The morning light is shining, and the three-day deadline has come.
Thousands of brand-new copies of <Scarlet Eye Chronicles> were written like snowflakes overnight by those tireless puppet writing machines, and were distributed before the ink was dry.
These thin booklets, along with bags of relief food, were sent to surrounding villages that were plagued by war and hunger.
At first, most of the people who got the brochure scorned it.
Withered Well Cult has been entrenched here for decades, and Kamui has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. How can an unknown "Xuan" overthrow it?
When they opened the brochure, they thought it was a clumsy propaganda ploy by some new force.
However, when they opened the grain bag and found that in addition to the brown rice they depended on for survival, there was also an exquisite Scarlet Eye badge, doubts began to arise.
"With this badge, you can exchange it for salt and iron at the New Hall." The ninja who distributed the supplies declared expressionlessly.
Salt!
Iron!
These two words hit everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.
In these troubled times, they are strategic materials more precious than food and the capital of survival and resistance.
The ice of doubt began to melt, and people began to read the book <Scarlet Eye Chronicles> seriously.
The story in the booklet is simple and direct: "Withered Well" is not a god, but an evil thing that steals the life force of believers; the so-called oracles are all spoken by the owner of Scarlet Eye, and the rest are lies.
And Xuan is the one who "cut off the shackles of the old gods."
Logic may not convince the hungry people, but heavy grains and shiny salt and iron can.
Gradually, a new saying began to spread among the villages, "Scarlet Eye's blessing is a hundred times better than the old gods." The foundation of faith was quietly replaced in this simple exchange.
Within the New Hall, Baba walked in quickly and presented a secret report to Xuan.
"Master Xuan, there is news from Land of Lightning. Two businessmen are secretly going south to buy 'Divine Tree Sap' at a sky-high price." Baba said with a solemn tone, "Intelligence shows that behind them is an old Kage Level strongman from Land of Lightning. His body is almost exhausted and he urgently needs Divine Tree Sap to continue his life."
Xuan's fingertips tapped lightly on the table, and the scarlet Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan flashed dangerously in the dark hall.
He let out a very light sneer, as if he had heard the most ridiculous rumor in the world. "There are always people who do not believe in laws and regulations, but are obsessed with immortality. They think life can be measured by money."
"Do I need my subordinates to send someone to intercept and kill him?"
"No need." Xuan waved his hand, and the calculation flashed in his eyes, "Let them in and let them trade. But give them the 'new goods' that you have prepared."
Baba understands it.
The so-called "new product" is a formula that has been improved by Xuan himself.
It retains the almost miraculous cell activation ability of Divine Tree Sap, which is enough to bring anyone on the verge of death back to life.
But deep within this healing power, there is an invisible thread - a delayed neural lock.
Within seven days, the user will be no different from ordinary people, and may even feel more energetic than ever before.
But after seven days, this thread will tighten instantly, completely locking the nerve center of the body, causing it to fall into a state of being unable to move, like a living dead.
Half a month later, an urgent message came from Land of Lightning, verifying Xuan Na's almost prophetic plan.
In a crucial secret meeting, when the Kage Level strongman was preparing to deliver a thunderous blow to the hostile forces, his body suddenly stiffened and collapsed to the ground. He could not speak or move his eyes, and only his consciousness was trapped in his body.
The close guards around him were horrified by this sudden turn of events, and their fatal flaws were exposed, and they were wiped out in one fell swoop by the hostile forces that had already been ambushing them.
A powerful faction fell apart.
After Xuan calmly listened to the report, the tapping sound of his fingertips stopped.
"Now," he spoke slowly, his voice as cold as ice, "Send the real Divine Tree Sap to their remaining forces. Attached is a letter."
He paused and said word by word, "The letter says: 'Next time, it will be the heart that will be replaced.'"
This move is both a thunderous intimidation and a generous act of kindness.
He used the life of the strong opponent Kage Level to show the entire Land of Lightning that he had absolute power to control life and death. He also used a real antidote to leave a way for the opponent to survive only by relying on him.
From now on, this remaining force of Land of Lightning will become his most obedient chess piece.
After solving the external hidden dangers, Chiyo in the palace promptly proposed new proposals.
