At regular intervals, the volcano would erupt violently, spewing enormous amounts of magma and rock that posed a severe threat to the River Capital.
Uchiha Yoru remained outside the River Capital's harbor, keeping the Ring of Zhurong continuously active as he used the powerful Sage Arts, Blazing Sun Swords and Chariots of Kagutsuchi, to protect the city behind him.
Because of the volcanic eruption, an unusual phenomenon had formed over this stretch of sea in which fire-spirit natural energy held the advantage.
It just happened to be the best possible method for Uchiha Yoru to replenish himself.
He absorbed the fire-spirit natural energy from nature, circulated it through his meridians to nourish them, tamed it into his own power, and then used it to deal with the disasters caused by the eruption.
The entire process revolved around one thing—a cycle.
Natural energy could be recycled, while his spiritual power could also be replenished by the power of faith.
In theory, Uchiha Yoru's battle against the volcano could continue indefinitely.
But in reality, Uchiha Yoru was still human.
His fatigue couldn't be stopped.
As time passed, exhaustion gradually accumulated, causing him immense suffering.
The eruption continued for a long time, but the truly violent eruptions capable of threatening a location dozens of kilometers away couldn't last forever.
By the third day, the volcano's activity had clearly begun weakening.
However, Uchiha Yoru didn't dare relax.
The occasional rain of lava appearing in the sky forced him to remain fully concentrated.
Even a small amount of those fire-starting objects could burn the River Capital to ashes.
By the fifth day, the continuous eruption had caused thick volcanic clouds to deposit a heavy layer of ash.
The seawater had been completely contaminated into gray-black mud, continuously churning and releasing billowing white steam.
Even the River Capital wasn't faring well.
It was covered beneath a thick layer of scorching volcanic ash.
Yet what surprised the ninja present was that the reconstruction of the River Capital had already begun.
The people of the Land of Rivers, who had only recently begun believing in the God of the Southern Fire Spirit, ignored the continuously falling volcanic ash and worked hard to clear away the ruins.
They built temporary shelters, removed the bodies of the dead, and rescued injured citizens.
Whenever they became so exhausted that they could no longer endure it, they would stand up, look toward the brilliant golden sun over the sea, and shout words of praise to invigorate themselves.
"The hymn of humanity is the hymn of courage!"
"Courage can sweep away every obstacle!"
"Our Lord has promised Heaven. Courage leads to paradise, while cowardice falls into hell."
"Wherever firelight shines, there lies civilization."
In only five short days, Uchiha Yoru had made enormous progress along the path of divinity.
He adjusted the threads of faith for his divine incarnation and returned power according to the quality of the faith he received.
The quality of faith depended upon its purity and accuracy.
The fewer personal prayers mixed into one's worship of the god, and the more accurate one's understanding of the god, the higher the quality of faith became.
The higher the quality, the less effort the Heart Ape needed to digest and absorb it, and the greater the proportion that could naturally be returned.
The spiritual energy returned to the believers wasn't the original power of faith.
It was spiritual energy processed by Uchiha Yoru and imbued with the effects of senjutsu.
Because the Heart Ape was specifically responsible for processing it, the returned energy carried an obvious fire attribute.
It could invigorate people and greatly increase their courage.
At the same time, it could affect the body through the mind, slightly raising their body temperature and making them more excited.
The returned spiritual energy could also transmit information.
By the time Uchiha Yoru realized this, worship of flame and courage, along with the image of the Heart Ape, had already been transmitted into the hearts of the believers.
They had become immutable aspects of Zhurong's image.
The helpless Uchiha Yoru could only accept this unexpected setting and alter the appearance beneath Zhurong's mask into the monkey face of the Heart Ape.
He also revised the teachings of the God of the Southern Fire Spirit, formally establishing worship of flame and courage.
However, the Heart Ape resembled an enormous golden snub-nosed monkey, which didn't match the image of the most handsome monkey in Uchiha Yoru's mind.
Most importantly, even the name didn't match.
The name of the most handsome monkey had been stolen by that damned Four-Tails!
He made up his mind that in the future, he would definitely kill the Four-Tails, reclaim the title Great Sage Equaling Heaven, and then formally change the name and appearance.
At this point, Zhurong, the God of the Southern Fire Spirit, had established the basic framework of a faith and officially stepped onto the divine path.
