This wailing does not come from the throat, but from the trembling deep in the soul.
Since that night, the entire Shinobi World seemed to be enveloped by an invisible net, falling into a collective nightmare that swept all survivors.
Whether you are a tough ninja or an ordinary civilian, as long as you close your eyes, you will have a high probability of being dragged into the same desperate scene.
On the desolate plain, a huge stone monument that was completely black and seemed to be able to absorb all light rose from the ground and penetrated into the bloody sky.
In front of the stone tablet, stood quietly a figure wrapped in dark golden flames.
People in the dream could not see the figure clearly, they could only feel a kind of fear originating from life instinct that almost froze their souls.
They tried to escape, but found that their legs were filled with lead. Every step was exhausted, but they could never distance themselves from the stone monument.
They tried to attack, but whether it was earth-shattering ninjutsu or the most basic fists and kicks, all attacks within three feet of the figure were like mud cows falling into the sea, being swallowed up silently by the dark golden flames, without even a ripple being stirred up.
What's even weirder is that when they wake up from this suffocating dream, a vague burnt smell will linger on the tip of their noses and linger for a long time.
Many people are horrified to find that a faint, burning fire mark will appear on their arms or chests. Although it will subside on its own within a few minutes, the stinging sensation of being licked by the flames is horrifyingly real.
For a time, fear spread like a plague.
The temporary medical teams established in various countries are helpless, and no Medical Ninjutsu can detect the slightest abnormality.
In desperation, rumors began to spread among the people, claiming that this was the sin of war that had attracted the punishment of the "God of Fire", and was the ultimate judgment on this devastated world.
Land of Wind, Hidden Sand Village Old capital.
In the temporary command tower, Chiyo Saori looked at the huge light screen projected by the puppet core with an expressionless face.
On the light screen, countless data streams rolled down like waterfalls, finally converging into a Shinobi World map.
On the map, red dots were lighting up at an alarming speed, flashing ominously.
"A total of 7,341 'nightmare' reports have been compiled, all over Five Great Nations and surrounding small countries." Her cold voice echoed in the empty room, "After data screening and cross-comparison, all individuals who experienced 'nightmare' reactions have two common characteristics."
She tapped her finger lightly on the light screen, and two lines of bold text appeared.
"1: All are under the age of sixteen."
"Two: Chakra affinity ratings are all above the 'medium-to-upper' level, and most of them are concentrated in Fire Country, Land of Wind, the original Uchiha Clan settlement and its surrounding radiation areas."
Data doesn't lie.
This is not an indiscriminate Divine Punishment, but a precise screening with a chillingly clear goal.
Chiyo Saori closed the data panel, and through the spiritual link, plunged his consciousness into the darkness deep in Valley of the End.
"Are you guiding these dreams?" Her inquiry was as direct as ever, without any awe or emotion.
What responded to her was the voice of Uchiha Xuan that seemed to come from the eternal void.
At this moment, he was suspended in the core room of a huge aerial fortress.
This war fortress made from the remains of Divine Tree and Kaguya Otsutsuki palace, and integrated with countless Kekkei Genkai technologies, is the mobile throne he prepared for the New Empire - "Throne of Heaven".
His eyes were closed tightly, but his consciousness turned into hundreds of millions of invisible threads, penetrating the space and accurately connecting the soul light spots that were being illuminated on the Shinobi World continent.
In his sea of consciousness, the fear, despair, and unwillingness of those boys and girls were transformed into the purest emotional energy, which was slowly absorbed by him.
"It's not me." Uchiha Xuan's voice was calm, but with a kind of indifference as if explaining the truth, "It was the 'fire' that wanted to find its master. I just... opened a door for it."
The "fire" in his mouth is no longer a simple flame.
After swallowing the Divine Tree origin of Kaguya and integrating the characteristics of Amaterasu, Divine Erosion Flame and even part of Truth-Seeking Orb, it has evolved into a law-level existence between matter and concept.
He used the "Law Network" built by the twelve Fire Altars spread across the Shinobi World as a node to inject a trivial "Concept of Fire" mixed with fragments of his will into the heat of the earth's veins flowing under the entire continent.
And those "Fire Seal" implanted by Chiyo Saori are the most perfect signal receivers and amplifiers.
They are like beacons, accurately guiding this power to the dreams of those teenagers who have the Uchiha Clan thin factor hidden in their blood, or who are born with a high affinity for fire attribute chakra.
The ending of every nightmare is the same.
When the boys and girls in the dream were tortured to the point of mental collapse, the flaming figure standing in front of the black stone monument would slowly turn around.
Its face was completely void, with no eyes, ears, mouth or nose, only a pair of scarlet eyes burning like blood, among which three pitch-black Tomoe slowly rotated, as if they could completely suck the human soul into them.
