Half an hour later, atop a massive boulder.
Uchiha Ci had memorized everything in the scroll.
Without hesitation, he formed hand seals and spat out a Great Fireball, destroying the scroll where it lay.
Then, he assumed a posture and sat down cross-legged.
Closing his eyes,
he gradually focused all his attention on his own breathing. With every inhale and exhale, the howling of the early spring's cold wind quietly faded from his ears.
Gradually,
the sound of his heart pounding again and again became like rolling thunder.
A full moon hung behind him, while the wilderness stretched to the horizon.
Under the cold moonlight, Uchiha Ci suddenly opened his eyes.
The black tomoe in his scarlet eyes slowly turned, and everything before him seemed as though it had been put in slow motion.
He stared intently at his chest.
Under the Sharingan's vision,
a wisp of Fire Release Chakra that had completed its nature transformation erupted from the area around his heart!
Blazing Flame coursed through his entire body in an instant,
making Uchiha Ci feel as if he had returned to that moment when he faced off against the three Kumogakure ninja.
The instant the Exploding Tags erupted into flames, and the tongues of fire scorched both body and soul.
The difference was that now, all that surging power was confined within this body, like a depleted uranium bomb compressed to its limit, ready to raise a mushroom cloud right where he stood the next moment.
Sizzle, sizzle—
Under the searing flames, his body suddenly gave off a sizzling sound, like oil bubbling.
A sharp pain that seemed to clutch his heart suddenly struck!
Uchiha Ci's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately cut off the Chakra supply.
A line of text appeared before his eyes at just the right moment.
[You have mastered Katon: Chakra Mode (Beginner, A, Extremely Dangerous)]
Sizzle—
Surging steam rose from Uchiha Ci's entire body.
He could not help taking two deep breaths, his heart still filled with lingering fear.
If he had not mastered Great Elder Uchiha Setsuna's master-level Silk Manipulation Shuriken Jutsu, granting him an extremely high degree of control over his body, allowing him to instantly realize something was wrong and stop in time,
he would already be dead.
And dying like that could only be considered suicide.
"As expected, it's dangerous. And this process is irreversible. Once it is fully ignited, Chakra will burn Chakra, triggering a Chain Reaction similar to a Nuclear Explosion. At that point, there will be no turning back."
After the wrenching pain in his heart faded, Uchiha Ci exhaled a long, condensed stream of White Qi and pushed himself to his feet.
With a thought, he opened his panel.
[Employee: Uchiha Ci] [Title: Heavenly Strong Man.] [Talents: Heart of Steel (SSS), Sharingan (Single Tomoe, B+), Combat Intuition (Beginner, S).] [Skills: Uchiha Style - Silk Manipulation Shuriken Jutsu (Master, S), Super · Deathmatch Barrier (Proficient, S), Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique (Beginner, C), Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique (Skilled, C), Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Flower Claw Red (Proficient, B), Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique (Beginner, C), Wind Style: Void Severing Wave (Proficient, B), Three Body Techniques, Rope Escape Technique, Basic Body Techniques (Skilled).] [Special Skill: Katon: Chakra Mode (Beginner, A, Extremely Dangerous)] [Accumulated Heart's Hardness Stacks (Expand Available)] [Insurance Status: Paid.]
Looking at the line for Katon: Chakra Mode fixed on his panel, Uchiha Ci finally let out the breath he had been holding.
Apart from that core forbidden jutsu, the scroll also contained a sword art called Sun Halo Dance, though it seemed to require a weapon forged from Chakra Metal.
On its own, this sword art could only be considered a B-rank sword technique. But when combined with the Sharingan, Genjutsu, a Chakra Metal Ninjato, and Katon: Chakra Mode, it could form the ultimate S-Rank Forbidden Jutsu Sword Ougi.
Shisui Uchiha had mastered this sword art in the Original Work, but perhaps because Uchiha Setsuna had already died by then, Shisui never mastered the core Katon: Chakra Mode.
Still, that did not matter much for Shisui, who could Pilot Gundam.
Uchiha Ci slightly raised his head and gazed at the full moon in the sky.
He took a deep breath, his gaze turning resolute.
Since all preparations had been made,
all that remained was to head to the Evil God Cult Headquarters and cause a massive uproar!
But—
Just then,
"You're planning to go alone like this?"
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind him, its tone filled with accusation and anger—
"Are you going to say something nice, then rush off alone to die?"
"Uchiha Ci, who exactly is the one running away?"
