Chapter 181: The Annihilation of the Daimyō Clan of the Land of Water
One month later.
In the courtyard of the Daimyō's estate, Li Yao sat cross-legged in the corridor. The red light of the setting sun streamed through the branches of a large tree, casting a crimson glow across his body, as if cloaking him in scarlet armor.
At this moment, Li Yao was not in a good mood.
Over the past month, three beautiful kunoichi had died in succession, and yet Li Yao still hadn't been able to detect any meaningful difference in mental energy.
It was as if that faint fluctuation he sensed a month ago had been a hallucination.
But Li Yao knew—it wasn't.
It only meant there was still a long way to go.
Fortunately, he had chosen the right path. He simply had to keep moving forward.
"Uncle, all members of the Daimyō's family have arrived."
Yuzu walked over. By now, the entire family of the Daimyō had gathered within the estate.
Throughout the past month, under the Daimyō's command, none of his relatives dared disobey and had rushed to the estate.
Just earlier, the final member had entered the compound.
"Then let's begin."
Li Yao stood up. With a thought, a clay bird formed above them, and the two of them jumped on its back, rising into the sky.
Whirrr... From the skies above the Daimyō's estate, a rain of paper tags—Paper Style explosive tags—began to fall. There were so many that even people far away could see them.
"Huh... strange. Is it snowing over the Daimyō's estate?"
Since the explosive tags were white, from a distance they looked like a heavy snowfall.
But it was only September, the height of summer. Snow was definitely out of the question.
While people looked on in confusion, the countless tags soon vanished from sight.
Though the falling tags seemed random, each one was precisely controlled by Li Yao, wrapping every single person within the Daimyō's estate completely and tightly.
Everyone there was already under Li Yao's genjutsu, entirely incapable of resistance.
With the final person covered in explosive tags, Li Yao—high in the sky—turned and glanced at the Daimyō's estate, then sneered coldly.
"Art is—explosion."
BOOM!
The simultaneous detonation of at least ten million explosive tags unleashed a force comparable to a small Tailed Beast Bomb. Everything within a three-kilometer radius was blasted into the sky, and the Daimyō's estate was reduced to ashes in an instant.
The blinding fireball shot into the sky, visible even from the port seven kilometers away.
Rumble... crash...!
The shockwave rolled outward from the Daimyō's estate, destroying trees and houses in its path, leaving only ruins behind.
"Such beautiful fireworks. So artistic."
Li Yao glanced back with a smile. Indeed, explosions were art—Deidara had a point.
There was something exhilarating about destruction—something that spiked one's adrenaline and made one feel alive.
"Now the entire Land of Water will probably go crazy. And the shinobi world... who knows what'll happen?"
A flicker of worry appeared in Yuzu 's eyes. They had kicked a hornet's nest. The other Great Nations might react differently, but the Land of Water and Kirigakure would definitely hunt them down.
"Wh-What... what's going on...?"
"T-The Daimyō's estate..."
Everyone in the capital stared, dumbfounded, at the site of the explosion. The roaring flames and rising black smoke weighed down on their hearts like boulders. Their minds went blank.
Finally, as the fire died down and the smoke continued to rise, someone spoke.
"T-The Daimyō's estate has been destroyed!!!"
"AHHHHH!!!"
In an instant, the capital erupted into chaos. Everyone was caught in a storm of intense fear... mixed with a strange excitement.
In a thousand years, no one had dared attack the Daimyō's estate so directly. No one had ever dared challenge the prestige of the Daimyō so brazenly.
Even with the power to level mountains and fly through the sky, shinobi had never shaken the authority of the Daimyō in people's hearts.
But today, someone had blown up the entire Daimyō's estate.
That level of power filled most with fear... but it also stirred something deep within others.
With such strength, what was there to fear from the Daimyō? In the end, even they could be blown away.
"Ninja... I want to become a ninja!"
In the hearts of many, a blazing ambition had been ignited.
This was the allure of a world where the strong reigned supreme—where desire and impulse were king.
"If I remember right, didn't the Daimyō spend the last month summoning all his family back to the estate?"
"Then now... don't tell me..."
They didn't finish the sentence, but those who understood were already realizing it—the entire Daimyō clan of the Land of Water may have just been wiped out.
Even if not completely, there couldn't be many survivors.
Now, within the capital's noble families—and even among mid-level and minor nobles from across the Land of Water who were staying in the capital—a burning sense of anticipation began to rise.
The Land of Water was now in turmoil.
And the shockwaves of this event would soon sweep across the entire shinobi world.
Unfortunately for them, all the capital's ninja had already been wiped out by Li Yao, so it might take the other villages a day or two to catch wind of what had happened.
But a day or two was all Li Yao needed to reach Kirigakure.
In reality, it only took him half a day to arrive over the Hidden Mist Village.
In his chakra perception, Kirigakure was encased in a circular barrier. Only the main gate had a passageway—entering anywhere else would trigger the barrier's detection.
The sun hadn't yet risen, but the sky was beginning to lighten.
The Third Mizukage was already in his office.
He was a diligent leader.
The original series never explained how the Third Mizukage died, and Li Yao didn't know either. But having seen the power of his heavy Water Style: Black Water, Li Yao couldn't imagine anyone capable of killing him.
Unless... Uchiha Madara had intervened.
Thinking of the tragedy Madara orchestrated for Obito, Li Yao felt he had his answer.
"So... if I kill the Third Mizukage here, Madara probably won't care."
"Heh heh..."
Li Yao chuckled, already resolved.
…
Just as Li Yao prepared to begin his hunt for the Third Mizukage, deep underground in a hidden chamber in the Land of Grass, White Zetsu was awakening Madara.
"Lord Madara! I found him! I found him!"
As Madara awoke, White Zetsu spoke excitedly. He had finally located the Uchiha clan member Madara had been searching for—the one with a heart full of love for the world.
"Who is it?" Madara's eyes lit up with urgency.
"His name is Uchiha Obito. He's six years old and just entered the ninja academy. He's the kind of idiot who would miss the opening ceremony just to help an old lady cross the street," Tobi laughed.
Madara finally showed a hint of relief.
"That little fool is really dumb. His talent is awful. As an Uchiha, he can't even perform the basic Three Body Techniques properly. Lord Madara, are you sure he's the one?" Tobi continued.
A year ago, Uzumaki Mito—who had kept herself alive for decades—finally passed away. This allowed White Zetsu to infiltrate Konoha and begin observing the Uchiha clan.
After a year of intelligence gathering, White Zetsu finally narrowed it down. According to Madara's criteria—"a heart overflowing with love for the world"—he had identified Uchiha Obito.
Within the Uchiha clan, Obito's loving and overflowing heart was completely at odds with the clan's typically cold demeanor.
He was full of love, yes—but his ninja talent was abysmal.
So bad, in fact, that he couldn't even awaken the Sharingan. How would he ever have the strength to carry out Madara's Moon's Eye Plan?
White Zetsu had no faith in this little brat.
But Madara only chuckled. "You don't understand. When powerful love is shattered, it gives birth to an even greater darkness. That darkness will create a pair of powerful Sharingan."
"Keep watching Obito. When the time is right, I will guide him into the darkness."
Madara already had a plan. Right now, Obito's heart was full of love, but it wasn't yet intense enough—nor did it have a vessel to attach to.
The moment Obito poured all that love into one person... would be the moment Madara led him into the abyss.
(END CHAPTER)
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