Immediately, a loud and cold voice sounded directly in their minds:
"It's time for you to wake up."
Early next morning.
Fire Country border, in a temporary settlement established by Hidden Leaf Village survivors.
Dozens of teenagers who were tortured in nightmares Earth Flow left their homes at the same time.
Their faces were pale, and there was fear in their eyes, but their steps were extremely firm, and they walked straight to the "Flame Seal Order registration point" set up by Chiyo Saori's puppet at the entrance of the village.
Like puppets pulled by invisible threads, they actively stretched out their arms to accept the brand of Fire Seal and receive the pitch-black Forehead Protector that represented their new identity.
A middle-aged man who was a teacher at the Konoha Ninja Academy rushed out. His face was full of grief and anger, and he stopped in front of his students.
"Are you crazy! That's not Grace, it's a curse! It's mind control!" He roared at the top of his lungs, "The will of the ninja is free! We cannot surrender to a tyrant of unknown origin!"
He tried to awaken the reason of these children, and even organized a secret class last night to tell them about Will of Fire and the sacrifices made by their ancestors for freedom and peace.
However, the children just looked at him with empty and unfamiliar eyes, bypassed him, and continued towards the registration point.
That night, the stubborn teacher fell into a dream again.
This time, he was no longer standing in the wilderness, but in his humble classroom.
Under the stage, all his students were sitting.
Just as he was about to say something, the students all raised their heads.
In their eyes, there is no longer innocence and curiosity, but instead, there are clusters of burning black flames.
"Xuan... Lin..."
"Xuanlin...Xuanlin...Xuanlin..."
Uniform chanting sounds came from all directions. At first they were just whispers, but then they became louder and louder, converging into a torrent that could shatter eardrums.
At the sound, the walls of the classroom began to crack and collapse, and endless dark golden flames surged in from the cracks, swallowing him up instantly.
"Ah--!"
The man screamed and jumped up from the bed, his whole body soaked in cold sweat.
Panting heavily, he looked around and found that he was still in the safety of his bedroom.
However, when he lowered his head, extreme fear seized his heart.
He didn't know when he was kneeling on the ground, holding an application form "Flame Seal Order" that came from nowhere in his hands. He held a pen tightly in his hand and was writing his name quickly on the form.
Tears burst from his eyes uncontrollably, streaking across his face twisted in fear.
He wanted to stop and throw away this damn form, but his body was completely out of control, and the writing hand was as steady as a rock.
He could only watch himself helplessly, burying his will with his own hands amidst silent wails.
At the same time, Chiyo Saori frowned slightly.
She issued a new alert to Uchiha Xuan.
"There are unexplainable mutations in some dreams." Her mental fluctuations conveyed a hint of solemnity. "There are reports that the black stone tablets in the dream are not stationary, but rise on their own, across the ocean, and move towards unknown lands. What's more, in the dream, I saw more 'apostles' holding stone tablets walking out of the flames. They call themselves 'Xuan's Apostles' and spread your teachings in the dream."
"'Fire' is deviating from your preset trajectory, and it is starting to have its own 'ideas'."
In the core room of Throne of Heaven, Uchiha Xuan slowly opened his eyes.
In those deep pupils, the pattern of Eternal Mangekyō flashed away, replaced by golden flames that slowly flowed like magma.
"Control?"
He let out a very light laugh, as if he had heard some funny joke.
"Why should I control a hungry beast?"
He stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling lattice, overlooking the earth looming in the clouds below.
"I just need to let it know who is its lair."
The moment the words fell.
Far outside the mainland of Shinobi World, there is an isolated island hundreds of sea miles east of Land of Water.
An old fisherman who was blind suddenly woke up from his dream.
His gray eyeballs actually reflected a monstrous Kakkō at this moment.
At the end of the dream, he "saw" the end of the continent and a huge monument rising into the sky.
"God... is coming."
He murmured to himself, looking enthusiastic and pious.
Immediately, he staggered out of the simple wooden house, poured all the only can of tung oil on his old fishing boat, and lit the flint.
In the raging fire, he boarded the burning ship without hesitation, rowed the oars with all his strength, and sailed into the vast night without hesitation in the direction of the rising Kakkō in his dream.
And behind him, under the isolated island, was the seabed thousands of meters deep.
A rock that had been dropped by Uchiha Xuan a few days ago and had already cooled down and was engraved with the words "Xuanlin" had its surface temperature rising quietly in a way that violated the laws of physics.
Tiny bubbles began to pop up one after another in the surrounding icy sea water, making "gurgling... gurgling..." sounds, as if something was about to... wake up in the extreme cold and dead silence of the deep sea.