391-395

Chapter 391: The Annihilation of Ten Thousand Troops, The Sword of the Qilin!

Screech—Screech—Screech—

The overcast sky suddenly lit up!

Lightning, like gnarled branches, intertwined across the heavens, spreading like a vast spiderweb, instantly extending beyond the limits of human sight.

A thousand bolts of thunder roared in unison, as if tens of thousands of ornamental cabbages bloomed simultaneously!

"This scale... No matter how you put it, this is just way too excessive!"

Unlike the Lightning Release: Kirin technique Shinji had used during the Hell Valley battle, which could only cover a single cliffside,

Now, even a mere fraction of the thunderclouds above was enough to engulf the entire central mountain range plains of the Land of Lightning!

The sheer magnitude—

It was as if a colossal hand of lightning had descended from the heavens!

And in the blink of an eye,

It came crashing down!

"Damn it, how could it be this massive?!"

Ōnoki’s expression twisted slightly as he witnessed the scene before him.

If he had known earlier, he would have dispersed the clouds immediately or directly attacked Shinji.

But humans are like this— the more they crave something, the more they end up losing what is truly important.

Left with no other choice, Ōnoki came to a sudden stop in midair. Clenching his teeth, he shot straight toward the skies.

"With a thundercloud of this scale... If I use Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique now, I might still make it in time!"

However—

Shinji merely watched calmly and scoffed, shaking his head.

"Making your choice now? It’s already too late!"

"And more than that, Ōnoki, you’ve just made another foolish decision!"

The moment he finished speaking,

Shinji’s gaze sharpened.

Twenty-six bones, glowing in hues of yellow and crimson, shot up rapidly from his back!

Amidst the pale white thunderlight, a towering thirty-meter-tall skeletal Susanoo manifested before the thousands of Iwagakure shinobi.

Raising its arm, its bony palms pressed together.

From the clasped hands, a massive lightning sword, eighteen meters long, was forcibly drawn out.

Then—

It was raised high into the heavens!

In an instant, the endless lightning veered away from the Dust Release beam that Ōnoki had unleashed, rendering his efforts completely futile.

Moments later, from the depths of the clouds, a bolt of lightning, ten meters thick, slashed diagonally downward like an executioner’s blade!

The roaring bolt surged straight into the colossal skeleton’s grasp, channeling into the Raijin Sword: Futsunomitama.

The eighteen-meter-long lightning blade began to radiate an intense, blinding light, like a blazing sun rising from its hands!

A thunderstorm’s energy—compressed into an extreme voltage exceeding ten billion volts—coiled around the blade.

In the next instant—

"Go!"

Shinji furrowed his brows, his cold gaze piercing through the battlefield.

With a voice like crashing thunder, he swung the sword down!

In the wake of the strike,

A colossal Lightning Qilin emerged, its form reflecting in the blade’s dazzling arc!

In the blink of an eye, its titanic frame expanded, surging to the height of the storm itself,

Then, with an effortless leap—

The heavens fell silent!

A ring of lightning expanded from the point of impact.

Then—

"BOOM!!!"

The earth was devoured in an instant.

The grasslands, stones, and every living thing in the plains below were obliterated in the blink of an eye!

A massive mushroom cloud surged into the sky.

Under the might of this godlike strike, the entire central mountain range plains of the Land of Lightning quaked as though struck by a catastrophic earthquake!

At the epicenter of the blast, shockwaves surged outward like tidal waves, consuming everything in their path!

Soil and debris piled up at the outer edges of the impact zone, forming an enormous, circular ten-kilometer-wide wall of earth.

And within this blinding storm of destruction—

A faint, sorrowful white light quietly rose,

As if atoning for past mistakes,

Or perhaps making one final, futile struggle.

---

As the blinding light faded,

The dust settled,

And what remained was a scorched crater nearly twenty kilometers wide.

A devastated wasteland—charred black earth soaked in blood, molten pools of metal from melted kunai, burnt corpses reduced to brittle husks, and countless indistinguishable remains, now nothing more than ash.

Seeing the scene before him, Shinji's eyelids twitched.

He had swung the sword out of desperation, lacking the chakra reserves to sustain another powerful technique. Even the final gift from Orochimaru—an Eight-Tails horn—had only provided enough energy for a single upgraded Tailed Beast Bomb.

Forced to rely on the power of nature itself,

He hadn't expected the results to be this horrifying.

This one attack—

Made Shinji, who had grown somewhat overconfident after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, take a step back in realization.

