Chapter 19 Son of Prophecy
The two shadow clones dispersed, and their stored experiences flowed back into Uchiha Makoto's mind like a rush of memories.
He was now facing the aftermath — disposing of the body.
Makoto had always planned for the day he might have to kill, but he hadn't expected it to come so quickly.
Perhaps it was because his enemies were cold-blooded Root operatives, trained to treat human life as nothing, that he felt no real guilt.
Only his hands trembled slightly, as if marking the memory of his first kill.
After a brief time, his chakra had recovered, aided by the release of his clones, and he now had just enough to cast another ninjutsu.
The man's corpse was engulfed in a great fireball from the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, and soon it was nothing more than charred remains. Seeing the body reduced to ash, Makoto gave a small nod of satisfaction.
After such burning, no one should be able to identify him as the killer. Unless the dead man could rise to speak, or unless someone used a technique like the Yamanaka clan's Mind Reading, his involvement would remain hidden.
The freshly roasted Root ninja gave off a grotesque smell, the outer flesh blackened and crisp while the inside sizzled — a scene so morbid that Makoto joked inwardly about how even children might cry at the sight.
To be sure, he struck the body twice more with his kunai before casting it into the river's current.
When it was over, a strange thought passed through him: I feel like some kind of deranged killer. How hard it is just to survive in Konoha.
What interested him most now was how Danzo would react once Root failed to report back. That was the answer he most wanted.
But for the moment, his focus shifted: he needed time to grow stronger, and he needed to think about his own path forward.
Sooner or later, Danzo had to be eliminated. A man like him — scheming in the shadows and obsessively watching the Uchiha — was a threat that would eventually destroy the clan. If left alive, he would betray Makoto and Shisui sooner or later.
His only dissatisfaction with the encounter was how the shadow clone had frozen under Danzo's killing intent.
So that was killing intent… Makoto reflected.
He had never experienced it directly before, but facing Danzo made it a reality. It was easy now to imagine that countless innocent souls had already fallen to Root's leader.
Such sinful relics of the old era had no place in the future ninja world. Makoto quietly vowed: bringing down Shimura Danzo would be one of his goals.
Turning from that thought, he checked the Record of Ancient Matters. The agreed meeting time had not yet come, and Shisui had not arrived.
On its pages, his entry had changed:
Name: Uchiha Makoto
Bloodline Limit: Sharingan (Single Tomoe)
Ability: Susanoo (unawakened)
World Change: 1%
Spiritual Tool: Sword of Ame-no-Murakumo (?)
Ninja Rank: Genin
Ninjutsu:
Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
Genjutsu: Sharingan
Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion – Narakumi
Shadow Clone Technique
Clone Technique
Transformation Technique
Body Substitution Technique
Straw-Raincoat Concealment Technique
Shurikenjutsu
On the page listing Susanoo, the characters glowed faintly.
In short, his "cheat" had updated, just like a system notification. Perhaps it was triggered by his first kill, or perhaps by the slow alterations he was already making to the original course of history.
If the changes came from the pace of the world's transformation, then he would need to disrupt the story even more and leave marks all across the shinobi world.
Either way, his purpose was clear: to survive and reshape this flawed shinobi world.
He hadn't read the Naruto story himself, but he guessed the final conclusion was nothing more than the endless cycle of a shinobi's fate.
But he wanted to be the butterfly that stirs a storm.
For now, the most important thing was monitoring his "Goldfinger."
Another item had appeared: the Sword of Ame-no-Murakumo.
From what he remembered, the Ame-no-Murakumo — like the Kusanagi — was one of the Three Imperial Regalia in ancient myth, once wielded by Susanoo when he defeated the Yamata no Orochi.
When Makoto thought of it, a long, slender blade materialized in his hand. For him now, it was unwieldy and awkward, but the cold steel reflected his young face. The sword almost seemed to moan, as though it hungered for the blood of those who would stand against him.
Testing it, he raised the blade against a nearby tree.
With no resistance at all, its branches and leaves fell away. When he tried the trunk, the weapon bit halfway in before lodging firmly. The wood was too thick.
"Disappear."
Instantly, the Ame-no-Murakumo vanished from the bark.
"Appear."
In a shimmer of chakra, it was back in his hand, pristine and unblemished.
On a sudden whim, Makoto tossed the sword to the ground and stepped back.
The Tiancongyun Sword once again appeared in his hand, summoned by nothing more than his thought.
What is the principle behind this? Uchiha Makoto's curiosity deepened.
The sudden manifestation of the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword had already shifted his outlook entirely.
If my strength is close to the enemy's, but I suddenly summon this blade in the middle of battle, could I pierce them before they even react? His mind brimmed with wild possibilities, eager to experiment.
From the information embedded in his memory, the Tiancongyun Sword possessed not only its materialized form but also a unique alternate state.
Through chakra, it could inhabit another object.
Makoto pulled out a single crow feather he had sealed earlier, then channeled chakra into the sword to bind it.
In an instant, the feather warped, transforming into the unmistakable shape of the Tiancongyun Sword.
In this bound state, the sword lost its ability to vanish and reappear at will.
Instead, it revealed a new function: chakra absorption.
Makoto loosened his guard and placed his fingers along the keen edge.
The blade nicked his skin, and chakra began to flow — drawn out from his body into the sword, only for a portion to cycle back into him again.
The Ame-no-Murakumo was feeding, yet also sustaining him.
Makoto smiled faintly, satisfied. Even if some chakra was lost in the transfer, the exchange restored more than it consumed. For a shinobi, this was an incredibly efficient weapon.
He gazed at the blade in his grip with rising exhilaration, imagining himself unstoppable — cutting down gods that stood before him, striking down demons that blocked his path.
Far away, within the deep halls of Mount Myōboku, a massive toad stirred from slumber.
Its body was orange and ancient, its eyes golden, and it sat upon a throne carved with the kanji for "Sage." This was the Great Toad Sage, elder beyond memory.
"I have dreamed of the Child of Prophecy once again…" the ancient voice rumbled.
"The vision has shifted. The Child of Prophecy will still change the shinobi world… but the shape of that change has become uncertain."
"Whether this child brings peace and unprecedented stability… or plunges the world into unparalleled destruction… rests upon the path that will be chosen."
"But…" The Great Toad Sage's eyes narrowed. "This time, I saw another. The prophecy has gained one more figure. Who is this person?"
At his side, the green-skinned Fukasaku, his white beard bristling, leaned closer.
"Shima-chan, prepare the summoning! The Great Lord Sage has received a new prophecy. We must send word at once."