"Hey, kid, you can't just say nonsense like that. How could I, a woman, possibly be your father?"
Nonoyu said in surprise.
But as soon as the words left her lips, her brow furrowed. She carefully studied the two sisters in front of her, sinking into thought.
"That's Father's eyes. We could never mistake them…" Hanabi said earnestly.
"Ugh—"
Hinata stared fixedly at Nonoyu's eyes, bursting into tears.
Nonoyu let out a quiet sigh and whispered, "Stay close to me in a moment."
She remembered when she had taken Hiashi's eyes. At the time, he had entrusted her with a request: that she take those eyes back to Konoha to see his daughters.
Now, in a twisted way, that wish had been fulfilled.
Perhaps this was the true sorrow of being a shinobi—sometimes it was nothing more than a difference in sides.
No one was truly right or wrong. But when you stood on opposing sides, one was destined to fall.
At this moment, Hanabi, Hinata, Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Kiba, Shino, and Sakura all became part of the Uchiha's ranks.
To Nonoyu, it felt almost like she had returned to her orphanage days, leading children again.
Her mood improved immediately—after all, her favorite thing had always been being with children.
Although Uchiha Yu had tasked Sasuke with managing Shikamaru and the others, when it came to looking after kids, that naturally fell under Nonoyu's expertise.
"I want to join you as well…" Yakumo Kurama suddenly rose from her seat by the easel.
It was only then that the others realized this quiet girl, who seemed so out of place in the current atmosphere, had been there all along, her presence almost imperceptible.
Yakumo stepped forward, bowed politely before Uchiha Yu, her manners graceful and composed.
Uchiha Yu gave her a once-over. He had noticed her from the beginning, but until now, he hadn't found her worth his attention.
Yakumo had a quiet, subdued air about her—the sort of girl who could sit in a corner unnoticed.
Suddenly, a thought came to Uchiha Yu. Kurenai had once—perhaps in the past, or maybe in the future—served as this girl's tutor, and there had been a whole original storyline surrounding her.
This girl was said to be the most talented prodigy of her bloodline—a genius in genjutsu with great potential. She was certainly worth cultivating.
The Uchiha around them glanced toward Uchiha Yu. Looking at the group of young boys and girls now among them, they realized they hadn't expected to gain so much manpower from their return to Konoha.
But Nonoyu and the others noticed something unsettling: Uchiha Yu suddenly activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
That was never a good sign.
When Yakumo raised her head and met Uchiha Yu's gaze, the reflection of his Mangekyō pattern flashed in her pupils. Her body froze, stiff and unresponsive.
She hadn't expected him to suddenly use his Sharingan on her.
Uchiha Yu focused his mind. As he opened his eyes again, the surroundings collapsed, shattering like broken glass.
The world shifted—becoming a dim, shadowy studio filled with the smell of paint.
In front of the easel sat a monster dressed in the same pale pink kimono as Yakumo Kurama.
Sensing the intrusion, the creature slowly turned its head.
It revealed a grotesque face with two horns sprouting from its forehead. Its mouth bristled with sharp fangs, like a demon lurking straight out of hell.
Uchiha Yu had entered Yakumo's spiritual world. The monster before him was the embodiment of her inner darkness—her heart demon.
It was born of Yakumo's shadowed thoughts and her innate power to manipulate the five senses.
Its presence had led Yakumo to burn down her own home, killing her parents in the process.
It possessed overwhelming powers of temptation and mental control, capable of turning illusions into reality—and even manipulating others' minds as if they were puppets.
Uchiha Yu quickly deduced that Yakumo's desire to approach him had been orchestrated by this very creature.
"You… how do you know I exist?"
The demon asked in disbelief.
It stared blankly at Uchiha Yu, setting down its paintbrush, its body trembling awkwardly.
Uchiha Yu met its gaze coldly, Mangekyō blazing crimson. With a single stride, he seized the demon by the throat, lifting it and slamming it hard against the pitch-black wall.
"Kh…khh—"
The demon's long, dark hands clawed desperately at Uchiha Yu's arm. Even as it struggled, it sneered:
"I didn't expect you to discover me so soon. But this is my mental domain—my territory. You'll become my puppet! Let me control everything about you!"
The words had barely left its mouth when—
Boom!
The shadowy studio shattered apart, replaced by a barren, desolate gray world.
The demon frantically looked around.
To its horror, it realized it could no longer change its surroundings through willpower.
Its body weakened rapidly, its strength draining away. Its hands slackened, powerless, until they fell limp.
"No… when did you drag me into your mental world?" it cried out in terror.
"…"
Uchiha Yu lifted it higher, his fingers tightening. In the next instant, immense spiritual pressure poured into the demon from every pore, crushing it as though it were sinking into the deepest abyss of the ocean.
Bang!
A deafening impact resounded.
The demon shattered into fragments.
To Uchiha Yu's surprise, the remnants of the demon's spiritual power were being devoured and absorbed by his own mental world.