Without reaching the Six Paths level,

He was still no match for the overwhelming forces of nature.

And this technique, driven by the will of heaven and earth itself—

Lightning Release: Ultra Kirin

Had just unleashed a destruction radius nearly comparable to Super Shinra Tensei!

(For reference, based on the early official data books, the Forest of Death next to Konoha has a diameter of 10km. From aerial views, Konoha appears to be slightly more than twice its size, as shown in the image.)

---

However—

Even amidst such utter devastation,

Amidst the ruins, there remained a small patch of untouched land.

Standing atop this relatively intact ground,

Were the surviving Iwagakure shinobi,

Crammed together, their faces blank and lifeless, staring in shock.

From behind the fifty-meter-high earthen wall,

They had no idea what had just happened.

They didn’t even know what had attacked them.

All they saw was a blinding white light descending from the heavens—

And then, everything around them simply ceased to exist.

Now, all they could do was gaze ahead, their eyes filled with a dazed, vacant confusion.

There, at the front of their forces—

Ōnoki knelt alone.

His robes were tattered, his body battered and broken.

He was covered in blood, his breathing ragged, barely able to hold himself up.

His arms, raised weakly above his head—

It was hard to tell whether he was resisting something,

Or worshipping it.

At the last moment,

As the Ultra Kirin descended,

Ōnoki had made his final decision—

Burning away all of his remaining chakra, he returned to the frontlines,

And at the cost of his own life force,

He cast one final Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique.

A desperate act—

To erase a fraction of the Ultra Kirin’s devastating power,

And to save what remained of the Iwagakure forces.

Amidst the questioning, bewildered, helpless, and sorrowful gazes of the crowd,

Onoki turned his head and looked at the military formation behind him.

At this moment,

The once vast army of Iwagakure, numbering in the tens of thousands, was now reduced to a sparse gathering.

Only a few units remained, such as the sealing squad, the guard unit, and part of the demolition team led by the elite Jonin, Hibikari.

A single Super Lightning Style: Kirin had obliterated over nine thousand Iwagakure shinobi!

Now, standing behind Onoki were fewer than a thousand ninja.

Most of them were gravely injured from the shockwaves of battles with giant creatures earlier.

This battle...

Iwagakure had gambled everything, hoping to achieve the greatest victory with minimal losses.

However,

The very forces that Onoki had painstakingly built up to their peak...

He had now personally led them to their demise.

Staring blankly at the Iwagakure shinobi behind him, who, after a moment of realization, had their faces instantly filled with anguish,

Onoki could only feel that...

Everything that had supported him, driven him to fight until this day—

All the emotions he had lived for...

The bitterness, anger, hatred, and fear that had pushed him to keep moving ever since that night of defeat forty years ago...

At this moment, they all came flooding back!

Even as a Kage, one of the strongest among the Five Great Nations,

In front of the true heir of that clan,

He... he was still nothing more than a fragile child,

Forced to kneel and look up at that divine radiance!

In his heart, wrapped by the Will of Stone,

It felt as if a string...

Snapped with a loud twang!

Finally,

A silence so long and eerie that it made one's heart race filled the air.

After a while, as the reality of this hopeless situation sank in, despite the pain...

Suddenly,

Tap... Tap... Tap...

A steady, powerful set of footsteps echoed!

The surviving Iwagakure shinobi looked up like frightened birds and saw—

Walking through the desolate ruins, across a blood-soaked, charred battlefield,

Through pools of molten kunai and scorched, carbonized corpses...

The demon who had created this hellish scene was approaching them!

---

Meanwhile,

Standing atop the Raikage's building, having watched the entire battle unfold,

Orochimaru...

A flicker of unease flashed in his eyes.

Even from this distance, he covered his left eye with his hand, widening his right eye as he stared at his disciple,

Standing alone at the gates of Kumogakure, victorious over tens of thousands.

His brows furrowed deeply.

"This isn’t right..."

"With just a fragment of chakra from the Eight-Tails' horn, how could he unleash such colossal jutsu one after another?"

"This completely defies the principle of chakra compensation... It's as if he's using another power to offset the cost of activating Susano'o. Could that be the Uchiha clan's so-called ocular power?"

"And when that thousand-meter-long white sword appeared just now, my Kusanagi Sword nearly broke free from my control."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes,

Fixing his gaze on the unique right eye of Shinji, which remained tightly shut.

"That peculiar pattern... Did it appear after his battle with the Raikage?"

A look of annoyance crossed Orochimaru's face.

