I Will Use These Eyes to Illuminate the World!

"Hidan, do you still remember your Nindo?"

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

Under that sincere and burning gaze, Hidan's eyes involuntarily flickered away, and he mumbled, "My Nindo."

"That's right!"

"Your Nindo!"

"You tilt your head back, nostrils flared, and confidently point at yourself with your thumb!"

"You loudly proclaim that you, who have nothing, will become the Hot Water Kage, end the chaos in the Land of Hot Water, drive out all the ninjas in this land, and become the next 'half-god'!"

Uchiha Ci looked straight at Hidan, a slight smile playing on his lips, and teased, "Those are words you said yourself. Do you need me to remind you?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Hidan's face. His expression was complex as he stammered, "Th-that was just..."

However, before he could finish, Uchiha Ci's tone turned cold, interrupting him:

"You want to say that it was just empty talk, hot air, lies?"

"That the real world is far crueler than that?"

He grabbed Hidan by the collar, the Tomoe spinning in his scarlet eyes exuding immense pressure.

"Don't be an idiot!"

"Deny your own heart, deny your own will, deny your own dreams, and then accept reality, filling your empty mind with fantasies, pushing yourself onto the gallows, and groveling before beings stronger than Yugakure."

"Then what's the difference between you being alive and being dead?"

"Wait, I..." Hidan choked on his words, as if desperately trying to argue something, to find a justifiable excuse for his actions, to convince Uchiha Ci and himself, to prove that his actions were correct, the best choice under the circumstances.

But Hidan couldn't bring himself to finish speaking.

Because, deep down, he also knew, that the Evil God Cult's tenet of 'killing to stop killing, killing everyone' was merely drinking poison to quench thirst.

Uchiha Ci exhaled and said in a deep voice, "Hidan!"

"You are a strong person, you have the resolve to die, you want to offer yourself as a sacrifice to gain the Evil God's favor!"

"But I'm telling you, that's just an escape!"

Uchiha Ci's words struck Hidan's heart like a hammer, shattering the barriers he had built up.

Peeling away the sugary coating of the Evil God Cult revealed nothing but a stinking piece of shit inside!

This forced Hidan to face reality.

His face flushed and paled, veins bulging on his forehead. He suddenly clenched the hand that was gripping his collar.

He tried to pry it off, but with his strength, how could he possibly be a match for Uchiha Ci, who was already a Genin?

In the end, his face beet red, he could only curse at Uchiha Ci:

"Enough! Uchiha Ci, enough!"

"Get lost! I don't need your pity! And I don't want to hear your lectures!"

"I've heard things like this countless times in the Land of Hot Water over the past ten years!"

"How can you understand my situation, my pain?"

"Is this what they call being a ninja from a great nation?"

"Doesn't your condescending attitude right now make you sick?!"

However, facing Hidan's hysterical outburst, Uchiha Ci just smiled.

"Is that so?"

He roughly yanked Hidan's collar and slammed him to the ground, his expression gradually turning ferocious.

Then, like a final boss after clearing a dungeon, he proceeded to thoroughly humiliate the level 1 hero wielding a beginner's village sword, dismissing his so-called dreams as worthless!

Uchiha Ci's eyes gleamed with malice as he fiercely berated him:

"Listen up, you brat--"

"I'm not lecturing you, I'm proving to you--"

"My Nindo is superior to yours!"

Uchiha Ci released Hidan, stood up, and gazed up at the full moon in the boundless night sky, his eyes gradually deepening.

He was silent for a moment, then looked down, his expression indifferent and defiant as he said:

"Hidan."

"The Land of Hot Water that your eyes can see is merely a small corner of the entire ninja world!"

"Your goal is merely a fringe aspect on my Nindo, something I will accomplish sooner or later!"

"As for my Nindo--"

Uchiha Ci suddenly opened a pair of scarlet Sharingan, his tone abruptly changing, he spoke indifferently in a chilling, emotionless voice:

"It is to overthrow the existing Five Great Nations, unify the entire ninja world, and end the continuous warfare since the Warring States period!"

"To bring eternal peace to this world!"

"This is something I must do, even if it means facing life and death!"

"I will use these eyes to illuminate the entire world!"

As his words fell, the surroundings fell silent.

Hidan, his eyes wide with shock, the girl with long reddish-brown hair, and Shinnosuke, who sat in the corner without a sound, as if he didn't exist at all.

All turned their gaze to Uchiha Ci.

Their eyes flickered, as if their deepest hearts had been touched by Ci's words.

Hidan couldn't help but swallow, looking at Uchiha Ci with a shocked expression, "Ci, you..."

Before Hidan could speak, the girl with long reddish-brown hair stood up from the tree stump, her gaze calmly scrutinizing Uchiha Ci, as if looking at a madman.

Then, she coldly asked:

"What will you use to achieve your Nindo? Why dare you promise such a thing? What confidence do you have to accomplish something no one has ever done before?"

"Before you stand the Five Great Nations, the entire ninja world!"

"The strongest Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the most conflicted Third Raikage, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, who has surpassed Kekkei Genkai and reached the realm of Kekkei Tōta, the Sannin, the Half-God, Tailed Beasts, Jinchūriki..."

"So many renowned ninja, legendary existences, dare not speak such grand words!"

"Why you?!"

The girl's words were sonorous, as sharp as a blade, forcing their way towards Uchiha Ci's throat, leaving him no room to maneuver.

Uchiha Ci, however, had no intention of evading the question.

As a Heaven-Sent Strong Man, his duty had been set from the beginning, so at this moment, he could also speak without hesitation, with unwavering resolve:

"What's important is never talking, but doing! It's not running away!"

"No one starts at the top; even the most difficult things are achieved step by step."

Then, he looked at Hidan, whose eyes were filled with shock, and said calmly:

"Hidan, there's no difference between you and me."

"Compared to the entire ninja world, all I possess is this insignificant life!"

"However, I only need to be sure that my feet have stepped onto this path."

"As long as I stand at the forefront of this path, my back will naturally attract countless people to gaze upon!"

"Even if I fall, there will ultimately be thousands upon thousands of me who will rise up behind me!"

Uchiha Ci's words settled, his gaze resolute, and he said without evasion:

"Ultimately, this dream will surely be realized!"

"And the first step to achieving my ideal, I have already taken!"

"Now, it's merely taking the second step--"

"Starting from the Land of Hot Water!"

"Starting from here!"

"I will end the chaos in this land!"

"Bring peace to this country!"

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Bang bang bang!

[You have accepted a new quest - personally end the Hot Water Smoke Rebellion.]

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