His own spiritual strength was replenished, a soothing sensation spreading throughout his body.
Uchiha Yu slowly opened his eyes.
Kurama Yakumo knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly, clutching her head in complete collapse.
With the demon's death, the precise memories of how she had caused her parents' deaths returned vividly.
Everyone else was puzzled by her breakdown.
"Take her with us."
Uchiha Yu glanced briefly at Kurama Yakumo, leaving behind those words. Then, manipulating his external Susanoo, he stretched out its right arm, palm open, toward the high inner walls.
Uchiha Yu leapt first onto the hand of the Susanoo, walking toward the "cockpit" inside its war helm.
He still had important matters to attend to.
Izumi supported Kurama Yakumo, while Nonoyu led the other boys and girls. Together with the Uchiha, they all jumped onto the Susanoo, tightly following Uchiha Yu.
Back inside the orange-red gemstone, Uchiha Yu cast a sideways glance at Shennong, who still stood frozen in place. Without hesitation, he directed the fully formed Susanoo toward the Root Organization's base.
Rumble—
The orange-red Complete Body Susanoo moved like a mountain come alive, shaking the ground violently with every step.
Streets caved in.
Dust rolled into the sky.
Inside the shelters, whether they were shinobi of the remaining three great villages or the civilians of Konoha, all who gazed upon the Susanoo's massive back felt nothing but awe and fear toward its absolute power.
Uchiha Yu stood tall with arms folded, overlooking the village of Konoha below.
Buildings, shinobi, streets—everything beneath his gaze seemed small and insignificant.
At that moment, a flock of birds spread their wings, flying past the right side of the Susanoo's "cockpit."
The dark clouds broke apart, sunlight spilling through in golden beams.
Except for Shikamaru, the rest of Konoha's young comrades felt restless and anxious, unable to appreciate the view that could only be seen from atop the Susanoo.
"Freedom…"
Shikamaru muttered as he looked around at the faint clouds nearby, the thought suddenly rising in his heart.
The Complete Body Susanoo, like a god, closed in on the Root's base, which had now become the frontlines of battle.
Uchiha Yu swept his gaze across the village of Konoha.
The basin was surrounded by verdant mountains and rivers, its streets lined with flourishing, vibrant greenery.
Even after enduring the baptism of war, this village remained the most prosperous and fertile land in the entire shinobi world.
He turned back toward the Uchiha ranks behind him, his eyes falling on Izumi, Minami, Tamao, Mikoto, and the others.
"If we were to claim this place as our territory," he asked, "would you be willing to accept it?"
Hearing this, Izumi's large, watery eyes widened in disbelief.
"Y-you mean… as our territory?"
Whoosh—
The Uchiha ranks immediately erupted into commotion.
The question detonated like a bomb in their minds, sending ripples through their hearts.
Mikoto stared blankly at Uchiha Yu's back.
She glanced toward Shinno, who stood behind their group, and asked softly:
"Wasn't the plan to find this man first, so we could locate a land suitable for us…"
The question had come far too suddenly.
The Uchiha, along with everyone else—especially Kushina, Rin, and Shikamaru—were caught off guard.
Uchiha Yu replied:
"Yes. At first, I wanted to find this man and seize his territory. But now that we've returned—and we have the strength to take control of Konoha itself—rather than go elsewhere to build a new village, why not rebuild a new Konoha on this very land?"
Mikoto and the others widened their eyes in shock.
The Uchiha turned instinctively toward their clan compound on the outskirts of Konoha, as well as the political heart of the village where they had once lived.
In the Warring States era, the Uchiha had agreed to join hands with the Senju to build Konoha. From then on, this land had been their true home.
Looking back now, establishing a new shinobi village elsewhere under Uchiha Yu's leadership would certainly be good.
But if they could build a brand-new village here, on their ancestral homeland, then nothing in the world could possibly be more perfect.
"Captain, if that's really possible—I have no objections."
"Captain, I support you!"
"Big brother, you are the eternal king of the Uchiha!!"
The Uchiha ranks instantly boiled over with excitement.
"Rebuild Konoha…?"
Nonoyu's scalp tingled. If Uchiha Yu truly intended to lead them in seizing control of the village, that would mean she could return to the Konoha orphanage and continue caring for those adorable children.
At the thought, Nonoyu removed her round spectacles, wiping away the surging tears in her eyes.
Ever since gaining the Byakugan, she no longer needed glasses—but out of habit, she had bought a pair of lensless frames as an ornament.
Meanwhile, Kushina and Rin also sank into thought. From Uchiha Yu's words, it sounded as though he intended to wipe out what remained of Konoha…
But on second thought—Konoha indeed no longer had the strength to defend this land. Rather than see it divided up by Iwa, Kumo, and Suna, perhaps it was truly better for the Uchiha—the very clan that had once built Konoha alongside the Senju—to reclaim it.
