Do you desire power, young one?

The more he observed, the more similarities he found.

Dodai had witnessed the Fourth Raikage master the Lightning Release Chakra Mode with his own eyes, and the current Uchiha Sora resembled the early stages of that very technique.

His flames did not envelop his entire body.

Thinking back now, the brat's strength and speed were also abnormal; he must have received some kind of augmentation...

The look of wariness in Dodai's eyes deepened.

A ninjutsu that provided such comprehensive enhancement was no less difficult to learn than a Kekkei Genkai.

What was even more terrifying was...

Dodai was certain that Konoha had never possessed a similar technique before...

This technique... the brat had developed it himself!!

Suppressing the rage of seeing his subordinates slaughtered, Dodai forced Uchiha Sora to turn and collide with the wall of fire with a single strike.

He had to transmit the intelligence regarding this brat to the Raikage!

Bang!

Dodai gritted his teeth and let out a muffled groan, throwing his body against the wall of fire.

Ignoring the flames scorching his shoulder, he forced his entire body to push through.

Hmm...

It was easier than he had imagined. Was it because the technique required so much chakra that there wasn't much left to maintain the barrier?

As if reading Dodai's mind, Uchiha Sora's voice rang out.

"The Uchiha Flame Formation is a barrier of hellfire amplified by the earth as a catalyst; it does not require much chakra to maintain."

Dodai ignored him, squeezing half of his body out.

That devilish voice sounded once more.

"If it weren't for the fact that I wanted a few more collectibles, the hellfire would have burned you to ash the moment you touched the wall of flames."

Swish—

Uchiha Sora raised his hand and brought it down.

Just as the thought of escaping death rose in Dodai's mind, he felt a sharp, searing pain in his waist.

The scorching hellfire instantly transformed into an invisible guillotine, slicing him in two!

Sizzle—

The high temperature vaporized his flesh in an instant, and the air was filled with the nauseating stench of charred skin and meat.

Dodai's lower half was instantly engulfed by the hellfire, the blackened remains falling amidst a shower of sparks.

Falling to the ground alongside them was the upper half of Dodai's body.

The rising wall of flames dissipated, leaving behind severed limbs and a scene of utter carnage.

Uchiha Sora walked slowly toward Dodai.

"Cough..."

Being cut in half had not taken Dodai's life; coughing up a mouthful of dark blood, Dodai stared fixedly at Uchiha Sora.

"From the very beginning... was this your... killing move..."

As he spoke, his hand moved behind his back, seemingly writing something.

Uchiha Sora shook his head and said indifferently, "There is no such thing as a killing move; I was merely testing my ninjutsu."

"In terms of overall strength, you are indeed superior to me."

"The reason you lost... is simple."

"You forgot that when facing an Uchiha, one-on-one, there is no chance of victory."

"Everything you have is useless before these eyes."

Shing!!

Uchiha Sora reached out and gouged out Dodai's Ketsuryūgan, clutching them in his palm.

Dodai, having had his eyes gouged out, did not cry out in pain; instead, he revealed a smile.

"You've said quite a lot of nonsense. Tell me, has the message been sent out?"

The smile on Dodai's face froze.

Uchiha Sora held the blood-stained eyeballs, leaned down, and smiled like a devil.

"Thank you for your hard work; I shall end your suffering now."

Swish—

The blade swept past, Dodai's head fell to the ground, and the focus in his eyes rapidly faded.

Behind the spot where his body had been, the smoke from a summoning jutsu had just dissipated.

With his final reserves of chakra, he had transmitted the message back to Kumogakure.

Shisui stepped forward, looking down at Dodai's corpse: "I still don't understand. If the Raikage finds out we have defected from Konoha, won't he come after us?"

"Especially now that we've killed Dodai."

Uchiha Sora took out a handkerchief to wrap the Ketsuryūgan, tucking it into his robes; he was quite interested in the ability of these eyes to manipulate blood.

"The Raikage only plays the part of a brute. If he were truly a man blinded by rage, he would have already led Kumogakure into an all-out war with Iwagakure."

"Konoha has suppressed the news of the Fourth Hokage and his wife's passing. Until he figures that out, he won't make any major moves."

Shisui's brows furrowed tightly: "Konoha can't keep that news hidden for long. If the Raikage finds out... what if he takes advantage of the chaos to strike at Konoha?"

He still held deep feelings for Konoha and did not want to see the village face a crisis.

