Makiya gripped the Daimyo by his collar and ascended continuously. In the blink of an eye, they pierced through the white clouds. High in the air, biting gales and scorching air currents repeatedly lashed against the Daimyo's body, giving him a 'pleasure' of ice and fire.
The Daimyo struggled to lower his head. The ground was receding beneath his feet, and the familiar layout of the capital finally entered his sight in a more direct way. However, the Daimyo wasn't happy at all. He couldn't fly. Once Makiya let go, a pile of shattered meat and bone would appear in some corner of the capital a few minutes later.
His genetic fear of heights began to flare up. The Daimyo's muscles tensed, his breathing quickened, and his heart raced. He couldn't stop shaking violently.
Who knew how much water or wine this guy had drunk? Urine streamed down his legs, turning into odorous raindrops that showered down upon the capital.
The nobles still in the capital were in luck; if they looked up and opened their mouths, they could have an intimate encounter with their beloved Daimyo.
Paralyzed with fear, the Daimyo couldn't utter a word as he watched Makiya condense a massive fireball and drop it from high above.
Friends who frequently launch nuclear bombs know that the best way to deal damage is an airburst. Ground-level detonations are hindered by building obstructions, preventing shockwaves and heat radiation from reaching their maximum potential. Airbursts are far more effective and cover a wider killing radius.
Makiya's jutsu wasn't a nuclear explosion. It was simply a highly concentrated fireball, filled with unstable sage chakra. It relied entirely on his immense control to maintain stability. Once the fireball left Makiya's grasp, it was destined to trigger a world-shaking explosion.
"Is that... Fire Style? What is he trying to do?" On the outskirts of the capital, Konan looked up at Makiya's movements, her face filled with confusion.
To her astonishment, the golden fireball descended from the sky and suddenly halted about a hundred meters above the ground. A blinding white light erupted from within.
In an instant, it seemed to Konan as if the space near the fireball was being distorted and torn apart. Light brighter than the morning sun burst forth without warning, accompanied by the expansion of a white shockwave.
BOOM!!!
Rolling golden flames swallowed the Daimyo's mansion below. The entire city was dyed a golden hue. The temperature of these flames seemed to reach millions of degrees Celsius. Everything they touched—whether hard steel, heavy rock, or towering palaces—melted instantly into glowing lava that flowed onto the ground.
Running and shouting ninjas, samurai clutching katanas, panicked ministers, and servants stealing treasures amidst the chaos... At the moment of the explosion, the myriad faces of life within the Daimyo's mansion played out like a spectacular Ukiyo-e print.
As the flames arrived, all resistance and pleas for mercy were in vain. Fire is heartless. Before the sea of flames, regardless of status or strength, everyone within the Daimyo's mansion turned to ash alongside the melting buildings.
Amidst the rampant sea of fire and blinding light, all colors lost their meaning. A roar exceeding the limits of human hearing spread rapidly from the Daimyo's mansion.
The civilians who had just fled the capital curled up on the spot, looking back in a daze, wondering what had happened.
The roar was accompanied by a shockwave that swept through like a frenzy. Wherever it passed, the air was instantly compressed into a high-density substance, which then surged outward with even greater violence.
This sharp compression and expansion formed a massive shockwave several kilometers in diameter. It swept across everything like a rampaging ancient beast.
The Daimyo's mansion was destroyed in an instant. The towering walls that separated the inner city from the rest of the capital served an unexpected purpose. Originally, these walls were built to reflect the Daimyo's noble status and isolate him from the commoners' vulgarity. Now, they had become the strongest line of defense against the flames and shockwaves.
The thick city walls shook violently under the shockwave. Golden flames permeated the air, and the bricks of the walls gradually melted, the entire structure collapsing bit by bit.
A second later, the shockwave broke through the walls and rushed toward the outer estates of the nobility. The surrounding buildings were like fragile houses of cards before it, easily overturned and pulverized. Massive decorative boulders were tossed around like straw, and construction debris rained down everywhere.
The nobles died peacefully. One moment they were looking up and shouting in anger, and the next they were torn to shreds by the explosion erupting from the mansion. A few clever ninjas hurriedly released jutsu to resist, but everything was futile against the terrifying blast.
Their ninjutsu was instantly overwhelmed. Some ninjas had the quick wit to use Earth Style to hide underground, but under the force of the shockwave, the ground developed massive ring-like wrinkles, like paper crumpled by an invisible hand. Before those hiding underground could burrow deeper, their bodies were 'cut' into several segments by the suddenly shifting soil.
The shockwave demolished a swathe of noble residences before gradually weakening and finally dissipating before reaching the commercial district.
Makiya descended from the sky, nodding in satisfaction as he surveyed the perfectly controlled blast radius.
The Daimyo stared at the ruins before him, his soul seemingly gone. He was in a trance, almost believing he was dreaming.
"Gone, it's all gone. My servants, my children, my concubines... My capital, my capital!" The Daimyo struggled violently like a madman, roaring hysterically.
"You chose this, Daimyo." Makiya reached out and snapped the Daimyo's limbs, his eyes cold. "Back to my first question: who gave you the nerve to provoke me? You idiot!"
