"Hmph!"
The black-haired young man let out a low grunt once more as the purple glow around him intensified. Transparent ripples of spatial distortion spread outward, resembling the gentle waves on a clear, still pond.
Moments later—
Crack!
The crisp sound of shattering glass echoed as the transparent spatial ripples vanished completely.
After dealing with Indra's soul and the enraged entity from another dimension, the black-haired youth turned his gaze back to Itachi Uchiha, who was still bound in place.
"Hmm?"
"As I expected. If anyone could evolve Shisui Uchiha's eyes into Mangekyō Sharingan, it would undoubtedly be you..."
"Itachi..."
The black-haired youth looked at Itachi's eyes with satisfaction. The three tomoe had reformed into a new pattern—a unique design resembling a square with curved edges at its four corners.
Itachi's eyes were now bloodshot, and his pupils bulged as if they might pop out of their sockets.
His face, which was usually calm and composed, had twisted into a mask of madness and despair—a reflection of a soul utterly shattered.
Sasuke had been the cornerstone of Itachi's emotional world, the pillar that kept his heart steady...
Now, with that pillar destroyed, only one thought consumed Itachi's mind:
He had to kill this enemy with his own hands! The one who had murdered his brother!
No, he would trap this man in the Tsukuyomi realm and torment him for eternity!
The black-haired youth stepped closer to Itachi, gazing directly into his bloodshot, tear-filled eyes—eyes that burned with the hatred of a demon ready to devour him whole.
Yet, there was no trace of fear in the youth's expression. Under his sealing technique, Itachi's power had been thoroughly suppressed.
For Itachi to evolve his Sharingan into Mangekyō under such circumstances was already a remarkable feat.
Raising his right hand, the black-haired youth extended a finger and lightly tapped Itachi's forehead.
Splurt...
A spray of red and white liquid erupted from the back of Itachi's head. The rear half of his skull exploded as if struck by a Rasengan, scattering a mess of blood and brain matter behind him.
"Hmm?"
"Father..."
"Forgive me... I failed to protect Sasuke..."
The light in Itachi's eyes dimmed instantly. In the final moments of his life, he could clearly feel two cold, slippery fingers once again plunging into his eye sockets, gouging out his newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Willpower is just willpower..."
"No matter how strong your resolve, it is useless in the face of absolute power..."
"I won't give my enemies even the slightest chance to retaliate..."
The black-haired youth glanced at the two lifeless bodies on the ground and muttered to himself in a low voice.
Whoosh!
Amidst the spatial ripples, a red-haired young man suddenly emerged as if stepping out of thin air.
"Scorpion, you should avoid the next battle."
"The power of the Six Paths level can affect other dimensions. You're not absolutely safe here."
The black-haired youth patted Scorpion on the shoulder, offering a faint smile.
Scorpion glanced toward the Hokage Rock, where an immense surge of Chakra was erupting. He understood that a battle of such magnitude was beyond his capabilities. Without a fully realized Susano'o, his participation would only distract Sōmi.
"Sōmi, take care of yourself," Scorpion said after a brief pause.
"Don't worry..."
"You have an important task as well—monitor the sealing formations around Konohagakure. Don't let anyone escape. This mission is critical."
"Also, remember to preserve the bodies of the strong ones. The future development of our village will depend on them..."
Sōmi nodded toward the corpses on the ground before his expression turned icy cold. His voice carried a chilling, otherworldly tone as he declared:
"Today..."
"I will utterly annihilate Konohagakure!"
"Not even a worm shall escape. Everything must be ground to dust!"
His words echoed like the whispers of a ghostly wraith from the depths of the underworld.
After a moment of silence, Sōmi narrowed his eyes, as if listening intently. When he felt a powerful tremor beneath the ground, he exhaled deeply.
"That guy's youth must have burned out by now..."
"Next, it's my turn."
"Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
Boom!
A massive cloud of white smoke erupted, revealing a colossal humanoid statue. Its body resembled withered wood, its back adorned with protruding root-like "stumps." Its hands were shackled, and among its numerous eyes, two were open.
"Huh?"
"Did Madara team up with Orochimaru?"
Sōmi frowned in confusion. The Tailed Beasts required to fully "awaken" the Demonic Statue were already sealed within his body (except for the half of the Nine-Tails inside Naruto).
If Orochimaru had found a substitute for the Tailed Beast Chakras, it wouldn't be entirely surprising...
But none of that mattered anymore.
As the Demonic Statue appeared, a brilliant purple light suddenly radiated from Sōmi's abdomen. Silver chains shot out, binding the statue and dragging it toward him.
Strangely, the massive statue began to "compress" into a liquid-like state upon contact with the purple light, which then absorbed it entirely.
The moment the Demonic Statue was fully absorbed—
Boom!!!
A blinding burst of purple light erupted from Sōmi's abdomen, so intense it seemed capable of blinding anyone who looked directly at it.
Nine serpentine purple dragon patterns soared into the air, writhing joyfully as they emitted thunderous roars.
Upon closer inspection, these nine dragons were intricately detailed and lifelike, exuding an aura of unparalleled terror.
Swish!
Suddenly, the nine dragons coiled tightly around Sōmi's body, wrapping him layer by layer as if merging into his very being.
Gradually, the dragons transformed into a single purple sphere that enveloped Sōmi entirely.
Beneath the sphere, a black-and-white Taijitu (Yin-Yang symbol) appeared, its eight trigrams glowing faintly as they resonated with the sphere.
In an instant, the Taijitu began to rotate, accelerating until it was absorbed into the sphere.
The initially unstable sphere, which occasionally bulged outward, stabilized completely after the Taijitu disappeared.
Its color also began to change, transitioning from purple to a pristine, radiant white—a white so pure it exuded an overwhelming sense of power.
After an indeterminate amount of time—
Crack... Crack...
The white sphere shattered, revealing Sōmi's transformed figure.
He now wore a flowing white robe, the collar adorned with six dark red tomoe. The edges of the robe were tinged with a similar dark red hue.
His hair had turned completely white, and nine Truth-Seeking Orbs floated behind him. In his right hand, he held a black staff.
Sōmi had entered the Six Paths Sage Mode.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!
📚This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today![✨patreon.com/GoldenLong]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━