join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Every 500 powerstones = free membership | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr
"As expected of you, Sawara Kiri."
"To think you could achieve something like this?"
"But it's still not enough."
Through the Yachihoko's vision, Uchiha Hikari could clearly see everything Sawara Kiri had done from the perspective of the 'puppet' she controlled.
The feat of instantly destroying the entire explosion corps made even her momentarily lose herself.
But what followed was an even more intense excitement on her delicate face, her heart seemingly freed from the shackles of gravity, skipping a few rapid beats.
The more this happened, the more she yearned to see the moment Sawara Kiri would fall before her.
"Whoosh—"
Uchiha Hikari waved her sleeve, dispersing the swirling dust in front of her.
Revealing behind the dust, the fully armed but terrified Cloud Ninja.
Looking down from above, one could see that the Kumogakure, currently in a state of war with factories everywhere producing military supplies at full capacity, was now largely in ruins.
Scattered figures in black robes followed behind Uchiha Hikari, occupying a small area centered around the Raikage Office, confronting the Cloud Ninja who were still fighting desperately in front of them.
Uchiha Hikari stood high atop the Raikage Office, half of the building already collapsed, many concrete floors stained with fresh blood, severed limbs scattered everywhere, and dark red flames burning rampant in various places, clearly indicating a recent, extremely brutal battle.
The Fourth Raikage had only recently died, and the Kumogakure hadn't even had time to choose a new leader.
Under these circumstances, they could only push the strategist, Yuhi, forward from the crowd to serve as a temporary leader.
"Uchiha Hikari! What exactly do you want to do?!"
Yuhi's left arm was severed at the elbow, clearly caught in the explosion just now.
Blood still dripped from the charred stump, but she completely ignored her injury at the moment, covering the wound and looking up towards the woman, angrily scolding:
"The Ninja World still has the power of three nations, and now is the time when the gap between us and Konoha is the smallest! This war is the Ninja World's last stand!"
"As an enemy of Sawara Kiri, why are you attacking Kumogakure?!"
"Do you really think that after the war ends, that monster Sawara Kiri will let you go?"
Yuhi roared, maintaining her upward gaze.
Her heart was filled with both despair and unwillingness.
She simply couldn't understand!
What was this madwoman thinking?
An enemy of an enemy, logically speaking, even if not an ally, should at least not be another enemy!
Hearing this, Uchiha Hikari looked down at her, high above, her expression completely devoid of the fanaticism of the previous second, as if looking down at a group of noisy ants, and said indifferently:
"With your shallow and narrow perspectives, how could you understand the bond between me and Kiri?"
"We are different from you."
"The only difference is that we walk different paths."
Whether it was to kill all Ninja or to leave a portion to unify the Ninja World, the purpose was to completely eliminate wars between Ninja from their root.
How could their vision be as narrow as these Cloud Ninja, limited to a single nation or region?
Yuhi stiffened, her astonished expression seemingly frozen on her face.
At that moment, her gaze met Uchiha Hikari's crimson eyes.
Yachihoko
Another surge of ocular power roared.
In an instant, Yuhi's head snapped back, her body freezing.
She immediately lost the ability to resist.
Seeing this, Uchiha Hikari waved her hand behind her with disinterest.
Immediately, large swaths of figures, like swarming locusts, surged forward.
Even Konoha, which had undergone multiple reforms and fundamentally improved the overall strength of its Ninja through countless methods, could not stop the explosive attacks, let alone these scattered Cloud Ninja.
What's more, in this rugged Kumogakure, they hadn't even managed to build slightly sturdy fortresses or trenches.
Countless civilians, currently retreating from the Village under the guidance of Ninja, were still fleeing, further reducing the already small number of Cloud Ninja.
With zero against the whole, in less than half a day, Kumogakure was completely breached.
The vast majority of Ninja were forcibly injected with Yachihoko's ocular power under the control of specialized Wood Release Kunai, transforming into completely controlled puppets.
Uchiha Hikari strolled through the ruins, feeling the total amount of Chakra within her increase significantly once again, and let out a soft breath.
Earth, Lightning, Waterfall, Grass, Rice, Hot Water
Although only two-fifths of the great nations were completely under her control, all the Ninja from the various small nations had also been subjugated by her.
In total, the number of Ninja completely controlled by her had already exceeded sixty thousand.
Uchiha Hikari could feel that she had already touched that hazy boundary.
"Just barely enough."
The girl sighed softly.
This level was already her current limit.
If she wanted to further expand the controlled Ninja group, she would have to confront Kiri head-on.
At her current state, it would likely be very difficult to win.
Since that was the case, there was nothing to hesitate about.
"Uchiha Hikari."
Ōnoki's figure appeared beside her, maintaining a kneeling posture, and said in a deep voice: "The surrounding Cloud Ninja forces have largely been cleared."
"The Two-Tails Jinchuriki has been captured."
"Very good."
