System settlement! The Death God's dance

"Pain, come out. You've got company."

Those words drifted down with the Land of Rain's endless cold rain onto the muddy ground, yet seemed to carry an invisible heat that warped the chilly air around them.

[Land of Rain border · Unnamed Mountains]

The sky was dark as ink. Heavy clouds smothered this miserable land like a rag soaked through with water.

Whoosh-

Cold rain tirelessly scoured the rocks and trees. There was no sunlight here, no warmth, only rain that seemed as though it would never end, and the smell of rust mixed with mold in the air.

Inside a secluded natural cavern.

A campfire flickered and crackled, barely driving away a trace of the chill.

Sasuke Uchiha sat beside the fire with his knees drawn up, still trembling uncontrollably. It wasn't just the damp cold of the rain; the fear of Chiya's strength that had gripped him on their journey still lingered.

That man didn't need any means of sheltering from the rain.

Every raindrop that came within three inches of his body was instantly evaporated into white mist by an invisible heat. He walked through the downpour as though through a dry desert, untouched by a single drop.

Uchiha Izumi sat quietly to one side, drying her hair with a towel, her eyes occasionally drifting toward the figure standing with his back to them at the cave entrance.

Chiya stood at the entrance, watching the curtain of rain outside.

"This rain is getting on my nerves."

He held out a hand and caught a raindrop. It instantly turned to steam in his palm with a faint hiss.

"Now that we're here, there's no rush to go trouble that 'god' right this instant."

Chiya turned around, found a flat blue-gray boulder to sit on, and casually closed his eyes.

"We'll rest tonight. Tomorrow, we'll punch a hole in the sky."

Sasuke and Izumi exchanged glances. Neither dared say anything more, and they simply huddled obediently beside the fire.

By then, Chiya's consciousness had already sunk deep into his mind.

There, the final tally was underway for a frenzied feast that belonged to him alone.

System, settle the rewards.

Chiya silently issued the command.

His string of actions in Konoha had been far too relentless and frenzied. From killing Itachi to forcing Obito back, then taking out the Third Hokage, Danzo, and the advisors, and finally destroying Hokage Rock and disbanding Konoha...

That entire sequence had been like an unstoppable waltz of slaughter.

Now, it was finally time to collect his payment.

[Ding! Host has been detected out of combat and completely outside Konoha's boundaries.]

[The major chain missions "Konoha's Destruction" and "Night of the Massacre" have been combined for settlement!]

[Calculating combat achievements and influence...]

The system's notifications sounded like heavenly music.

[Kill tally:]

[S-Rank Rogue Ninja · Uchiha Itachi (reward greatly increased)]

[Konoha Root leader · Shimura Danzō (includes recovery of the Kotoamatsukami eye)]

[Third Hokage · Hiruzen Sarutobi (peak Kage Level, S-rank influence)]

[Konoha's two advisors (A-rank political influence)]

[500 members of the Kumogakure and Iwagakure advance forces (caused panic throughout the Shinobi World)]

[Destruction achievement tally:]

[Destroyed Konoha's Root Base]

[Severed the Kamui Dimension (permanently disabled Obito)]

[Beheaded Hokage Rock (destroyed faith)]

[Burned down the Hokage Building (destroyed the administrative system)]

[Severely traumatized all of Konoha (ushered in an age of chaos)]

[Overall evaluation: SSS rank (perfect! Brutal! You are the destroyer of the old era!)]

Boom!

As the evaluation locked into place, a massive stream of numbers flooded Chiya's vision.

[Distributing settlement rewards...]

[Congratulations! Host has received 1,500,000 kill points!]

[Including the previous balance, current kill points: 2,274,000!]

Over two million!

Even the normally composed Chiya couldn't help breathing a little harder.

It was an astronomical number, enough to bring about another qualitative transformation.

But the surprises weren't over yet.

