Kumogakure's Destruction!

Kumogakure

At that moment, the battlefield lay in ruins.

Shattered rocks, broken weapons, and bloodstained ninja tools littered the area, while the heavy stench of blood hung in the air.

The setting sun was red as blood, casting its light over the ravaged land as if drawing the curtain on this catastrophe.

Kumogakure, once a village that had stood proud above the Ninja World, was now nothing but a lifeless ruin.

The Nine-Tails crouched amid the rubble, its tails swaying slowly, its enormous body like a mountain stretching between heaven and earth.

Its crimson beast eyes gazed coldly down at the ground, crushing the last trace of resistance.

Uchiha Yoru stood atop the Nine-Tails' head, his cloak snapping in the gale.

"So this is what gives Cloud Village its confidence?"

His voice was cold and calm, as if declaring the end of an era.

"The arrogance of the weak leads only to their destruction."

On the ground, the surviving Cloud Ninjas trembled. They had once charged fearlessly at the Nine-Tails, hoping to defy fate with sheer numbers. But reality had mercilessly torn their hopes to shreds.

The Tailed Beast Bombs had shattered the earth and sent flesh and blood flying. Their corpses lay strewn among the ruins like discarded rags.

"The Fourth Raikage... is dead..."

"Lord Killer B... too..."

Despair filled the Cloud Ninjas' eyes. The Kage and Jinchūriki they had once prided themselves on hadn't managed to stir the slightest ripple before Uchiha Yoru.

By now, nine-tenths of the Cloud Ninjas had died on the battlefield.

--The rest were no longer capable of fighting.

"Please... spare us..."

The Cloud Ninjas knelt on the ground, tears streaming down their faces as their bodies shook. The desire to live had driven them to abandon their last shred of dignity.

Uchiha Yoru merely glanced at them.

"Now you surrender?"

His lips curled into a cold smile as the Tomoe in his Sharingan slowly spun, crimson light spreading around him.

"Too late."

In an instant, an invisible mental assault swept out.

Genjutsu!

The Cloud Ninjas' pupils contracted. The world twisted before their eyes, spinning around them.

Their remaining will was no match for the powerful genjutsu. They lost the ability to think, their bodies stiffening as their consciousness was utterly destroyed.

No one struggled anymore.

--From that moment on, their lives and deaths were entirely in Uchiha Yoru's hands.

Kumogakure had fallen.

During this time, Uchiha Yoru had also taken the Nine-Tails and three other Tailed Beasts to the capital of the Land of Lightning, where he wiped out the daimyo and all those so-called nobles.

Then he used genjutsu to control some people and maintain order before leaving.

The Land of Lightning had vanished from then on!

One day later

Konoha

When Konoha's security force entered the ruins of Kumogakure, they were met with utter silence.

Among the broken walls, a handful of Cloud Ninjas still stood motionless, as if they had lost their souls. Their eyes were vacant and lifeless, as though the world had long since abandoned them. They moved like automatons. They were no longer ninjas, only empty shells controlled by commands.

All of this was the result of a single thought from Uchiha Yoru.

"From today onward, the Land of Lightning is part of Konoha."

Uchiha Yoru's voice echoed through the meeting of Konoha's High Command. Brief and icy, it carried an authority no one could ignore.

"Security force, send personnel to Kumogakure and the capital of the Land of Lightning to take control of order."

The meeting hall fell silent. Then the shock on everyone's faces gradually faded, replaced by a sense of relief.

No one dared to object, and no one felt there was any need to.

In their eyes, Uchiha Yoru had become an immovable force. His power made any opposition seem pointless, even absurd.

Besides, this was the first time Konoha had gained an enemy village's territory since its founding. For some of the more aggressive factions, the satisfaction was like a shot of adrenaline, unleashing their desires completely.

Ever since the era of the First, Konoha had been known for its supposed benevolence and peacefulness, like a turtle hiding in its shell.

