Chapter 109: Dream Walker
The course of history had been subtly yet deliberately altered.
Uchiha Kazuki, maintaining a state of psychological invisibility through his Beyonder abilities, used carefully pre-arranged events to hypnotize and subtly distort the thoughts of the assembled Kirigakure shinobi.
The operation was deceptively simple: by strategically planting and reinforcing the keyword 'revenge' in direct connection with the Third Mizukage's death, he easily manipulated their emotional states with righteous anger—changing their original thought patterns and expertly guiding them toward his predetermined direction.
Having finished his subtle psychological manipulation, Uchiha Kazuki dusted himself off casually, glanced back one final time at the blood-stained lake, and said with a faint, knowing smile: "You can remain here for now. You'll prove very useful when I need you next time."
The Three-Tails Isobu had also been re-hypnotized by his Mangekyō Sharingan—kept alive and dormant specifically for future strategic use.
Then, Uchiha Kazuki vanished instantly using the Body Flicker Technique.
Meanwhile, the Kirigakure shinobi—their emotions thoroughly infected by thoughts of vengeance—began systematically cleaning up the entire battlefield, retrieving the Mizukage's body and meticulously erasing all potentially incriminating traces left behind.
The Land of Waves
A small, economically struggling country sandwiched precariously between two great shinobi nations, possessing no ninja forces of its own.
Inside a modest inn, Uchiha Kazuki—having successfully returned from his infiltration mission in Kirigakure—was hunched over a simple desk, carefully composing his official mission report.
The report itself was deliberately brief and clinical, summarizing his primary actions since arriving in Kirigakure territory, with certain sensitive details strategically omitted. In essence, he had successfully eliminated the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, utilized intelligence gathered by Yakushi Nono to break the seal containing the Three-Tails Isobu, and successfully assassinated the Third Mizukage by exploiting the chaos created by the rampaging Tailed Beast as the perfect distraction.
Yes, that's correct—'ambush' and 'assassination'!
After all, within Kirigakure itself, their own thorough investigation had 'independently' confirmed this exact conclusion through their analysis of the evidence, so naturally both sides needed to maintain consistency in their official narratives.
With a final decisive stroke of his brush, Uchiha Kazuki carefully reviewed the mission scroll, confirmed its accuracy, allowed the ink to dry completely, sealed it properly with wax, and affixed the special ANBU authentication seal before handing it across to Yakushi Nono, who sat patiently opposite him: "Deliver this intelligence directly to the Hokage. He'll handle the political implications from there."
Yakushi Nono, sitting across from him, appeared genuinely taken aback: "What about you? Aren't you returning to the village with me?"
"I'm not heading back just yet."
Uchiha Kazuki shook his head with a faint smile. "I still have several loose ends to address here. I'll return to Konoha after completing those tasks."
Yakushi Nono accepted the sealed scroll, looking thoughtfully at the gentle yet enigmatic young man before her, a complex mixture of emotions crossing her face: "I honestly didn't expect you to actually accomplish it—not only assassinating a sitting Kage but also completely eliminating the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Surely Kirigakure will behave themselves and back down now, right?"
Uchiha Kazuki leaned casually against the bedside, one hand supporting his cheek, and smiled with deeply meaningful intent: "Behave themselves? Heh... perhaps they will."
If it weren't for my direct intervention, perhaps those Kirigakure shinobi would have genuinely swallowed their rage and grief, pretending nothing catastrophic had occurred. After all, forcing an aggressive war against Konohagakure immediately after losing their Kage would hardly qualify as a strategically wise decision.
But unfortunately... anything becomes possible when human emotions are properly manipulated. That's the truly fascinating aspect of human nature.
Now, thoroughly fueled by burning anger and desire for vengeance, Kirigakure has transformed into a roaring, unstoppable war machine—and anyone who dares stand in its path, even their own leadership, will be mercilessly crushed beneath its wheels!
"Return to Konoha soon, Nono-san."
Uchiha Kazuki waved his hand dismissively. "You must desperately miss those children at the orphanage after being away for so long."
Hearing this consideration, Yakushi Nono's eyes immediately flashed with profound emotion, her vision blurring slightly with barely suppressed tears. She took several solemn steps backward, then bowed deeply and respectfully, pressing her forehead against the tatami flooring: "Kazuki-sama, I am eternally grateful for your immeasurable kindness. If you ever require anything in the future—anything at all—I will dedicate myself completely to fulfilling it!"
"Mm, I understand and appreciate that."
Uchiha Kazuki nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then waved his hand again. "Go now. I need to rest and meditate for a while."
Filled with genuine gratitude and deep respect, Yakushi Nono remained in her kneeling position as she slowly backed out of the room, carefully closing the door behind her.
Once the room was completely empty and silent, Uchiha Kazuki released a long, measured breath and rubbed his temples thoughtfully: "Finally... I'm completely alone. Now I can begin proper preparations for the advancement ceremony."
After all this extensive preparation and waiting, he could finally advance to Sequence 5!
He mentally composed himself, forcibly calming his excited emotions through meditation techniques.
