The sea of fire in the ancestral hall built by illusion and burning thousands of tablets, together with the despairing arms in the sky, has been deeply imprinted in the soul of every survivor Paulownia Shadow Village.
Fear is a weapon sharper than a sword, it can cut off the toughest blood ties.
The surnames of the old era, overnight, changed from a symbol of glory to a curse that was spurned by the "ancestors", and became an unspeakable Original Sin.
As the "naming ceremony" personally chaired by Uchiha Xuan came to a bloody end in the old Paulownia Shadow Village Square, a movement named "Return to Origin", like a prairie fire, swept through all the areas under his control.
No more massacres, no more coercion.
That hellish scene was broadcast in real time through the crystal ball to the center of every village and town, becoming the most effective propaganda.
The wave broke out with unprecedented speed.
Some elderly parents tremblingly handed over their dusty genealogy with their hands and knelt in front of Scarlet Eye Guard, hoping to get a brand new household registration with the surname "Xuan" for their newborn grandson, as if it was not a surname but a ticket to the new world.
The passionate young man chopped up the plaque that had been enshrined in his family for hundreds of years in front of everyone, and loudly declared that he was no longer a descendant of "Yamada" or "Sato", but the "son of Xuanye", the first generation of newcomers favored by Red-Eyed God.
There is no nostalgia for tradition in his eyes, only contempt for the old identity and enthusiasm for the future.
What's more, some remote villages, after witnessing the "Divine Punishment" incident, held a village meeting overnight and collectively decided to abolish all old surnames.
The ancient stone tablet at the entrance of the village with the name of the village engraved on it was pushed down and smashed by the villagers. Then with the most pious gesture, they respectfully requested the patrolling Scarlet Eye team to engrave two brand new characters - Xuan Village.
The cold numbers have become the most intuitive footnote of this ideological revolution.
In the command center, on the huge crystal wall, a huge territory map is covered by countless flashing light spots.
Most of the area has turned red, which represents "naturalization".
Chiyo Saori was wearing a crisp uniform, and there was not a trace of dust on her snow-white gloves, but her voice had an imperceptible tremor.
She handed a latest report to Uchiha Gen and reported, "Master Xuan, since the implementation of the 'name system' for 72 hours, the number of people in the jurisdiction who have voluntarily applied to change their surnames has reached 31% of the total. Our emotional dependence model is based on the brain wave activity of newborns. The results show that when this generation of children reaches adulthood, their cognitive bias rate for their old surnames is expected to exceed 90%."
Ninety percent.
This means that in the near future, when children read the surnames "Sarutobi Clan", "Hyūga Clan", and "Nara Clan" from books, their first reaction will not be "prominent family", but a sense of alienation similar to "long extinct and ignorant primitive tribe".
Uchiha Xuan's eyes did not stay on the report, but stared at the network of countless red dots on the crystal wall.
Every red dot is a family named after him, a soul penetrated by his will.
However, in that red ocean, there are still stubborn white spots that represent "unnaturalized".
"Not enough."
His deep voice echoed in the hall, with an unmistakable hint of coldness.
Chiyo Saori was startled. "Sir?"
Uchiha Xuan slowly turned around, and the slightly confused face of Chiyo Saori was reflected in the silver ring-shaped pupils.
"I don't want them to change their surname out of fear. That's too vulgar. I want them to feel that not having the surname 'Xuan' is an inherent shame. I want everyone who still sticks to their old surname to feel ashamed when they face a newborn because they can't give their child this 'sacred' surname."
His ambitions go far beyond superficial rule.
"Send the order," Uchiha Xuan's voice was emotionless, "Establish 'Canon Compilation Institute' and compile a book <Scarlet Eye Canon> in my name."
Chiyo Saori understood the intention immediately, but there was a deeper chill in his heart.
Conquest by force and Thought Imprint are two completely different concepts.
