In that moment, Shuoye Uchiha looked like a god of war on the battlefield—holding back three Kage-class opponents by himself, and doing it with room to spare.
As the power inside him fully detonated, heaven and earth seemed to tremble. Chakra surged skyward like a volcanic eruption, swallowing everything nearby in a blinding radiance.
The sheer force made every onlooker go pale. Even veteran shinobi couldn't hide their shock.
The three caught in that blast—the Third Mizukage, the Kazekage, and the massive One-Tail—were all hurled away like kites with their strings cut, tumbling through the air.
Shukaku's enormous eyes flashed with fear, as if some buried memory had been dragged back up—of being beaten down by a monster from Konoha, of that crushing helplessness.
As for the Kazekage and the Third Mizukage…
Their minds were collapsing.
What is this—cheats?
"Run!"
No hesitation. They tried to break away at once.
But Shuoye had no intention of stopping there.
He understood this kind of enemy couldn't be allowed a second chance.
His hands flew through seals. In the next breath, a towering Susanoo rose behind him—like a war god descending, pressure so heavy it made people struggle to breathe.
At the same time, his left eye gleamed crimson with the power of the Sharingan, while his right hand gathered searing flame—Ryūjin Jakka. Together, they carried the kind of threat that could end worlds.
"Stop struggling."
Shuoye's voice was low, steady, absolute.
Under that chakra pressure, the Kazekage, the Third Mizukage, and the mysterious shinobi all staggered back in a mess, their hearts a knot of bitterness.
Once, they stood above others.
Now they felt powerless beneath the weight of a single少年.
"Damn it… if I'd known, I never would've stepped into this mess!"
The Third Mizukage's face had gone pale as well, regret flooding him.
He knew if he kept forcing it, he'd be walking straight into death.
His eyes hardened for a heartbeat as he glanced at his companions, as if passing along a last, unwilling resolve.
Shuoye didn't give them room to bargain.
His Susanoo moved as if it had a will of its own—slow, inevitable, carrying unstoppable force as it dipped forward and pressed down on them.
The temperature seemed to drop. Even the light felt dull, as if the world had lost its shine under his presence.
Between heaven and earth, only that suffocating chill remained.
Just as the three hit the edge of despair, Shuoye's gaze shifted—he'd sensed something.
A black shadow flickered at the battlefield's edge.
Obito withdrew, silent as smoke.
"Hmph. Coward, just like I thought."
A mocking curve touched Shuoye's mouth.
"Once I've got time, I'll deal with you next."
Members of the Hyūga clan who witnessed it exchanged glances.
They knew the Sharingan's power well—but Shuoye's eyes felt… different. Like they weren't even the same "version" as the Uchiha they understood.
It left them stunned—and uncomfortably frustrated.
Somewhere deep down, they almost wished Shuoye had awakened the Byakugan instead of the Sharingan.
"You still have one last choice."
Shuoye spoke again, colder than before.
His Susanoo was close now—so close the three could almost hear their own hearts shaking.
Pressure crashed down like a collapsing mountain and a roaring sea, stealing breath from their lungs.
"Either die… or stay in Konoha as guests for a few days."
His gaze was ice—unyielding, unquestionable.
"You…"
The three looked at each other.
They understood. This was the line between life and death.
In the end, they could only force out bitter smiles and choose to "visit."
And so—
The Kazekage, the One-Tail, and the Third Mizukage… all taken prisoner.
Back at the main camps of Sunagakure and Kirigakure, the atmosphere snapped into panic, as if fear itself had soaked into the air.
The news spread like wildfire. Every shinobi who heard it froze, eyes wide with disbelief.
"What?! Our leaders… were captured alive by Konoha?!"
Sunagakure's forces stared at each other, stunned beyond words.
They'd marched in confident, ready to carve a piece off Konoha.
Instead, not only had they failed—they'd lost their own leader.
Kirigakure wasn't any better. The moment the report arrived, the entire camp erupted.
The Third Mizukage—someone many of them treated like a god—had fallen into Konoha's hands.
It was a direct удар to their faith.
And the shock didn't stop with them. The news grew wings and swept across the shinobi world.
When Ōnoki and the Cloud's senior leadership heard, their hearts lurched.
They had expected the balance of the Five Great Nations to crack under war—
They hadn't expected Konoha to flip the board like this.
"Konoha… what the hell is this?"
Ōnoki clenched his fist so hard his knuckles went white.
He knew this wasn't just a blow to Sunagakure and Kirigakure.
It was Konoha reshaping the entire map.
The Cloud shinobi argued in disbelief as well.
"Stopping the invasion is one thing, but capturing the Kazekage and the Mizukage alive? This script has gone completely off the rails."
Emergency meetings were called across the major villages.
They all understood: if Konoha kept growing like this, the future shinobi world would be dragged under its shadow.
A crisis unlike anything before spread through them—pushing them toward a single thought.
Suppress Konoha. Together.
"We have to act!" a hardline Cloud leader barked. "Konoha's strength is beyond what we imagined. If we don't join hands now, we'll be picked off one by one!"
"Agreed," Ōnoki said grimly. "We send signals to the other villages. Only united can we withstand Konoha's threat."
In Konoha, along a quiet path, the Kazekage and the Third Mizukage walked side by side.
Their steps were slow, but their thoughts were chaos.
They exchanged glances now and then—no words needed. Their shock at Konoha's transformation was written plainly on their faces.
"Konoha… actually reached this point," the Kazekage muttered, voice thick with disbelief.
He looked around. The village was orderly. Shinobi moved with purpose. Nothing like the old internal tension and mess.
