Boom--!!
The firmament shattered, and the shockwave swept across a hundred miles!
Crimson shinobi fire ninjutsu surged into the sky, completely dyeing Konoha's originally clear blue sky the color of blood.
The ground shook wildly, cracked lines spreading across the entire street like terrifying spiderwebs, shattered walls and collapsed ruins roaring down, rock debris and wood chips dancing wildly across the sky, carrying scalding heat.
The pungent smell of gunpowder smoke, the fishy sweetness of fresh blood, and the scorching smell of burning houses mixed together, forcefully pouring into the nasal cavity.
All kinds of noisy clamor echoed in his ears.
This was the scene of Konoha's collapse.
Chaotic, cruel, human lives treated like blades of grass.
Miki Yūya snapped awake amid a rip-roaring pain that tore at his marrow. Violent, choking coughs made his chest heave, and his vision gradually cleared from a blur.
Unfamiliar Japanese-style residential ruins, the worn and coarse civilian cloth clothes on his body, panicked passersby fleeing in all directions... Countless memory fragments that did not belong to him poured into his mind like a raging tide, forcefully filling his consciousness.
Two seconds later, he stood completely frozen in place.
"I... transmigrated?"
He had transmigrated into the ninja world, becoming a low-level civilian boy in Konoha.
No parents, no ninja clan background, zero ninjutsu talent, a thorough and complete cannon fodder with three Nots.
And what caused his mentality to instantly shatter was the exact timeline synchronously unlocked in his mind--
Year 60 of Konoha, the finals venue of the Chunin Ninja Exams, the ultimate moment when Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush Plan!
[Host soul anchoring successful, transmigration landing completed!] [Timeline locked: Climax stage of the Konoha Crush Plan]
The moment the cold, mechanical system prompt sounded, Miki Yūya was left with only coldness in the bottom of his heart.
He had watched Naruto; he knew all too well how desperate the current situation was.
What the heck, he encountered the first major node right after dropping in, and luckily it wasn't Pain invading the village, otherwise that would be a true dead end.
Yet other people transmigrating into Naruto either bound the Nine-Tails cheat at the start, brought bloodline limit talents, or hugged the thighs of big shots in the Shinobi World, with the worst being a ninja clan descendant with potential.
His turn?
Puresan low-level ants of Konoha, Konoha villagers?
Without any self-preservation capability, in this war sweeping through the entire village, any scattered Sound Ninja grunt, any flying rock fragment, or any shockwave could send him straight away.
"It's over, it's truly over."
Miki Yūya braced himself against the dilapidated earthen wall and slowly sat up straight. Looking at the civilians around him who were fleeing frantically with nowhere to run and crying out, his heart was filled with absurdity and helplessness.
A perfectly fine ordinary person in his past life, waking up from a nap, directly airdropped into the most dangerous legendary scene of the Shinobi World.
The Third Hokage was about to die, Konoha was about to descend into chaos, and next came the main plot kicking into full gear. A civilian like him with no strength, no background, and no backing simply wouldn't live until the later stages of the plot.
Obediently hide?
Useless.
Amidst war, when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. Bottom-tier civilians were always the first batch to be sacrificed and die a miserable death.
Just as his mentality completely collapsed and he thought he was about to experience a speedrun to getting killed off at the start, a brand-new, high-spirited, and domineering prompt suddenly exploded deep within his mind!
[Ding! Host identity detected!] [Rabble System successfully bound!] [Newbie ultimate welfare issued completely!] [Obtained max-level passive: Will of Domination--Permanently immune to all authority coercion, secular moral constraints, powerhouse aura intimidation, and public opinion coercion! Mindset overrides the rules of the Shinobi World, born rebellious, fearing no strong authority!] [System core rules: No bitter cultivation, no meditation, no condensing of Chakra!] [System rewards: Every time you successfully bully someone, you will receive corresponding rewards. Bullying with force increases Armament Haki, verbal bullying increases Conqueror's Haki, and being bullied yourself increases Observation Haki!