"A new power emerged, and... I missed the moment it was born because I was busy transferring the Byakugan?"

But soon enough,

That annoyance faded. Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue, chuckling softly.

"Heh... It doesn’t matter,"

"Now that I roughly understand the process of its birth,

I can obtain the same eye just as well."

"Besides, I now have an even better option."

As that thought crossed his mind, Orochimaru smiled.

The purple eyeshadow around his eyes extended slightly,

Adding an even more eerie and sinister look to his already serpentine face.

His golden snake-like pupils gleamed with cunning.

"Well then, Shinji,"

"Let's see who progresses faster from here on out."

(End of Chapter)

*Chapter 392: Interlude – Serpent’s Path*

Amidst the charred and desolate ruins, the remaining Iwagakure forces—now numbering less than a thousand—stared in horror at the approaching figure.

"T-That, that is..."

"A demon! A demon!"

Whispers filled with pain stirred Onoki, who was kneeling at the forefront of the battered army. He lifted his head in a daze and saw—

A young man walking slowly towards them, his tattered clothes barely clinging to his body, shredded from exertion. At this moment—

He had already closed the distance but paid no attention to Onoki, who was now utterly drained of chakra and powerless, nor to the soldiers standing behind him. Without hesitation, he continued forward.

As he passed, the expressions on the faces of the Iwagakure shinobi shifted—first confusion, then resentment, then fear.

One by one, they silently stepped aside, forming two lines, creating an open path leading directly to the command center.

Yet, despite this disgraceful sight that humiliated Iwagakure, Onoki did not scold them. He did not lash out in anger. His lips trembled slightly as he gazed blankly at Shinji passing by.

"Shinji..."

"You have the power to wipe us out," he muttered, gripping a stone at his feet with trembling fingers. Lifting his head, his voice was filled with despair as he questioned:

"Why? Why aren’t you killing us?"

Hearing this, Shinji paused mid-step, slowly turning his head to glance down at Onoki. His expression twisted slightly, then turned indifferent as he sneered coldly:

"What kind of adult gets angry at an old man who already has one foot in the grave?"

"Are you done throwing your tantrum?"

He paused for a moment, then turned forward again, striding away with a look of complete indifference, almost disdainful.

"Good. Now get lost."

With those words, Shinji continued forward. Walking down the path the Iwagakure shinobi had cleared for him, he strode towards the heart of their encampment under their conflicted and complex gazes.

At last, he reached the sacrificial altar, where a bloodied and unconscious Hidan was tied to a cross, positioned at the center of a ritualistic triangle. The boy had fainted from sheer agony, his body pushed beyond its limits.

Shinji sighed, shaking his head. He raised his hand, placing it over Hidan’s torn flesh, and channeled the last of his chakra, drawing upon the natural energy around him to activate the Sage Art: Cellular Regeneration, mending Hidan’s broken body.

Then, without a word, he hoisted Hidan onto his back and, turning away from the Iwagakure forces, began walking into the distance.

However, his staggering steps, growing increasingly hurried, gave his retreat an oddly comical air.

Only at that moment did the sensory ninja in Iwagakure’s ranks finally react, exclaiming to Onoki in shock:

"Lord Tsuchikage! That guy—he’s completely out of chakra!"

"Right now, he’s all show! He’s just bluffing—"

"Is that so?" Onoki exhaled deeply, looking at the fading silhouette of Shinji. A bitter smile appeared on his face.

Finally, he waved his hand weakly.

"Retreat."

Onoki couldn’t determine whether Shinji had truly reached his limit. He couldn’t even confirm whether the sensory ninja’s claim was accurate.

And even if it was true—did that mean Shinji no longer had the strength for one last desperate strike?

To that question, Onoki had only one answer:

Exhaustion.

And fear.

When you grow strong, people start calling you a threat.

When you grow even stronger, they call you a warmonger, a terror.

But in truth—

From the moment they bullied you to the moment they feared you, it only meant one thing: you weren’t strong enough.

Once you surpass them all, fear will consume them entirely.

At that moment—

They will start to worship you, revere you as a god.

Because when their lives and deaths are determined by your whims, the only thing they can do is pray that you are a god and not a demon.

Onoki, now among ‘them,’ suddenly found himself thinking this in a trance.

###

Within a single hour, Shinji had torn through three layers of Kumogakure defenses, engaged in a direct clash with their chakra cannon, fought and defeated the young A, Killer Bee, the Third Raikage, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han, the One-Tail Shukaku, and the two-scale Onoki—six Kage-level and super-Kage-level powerhouses.

