Sage Eyes and Sage Body

Uchiha Yoru looked at Tsunade, who stood motionless, unconscious, and shook his head slightly.

No wonder this woman could make Pain see red with just one sentence in the original story...

He murmured under his breath, thoughtful. "Looks like Senju Hashirama was right about his granddaughter."

Just as he was about to deal with Tsunade, the system's notification suddenly rang in his mind.

[Ding—]

[Congratulations, host, on completing the unification of Konoha. You have received a milestone reward.]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Ashura template. It has been automatically installed.]

Uchiha Yoru's expression froze for a moment, and a strange glint passed through his eyes.

Then delight flashed in his eyes. He had originally thought the system operated on a single track, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

The next second—

A vast, boundless surge of chakra flooded into Uchiha Yoru's body like a raging sea. It was violent and scorching, as if it would tear apart his meridians and completely remake his body.

Then—

A vast surge of chakra poured into his body like churning waves, violent and scorching, as if it would tear apart his meridians and forge his body anew.

It was searing and warm, yet carried an indescribable heaviness.

Uchiha Yoru clenched his fist, feeling his chakra transform. This power was unlike Indra's sharp, icy chakra, fierce as lightning. The power now coursing through him was heavier, all-embracing like the earth and blazing hot like the sun.

"Is this... Ashura's power?"

His pupils contracted sharply as the two utterly different kinds of chakra began to clash violently inside him, like thunder crashing together. Even space seemed to tremble.

Boom!

Deep in his mind, a magnificent figure appeared. His gaze was gentle, yet filled with unshakable resolve.

Memories surged into his mind like a tide: Ashura's perseverance, kindness, and defiance, scene after scene.

"As long as we hold on to hope, the world will eventually change!"

"Even if I have to walk alone, I'll bear everyone's pain!"

"This world doesn't need to be ruled by hatred!"

Indra's chakra was cold and aloof, sharp as a blade, while Ashura's chakra was vast and generous, like a burning sun.

The instant the two met, his body seemed to become a battlefield between heaven and earth. Lightning and flames intertwined, cold and heat clashed, and every inch of muscle and every thread of blood seemed ready to burst under the violent struggle.

Yet—just as the chakra was about to spiral completely out of control, a glimmer of calm suddenly appeared deep in his eyes.

"Interesting..." Uchiha Yoru chuckled softly and slowly closed his eyes.

His will moved through the heart of the storm, controlling the point where the two powers met.

Indra and Ashura had been mortal enemies since birth, yet now they coexisted within his body.

He could feel his body being transformed. His meridians grew more resilient, the flow of chakra surged faster, and even his soul seemed to be cleansed, gradually transforming into something entirely new...

"I see..." He slowly opened his eyes, and a new light quietly bloomed within them.

Then his pupils became concentric purple rings. It was unmistakably—

The Rinnegan!

Feeling the tremendous increase in his ocular power, Uchiha Yoru smiled faintly.

That made sense. His body already contained the chakra of Indra's Sage Eyes, and when combined with Ashura's Sage Body, the result was greater than the sum of its parts.

He had successfully generated Six Paths Level chakra.

"Besides, since I obtained the original template, the power is even more immense!"

Uchiha Yoru's thoughts stirred as he recalled Ashura's memories.

Unlike Indra's cold and aloof recollections, Ashura's memories were filled with warmth and tolerance.

"The mindset of someone who doesn't eat beef is countless versions ahead of everyone else's!"

In Uchiha Yoru's eyes, Ashura's idea of using love to change people was utterly fake.

After all, love couldn't solve every problem. More often than not, it was a sign of weakness.

Rather than yielding and compromising, he would rather follow Indra's example: stand above all others in power and use strength and wisdom to control everything.

To him, only the path of the strong was the ultimate destination.

Uchiha Yoru looked at Tsunade, pondered for a moment, then waved for her to leave.

He leaped back onto the Nine-Tails' back, and the beast beneath his feet let out a low growl.

"Head to Kumogakure first." Uchiha Yoru murmured, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he gazed toward the distant horizon.

Why go after the Cloud Ninja first?

Because they were the ones making the biggest fuss.

The Cloud Ninja had been loud in the original story, too. And now, according to the village's latest intelligence, they had already assembled a large number of shinobi and were preparing to move straight into the border of the Land of Fire.

Ever since the Land of Fire's daimyo had been killed and Konoha declared war on the entire world, the daimyos of the other shinobi nations had ordered a joint assault on Konoha.

Every shinobi village was gearing up for a major battle.

But of all those villages, the most eager was undoubtedly Kumogakure.

The Fourth Raikage's plans aligned perfectly with the daimyo's orders, so he accepted the daimyo's demand without hesitation, rapidly assembling troops and placing them on a war footing.

By contrast, the other villages were much more cautious.

Ōnoki, the Tsuchikage, was a shrewd old man with a calculating mind. Having witnessed Uchiha Madara's terrifying power with his own eyes, he was deeply afraid of the power of Susanoo.

Although he loudly proclaimed that he would join the attack on Konoha, his real strategy was to wait for Kumogakure to make a move and see how the situation developed before deciding what to do.

Fourth Kazekage Rasa of Sunagakure had always been troubled by his village's poverty.

The lack of resources made it difficult for him to train exceptional shinobi, while the daimyo's funding was always slow to arrive.

Rasa was even so poor that he had to search everywhere for gold dust to trade for supplies.

When he heard that the daimyo was willing to increase the funding, he agreed at once and began slowly gathering troops.

Rasa knew full well that with Sunagakure's current strength, they had no chance of gaining any real benefits from Konoha.

Rather than attack recklessly, it was better to make use of the extra funds first, watch what the other villages did, and decide afterward.

As for Kirigakure, the situation was even more chaotic.

The Fourth Mizukage had already been placed under Uchiha Obito's genjutsu, while Obito himself had not appeared since Uchiha Yoru cast a genjutsu on him after the Night of Clan Extermination.

Kirigakure's leader, Yagura, was completely under control and unable to direct the village's actions effectively. He continued enforcing the Bloody Mist Policy, infuriating the daimyo of the Land of Water, who directly cut Kirigakure's financial support.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Raikage personally led his troops, preparing to charge toward Konoha with lightning speed and seize the initiative in the war.

He believed that this time, they would definitely bite off a chunk of Konoha!