Boy, let the Shinobi World witness the tyranny of Konoha's rabble!] [The higher the character's social rank, the heavier the public's filtered perception, and the stronger the subversion effect, the more generous the rewards!]
A series of prompt tones, like a clap of thunder in a desperate situation, instantly caused Miki Yūya's pupils to flare brightly!
The dead silence at the bottom of his heart instantly ignited a towering blaze!
Rabble System!
Will of Domination!
Depending neither on effort nor talent, but on making trouble and confronting big shots to grow stronger mindlessly!
In an instant, all anxiety, fear, and despair completely vanished, replaced by extreme excitement and unbridled arrogance.
He finally understood!
Others believed in the Will of Fire, guarded the village, revered the Hokage, respected the strong, and followed the rules.
As for him, Miki Yūya, from now on, he believed in the Will of Domination!
Refusing to bow to arbitrary power, refusing to be bound by worldly morality; the weak need not be humble, and the strong must be criticized when they make mistakes!
What dignity of the Hokage, what great righteousness of the shinobi world, what Will of Fire passed down from generation to generation!
Before his tyrannical presence, these were all false shackles binding the weak. Teacher Kaido, is this what you meant by Haki transcending everything? I understand.
"A chaotic world? A desperate situation?"
The corners of Miki Yūya's mouth hooked into an unbridled, arrogant sneer, the gloom deep in his eyes completely scattering and replaced by a reckless sharpness.
"Others seek survival in a chaotic world, but I take flight in a chaotic world!"
"The more high and mighty the big figures are, pursued and adored by thousands, the higher the returns on my stirring up trouble!"
He raised his eyes to look at the open ground in the center of the village, his gaze piercing through the smoke and dust filling the sky to lock firmly onto that peculiar battlefield.
In the center of the clearing, a square barrier of deep purple, swirling with a scorching, binding pressure, stood towering, cutting off all attacks and lines of sight from inside and outside.
Four Violet Flames Formation!
Top-tier barrier personally set up by Orochimaru; insolvable, difficult to break, sealing all paths of entry and exit, specially used to trap the Third Hokage and create a fatal dead end!
Inside the barrier, light and shadow intersected, the battle situation tragic to the extreme.
The aged Hiruzen Sarutobi wore the Hokage's majestic haori stained with dust and blood, his mess of white hair fluttering wildly, and his aged body already covered in wounds of varying depths. His originally steady aura was extremely disordered, and every breath he took carried visible fatigue.
Yet the Ruyi Jingu Bang ninja tool in his hand remained fierce and tyrannical, and amidst his dodging and shifting, he forcefully blocked two figures who could be called the ceiling of the shinobi world.
Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju!
The two First and Second Hokage resurrected by the Impure World Reincarnation!
Coupled with the mastermind hidden in the shadows of the battlefield, manipulating the overall situation with malicious banter-Orochimaru!
One old man against three powerhouses, a desperate fight to the death, bleeding at every step!
On the periphery of the barrier, civilians who had managed to escape the flames of war by luck stood sparsely, along with the Konoha Genin and Chunin who stayed behind to hold the rear.
Everyone stopped fleeing, gazing blankly at the deadly struggle inside the barrier. The atmosphere across the entire scene was depressed to the extreme, filled with sorrow and admiration.
Of course, no one went up to help either, not even attempting it.
A few knowledgeable veteran Chunin who had experienced past Shinobi Wars lowered their voices, keeping their eyes locked on the battle situation while explaining this life-and-death struggle-bound to be recorded in the annals of the shinobi world-to the young ninja and panicked villagers around them.
"The Four Violet Flames Formation completely locks down space. Outside support, the Anbu, and reinforcements can't get in at all; the Third Lord has no choice but to face this alone!"
A middle-aged Chunin with a scar on his face spoke in a low voice, full of bitterness:
"Those two resurrected ninja inside are none other than Konoha's First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju! They're acknowledged powerhouses of the shinobi world!"
Another Chunin beside him added consecutively, his tone full of powerlessness and emotion:
"No one can fight two Kage at the same time!