He had overwhelmed and crushed eight thousand Kumogakure shinobi and ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi.

And now—

Shinji felt lightheaded. His muscles ached. His chakra was drained. His natural energy was depleted. His visual prowess was exhausted.

An overwhelming weakness overtook him.

The reason he hadn’t finished off the remaining Iwagakure forces was not mercy. It was simply because—

He had nothing left to give. He had pushed his body to such an extent that even his cells were beginning to reject natural energy.

If he had stayed any longer, those remaining Iwagakure shinobi could have actually cut him down and torn him apart.

So—

He had no choice but to maintain a facade of power, striding through their ranks to retrieve Hidan, putting on an act to secure his retreat.

Now, at last, beyond the range of any normal ninja’s sensory perception, Shinji panted heavily, his body trembling as his vision blurred. His overexerted frame screamed at him to collapse.

Just then—

"Mmm..."

On his back, the silver-haired brat, his forehead smeared with blood, let out a groggy murmur and blinked awake.

"Huh? Shinji!?"

Hidan’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at the exhausted Shinji, whose complexion was deathly pale and whose breath came in ragged gasps.

"Holy shit, bro, you look like you just got kicked out of an all-you-can-eat buffet in the Land of Hot Water!"

"Dude, don’t die on me here!"

Hearing this, Shinji nearly coughed up blood from sheer frustration. His body trembled as he violently shook Hidan off his back, sending him crashing to the ground before giving him a solid flick to the forehead.

"You brain-dead idiot! You have the audacity to ask that!?"

Rubbing his head, Hidan, whose literacy level wavered between that of an idiot and a scholar, blinked in confusion. The fact that he could feel pain meant he wasn’t dreaming.

"Huh? No wounds?"

Glancing down at his perfectly healed body, then back at Shinji, his eyes lit up in realization.

"Wait... did you fail your assassination mission too? Are we both dead? Is this heaven?"

"You moron—"

Shinji, utterly enraged, raised his hand to give him another flick.

"Dead your ass!"

But at that moment—

A breeze swept through, and Shinji, already teetering on the brink of collapse, finally lost his footing.

At last—

He toppled forward, unable to resist the overwhelming exhaustion, and passed out cold.

Hidan stared at him blankly, then let out a helpless sigh, lifting Shinji by his collar as he turned toward the lush, uncharted forest path ahead.

With a wry smile, he murmured:

"After killing so many people, Shinji, how could we expect any good fortune?"

"This must be hell... The only question is—will we meet the Jashin-sama or the Sage of Six Paths?"

Just then—

From deep within the forest, the slithering sound of a serpent echoed.

And then—

A hoarse, sinister voice, dripping with amusement, whispered in Hidan’s ear:

"It’s me~"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 393: Orochimaru: I Want You to Help Me Train!

It felt like a sharp needle suddenly jabbed into his ear.

Hidan stood at attention, startled by this twisted greeting.

When he saw who was blocking the narrow forest path, his pupils shrank in shock.

“O-O-O-Orochimaru!?”

Hidan's eyes widened in disbelief. His limbs went cold, and he stood as stiff as a slab of frozen beef, unable to take even half a step forward.

Standing before him was none other than one of the legendary Three Sannin,

*Orochimaru!*

Previously, he had only seen Orochimaru once in the cult’s cave.

The villainous aura of this big bad boss was seared into Hidan’s memory, even as he was clinging to his last breath back then.

But why was Orochimaru here now?

And why was he blocking their way?

No time to think about whether this guy planned to skewer and roast them—or maybe swallow them whole, given his snake-like nature.

“Y-You... You better get lost!”

Hidan took a step back, his heart sinking further. He was on the verge of tears, thinking, Just my luck... Escaped Iwagakure's jaws only to fall into a snake pit?

Left with no choice, he puffed out his chest and bluffed with false bravado:

“You know the Third Raikage? Y-Yeah, I took him down myself! If you don’t get out of the way, I’ll skin you like a snake!”

Orochimaru looked at the sweaty, silver-haired brat who was all bark and no bite, sizing him up with great interest.

Then, he let out a raspy chuckle.

“Heh heh... Kid, do you want to save your big brother?”

Hidan froze, then whipped his head around to look at Shinji, who was lying at his feet.

Shinji’s face was as pale as a sheet of paper, barely clinging to life. (In reality, he was continuously strengthening his body through Sage Mode.)

Hidan’s heart sank.

