Prelude to an Empire with Fully Realized Power? Shadows on the Chessboard!

At the same time, far away in the Old Uchiha Clan Compound in the Hidden Leaf Village, inside an underground chamber.

Yuan sat cross-legged on a massive slab of bluestone. There were no lamps lit in the chamber. The only source of light was the pair of scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes, spinning at high speed.

By now, a full half month had passed since Sasuke's defection and Yuan forcing the elder council's hand. During this half month, the Hidden Leaf higher-ups had not dared to make a sound, completely pretending to be deaf and blind toward this Uchiha enclave.

Yuan paid no attention to the village's mess. He had been frantically digesting the enormous spoils he had gained from killing several Kage-level powerhouses in succession.

"System. Pull up all fused abilities," Yuan silently said in his heart.

A stream of blue Water Release chakra, visible to the naked eye, spilled from the surface of his body. This chakra was so vast it was outrageous. The [Tailless Beast Chakra Capacity] and [Water Release Mastery] dropped by Kisame Hoshigaki had forcibly widened Yuan's already broad meridians by another three times. If his chakra had once been a surging river, now it was a bottomless ocean.

With the rise and fall of his breathing, the air around Yuan began to turn damp. Water molecules condensed under extremely high density into visible droplets that hovered around his body. With a single thought, these droplets could turn into high-pressure water blades capable of slicing through steel.

The Water Release chakra had only just receded when a trace of cool, utterly pure natural energy poured in through the chamber's ventilation shaft.

Jiraiya's [Sage Art Sensing].

Yuan did not learn that Sage Mode that grew toad skin. He only needed the sensory ability. Natural energy perfectly fused with his immense spiritual power, and his perception range instantly broke through the stone walls of the chamber, covering the entire Hidden Leaf Village and even extending into the forest dozens of kilometers away.

The trajectory of falling leaves, insects crawling underground, even the beating frequency of the hearts of Anbu guards in the distance—all of it was clearly imprinted in his mind.

Meanwhile, the cells in his body that had suffered tiny tears from overtaxing his violent chakra were, under the passive effect of Tsunade's [Strength of a Hundred Technique], splitting and healing at a terrifying speed. Black poisoned blood was expelled from his pores, and the newly grown muscle lines gleamed with a cold metallic texture.

What excited him the most was the partial core knowledge of [Impure World Reincarnation] exchanged from Orochimaru's 15 fragments, as well as basic soft-body impact-resistance modification.

The Sharingan's insight, Water Release's suppression, Sage Arts' sensing, the Strength of a Hundred's flesh, plus the Flame-Lightning Chidori that could tear apart everything at any moment and the conceptual disintegration of "Obliteration."

Yuan clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking like beans frying in a pan. A terrifying pressure powerful enough to crush this basement exploded from his body. Surpassing every Kage-level, this absolute violence truly held in the palm of his hand made the arrogant smile at the corner of his mouth impossible to suppress.

He stood, pushed open the heavy stone door, and walked up to the surface.

The morning sunlight was somewhat dazzling. Yuan narrowed his eyes and looked at the Uchiha Clan Compound before him, which had already been completely transformed.

Aunt Mihui was standing on the high platform of the newly built square, holding a roster as she loudly directed several strong adult clan members to move timber and medicinal materials.

Over this half month, the compound's population had rapidly grown from the initial 20 people to 45. Yuan's notorious might had instead become the Uchiha's last protective umbrella. Those peripheral Uchiha bloodlines who had done odd jobs on the fringes of the Hidden Leaf in earlier years, even those who had been away from the village and clung to life during the night of the massacre, as well as some loyal old servants, had all secretly returned to seek refuge.

Mihui displayed extremely capable management methods. She razed the originally dilapidated old residential area and established an extremely strict compound management system. The once crude medical room was, using the scrolls Tsunade left behind and the funds Yuan provided, forcibly turned into a small but fully equipped hospital.

On the east side of the square, orderly reading voices of children came from a two-story wooden building. That was the newly established school, divided into three classes: ninjutsu, culture, and medicine. These children were the roots of the Uchiha's future.

Seeing that the compound had, for the first time, gained a self-sufficient economic system and vitality, the killing intent in Yuan's eyes faded slightly. He knew that to protect these people's right to live under the sun, he had to slaughter, one by one, every jackal, wolf, tiger, and leopard outside who coveted the Uchiha's eyes and bodies.

Two hidden guards in black night clothes silently landed behind Yuan, knelt on one knee, and presented a sealed intelligence scroll with both hands. This was the intelligence network Yuan had personally tamed after taking over Root's dark web.

Yuan took the scroll and casually tore off the seal. His Mangekyō Sharingan swept over it, and the densely packed red coordinate points immediately came into view.

By cross-referencing his memories from his previous life with Anbu intelligence, he had already locked onto the activity tracks of most of the Akatsuki's core members.

"The tower in Amegakure, Pain and Konan. The black market on the northeastern border of the Land of Fire, Kakuzu and Hidan. The depths of the desert in the Land of Wind, Sasori and Deidara." Yuan's slender fingers lightly traced the ink marks on the scroll. Each time he touched a name, the chill in his tone deepened.

He closed the scroll. A cluster of violent black sparks rose from his palm, instantly burning the scroll clean to nothing.

Yuan raised his head and looked toward the desert of the Land of Wind in the northwest. There lay endless mineral resources, and it was also the breakthrough point closest to the Hidden Leaf Village.

"It's time to draw in the net."