"Susanoo: Draw Sword Slash!"
Memories inherited from the Magic Emperor constantly surfaced as the extraordinary swordsmanship belonging to a Sword God blossomed within the ninja world.
The pitch-black Susanoo stood tall upon the earth, its thick arms firmly gripping a black longsword. With every swing, it tore through the air, whipping up gusts of violent wind.
As the longsword swung out after gathering strength, the blade had not even arrived before the powerful wind pressure shredded every obstacle in its path. Houses collapsed, trees shattered, and rubble and branches were blown into the sky, falling rapidly once the force dissipated.
Boom!
Wherever the blade passed, a deep chasm appeared in the ground. The boundless energy instantly warped space, as if it could swallow everything whole.
Blood mist sprayed everywhere amidst a chorus of screams. The ninjas attempting to surround him couldn't react in time before being ground into mincemeat by the irresistible force. The once-confident ninja units instantly fell into chaos and terror.
Little Karin lay on Makiya's shoulder, turning her head to quietly watch the carnage. There wasn't a trace of fear or pity in her eyes; instead, they were filled with the joy of a long-awaited revenge.
A three- or four-year-old child already understood the world. She knew who treated her well and who was evil. Karin had seen and remembered everything the Grass Ninja did to her and her mother; she simply lacked the power and opportunity for revenge until now.
The Grass Hidden Village wasn't particularly large or small. The narrow plains within the mountains weren't great terrain, and there weren't many habitable spots. Therefore, the high-ranking officials tended to live in a concentrated area, saving Makiya a lot of time.
Under the Susanoo's rampage, only a few Jonin managed to survive. They teetered in the gales and shockwaves, running for their lives, dodging attacks from all sides, not daring to lose focus for a second.
More Grass Ninja joined the fray, trying to delay Makiya's advance with ninjutsu from a distance. But their puny chakra was negligible. Even when their full-power ninjutsu accurately struck Makiya's Susanoo, it only caused the terrifying giant to vibrate twice, producing no actual effect.
Each of Makiya's slashes kicked up massive wind pressure. Sword light mixed with chakra vented wildly, uprooting large swathes of land and exposing the bare, yellow soil.
"It's over... everything is over!" The man in the donkey-head mask felt his legs go weak and collapsed to the ground. Watching his subordinates die one by one, he felt his heart bleeding.
"Boring. Let's wrap this up early."
Makiya gently raised his right hand at a forty-five-degree angle. Following his movement, the Susanoo also raised its thick arm, holding the pitch-black longsword high in the air.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, the longsword reversed direction to point at the ground. Under the terrified gazes of the surviving Grass Ninja, it plunged violently into the earth.
"Susanoo: Burning Fortress!"
An unprecedentedly massive amount of chakra erupted from Makiya. The billowing chakra was like a vast ocean, giving the surviving Grass Ninja the illusion that they could be drowned at any moment.
Little Karin, leaning on Makiya's shoulder, felt it most deeply. Although Makiya's chakra caused no physical harm, its terrifying volume was a scale she had never seen before. Even the two strange older men in the Iwagakure forces who had weird chakra inside them possessed far less hidden chakra than Brother Makiya.
Liquid-like golden flames flowed through the pitch-black longsword. The brilliant golden light added a touch of nobility to the blade as the continuous flow of liquid fire injected into the ground through the sword.
The ground began to tremble. Houses that had suffered multiple impacts finally gave out, collapsing into clouds of dust. The surviving Grass Ninja were pressed down by the terrifying chakra fluctuations, unable to stand, falling to the ground in despair as the earth shook.
"So... so strong!"
"What terrifying chakra volume... is that Uchiha really human?"
"Damn it, how can such a ninja exist in this world? This is cheating..."
"The earth... it's shaking. What on earth is he doing?"
The living Grass Ninja scrambled to escape, wishing their parents had given them two more legs. In this moment, elders, the village, the people of the Land of Whirlpools, or nobles no longer mattered—only their own lives were a priority.
But it was already too late to run!
Massive cracks appeared on the ground, spreading like a spiderweb. The golden flames were like long-imprisoned beasts suddenly breaking free, charging through the underground. Rocks melted instantly where they passed, and the temperature of the earth rose sharply.
Booming sounds echoed continuously, as if a long-dormant behemoth was about to wake. Finally reaching a limit, pillars of magma erupted from the fissures, soaring into the sky.
One Grass Ninja accidentally stepped into a gap; the golden flames swallowed him instantly, and his screams cut off abruptly.
More survivors were struck by the magma pillars erupting from beneath them. Their fragile bodies were engulfed by the surging lava, leaving only a few burning scraps of clothing fluttering in the air as their final trace in the world.
The man in the donkey-head mask was not spared either. In his final moments, his gaze met Makiya's Three-Tomoe Sharingan. A massive amount of ocular power invaded his brain, excavating all intelligence in a short time.