Gritting his teeth, he turned back to Orochimaru and demanded,

“What do you want from me? Who do you want me to kill?”

“No, I’m not interested in having you kill anyone.”

Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed, lingering on the *Book of Jashin* hanging at Hidan's waist.

A sly smile played on his lips.

“So, your name is Hidan...”

“I want you to help me train!”

“Huh!?”

---

More than half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day,

Shinji had a nightmare.

In his dream,

He first found himself on the set of The Legend of the White Snake. But then, the scenes started to twist and distort.

Normally, the ending would be *Fa Hai* holding up his alms bowl and shouting at the White Snake, “Demon, I want you to help me train!”

But suddenly, the scene rewound and the style changed completely.

The White Snake, now looking like a muscle-bound comic book character, kidnapped a young Fa Hai and dragged him into a cave, yelling,

“Kid, I want you to help me train!”

“What the hell kind of nonsense is this!?”

Shinji bolted upright, eyes wide with shock.

Then he saw—

A pale, ghostly face staring right at him, holding a broom and half-heartedly sweeping the rocky cave floor.

“You’re finally awake?” said the silver-haired boy.

“Huh? Hidan?”

Shinji raised an eyebrow, looking at his little brother’s outfit.

Hidan was dressed in a light gray punk uniform, much like the Sound Four’s attire, with a rope belt tied around his waist just like Orochimaru’s.

He quickly understood what had happened.

After he lost consciousness, Orochimaru must have brought them back.

Not surprising. After all, Orochimaru orchestrated the whole plan in Kumogakure.

It was likely Orochimaru had been keeping an eye on him, waiting for the right moment to scoop him up after he inevitably lost to Iwagakure’s army.

But plans couldn’t keep up with reality. Who could’ve guessed Shinji would plow through Iwagakure’s forces with just his Mangekyou Sharingan?

At that moment,

Hidan looked at Shinji, his lips trembling.

Then, he lunged forward, grabbing Shinji’s hospital gown and hugging his waist with a face full of frustration.

“You finally woke the hell up!”

“To save you, I signed a freaking contract! Dammit, I’ve gotta work for that snake for ten years for free!”

Shinji blinked in confusion,

After a moment of silence, he said, “You totally got tricked by Orochimaru.”

“He was my teacher, after all. If he could get something out of it, he would.”

“A badass like me doesn’t need saving. Just sunlight, air, and water—I’d heal up on my own.”

He stopped short, realizing he’d basically called himself a vegetable, and quickly changed the subject.

Hidan’s jaw dropped.

“What?! I got tricked!?”

Embarrassed and angry, he spun around to leave.

“I’m gonna find that snake and make him pay!”

Seeing this idiot about to storm out, Shinji grabbed the rope on his back and said calmly,

“Just stay with Orochimaru for now.”

It was surprising that Orochimaru took Hidan in, but in the current state of the shinobi world, staying with Orochimaru was way better than getting executed by the Hidden Hot Water Village.

Plus, with Hidan’s near-immortal body, working and studying under Orochimaru was a much better fate than dying.

“By the way, how long was I out?”

Shinji rotated his shoulders, hearing the creaks and cracks.

He felt a bit stiff and noticed some peculiar changes in his body.

His status screen was also filled with new updates.

He looked at Hidan and continued,

“What’s going on in the outside world now?”

Hidan froze for a second, then looked at Shinji with a complicated expression.

Finally, he smiled in relief and began to excitedly ramble:

“You were out for twenty-six days!”

“You didn’t eat or drink. I was worried you’d starve to death, but Orochimaru said you’d be fine. He just showed me how to hook up an IV, and then we waited for over twenty days.”

“And also—”

Shinji raised an eyebrow, “What’s ‘also’? Get to the point!”

Hidan grinned and playfully punched Shinji in the chest.

“I almost thought you’d given up on that promise you made in the Land of Hot Water.”

He took a deep breath and looked at Shinji with a serious expression.

“But—”

“You actually did it!”

“That feat!”

“You single-handedly shook the Five Great Nations and ended the Third Shinobi World War!”

(End of Chapter)

*Chapter 394: One Man Ends the War – Diagnosis: Despair!*

From Hidan’s words, Shinji roughly understood what had happened after he lost consciousness.

First and foremost—

The Third Great Ninja War, which had engulfed the entire shinobi world, had come to an ironically abrupt end.

Half a month ago, the war had reached a stalemate.

The Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth suffered heavy losses, Akatsuki split up, and Yahiko’s group returned to the Land of Rain to continue their pursuit of "peace."

