Renamed Flame Emperor City! A Declaration of War Against the Five Great Nations

[Flame Emperor City (formerly Amegakure) · Atop the Central Tower]

With Chiya and his companions' return, the entire city sank into an eerie solemnity.

Though Chiya's slash had briefly stopped the rain three days earlier, the Land of Rain's climate was a chronic affliction centuries in the making. Now, heavy clouds once again hung over the city like sponges soaked in ink. Cold dampness spread anew, as though the dead "god Pain" were still trying to drown this country in his tears.

Chiya stood alone at the very top of the High Tower, atop the head of the enormous "God's Angel" statue.

The wind howled, whipping his black robe embroidered with red clouds.

He looked up at the tiresome gloom overhead and frowned slightly.

"I told you, I don't like rain."

Chiya's voice was soft, but to Konan and Sasuke, it sounded like thunder.

Konan's heart tightened as she stood on the terrace below. These rain clouds had piled up for a century; they were part of the Land of Rain's geography. Though Chiya had cut a gap through them last time, completely changing the weather was something even a god...

"Since this is my territory from now on."

Chiya slowly extended his right hand, palm upward, as though lifting something.

"It will follow my rules."

"Without my permission, this sky... is not allowed to cry."

Hummm-!!!

The Reiatsu within Chiya suddenly surged.

This was no ordinary release of Reiatsu. After spending three days in seclusion fusing his Sage Body with the Rinnegan, he was attempting for the first time to draw upon the primal power of [Zanka no Tachi].

Though only the faintest trace of its presence escaped.

Though he had not even spoken the release command for Shikai.

Yet the instant that glimmer of golden-red light appeared in Chiya's palm-

Boom!!!

A terrifying heat wave surged skyward in a ring centered on the High Tower!

This heat was so tyrannical that it was not dispersing the clouds-it was burning the heavens!

Hiss, hiss, hiss-!!!

The sound of vaporization filled the world, making everyone's scalp crawl.

Below, countless Amegakure residents staring up at the sky covered their ears in terror. Before their eyes, the oppressive black sky suddenly became a red-hot iron pot!

The rain clouds, thousands of meters thick, did not even get the chance to turn into rain. The instant they touched that soaring heat wave, they evaporated into nothing!

One second.

Just one second.

The rainy weather that had covered the entire Land of Rain and plagued the country for centuries... vanished.

In its place was a cloudless blue sky stretching as far as the eye could see.

And... a blazing sun, utterly unobstructed, pouring out light and heat without restraint!

Whoosh-!

Dazzling sunlight cascaded like a golden waterfall, spilling without reserve over this steel city shrouded in darkness all year round.

But this sunlight was not gentle.

It carried Chiya's will, along with a heat that stung the skin, as though announcing the arrival of a tyrant to the world.

"Ah... my eyes..."

"It's the sun! It's really the sun!"

"Boohoo... I've lived my whole life, and this is the first time I've seen such a big sun..."

In the streets, countless pale-faced Amegakure residents fell to their knees. Some wept bitterly, some were utterly terrified, but even more trembled as they prostrated themselves before the black-clad figure atop the High Tower.

A miracle!

If Pain had ruled this place through fear, then Chiya had conquered it through an undeniable "miracle"!

[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have permanently altered the weather of an S-rank map single-handedly!]

[Achievement unlocked: Lord of the Sun!]

[Kill points gained: 100,000! (Worship of a miracle)]

[Popular allegiance throughout the Land of Rain increased to: Fanatical (fearful)!]

Chiya bathed in the golden sunlight, his black robe seemingly edged with gold.

He gazed down at the city beneath his feet, its metal surfaces gleaming in the sunlight, and nodded in satisfaction.

"From this day forward."

Amplified by the Rinnegan's ocular power, Chiya's voice resounded deep within every person's soul.

"Amegakure is history."

"This place will no longer be a rat's nest in a gutter, nor a buffer zone bullied by the great nations."

Chiya spread his arms, proclaiming to the entire world:

"This is-Flame Emperor City."

"The future... heart of this Shinobi World!"

"Long live the emperor!!!"

"Long live the Flame Emperor!!!"

Someone shouted first, and then a tidal wave of cheers instantly engulfed the entire city. It was an instinctive reliance on the strong, and a yearning for a new life.