"Do you want your dreams to end in some backwater corner like the Land of Hot Water?!"
"Huh?! Answer me!"
Uchiha Ci abruptly turned around.
He immediately saw a childish fist viciously flying toward his face!
The Combat Intuition ingrained into his body made him instinctively tilt his head aside and evade the blow.
Then he saw Hidan's furious face behind the fist.
His gaze could not help but turn dazed for a moment, and he lowered his guard.
Seizing the chance, Hidan leaped up, grabbed the bandages around Uchiha Ci's neck with both hands, and violently shoved him against a nearby boulder.
Bang!
His back slammed against the boulder with a dull thud.
Hidan's eyes were red as he angrily shouted:
"Bastard, talk to me!"
"You..." Uchiha Ci was momentarily stunned.
He had never expected that after telling Hidan to go home and stay put as a NEET, the little brother had ignored him completely and caught up again in less than an hour.
And he even looked ready to beat up his big brother.
"What do you mean, 'you'? I'm really sick of this!"
"You've really had enough, Uchiha Ci!"
"Without me leading the way, do you even know where the Evil God Cult Headquarters is?"
At Hidan's reminder, Uchiha Ci could not help going blank.
A serious problem immediately came to mind.
Right.
Where was the Evil God Cult Headquarters?
Uchiha Ci frowned. With a shake of his imposing frame, he lifted Hidan one-handed and put him back in his proper little-brother position, then sternly rebuked him:
"Stop messing around, Hidan!"
"Even without you, I can just grab an Evil God Cultist and torture him until he tells me where their headquarters is."
With that, Uchiha Ci shook his head and spoke righteously:
"Still, you came at just the right time."
"You only need to tell me where the Evil God Cult Headquarters is, and your mission will be complete."
"I'll reluctantly count you in on the credit for wiping out the Evil God Cult."
"That way, when you get home, you can brag to the Yugakure Ninja that you once fought side by side with Lord Uchiha Ci, the ruler of the world."
"So? Don't you feel like you've hit the jackpot?"
Hidan stared at the righteous-looking Uchiha Ci, blinking despite himself. His eyes filled with shock, as though he had seen a ghost.
How could there be someone so shameless in this world?!
If he did not know, he did not know. Yet he actually wanted to trick information out of him with such a childish method?
Where had the image of that good big brother who had comforted him an hour ago gone?
Give his feelings back!
"You bastard!" Hidan gritted his teeth, slapped Uchiha Ci's hand away, snorted indignantly, then stubbornly turned his head and said:
"I'm going with you!"
"Tch." Uchiha Ci immediately felt a headache coming on. "Kid, why won't you listen?"
At that moment, he finally understood how Uchiha Setsuna had felt when he had refused to let him take missions.
There was nothing but mountains of blades and seas of fire ahead.
And this kid did not even have insurance. Why was he trying to play the hero?
Hidan shook his head and said with a resolute expression:
"I have to go with you!"
"Uchiha Ci, I'm going to watch you. I have to see with my own eyes—"
"whether you truly have what it takes—"
"to become my Evil God!"
Hidan drew a deep breath, his gaze unwavering.
The light Uchiha Ci had shattered seemed to rise brilliantly in his eyes once more!
"Isn't that what you said?"
"What I want is simply the Evil God I need!"
"Whether it's you or that guy from the Evil God Cult doesn't matter at all!"
"I want to end the chaos in the Land of Hot Water, drive every Great Nation Ninja off this land, and become the next 'Demigod' of the ninja world!"
"This is my Ninjutsu Path!"
Hidan suddenly fell silent and looked at Uchiha Ci with high spirits.
"Then let's start by getting rid of the Evil God Cult, this festering tumor!"
Uchiha Ci took a deep breath and silently looked at Hidan for a moment. Although a tiny, insignificant flicker of emotion rose in his heart,
reason told him that if Hidan went to the Evil God Cult Headquarters, history would likely repeat itself.
It might even turn out worse.
Just as he was about to refuse Hidan,
a clear, pleasant voice like silver bells suddenly rang out from behind him.
"Then come along, Hidan."
"I'll agree for him!"
Uchiha Ci froze, then turned around.
There, he saw—
a girl with clear emerald eyes standing with her arms crossed, her figure tall and slender.
She stood in the pale glow of the moonlight, the faint smile curling her lips like a flower blooming in spring.
Then, she slowly parted her cherry lips and said:
"And I'm going too."
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