Chapter 332: Bro, What About My 500 Million!?
Uchiha Ci sped northward across the ocean, covering nearly 50 nautical miles.
A thin mist began to rise from the surface of the sea, and moonlight refracted through the haze, casting a massive, suffocating shadow over the oncoming Uchiha Ci.
It was a gigantic island, about ten kilometers in diameter, its surface bristling with spire-like stone pillars—
A living island.
"So this is the Turtle Island?" Uchiha Ci slowly came to a stop and summoned something from a sealing scroll—an object that resembled a lantern.
Inside it was a genjutsu-infused drug developed by Orochimaru, designed to emit a unique scent to neutralize the Turtle Island's hostility.
To prevent Kumogakure from locating and reclaiming the Turtle Island, Orochimaru had implanted a genjutsu capsule in it to manipulate its will. As a result, if it sensed a ninja within a kilometer radius, the Turtle Island would go berserk. With a ten-kilometer body, it would unleash a tsunami-level surge equivalent to an S-rank jutsu, and then, using the waves and other contingencies left by Orochimaru, it would escape.
Although the Turtle Island looked massive and sluggish in the original story—especially compared to fliers like Onoki and Deidara—
In truth, ordinary ships couldn't even glimpse the exhaust lights of the turtle's tail.
That was exactly why Uchiha Ci brought the lantern.
Holding the lantern, he proceeded another nautical mile and finally boarded the Turtle Island.
He first made his way to the turtle's head, entering through its mouth, which looked like a mountain, and followed the route Orochimaru had mapped out to reach the brain.
The place housing the brain resembled a massive karst cave, and in the center of the red, flower-like mass was a spike formed by the "Four Black Snake Formation." It looked a bit like the steering wheel of the thunder ship he'd recently piloted. By using it, he could alter the Turtle Island's course.
Fortunately, Orochimaru hadn't made this part too complicated.
The controls were practically idiot-proof.
After a round of nervous fiddling and following the diagram step by step, Uchiha Ci finally managed to redirect the turtle.
"Whew…"
"This way, I won't run into Uchiha Madara again on the open sea."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Uchiha Ci put away his sealing scroll and made his way deeper into the Turtle Island—
To the place known as the "Falls of Truth."
Before leaving the battle site, to prevent Uchiha Madara from pursuing him, Uchiha Ci had pulled some serious mental gymnastics with Bailan's mind.
It was a bit convoluted—
First, he wiped out all memories of his existence from Bailan's and Afei's minds. However, such genjutsu would be full of holes when faced with a Sharingan expert like Uchiha Madara.
So right after, Uchiha Ci deliberately tampered with Bailan's memories to create a false memory, planting a landmark that wouldn't look suspicious unless carefully examined.
Since the opponent was Madara-sama, with his overwhelming pride, once he saw through the first two layers of deception, his first instinct would definitely be to turn the trap against Uchiha Ci, using raw power to crush every trick thrown at him.
Moreover, from Madara's perspective, Uchiha Ci didn't know of his existence. At most, he could infer from Bailan's tampered memories that someone was behind the Third Mizukage—
But what kind of sane ninja would guess that the one pulling the strings behind the Third Mizukage was a supposedly long-dead historical figure?
In truth, although the glimpses of Madara in Bailan's memories were blurry and vague, lacking any clear intel, Uchiha Ci was still able to reconstruct the entire event with near-perfect accuracy using his knowledge of the original story and his extensive intel on the ninja world.
That was his edge.
And this high-risk move of leaving behind a genjutsu "breadcrumb" would only make Madara more convinced, once he saw it, that it was just a cheap trick.
If Madara got a taste of the pleasure of seeing through all secrets with his Sharingan, his next line of thinking would be entirely predictable.
Because this was a reverse-engineered tactic—a clever little scheme tailored specifically for Madara.
Simple, yet not so simple.
"Damn it, playing genjutsu games with a hundred-year-old geezer is seriously nerve-wracking!"
The whole way here, Uchiha Ci had been worried that Madara wouldn't take the bait and would catch up mid-route, whip out a Perfect Susanoo, and slice him in half—then drag him off as a puppet for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
"Phew…"
He exhaled again, but his back still felt clammy.
It was all psychological—he'd freaked himself out.
After all, this wasn't just the final boss. This was the ultimate boss—Uchiha Madara.
Even though he suspected Madara might actually take a liking to him, who knew if the old man wouldn't get disappointed once he got a closer look and just decide to kill him on the spot and find a replacement.
—
The Falls of Truth was located on the Turtle Island's "shell," essentially the island's outer side.
Among a forest of stone pillars stabbing up toward the sky stood several buildings constructed by Kumogakure. The overall style leaned toward realism, reflecting Kumogakure's mountain-based architecture and incorporating elements of tailed beasts.
Guarding the area was a massive ape named "King."
However, for some unknown reason, the creature bolted like it'd seen a ghost after glancing at Uchiha Ci.
Which made things incredibly easy for him.
He arrived without issue at the hidden zone between the stone forests—
The Falls of Truth.
"According to the original story…"
Gazing up at the near-hundred-meter-tall waterfall, Uchiha Ci studied it for a moment before shifting his eyes to a raised platform of earth before the falls.
"Anyone who sits on that spot… can see their 'true self.'"
"This is the first step to achieving Perfect Jinchūriki Mode—"
"Defeating yourself."
"But… what does my true self even look like?"
Shaking his head at the thought, Uchiha Ci walked forward across the lake's surface, then sat cross-legged at the center of the platform and closed his eyes.
The instant he shut them,
His Sage-mode-enhanced body, highly attuned to natural energy, immediately sensed an unfamiliar force forming around him.
In the lush environment, the natural energy flowed in a unique pattern through the spiked terrain, gradually forming a barrier that spanned a kilometer in every direction—
Then—
Relying on the Sharingan's sensitivity to spiritual power,
Uchiha Ci suddenly realized that his consciousness… was slowly being separated from his body.
Then, he heard a voice—exactly like his own:
"Uchiha Ci!"
The voice was urgent, panicked, trembling—laced with extreme rage.
"Have you already forgotten!?"
"The reason you came to this world!!"
"What the hell are you doing!?"
"At this rate, damn it, not even aliens could kill you!"
"I'm asking you—"
Covered in blood, wearing a torn T-shirt, with shards of glass and twisted metal embedded all over his body, a grizzled, ragged version of Uchiha Ci around the age of eighteen stumbled out from the waterfall. His face was filled with shock and disbelief as he shakily pointed a trembling finger at Uchiha Ci and cried out in total confusion:
"Three months. It's only been three damn months, and you're already almost at Kage-level!?"
"And also—"
"Bro, what about my 500 million!?!"