[Ding! In view of the "Death God" traits demonstrated by the host during this operation (harvesting souls, severing causality), a special reward mechanism has been triggered!]

[Congratulations! Host has received the Death God system's core skill package!]

[Reward one: Flash Step (complete Death God version)!] (Note: This is no longer a simple chakra-based Body Flicker Technique, but extreme-speed movement powered by high-density reiatsu! Includes the advanced techniques "Utsusemi" (leaving clothes behind as an afterimage to escape) and "Senka" (instantly moving behind an enemy to assassinate them)! Once fully mastered, its speed will surpass Flying Thunder God, as it relies on pure physical speed and requires no marks!)

[Reward two: Complete Kidō Incantations (Hadō/Bakudō · proficient level)!] (Note: You have mastered the knowledge and use of all Hadō [destruction] and Bakudō [binding] numbered 1-99! Furthermore, the host's powerful reiatsu has automatically unlocked the "Incantation Abandonment" talent! No lengthy chants needed-raise your hand and cast, with no loss of power!)

[Reward three: Reiatsu Materialization (advanced)!] (Note: Your reiatsu is no longer merely an imposing presence. It can now form steps in the air [Air Walk], or defend against ninjutsu like armor [Hierro Prototype]!)

"Whew..."

Chiya slowly opened his eyes. A heart-stopping gleam flashed through the dim cavern and vanished.

In that instant, Sasuke and Izumi felt as though an ancient ferocious beast had fixed its gaze on them. Every hair on their bodies stood on end.

"Chiya...?" Sasuke called cautiously.

"It's nothing."

The corners of Chiya's mouth lifted slightly as he stood.

He could feel vast amounts of knowledge and muscle memory pouring wildly into his mind and body.

Flash Step's footwork, the reiatsu arrangements for Kidō, the techniques for finding purchase in midair... it all came together instantly, as though it were instinct he had possessed since birth.

Previously, he had bulldozed his way through everything with Ryūjin Jakka's overwhelming destructive power and Wood Release's regenerative abilities.

Now, he had finally filled the last gap-technique.

The Death God's combat techniques!

"Now that I've got some new toys, how could I not try them out?"

Chiya stretched and looked out into the pitch-black rainy night.

"Sasuke, come outside."

Chiya gave the order casually.

"Huh? Yes!" Sasuke didn't dare disobey. He hurried to his feet and followed Chiya out of the cavern.

The rain was still pouring outside.

Chiya stood in the rain, the invisible barrier of heat appearing once again to keep the water out. Sasuke could only hunch his shoulders and let the icy rain soak his clothes.

"Watch."

Chiya pointed into the distance.

About five hundred meters from the cavern stood a lone hill, several dozen meters tall and covered in tangled shrubs.

"Watch what?" Sasuke wiped the rain off his face, looking bewildered.

"Watch me teach you... what real 'ninjutsu' is."

Chiya chuckled and slowly raised his right hand.

This time, he didn't draw his sword.

Nor did he form hand seals.

He held his index and middle fingers together and casually pointed them toward the hill.

Sasuke's eyes widened. His Sharingan activated instinctively as he stared fixedly at Chiya's fingers.

No hand seals? No chakra flowing to his throat, either?

Sasuke was filled with confusion.

According to everything ninjas knew, Fire Release required hand seals and had to be expelled from the mouth, while Lightning Release required chakra to stimulate the body. Yet Chiya looked as though he were simply pointing out a direction.

Could it be the Body Flicker Technique? Sasuke guessed.

But in the next second, his understanding of the world was shattered once again.

A speck of blue light suddenly shone at Chiya's fingertips.

It wasn't chakra's turbulent blue, but a deeper blue, purer and under far greater pressure.

"Hadō #33."

Chiya's lips moved slightly, uttering words Sasuke had never heard before.

"Sōkatsui."

Boom!!!

There was no warning.

There was no visible flight path, either.