He had meticulously set up mystical barriers and detection traps around the room in advance to prevent any unwanted disturbances during the critical ritual.
After calming his mental state several more times and carefully checking for any spiritual abnormalities in the surrounding area, Uchiha Kazuki cautiously and meticulously extracted the advancement materials from his system inventory one precious item at a time.
One complete brain of an adult Mind Dragon, and exactly 500ml of its extracted blood.
The intact pituitary gland of the Mind Dragon seemed to still possess residual vitality even in death. Within the complex, folded cerebral tissue, slit-like openings resembling additional eyes gradually opened—displaying intricate and geometrically impossible mysterious symbols that seemed to penetrate through the void itself and pierce directly into flesh, making anyone who gazed upon them feel drowsy, as if being inexorably dragged into a deceptively sweet dream.
'Mental Soothing!'
Uchiha Kazuki's Sharingan eyes remained perfectly clear, his mind utterly calm and focused. Following the preparation techniques he had practiced countless times mentally, he carefully began preparing the advancement potion.
Inside the transparent crystal bottle now rested the completed potion—the slightly viscous liquid shimmered with faint, dark gray-white specks suspended throughout, resembling twinkling stars scattered across the night sky, deeply attracting and holding his transfixed gaze.
"The potion preparation is complete. Next comes the advancement ritual itself."
There were two possible rituals for successfully advancing to Sequence 5: Dream Walker.
The first method involved finding a specific human-headed bird demon entity within the Spirit World, signing a formal contract with it, then taking one of its enchanted tail feathers and consuming the advancement potion while experiencing intense emotions of either pure joy or overwhelming anger.
Clearly, given his current circumstances and dimensional limitations, he couldn't possibly complete that particular method. After all, it remained highly questionable whether the 'Spirit World' as described in the potion formulas even existed within the Naruto universe, let alone whether the specific human-headed bird demons could be found here.
Therefore, he had chosen the second, relatively simpler alternative method: remaining fully conscious and self-aware while trapped within the dream state.
"Fortunately, I prepared the necessary mystical item well in advance."
Uchiha Kazuki carefully retrieved an ancient brass candlestick from his storage scroll, placing it beside him with reverent precision before channeling prepared spiritual energy directly into its core.
The Hermes Brass Candlestick's primary supernatural ability was weaving near-perfectly realistic dream environments. His previous experiments had conclusively revealed that it could also help the user maintain conscious awareness and sense of self even while deeply immersed within the fabricated dream.
Since the candlestick possessed the ability to weave convincing dreams, it naturally could also keep the user mentally conscious throughout—this must represent a characteristic ability of a Sequence 3: Dream Weaver Beyonder.
Whoosh!
The ancient brass candlestick instantly ignited with an ethereal bluish-gray flame.
The mystical flame illuminated Uchiha Kazuki's determined face as he slowly raised the crystal bottle containing the advancement potion. Without any hesitation or second thoughts, he tilted his head back and drank the entire viscous mixture in one continuous gulp.
Glug! Glug! Glug!
The thick, supernatural potion slid down his throat, instantly entering his digestive system and bloodstream.
He had consumed it too quickly—before he could even properly register the taste—and suddenly the entire world before him began blurring dramatically, as if he were becoming trapped within a hallucinatory jungle of sensory distortion, gradually sinking deeper into a wanton, uncontrolled dream state.
The candlelight positioned beside him suddenly intensified dramatically, the bluish-gray flame leaping several feet higher.
The shimmering, dancing light reflected off the walls and ceiling of the small room, creating a mesmerizing and dazzling kaleidoscopic display.
Uchiha Kazuki, who had been experiencing severe mental disorientation, suddenly felt a sharp moment of cognitive disconnect—then instantly snapped back to full awareness and consciousness.
Looking around at the suddenly transformed environment—the bustling modern street, the hurried pedestrians coming and going, the towering steel and glass skyscrapers surrounding him on all sides—everything seemed to have impossibly returned to his previous life.
Sunrise and sunset cycled rapidly. The seasons changed in accelerated time.
Familiar faces from his past life continuously passed by him in the crowd, yet they all seemed like complete strangers, remaining utterly oblivious to his presence.
Standing isolated within the flowing crowd, Uchiha Kazuki remained completely expressionless, indifferently scrutinizing every detail of this recreated reality.
To him, this was merely 'the past'—no matter how beautiful or nostalgic it appeared, it remained forever in the past. A past life he could never truly return to, no matter how much he might occasionally wish otherwise.
He slowly closed his physical eyes, consciously feeling his astral body gradually rising and separating.
Then, he successfully detached his consciousness from the dreamscape environment—which resembled an enormous iridescent bubble—and observed the 'island of consciousness' below from a higher dimensional perspective.
Rippling spiritual waves created a vast, shimmering, and unfathomable illusory ocean that became increasingly clear to his enhanced perception.
This was the legendary Collective Unconscious Sea!
The tangible manifestation of the mental/spiritual world itself—a convergence point of the subconscious minds of all living beings—as perceived from the elevated perspective of a Sequence 5: Dream Walker.
[End of Chapter 109]
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