That was a frame of surveillance footage magnified hundreds of times, originating from the nursery room No. 07 of the Fireheart Academy.
On the screen, the rising and falling frequency of the baby boy's chest, who was originally lying flat and sleeping, reached an astonishing 99.9% synchronization rate with another set of data streams from the deep-sea detector - the light and dark frequencies of the seven crystallized eyeballs.
It was as if, thousands of miles away, across the endless rock formations and seawater, there was an invisible thread connecting the newborn's breath to the ancient pulse.
This is not an isolated case.
Chiyo Saori's fingertips quickly passed through the void, mobilizing all the computing power of Imperial Sky Net to cross-compare the sleep data of the three hundred and twenty-seven "Sacred Scions" in the past seventy-two hours.
As a result, her thinking core, which was built with absolute rationality, produced a data fluctuation called "creepy" for the first time.
Every time, there is no exception.
All babies who are awakened by the signs of Sharingan will unconsciously turn their heads to the east in a deep sleep - that is the direction where Mariana Trench is located.
Their breathing, heartbeat, and even the weak rhythm of chakra flow in their bodies will be consistent with the rhythm of the seven eyeballs.
That's not resonance, but... worship.
"Lord."
The voice of Chiyo Saori broke the dead silence of Throne of Heaven. She turned to face the figure on the throne with her eyes closed and concentrating. The data waterfall projected formed an ice-blue ocean at the man's feet.
"They are recognizing their master." Her tone was straight, but it contained a warning like a landslide and tsunami. "But they are not recognizing you, but they are recognizing these children. The seeds you have sown seem to be regarded as the fruits that are about to be harvested by another will."
On the throne, Uchiha Xuan didn't even raise his eyelids, as if what Chiyo Saori reported was that the empire's steel output had increased by a few percentage points today.
His consciousness has long been immersed in a deeper dimension.
There, a "net of cause and effect" woven by his own hands, which is larger and more fundamental than Imperial Sky Net, is quietly suspended.
"Saori, do you think that what I planted is an orchard waiting for others to pick it?"
Uchiha Xuan's voice came slowly, with a hint of indifference overlooking the chess game, "No, I planted three hundred and twenty-seven bear traps, each one covered with the sweetest bait."
With a thought, twenty-one of the more than three hundred light points representing "Sacred Scions" on the web of cause and effect suddenly lit up with a distinctive scarlet light.
"As early as the moment 'Primordial Blood' was injected into the earth's veins, I weaved a reverse soul imprint into it."
His voice seemed to be describing an established fact through the law itself.
"Any soul body that attempts to invade my 'work' through a bloodline link will be like iron filings attracted by a magnet, and will be involuntarily guided to a host with a specific genetic sequence. And this sequence only exists in the bodies of the twenty-one 'Core Sacred Scions' that I personally marked."
Chiyo Saori's electronic eyes flashed with blue light, and he instantly understood the horror of this move.
The Overlord is not passively defending, he has been a hunter who actively set up traps from the beginning!
Not only did he predict the enemy's prediction, but he also took advantage of it and prepared a "luxury" cage package for the unknown ancient consciousness.
"Give me the order." Uchiha Xuan finally opened his eyes, and the pair of Rinne Sharingan had no waves. "Immediately transfer the three cores Sacred Scions numbered 07, 13, and 19 from the Fireheart Academy and send them to the 'Secret Room No. 1' underground in the Naka River, and declare to the outside world that they will carry out 'First-Fire Baptism'."
The order is issued.
Three infant babies were quietly taken away by puppets with the highest authority and entered the deepest secret room of Uchiha Sacred Land.
Here, there is no breeding ground for conservation, only cold metal altars.
On the altar, with the energy circuit of Divine Erosion Flame as the "line" and the "Fire Seal" on the backs of the three people's necks as the "anchor", an invisible "Soul-Net Trap" has been opened.
Uchiha Xuan was sitting in the observation room above the secret room. His consciousness was like mercury, seeping into the dreams of the three children. Using their subconscious as a canvas, he began to paint a carefully designed "picture".
An illusory and majestic "Mother Goddess Temple" rises from the depths of the dream. In the center of the hall, what is enshrined is not any statue of a god, but a huge stone tablet - it is the Uchiha Stone Tablet that was once devoured by him and now only exists in the memory data, with the afterimage of the word "Hui" engraved on it.
Midnight is coming.
As if receiving the most extreme temptation, thousands of miles away, in the deepest part of Mariana Trench, those seven crystallized eyeballs suddenly burst into unprecedented light!
Boom--!
A torrent of consciousness that is huge enough to make the strong Kage Level instantly shake out of his soul, rushing up along the earth network that it has long regarded as its "own backyard", like an angry dragon out of the sea!
Its goal is extremely clear, going straight to the child No. 07 who exudes the strongest "friendly" atmosphere!
In the secret room, the baby boy No. 07 lying on the altar suddenly sat up in his sleep. The pair of Sharingan that had just been able to condense the single Tomoe were now covered in pure paleness.
He opened his small mouth, and what came out was no longer a baby's babbling, but a series of difficult and ancient syllables that seemed to come from the beginning of creation:
"Return... position... inherit... inherit... rebirth... rebirth..."
A coercion originating from the ancient times came suddenly, and Chiyo Saori's logical core issued the highest level alarm. She subconsciously launched an emergency plan to forcibly cut off all connections between the baby boy and the outside world.
"Don't move."
The voice transmission of Uchiha Xuan sounded directly in her mind, cold and calm.
"Let it in - but don't let it out."
That torrent of consciousness poured into the baby boy's body without any hindrance, and the ecstatic emotion could even be clearly perceived by Uchiha Xuan through the spiritual link.
It thought it had found the most perfect container, a new body that was born from "its own" blood and had no power to resist.
Just when that consciousness was about to completely occupy the sea of consciousness, wipe out the baby boy's own weak soul spark, and complete the last step of the "rebirth" ceremony--
Changes happen suddenly!
In the observation room, Uchiha Xuan suddenly opened his eyes!
The Eternal Mangekyō and triple Tomoe patterns in his right eye actually began to rotate in reverse at a weird angle!
The Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan in the left eye, with its lines like precision gears, was locked with a crisp "click" sound!
"Reverse!"
One word, the way you say it!
The twelve Fire Altar networks throughout the Shinobi World were reversed at this moment!
The torrent of earth veins that had been continuously delivering life energy and chakra to "Sacred Scions" suddenly withdrew!
A "causal barb" is formed that runs through reality and the soul!
The huge consciousness that just poured into the baby boy's body was like a giant shark whose throat was pierced by a fishhook. He suddenly realized that he had fallen into a trap!
It struggled wildly, trying to escape, but found that its soul essence had been firmly anchored by the small "Fire Seal", and was firmly nailed to this small body by the soul net constructed by Divine Erosion Flame, making it impossible to advance or retreat!
The figure of Uchiha Xuan appeared silently in front of the altar.
He looked down at the baby with his eyes turned white and his body twitching violently, and the corner of his mouth raised a cold arc.
"You want to find a new container? Okay--"
His voice was not loud, but it was clearly transmitted into the trapped consciousness, carrying endless mockery and the majesty of domination.
"I'll give you a better one."
The moment he finished speaking, he stretched out his right hand, spread his fingers, and pressed the baby boy's forehead.
"Everything returns to the ruins, grafting!"
The black devouring power exploded, but it was not a violent devouring.
The trapped ancient consciousness was forcibly torn out of the baby boy's body by an irresistible force, and was pulled into a twisted ball of light and shadow in mid-air.
Half of it, under the burning of Divine Erosion Flame, let out a silent and miserable howl, was refined into the purest soul energy, and fed back to the soul network.
The other half, under the control of Uchiha Xuan, was forcibly injected by a more domineering force - into his own body!
No, to be more precise, it was injected into a "genetic embryo" that was slowly gestating in his body!
After a while, everything was calm.
Baby boy No. 07 on the altar stopped twitching, the paleness in his eyes faded, and clear black pupils returned. He smacked his lips, turned over, and fell asleep again, as if the earth-shattering battle between souls just now was just an insignificant dream.
Uchiha Xuan Slowly straightened up, he untied the royal robe from his chest, and saw a brand new birthmark appearing on his smooth chest at some point.
The shape of the birthmark was an inscription that was several times smaller - it was the two words "Xuanlin" that he created for his empire, which represented supreme authority!
He ignored the sleeping baby, but turned around, looking as if through the layers of rock walls, looking at the distant horizon.
"I'm not guarding against seizing the body..."
He whispered to himself, as if he was explaining to Chiyo Saori, or declaring his ambition.
"I am using an ancient soul to temper my real 'child'..."
He is cultivating the "I" of the next generation.
At this moment, far away on the border of the old Fire Country, deep in the long-silent Uchiha Clan Naka River Shrine.
In the center of the stone chamber, there is an ancient stone tablet with a palm print left by Uchiha Xuan. From the palm print, bright red blood slowly seeps out again.
But this time, the blood dripped to the ground, but it did not burn up like usual.
They meandered and flowed, converging on the cold stone slab into a line of small bloody words exuding an ominous and fateful atmosphere:
"The fire has been planted, and reincarnation is restarted."