Uchiha Yoru successfully maintained his own path of immortal cultivation while using the heart-forms to accommodate the divine path.
He had achieved simultaneous cultivation of immortality and divinity, successfully fulfilling his declaration of wanting both.
With the basic divine framework established, Uchiha Yoru naturally continued doing more.
For example, he established sacred names and fabricated prayers.
He even referenced the religious systems from his previous life and created a covenant between god and humanity, tempting people with the promise of Heaven and threatening them with the terror of hell.
The advanced and comprehensive religious system displayed an overwhelmingly superior advantage.
The organization belonging to the God of the Southern Fire Spirit expanded explosively.
The daimyō of the Land of Rivers sensed danger.
He had heard of the rampant cults in the Land of Hot Water that had caused the daimyō's authority to collapse.
Therefore, he mobilized his own forces and issued missions to the Konoha and Sunagakure ninja, demanding the extermination of the "Fire Spirit cult."
However, after a brief investigation, the Konoha and Sunagakure ninja discovered that the organization worshiped the Immortal outside the harbor.
Every one of them sucked in a cold breath and immediately abandoned the mission.
These people weren't worshiping some vague and insubstantial evil god.
They worshiped a genuine Kage-level Immortal who could actually appear and beat people to death.
Most importantly, if they attacked the believers, would that Immortal take their side?
The terrifying Fire Release Sage Arts he had displayed had been used against the sea.
If those techniques were instead unleashed against ninja on land, that would be true horror.
Even if Sunagakure regarded the Immortal as an enemy, they would still have to wait until the war ended before considering how to deal with him.
Provoking him now would be the same as doing Konoha a great favor.
The Sunagakure ninja weren't that foolish.
Besides, this Immortal was currently protecting the River Capital.
If they angered him, then even setting aside the possibility that he might turn around and ignite half the city with a single Fire Release Sage Art, merely leaving would be enough.
The River Capital would be burned to the ground during the next eruption.
Could the daimyō of the Land of Rivers stop being so brainless?
After receiving the responses from Konoha and Sunagakure, the daimyō of the Land of Rivers was also greatly shocked.
The folding fan fell from his hand in fright, and he hurriedly withdrew the mission.
Several days later, the daimyō, who had been hiding in a secure underground chamber, was dragged by his subordinates to the sulfur-reeking shoreline.
There, he personally witnessed the Immortal shining as brilliantly as the sun.
In that single instant, the daimyō was conquered.
Then he saw the Immortal display his divine might.
Swords of light crossed the sky and intercepted the rain of fire filling the heavens.
Ten thousand chariots thundered forward and destroyed the world-ending tsunami.
The daimyō of the Land of Rivers no longer cared about the filth covering the ground.
He prostrated himself completely upon the shore and devoutly offered his faith.
The Sage said: "Only the wisest and the most foolish never change."
The daimyō of the Land of Rivers was a typical example of the wisest.
This didn't mean he possessed extraordinary wisdom.
Rather, his birth and education were sufficiently superior.
The daimyō possessed enough experience and knowledge.
When combined, the two formed sufficient wisdom, allowing him to clearly understand most matters within the shinobi world.
Therefore, he understood the importance of power extremely well.
That was why he had been so vigilant toward cults and sought to eliminate one the moment it appeared.
But once he learned that this was a true Immortal, a great existence possessing power comparable to a genuine god and absolutely beyond his ability to confront, he would embrace it without the slightest hesitation.
Moreover, the moment his worship formed, the daimyō felt the courage and warmth returned through the faith-feedback mechanism.
It filled his heart completely.
For a daimyō who lacked nothing materially, spiritual emptiness was always unavoidable.
After inheriting the title of daimyō, he discovered that he possessed very little real authority.
At most, he was merely the lord of the River Capital.
Yet the city was excessively prosperous and produced enormous profits.
As a result, all administrative responsibilities had been divided between Konoha and Sunagakure.
Even Kirigakure could occasionally interfere.
Only the daimyō himself had no share.
In practice, apart from passively collecting money, the daimyō of the Land of Rivers could only remain in his estate and live a life of eating, drinking, and entertainment.
After living such an enviably boring life for too long, a person became numb and the heart became empty.
Whatever someone lacked most would produce the strongest response when fulfilled.
The higher the level of the need being satisfied, the stronger the feedback became.
