I Will Use These Eyes to Illuminate the World!

"Hidan, do you still remember your Ninjutsu Path?"

Uchiha Ci's gaze sharpened as he stared directly at the brat before him.

Under that sincere yet burning gaze, Hidan's eyes instinctively darted away. He muttered:

"My Ninjutsu Path..."

"That's right!"

"Your Ninjutsu Path!"

"You threw your head back, flared those huge nostrils of yours, and confidently pointed your thumb at yourself!"

"You loudly declared that someone with nothing would become the Mizukage, end the chaos in the Land of Hot Water, drive every ninja off this land, and become the next Demigod!"

Uchiha Ci looked straight at Hidan, curling his lips into a faint smile as he teased:

"You said all that yourself. Do you need me to remind you?"

An awkward look crossed Hidan's face. His expression twisted with conflict as he stammered:

"Th-That was just..."

But before he could finish, Uchiha Ci's tone turned cold as he cut him off:

"You want to say it was nothing but bragging, empty words, lies?"

"That the Real World is far crueler than all that?"

He grabbed Hidan by the collar, the tomoe spinning within his Crimson Pupils radiating an imposing Aura.

"Don't be stupid!"

"Deny your own heart, deny your own will, deny your own dreams—then accept reality, stuff your hollow head with fantasies, march yourself to the gallows, and grovel before beings stronger than Yugakure."

"What difference is there between you being alive and being dead?"

"Wait, I..." Hidan choked on those Words. He seemed desperate to argue, to find a valid excuse for his actions, to persuade Uchiha Ci and persuade himself—

To prove that what he had done was right, that it had been the best choice when there had been no other choice.

Yet Hidan could not bring himself to continue.

Because deep down, he knew it too.

The Evil God Cult's doctrine—the doctrine of stopping killing with killing and slaughtering everyone—was nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst.

Uchiha Ci let out a breath and said in a Deep Voice:

"Hidan!"

"You are a strong person. You have the resolve to Go to Death. You wanted to use your own sacrifice to obtain the Evil God's grace!"

"But I'm telling you, this is nothing but running away!"

Uchiha Ci's Words were like a hammer, smashing viciously into Hidan's heart and utterly shattering the barriers he had piled up within.

Strip away the sugary coating of the Evil God Cult, and beneath it was nothing more than a piece of shit Exuding a foul stench!

It forced Hidan to Face Reality.

His face alternated between red and white, veins bulging across his forehead. One hand suddenly clamped around the hand Uchiha Ci used to grip his collar.

He wanted to pry it off, but with his strength, how could he possibly be an Opponent for Uchiha Ci, who was already a genin?

In the end, he could only flush red and curse furiously at Uchiha Ci:

"Enough! Uchiha Ci, enough!"

"Get the hell out! This Master doesn't need your pity, and I don't want to hear your preaching!"

"I've heard words like that more times than I can count over the past ten years in the Land of Hot Water!"

"What could you possibly understand about my situation, my pain?"

"Is this what you'd expect from a Great Nation Ninja?"

"Don't you find that lofty look on your face disgusting?!"

Yet Uchiha Ci laughed in the face of Hidan's hysteria.

"Is that so?"

He viciously hauled Hidan up by the collar and slammed him to the ground, his expression gradually turning savage.

Then, like a Villain BOSS who had emerged from the final stage, he freely humiliated the Level 1 Hero wielding the Novice Village Sword, dismissing his so-called dreams as utterly worthless!

A vicious glint flashed in Uchiha Ci's eyes as he snarled:

"You brat, listen to Father carefully—"

"Father isn't preaching to you. Father is proving to you—"

"My Ninjutsu Path is above yours!"

Uchiha Ci released Hidan and rose to his feet, looking up at the Full Moon in the boundless Night Sky as his gaze gradually deepened.

He fell silent for a moment. Then he looked down, his face filled with arrogant indifference as he said:

"Hidan."

"The Land of Hot Water you see is nothing more than a remote little corner of the entire Ninja World!"

"Your goal is merely a small part of my Ninjutsu Path, something I will accomplish sooner or later!"

"And my Ninjutsu Path—"

Uchiha Ci suddenly opened his Crimson Sharingan, and his tone abruptly changed.

In a voice so cold it held no emotion at all, he said flatly:

"is to overthrow the current Five Great Nations, unify the entire Ninja World, and end the unbroken wars that have raged since the Warring States period!"

"To bring eternal peace to this world!"

"This is something I must do. Even if I have to face death itself, I will not hesitate!"

"I will use These Eyes of mine to illuminate the entire world!"

As soon as his Words fell, the surroundings abruptly fell silent.

Hidan, staring in shock; the Maiden with Brown-Red Long Hair; and Shennong, who had been sitting silently in the corner as though he did not exist at all, all turned their eyes toward Uchiha Ci.

Their gazes flickered repeatedly, as though Ci's Words had stirred something deep within their hearts.

Hidan could not help swallowing, staring at Uchiha Ci with a stunned expression.

"Ci, you..."

Before Hidan could speak, the Maiden with Brown-Red Long Hair rose from the Tree Stump. Her calm gaze examined Uchiha Ci as though she were looking at an arrogant Madman.

Then she asked coldly:

"What will you use to fulfill your Ninjutsu Path? What gives you the right to make such a promise? What confidence do you have that you can accomplish something no one has ever managed to do?"

"Standing before you are the Five Great Nations—the entire Ninja World!"

"Hiruzen Sarutobi, hailed as the Strongest Hokage; the Third Raikage A, who possessed the strongest spear and shield; the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, who surpassed Kekkei Genkai and reached the realm of Kekkei Tōta; the Sannin; the Demigod; the Tailed Beasts; the Jinchuriki..."

"So many renowned ninja, so many legendary figures, would not dare utter such grand words!"

"What gives you the right?!"

The Maiden's Words rang out like falling steel, her reproach like a Sharp Knife pressed to Uchiha Ci's throat, leaving him no room to retreat.

Yet Uchiha Ci had never intended to avoid this question.

As a Heavenly Strong Man, his duty had been determined from the very beginning. So now, he spoke without the slightest hesitation, his will unwavering:

"What matters has never been words, but action! It is refusing to run away!"

"No one starts at the summit. No matter how difficult something is, you reach it one step at a time."

Then he looked at the stunned Hidan and said calmly:

"Hidan, you and I are no different."

"Compared to the entire Ninja World, all I possess is this insignificant life of mine!"

"But all I need to know is that my feet have Stepped Onto this road."

"As long as I stand at the forefront of this road, my back will naturally draw countless people to look toward it!"

"Even if I fall, there will ultimately be tens of thousands, millions of others like me who rise behind me!"

Uchiha Ci's Words settled. His gaze was resolute as he said without avoiding anyone's eyes:

"In the end, this dream will definitely be realized!"

"And I have already taken the first step toward fulfilling that ideal!"

"Now, I only need to take the second step—"

"Starting with the Land of Hot Water!"

"Starting here!"

"I will end the chaos on this land!"

"And bring peace to This Country!"

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