"Eh?!"
Yuzuru Uchiha's train of thought left Hikari Uchiha stunned for a moment.
Dig up their ancestral graves?
What kind of solution was that?
"Right, I forgot. People here might not care much about that sort of thing..."
Yuzuru muttered to himself before asking, "Hikari, what would it take for you to let go of the hatred in your heart?"
"How about I personally accompany you and cause some trouble?"
After hearing his words, Hikari finally snapped out of it, unable to hide her surprise.
Yuzuru was the current ruler of the Divine Kingdom. He knew her true identity and understood the extent of her power.
And she had never tried to hide her desire to take revenge on the shinobi world.
Logically speaking, the most natural course of action for him should have been to eliminate her as a threat.
Yet now, the ruler of the Divine Kingdom before her was showing her inexplicable kindness.
For a moment, Hikari could not tell what he was truly thinking.
"You find it strange that I'm showing you this much goodwill, don't you?"
Seeing the confusion on Hikari's face, Yuzuru took the initiative to ask.
Hikari nodded slowly. "I heard that you are incredibly powerful. No one in the shinobi world is your match."
"And now, you have established the Divine Kingdom. Everyone is under your rule."
"My power should not be of any value to you anymore."
Yuzuru smiled and explained, "No. Your power is the key to protecting the future of the shinobi world. That is why I called you the Light of Hope."
"Light... of Hope?"
Hearing those words from him once again, Hikari frowned slightly.
"What does that mean?"
"Hikari, the chakra system of the shinobi world originates from a race known as the Ōtsutsuki."
"They came from the depths of space. Their goal is to evolve into gods by continuously devouring the life energy of planets."
Yuzuru carefully explained everything related to the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
"So, in order for the shinobi world to gain the strength needed to stand against the Ōtsutsuki Clan, your power is indispensable."
"Hikari, you are the final piece of the shinobi world's counterattack plan!"
After hearing Yuzuru's explanation, Hikari remained silent for a long time.
She had never known that the shinobi world possessed so many hidden secrets.
There was actually such a powerful race beyond their world.
Seeing that Hikari had fallen silent, Yuzuru spoke in a serious tone.
"Hikari, you can come back to Konoha with me first and see for yourself. The shinobi world truly is different from how it used to be."
"In this peaceful era, everyone can live a happy and stable life."
"Isn't that what you and your parents would have wanted to see as well?"
At last, under Yuzuru's persuasion, Hikari slowly nodded.
"I'll go back with you. I hope you are not lying to me."
"Don't worry. I'm not low enough to deceive a little girl like you."
"Don't underestimate me. I'm old enough to be your ancestor."
"..."
Yuzuru brought Hikari back to Konoha, but he did not immediately ask her to use her abilities to help him.
Instead, he arranged a place for her to stay and allowed her to experience life there on her own for a while.
Just one week later, Hikari came looking for him of her own accord.
"I am willing to cooperate with your plan."
"Oh?" Yuzuru asked with a smile. "You figured it out that quickly? I thought you would need much longer to think about it."
Hikari gave a soft snort and replied calmly, "Because everyone really is kind. They are all very friendly."
"And the food sold in the roadside shops is especially delicious..."
"Television, computers, games, karaoke... everything is interesting."
"I think that if my parents were still alive, they would want me to live here and protect this world too."
"And... everyone speaks highly of you as their Emperor, so I am willing to help you."
After hearing her explanation, Yuzuru nodded with a cheerful smile.
"That's more like it, Hikari."
"From now on, stay with me. We'll protect this shinobi world together."
Hikari frowned in displeasure and avoided his hand as he reached out to pat her head.
"But let me make this clear first. If I find out that you have been lying to me, I will never let you off."
"Relax, relax."
Yuzuru brought Hikari to Orochimaru's research facility.
He had informed Orochimaru of Hikari's return to Konoha as soon as he brought her back.
As a result, Orochimaru had long since prepared the testing area and experimental materials.
Under the watchful eyes of Orochimaru and Amado Sanzu, Hikari's pitch-black eyes transformed into scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan.
An overwhelmingly terrifying surge of Dōjutsu Power spread from her body, surprising everyone present.
Hikari's Dōjutsu Power was truly extraordinary.
Under everyone's gaze, Hikari used Engraving Tsukuyomi on the clones in front of her.
Before long, ten clones had markings on the backs of their hands, each one identical to the pattern of Hikari's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Yachihoko!"
With a thought from Hikari, the chakra of all ten clones was immediately extracted and transferred into the Ten-Tails clone beside them.
[BEEP BEEP BEEP...]
The chakra detection equipment at the side emitted a sharp buzzing alarm. At the same time, delight appeared on Orochimaru and Amado's faces.
"The detector is reacting. Our experiment succeeded!"
"Based on the average chakra reserves of a Kage-level shinobi, the Ten-Tails clone now possesses chakra equivalent to one hundred Kage-level shinobi!"
Seeing the curve displayed on the chakra detector, everyone became excited.
Next, they only needed to mass-produce clones with exceptionally high chakra reserves, along with Ten-Tails clones, and they would be able to create Ten-Tails successfully.
"Yuzuru, Amado and I will head to the laboratory now. We will develop clones with even greater chakra reserves as quickly as possible."
After saying that, Orochimaru hurried away.
Yuzuru then turned his attention to Hikari and said seriously, "Hikari, this is all thanks to you. The shinobi world can be saved now!"
Feeling his burning gaze, Hikari looked away and replied indifferently, "You do not need to make such a big deal out of it. I only did it for myself."
"Yeah, yeah, of course."
Yuzuru did not argue. Instead, a trace of bold ambition appeared in his eyes.
With this, he could mass-produce Ten-Tails.
More importantly, the Ten-Tails created through cloning and chakra gathering and transfer had no real consciousness. Naturally, there was no risk of rebellion or losing control.
Therefore, the requirements for the shinobi sealing them should not be too demanding.
Perhaps it would not be long before the era of Six Paths shinobi walking everywhere would arrive.