After experiencing the sense of fulfillment provided by faith, the daimyō immediately became the most devout believer.
His rise in devotion was so sudden that even Uchiha Yoru was startled.
When Uchiha Yoru followed the thread of faith and confirmed that the person on the other side was the daimyō, he became even more astonished.
But Uchiha Yoru soon discovered that the benefits of having the daimyō become the most devout believer were almost too numerous to count.
First, as the nominal supreme ruler of the Land of Rivers, the daimyō naturally possessed an extremely powerful exemplary effect.
As the saying went: what those above favor, those below will pursue even more excessively.
Since the daimyō himself had become a believer in the God of the Southern Fire Spirit, the officials and citizens beneath him would naturally follow.
Even if they only became shallow believers who knew the god's name, that was still enough.
Second, although the daimyō of the Land of Rivers was merely an empty shell without real authority, that shell could still become the foundation of the believers' organization.
At the very least, it would save ten years of exploration.
Finally, once the daimyō's previously empty framework became filled through faith, he could seize control of the state from another level and establish a theocratic nation.
Theocratic states lacked internal driving force.
In a world without a true god pushing them forward, they were extremely backward forms of government.
But even on Blue Planet, theocratic states possessed considerable executive ability and could easily crush nations built upon feudal enfeoffment.
When a theocratic state truly had a god behind it—and that god was enlightened and broad-minded—it could even surpass a centralized empire.
After all, a god wasn't limited by lifespan.
Although Uchiha Yoru wasn't a true god, he believed he could still play the role well.
In that case, the Land of Rivers would become an excellent tool for developing the shinobi world and discovering and managing resources for immortal cultivation.
Thinking of this, Uchiha Yoru suppressed his excitement and personally spoke to the daimyō.
"Your devotion surprises me."
"In recognition of your faith, I shall bestow upon you the title of 'The Devout.'"
"The Devout, are you willing to accept my trials and the many tasks I give you?"
As a ruler, the daimyō understood that this was an opportunity that might appear only once in a thousand years.
Although he didn't know what benefits it would bring, he still answered without hesitation.
"I am willing, my Lord."
"I am willing to accept all your trials and tasks."
Uchiha Yoru admired his sharpness and decisiveness.
"Very good."
"Then I shall grant you the authority to manage my believers."
"Now, you must enter the city and walk through its streets."
"Lead the believers in chanting my name, clear the ruins caused by the natural disaster, and rescue the injured among both believers and nonbelievers."
Uchiha Yoru then told him the name of his alternate identity and shared the sacred sayings concerning courage that he had invented on the spot.
The daimyō was overjoyed.
He had never expected this Fire God to be a benevolent deity.
The god had even granted him such enormous authority.
This was... wonderful!
Afterward, the daimyō naturally ignored the danger and paid no attention to the filthy and chaotic environment.
He brought his trusted subordinates into the streets and began leading the people in saving themselves.
At this moment, every citizen of the River Capital had become a believer.
As the Fire God's command reached everyone's heart, they responded extremely quickly to the daimyō's organization and direction.
Their efficiency was astonishingly high.
The River Capital's disaster-relief operations became exceptionally effective, earning enormous prestige for both Uchiha Yoru and the daimyō.
All of this occurred under the observation of the ninja.
However, Konoha and Sunagakure hadn't deliberately sought to reduce the daimyō of the Land of Rivers to a powerless figure.
It was merely a byproduct of their struggle for profits.
After witnessing the daimyō's actions, some ninja found them inexplicable.
Others thought the daimyō seemed quite good.
Only a small number of ninja from noble families felt that the daimyō had disgraced himself.
But regardless of what they thought, not a single ninja believed intervention was necessary.
And so, through the newly established religious organization, the daimyō obtained authority greater than that of a true daimyō.
It was the unified religious and political authority of a theocracy.
However, the daimyō of the Land of Rivers still couldn't resist Konoha or Sunagakure.
No matter how powerful political authority became, it ultimately required violence to guarantee its existence.
As long as the theocratic organization didn't cultivate enough powerful ninja, the daimyō could only control part of the administrative authority.
He couldn't obtain the state's full political power.
Still, lacking full political power didn't prevent him from serving Uchiha Yoru and exploring and developing the Land of Rivers and the southern seas on his behalf.
