[Current Template Character: Lord of the Hōgyoku – Aizen Sōsuke. Unlock Rate: 65.31%]
"Can I really push Aizen's template to 100% before I have to face a Six Paths-level opponent?"
Kenya's expression remained calm, but inside, suspicion stirred.
Every stage of unlocking grew harder than the last. When the percentage climbed, the difficulty multiplied. By the time it reached ninety… even slaying a Kage might not yield a single percent.
This was no longer the open plains where the earlier battle had unfolded. Now they stood upon the high plateau canyons at the border of the Land of Lightning.
Kenya stood at the cliff's edge, cloak whipping in the sharp mountain wind.
Below him sprawled a sea of corpses—the fallen Cloud shinobi.
Behind him, a coalition force gathered, the combined armies of Konoha, the Mist, and the Sand. Their headbands gleamed with the same single word: "Shinobi."
Kenya turned his gaze forward, past the drifting mist.
There, carved into the high slopes of the gorge, veiled by clouds all year round, stood the hidden stronghold of the Land of Lightning—Cloud Shinobi Village. The altitude was enough to make untrained travelers sick, but for shinobi, it was one of the strongest bastions among the Five Great Villages. Ranked second in strength—yet now trembling before its fall.
"Lord Kenya… if the Cloud shinobi surrender, you won't let them go… right?"
A dripping blade was slung across the shoulder of Suigetsu, the Ghost Lantern, his grin sharp as he dragged it free from a corpse.
Kenya's lips curved faintly. "Such a narrow question. You already know the answer."
His pupils shifted. "Tokuma."
"Yes, Lord Kenya!"
Hyūga Tokuma activated his Byakugan, peering deep into the distant village.
"The defenders are in chaos. Fewer than five hundred remain on guard. Their command is broken."
Kenya inclined his head slightly, then looked toward Terumi Mei, the Mizukage, standing beside him with her usual playful smile.
"Mizukage. I'll leave the conquest of Cloud to you."
"Eh? Without me? I had hoped to be the first to share in your victory, Lord Kenya~~" Mei's sultry tone carried more bite than joke.
Temari, who had just folded her iron fan away, bristled instantly. Her green eyes narrowed as she stepped forward, shoving herself between them.
"I'm afraid Lord Kenya is far too busy to waste time," she said with a pointed smile, locking eyes with Mei. "We'll take our leave now~~"
Without hesitation, she pressed her hand to Kenya's back and nudged him firmly away.
Mei watched the little display, the corner of her lips lifting in a disdainful sneer. "Childish girl…" She brushed her jade fingers across her cheek, her mind cooling quickly.
Forget it. There will be time enough later. For now, I'll deal with Cloud.
She raised her hand sharply. "Move out!"
Mist shinobi surged down the cliffs, banners snapping as they advanced toward the broken stronghold.
Days later.
"This brat Raikage… lost too fast!"
On the Rain–Earth border, in the Rock shinobi camp, Tsuchikage Ōnoki's furious roar rattled the tent.
Fresh reports had arrived. On the eastern front, Cloud Shinobi was gone.
The Fourth Raikage. Eight-Tails Jinchūriki Killer B. Darui, C, and both of their assistant commanders.
All dead.
And the man who killed them… was the same.
Uchiha Kenya.
The world now whispered his other name—[Shinigami].
Ōnoki had lived through three great wars. He had seen heroes rise and legends fall. He had personally slain countless enemies across decades of battle… and yet, the tally of corpses beneath his hands was not as high as that left by a single youth barely past twenty.
"Lord Tsuchikage!" A Rock intelligence officer knelt in haste. "Mist forces under Mizukage Terumi Mei have already occupied Cloud Village. They are negotiating directly with the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning. Cloud is finished. In name and in truth."
Ōnoki's jaw clenched.
Another report followed, the words like iron hammers pounding against his chest.
"Confirmed intelligence: Uchiha Kenya is marching with three thousand reinforcements. Estimated arrival—four days."
The old Tsuchikage's face stiffened. His Dust Release had failed to kill Gaara, and the boy's sand would not yield. Their battle had frozen into stalemate.
But once Kenya arrived, everything would change.
Ōnoki's mind flickered back—back to a shadow that had haunted him for over sixty years.
Uchiha Madara.
If it had been Madara instead of Tobirama who became Hokage after Hashirama's death… would the Shinobi World have already been unified long ago?
The thought gnawed at him.
"Lord Tsuchikage! What are your orders?" The intelligence officer's urgent voice snapped him back.
Ōnoki's eyes narrowed, heavy and grim.
Four days. Four days until the Shinigami arrived.