Just as Uchiha Yu was about to speak further, a system notification suddenly rang through his mind:
[Main Quest]:
Leader — Reforge the Uchiha!
[Quest Objective]:
1. Choose a territory.
Requirement: The chosen land must be genuinely acknowledged and accepted both by yourself and by the Uchiha members.
Quest Completed!
[Reward]:
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!
Uchiha Yu's eyes trembled slightly. Just as when he had completed the last main quest in Kirigakure and obtained the "Perfect Jinchūriki Vessel," this time his spiritual world became intertwined with a mysterious otherworldly space.
With but a thought, he could summon through the art of Summoning a being capable of devastating heaven and earth.
Back at the Valley of Judgment, Uchiha Yu had casually asked the question of the Uchiha homeland. At that time, though everyone voiced agreement, the quest had not been triggered—a bug in the system.
But now, standing on Konoha's soil, asking the question once more, and truly seeing both himself and his clan wholeheartedly acknowledge this land as their own—
The main quest was perfectly complete.
With the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path now in his grasp, Uchiha Yu had gained a new trump card against the three great villages and even Konoha itself.
His gaze turned far ahead, toward the Root Organization's base.
With every step the orange-red Complete Body Susanoo took, the flames burning on its body gradually shifted into a darker crimson hue.
At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō Shimura were released from the Totsuka Blade before the transformation was complete.
Their Edo Tensei bodies, along with Asuma, were clutched in the Susanoo's left hand, suspended like condemned prisoners awaiting execution.
And then—
As the "Amaterasu · Tsukuyomi" orange Susanoo fully transformed into the dark-red "Yasakani Magatama" Susanoo, the transition was seamless.
Uchiha Yu drew upon the chakra of the Three-Tails.
When the dark-red Complete Body Susanoo once more descended upon Konoha, the heavens dimmed, and the massive wings on its back blotted out the sky, casting a blood-colored radiance across the land.
In that instant—
Every ordinary citizen in Konoha's shelters was bathed in that crimson glow.
In their pupils flickered the tomoe of the Yasakani Magatama Mangekyō, their minds quietly imprinted with a spiritual brand.
At the Root base—
"Don't expose yourselves to the red light!!"
The Raikage bellowed in fury.
But some of the Cloud ninja couldn't escape in time. One after another, their eyes flared red, pupils branded with the Magatama seal.
On the other side, the Sand shinobi suffered the same—though fortunately, Rasa reacted swiftly.
He unleashed Magnet Release: Gold Dust, forming a barrier wall in the shape of the character "7" to shield his forces from the blood-red light, preventing all exposed Sand shinobi from falling under the Yasaka Magatama's control.
At that moment, the Raikage, Killer B, and their closest subordinates huddled with Rasa beneath the protective golden wall.
"I suspect that even if Konoha abandons this land, the Uchiha will never relinquish it," Rasa murmured in thought.
"Stay calm! There's always a way to counter him. No matter how strong Uchiha Yu is, he isn't invincible!" the Raikage roared. "We've paid dearly to bring Konoha down—why should we just hand it over to that man?!"
Meanwhile, around the Root Organization base, many Konoha shinobi caught in the open had also been branded with the Yasaka Magatama seal.
—Underground, inside the base—
Tobirama stared at the electronic surveillance monitors, his eyes narrowing as he muttered, "What is that man trying to do… Using Susanoo to extend the reach of his dōjutsu… Is his aim to seize control of everyone and turn them into his soldiers?"
"Lord Tobirama," Koharu muttered anxiously, her old face darkened, "according to the accounts of the shinobi under his control, they're seeing the full destruction of the Uchiha clan in their minds… and hearing Uchiha Yu's voice."
"Have them repeat every word they heard!" Tobirama ordered, his tone heavy.
—And at that moment—
Every shinobi and civilian marked by the Yasakani Magatama seal—Konoha's ninja and people, Cloud, Sand, and even some Stone shinobi—heard Uchiha Yu's cold, emotionless voice resound in their minds:
"—To all the people of Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Konohagakure!"
"I am Uchiha Yu."
"The current leader of the Uchiha!"
"The vision now in your mind is the truth of the Uchiha massacre, as witnessed by me and my surviving clansmen!"
"As you see, Konoha's leaders are blind and incompetent. Their endless internal strife has dug their own graves. They no longer have the strength to defend this land."
"Konoha was founded by both the Senju and the Uchiha. The very name 'Konoha' was taken from the Uchiha. But now, the Senju have vanished into seclusion."
"From this day forth—!"
"The Uchiha shall seize this village and rebuild a new Konoha upon this land!"
"And furthermore—"
"The shinobi world's order has collapsed. War spreads without end. All of it caused by the division into separate villages, by shinobi breaking laws through violence, and by hatred and sins endlessly cycling."
"From this moment onward—!"
"Konoha declares war on every great village, on every shinobi of the world, until a new order is forged!"
"Until the last drop of blood is shed—"
"—there will be no peace!"
°°°
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