Standing below, Konan watched the man who looked like a god descending into the sunlight, and her eyes grew moist.

She thought of Yahiko.

Yahiko... can you see this?

The rain has stopped. Even if it happened this way...

Perhaps this... really is the only road to peace.

Chiya did not bask in the cheering.

With a casual wave, he silenced the entire city.

"Now, I will issue my second command."

Chiya's gaze pierced the void, looking toward the five directions of the Shinobi World-Fire, Wind, Earth, Lightning, and Water.

"Send a proclamation to the Five Great Nations."

"Tell those five old fossils sitting in their Kage offices."

A cruel, arrogant smile curled Chiya's lips, and his voice gradually turned icy:

"As of today, the Akatsuki is officially reorganized."

"We will no longer accept petty jobs killing people for money."

"We have only one goal-"

"Unification."

Chiya extended a finger and pointed at the square beneath the High Tower.

"One month from now."

"I will hold the first Shinobi World Peace Summit in Flame Emperor City."

"I invite the Kage of the Five Great Nations and the general of the Land of Iron to attend in person."

At this point, Chiya paused. Purple light blazed in his Rinnegan, and a trace of lingering heat from the [Zanjitsu Gokui] he had just mastered followed the murderous intent in his words, instantly raising the surrounding temperature by ten degrees!

"Tell them."

"This is not a request. It is an order."

"If they don't come..."

"Or if they dare scheme behind my back and forge alliances..."

Chiya sneered. Though the Ryūjin Jakka in his hand remained sheathed, the will to burn the heavens to ashes had already locked onto the entire Shinobi World.

"Then I will personally take my sword and pay their villages a visit."

"When that happens..."

"I will make Konoha's ruins... the model for every one of their villages!"

"Do you understand?!"

His final roar rolled like thunder, not only shaking Flame Emperor City but seemingly spreading on the wind and light across the entire Shinobi World Continent!

[Meanwhile · A dark alternate dimension somewhere in the Shinobi World]

Inside the Kamui Dimension.

A man wearing a spiral mask-Obito Uchiha-clutched his right arm fiercely.

That was where Chiya had severed it. Though he had already attached a White Zetsu arm, the phantom pain of his soul being burned had yet to fade.

At that very moment.

Obito was watching what unfolded in the Land of Rain through a gap in Kamui.

When he saw the rain clouds covering the entire country evaporate instantly, saw that artificial "blazing sun" hanging high in the sky, and heard Chiya's utterly domineering declaration of war...

This mastermind who had once orchestrated the Nine-Tails' Rampage, controlled the Akatsuki, and styled himself Madara Uchiha-

Actually began... trembling uncontrollably.

"Madman..."

Obito's voice was hoarse, his lone eye beneath the mask filled with fear.

"That bastard... is a complete and utter madman!"

"Nagato is dead, the Rinnegan has been stolen, and even the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is under his control..."

"My Eye of the Moon Plan... it's all ruined!"

Obito realized in despair that before this monster named Chiya Uchiha, all his schemes were utterly powerless.

What Infinite Tsukuyomi? What creating a world with Rin in it?

The problem now was that unless he found a solution quickly, Chiya would burn the real world out of existence!

"No... I can't just sit here and wait to die!"

Obito sprang to his feet, a glint of madness flashing in his eye.

"If I can't defeat him alone..."

"Then I'll have the entire Shinobi World overwhelm him!"

"The Five Great Nations are rotten too, but at least... they don't want to turn the world to ash like this madman!"

"I need to find Kabuto... and the real Madara..."

"That's the only hope left!"

[Three days later · Land of Iron · Emergency Preparatory Meeting for the Five Kage Summit]

Though Chiya had told them to meet in Flame Emperor City, how could the Kage of the Five Great Nations obediently walk into the enemy's headquarters to die?

They chose to hold an internal emergency response meeting first in the neutral Land of Iron.

Around the round table, the atmosphere was so heavy it almost seemed ready to condense into water.

"Bang!"

Fourth Raikage A slammed his fist onto the table and roared in fury:

"He's gone too far! Far too damn far!"

"He wants us to go to Amegakure and pay homage to him? Who does he think he is? The Sage of Six Paths?!"