"Master Xuan, now that New Hall's prestige has been initially established, I think it's time to implement 'Scarlet Eye Tax System'." She said respectfully, "Using New Hall's shelter and medical capabilities as a bargaining chip, we require all surrounding forces to pay tribute with food, minerals, and even precious ninjutsu scrolls."
"Yes." Xuan agreed. This was originally a part of his plan.
But he then added, "Add a hidden clause to the tax system."
His eyes swept over everyone present, with unquestionable majesty. "The heads of all families or forces that pay tribute must sign a blood contract document with the New Hall. The document stipulates that within three generations of their family, all clan members are not allowed to get involved or practice any eye skills related to Sharingan. Violators will be wiped out of the entire clan."
As soon as these words came out, even Chiyo felt a chill to the bone.
This is no longer a simple tax system, but a tax system that targets the bloodline.
What Xuan wants to do is not only to become the leader of the Uchiha Clan, but to become the sole monopolist of the power of Sharingan and completely privatize this divine power.
The night is dark, but the lights inside the New Hall are brightly lit.
Suddenly, a young man holding a rusty sword knocked open the palace door and broke in.
His clothes were ragged, but his eyes were burning with unyielding fire, looking directly at Xuan on the throne.
"My name is Uchiha Hikaku!" the young man shouted, his voice trembling with excitement, "I am the orthodox descendant of the Uchiha Clan! You rebellious person who stole the glory of the family, I will seek justice for my ancestors today!"
The guards in the palace drew their swords instantly, filled with murderous intent.
Xuan Que just raised his hand to stop them.
He looked at the young man in front of him with great interest. Instead of getting angry, he pointed to the seat below.
"Sit down and talk."
The young man was stunned. He imagined countless possibilities, either being killed on the spot, or being mercilessly ridiculed, but he never imagined that it would be such a calm word.
He hesitated for a moment, but the courage of a newborn calf made him straighten his back and sit down.
He began to state passionately, from the past glory of the Uchiha Clan to the current situation of being "stolen" by Xuan, his words were full of persistence in "orthodoxy" and "glory".
Xuan always listened quietly without making any objections.
It wasn't until the young man's mouth went dry and the hall fell into silence that he slowly spoke and asked an irrelevant question:
"Do you know what the last line of writing on the stone tablet Naka River Shrine is?"
The young man Uchiha Hikaku suddenly became speechless.
Although he claims to be orthodox, he has never had the opportunity to go deep into the shrine and interpret the legendary stone tablet.
Xuan stood up from the throne and walked slowly in front of him, his huge figure casting a suffocating shadow.
"I carved it with my own hands." His voice was very soft, but it was like thunder exploding in the young man's ears. "It says - 'Bloodline does not survive, only will will last'."
Before he finished speaking, Xuan stretched out a finger and lightly touched the young man's forehead.
The last stubbornness and unwillingness in the young man's eyes disappeared instantly, his body went limp and he fainted.
The next day, Uchiha Hikaku woke up at the door of the New Hall.
His rusty sword was beside him, and there was a rubbing in his arms.
On the rubbing was the inscription that he had never heard of.
And below that line of words, there is another line of small words dripping with ink and overbearing:
"Today there is a mysterious person who upholds the will and rules, and carries out punishments on behalf of Heaven."
The young man picked up the rubbing in a daze, turned around and left in despair.
Everything he believed in was completely shattered by these few words.
Xuan stood at the highest point of the New Hall, overlooking the young man's retreating back, his eyes unwavering.
"I don't need others to recognize my ancestors." He whispered to himself in a low voice, but his voice seemed to penetrate the sky, "I want them to only recognize me as God from now on."
The moment the words fell, a storm surged.
Above the sky, the endless dark clouds began to gather again. They rolled and twisted, and finally, they once again condensed into the huge Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, overlooking all living beings!
Unlike last time, this time, the eye of God made of dark clouds did not disappear in a flash.
It hung like that above the sky, its scarlet pupils staring at the earth for three whole days and three nights, without dissipating.
Three days later, when the giant eye slowly disappeared, the world became Return to Silence quiet again.
However, everyone felt that the air seemed to be different from before.
It was a kind of indescribable heaviness and depression, as if even the light was dyed with an invisible shadow.
In the direction of Naka River Shrine, the sky showed a strange leaden color, without a trace of wind. Everything held its breath, as if waiting for an unprecedented change.