“How ridiculous…”
A hoarse voice echoed in Mito’s heart, filled with unimaginable hatred and resentment.
“Hahahaha!!
How many more people have to die before it’s enough?”
“In just a few short decades, how many of the Senju of the Forest, once the strongest in the Ninja World, are even left alive?
And now it’s the Uzumaki Clan’s turn!”
“Hashirama Senju!
Mito Uzumaki!!
You couldn’t protect the people you wanted to protect at all!!
How hilarious!
How pathetic!!!”
“Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!”
Inside Mito’s body, the Nine-Tails, bound beneath layer upon layer of restraints with only its head able to move, laughed wildly.
“Hate them…”
Thick darkness seeped through its crimson eyes, and the Nine-Tails’ voice was full of temptation.
“Release your anger!”
“Take revenge on the Ninja World.
Make everyone pay!
With my strength, you can do it!”
“No one can stop you!!”
“There is someone…”
Mito spoke slowly, raising her head to look at Hashirama’s Hokage Rock outside the window.
“If I release you, it will only invite more hatred and destroy everything he built.”
“I can endure it…
with the strength he gave me…”
The only thing that could overcome hatred was love.
Mito tried hard to calm herself, but…
But…
It still hurt so much…
Drip.
A crystal-clear tear slid down.
…
Drip.
The tear fell onto the Uzumaki crest on the girl’s shoulder.
The ninja carrying her on his back raced through the dense forest.
He turned his head and said gently, “Don’t be afraid.
Konoha is right ahead.
Once we get there, you’ll be safe!”
“Konoha…”
The red-haired girl’s eyes were wet.
She bit her lip to keep herself from crying, her voice like the faint whimper of a young animal.
“Uzushiogakure…
is Uzushiogakure gone?”
The Konoha ninja did not know how to answer.
He could only lower his head and keep running.
Behind him, a large group of ninja was in pursuit, their forehead protectors marking them as Kumo and Kirigakure ninja.
“Stop!
Hand over the Uzumaki Clan member!!”
A flash of lightning suddenly lit up.
The Kumo ninja flickered through the forest, closing the distance by dozens of meters in an instant.
They were already close to Konoha.
It looked like they would not be able to take this pure-blooded Uzumaki brat away…
Then kill her!
If we can’t have her, then Konoha won’t either!
The Kumo ninja closed in faster, raising his long blade with both hands.
Sensing the killing intent, the Konoha ninja immediately spun around and hurled several kunai while throwing Kushina Uzumaki down.
“Run straight ahead!
Don’t stop, no matter what!!”
Kushina had gone through things like this, and heard words like those, far too many times on the way here.
Dozens of Konoha ninja had already died protecting her.
This was the last one…
I…
Kushina pushed herself up with her hands on her knees.
Her fingers pressed against a bleeding wound, but she endured it.
She endured the grief and the pain.
I have to survive!
I absolutely can’t die!!
The girl ran unsteadily, stumbling forward, her once-clean face covered in dirt and blood.
With her vision blurred and her mind exhausted, she never noticed the fierce gust of wind that swept past her.
Shink!!
The Kumo blade pierced the Konoha ninja’s shoulder, making him let out a pained groan.
“It’s over.”
A voice sounded behind him.
At some point, a Kirigakure ninja had circled around to his back, a dripping short blade thrusting straight toward his heart.
Silent Killing Technique!
The next moment, color burst forth.
Beneath that night’s bright moon, a deep crimson flower bloomed.
Drip… drip…
The falling rain of blood landed on the pursuing ninja’s faces, and for a moment, all of them froze.
Every eye turned to the boy who had suddenly appeared.
Shingetsu stood in the middle of the forest path, his fist still held in the motion of a punch, a trace of blood clinging to his knuckles.
“Ha…
sorry.
I didn’t control my strength very well.”
The boy smiled faintly and tilted his head.
Under the moonlight, his eyes glowed crimson, a single tomoe slowly spinning in his pupils.
“Uchiha…”
Someone’s voice trembled slightly.
“It’s only a single tomoe.
What are you panicking for?”
The leading Kumo ninja sneered and drew another ninja blade from his waist, now holding one in each hand.