"Most importantly... even if he understands the full story, isn't it still possible he'll come after us?"

Uchiha Sora smiled faintly.

"Then we fight."

"Do you really think Konoha hasn't moved against us all this time because they're kind-hearted?"

"The current strength of the Uchiha is indeed insufficient to stand against a Great Nation."

"But any Great Nation that dares to lay a hand on us must be prepared to be torn to pieces!"

Uchiha Sora returned the short blade to Shisui and casually picked up a Kumogakure ninja sword to carry.

"Shisui, you just overthink things."

"All distress stems from a lack of one's own ability. Instead of worrying about this or that, seizing the time to improve yourself is what matters most."

Shisui chewed on these words, realizing something a moment later.

"Sora, you still haven't said why you let him send that message."

"Did I not? Oh, I suppose I overestimated you; I thought you would have understood."

Uchiha Sora chuckled: "Naturally, it's to muddy the waters. The Third Shinobi World War is nearing its end."

"It can't end so soon..."

The situation among the Five Great Nations had persisted for years; they started wars repeatedly, but always pulled back once things reached a certain point, maintaining their crushing superiority over the smaller nations.

War is a means, not an end.

To put it bluntly, fighting is just a way to consume the ever-increasing number of ninja. After all, the volume of missions is fixed; the more people there are, the fewer missions each ninja can receive.

Konoha is somewhat unique in this regard.

Not a single Shinobi World War was started by Konoha. Is it because they love peace?

No...

It is because the Land of Fire is the most prosperous region in the shinobi world, with the highest volume of missions.

At the same time, Konoha possesses the most secret techniques and produces geniuses one after another.

The reason the other four Great Nations target Konoha is that if given time to develop, Konoha could easily crush the other nations; it is the only village with the potential to unify the shinobi world.

Uchiha Sora didn't dwell on it too much.

If Dodai hadn't appeared, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to pass information to Kumogakure.

It was just a whim.

Having experienced the Nine-Tails incident, Uchiha Sora vaguely understood one thing.

Daily training is like the preparation work for a fireworks festival, while life-or-death combat is the fuse that ignites the celebration.

If the original timeline were followed, the shinobi world would remain in a state of relative peace for the next decade or more, lacking opportunities for battle.

Too boring.

Whether it was Uchiha Sora's own nature or the influence of his bloodline, he craved conflict and enjoyed battle.

He understood that this joy was the key to unlocking his Mangekyō, not some emotion like grief.

After securing the scavenged ninja sword, Uchiha Sora was about to say something else when his footsteps suddenly halted, his expression shifting slightly.

Ding—

This was the first time a notification had sounded while he had yet to complete a repayment task.

Immediately following, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

"User detected as meeting the lending criteria. Do you wish to register as a Lender?"

A Lender...

Is it like Rayquaza, capable of responding to others' summons to lend out power?

An unexpected windfall!

Uchiha Sora did not hesitate in the slightest and chose to accept.

After a brief pause, the mechanical voice sounded once more.

"Registration complete... Detecting..."

"Based on user energy level, you are rated as Black Iron Grade."

"There are currently loan applications that match the user. Completion will grant 95 Credit Points."

"Appendix: The platform collects a five percent transit fee."

Uchiha Sora began to do the math in his head.

In other words, the 1,000 Credit Points I paid resulted in 950 points reaching Rayquaza's side?

Since I received the double benefit for new users, who covered the 450-point gap?

When it comes down to it, what exactly do these Credit Points represent, and what is the platform's purpose in collecting them?

Before he could figure it out, the voice continued to sound in rapid succession.

"Please decide quickly whether to lend; failure to do so will be considered a waiver."

"Appendix: During transit, you will not be affected by the flow of time; upon returning, you will be at the exact same point in time."

"Appendix 2: This platform guarantees the Lender's safety. Should an uncontrollable, life-threatening event occur, the loan will be forcibly terminated, returning the user the instant before death."

"Appendix 3: Accepting a loan requires fulfilling the borrower's request with full effort. Abandoning the task except in life-threatening situations will result in no Credit Point earnings."

"Appendix 4:..."

A long string of regulations flashed through his mind. Uchiha Sora was not the type of person to have the patience to read them all; he scanned the gist and chose to confirm the loan.

Whatever, let's experience it first and worry about the rest later.

In an instant, the world turned upside down before his eyes.