[The host's panel fusion rate has reached 70%, successfully activating my voice function] [From now on, the host can ask this system to answer any questions]
"Good. Very good."
Uchiha Aoba gave a soft snort. "I happen to have a question. Why have I only killed sixty-six Iwagakure shinobi? Did you secretly swallow some of them?"
[That's an injustice, host] [This system is completely honest. You really did only take down that many Iwagakure shinobi] [As for the seriously and lightly wounded, they aren't counted] [Also, I have some bad news for you]
"Wait, are you poisonous or something?"
The corner of Uchiha Aoba's mouth twitched. "What kind of system are you? You just activated your voice function and immediately gave me two pieces of bad news. Are you doing this on purpose?"
[You've misunderstood, host. Even if I don't tell you now, you'll find out for yourself later]
"Forget it. Just tell me."
Uchiha Aoba sighed helplessly.
[Since the host's strength has reached the Super Kage level, to prevent you from farming points and raising your fusion rate too quickly, killing Genin and Chunin will no longer provide fusion rate from now on] [The same applies to missions below A-rank]
Uchiha Aoba held back the urge to curse. "What about jōnin and Kage Level powerhouses? And missions ranked A or higher?"
[Those are unchanged]
"That's a relief. At least you had the decency not to lower those, so I can just about accept it."
Uchiha Aoba shook his head with a sigh. "Anything else? If not, hurry up and activate my Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and fuse the Hashirama Cells."
[Would you like this system to explain what 'without Hand Seals' means?]
"No need. You just clap your hands and shout 'Release,' then use the corresponding level of ninjutsu."
[Correct. But are you sure you want to do both at the same time?]
"What do you mean?" Uchiha Aoba asked warily.
[If you do either one separately, you won't feel any pain. It'll just feel like a natural progression]
"???"
"When I awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, it wasn't anything like that."
[Hadn't the host already guessed the reason?] [There is a fundamental difference between the ordinary Sharingan and the Mangekyō Sharingan, so awakening them is naturally difficult] [The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan is different] [Compared to the Mangekyō Sharingan, it isn't another evolution, but rather the removal of its side effects]
"What about the Hashirama Cells?" Uchiha Aoba asked, puzzled.
[That doesn't hurt either]
"Are you sure?"
[Absolutely. Why would I lie to you?]
"Fine. I'll trust you this once."
Hearing how firm and earnest the system sounded, Uchiha Aoba told it to activate the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan first.
Still, he mentally prepared himself for the pain.
But what happened was exactly as the system had said. Uchiha Aoba felt no pain at all. On the contrary, his eyes felt a little comfortable, and his body relaxed without him realizing it.
The fusion of the Hashirama Cells that followed was no different.
It felt good.
By the time everything was over, Uchiha Aoba had unknowingly fallen asleep.
When he woke up, it was already the following morning.
He got out of bed.
The jōnin vest he'd taken off the day before had been collected by someone from the Logistics Department at some point.
A brand-new vest had been laid out beside his bed.
Even his shoes had been replaced with new ones.
Uchiha Aoba didn't think much of it. Once he was dressed, he walked out of the tent.
He planned to report to Namikaze Minato.
Although Uchiha Aoba had reached the Super Kage level, and there was no need for him to keep worrying over such daily details, in this era, without the Otsutsuki around, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the strongest in the Shinobi World.
Whether he met with Namikaze Minato or not hardly mattered.
But Uchiha Aoba had never been that kind of person.
He couldn't bring himself to act arrogantly and do whatever he pleased just because he had gained great strength.
As long as no one came looking for trouble with him,
he'd act the same as he always had.
On the other hand,
if someone didn't know what was good for them, Uchiha Aoba wouldn't hesitate to show them what cruelty meant.
On the way to the commander's tent,
things were different from what Uchiha Aoba had experienced before.
The Konoha Ninja in the camp all cast him looks of awe and admiration.
Some even greeted him respectfully, calling out loudly, "Good morning, Lord Aoba."
The reason for all this
was naturally the powerful strength Uchiha Aoba had displayed on the battlefield the day before.
To be honest,
the first time experiencing this feeling left Uchiha Aoba feeling exhilarated, but also a little unaccustomed to it.
Still, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
It took only a short stretch of the walk for him to go from surprise and awkwardness to accepting it calmly.
By the time Uchiha Aoba reached the commander's tent and saw the guard at the entrance respectfully bow and go to announce him, he was already able to respond without changing his expression.
When the guard returned and indicated that Uchiha Aoba could enter, he had only just stepped inside
when Namikaze Minato's cheerful voice rang out.
"Aoba, you came at just the right time!"
"Minato-sensei, Lord Jiraiya."
"No need for formalities."
Namikaze Minato raised a hand to stop Uchiha Aoba from bowing and led him to the desk. "After discussing it with my teacher, Jiraiya, we've finished the war report and already sent it back to the village with a summoning beast."
"But now we have to wait for Lord Hokage to send a negotiator to settle the war reparations with Iwagakure, so we can't return just yet. We'll have to trouble you to keep helping us."
Uchiha Aoba froze. "You mean...?"
"The war is over?"
"What happened to that kid, Ōnoki?"
After hearing the report, Uchiha Madara was so furious he nearly rose from his stone chair.
In a direct clash between Konoha and Iwagakure, Uchiha Aoba had actually beaten Ōnoki into surrendering?
What about his plan?
White Zetsu were already prepared. All that remained was to find an opportunity to lure the troublesome Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Aoba away, then draw Uchiha Obito over.
They were just one step away.
And now Tobi was telling him that Iwagakure had surrendered!
And it had been Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki who initiated it. It would have been strange if Uchiha Madara hadn't gotten angry.
"Lord Madara, what should we do now?" Tobi asked.
"Ōnoki of Both Scales."
Uchiha Madara took a deep breath, trying to suppress the anger welling inside him.
"I used to think that kid was at least a capable figure in the current Shinobi World."
"Looks like I was wrong about him."
"Hehe, I don't think you can entirely blame Ōnoki for this," Tobi said, seemingly unfazed by Uchiha Madara's anger and still acting as carefree as ever. "If you ask me, it was mostly because Lord Madara left such a deep psychological scar on him when he was a child."
"So when he saw Uchiha Aoba's Susanoo, he couldn't help remembering that scene from his childhood. On top of that, Iwagakure's casualties kept rising, and Namikaze Minato had him tied down so he couldn't get away."
"With all those things adding up, Ōnoki couldn't see any hope of victory, so he surrendered without hesitation."
Listening to Tobi, Uchiha Madara understood that well enough.
But in his current condition, he couldn't afford to wait.
"There's no other choice now. We can only begin the next stage of the plan directly."
Before you continue