So That's How It Was!

Kumogakure.

The ninjas in the village had already learned what had happened in Iwagakure. In such a short time, the entire village had been defeated.

"Uchiha Brahman! Has that guy gone mad?"

The Fourth Raikage, A, stared at the information about Uchiha Brahman. He didn't know that Sunagakure was already gone, wiped out.

And now Uchiha Brahman was heading for Kumogakure.

"Lord Raikage, the village's ninjas have all assembled. We haven't heard from the other villages yet!"

An Anbu stepped in front of A and reported.

"Understood. If Uchiha Brahman dares to do something like this, then he can't blame us for starting a new Shinobi World War!"

A nodded and spoke in a grave voice.

Uchiha Brahman had gone too far.

If all he'd done was stage a coup and rise from an ordinary Uchiha to become Konoha's Hokage, they would have done no more than watch and wait. If they discovered that Uchiha Brahman was all talk and no strength, then they would invade the Land of Fire. Even if he'd taken control of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and turned Konoha from a military organization—whose leader, the Hokage, was nominally supposed to obey the daimyo—into the ruler of the Land of Fire.

At most, they would have condemned him and continued to watch. They might even have followed his example and removed their own daimyo from power, letting ninjas take over as rulers.

After all, someone had already shown them what happened when the leader of a village became the ruler of a country.

What happened? Nothing!

The daimyo were too weak.

If a ninja village became the governing body of a country, would they still need to take missions for money?

Ha! They could just print their own money.

But Uchiha Brahman had gone too far when he laid hands on the daimyos of other countries.

Worse still, he'd caused other countries to dissolve. And before they did, those powerless daimyos had stripped the ninja villages of their legal status. Under normal circumstances, something like that could never happen.

But now it had.

They were no longer ninja villages within the Empire. They were outlawed bandit dens, beyond the Empire's control!

Illegal gathering places where groups of ninjas assembled and broke the Empire's laws!

"Damn it, and at a time like this! Ōnoki, that old bastard! The ninjas of Iwagakure are useless! How could they be defeated in such a short time? Worthless!"

A cursed. He simply couldn't understand how Uchiha Brahman, a ninja just like any other, had defeated the entire Iwagakure in such a short time. It made no sense. It completely overturned everything he knew.

If Konoha was really this strong, then what had all those past Shinobi World Wars been for? Konoha could have crushed them all by itself.

"The only possibility is this!"

A picked up a golden syringe from his desk. Sunlight shone through the golden liquid, and the whole syringe radiated a sacred glow, as if tempting him to inject it.

This was the path to sainthood. This was the one true path. Inject it, and he could gain anything.

Bzzzt—

A mass of electricity crackled over A's hand. The next moment, the syringe was dismantled and destroyed by the current.

"It must be because of this thing!"

A said. Aside from this, he couldn't think of how Uchiha Brahman could have defeated Ōnoki.

Of course, he wasn't saying that Uchiha Brahman defeating Ōnoki was strange or unbelievable. Ōnoki was human, not a god, and he was old. It was only natural that he could be defeated.

What was truly unbelievable was that Uchiha Brahman had beaten him in such a short time. Ōnoki was the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, and he wielded a power far beyond the Kekkei Genkai: Kekkei Tōta! He wasn't some nobody!

And yet such a powerful man had fallen in no time at all!

A didn't believe Uchiha Brahman was really that strong. It made no sense. It was too fantastical, like something out of a genjutsu.

Who did he think he was? The legendary God of Shinobi?

Then there was only one possibility.

That damn Sacred Blessing Serum!

By now, they were fairly certain that Uchiha Brahman had used this stuff to control the daimyo and even the other ninjas of Konoha.

It could extend a person's life, strengthen the body, increase chakra, and even regrow severed limbs and recreate flesh...

What was this? It wasn't medicine. It was a legendary elixir!

Yet something so precious, once coveted by nobles and dignitaries who could never obtain it, could now be bought for next to nothing—or even given away for free. Anyone could easily get a dose, even the disabled or the mentally impaired.

Was this charity?

Who would believe that?

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire claimed he'd created it, but did they, as ninjas, not know what those nobles were like?

If they had something this good, how could they possibly give it to lowly commoners, people no better than stray dogs?

It was all part of Uchiha Brahman's scheme. He wanted to use this stuff to control the entire Shinobi World!

To be honest, when A first learned about the serum and saw its effects, he'd wanted to inject himself with a dose too. But in the end, he held back. He was in the prime of his life and the leader of a village. He couldn't risk using something of such unknown origins.

Even if he did decide to use it, he'd first have to investigate it thoroughly.

And that was exactly the problem!

"Ōnoki must have used it!"

A spoke in a grave voice. He was young and could resist the temptation, but an old man might not be able to.

This wasn't some fake health supplement. It was a genuine miracle medicine that could extend a person's life. One injection could give even a man on the verge of dying from old age a new lease on life and a few more years.

That explained it. Uchiha Brahman had relied on this stuff to defeat Ōnoki. No, not defeat him—control him. Iwagakure had been finished from the moment Ōnoki injected the Sacred Blessing Serum.

"No wonder!"

A sighed, a look of realization flashing through his eyes. No wonder!

Not long ago, the four great ninja villages had been in contact, planning to start a Shinobi World War and kill Uchiha Brahman. But before much time had passed, Uchiha Brahman had suddenly led Konoha's ninjas into battle and started invading them.

"So that's it. Ōnoki, you were already under his control back then. No—perhaps you weren't controlled yet, but Uchiha Brahman must have learned about our plans through you!"

The more A thought it over, the clearer everything became.

"That's why..."