The instant Chiya finished speaking, an enormous blast of blue flame erupted from his fingertips like a thunderbolt of divine judgment!

Those blue flames were completely different from the Uchiha Clan's red Fire Release.

They carried none of the smoky heat of ordinary flames, only pure, destructive impact!

BOOM-!!!!

An incredibly deep thunderous crash exploded through the rainy night.

Sasuke's vision blurred, and then a powerful shock wave mixed with broken stones rushed straight at him, forcing him to raise his arms over his eyes.

When the shock wave dispersed and he opened his eyes again...

He froze completely.

Five hundred meters away, the hill that had stood several dozen meters tall...

Was gone.

In its place was an enormous, charred crater.

In that single instant, the blue flames had blasted the entire hill flat! Hardly even any rubble remained. Only wisps of smoke rose stubbornly through the downpour, refusing to disperse.

"This..."

Sasuke's jaw nearly hit the ground.

He stiffly turned to look at Chiya, who still held his fingers pointed forward. Even his voice was trembling:

"What... what kind of ninjutsu is that?!"

"No hand seals? No need to gather chakra? You can get that much power just by pointing?!"

It was more than a hundred times stronger than the Great Fireball Technique! It was even more terrifying than the A-rank ninjutsu he'd seen in his clan's scrolls!

Most importantly, it had been so effortless!

As easy as casually swatting a mosquito!

"Ninjutsu?"

Chiya lowered his fingers and gently blew away the nonexistent smoke from their tips.

He turned toward Sasuke, whose entire worldview seemed to be collapsing, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"Sasuke, your horizons are too narrow."

"Who told you ninjutsu was the only thing in this world?"

Chiya took a step forward.

This time, he didn't use chakra to cling to the ground.

Whoosh!

His figure vanished instantly.

It wasn't an afterimage left by high-speed movement. He had vanished completely into thin air.

Even Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan couldn't track him at all!

"Where is he?!" Sasuke looked around in panic.

"Right here."

The voice came from behind him.

Sasuke whipped his head around, only to find Chiya on the cliff above the cavern, standing... in the air!

That was right.

As though walking down invisible steps, Chiya descended through the air one step at a time.

With each step, the air beneath his feet gave a faint hum, as though it had been compressed into something solid.

"Is this... flying?"

Sasuke felt as though his brain couldn't keep up.

Ninjas could scale walls and leap across rooftops, but that relied on using chakra to cling to solid surfaces. Walking through empty air like this was something no one except the legendary Tsuchikage could do!

"This is called Flash Step."

Chiya landed and patted Sasuke on the shoulder. The heavy pressure nearly drove Sasuke to his knees.

"And that earlier technique was called Kidō."

"None of these things belong to ninjas."

Chiya looked up toward Amegakure, the red gleam in his eyes appearing especially eerie in the rainy night.

"Sasuke, you still have a lot to learn."

"In this world, chakra isn't the only truth."

"Only absolute reiatsu... the power of the soul, is the supreme power that stands above everything else."

With that, Chiya stopped paying attention to the thoroughly petrified Sasuke, turned around, and walked back into the cavern.

"Time to sleep."

"Get plenty of rest. Tomorrow, we're going to teach that 'god' a lesson."

"Let him learn what it means to witness..."

Chiya's voice echoed deep within the cave, carrying a confidence that sent shivers down the spine.

"The dance of the Death God."

Outside the cave.

Sasuke stood dazed in the rain, letting the cold water pour down over his burning heart.

Flash Step? Kidō? The power of the soul?

Those unfamiliar terms were like doors to a new world, slowly opening before him.

He stared at the mountaintop that had been blasted flat, clenching his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh.

The gap... is too great.

But...

A wildfire flared in Sasuke's eyes.

As long as I follow him... as long as I can learn these things...

That man (Itachi), and that Masked Man...

I'll kill them both!!

That night.

The rain fell even harder over the Land of Rain.