Then, a huge rift opened beneath the donkey-masked man. Flames spewed and heat surged as if a golden, boundless hell had opened its terrifying doors to drag the criminal into the abyss.
Under such a wide-range ninjutsu, there was no difference between an elder and an ordinary ninja. Everyone used their best means to flee, but eventually, they were all caught by the flames of death, reduced to a handful of ash.
The small plain in the valley was where the ninjas of the Grass Hidden Village lived. The ninjutsu Makiya released completely blanketed this area. Fissures and magma covered the land, and ruins were instantly turned to ash in the high temperatures.
The outskirts of the plain were also part of the Grass Hidden Village, but those areas were inhabited by civilians. Houses built against the mountains were not only prone to insect infestations, but if they were unlucky enough to hit a heavy rainstorm, they were susceptible to natural disasters.
The civilians of the Grass Hidden Village were also victims of the ninjas' exploitation. Now, they carried their children to rooftops, looking toward the village center in bewilderment, their expressions extremely complicated.
Trees were ignited, crackling as they burned. The ninja lords who were once high and mighty screamed in agony, their faces full of fear and despair, which was a satisfying sight to behold.
The black Susanoo stood at the center of this destruction, surrounded by golden flames and magma. The giant figure looked even more majestic and terrifying in the reflection of the fire.
"Lord Makiya... is truly getting stronger and stronger."
On a mountainside in the distance, Kabuto Yakushi, who had originally planned to support Makiya, slowly put away his sealing scroll. He turned decisively and walked into the forest, his figure disappearing into the underbrush.
It was too foolish of him to think Lord Makiya needed support. Ninjutsu of that scale was a realm that ordinary ninjas couldn't even set foot in.
Within the Grass Hidden Village, the black giant quietly watched everything before it, as if declaring that the sovereignty of this land had changed hands. Soaring firelight lit up half the sky, and massive amounts of hot air rose high, colliding with the gathering dark clouds and creating complex convection.
Fine raindrops drifted down from the sky. For a battlefield covered in flames and magma, even if all the rain clouds in the sky turned into a downpour, it would be a mere drop in the bucket.
In just a few minutes, the core area of the Grass Hidden Village was completely destroyed. Makiya manipulated the golden flames to form flying swords, reaping the few survivors hiding on the village outskirts, ensuring every single ninja was executed.
The streets and markets that were once somewhat lively no longer existed. Only scorched earth and endless ruins remained. Makiya withdrew his soul perception, and after confirming no ninjas were left, he slowly turned with little Karin in his arms and walked out of the village.
The black Susanoo gradually dissipated—skin, muscle, and finally the hard skeleton. Deprived of the support of ocular power and chakra, the black giant melted away in an instant like spring snow under a bright sun.
The raindrops grew larger, as if the heavens were shedding tears onto the cracked earth, only to evaporate into steam. Only the slowly flowing magma continued to recount the terrifying scene that had just occurred.
The remaining civilians looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion. The ninja lords who once bullied them had been slaughtered, but the suddenly obtained freedom wasn't entirely pleasant; how to survive next was the first problem they had to face.
Flying back to the Seireitei on his sword, Makiya handed little Karin over to Nono Yakushi, who was handling internal affairs.
Having suffered such a massive upheaval, little Karin was still uneasy despite her maturity. She clung to Makiya's neck, refusing to let go, fearing she might be abandoned.
But as expected of Nono Yakushi, who had been the matron of an orphanage, she was very experienced in coaxing children. With just a few words, she got Karin to let go obediently and shrink into Nono's generous embrace to feel the warmth.
Of course, it might also have something to do with Nono's chakra. Chakra can be tainted by a person's personality; the maternal aura Nono radiated while caring for the child was something even Makiya could sense. It wasn't surprising that little Karin would let down her guard.
The Grass Hidden Village and little Karin were just an interlude. Makiya took out the distress letter from the Land of Demons, looked at it, and once again disappeared into the sky on his sword.
For an ordinary ninja, it would take half a month to travel from Konoha to the Land of Demons by land. The long distance was one factor, but the complex conditions along the way were an even bigger issue.
The Land of Demons is located on the westernmost side of the ninja world. Starting from the Land of Fire, one must pass through the Land of Rain, the Land of Birds, and the Land of Bears, while staying alert for Iwa or Suna ninjas. Only after crossing jagged mountains can one reach the Land of Demons.
Unlike the obscure neighboring Land of Swamps and Land of Bears, the Land of Demons was a famous land of the dead recorded by all major nations. It had an ancient history and unique customs; it was said that the rule of the Priestess could be traced back to before the Sage of the Six Paths.
Makiya flew on his sword, easily crossing complex mountains and vast deserts, landing near a small town on the border of the Land of Demons.
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