As he was reporting, another figure rushed over from the other side.
"Uchiha Hikari."
"We found a Wood Release trained organism in the cave in the Kumogakure's back mountain!"
"It's a tree!"
"Hmm?"
Uchiha Hikari paused at the words and turned to look to the side.
Yuhi stood beside her and said, "That was a product trained from a Wood Release arm that was captured by our unit when Shimura Danzo fought Kumogakure some years ago."
"Originally, we wanted to use it to explore the secrets of Wood Release, but research funds were limited, so it was temporarily shelved."
Uchiha Hikari's lips curved into a smile, her joy seemingly even greater than taking over all of Kumogakure.
"Excellent."
"Take me there."
"Yes!"
If she had originally been relying solely on vast ocular power to cast the Jutsu, still feeling somewhat unsure, now she was absolutely certain.
Konoha received the news from the Land of Lightning a day later.
Even with Ninja methods, it was impossible to monitor other Villages in real-time, let alone during wartime.
Many of Konoha's hidden agents in Kumogakure were even controlled by Uchiha Hikari's ocular Jutsu, and only a small number who sensed danger managed to escape first, so getting first-hand intelligence was already a stroke of luck.
However, this news still caused a headache for everyone in Konoha.
"Feint."
Tsunade, who had just arrived at the front-line command tent, looked at the large-scale military map on the table and muttered, her brows tightly furrowed.
"That madwoman, Uchiha Hikari, truly doesn't value human lives at all."
She said, turning to look to the other side: "Kiri, how much do you really know about her?"
"Also, why did you suddenly gather us here?"
Sawara Kiri, at the nearby conference table, faced Tsunade's sharp gaze, straightened up, and calmly said: "Actually, I haven't had much contact with her, I only have a slight understanding of her objective..."
At this moment, he had to speak carefully.
At the front, side, and back of the entire conference table were Tsunade, Uchiha Megumi, and Konan, respectively.
Even Yuki was brought along by Tsunade as the Hokage's secretary, narrowing her eyes and staring at him.
The meaning in their eyes was truly intriguing.
Under the gaze of the four women, Sawara Kiri felt completely ill at ease, inexplicably having the illusion that he was striding into a Asura field.
So much so that he had to secretly cast a pleading glance towards Orochimaru.
"Ahem."
Perhaps sensing Sawara Kiri's gaze, or perhaps simply being professional, Orochimaru took over the conversation, following Sawara Kiri's voice, and continued:
"Engraved Tsukuyomi, that's the Jutsu she should be planning."
"This is one of the outcomes we've seen through the Near Future Lens."
"According to our observations, this is probably one of the Jutsu that can use the moon as a refracting plate to maximize Mangekyo ocular power, capable of simultaneously casting on half the planet, bringing all Ninja under Uchiha Hikari's control."
"Exactly, that's it."
Sawara Kiri nodded in agreement.
Tsunade's brows, however, immediately furrowed.
No wonder Sawara Kiri had forcibly demanded that the entire Hokage Office team be immediately transported to the front line after the battle that day, even disregarding the extent of control over the Land of Wind.
Now, this frontline, which divided the Fire and Earth nations and stretched over three hundred kilometers, was garrisoned by more than half of Konoha's Ninja.
She had originally thought that Sawara Kiri was unsure about his battle with Uchiha Hikari.
Looking at it now, it was actually to protect them?
"..."
"Is there no way to stop her before she completes the Jutsu?"
After a long silence, Tsunade suddenly asked.
"It's difficult."
Sawara Kiri shook his head: "Yachihoko can control the actions of puppets even from a thousand miles away, and Uchiha Hikari can completely find a place to secretly unfold the Jutsu herself."
"In the vast Ninja World, even if the entire Hyuga Clan were dispatched, it would probably be very difficult to find her trace."
"What's more, there isn't enough time."
As he spoke, he recalled the information from the original work—the plot where Jiraiya searched for Akatsuki Organization intelligence.
Even Jiraiya, whose intelligence network covered most of the Ninja World, took more than two years to find clues and confirm Pain's base in the Hidden Rain Village.
There was no need to mention ordinary intelligence personnel.
"Can't we counteract it with a similar control-type ocular Jutsu?" Uchiha Megumi, sitting to one side, asked with a frown.
It must be said that although she had only recently arrived from the Land of Wind, when it came to directly blowing up Uchiha Hikari, Megumi was one of the most motivated people in all of Konoha.
What's more, her Amaterasu was also a control type.
"It's difficult."
Sawara Kiri shook his head: "Even with Uchiha Hikari's ocular power, it would probably take tens of thousands of people to barely meet the activation conditions for Engraved Tsukuyomi."
"So... Kiri asked everyone to dig underground caves in advance?"
"Yes."
"But, it's just an experiment."
Sawara Kiri was actually unsure whether digging a deep underground cave and stuffing everyone inside, forming a completely sealed, light-proof chamber, could avoid the first wave of large-scale ocular Jutsu attacks.
