"We can only make contact with Indra ahead of time!"
Mo lowered his brows and silently gathered chakra in his right palm. Just as he was about to make a move, a pool of black matter slowly rose from the ground before him.
After emerging from the ground, the thing gradually condensed into the upper body of a humanoid figure.
Black Zetsu's orange-yellow eyes curved slightly as he looked at Uchiha Mo and slowly said,
"Long time no see, Indra... I never thought that after a thousand years, I would finally be able to wait for you again..."
"Indra?!"
Mo's heart jolted, and he nearly failed to control his expression.
Indra? Black Zetsu mistook me for Indra. Is it because of this face... But Madara should...
He dispersed the chakra in his palm, setting his doubts aside for the moment. His brows sank as he fixed Black Zetsu with a sharp gaze.
"What exactly are you? Since when have you been watching me? And what does Indra mean..."
"Hehehehe..." Black Zetsu's strange voice sounded distorted as he let out an exceptionally eerie laugh.
"Indra is you! You are the savior of this utterly terrible Ninja World!"
Black Zetsu's voice was high-pitched and excited. Anyone could hear the completely genuine delight in his tone!
"Hmph!"
Mo snorted coldly. "I am Uchiha Mo, not anyone else. Don't think a little flattery will make me spare you!"
"Hehe..."
Black Zetsu was in no hurry and merely let out a low chuckle.
This reaction from Uchiha Mo was exactly how Indra should have behaved, because Indra had always been such a self-centered person. If he had simply admitted it or shown wavering doubt, Black Zetsu would have found that strange instead.
"You've already noticed it, haven't you? Your Sharingan is more perfect than those of other Uchiha! Your ocular power is purer than Sharingan of the same level! Your control over techniques and your creativity are stronger than those of ordinary people!"
Mo frowned at those words. "That's because my talent is better."
"Talent... Hehe, that is indeed true. Your talent is naturally beyond the reach of mortals! After all, what you inherited is the purest power originating from the Rabbit Goddess. One day, you will become an existence surpassing even the Sage of Six Paths!"
"Clack!"
Mo's right hand settled on the hilt of Futsunomitama, and he frowned slightly.
"I didn't come here to waste time listening to some mythological tale. If those are your last words, I won't obediently listen until the end."
His sharp gaze fell upon Black Zetsu, making him shudder.
"Why does Indra feel even more irritable than he was a thousand years ago?"
"I know you won't believe me so easily, but sooner or later, you will understand. Uchiha Mo, you are the one this world, which has cried out in grief for a thousand years, has been waiting for—the only savior!"
"And I... am the one responsible for guiding you to complete your mission!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Black Zetsu sank into the ground again without waiting for Mo's response. He disappeared completely, along with that gaze...
Uchiha Mo lowered the hand resting on his sword hilt and stood where he was, frowning.
Elsewhere, Black Zetsu sped through the underground.
He didn't attack... It seems Indra has already developed some doubts and a bit of interest... Hehe~ Just like a thousand years ago...
Black Zetsu had never expected to recruit Uchiha Mo in a single attempt. Someone as self-centered and arrogant as Indra would never easily believe another person's words.
But conversely, once he reached a conclusion through his own observations and thoughts, he would become exceptionally stubborn. Even at the very end, if he failed, he would only wonder whether he had taken a wrong step rather than whether he had chosen the wrong path!
"The seed has already been planted. The rest of the plan will be simple. In that case, Madara's side... needs to speed things up as well..."
"The destined and only savior, saving the Ninja World that has been trapped in hell for a thousand years... Hehe~ Indra, I know you like that identity. Prepare to sleep peacefully in the dream I have woven for you..."
New Ability Test, the Panel's Additional Ability?
Black Zetsu had been gone for some time. Mo stood in place for a long while, seemingly lost in thought.
It was not until a faint fragrance drifted over from the camp that Mo came back to his senses and turned his attention to the illusory panel.
Red Child Fusion Rate: 14.71% (Unlock Everlasting Life at 30%) Orange Child Fusion Rate: 33.71% (Abilities unlocked: Clairvoyance, Wind Ear. Unlock the next-stage ability, Heavenly Insight, at 50%) Yellow Child Fusion Rate: 14.71% + 21.41% (Unlock Indestructible Vajra when both reach 30%) Green Child Fusion Rate: 25.64% + 35.28% (Abilities unlocked: Blazing Fire, Thunderstorm. Unlock the next ability, Heavenly Fire, when both reach 50% and Yellow Child and Orange Child's second-stage abilities are unlocked) Cyan Child Fusion Rate: 10.85% (Unlock Water Control at 20%) Blue Baby Fusion Rate: 33.71% + 25.87% (Ability unlocked: Invisibility. Unlock No Trace when both reach 30%)
Big Brother and Third Brother's subsequent abilities both seemed easy enough to understand. One enhanced vitality with "Everlasting Life," while the other continued increasing his stats with "Indestructible Vajra."
"The second-stage ability is Indestructible Vajra..."
Mo folded his arms, somewhat puzzled.
Third Brother's abilities were the simplest and most straightforward among the Calabash Brothers, and... his stats were huge! Huge was strong! Huge was beautiful!
Mo had originally thought that such outrageous stats would be gradually unlocked step by step until reaching their complete form as proficiency increased. But if the second stage directly upgraded from Impervious to Blades and Spears to Indestructible Vajra, then what would the third-stage ability be? The fourth stage? Or even a possible fifth stage?
After a moment, Mo shook his head and decided not to think about things that were too far away.
With a flick of his wrist, a kunai burst out in a cloud of smoke and appeared in his hand.
Whenever Mo gained a new ability, he always tested it first and sought to understand it from every angle. This was an absolutely necessary process.
Big Brother's ability did not require much testing. He had already personally experienced the changes in physical strength, including the increase in physical toughness brought by Third Brother, during today's battle. The key now was the other ability—Impervious to Blades and Spears.
Mo raised his left arm, then turned his right hand and aimed the kunai's tip at his arm.
A sharp gleam flowed across the kunai. This was a high-quality item bought from Cat Granny, far superior to the common mass-produced junk.
Without the slightest hesitation, Mo slowly pressed it down.
The instant the kunai touched his flesh, a small indentation suddenly appeared at its tip. Mo could then clearly sense his chakra rapidly gathering automatically at the spot where the kunai pressed down, instantly transforming into a kind of power he could not understand.
The force gradually increased. The kunai's tip had already pressed that patch of flesh firmly against the bone, and a faint stinging pain came from Mo's arm. Yet even so, the defense on his skin had not been breached.
When he moved the kunai away, a white spot appeared on that patch of skin. However, a few breaths later, even the white spot completely vanished, leaving his arm without the slightest sign of abnormality.
The corner of Mo's mouth rose slightly. Then he slowly drew Futsunomitama from his waist.
"Next... let's try this..."
In terms of sharpness alone, Futsunomitama was undoubtedly among the finest ninja tools. If even it could not break through his defense, then he could truly be called Impervious to Blades and Spears.
The blade pressed against his arm and slowly slid across it. Uchiha Mo gradually exerted more force, and he soon felt the chakra within his body swiftly begin to move. A strange sensation also faintly came from his skin.
After a moment, Futsunomitama moved away. A clear white mark had appeared on Mo's arm, but there was no other abnormality.
"Very good. Next is the final stage of testing."
Mo muttered softly, his eyes narrowing as he rapidly began mobilizing the chakra within his body.
"Screech—!"
Amid a clear eagle cry, dazzling lightning flooded Futsunomitama's snow-bright blade.
Chidori Blade, the sharpest cutting-type attack among the methods Mo knew. Even ordinary Wind Release chakra enhancement could not compare to this move.
This time, Mo did not act rashly. Three slowly rotating tomoe appeared in his eyes as he stared intently at the lightning surrounding the blade.
Futsunomitama plus Chidori Blade was no joke. If the quality of the Lightning Release chakra was sufficient to bring out its full potential, it would likely be able to effectively break through even a Susanoo Skeleton. If he was careless for even a moment, it was entirely possible for it to sever Mo's entire arm.
The blade slowly approached his arm, and this time, the result was different.
"Pssh!"
Almost instantly, a spray of blood shot from Mo's arm. He immediately withdrew his chakra, and the lightning went out. Yet a long, narrow blade wound with a slightly scorched edge had already been left on his skin.
Mo's expression did not change, as though he had expected this. After sheathing Futsunomitama, he took out a bandage from his Ninja Tool Pouch and simply wrapped the wound.
"Just as I expected, so-called Impervious to Blades and Spears is more effective against conventional physical attacks. It doesn't offer much resistance against supernatural attacks."
After making sure the bandaging was secure, Mo shifted his gaze to the empty ground ahead and began to think.
A breeze drifted past, causing the grass to sway slowly. The fine veins in the blades and the fuzz along their edges were exceptionally clear in Mo's eyes. Even the tiny depressions where they rooted into the soil appeared as a blue-tinted image.
"..." Mo suddenly came back to his senses and stopped thinking.
"My Sharingan... has become more perceptive?"
After gaining the ability Clairvoyance, Mo's perception had been divided into four stages.
From weakest to strongest, those four forms of perception were his normal state, Sharingan state, Clairvoyance state, and the state where Clairvoyance was layered with the Sharingan. There were also subtle differences between them. The Sharingan focused more on dynamic vision, while Clairvoyance placed greater emphasis on pure observation.