Meanwhile, another faction, led by Mei Terumi, fled to the isolated Land of Water to escape persecution and bounty hunts from the great nations. There, they established a fourth power base within Kirigakure, separate from the Elder Council, the Mizukage’s administration, and the Blood Mist faction, further fueling the internal chaos within the village.

With three of the Five Great Nations struggling to recover,

Only Sunagakure remained, barely holding the front lines against Konoha. Seeing the situation, Rasa wasted no time in casting his vote.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, valuing peace above all, accepted Sunagakure’s surrender.

The two great nations, the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth, which had initially planned to backstab each other, ended up suffering severe losses instead.

Tailed beasts, Jinchūriki, elite shinobi, and classified intelligence—everything was leaked or lost in the chaos.

Though reluctant, these nations had no choice but to remain silent when Sunagakure surrendered.

Especially considering that Shinji—a "living Buddha" capable of wiping out an entire great nation single-handedly and even eliminating the bulk of the military forces of both the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth in a single day—was still alive,

Not a single nation, nor a single individual, dared to reignite a greater war.

Some radicals within Sunagakure had hoped to take advantage of the situation and invade the weakened Land of Earth. However, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa—who had barely escaped death on the battlefield at Yunming City—personally carried these radicals, chair and all, out of the war council and immediately suspended them. Even Elder Chiyo dared not voice any objections.

The great ninja villages, acting in unspoken agreement, ignored their respective daimyos’ protests and, overnight, rescinded the astronomical bounty placed on Shinji.

However, under pressure from the daimyo factions, the bounties on Oniyashiro En, Kakuzu, and Mangetsu Hozuki remained in place.

Konoha, on the other hand, outright claimed that the slash across Shinji’s forehead protector was just a joke. They insisted that Konoha had never acknowledged him as a rogue ninja.

On the contrary—

He was a shinobi with impeccable lineage, a direct successor of both the founding clans and the legendary Sannin. Without a doubt, he was a rightful heir to the Hokage mantle!

Within Konoha, the call for Shinji to become the Fourth Hokage grew louder. Though most villagers still remembered him as that kid who was great at cleaning riverbanks and selling jars,

His actions in the war had permanently altered the delicate balance of power among the nations.

In a single battle, six tailed beasts were removed from the equation.

Unsurprisingly, the great nations all shifted their focus to the impending "revival match"—where the remaining tailed beasts, including Shukaku (One-Tail), Son Goku (Four-Tails), Kokuo (Five-Tails), Chomei (Seven-Tails), Gyuki (Eight-Tails), and the missing Matatabi (Two-Tails), would become the center of attention.

Ten days ago—

No one expected Sunagakure to be the first to act against its own daimyo, launching a coup.

Thus began Rasa’s new career as a full-time gold miner and blood merchant.

Five days ago—

The daimyos of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water suddenly died from mysterious illnesses. The suspicious timing of their heirs’ ascension drew significant attention.

Shortly after—

The Land of Earth’s daimyo, having interfered in ninja village affairs, was deemed disrespectful for stepping out of his palace with his left foot first.

A blinding white light descended from the sky, reducing the daimyo’s residence to rubble. From that moment on, the Land of Earth became an independent nation ruled entirely by shinobi—leapfrogging twenty years ahead of its contemporaries.

The once-powerful daimyos of the Five Great Nations were no longer invincible.

Only the Fire Daimyo remained, propped up by the Fire Temple, the Guardian Ninja, and Sarutobi Hiruzen’s political maneuvering.

However, when a twelve-year-old Uchiha trampled over the daimyos’ prestige, reducing them to mere laughingstocks,

The Fire Daimyo’s fall became inevitable. It was only a matter of time before he relinquished control over the nation’s finances and land, becoming a ruler in name only.

Soon, the bounties on those associated with Shinji quietly faded into obscurity.

The era of the ninja—

Had arrived.

---

【Checkpoint Reached.】

【This is a shinobi era illuminated by faint light.】

Shinji pushed aside the mountains of text filling his vision, his gaze instantly drawn to a new line of golden, flashing words:

【Under the leadership of employee: Shinji, the Shinobi World War has ended, triggering a sweeping revolution.】

【However, do not be blinded by momentary triumph. Though the battle has ceased, the true masterminds behind the chaos still lurk in the shadows, scheming to unleash a new wave of disaster.】

【You have received your settlement rewards from the Heavenly Path Corporation: Dimensional Distortion Correction +0.1, Fundamental Coordinates of the Shinobi World, and one Projection Return opportunity.】

【Projection Return: The chance to return to your original world while retaining your abilities (after fundamental spiritual adjustments). Caution: Use only when you are absolutely confident in your strength.】

Reading the final line, Shinji frowned.