During the Second Hokage's era, Konoha had been less conservative, but the Cloud Village's rogue ninja unit had launched a sneak attack that led to the Second Hokage's death. The humiliation still rankled with many.

By the Third Hokage's era, Konoha was no longer a turtle. It had become a complete pushover.

But today, the situation had undergone a complete reversal.

Uchiha Yoru's rise had fundamentally changed the balance between offense and defense for Konoha.

From now on, the roles of attacker and defender had changed!!!

The news of Kumogakure's destruction swept across the Ninja World like a hurricane.

The great ninja villages were shaken. At last, they realized that Konoha's declaration of war had been no empty threat, but the fury of a true thunderbolt.

The villages that had been waiting to see how things unfolded immediately abandoned all wishful thinking.

Konoha's overwhelming military might filled the entire Ninja World with unprecedented fear.

The once-arrogant Kumogakure had been reduced to ruins beneath Uchiha Yoru's godlike Susanoo.

Tsuchikage Ōnoki's face turned ashen. Haunted by his PTSD from Uchiha Madara, he urgently convened a meeting of the great villages' Kage.

But to his utter shock, after receiving the invitation, Fourth Mizukage Karatachi Yagura had immediately killed his own messenger!

That left only Sunagakure as a possible ally...

"Karatachi Yagura, you bastard!"

Ōnoki was so furious he nearly spat blood. He sprang to his feet, only to be struck by a sharp pain in his back from the sudden movement.

"Ow, my back..."

His face flushed as he panted through gritted teeth, the veins on his forehead bulging.

"Konoha has turned its back on the Will of Fire passed down by the First. Its destruction is only a matter of time."

"But right now, Konoha is too powerful."

Ōnoki's eyes blazed as he said gravely, "If we don't unite to resist, we'll be the next to fall!"

The air was thick with tension. Raikage A's absence felt like a silent threat.

Rasa was silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

He knew Ōnoki wasn't exaggerating. Sunagakure's strength was nowhere near enough to withstand Konoha's assault alone.

Meanwhile, Black Zetsu was exceptionally excited within Akatsuki.

The intelligence brought back by a White Zetsu Clone described Uchiha Yoru's godlike Susanoo and seemingly endless chakra, making Black Zetsu even more certain of his theory.

"Indra's reincarnation..."

Black Zetsu murmured, an unusual light flickering in the shadows.

He regretted it deeply.

On the Night of Clan Extermination, White Zetsu had already reported Uchiha Yoru's existence.

He had originally planned to approach him, but before he could act, the other had gone to Cloud Village.

Later, the disappearance of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had held him back even further.

If he had set things in motion sooner--perhaps the Eye of the Moon Plan would already have been completed, and Mother Kaguya resurrected.

But it wasn't too late yet.

"With just a little guidance..."

Black Zetsu's lips curled into a sinister smile, and his eyes glinted with cunning.

Back then, Uchiha Madara had been driven to extremes by his schemes.

Uchiha Yoru was younger than Madara, and his power was even more unfathomable.

With a little push, he could be plunged into darkness and made the perfect pawn for the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Thinking of this, Black Zetsu couldn't help cursing Uchiha Obito.

That brat had neither Uchiha Madara's strength nor his vision, yet was always acting like he knew best.

On the Night of Clan Extermination, he had been taken down by a single genjutsu from Uchiha Yoru and knocked unconscious!

If Black Zetsu hadn't mastered Yin-Yang Release techniques and helped him recover, the brat might have ended up a vegetable.

What a useless fool!

"Uchiha Yoru must be harboring discontent and hatred deep in his heart..."

Black Zetsu slowly let his smile fade, his gaze dark as water.

He knew that the power of the Uchiha Clan required extreme emotions to awaken. That was true of the Sharingan, and it was true of the Mangekyō Sharingan as well!

And all he had to do was add fuel to the fire.

In the darkness, a blurred figure quietly slipped underground.

"Uchiha Yoru is destined to become the perfect pawn for the Eye of the Moon Plan."