"A treasure?"
The nobles were captivated by the "priceless treasure" Ye Uchiha mentioned. They could not even be bothered with the duel between the Shield and Spear, fixing their eager gazes on Ye Uchiha below as they waited for him to reveal this supposed treasure.
Anything the Fifth Hero called a "treasure" surely could not be ordinary.
The pope, who looked like a kindly grandfather, was the first to ask, "Oh? What treasure might you be referring to, Sir Hero?"
At the pope's question, every noble present craned their neck in anticipation of Ye Uchiha's answer, except for the king, whose face remained livid.
Ye Uchiha chuckled. "Well, isn't it right there in the sky?"
Following Ye Uchiha's gesture, everyone instinctively looked up. In the still, deep night sky hung a blood moon, black tomoe faintly emerging across its surface. It seemed possessed of boundless, sinister allure, drawing them helplessly into its depths.
Pseudo-Infinite Tsukuyomi, unleash!
With his Mangekyō Sharingan activated, Ye Uchiha formed a hand seal, a faint smile playing across his face.
"What's going on? The moon turned red!"
"A miracle! That crimson moonlight..."
"That's... the Sharingan!"
Naofumi Iwatani, Motoyasu Kitamura, Ren Amaki, and Itsuki Kawasumi, who had learned about Ye Uchiha's abilities, stared up at the tomoe-marked blood moon in shock. Then their expressions gradually went blank, and the pattern of the Sharingan appeared in their eyes.
"Oh! Such mysterious, mighty power! Those are truly the 'eyes of God'! They rightfully belong to the Church!!!"
Perhaps sensing the Mangekyō's ocular power, the pope abruptly stood, staring at the blood moon with fanatical greed.
His narrowed eyes opened into two slits, and he spread his arms as though trying to embrace it. Three tomoe immediately appeared in his eyes. His smile stiffened, and his expression slowly turned vacant.
Within the castle gardens, the king, the pope, the nobles, and the heroes-every living being present-now had the crimson pattern of three tomoe reflected in their eyes. They remained where they were, staring blankly up at the blood moon, a sign that they had already fallen under Ye Uchiha's Mangekyō illusion.
Pseudo-Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Inspired by his insights into Princess Kaguya's Infinite Tsukuyomi, Ye Uchiha had created this Mangekyō ocular technique. By projecting and spreading his Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power through the moon, he could draw anyone who looked directly at it into his Mangekyō illusion.
Of course, an imitation was still only an imitation. Its effects and capabilities were several tiers below those of Infinite Tsukuyomi, but it could still cover an entire area, trapping every creature within it in an illusion and distorting and rewriting the wills of those affected.
Unless someone possessed exceptionally powerful mental and spiritual strength, or had a Mangekyō of their own that granted them immunity, no one could break free of Pseudo-Infinite Tsukuyomi.
As for why he had hypnotized the Capital's powerful figures gathered here, that naturally had to do with his upcoming plans.
The kingdom's upper ranks were already rotten, taking their moods out on others. There was no reason to let them continue existing, but Ye Uchiha did not intend to eradicate these parasites. He had something else in mind.
After all, these nobles still had their uses. If they all died, the Kingdom of Melromarc would likely descend into chaos without its leaders. However corrupt and incompetent these nobles of the Capital might be, they still knew something about governing.
It would be better to bring the Capital's powerful figures under his control, alter their wills to a certain extent, and secretly make them serve him.
Ye Uchiha firmly believed that strength reigned supreme. Though he had no interest in worldly power or position, establishing a force of his own was essential to prevent anyone from targeting him. There was no guarantee this world lacked people eager to court death, or already preparing to do so.
Ye Uchiha wanted to establish his own force, much like the Akatsuki in the Naruto World, with elite fighters as members and weaker personnel providing logistical support.
The organization's establishment and growth would inevitably attract the attention of the Kingdom of Melromarc's spies. Before it was even founded, the king and nobles might mobilize troops to wipe out Ye Uchiha and his force.
In the eyes of the world, a hero's only duties were to repel the Waves and preserve world peace. That was why the kingdom allowed and assisted the heroes' growth.
But Ye Uchiha's coming moves were destined to bring him into conflict with the kingdom. The king could tolerate heroes colluding with nobles, but he would never tolerate a hero possessing a force of his own. That would threaten his rule.
You're a hero, yet instead of saving the world, you're building a force inside the kingdom. Are you planning to rebel and seize the throne?
The moment Ye Uchiha announced his intention to establish an organization, the king would surely send troops to his doorstep the very next day to eliminate the threat.
Although Ye Uchiha was confident in his strength, constant harassment from pests like these would be quite a headache. He could not simply slaughter everyone.
After witnessing Naofumi Iwatani's mistreatment and seeing the other three, who had been out of their minds from the start, used as weapons, Ye Uchiha understood one thing: these scheming nobles saw the heroes as nothing more than tools for handling the "Waves of Calamity." They feared their strength but held no respect for them whatsoever.
They were weak, yet had none of the self-awareness of the weak. Instead, they exploited the strong as pawns, offering a few carefully measured rewards before pressuring them in the name of a righteous cause, playing the heroes in the palms of their hands.
Ye Uchiha despised these self-righteous politicians of the kingdom. Their hearts were darker and more vicious than anyone else's, yet they insisted on pretending to be paragons of virtue!
It had been the same in the Naruto World, and it was no different here.
Relying on their supposedly superior noble status, they took it for granted that they could enslave and order others around. They claimed the moral high ground to judge right and wrong, delivering eloquent, long-winded speeches with the smug attitude of people who always knew better after the fact.
Ye Uchiha had once spent some time guarding the son of the Land of Fire's daimyo. He had witnessed the extravagant, corrupt behavior of most officials and nobles, especially their disregard for human life. They were arrogant to the core, yet the moment their lives were threatened, they bowed and scraped as though their proud spines had snapped. He simply could not feel any goodwill toward nobles.
At first, Ye Uchiha had thought this was merely a consequence of the Naruto World's chaotic Warring States system, and that things would improve once the ninja villages were established. Now it seemed that, regardless of the world, most nobles were the same.
"Next, it's time to alter their wills."
Ye Uchiha swept his gaze over everyone present, all hypnotized by his Pseudo-Infinite Tsukuyomi. Once he confirmed that no one had escaped the illusion's hold, his Mangekyō's ocular power surged wildly, resonating with the blood moon overhead.
Invisible ripples washed over everyone in the castle gardens, penetrating their minds and souls as he began rewriting their wills.
Before you continue