Uchiha Xuan seemed to have read through her thoughts and continued, "In the canon, I declare to everyone: 'Xuan' is not a name for ordinary people, but the 'Voice of the Origin'. It is the first vibration in the world at the beginning of the universe and the birth of Chakra. Therefore, only those with this surname are the 'people of true blood' who carry this purest and oldest power."
He deliberately obscured the true origin of his "Uchiha Xuan" and portrayed himself as a being between gods and humans, a prophet who walked on the earth, came to cleanse the filth, and lead all living beings back to the "origin".
"Sir," Chiyo Saori finally couldn't help but speak, her mind warning frantically, "This... this is a lie. Lies will eventually be exposed one day. Once people find out that you are not..."
"Will it?" Uchiha Xuan interrupted her, with an almost cruel arc at the corner of his mouth, "When the day comes that they have the ability to question and discover that this is a lie, they will search through all the classics and ask all the elders, only to find that no one in the world can remember other names besides 'Xuan'. By then, my lies will be their only true history."
Chiyo Saori was silent.
She looked at the man in front of her, and for the first time she truly felt that what he wanted to devour was not the land and population at all, but history itself.
With the promulgation of <Scarlet Eye Canon>, lies quickly became the new truth.
However, there are always people who are too deeply imprinted by the old times and cannot accept all this absurdity.
Half a month later, in the border village of the original Hidden Leaf Village that had just been renamed "Xuan Village", a ragged old man led his five-year-old grandson and staggered back to his hometown.
His name is Sarutobi Yoshino, an old ninja who served in Hidden Leaf Village Anbu for thirty years and lost one leg and one eye in the war.
When he saw that on the familiar stone tablet at the entrance of the village, the words "Hidden Leaf Village No. 17 Outpost Village" had been smoothed away, and were replaced by two large bloody characters - "Xuan Village" that made him extremely dazzling, his remaining eyes were instantly bloodshot.
"Bastard thing!!"
A roar seemed to have exhausted all his strength.
The old man suddenly pulled out the Ninja Blade from his waist that had been with him all his life. Chakra exploded instantly, the sword flashed, and the huge stone tablet shattered into countless stones!
"Grandpa!" The grandson in his arms was frightened and cried loudly.
But the change happened at this moment.
The moment the gravel splashed, the ground beneath the old man's feet suddenly shook.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Twelve humanoid puppets with red bodies and scarlet light shining in their eye sockets burst out of the ground and surrounded him instantly.
The ominous chakra light flowing from the joints of these puppets is the latest masterpiece of Chiyo Saori, "Scarlet Patrollers" specially used to maintain the "sacred domain".
However, what made Sarutobi Yoshino feel even more chilled to the bone than these twelve puppets was the grandson in his arms.
The five-year-old child suddenly broke away from his arms. His small body stood in front of the broken stones. He pointed at his grandfather with all his strength and let out a childish but hateful scream:
"Bad guy! You are a bad guy! You are not allowed to call my name!!"
Sarutobi Yoshino As if struck by lightning, his whole body froze in place.
He looked at his grandson's little face that was twisted with anger. What reflected in his clear eyes was not admiration, but a kind of hatred toward aliens and enemies.
What is he... saying? Name him?
Before the old man could recover from the huge impact, Baba Tesshin, the deputy captain of Sunagakure, had already led his team to arrive.
He looked at the gravel on the ground expressionlessly and read out the verdict, "Sarutobi Yoshino is guilty of the crime of 'destroying sacred symbols', which is of a bad nature. According to Article 7 of Chapter 3 of <Scarlet Eye Code>, he and his citizenship rights for three generations are deprived according to law, and this will be implemented immediately!"
"Bah!" the old man spat blood on the ground and roared, "My surname is Sarutobi Clan, and I have had it for eighty years! Mr. Third Hokage put on Forehead Protector for me with his own hands! Why should I bow to a monster of unknown origin?!"
His roar echoed throughout the valley, full of unyielding pride.