Not to mention that Orochimaru is on the side as well!"
"The First's Wood Release, the Second's Water Release and Flying Thunder God are all unsolvable forbidden techniques. If it were any contemporary Kage, they would have been instantly defeated and killed long ago!"
"The Third Lord is past fifty, his peak combat power has long since vanished, his body is declining, and his chakra is receding, yet he has forcefully held on until now without retreating even half a step!
As expected of the Third Lord!"
The explanatory words entered everyone's ears without missing a single syllable.
The onlookers, who had been filled with panic, actually gained confidence after listening and were no longer afraid.
"It's too hard... The Third Lord really hasn't had it easy."
"He clearly could have stepped down to enjoy his twilight years in peace, clearly could have handed over power securely, yet he stubbornly guards Konoha, blocking all life-and-death crises for us..."
"This is the Will of Fire! Sacrificing oneself to protect the younger generation, to protect the village, to protect every last one of us ordinary people!"
Several ninja expressed their emotions with sighs.
Emotions of sorrow, gratitude, and reverence flooded the scene like a tide.
Everyone's gaze was firmly focused on that aged figure in the center of the barrier. Having ruled Konoha for many years, the Third still commanded prestige, but that was all there was to it.
As for Miki Yūya, who had all along watched with cold detachment and a mind untainted by the slightest bit of emotion, he held only an incomparably sober judgment deep in his heart.
Moved? Adoring?
Ridiculous.
He knew the entire plot and saw through things far more thoroughly than anyone present.
Everyone was sighing over the Third's desperate fight to the death and how hard it was to fight a lone battle.
Yet no one asked themselves a single question-why was the Third fighting a lone battle?
Why was it that such a massive Konoha Shinobi Village, one of the top shinobi villages among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, boasting countless Jonin, elite ninja, Anbu elites, and clan powerhouses, ultimately left a man past sixty with declining combat power to be trapped alone in a barrier, gambling with his life?
Miki Yūya's gaze swept across the empty surroundings, his eyes filled with mocking clarity.
From the outbreak of the Konoha Crush Plan until now, the flames of war had swept through the entire village, houses were completely destroyed, ordinary people were displaced, and casualties were countless.
Yet looking across the entire battlefield, not a single top-tier combat reinforcement was to be seen!
Kakashi? Guy? Asuma? Kurenai? The Ino-Shika-Cho trio-not a single shadow of them was to be found!
And Shimura Danzō, hiding in the shadows with wild ambitions for Root, stayed holed up in his lair playing dead from start to finish, refusing to lift even a single finger!
Not a single person came.
No one came to break the barrier, no one came to provide backup, and no one was willing to risk shouldering even a fraction of the pressure for the elderly Third Hokage.
Thinking of this, the disdain in Miki Yūya's heart grew even more intense.
Looking at the Chunin and Genin standing guard on the perimeter of the barrier, it was all the more absurdly laughable.
With every word, they professed their admiration for the Third Hokage, their gratitude toward him, and their praise for the Will of Fire; they spoke more eloquently than anyone, sounding more sincere in their emotions than anyone else.
Yet from start to finish, not a single person made a move!
They just stood stupidly in place, only moving their mouths and not their hands.
They only lowered their voices to narrate the battle, only lamented how difficult things were for the Third Hokage, and only joined the civilians in their sorrow and emotional display.
Yet break the Four Violet Flames Formation? Attempt to support the Third Hokage? Even throw a basic ninjutsu to test the strength of the barrier?
None!
Not a single one!
Keep in mind that the Sound Four maintaining the barrier were merely Chunin themselves.
How hypocritical, how ironic.
Was this the Will of Fire passed down through generations in Konoha?
Stripped of pretense, it was just a joke where those at the top shifted blame, those in the middle coasted, and those at the bottom engaged in self-righteous emotional masturbation!
Miki Yūya coldly dissected everything in his heart, completely losing a shred of recognition for this Third Hokage who had been deified by the entire village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's life had ultimately been lived with a veneer of dignity and ended in complete defeat.