Releasing flying swords to finish off a few lucky surviving nobles, Makiya gripped the Daimyo and slowly flew outside the capital.
The civilians were paralyzed with fear by the massive explosion, crowding outside the city gates in confusion.
Seeing Makiya descend from the sky, a quick-witted commoner immediately knelt and kowtowed toward him.
The action spread like wildfire. In seconds, the commoners by the city gate were all kneeling on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.
"Stand up. Don't kneel." Makiya frowned, but the civilians ignored his words, continuing to kowtow.
You had to be joking. If they stood, what if they died?
The commoners living in the capital had long dealt with the nobility and understood the psychology of these powerful figures. If the lords told you not to kneel, would you actually stop?
You bet your life you'd keep kneeling!
A lord saying you don't need to kneel might just be a courtesy. If someone was actually foolish enough to stand and talk to them, they would likely 'commit suicide' that night with eight kunai in their back, never seeing the next day's sun.
The servility of the commoners was etched into their very bones; it wasn't something Makiya could change overnight. Centuries of noble rule had written the laws of hierarchy into their DNA, and those roots were deep.
Makiya shook his head. Carrying the Daimyo, he flew above the crowd and pulled a small knife from his ninja tool pouch.
'What is he trying to do?' Konan, hiding in the crowd, frowned. Makiya's actions were baffling her. She recognized the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Could Makiya be planning to...?
Wasn't Makiya Uchiha a Konoha ninja? Why would he destroy the capital of the Land of Fire? What exactly happened?
Konan couldn't help but think of Nagato's words. Nagato, who had awakened the legendary Sage's Eyes and considered himself a god, wanted to make the great warring nations feel pain. Yet, he hadn't achieved it; the Akatsuki was still in its strength-gathering phase.
Well, now the Land of Fire had certainly felt the pain, even if Konan wasn't sure about the other nations.
Their capital had been leveled; that pain was surely heart-wrenching.
If it were Nagato, he would probably release the Daimyo now. The man had experienced the power of a 'god' firsthand. Surely, he wouldn't start a war for the rest of his life, and the goal of peace would be achieved.
But Makiya's actions defied Konan's expectations. He gripped the small knife and made a light slice against the Daimyo's skin. A piece of bloody skin peeled off and drifted to the ground.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
The Daimyo let out a squeal like a stuck pig. Born into luxury, when had he ever experienced such agony? Tears and snot instantly gushed out, smearing across his face.
The kneeling commoners trembled as if the knife were cutting into them.
Some of the bolder commoners looked up at Makiya's actions. Their eyes were filled with the satisfaction of a long-awaited revenge.
The Daimyo and the nobles had committed countless sins. The commoners near the capital were the most exploited. Many had lost their families and homes just because they happened to glance at the Daimyo on the commercial street.
Konan's eyes widened in disbelief. What was Makiya doing? Was he really going to kill the Daimyo?
Had he lost his mind?!
Although Nagato had killed the ruler of the Land of Rain, Hanzo of the Salamander, the situation between a small nation and a great nation was entirely different. The nobles of the Five Great Nations might seem at odds, but they would surely unite when their entire class faced an existential crisis. Wasn't Makiya afraid of being hunted by all five nations?
Another cut carved off a slice of flesh. Fresh blood poured from the wound, dripping onto the ground and pooling into a striking, crimson stain.
"Everyone, look closely! I give you permission to spread word of what happens today. The further, the better! This is the consequence of opposing me, Makiya Uchiha!" Makiya's voice reached the ears of every civilian. Each slice felt as if it were piercing their own hearts.
As his blood loss mounted, the Daimyo's screams lost their strength. His face grew pale, his eyelids drooped, and he looked ready to expire at any moment.
Makiya's technique was ultimately too crude. Lingchi—death by a thousand cuts—was a highly specialized skill. Without professional training, one would be lucky to manage even a hundred cuts.
The final blow swept across. A brilliant flash of steel crossed the Daimyo's throat. A line of blood spread, and the remaining blood sprayed out like it was free of charge. The Daimyo's head fell from the sky, startling the surrounding commoners, who backed away and clutched their heads, not daring to look.
Makiya's gaze swept over the crowd. Without another word, he soared into the air and disappeared into the clouds, leaving behind the destroyed capital and the bewildered commoners.
Everyone looked at the Daimyo's remains in confusion. The sight of him lying in a pool of blood like a dead dog shattered something deep within their hearts.
So... the Daimyo was human too.
When people are killed, they die...
Konan swallowed hard. She carefully backed out of the crowd and headed toward the nearby forest.
Her intuition told her that the ninja world was about to be turned upside down. For a Konoha ninja like Makiya Uchiha to publicly destroy the capital of the Land of Fire, something incredibly serious must have happened. Otherwise, it simply didn't make sense.
Where the Land of Rain and the Akatsuki should go from here would require gathering more intelligence to see clearly.
Suddenly, Konan shuddered while running through the forest. She came to a screeching halt on a tree trunk, her breathing slightly ragged.
Before her, Makiya Uchiha, who had just slaughtered nobles like dogs, appeared on a treetop. He was looking down at her.
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