Uchiha Yoru was very satisfied with this gain.
But no matter how satisfied he felt, it couldn't relieve his mental exhaustion.
After remaining awake for five consecutive days, Uchiha Yoru began feeling his eyelids grow heavy.
Fortunately, on the fifth day, the volcanic smoke column changed color once more and became gray.
Through the feedback provided by earth-spirit natural energy, Uchiha Yoru learned that the volcano's energy had been completely released.
There would be no possibility of another eruption.
Deeply exhausted, he finally relaxed and couldn't help sighing.
"It's finally over."
Uchiha Yoru's voice was quiet.
However, because of his carelessness, the sentence traveled along the threads of faith and reached every believer.
The River Capital instantly fell silent.
Then thunderous cheers erupted.
The extreme joy and relief of surviving the disaster caused the entire city to boil with excitement.
Because Uchiha Yoru had continuously used the Blazing Sun Swords, the volcanic clouds above him were already the thinnest.
At that moment, they completely dispersed.
A beam of sunlight descended from the sky and formed an enormous pillar of light, enveloping Uchiha Yoru just as he dissolved the Ring of Zhurong.
"A miracle! This is a miracle!"
"It is our Lord! Our Lord!"
"Thank you for saving us!"
"..."
The ninja from both villages were startled by the fanatical atmosphere.
However, they couldn't say anything.
That Immortal had indeed saved the River Capital.
It seemed only natural that ignorant citizens would worship him.
The only question was this:
How had these ordinary people learned that the volcanic eruption had ended before the ninja did?
Joy and fanaticism were themselves the ultimate objectives of a large-scale mass.
The power of faith erupted explosively, becoming so abundant that even the Heart Ape struggled to digest it.
Fortunately, the fanaticism had refined the power of faith to an extremely high degree.
Even temporarily storing it within the Purple Mansion world was acceptable.
When Uchiha Yoru carefully examined the changes within his body, he unexpectedly discovered that the goldfish-shaped River God residing in the temple above the clouds was secretly stealing the power of faith.
The faith it swallowed was transformed within its body into a special kind of power.
Divine power!
The divine power used by the native gods of the shinobi world!
Uchiha Yoru was overjoyed.
He didn't reveal himself or stop the River God from secretly eating.
Instead, he quietly approached and did his best to observe and examine the difference between divine power and the power of faith.
He also carefully studied how the power of faith was transformed into divine power.
Just as he gained a small amount of insight, an incomparably sharp pain forcibly dragged him out of the Purple Mansion.
His Premonition had suddenly activated at full strength.
It warned him that mortal danger was about to descend and, for the first time, clearly indicated the source of that danger.
Uchiha Yoru abruptly raised his head and looked toward the sky.
The danger came from above.
It came from something being nurtured within the volcanic clouds.
When he saw the rotating cyclones and the blue-violet lightning being drawn out between them, he understood.
A wind-and-lightning Heavenly Tribulation was about to descend.
"This timing is far too precise."
"It truly won't give me even the slightest chance to catch my breath."
This time, while muttering softly, Uchiha Yoru carefully severed his communication with the threads of faith.
He didn't transmit those words to the believers.
Only moments earlier, he had been considering when to use the Flying Thunder God Technique and leave his current position.
He had already selected a location where a prepared sealing formation could help him resist the Heavenly Tribulation.
However, because his spirit was severely weakened, Uchiha Yoru wasn't confident in using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He feared that the so-called Heavenly Tribulation might manifest as some form of spatial disaster.
He had no confidence whatsoever that his body and strength could withstand damage such as spatial tearing.
After all, Uchiha Yoru had developed the Flying Thunder God Technique merely by following the Second Hokage's line of thought and reproducing it through imitation.
He didn't possess any genuine understanding of space.
For safety's sake, he decided to wait until his mental condition recovered.
He would leave only once he was certain that he wouldn't make a mistake while using the Flying Thunder God Technique and kill himself.
Who could have expected that during this brief delay, the enormous electrical charge forming inside the volcanic clouds would block his perception of the Flying Thunder God marks?
He lost the ability to teleport through space.
Without spatial movement, relying solely on his running speed, there was no chance in hell that he could outrun the volcanic clouds overhead.
He could only obediently remain where he was and endure the baptism of the wind-and-lightning Heavenly Tribulation.
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