After all, it never appeared in the original work.
In the final battle, it seemed that only the small group of people covered by Sasuke and Kakashi's Susanoo could avoid the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
And the most lethal part seemed to be only the first round of Jutsu—that is, the moment the moon first transformed into the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
After the first round of ocular Jutsu passed and the battle with Ōtsutsuki Kaguya began, although Sakura, who had no protection, was also exposed to the Infinite Tsukuyomi, she was not affected by the Tsukuyomi.
She even managed to knock a bump on Kaguya's head, thereby forcibly completing the symmetry of the New Three Ninja.
In addition, the toads in Mount Myōboku in another dimension, and people like Samui, who were sealed in the Six Paths Gourd, would also not be affected by the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
This Jutsu didn't seem so invincible after all.
Of course.
The Hokage World he was currently in had been completely messed up by him, and there seemed to be some differences between Engraved Tsukuyomi and Infinite Tsukuyomi, so Sawara Kiri wasn't sure what would happen next.
He could only say that an extra layer of insurance was better than none.
What bothered him most was not Uchiha Hikari, but those Ōtsutsuki who were surely hiding in the shadows, restless and plotting something.
Sawara Kiri would not become complacent just because he had eliminated a juvenile Ōtsutsuki Shibai; Shibai had not even displayed one percent of his strength, yet he had been plunged into a bitter struggle.
Indeed.
He was still not strong enough.
He sighed to himself.
Just as Sawara Kiri was quietly thinking, he suddenly looked up into the distance.
Tsunade and the others all looked at him.
"Into the cave!"
At the very front of the battle line.
Hyuga Hizashi was crouched in a dirt pit, veins bulging at his temples, maintaining his eyes activation, his vision a monochrome world.
Suddenly, an boundless 'fire' surged into this black and white world.
His pure white pupils suddenly constricted, and he shouted loudly to the surrounding Perception Class (Perception Squad):
"Enemy contact!"
"Ten kilometers due north!"
Almost simultaneously with his words, a signal flare shot into the sky.
Behind them, a group of Konoha Ninja, who were jointly performing Earth Release Ninjutsu and continuously excavating caves, saw the red signal rising in the sky.
Under the guidance of numerous lower-level Commanders, they immediately lined up and entered the underground pits.
If one looked down from the sky, one would see figures moving like ants in groups, disappearing from the edge of the vision, leaving only a few observation posts hidden in the newly built strongholds, quietly looking in the direction from which the signal was emitted.
The reconnaissance Ninja, scattered like sesame seeds in the surroundings, continuously retreated in small teams.
One of them was about to duck into the cave when his arm was suddenly grabbed by a mid-level Commander in the trench, who asked loudly:
"How many enemies are there?"
"One person!"
"One?"
The mid-level Commander subconsciously asked back.
However, upon seeing the genuine look of terror on the other person's face, he seemed to suddenly realize something and released his hand.
Sawara Kiri bypassed the retreating Ninja, moving straight forward against the flow.
Following him were Tsunade and the others.
In just a short while, the figure from the opposite side emerged from the forest, smiling gently like a spring breeze, meeting his azure eyes, completely ignoring the people surrounding him.
Sawara Kiri's expression was calm.
"We meet again."
"Kiri."
Uchiha Hikari's face held a warm, melting smile, completely unlike an enemy confrontation, but rather like lovers reuniting after a long separation.
The gentle expression, fused with the distorted sense of murderous intent emanating from her, caused a sense of incongruity in everyone present.
This woman was truly a madwoman, Uchiha Megumi thought.
Sawara Kiri stepped towards her, his tone growing calmer: "Not hiding in the shadows, but appearing before me?"
"You should understand what that means, right?"
"Of course."
Uchiha Hikari also stepped forward, forming a hand seal at her chest, her voice soft:
"If I were to lose due to some petty tricks, even you, Kiri, would probably be unwilling, right?"
"The language of Ninja, after all, is only blades and swords."
"So..."
The girl's gaze fixed on him, her eyes reflecting a deep and clear crimson, her voice finally rippling with a subtle, almost imperceptible madness, like ripples on a serene lake:
"If I win."
"Let's be together forever."
The moment her words fell, the earth trembled.
A colossal tree surged straight up from the forest behind Uchiha Hikari, rocketing towards the sky, extending hundreds of meters in a brief instant.
Countless cocoons, connected within the tree roots, anchored by Yachihoko, channeled the massive Chakra of tens of thousands of Ninja within them.
In addition, there were also the Two-Tails, Four-Tails, Five Tails, Seven-Tails, and many others at the forefront.
The surging Chakra caused the girl's body to be suddenly enveloped in a torrent of Chakra like a reverse waterfall, rushing straight towards the sky.
Engraved Tsukuyomi: Yachihoko
In an instant, the Crimson Moon poured down its light.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter | Every 500 powerstones = free membership | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr