The cold wind in the wilderness stirred up the remaining blood and dust, and three black shadows galloped like ghosts on the ground, leaving blurry afterimages among the rugged rocky ground.
It was Xuan, Chiyo Saori and the puppet master Baba who followed silently at the end.
Not far behind them, the ear-piercing scream of Chidori Sharp Spear piercing the sky and another huge chakra wave as hot as the sun were approaching at an alarming speed.
Those were Sasuke Uchiha and the elite Hidden Leaf Village he led, as well as that unmistakable aura that belonged to Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
The pressure of the pursuers became real, the air seemed to become thicker, and Chiyo Saori's breathing became a little faster.
However, Xuan, who was at the front, had a dark and cold arc on his lips.
Instead of speeding up, he suddenly turned sideways, put the five fingers of his right hand together, with red chakra lingering on his fingertips, and made a fierce stroke on a huge rock wall beside him!
"Tsk-"
A claw mark several inches deep with burn marks still remaining on the edge suddenly appeared on the rock, exuding an ominous aura.
After completing this unnecessary action, Xuancai suddenly turned around and led the two of them into a narrow cave that was perfectly covered by bushes.
Inside the cave are stairs extending downward, deep and winding.
Chiyo Shazhi followed closely, and finally couldn't help but asked in a low voice, "Master Xuan, the traces you left are too obvious, they will catch up immediately. We..."
"Are they going to be fooled?"
His voice was so indifferent that there was no emotion at all, "Saori, you have to understand, this is not to let them be fooled. But I want them to see me 'escape' here with their own eyes, and then, Earth Flow come in willingly."
Chiyo Saori was silent for a moment, a chill rising from the bottom of his heart.
She understood that this was not an embarrassing escape at all, but a carefully planned hunt, but the identities of hunter and prey were about to be reversed.
The end of the passage suddenly opened up, and a majestic and suffocating underground space appeared in front of the three people.
This is actually a Uchiha Shrine Ruins that has long been forgotten by the world. It is the place where Xuan first opened his eyes and woke up from a long sleep - the real core of Naka River Shrine.
This sacred temple, hidden hundreds of meters underground, is far older than the buildings on the ground.
Huge stone pillars support the dome, and the ground and walls are engraved with dazzlingly complex runes. These are top-level Sealing Jutsu styles that have long been lost in Shinobi World and belong to Warring States Era Uchiha Clan.
Xuan slowly stepped onto the circular altar located in the center of the space. The stone slabs under his feet seemed to feel the return of the owner and made a slight buzz.
He slowly closed his left eye, and the Mangekyō Sharingan pattern in his right eye rotated rapidly, eventually turning into a deep and mysterious pupil pattern that seemed to be able to swallow everything.
[Myriad Phenomena Return to the Eye·titlexu]!
In an instant, Xuan's vision was completely subverted.
The color of the real world faded away, replaced by a huge spider web composed of countless golden energy veins covering the entire land.
Every source of chakra and the flow of every earth vein are clearly presented in his eyes in the form of data flow.
And this underground shrine is the core and brightest energy node of this giant network.
"This is not a refuge." Xuan's whisper echoed in the empty shrine, with a hint of unnoticeable fanaticism. "This is the cemetery prepared for them, and it is also the... throne that will be crowned for me."
"Baba, start!" Chiyo Saori immediately understood and ordered sternly.
Baba, who had been silent all this time, flew with his hands and fingers, and Chakra Threads instantly popped up and sank into the surrounding ground.
Along with the dull sound of mechanical friction, the ground slowly cracked in twelve directions around the altar, and twelve specially-made puppets with ferocious shapes rose from it.
These puppets are different from ordinary combat puppets. Their chests are opened and there are no weapons inside. Instead, they are embedded with active ganglia extracted from White Zetsu Mother that are still pulsing slightly.
These ganglia have already been deeply modified by the Xuan Pass system and have become the most efficient "chakra adapters".
Chiyo Saori explained, "Master Xuan, according to your instructions, over the years, we have used the characteristics of White Zetsu to secretly bury 'energy funnels' at various battlefield sites in Fire Country and even throughout Shinobi World. As long as the wars and conflicts on the ground continue, the escaped and ownerless chakra energy will be continuously introduced into the foundation of this shrine. The holy land under our feet is being 'charged' every second."
Xuan nodded with satisfaction.
He stretched out his hand, a light flashed in his palm, and a strange crystal core appeared out of thin air.
Half of the crystal core is as dark as eternal night, exuding the power of cold creation; the other half is pure white like fresh snow, containing the gentle power of life.
It was he who used the system to highly compress and fuse the chakra fragments of Indra and Asura to create "Bipolar Crystal Core".
He walked to the center of the altar, where there was a groove that exactly matched the size of the crystal nucleus.
Xuan bent his knees and gently pressed the crystal core, which contained the original power of the world, into it.
"Buzz--!"
It's like a giant beast that has been sleeping for thousands of years has been awakened!
With the altar as the center, the countless ancient sealing runes on the ground seemed to have been injected with life, and one by one they lit up with scarlet light.
The light spread rapidly along the complex lines like a countercurrent of blood, instantly lighting up the entire underground space.
What's even weirder is that the order in which these runes light up and the final pattern they form perfectly echo the [Myriad Phenomena Return to the Eye] in Xuan's right eye!
The cold system prompt sounded in his mind on time:
"It was detected that the high concentration of Yin–Yang Release energy source resonated with the ancient Uchiha Clan sacrificial site, and the conditions were met."
"Enable [Myriad Phenomena Return to the Eye·Mimicry] area curing function."
"Start building a temporary stronghold: [Crimson Eye Divine Realm]."
"[Crimson Eye Divine Realm] Construction completed! Current controllable range: radius of five kilometers. Within this field, the host's full ability increases by 300%, and it can absolutely control all energy flows in the field."
"Special reminder: From now on, any ninjutsu activated by the host or through the divine realm will have the special effect of 'Fate Disturbance'."
At the same time, above the ground.
Team Hidden Leaf Village led by Sasuke finally arrived at the claw mark left by Xuan.
The sensing ninja beside him immediately pointed to the entrance of the cave and said, "Master Sasuke, the remnants of the three chakras disappeared from here!"
The group of people rushed into the secret passage without hesitation, but when they chased it to the end, what they saw was not Xuan's back, but the remains of a puppet that had been burned away by the black flames of Amaterasu.
On the chest of the wreckage, a line of arrogant words was carved with a sharp tool:
"Want to find me? First ask about the shadow I left behind."
"Is it a trap?" A Konoha Ninja looked around warily.
In the team, Shikamaru Nara, who had been silent all this time, suddenly broke out in cold sweat on his forehead after seeing these words and the surrounding environment.
He stared at the puppet, his voice became hoarse due to nervousness. "No... no... this is not a trap..."
Sasuke glanced at him. "What do you mean?"
Shikamaru swallowed hard, and this... this is an invitation letter!
He didn't even think about hiding his traces. That claw mark and this puppet were all deliberately guiding us!
He is sure that we will chase after him, and he wants us to... fight him within his rules and on his home court!"
In the underground divine realm, Xuan had already stood on the highest point of the altar. He opened his arms as if embracing his own empire.
Under his feet, the illuminated rune veins formed a huge blood-colored star map. The majestic and pure energy was continuously flowing into his body through the earth veins, making him feel an unprecedented sense of power and control.
He overlooked the holy land awakened by his own hands, feeling the power that could distort reality. He raised the corners of his mouth and whispered in a voice that only he could hear:
"Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, Naruto, Sasuke... What you spend your whole life fighting for is just who will save the world."
"And I'm different from you."
"What I'm fighting for is - who can define the 'world'!"
The moment the words fell, in the deepest part of the divine realm, the Bipolar Crystal Core embedded in the center of the earth trembled suddenly and let out a low hum.
At the junction of the black and white of the crystal core, a slightly invisible new pupil pattern that does not belong to Sharingan, does not belong to Rinnegan, and does not belong to any existing bloodline is quietly tearing open the curtain of reality and slowly taking shape.
At this moment, an invisible scarlet pulse that seemed to be able to shake the foundation of the world rose into the sky with Naka River Shrine as the center.
It did not destroy any material, but it instantly penetrated the hundred-meter-thick rock formation, went straight into the sky, and spread towards the entire Shinobi World.
A few seconds later, whether it was Konoha from Fire Country, Land of Lightning far away in the clouds, or Sunagakure filled with wind and sand... the entire Shinobi World sky, no matter day or night, was shrouded in a strange layer of light red gauze visible to the naked eye.
Everyone raised their heads in astonishment and looked at this unprecedented heavenly vision.
The top perception barriers in various countries simultaneously sent out shrill alarms, but were unable to locate the source of this energy. They could only detect a terrifying fluctuation that made everyone palpitate, as if fate itself had been tampered with.
Panic and confusion, like invisible viruses, spread quietly among Five Great Nations.
An unprecedented shadow has shrouded everyone's heart.