And he knew exactly where that change came from.
Shuoye.
"Yes," the Third Mizukage said, voice low. "To convince those selfish major clans to cooperate… that's almost impossible."
He knew better than anyone how ugly clan interests could get. To force them to set aside greed for the village's future? The difficulty was obvious.
They continued forward, both quietly realizing the same thing:
This Konoha… would soon become something the entire shinobi world couldn't ignore.
And that fear wasn't baseless. As Konoha grew stronger, everyone else's room to breathe would shrink.
Just then, a soft sobbing pulled their attention.
A villager knelt on the ground, crying for a lost family member—grief raw enough to make even enemies fall silent.
Shuoye happened to pass by.
He stopped, eyes deep as he looked at the grieving villager, something heavy stirring in his chest.
Then a mechanical voice rang out in his mind.
[System Notification]
A new mission has been triggered!
Your companions mourn for heroic spirits!
Konoha's heroic spirits need a place to rest.
Create a monument for those who died in battle.
Reward: Konoha's village cohesion increases to 90%, and will be locked as the minimum baseline (previously 30%).
Accept?
"Accept."
Shuoye didn't hesitate.
He was going to do something for Konoha's fallen—give them the peace and respect they deserved.
He drew a slow breath, then spoke with weight:
"From today onward, Konoha will establish a Monument of Heroic Spirits."
"Anyone who dies on the battlefield for Konoha will have their name carved on the monument at the back mountain."
"Each generation's Hokage will personally carve their name and merits."
The entire village shook.
Villagers paused mid-task, staring at Shuoye in shock—and then, slowly, with hope.
This new rule hit Konoha like a wave.
Those who had bled and died for the village were finally given recognition.
And those still fighting for Konoha felt their resolve harden, because they knew—
Their sacrifice would not vanish into darkness.
[System Notification]
Congratulations! You have exceeded the mission requirements!
Reward: When outsiders invade, there is a chance to awaken fallen Konoha heroic spirits to fight!
A probability-based Edo Tensei…?
Even Shuoye's eyes flashed with surprise.
Future enemies invade—then the "draw" brings out multiple Hokage fighting side by side?
Just imagining it made his blood stir.
The Kazekage and the Third Mizukage, upon hearing Konoha would build a monument for the fallen, were left stunned—then speechless.
To them, shinobi were born into darkness and died in darkness. No one had ever thought of leaving something behind for those silent defenders of peace.
Shuoye's act was a direct удар against old traditions—showing a kind of boldness and vision far beyond ordinary leaders.
"Konoha… actually has that kind of heart. And that kind of resources."
The Raikage murmured elsewhere, eyes filled with complicated emotion.
A monument might look small, but its meaning was enormous.
It honored the dead—and it warned and inspired the living.
The Mizukage's brow stayed tight, calculating what this meant.
Konoha's reforms had already strengthened it.
This would bind it together even more.
The major clans, upon learning the new rule, voiced support one after another.
For the civilian-born shinobi families, it was overwhelming.
They had once been treated like "tools."
Now they were finally being acknowledged as people—given dignity, given belonging.
Hidden in the shadows, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched everything unfold and let out a quiet sigh.
"Shuoye… what are you trying to build?"
He couldn't help thinking he and Danzō Shimura had been too cautious, too short-sighted.
If they had changed the shinobi's status and fate at the root, maybe Konoha would've reached this brilliance long ago.
Fugaku Uchiha was shaken as well—then impressed.
He quickly realized a monument would cost a fortune, and asked Shuoye how he planned to fund it.
"Funding?" Shuoye smiled, then tilted his chin toward the captured Kazekage and Mizukage.
The meaning couldn't have been clearer.
Let their villages pay ransom.
"Good point." Fugaku's eyes widened in realization.
One move solved the money problem—and also prevented Sunagakure and Kirigakure from using the situation to pry into Konoha's secrets.
Two birds. One stone.
Nara Shikaku listened nearby. He still had worries, but Shuoye's calm confidence eased them.
Even so, when Shikaku caught the hidden meaning in Shuoye's eyes, cold sweat slid down his back.
He understood: Shuoye never planned to release them easily.
Imprison but don't kill—this would stir even larger ripples and unrest.
The Kazekage and the Third Mizukage, meanwhile, wore faces dark as stormclouds, fury churning inside them.
They never imagined it would come to this—
A village leader reduced to such treatment.
What crushed them even more was Shuoye's next arrangement:
Interrogate them for jutsu.
One jutsu for one meal.
It was humiliation.
"At least two meals," the Kazekage said, meeting the Third Mizukage's eyes. "We demand proper treatment for prisoners of war."
The Third Mizukage nodded, voice heavy.
They were smart men. They didn't bother with pointless "I'd rather die" drama.
They had chosen not to die earlier, which meant they were willing to survive by any means.
And to them, a few jutsu weren't worth starving over.
Sunagakure and Kirigakure did have many unique techniques—valuable assets for Konoha.
Shuoye wasn't going to waste that opportunity.
As for Madara and Obito…
Shuoye already had his plan.
He smiled coldly to himself.
Anyone who dared challenge Konoha's authority would pay for it.
Nara Shikaku stood to the side, gaze deep as if he could see years ahead.
Hearing Shuoye's words, a silent tremor rolled through him.
"Shuoye… this game you're playing is far too big."
He tugged lightly at Fugaku's sleeve. Their eyes met.
No words needed—both understood the shock and weight behind it.
Fugaku thought to himself:
Is Shuoye laying groundwork… for unifying the entire shinobi world?
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