"He killed five hundred of my men! We haven't settled that score yet, and now he dares climb onto Kumogakure's head and take a shit!"

"Raikage, calm down."

Gaara folded his arms, his expression grave. "Anger won't solve anything. That Chiya Uchiha... his power has already surpassed conventional limits."

"According to our intelligence, he not only destroyed Konoha, but single-handedly killed the Six Paths of Pain, seized the Rinnegan, and even changed the Land of Rain's weather."

"Against power like that... unless we unite, he'll pick us off one by one."

"Unite?"

Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki floated in midair, his face dark. "How? Who will command the allied forces? Besides..."

Ōnoki glanced toward the otherwise vacant Hokage seat, where Tsunade sat, having just been selected as Acting Hokage.

Tsunade rested her chin on her hands, her eyes bloodshot. Clearly, Konoha's reconstruction and the intelligence on Chiya had given her no shortage of worries over the past few days.

"Everyone."

Though weary, Tsunade's voice still carried authority.

"You've all seen the devastation in Konoha."

"Hokage Rock is gone. The Hokage Building burned down. Even our faith has been trampled to pieces."

"Chiya Uchiha is an avenger who came out of Konoha. He is the product of our sins."

"But..."

Tsunade abruptly raised her head, her gaze sharp as a blade.

"He is no longer merely Konoha's enemy. He is the enemy of all humanity!"

"You've read his Flame Emperor Decree."

"He doesn't want reparations or land. He wants absolute rule!"

"If we compromise, the Shinobi World will never know peace again. We will become his slaves!"

"So..."

Mei Terumi brushed back her hair, murderous intent lurking in her alluring gaze. "Lord Hokage means that not only should we refuse to go to Flame Emperor City, we should take the offensive?"

"Exactly!"

Tsunade slammed her fist onto the table, making the teacups jump.

"If he wants war, then we'll give him war!"

"Gather every soldier of the Five Great Nations! Every samurai! Every one of the Hidden Technique Families!"

"Form-the Allied Shinobi Forces!"

"In one month! We won't go to Flame Emperor City for a meeting. We'll march an army straight to his borders!"

"While he's still blinded by his own arrogance, we'll bring the might of the entire shinobi world down on him and crush this tyrant once and for all!"

"Agreed!" The Raikage was the first to raise his hand.

"Agreed." Gaara nodded.

"These old bones would rather stay put, but that brat is too dangerous... agreed." Ōnoki sighed.

"Agreed." Mei Terumi smiled.

The five hands stacked firmly atop one another.

The call to the Fourth Shinobi World War finally sounded ahead of its time.

Only...

This time, their enemy had no White Zetsu army, no legion of Impure World Reincarnation soldiers.

There was only one man seated atop the High Tower, clad in Zanjitsu Gokui and wielding Ryūjin Jakka-

Chiya Uchiha!

[Flame Emperor City · High Tower Throne]

Chiya sat on the Throne forged from steel and gold, toying with one of the Black Rods he had extracted from Nagato's body.

"System."

Chiya looked at the latest mission notification that appeared before him.

[Ding! A major shift in the worldline has been detected!]

[The Fourth Shinobi World War is about to erupt!]

[Hostile forces: Allied Shinobi Forces of the Five Great Nations + samurai of the Land of Iron + Obito Uchiha (in hiding) + Kabuto Yakushi (Impure World Reincarnation army in preparation)!]

[Estimated total strength: over 80,000!]

[Final main quest unlocked: One Emperor Holds the Pass, Ten Thousand Cannot Break Through!]

[Quest objectives: Defeat the Allied Shinobi Forces head-on! Slay the Five Kage! Unify the shinobi world!]

[Quest rewards: Ryūjin Jakka Bankai (complete form)! Hōgyoku (first stage)!]

"Eighty thousand?"

As Chiya stared at the number, his smile grew wider and wider, until it erupted into wild laughter that shook the entire High Tower.

"Hahahahaha!!!"

"Good! Very good!"

Chiya crushed the Black Rod in his hand, his purple Rinnegan and golden reiatsu flaring simultaneously.

"Finally, a little entertainment."

"Come on, then! All of you!"

"Whether it's eighty thousand or eight hundred thousand..."

"Before my Zanka no Tachi..."

"You're nothing but a few more pieces of firewood!"