Precisely because these four stages were so distinct and differed so greatly, Mo was extremely sensitive to the perception at each stage. He could very clearly feel that his Sharingan's perception had become stronger.
The Sharingan grew stronger along with ocular power. This was common knowledge to every Uchiha who had awakened their eyes. But the problem was... Mo's ocular power had not changed compared to before!
Mo frowned slightly, unable to understand.
He had not gained much Yin Release proficiency from today's battlefield, and he was certain that his ocular power had not undergone any major changes. Yet the Sharingan's perception had clearly and unmistakably grown stronger, just like the sensory ability granted by Orange Child.
He glanced at the panel. If there was any difference between his attributes today and yesterday, it could only be...
A thought surfaced in Mo's mind as he slowly activated all the ocular power within his body.
In an instant, the three pitch-black tomoe in Mo's eyes spun wildly, their rotation visibly accelerating. In less than half a breath, the traces of the tomoe were about to connect end to end!
Target: Dodai
A cold, dark aura instantly spread throughout the area!
Mo bent over and covered his eyes uneasily. Under the surging torrent of ocular power, his handsome face creased slightly.
"Ocular power..."
After sensing it carefully for a moment, the tomoe gradually came to a stop, and his ocular power slowly settled. That extreme cold aura quickly dispersed along with it.
The crimson faded. Mo held his eyes as he confirmed the speculation in his heart.
"My ocular power level truly hasn't changed, but the power my Sharingan can bring out has become stronger!"
As he thought this, his gaze fell on the 14.71% Yang Release proficiency displayed on the panel.
After awakening the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Mo's ocular power had undergone a tremendous leap, and his eyes had become far stronger than before. Yet in reality, it seemed that Mo had not been able to bring out the Sharingan's full power.
Now that his Yang Release proficiency had broken through to a new stage, the two abilities dependent on Yin Release—the Sharingan and Orange Child's sensory ability—had suddenly been freed.
Mo guessed that his physical strength and vitality had previously been insufficient. Therefore, the Seven-Colored Lotus had restricted the amount of Yin Release power he could wield. Only now, after Big Brother and Orange Child's abilities had elevated his body to a new level, had that restricting force been fully released, resulting in this change.
Although it was only a guess, Mo already believed this explanation in his heart. And if that truly was the reason, then he would no longer need to worry about his still-developing body being oppressed by ocular power.
With the Seven-Colored Lotus as protection, he could completely stop suppressing the growth of his ocular power and reach those forbidden ocular techniques as quickly as possible!
"If that's truly the case, then in the coming war, I'll need to kill more Cloud Ninja. Among the Five Great Nations, the Cloud Ninja and the Kaguya Clan currently possess the deepest Yang Release power. But Hidden Mist's presence in the Third Shinobi World War wasn't very strong. I wonder whether the Kaguya Clan will join the war... It's a pity the Senju Clan has fallen, and the Land of Whirlpools has also been destroyed..."
Uchiha Mo sighed inwardly. Just as he turned to leave, he suddenly caught sight of the Hidden Leaf Jonin vest on the ground, stained with blood.
After looking at it for a while, he bent down and picked it up. A mass of blood-red flame suddenly ignited in his palm without warning, instantly setting the Jonin vest ablaze. Mo's calm black eyes revealed neither depth nor emotion beneath the raging fire.
"But... when the time comes, perhaps I can set my sights on the Akimichi Clan, as well as the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki... I wonder whether killing a Tailed Beast would have an effect as well..."
In the time that followed, Black Zetsu did not return, while Mo threw himself fully into the battlefield.
Nearly two months passed. Perhaps because Hidden Cloud's war against Hidden Sand was progressing rather smoothly, the Cloud Ninja had been continuously probing this battlefield against Hidden Leaf. Meanwhile, Hidden Leaf maintained the attitude of, "You're fighting on two fronts anyway, so you're under greater pressure than we are," and simply dragged things out.
The two sides clashed several times. Relying on the extreme speed of the Flying Thunder God, Minato Namikaze faced the "A and B" duo alone on the main battlefield and rose to fame in a single battle!
A even gave an order that anyone who encountered Minato Namikaze on the battlefield could abandon their mission immediately, with the village imposing no punishment. From then on, the title Yellow Flash spread throughout the Ninja World!
Uchiha Mo had killed even more Cloud Ninja, reaching an astonishing number. But because he had killed Toroi before Toroi had truly made a name for himself, and because Mo was not someone who liked to show off, the title Blood Ninja, while more terrifying to ordinary Cloud Ninja, had yet to formally enter the view of the upper echelons of the various nations.
Mo was very dissatisfied with this.
Before you continue