"Konoha's people? Don't tell me it's Shuoye…"
Chiyo's eyes narrowed. Doubt flickered through her mind—then, in the next breath, a plan formed.
He really dared to enter the Land of Wind alone?
To her, it looked like Shuoye had walked straight into a net.
She steadied her thoughts, already preparing to use this chance to capture him in one stroke—and pry open every secret he carried.
Not long after, Shuoye Uchiha stepped into her sight.
Their gazes met.
The air tightened.
Chiyo held the posture of a Kazekage as she spoke with him, but behind that calm mask, her orders were already moving—Sunagakure shinobi closing in quietly from every direction.
"Damn it… we're still a step late!"
Tsunade, Uchiha Xuanjing, and Nara Lujiu had only just arrived. They watched from the side, anxiety rising with every second.
They knew Shuoye was sharp—too sharp to fall for cheap tricks.
Still… he was young, and Chiyo had lived through wars.
If things went wrong, they were ready to throw themselves in front of him.
Yet Shuoye didn't look pressed at all.
He strolled forward at an unhurried pace, as if he hadn't noticed the danger tightening around his throat.
Tsunade and the others burned with urgency, but there was no opening to interrupt.
When the encirclement finally sealed, Chiyo's mouth curled into a cold smile.
At last, she bared her fangs.
"Shuoye. Whatever you came here for… it seems you're prepared to stay a few extra days."
Her tone carried the satisfaction of someone who believed the board was already won.
Tsunade's heart sank. They all understood what Chiyo wanted—she meant to dissect Shuoye's secrets.
That could never be allowed.
They tensed, ready to break him out at any cost.
And then—right at the brink—Shuoye answered with a question of his own.
"Oh?" he said. "Then… are you ready?"
Before her smile could settle, Shuoye's left hand clenched.
A terrifying tide of chakra surged around him.
He slammed his foot into the ground.
"Quake-Quake Fruit: Grand Quake Burst!"
The desert shuddered.
The earth howled.
A shockwave erupted from Shuoye like a ring of judgment, swallowing the surrounding Sunagakure shinobi whole.
Those hidden beneath the sand didn't even get the chance to react—one blink, and they were gone, scattered into dust.
Silence.
No one could speak.
They had never seen power unleashed like that—never imagined anyone could erase an ambush so casually.
"Damn it…"
Chiyo's face drained white.
Her carefully laid trap had been cracked open like thin ice.
Chiyo was a legend of Sunagakure. Her puppet techniques had reached a level few could even comprehend—control, defense, coordination, all perfected through decades of blood and war.
But facing Shuoye's display just now, even she felt danger crawling up her spine.
Around them, Sunagakure's forces gathered in overwhelming numbers—layers upon layers of shinobi, each holding their role: ranged pressure, interception, close-range kill squads.
A sea of "elite."
To Shuoye, it looked like bubbles waiting to pop.
A thin smile touched his lips.
He had allowed the encirclement on purpose—because this was the fastest way to break it.
Pick them off one by one, and the chaos spreads.
Crush them in one blow, and the fear spreads.
Shuoye moved.
His figure cut through the crowd like a hunting beast—clean, fast, precise.
Where he passed, shinobi fell.
None of them could trade even a single clean exchange with him.
Chiyo's stomach turned.
She knew she was strong—but against Shuoye, the gap was still brutal.
"Puppet Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"
She forced herself forward.
The battlefield answered with snapping strings and whirling blades.
But Shuoye didn't give her a breath.
He leapt—and a colossal presence rose behind him.
"SUSANOO!"
The giant's shadow fell like a mountain.
In the next moment, Chiyo's puppets were smashed apart—wood and metal bursting into fragments under that overwhelming force.
Chiyo's eyes widened in panic.
She threw everything she had into her puppets, pushing her technique to the limit, trying to withstand the pressure.
It didn't matter.
In front of Susanoo, her famed puppet art looked fragile—unable to leave even a meaningful scratch.
"My god… how do you fight that?!"
"That's not a man—that's the power of a god!"
Sunagakure shinobi cried out in disbelief, voices cracking.
They had never faced an enemy like this—never imagined their Kazekage would be driven into such a corner.
"Lady Chiyo! Take the villagers and retreat!"
"We'll hold that devil back!"
Fear and despair spread through them—yet not one of them chose to run.
They knew what it meant if Chiyo fell.
So they threw their lives into the gap, trying to buy her a single thread of survival.
It changed nothing.
Each swing of Susanoo's blade took bodies with it.
The battlefield became a slaughterhouse.
"I can't keep this up…"
Chiyo understood. She had reached the cliff's edge.
Watching shinobi die for her, guilt and rage tangled into something bitter enough to choke.
But she couldn't die here.
"Puppet—Substitution!"
With the last of her strength, she found a narrow seam—created a decoy with her puppetry, and slipped away in the chaos.
Shuoye watched it happen.
He didn't chase.
A calm smile returned to his face, almost bored.
You can run, but your village can't.
His eyes swept across Sunagakure—cold light sharpening in his gaze.
"Burn it down—Sunagakure. You're the first."
His voice rolled across the desert like a decree.
"Konoha's name was never begged for."
"It was carved out with blood."
Far away, Chiyo stared back toward the billowing smoke and the violent tremors shaking her village.
Her emotions twisted into a mess she couldn't sort.
She knew this battle hadn't just wounded Sunagakure's strength.
It had shattered the faith holding its people together.
Her jaw clenched until it hurt.
Regret. Hatred. Fear.
All of it pointed in the same direction.
"Konoha… Shuoye…"
"This isn't over."
Her eyes burned with stubborn defiance as she looked at the shinobi around her—faces hollow, eyes deadened by what they'd seen.