“What does this mean?”

In his memory, the world he came from was relatively peaceful. Wars existed, but they were distant, unlikely to reach his home within the next decade.

Yet, the text made it seem like his world was already engulfed in flames, waiting for him to play firefighter.

As this thought surfaced, new lines of text appeared before his eyes, as if responding to his confusion:

【According to the original timeline, your world is undergoing a [Dragon]-level catastrophe.】

【At first, no one paid attention. They thought it was just a minor illness.】

【But as more people became infected and their conditions worsened, it finally raised some concern.】

【Diagnosis: ‘Despair.’】

【In ten days, the catastrophe will erupt. Within thirty minutes, all intelligent life on Earth will perish, ending civilization.】

【You were chosen as a Heavenly Descended Warrior to draw strength from chaotic worlds and rewrite this fate—preserving the fire of civilization.】

【Keep striving forward. End the chaos once and for all. Secure more Projection Return opportunities.】

---

"Hey, hey, what’s wrong,Shinji?"

Beside him, Hidan watched as Shinji suddenly froze on his hospital bed, his gaze drifting into thin air as if he were looking at something invisible.

Hidan waved a hand in front of his face.

“Oi, I was just talking about that bastard Orochimaru dragging us all the way to the Land of Wind for no reason.”

“You gotta talk some sense into him, man! This place is way too hot—I'm about to get heatstroke!”

“Loulan, Loulan! Nothing here but a bunch of damn towers!”

“If you ask me, we should head to the Land of Water instead and help Mei Terumi reclaim her place. Word is, things aren’t looking too good for her. What do you think?”

Hidan’s voice seemed distant, muffled, like it was passing through a thin barrier.

Shinji snapped back to reality, recalling what his companion had just said.

For a moment, he froze again as if remembering something important.

Then, his head shot up, eyes sharp as he asked,

“Where are we? And how many days until the Ghost Festival—Ninja World’s equivalent of the Hungry Ghost Festival?”

Hidan chuckled, slapping his thigh.

“Loulan! We’re in Loulan!”

“Oh, and by the way—today is the Ghost Festival!”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 395: The Wind Arrives, Nation of a Thousand Towers

*"The world is like a giant windmill."*

*"Although it sometimes turns slowly, it’s not worth watching. The monotonous scenery quickly becomes tiresome."*

*"But now... things are different."*

Clad in classic snake-themed combat attire, with long hair tied into a ponytail and a jade earring dangling from one ear, Orochimaru stood atop a sand dune amidst the swirling yellow sand. A mysterious smile played at the corner of his lips as he gazed into the distance.

In that vast, desolate desert—seemingly endless and despair-inducing—stood a colossal city made up of thousands of towering structures, appearing like a mirage on the horizon.

---

*"When did it all begin?"*

*"That gentle breeze from three months ago..."*

*"Has now turned into a ferocious hurricane, sweeping across the entire Shinobi world, too violent to look at directly!"*

*"The withered, the decayed, the eroded, the false... The truth of history is slowly revealing itself before our eyes."*

*"I am looking forward to it."*

Orochimaru chuckled softly, turning his head slightly to glance at the two figures emerging from the cave behind the sand dune.

*"My disciple, what do you think?"*

---

*"I... I don’t know!"*

Shinji was momentarily stunned, his face a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

Having just stepped out into the harsh environment of the Land of Wind and been immediately assaulted by a mouthful of sand, he was planning to ask his teacher about the peculiar celestial phenomenon he had mentioned earlier. But before he could, Orochimaru started spouting poetic nonsense, as if seeking approval for his musings.

Ji’s face went blank, thinking, How am I supposed to respond to that?

Should I applaud and say, "Brilliant! What beautiful verses!"

Luckily, at that moment, Hidan, who had been itching to settle a score, broke the awkwardness.

---

With an expression of pure outrage, Hidan stormed up to Orochimaru, attempting to grab his waistband while shouting, *"Orochimaru! I can't believe I trusted you, and you tricked your own teacher like this?!"*

*"Wait, what the hell are you talking about?!"*

Before Orochimaru could respond, Shinji was already bewildered.

He had expected Hidan to spout nonsense—after all, the man wasn’t exactly known for his eloquence. He also knew that Hidan had been swindled by Orochimaru into essentially working for free for the next decade.

