Only then did Yasaka Shidō understand what the Hyakume Demoness had meant by "two" and "one." She had been counting neither time nor distance, but steps!
And those tremors at the very beginning!
They had been caused by this giant leaping as it traveled!
Yasaka Shidō estimated that the giant was at least twenty or thirty meters tall. A single leap could easily carry it dozens of meters!
"Hey, how long are you two going to keep lying there?"
Sophia stepped down from the giant's palm and looked at the two men, their faces blank as they lay in the sand.
"You're... then this is... your Heroic Spirit?!"
Kim Jun was so frightened that he could barely speak.
Yasaka Shidō fared a little better, struggling to climb out.
"Tsk, you really couldn't stand up to a gust of wind. If you weren't still somewhat useful, I wouldn't even bother with you." Sophia looked utterly disgusted.
"Yes, yes, yes! Beautiful young lady, you're truly powerful! We're only fit to polish your shoes!" Abandoning the arrogant, overbearing attitude he had shown Kim Jun earlier, Yasaka Shidō bowed to Sophia in greeting and began buttering her up.
Behind him, Kim Jun, whom the samurai had pulled out of the sand, stared incredulously at Yasaka Shidō's back, deeply impressed by the sheer thickness of his skin!
Fortunately, it was nighttime and the livestream was off. Otherwise, the people of Country R would probably have flown into a rage again.
Even if this challenger who had suddenly appeared possessed a powerful Heroic Spirit, did he really have to act like such a lackey?!
He wasn't her slave!
Clearly, though, Sophia enjoyed Yasaka Shidō's flattery.
"Are these your Heroic Spirits?" Sophia glanced at the Hyakume Demoness and the samurai as she questioned the two men.
"Yes!" Both nodded.
"What are your names, where are you from, and what abilities do your Heroic Spirits have?"
Sophia's tone was full of command, making it very unpleasant to hear, but neither dared object, much less show it.
Yasaka Shidō put on a smile and spoke first. "I'm Yasaka Shidō from Country R. My Heroic Spirit is the Hyakume Demoness, a monster from urban legends. She can emit light from her eyes to immobilize opponents!"
Sophia nodded thoughtfully. "Barely passable."
"My name is Kim Jun, and I'm from Country H. My Heroic Spirit is just an ordinary samurai," Kim Jun answered with his head lowered.
"Tsk, too weak."
Sophia made no attempt to conceal her dissatisfaction.
"May I ask your esteemed name, beautiful young lady?" Yasaka Shidō asked.
Sophia raised her chin proudly. "My name is Sophia. I'm from Country Y, and my Heroic Spirit is the Stone Giant!"
"Sophia, the one in second place?!" both exclaimed!
So that was it! With such a towering giant as her Heroic Spirit, no wonder her score was so high! She even dared travel at night!
The two stole a glance at the towering giant standing like a mountain behind them, their eyes filled with envy!
If only they could summon such a powerful Heroic Spirit too!
"I'm sure you both know that Lin Xiaoran, the winner of the previous round, is our greatest opponent. Unless we eliminate her first, those of us from other countries will have little chance to rise!" Though arrogant, Sophia was no fool.
Yasaka Shidō immediately understood. "We'll follow all your instructions, Miss Sophia!"
"Me too! I'll do everything I can!" Unwilling to fall behind, Kim Jun hurried to declare his stance.
"Very good! I hope you'll behave yourselves. Otherwise... Stone Giant!"
At Sophia's words, the Stone Giant slammed a fist down, smashing an enormous crater into the flat ground beside them and frightening Yasaka Shidō and Kim Jun into a cold sweat!
With a Heroic Spirit like that around, how could they dare disobey?!
They weren't looking to die!
Even if they had to die, they should at least try to live a few more days!
Looking at the thoroughly intimidated pair, Sophia gave a satisfied nod. "We'll rest for today and continue tomorrow. Find as many other challengers as possible before we reach the finish."
"Yes, young mistress!" ×2!
Meanwhile, on Lin Xiaoran's side.
With Madara's instruction and the power of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Lin Xiaoran easily mastered most of the Genjutsu. All she needed now was more practice.
After all, for members of the Uchiha Clan who possessed the Sharingan, casting Genjutsu often required nothing more than a glare. It wasn't particularly difficult.
Uchiha Itachi, for instance, was so skilled at Genjutsu that merely meeting his Sharingan once could leave someone hypnotized without even realizing it.
"Are you going to learn Ninjutsu now?" Madara asked.
"I'll learn Ninjutsu tomorrow. It's already late. Before resting, I'll fulfill my end of the deal and tell you about the situation in the Shinobi World."
It was almost past eleven, and Lin Xiaoran didn't want to stay up late.
At her words, Madara's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help feeling expectant.
"After you found Obito to act as your stand-in, he followed your orders and made contact with Nagato. In the process, he helped Nagato understand what pain was and what peace in the Shinobi World meant, and began preparations for the Eye of the Moon Plan."
Madara nodded silently. Nothing had gone wrong with the plan. His deception had made Obito very obedient. That was good!
"Then Obito returned to Konoha. On the day the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina, gave birth, when her seal was at its weakest, he used the Summoning Technique to release the Nine-Tails, throwing Konoha into chaos. To seal the Nine-Tails again, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, Kushina, both died."
Madara stroked his chin. "If I remember correctly, Minato Namikaze was Obito's team leader?"
"Yes."
"To think he became the Fourth Hokage."
"So that's what you care about?" Lin Xiaoran was utterly speechless.
"What else? It's just a pity he failed to capture the Nine-Tails. What happened next?" Madara didn't care about a student killing his teacher. Compared to his plan, what did that amount to?
"After that, Obito stayed in Konoha for about seven years."
"Seven years?" Madara frowned.
Seven years had passed just like that? And he had stayed in Konoha the whole time?
What was Obito doing?
"Then Obito took part in the night of the Uchiha Clan massacre, obtained quite a few Sharingan, and left Konoha." Lin Xiaoran dropped a bombshell.
"What did you say?! A massacre!? Our Uchiha Clan!?"
Madara froze for a moment, then his face filled with shock!
Wait, their Uchiha Clan had been wiped out?!
"Who was it!? Which shinobi village invaded Konoha! What was Konoha doing! How could they let a major clan like the Uchiha be wiped out!! Who's the new Hokage!?"
Madara's first reaction was that an enemy village had invaded Konoha and ruthlessly attacked the Uchiha Clan, killing every member!
But immediately afterward, he couldn't help feeling puzzled. Konoha was the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Even though it had lost many elite shinobi during the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, its foundations were still intact.
Putting that together with the timing Lin Xiaoran had mentioned earlier, he had been resurrected just before the Fourth Shinobi World War was about to begin. In other words, no further Shinobi World War had broken out between his death and his resurrection.
So how had anyone invaded Konoha?!
Was the Hokage an idiot?
Were all the other shinobi dead!?
"Who exactly was it!?" Madara demanded loudly.
"It was Uchiha Itachi, one of the younger members of your clan. He personally carried out the Uchiha Clan Massacre Plan. As for Konoha, naturally, they stood by with folded arms."
"One of the Uchiha's own..."
Madara looked bewildered, his mind a tangled mess.
"That beast!! How dare he!"