Unexpected, Yet Inevitable

Sarada's consciousness gradually returned to her body, but Chōmei couldn't help but remind her, "Is this really okay, Sarada? You don't exactly have a guarantee for your own safety."

"There's always a way. It just depends on whether that White-Robed Man cares about a complete Eternal Mangekyō," Sarada said coldly.

"But, what if he loses patience and just kills you directly?" Chōmei worried.

After all, the current situation was that Sarada had lost one of her Sharingan, which was key to awakening the Mangekyō. Without that eye, she could only pray that the 'Other Shore Mark' eye technique was heaven-defying enough.

Heaven-defying enough that her repaired right eye could still reawaken the Sharingan!

But obviously, that was impossible.

As things stood, Sarada didn't have many other options, but she still wanted to try. After all, with the White-Robed Man's strength and speed, he should be able to quickly return to the battlefield and find the scroll containing the Sharingan that the Shadow Clone had dropped, right?

She slowly opened her eyes. This was a moment she had to face eventually. Just as she was about to ask the White-Robed Man for help, she was surprised to find that she was still in the Nest Hidden Village battlefield!

"???" What was happening?

On the smoke-filled battlefield, the surrounding buildings had been completely leveled. The White-Robed Man stood in front of her, his pristine white robe slightly dusted with grime.

Coming to her senses, Sarada realized that she was once again in his eye technique's alternate dimension.

From here, she could clearly see the outside world, but the outside world seemed unable to sense this place, as if it didn't exist, yet she was alive and well inside.

Could it be that while her consciousness was in the Tailed Beast's mindscape for the meeting, the White-Robed Man had brought her to the scene and already fought them?

When did he become so kind? ...Or was all of this just for his eternal eye power?

Speaking of which, had his eye power ever been depleted? Wasn't it said that the more frequently you use the Mangekyō, the faster you go blind?

She thought the reason she was fine was just because her eye technique was special, and her 'immortal' recovery was quietly restoring the eye technique's consumption.

The White-Robed Man breathed slightly. He hadn't expected the enemies before him to be so excited, as if they'd been injected with chicken blood. Moreover, their Chakra reserves were extremely abundant, but they were slowly dissipating on their own.

Clearly, this power didn't belong to them, and what was slowly dissipating wasn't just their Chakra, but also their life force.

So, the White-Robed Man was actually facing a group of reckless men who weren't afraid to die.

If 'Time Rift' wasn't temporarily being used to protect Sarada, then this battle would have been as easy as before for him, and he wouldn't even have gotten his clothes dirty.

Even so, his other Mangekyō's eye technique was still terrifying. The Genjutsu 'Drunken Dream' was worthy of the title of the strongest Genjutsu in history.

This was an eye technique that could suppress the tomoe Rinnegan without losing ground, although that was based on the opponent being trapped in his Genjutsu barrier.

But that still didn't detract from the evaluation of this Genjutsu's terrifying ability.

He calmly walked towards the last survivor among his opponents. While Sarada was at the meeting, he had already single-handedly killed Iwashi and Heimulin, two Kage-level powerhouses.

"Huff... huff! I didn't expect you to be so strong, cough cough..." Aici panted heavily, watching the approaching figure.

A pool of blood spilled from his mouth. The damage he had previously sustained, plus the drug's effects reaching their limit, were pushing his body to the brink of collapse.

He tightly gripped a Kunai imbued with terrifying Lightning Release, but still cautiously retreated. The opponent's attacks were too ridiculous, turning basic attacks into ultimate moves.

Earlier, Iwashi didn't understand the opponent's strength. Seeing that the opponent was only using a C-rank ninjutsu like the Great Fireball Technique, he directly charged forward to meet the fireball, shouting, "Die!"

Then he died, burned to ashes and scattered in the air.

It should be known that they were already Super-Kage level powerhouses after being injected with the drug, yet they were still being instantly killed. Moreover, the opponent had clearly not used his full strength.

During the subsequent probing, they confirmed that it wasn't that the White-Robed Man wasn't using powerful ninjutsu, but that he could only use these low-level ninjutsu, because his eye technique was constantly activated, so he didn't have enough Chakra to deal large-scale damage.

They thought they would be halfway to victory once they understood the White-Robed Man's strength, but he merely used a Kunai to kill Heimulin, sending Aici into despairing contemplation.

"Lightning Release: Outburst!"

He aimed the Kunai straight at the White-Robed Man's heart, clasped his hands together, pressed the Kunai to his palm, and a streak of lightning shot out like a bullet from the exposed sharp tip.

"Water Release: Water Spirit Wave!"

The White-Robed Man simply raised his hand, made a pistol gesture, and pointed his index finger at Aici's lightning. The Mangekyō's dynamic vision allowed him to easily capture the trajectory of the lightning.

A droplet-like bullet collided with the lightning, and the expected scene unfolded. The White-Robed Man's ninjutsu unreasonably shattered the lightning and continued to fly forward.

Pfft—!!

A hole appeared in Aici's battered body, and a small amount of blood slowly flowed out, along with the life force that dissipated into the air with the blood.

He didn't have much time left!

However, Aici suddenly formed hand seals, and the lightning scattered in the air suddenly surged with astonishing light, rapidly spreading to a terrifying range, engulfing the White-Robed Man.

The crackling of electricity echoed in his ears. The White-Robed Man hadn't expected this range of lightning, but he quickly understood the reason.

Earlier, just before Heimulin died, he had released a large-scale Water Release. After this Water Release scattered in the air, it became lingering water molecules, that is, a thin mist.

It increased the number of water molecules in the air, allowing the dissipated lightning to travel through the water molecules, eventually gathering together and causing a chain reaction to form a shocking attack.

"Success!!" Aici was overjoyed.

But this level of attack was not enough to threaten the White-Robed Man. He casually released a burst of electricity, attracting the lightning attached to his body and forming a new lightning ball.

He just silently stared at Aici, slightly admiring this powerhouse who had dedicated everything to the organization, but unfortunately, he had trusted the wrong people.

Aici clearly realized his end was near. He wouldn't even need the White-Robed Man's attack; in a few seconds, he would succumb to the backlash and collapse, ultimately dying.

The death throes of memories flashed through his mind. The most profound memories became incredibly clear at this moment. They were merely minor characters in the Fourth Shinobi World War, and they were fortunate enough to have received Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra Cloak augmentation.

The reason he hated the Uchiha was nothing more than the rage of the incompetent. It was the Uchiha clan who had provoked this war, and it was Madara Uchiha who had created all the despair.

He cultivated Obito, who initiated the Fourth Shinobi World War, and Madara himself launched the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Everything was just for his ridiculous ideal, for which he did not hesitate to make the entire world accompany him in its practice.

Based on what? Just because he was strong?

After the Fourth Shinobi World War ended, their families died. These five ninja who survived the war cried like children after witnessing the destruction of their homes. War always has sacrifices, but this war was without reason, merely to satisfy the Uchiha's ridiculous desires.

So, after the war, they wallowed, encountering the light of faith in their wasted time. That lord invited them to become unofficial members, doing some intelligence gathering and executing simple guerrilla missions.

Before this, their mission was to investigate the organization called "Moon," and they also began to pay close attention to the situation of the Tailed Beasts.

After all, one of that lord's wishes was eternal life. To this end, he did not hesitate to cultivate branches of the God Tree himself. As people who had experienced the Fourth Shinobi World War knew, to bear the fruit of the God Tree, one would undoubtedly need the complete God Tree and the power of the Tailed Beasts.

All of this required someone to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and launch the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Although the goal was long-term, it did not prevent that lord from starting to pave the way.

After all, the organization was so far-sighted. It was said that the organization had existed for hundreds or even thousands of years, and the organization's mythology even traced back to Kaguya's era.

As his thoughts drifted, that ray of Lightning Release finally enveloped his body, as gentle and lingering as clear water. He had lost all sensation of his body, and everything around him was rapidly blurring.

Until his memory lingered on the day and moment when the five of them took their oath. This was an unforgettable, most memorable moment.

Five unfamiliar strangers met in the war. They traveled together, they were alone, they had nothing, but they possessed many precious things.

A tear streaked across his face, slowly dripping down. Aici dissipated in the Lightning Release, and the tear finally fell to the ground, making a soft sound.

The White-Robed Man breathed a sigh of relief and casually released his protection of Sarada. He silently turned around and handed the scroll containing the Sharingan back to Sarada.

"Thank you," Sarada said gratefully.

"I'm just doing it for the mission I'm shouldering, not for you, but for the goal of the plan," the White-Robed Man said suddenly, with a touch of melancholy.

As an outsider, Sarada failed to understand. She thought this was the White-Robed Man's usual indifferent manner, that she was just a tool for cultivating the Eternal Mangekyō.