With Yagura gone from Kirigakure, he would probably be the first to become Obito's target.
All Shuoye had to do was wait—crush Obito when the time came, and then take Yagura's place as a bonus.
"From today onward, Kirigakure will cease to exist. This land belongs to Konoha now!"
Shuoye's voice rolled like thunder across the ruined village.
Beside him, Uchiha Xuanjing, Naruto Uzumaki, and the others wore expressions of disbelief, as if they still couldn't accept what they had just lived through.
They had conquered two great villages—Kirigakure and Sunagakure.
It felt unreal. Like a dream that should have shattered the moment they blinked.
"Is… is this real?" Uchiha Xuanjing asked softly. His eyes were tangled with emotion—shock, exhilaration, and a sharp pride that came from witnessing history firsthand. Yet beneath it all was unease… and anticipation for what came next.
Far away in Amegakure, Obito sat in a dim room. When the news reached him—that Kirigakure's upper ranks had been nearly wiped out—his face went blank.
For a moment, his thoughts seemed hollowed out.
The shinobi world was changing too fast. Shuoye's methods were ruthless and clean, the kind that made your skin crawl.
"…The world is about to turn upside down," Obito murmured, his voice low as a whisper from the dark.
His gaze slid to Nagato at his side, and urgency tightened in his chest.
"We have to move," Obito said, brow drawn tight. "Make the whole world feel pain—starting with Konoha."
His words were a spark to dry tinder.
"I understand." Nagato nodded slightly, a cold smile pulling at his lips. "Let those self-important 'strong' people… see what real despair looks like."
Meanwhile, Shuoye stood atop a raised platform in Kirigakure, looking down at the dead-still village below.
The villagers' faces were blank with fear and confusion—like corpses still breathing, stumbling through the aftermath.
That suffocating pressure hung over everything, and Shuoye's thoughts turned inward.
How do I change this?
"Mei Terumī," he said, his voice softening as he looked back at the little girl beside him.
She was tense, like she'd been gathering courage for a long time.
"There are a lot of good people in the village," she said quickly, eyes pleading. "Can we… not kill them?"
Shuoye's chest tightened.
Warmth rose in him like a tide. He understood what she was really asking—save the innocent.
He gently patted her head.
"I promise you. The 'Bloody Mist' policies end today."
Then he said, calmly and decisively, "From now on, this is your village. Let Aoki Noya help you."
"…Me?"
Mei's eyes widened. Even Tsunade and the others looked stunned.
Handing Kirigakure to a child?
To them, it sounded like giving the village away.
Only Shikaku rubbed his chin, gaze thoughtful as he studied Shuoye.
Shuoye smiled and tapped Mei's head again.
"Well? Do you have the confidence to do it?"
A faint light flickered in Mei's eyes—like a flame re-lit in the dark.
She threw her arms around him and spoke with fierce seriousness.
"Brother Shuoye! I won't let you down!"
Shuoye felt the warmth of her embrace—and saw it didn't escape Aoki Noya's eyes.
Something shifted inside the Anbu.
No wonder Konoha could change so drastically… because this man exists.
Aoki Noya clenched his jaw, a sense of purpose rising for the first time in his life.
Rebuild Kirigakure. Make it peaceful. Let people live under the sun again.
Then Shuoye's tone turned flat, as if remembering something.
"Xuanjing. You stay too. Help Mei."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"There may still be some old fossils in the village who won't behave. If they don't listen—kill them."
"Yes, my lord."
Uchiha Xuanjing's expression tightened. He answered firmly, then vanished into the shadows.
Aoki Noya's heart lurched.
He understood the message.
This wasn't only instruction—it was a warning to him, and to all of Kirigakure.
Even if the "Bloody Mist" ended…
There would still be a blade hanging over their heads.
After that, Shuoye didn't linger. This trip had already dragged on long enough.
It was time to return to Konoha.
With the sealed Six-Tails in hand, he left the village.
The moment they were out, Tsunade finally couldn't hold it in.
"Shuoye—why hand Kirigakure to Mei? She's just a child!"
"And you're putting something that cruel on her shoulders!"
In Tsunade's eyes, even with Yagura gone, Kirigakure was still a wreck. It was the kind of place that would give even her a headache.
In that village, being attacked three times a day would count as "quiet."
"Tsunade-sama," Shikaku cut in before Shuoye could answer, "this time… you may have misunderstood Shuoye-sama. That seat is most suitable for Mei right now."
"…Huh?" Tsunade stared, confused.
Shuoye smiled, voice calm.
"Tsunade, what do you think the people of Kirigakure want right now?"
"A strong leader? Supplies? Jutsu?"
He shook his head.
"None of that."
He looked back toward Kirigakure, his tone turning faintly distant.
"What they want is a light… in the dark."
"And Mei Terumī is the brightest light they've got."
Kirigakure's isolation had birthed the Bloody Mist. Everyone lived in fear. When survival itself isn't guaranteed, every good dream becomes ash.
Shuoye wanted them to learn how to live like humans again—
Then they could talk about everything else.
The Land of Fire—bathed in sunlight—was now wrapped in a strange, delicate tension.
News spread like wildfire: Konoha's leadership had undergone an unprecedented upheaval.
