solemn. He spoke just before the office door was pushed open:
"Kakashi, what happened?"
Kakashi, who had rushed back from afar, heard this as soon as he pushed open the door. His heart skipped a beat, and he almost forgot what he was about to say.
However, after realizing the situation in the office, he subconsciously took a step back, ready to leave.
Unfortunately, Sawara stopped him with a rather fierce look.
After a moment of pause, he suddenly remembered what he was supposed to report and hastily said, "Sawara! The Fourth Hokage has issued an urgent order, summoning you back to the Village for a meeting."
"Iwagakure has been breached by Uchiha Hikari!"
In an instant, the three people in the office, who were subtly in a standoff, all turned their heads towards him simultaneously, in unison:
"What?!" x3
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Every 500 powerstones = free membership | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr