After speaking, he slowly stood up and stretched his neck, producing a soft cracking sound.
Then, he turned toward the group silently watching him from the side, a confident and composed smile appearing on his face.
"It's about time. I should get going," he said softly, his tone brimming with unwavering confidence.
Standing by his side were four women, their eyes filled with warmth and concern.
"May your path in the shinobi arts flourish," the four said in unison, their voices clear and melodious.
It was both a blessing and a declaration of trust.
Even though Hikaru knew that, blessing or not, he possessed more than enough strength to carry out his plan with ease—
This heartfelt gesture, this unwavering tenderness and faith from them—was a precious source of strength for him.
Smiling, Hikaru accepted their blessing. Then, with a wave of his hand, he vanished like the wind.
Meanwhile, inside the Allied Shinobi Forces' command center, a chorus of arguments echoed without pause.
Each nation's representative was fiercely trying to avoid having their forces act as the vanguard.
They were deeply unsettled by Konohagakure's recent abnormal behavior, gripped by anxiety and fear.
To make matters worse, Konoha possessed several invincible combatants, making the vanguard mission incredibly perilous—potentially a one-way ticket to death.
As a result, the representatives began passing the responsibility around, attempting to foist the role onto other nations.
Just as the shouting inside reached its peak, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the command center.
The unexpected clamor made everyone freeze for a moment. Just as they were about to send someone to investigate, the vice-commanders from each nation's ninja forces burst in, faces filled with panic.
They looked like they'd just seen a monster.
Before anyone could question them, the vice-commanders began shouting over one another.
"Elder Chiyo, we have a serious problem! Konoha's Fifth Hokage has shown up!"
"Master Genshi, do something! That demon is here!"
"…"
Cries like these echoed throughout the command center, each laced with fear and helplessness—as if they heralded the end.
And it was no wonder. Even setting aside the previous war in the Land of Whirlpools, in recent years, Uchiha Hikaru had roamed the shinobi world, never hesitating to intervene whenever injustice or tyranny reared its head.
He never showed mercy to enemies. No matter their status or power, if they crossed his line, they ended up dead.
And this god of slaughter had power no one could rival.
Who wouldn't be afraid?
Hearing the vice-commanders' report, the representatives instantly realized the gravity of the situation.
Their faces turned grim as they stood and hurried toward the door.
The moment the doors opened, an overwhelming roar flooded in like a crashing tide.
The scene before them made their hearts pound—chaos had engulfed the entire camp. Soldiers were panicking, running about as if the apocalypse had arrived.
And it had. All because of one man—Uchiha Hikaru.
He stood like an immovable mountain. His very presence had crushed the morale of the entire shinobi alliance.
Chiyo and the others had their eyes locked on the figure floating above them.
The Fifth Hokage of Konoha—Uchiha Hikaru—stood tall in the sky.
And the source of all this chaos could be traced to one man alone—Uchiha Hikaru.
Seeing the disorder gripping the allied forces, Chiyo's face twitched slightly.
She knew that if she didn't act to stabilize the troops, the alliance would crumble before Hikaru even made a move.
Taking a deep breath, she raised her voice and demanded, "Fifth Hokage! After killing so many, do you Konoha shinobi feel not even the slightest shame?!"
Hikaru was gazing up at the moon, which was growing ever closer in the sky, seemingly indifferent to the turmoil below.
But upon hearing Chiyo's accusation, he chuckled with disdain and replied calmly:
"Why don't you mention that this war started with your four nations uniting to attack Konoha? By your logic, all we're doing now is repaying the favor."
Chiyo was momentarily speechless.
He was right.
The Wind, Water, Lightning, and Earth nations had launched a joint assault on Konoha shortly after the death of Senju Hashirama. That war hadn't been Konoha's doing—and it had cost them their Second Hokage.
And now, what were the other nations shouting about? Revenge.
She couldn't refute it.
Yet amid the tension, one man reacted quite differently.
Kaguya Dokutaka stared up at Hikaru with an ecstatic expression, eyes burning with fanaticism.
"So you're the one they call the new god of the shinobi world?" he shouted, his voice brimming with challenge and anticipation. "Then let me, Kaguya—"
But before he could finish, his body froze in place.
And then, something horrifying happened.
Kaguya Dokutaka's body began collapsing in on itself, as if sliced to ribbons by an invisible force.
He fell apart like a shattered doll, pieces scattering across the ground—gruesome and silent.
"So noisy."
Hikaru muttered those two words, eyes glinting with disdain.
He had long since noticed the man—clad in a kimono, forehead protector from Kirigakure, twin red dots painted on his head.
A member of the Kaguya clan, infamous for their madness.
Hikaru knew talking would be useless with someone like that. So why waste time?
Better to skip to the end—and send him straight to the afterlife.
Still, after killing Kaguya Dokutaka, Hikaru couldn't shake an odd feeling.
The scene was… familiar, like he'd witnessed it once before, somewhere in the past.
But the thought passed quickly, leaving no lasting impression.
To him, it was just a trivial detail—not worth dwelling on.
Meanwhile, the representatives who had stood near Kaguya Dokutaka were frozen stiff.
Their faces were pale, sweat pouring down like rain, overcome by terror and awe.
They hadn't even seen when Hikaru made his move.
All they could do was watch—helpless—as Dokutaka's body crumbled to pieces.
The message was loud and clear:
If Hikaru wanted them dead, there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.
That silent, crushing pressure smothered them like a heavy fog.
Some of them could already feel the cold breath of despair creeping in.