But this?

*Hidan claimed that he had been teaching Orochimaru?*

*That Hidan was actually his teacher?!*

Does this mean I should start calling Hidan ‘Master’ too?

Just what the hell happened here?!

---

*"Ji, don’t bother trying to persuade me. I’ve already made up my mind,"* Hidan declared firmly, turning around to face him.

*"From now on, you’ll call me Master, I’ll call you Boss, Orochimaru will call me Teacher, and I’ll call him Boss."*

*"We’ll each have our own titles. No need for anyone to feel awkward."*

---

*BANG!*

With a deadpan expression, Shinji withdrew his fist as Hidan crumpled to the ground, clutching his head and groaning in pain.

Orochimaru turned around, a dark cloud of frustration hanging over him.

Great.

The atmosphere he had painstakingly crafted in this godforsaken desert—the perfect setting for imparting wisdom and knowledge—was utterly ruined.

---

After a moment’s hesitation, Orochimaru decided it was better to clear up the confusion than to continue his philosophical musings.

*"I took away that brat’s ‘Jashin Ritual Book.’"*

---

*"No way!"*

Shinji looked at Orochimaru in shock.

So Hidan was telling the truth after all?

Damn, Orochimaru...

Not only did he trick Hidan into working for free for ten years, but he also managed to get him to hand over the secret techniques of the Jashin Cult.

And he did all that by outsmarting a fool?

---

Putting aside the absurdity of the titles, Shinji looked at Orochimaru with curiosity.

*"What do you plan to do with it?"*

The Jashin Ritual Book was the final legacy of the former chief of the Jashin Cult, Higashikata Hayato, and it contained all the rituals and curses associated with Jashin.

This was also the basis for Hidan’s future achievements, even enabling him to play a crucial role during the war against the Third Raikage.

The most valuable part of the book detailed the ritual to obtain the *‘Immortal Body’* curse.

However, the ‘Immortal Body’ shared many similarities with Orochimaru’s own techniques but also conflicted with his existing research, posing significant limitations.

Its underlying principle was somewhat akin to the *‘Edo Tensei,’* as it involved anchoring the soul to the body, allowing the user to survive fatal injuries. Additionally, whether due to Jashin’s power or the soul’s influence, the body gained enhanced resistance to jutsu and a degree of self-healing.

However, Orochimaru’s *‘Living Corpse Reincarnation’* required constantly changing bodies to achieve immortality, whereas the ‘Immortal Body’ fundamentally locked him out of this path.

The two techniques were theoretically incompatible.

---

*"Heh heh."*

RealizingShinji’s concern, Orochimaru merely smirked, his lips curling into a cunning smile.

*"Even gods can be deceived."*

---

Ji was shaken.

After mastering the mass production of Tailed Beast Chakra, has Orochimaru also made breakthroughs in immortality?

And now he’s planning to trick a god?!

Then again, recalling how Orochimaru fooled the Reaper summoned by the Shiki Fūjin during the Fourth Great Ninja War,Shinji found himself oddly reassured.

There are always geniuses capable of defying the odds.

---

Not pressing further, Shinji remained silent.

Though their paths occasionally crossed, his journey was not the same as his master’s.

He had his own vision for the road ahead.

---

*"We’ll discuss this later. But Shinji, you must know why we’re here today."*

Orochimaru chuckled, turning his gaze back to the blazing sun over the desert.

Under the cloudless sky, the sunlight illuminated the jewel of the desert—an ancient city unlike any civilization of this era, its countless towering spires piercing the heavens.

Fierce desert winds howled, raising massive waves of sand, yet they faltered before the city’s intimidating height.

---

This was—

*The City of a Thousand Towers, Rōran!*

---

Gazing at the magnificent sight, Shinji took a deep breath and spoke solemnly,

*"You once told me..."*

*"The White Snake Sage who took my heart and the Tailed Beast..."*

*"On the night of July 15th, during the Ghost Festival, when the Gates of Hell open, the Tengu devours the moon, and the coldest night falls upon the Shinobi world..."*

*"In Rōran, at the Dragon Vein in the Land of Wind, it will perform a ritual to seize the Dragon's body and ascend the Dragon Gate!"*

*"Becoming the first—and last—Divine Dragon of this era!"*

---

Shinji eyes gleamed with resolve as he continued,

*"And we..."*

*"Have come to slay the dragon and ascend to immortality!"*

---

(End of Chapter)