The daimyō, ruler of the Land of Fire, sat in his gilded palace, fingers tapping the armrest. His eyes held a complicated mix of curiosity and unease.
In the end, he decided to go to Konoha personally.
When the daimyō's convoy rolled into the village, Konoha seemed to tremble.
Villagers whispered, watching with equal parts awe and curiosity.
Escorted by attendants, the daimyō entered Konoha's meeting hall, where the village leadership waited.
Fugaku Uchiha—clan head of the Uchiha, and Konoha's acting Hokage—received him with the others. Polite smiles were worn like masks, each of them thinking their own thoughts.
The daimyō didn't bother with pleasantries.
"I've heard Konoha has changed wildly," he said bluntly. "And you let some brat take control? Ridiculous."
Fugaku smiled, steady and composed.
"Daimyō-sama, you worry too much. Every change in Konoha has been made to better protect the Land of Fire."
He inclined his head slightly.
"Shuoye-sama is currently on a friendly visit. He'll return soon. When he does, we can discuss everything together."
The daimyō's heart sank.
He knew what "friendly visit" meant in a time like this. It was an excuse—and a warning.
He didn't call Fugaku out, but cold unease spread through him.
Shuoye… what exactly are you doing?
Far away, Shuoye stood in a deep forest, looking toward the horizon. His thoughts were already arranged.
"The timing's right," he murmured. "Time to go back."
He had predicted the daimyō would come.
And he had prepared a "show" for him.
He had deliberately made the daimyō wait in Konoha—to press him, to remind him who truly controlled the village now.
If the daimyō refused to wait…
That would mean defiance.
And Shuoye had ways to make a man "submit."
As days passed in Konoha, the daimyō's attendants began to complain.
They felt Shuoye's absence was an insult.
But the daimyō remained stubbornly determined.
He insisted on seeing Shuoye—insisted on hearing his explanation.
Just as his patience frayed to its limit, a guard stumbled in, pale with panic.
"Daimyō-sama! Uchiha Shuoye has returned!"
A sharp gleam flashed in the daimyō's eyes.
At last.
He rushed to the plaza, where Shuoye and the others had just arrived.
"Uchiha clan head!" the daimyō thundered, voice shaking the entire square. "Do you understand how much trouble you've caused?!"
The air seemed to freeze.
Shuoye stood there with a faint smile, disdain flickering in his eyes. The surrounding shinobi held their breath, waiting for the clash.
"Konoha exists because it relies on me!" the daimyō declared, words slicing through the silence.
Shuoye's smile only grew calmer, almost bored, as if the daimyō's authority meant nothing to him.
Then Shuoye spoke, cold and direct.
"You're right. Konoha survives by relying on itself."
His gaze turned knife-sharp.
"But I have no intention of relying on useless trash like you anymore."
A ripple of shock ran through the crowd.
Fugaku and the others felt their scalps tighten.
Is the daimyō… trying to die?
"Shuoye!" the daimyō snapped, forcing his voice harder. "No matter how strong you are, you can't compare to the First Hokage! Think carefully!"
Shuoye met his eyes without flinching.
"The First?" He gave a short, mocking laugh. "Ridiculous."
His tone turned absolute.
"I will surpass the First."
Nearby, Orochimaru happened to pass by and overheard it all.
A strange, amused smile curved at his lips as he looked the daimyō up and down.
The Land of Fire's ruler being spoken to like this by his own people…
How novel.
The tension sharpened, like a blade suspended overhead.
The daimyō's face darkened further. Anger churned in him, but it had nowhere to go.
Finally, his voice wavered.
"…What do you want?"
Shuoye smiled, eyes bright with quiet cunning, as if he'd already measured the man's soul.
"What I want isn't only Konoha's future."
His voice stayed even.
"I want the end of your era—the old powers."
The plaza trembled with the weight of it.
Fugaku made a decision in that moment.
If they didn't move first, Konoha would face a worse crisis later.
He stepped forward, standing beside Shuoye, voice firm.
"Daimyō… perhaps it's time we decide for ourselves."
Every gaze in the square snapped to them.
The daimyō's face went rigid.
"What are you trying to do?!"
His voice shook as he tried to grasp at the last threads of control.
Shuoye's eyes held nothing but scorn.
"It's simple."
"You old relics should've retired a long time ago."
"You… you're rebelling?!" the daimyō hissed, staring at Shuoye and Fugaku as if he wanted to burn them alive with his eyes.
Shuoye clicked his tongue, unimpressed.
"Oh? Is that what you think?"
He lifted his hand and gave a light clap.
"Then die."
His right hand rose.
Whoosh—
A white arc cut through the air and struck true.
A thin line of blood appeared across the daimyō's throat—not deep.
But it was enough.
The daimyō collapsed, legs giving out beneath him, terror wiping his anger clean.
He hadn't believed Shuoye would actually strike.
Now he understood.
Shuoye had meant it.
A bead of cold sweat slid down Fugaku's temple. For an instant, it felt like his heart stopped.
Shuoye looked down at the daimyō, voice calm and cruel.
"So that's all you are."
Like he was discussing dinner.
"You… you…!"
The daimyō raised a trembling finger, pointing at Shuoye and Fugaku. Rage flickered—then turned into shock, and then into fear.
A chill crawled up his spine.
In his mind, images of ruined corpses surfaced—
And his face drained white.
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