"Come on, enter my body!" Huang Quan shouted with excitement.Wuliang didn't hesitate. With a low hum, a surge of black chakra burst from behind the door and rushed straight into Huang Quan's body.
Once Wuliang had fully entered him, Huang Quan calmly stitched up the gaping wound between his chest and abdomen with a single hand, then gave a confident smirk."The ritual is complete," he declared.
"Oh, that surgical technique's pretty good," someone commented. "I wonder how this guy compares to Tsunade of Konoha?"
"Is there even a comparison? Tsunade's medical skills are the best in the entire ninja world!"
"Looking at this guy's body structure… it's clear this so-called dark medical ninjutsu was created specifically to accommodate Wuliang's soul. That chakra transfer technique he used earlier must have just been a by-product."
Because Huang Quan wasn't bleeding at all despite the huge incision in his abdomen, Tsunade looked up at the sky and calmly assessed,"The suturing technique is decent, but this medical ninjutsu is clearly different from mine. It leans more toward transformation and enhancement."
"It probably places a huge burden on the host," Shizune added after a pause. "That's why he calls it dark medical ninjutsu."
"Hahahaha! Awaken, my army!" Huang Quan laughed wildly, activating Wuliang's power.
Purple chakra exploded from his body in every direction. All the small earthen mounds scattered throughout the underground chamber shattered, revealing an army of terracotta warriors hidden underneath.
One by one, they stood up under Huang Quan's command. Staring proudly at the massive army before him, he gave his first order:"Our first target is the ancestral shrine where Lord Wuliang's body is sealed."
"Before that," Wuliang interrupted, "there's another enemy who must be eliminated."
Just then, a woman in white robes with a strange crown appeared in the vision."Go and defeat the priestess of the Land of Demons," Wuliang commanded. "She alone holds the power to seal me."
"Yes," Huang Quan responded emotionlessly.
"When I'm fully resurrected," Wuliang's ghostly voice echoed through the underground vault and across the skies, "I will destroy the five great nations and establish a single empire—a thousand-year kingdom!"
"These puppet soldiers?! So that's what happened—Huang Quan and Wuliang invaded the Land of Earth fourteen years ago!"
"At the time, these puppets just appeared out of nowhere… and then vanished just as suddenly. So it was the priestess of the Demon Country who sealed Wuliang?!"
"Back then, during the war, I assumed it was some new puppet technique developed by the Sand Village… but this explains everything!"
"Seems like a lot of people with insider knowledge are showing up again."
"Any ninja who fought in the Third Great Ninja War and is from the Lands of Wind, Earth, or Fire probably knows this. Of course, Wuliang himself was top-secret."
"Well, now it's all been leaked thanks to the Heaven's Curtain, huh? Hahaha! Free info!"
In the Hokage's Office
Sakura turned to Kakashi."Sensei, did you already know about all this?"
Several young Konoha shinobi looked at him expectantly. Kakashi glanced at Guy first, then replied,"I've fought those puppets before, but I didn't know anything about Wuliang or the priestess from the Land of Demons. The encounter was brief. Assuming the Heaven's Curtain isn't misleading us, it must've been her who sealed Wuliang and stopped those puppets."
After satisfying their curiosity, the group didn't ask more. The top priority now was to gather as much future intel from the sky screen as possible.
"Both Huang Quan and Wuliang want to conquer the world—so who's the real leader between them?"
"It has to be Wuliang. Didn't Huang Quan show him total respect?"
"So Huang Quan basically found himself a boss."
"No way. Anyone aiming for world domination wouldn't be that dumb. I bet Huang Quan's just using Wuliang's power. There's probably a betrayal arc coming."
"Let's wait and see."
In the Land of Lightning
Scorpion and Deidara were on a mission.
Watching the ghost army on the Heaven's Curtain, Deidara asked,"What do you think of those puppets, Brother Scorpion?"
Hidden inside his red cloak, Scorpion scoffed."Not impressed. I looked into them years ago. They do use chakra resonance to control puppets remotely, but they're slow and clunky. Just fodder. Now that kind of immortality… that's art."
"No! Art is explosions!" Deidara snapped back. "Your tastes are as bad as ever, Scorpion!"And with that, the two launched into one of their usual arguments about art.
Elsewhere—on the border of the Land of Demons
A garrison stationed there was overwhelmed by Wuliang's terracotta army. The front lines were breached in an instant, with only a few surviving soldiers able to report the attack.
The neighboring great nations received the news immediately. Tsunade's voice narrated over scenes of Konoha mobilizing its forces, all shown on the Heaven's Curtain.
Naruto darted through the crowded streets, snatching a little girl out of harm's way as she nearly got trampled. With a few agile leaps, he landed on a rooftop.
"Be careful, okay? Bye now," Naruto said gently, giving her a smile before dashing off again, leaving her crying alone atop the water tower.
After a few more jumps, he stood on a tall wall, gazing down at the bustling street. Hands on his hips, he declared confidently,"The situation is urgent. It's time for me to shine!"
"That's the guy who dies early, right?"
"Yeah, in the end, he didn't shine at all—just died!"
"Konoha's shinobi are such losers!"
"Bastard! Reveal yourself if you dare! I'll show you just how strong a Konoha ninja can be!"
"Hahaha! Well, at least you're good at talking trash!"
"You *****!"
The Heaven's Curtain automatically censored the more aggressive comments, leaving the offended Konoha ninjas red-faced.
As the center of attention, Naruto was clearly fired up."I won't die like that! I don't care what the future says—I'll crush it all!"
Neji scoffed quietly, ready to lecture him about fate again. But remembering how he'd watched Naruto's future death in silence, he held back.Even Neji, firm believer in destiny as he was, couldn't help but question it now that the future was being revealed before their eyes.