Chiyo's heart sank.
After tonight, Sunagakure's spirit might never gather again.
On the ruins, Shuoye stood with Tsunade and the others.
A familiar chime sounded at his ear.
[System Notification]
Option 1:
Walk the Path of Dominance. Press the victory and conquer Kirigakure and Kumogakure.
Reward: Divine Gift Pack ×1
Option 2:
Walk the Path of Kings. Return to Konoha, announce to the entire shinobi world, and negotiate with the other villages.
Reward: Unknown Gift Pack ×5
Shuoye's eyes deepened as he weighed the options—cold, fast, calculating.
Then his lips curved into a faint, merciless smile.
He chose the first path.
The Path of Dominance.
Tsunade and the others stared at him, stunned.
They had just fought Sunagakure—now he wanted to turn the flames toward Kirigakure immediately?
"Shuoye," Tsunade said, trying to pull him back, though even she sounded resigned. "Are you sure? We just crushed Sunagakure, and now you want to hit Kirigakure? And the Third Mizukage is still in our village…"
Shuoye's gaze didn't waver.
He looked toward the distance, already decided.
"Tsunade-sama, Kirigakure is weak right now. That's exactly why we strike."
He took a step forward.
"They need to be reminded—Konoha isn't something they can bully whenever they feel like it."
With that, Shuoye moved first, heading toward Kirigakure.
Tsunade and the others exchanged uneasy looks—then followed, unable to leave that back turned to the storm.
Inside Kirigakure, the air was heavy and suffocating.
"That madman Shuoye!" Yagura raged as he prepared retaliation. "He dares to trample our Mizukage's dignity—he's asking to die!"
But in the middle of his fury, a chill ran down his spine for no reason at all.
"What is this…?"
A bad feeling crawled up from the dark.
He immediately ordered tighter defenses and sent scouts toward the direction of Sunagakure.
Not long after, the scouts returned with news that struck like a hammer.
Sunagakure… had been destroyed.
Yagura stood there, blank.
The thought crashed through his mind again and again, like a bell that wouldn't stop ringing.
Sunagakure… is gone?
What kind of joke is this?
At the edge of Kirigakure's territory, Shuoye and his group paused.
A deep forest stretched ahead, damp air clinging to the skin. Light filtered through the canopy in broken patterns, as if warning of rain to come.
Then Shuoye's attention caught on a small figure.
A little girl—five or six at most.
She was so thin she looked like the wind could knock her over.
She sat beneath an old banyan tree, eyes wide and bright, fear trembling inside them.
"Who is she?" Tsunade asked.
She crouched down, offering a gentle smile and reaching out with a warmth that felt almost maternal.
"Hey… tell big sister your name."
"I… I'm Mei Terumī."
Her voice was soft, shaking—yet Tsunade's kindness seemed to steady her. She clung to Tsunade's hand, hiding close, eyes full of cautious trust.
Shuoye's heart jolted.
Mei Terumī…? The future Fifth Mizukage?
Before he could think further, the system chimed again.
Option 1:
Treat Mei Terumī with kindness and protect her.
Reward: Mei Terumī's trust reaches 100% — she will never betray you.
Option 2:
Take her back to Konoha by force.
Reward: Secret Technique — "Severing Rain"
Option 3:
Kill Mei Terumī.
Reward: All young girls will fear you absolutely.
Shuoye's expression tightened. Option 2 and 3 were both vile in their own way.
He chose the first.
There was no hesitation.
Mei Terumī looked up at him, cautious.
"Y-you… who are you?"
Even at her age, she seemed to sense he was different.
Not just strong—steady.
Like sunlight breaking through heavy clouds.
Shuoye's voice softened.
"I'm Shuoye Uchiha."
For once, the terrifying pressure he carried on battlefields wasn't there.
What remained was something quieter—like a guardian standing between her and the dark.
Uchiha Xuanjing and the others watched, conflicted.
They had seen Shuoye's brutality.
This gentleness still surprised them.
"Stop right there!"
Sharp shouts tore through the damp stillness.
Several Kirigakure Anbu stepped out, silent as wolves, killing intent leaking from their eyes as they closed in.
Tsunade immediately pulled Mei Terumī behind her, stance firm.
Shuoye only smiled faintly.
"It's fine."
The leader—an Anbu called Biwa Ghostblade—locked onto Mei Terumī behind Shuoye's group and barked, voice hard as steel.
"Hand her over. You might live."
Mei Terumī gripped Shuoye's hand tighter, fear flashing—then stubbornness.
Shuoye gently patted her head.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here."
She swallowed, forcing out the truth in a small, trembling voice.
"They… they want to take me back for the Blood Mist graduation ceremony. But I… I don't want to become that kind of shinobi."
Biwa Ghostblade's face twisted.
"So you want to be a missing-nin? Do you understand the consequences?"
Threat and fury pressed down—like a blade hovering at her throat.
At that moment, one of the Anbu—Aokino, a sharper-eyed member—noticed something and went cold.
The way Uchiha Xuanjing carried himself.
The faint, unmistakable pressure around Shuoye.
And Tsunade's presence—too heavy to be ordinary.
Aokino tugged Biwa Ghostblade's sleeve.
Biwa Ghostblade ignored him, still boiling with rage.
Aokino swallowed, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Idiot," he hissed, voice shaking as he leaned in. "Open your eyes. Look at who they are."
He whispered the truth into Biwa Ghostblade's ear.
Biwa Ghostblade's face drained pale.
The kunai in his hand froze midair.
…You've got to be kidding.
I ran into that Uchiha demon… right outside Kirigakure?
Me?
Fight Shuoye Uchiha?
Don't make me laugh.
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