At this moment, an indifferent voice came from behind everyone and reached everyone's ears clearly.
"Because you have lived too long."
The crowd automatically separated into a path.
Uchiha Xuan walked slowly, without any murderous intent on his body, and his steps were as leisurely as if he were walking in his own courtyard.
He walked up to the old man and stared at him quietly with his silver ring-shaped pupils.
"Sarutobi Clan... is a respectable surname. Unfortunately, it belongs to the past."
Before he finished speaking, Uchiha Xuan raised his hand, and the miniature Rinne Sharingan between his eyebrows as "Divine Seed" suddenly flashed a glimmer of light.
An invisible mental ripple swept through the old man's brain like a wave of water.
The anger, unyielding, and sadness on Sarutobi Yoshino's face solidified in an instant, and then... faded away like a tide.
His eyes became empty and blank.
He looked around, at the Scarlet Eye Guard holding weapons, at the grandson staring at him with hatred, and finally at the Uchiha Xuan in front of him.
His lips moved and he murmured:
"I... who am I? What is my... name?"
Memory stripping, complete.
Everything about "Sarutobi Clan", everything about Hidden Leaf Village, and his eighty years of glory and struggle were completely erased in this moment.
What was left was the most primitive and profound instinctive fear of the silver-eyed man in front of him.
"Send him to the wasteland of the Western Region." Uchiha Xuan ordered, "Put up a wooden sign with the words: Those who forget their names, stop."
The former hero was now a walking zombie who didn't even know who he was, and was dragged away by the guards numbly.
The child was gently picked up by a female staff member and sent to the newly established "Scarlet Eye Academy", where he will be awarded a new number: K1147.
That night, Chiyo Saori discovered a parameter in the system log of the Central Archives that had just been modified by the person with the highest authority.
-- "In the future, all direct descendants of individuals who are judged to be 'resisting to change their surname' will be forced to receive an additional level of 'psychological strengthening of belonging' when undergoing the 'naming ceremony' to ensure that they will never be able to get rid of their deep psychological attachment to the word 'Xuan' throughout their lives."
Chiyo Saori's hand holding the data pad felt cold.
She turned around and looked out the window at the back of the figure standing at the top of the command tower, overlooking the lights of thousands of houses. Her voice was low and hoarse. "You... are creating absolutely loyal slaves."
Uchiha Xuan didn't look back, just looked at the land under his feet that was enveloped by his will, his voice was terrifyingly calm.
"No, Saori."
"I'm creating a whole new species."
Seven days later, the first "Nameless Cemetery" was completed in the valley outside "Xuan Village".
The bones of hundreds of people who died before or who refused to change their surnames were moved and buried here.
There is no name, no biography, and all the tombstones are cold blank slates without any words inscribed on them.
On the opening day of the park, a strong wind blew up in the valley, making it difficult for people to open their eyes.
Some timid villagers claimed that in the howling wind, they seemed to hear the unwilling cries of thousands of souls coming from underground, but they could not hear them clearly, and they eventually dissipated into nothingness.
On the former site of Naka River Shrine, a new, completely black "Scarlet Eye Tower" has risen.
When--!
The huge bell on the top of the tower was rung for the first time.
The sound of the bell was powerful and strange, and each sound seemed to be repeating the same ancient syllable in an inhuman language:
"Xuan... Xuan... Xuan..."
Uchiha Xuan stood on the top of the tower, his robes fluttering in the strong wind.
His silver ring-shaped pupils reflected the entire sky.
He overlooked the nameless cemetery at his feet and the countless surrendered city-states beyond, and whispered to himself, as if he was declaring to the departed souls and the entire world:
"From now on, history will no longer be written by you..."
"It's up to me to redefine what 'beginning' is."
After the words fell, the dark clouds condensed by illusion in the sky gathered again, and the huge Eternal Mangekyō pattern slowly closed.
In the end, it turned into an indifferent, aloof one-eye overlooking the world.