He had wielded supreme authority over Konoha as Hokage for decades, renowned as the strongest Hokage in the Shinobi World, but what kind of rule had he left at the end?
He ruled to the point of endless high-level infighting, Danzo secretly seizing power, Tailed Beasts being hated by villagers, clan estrangement growing increasingly severe, and the Uchiha Clan being massacred.
He ruled to the point where disciples defected in droves, Orochimaru betrayed the village and committed murder, Jiraiya walked away to distant lands, Tsunade fled out of disgust for the village, and the Sannin were completely scattered.
He ruled to the point where Konoha was strong on the outside but brittle within, seemingly prosperous and stable, yet actually rotten to the core internally, where the chaos of a single Chunin Ninja Exams was enough to pierce the village's entire defense system.
When push came to shove, in the sprawling expanse of Konoha, not a single person was actually willing to step up and help him.
How pathetic, and how laughable.
The so-called strongest Hokage, the titan of the Shinobi World, was left in the end with nothing but hollow prestige, possessing absolutely nothing besides that.
Acting as Hokage for these past dozen or so years had been an absolute failure!
Just as the entire audience was immersed in this tragic and touching atmosphere, the battle within the barrier suddenly froze!
Mid-battle, Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly leveraged his momentum to retreat, shock-waving back the pincer attack of the two Impure World Reincarnation Kage.
The last trace of hesitation completely vanished from his turbid old eyes, leaving only bone-deep resolve and a will to die.
He knew very well that his stamina and chakra were completely exhausted; continuing to drag out the fight would only end in defeat from exhaustion, leaving him at the mercy of Orochimaru as he brought the dual Kage to slaughter Konoha.
The only ending was to trade life for life.
The next second, he rapidly formed Hand Seals with one hand, the mudras complex and esoteric, moving so fast they left only afterimages.
A pitch-black, eerie sealing force instantly enveloped his entire body, and an ethereal Death God phantom wielding a sickle slowly emerged behind his back!
"It's the Reaper Death Seal!!"
The veteran ninja who had just been narrating the battle suddenly lost his voice, the sound carrying extreme grief and trembling as it instantly pierced through the entire crowd!
"Lord Third is going to use the Reaper Death Seal!!"
"This is the legendary ultimate Forbidden Technique! A fatal Sealing Jutsu that uses the caster's own soul as a sacrifice to summon the Death God and devour the enemy's soul!"
"Once cast, the caster's soul will never find reincarnation and will be completely obliterated!"
"Third Hokage-sama... intends to sacrifice his own life to seal the First, the Second, and Orochimaru, ending this chaotic war with his own death!"
Absolute silence.
The entire venue dropped to a pin-drop hush.
The wind blew past the broken ruins, kicking up smoky sand as everyone sank into this sorrowful atmosphere.
Every ninja lowered their head in solemn reverence, every civilian's eyes turned red, and there was no one who did not feel heartache, no one who was not filled with gratitude.
In everyone's hearts, Hiruzen Sarutobi's choice at this moment was the greatest sacrifice in the Shinobi World, the ultimate inheritance of the Will of Fire.
He was a hero, a protector, a Hokage who had poured his entire life into shielding the village with his death.
This was a perception deeply carved into the bones of everyone in Konoha, an inherent worldview passed down for decades.
Yet!
At a moment when everyone was so moved.
A juvenile voice, full of contempt, carrying extreme mockery and chill, resounded without warning across the entire open space, clearly entering everyone's ears, jarring and explosive!
"Hilarious."
"What sacrifice to protect the village, what Will of Fire."
"In my view, this old thing is simply committing suicide out of fear of punishment!"
A single sentence.
Instantly shattered the tragic atmosphere that everyone had gathered, freezing the mood that had been so hard to build up.
The weeping, the breathing, and the heartbeats of everyone present suddenly halted at that moment!
Countless bewildered, angry, and incredulous gazes locked like razor-sharp blades squarely onto the thin, indifferent Civilian Boy standing in the corner!
Before you continue