“All he did was kill a weak Kirigakure ninja.
Don’t stand there looking so pleased with yourself, brat!”
“Move!”
“Kill him and that girl, then retreat immediately!”
The Kumo ninja shot forward like a streak of blue lightning, spreading both arms wide.
The two blades in his hands came together like giant shears, as if to cut off Shingetsu’s head.
Lightning Release: Double Blade Slash!!
Only when the lightning reached him did Shingetsu finally move.
Clang!!
Clang!!
The Kumo ninja’s eyes went wide, unable to believe what had just happened.
His specially made ninja blades had been snapped bare-handed!!
With his stance so wide open, one punch to the chest would have ended the fight.
But…
I already wasted one test subject earlier.
I should use them more carefully.
Shingetsu pressed a finger to the Kumo ninja’s chest and parted his lips slightly.
“Fire.”
Whoosh!!
A burst of flame suddenly ignited on the man’s chest, and the shock in his eyes grew even stronger.
What’s going on?!
I didn’t see him form a single hand seal.
How did he use Fire Release?!
Is he so skilled he can cast it without seals?!
With no time to think, the Kumo ninja immediately pulled back and tore off his burning shirt.
Heh, Fire Release with this kind of power is…
He was about to mock him, only to see the brat standing where he was, deep in thought, as if he did not consider any of the enemies present worth his attention.
Too arrogant…
They’re always like this.
Damn Uchiha!!
The grudge between Kumo and the Uchiha could be traced all the way back to the Warring States Period.
Within the human body, chakra was chaotic and disordered energy by nature.
The key to ninjutsu hand seals was using those seals to guide the direction of chakra, shaping it into the desired form.
It was a process, essentially the operating program of ninjutsu.
Hand seals mobilized one’s own chakra, and Shingetsu could not use that program.
The technique he had used against Kakuzu back then had only released all the chakra inside Earth Grudge Fear with the ocular power of his Sharingan, then used the blade to guide its direction.
And at the time, when he unconsciously called out the name of the technique, he had vaguely felt the flow of chakra stabilize a little after the words left his mouth.
When he used the Hizuki Style Taijutsu series before, calling out the names seemed to give a slight boost as well.
It always felt like something was missing if he did not say it aloud.
Maybe that was why Might Guy called his techniques out too.
It really did work.
Then the key was…
Commands!
In ancient times, ninjutsu did not exist at all.
Rikudō Sennin and others could use chakra however they wished, entirely through a single thought.
But after he spread chakra among the people of the world, ordinary people could not do anything like that.
It was precisely so people could use chakra that the extraordinarily gifted Indra created hand seals, something he himself did not really need.
So…
theoretically speaking, hand seals were not a required step for using chakra.
What mattered was having a clear will to guide the Chakra Flow.
Hand seals were merely a step used to strengthen that will.
That was why the stronger a ninja became, the more hand seal steps they could omit.
Pure will alone was not enough to control chakra with precision, but people were born with the ability to solidify an unseen, intangible will.
Language.
The power of language was immense.
Encouragement from others, as well as encouragement from oneself, could push a person toward something better.
By the same logic, vicious words were weapons that wounded people.
They could even crush a person’s will and drive them to their death.
The Ninja World could do even more…
Rikudō Sennin must have imagined this.
He created the Six Paths Tools that could harvest the power of words.
The Sword of Nunoboko that Obito manifested when he became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki further confirmed that the power of conviction could take physical form…
As Shingetsu thought and sensed, he dealt with the surrounding attacks.
None of these people were weak.
At the very least, they were Chūnin-level, and two of them were even Jōnin-level.
Blades cut through his resilient body, and as the wounds accumulated, his blood soaked into him.
But his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He murmured something under his breath, and flames danced across his body like spirits.
“Father!
Are we still not going to help Shingetsu?!”
Not far away, Fugaku called out urgently.
Of course, there was no way Shingetsu could have shaken off the Police Force.
They had arrived long ago.
It was Shingetsu who had signaled for them not to interfere.
The Clan Head held back Fugaku, who could no longer bear it and was about to rush out.
Three magatama spun in his eyes.
“Don’t interfere with him.
We may be…”
“Witnessing history!!”