"Hm? Such a powerful surge of Cursed Energy suddenly erupted. Is it some kind of special ability?"
"Just the sheer amount of Cursed Energy has risen to the level of one hundred thousand points. How powerful."
Beside the Divine Tree, Uchiha Itachi was updating the point rankings while distributing the game pieces to the top six contenders.
This is where the administrator's authority came into play. The Cursed Energy provided by Hakari Kinji's domain was clearly anomalous data, and the Culling Game's simple logic couldn't determine how to handle it.
Although he called it powerful, Uchiha Itachi's expression didn't change in the slightest. He didn't even give a second thought to the Nine-Tails, which was also at the one-hundred-thousand-point level.
A proud user of superior mechanics, he looked down on such mere numbers. Until one reached the strength of a certain man in a green jumpsuit, these figures were not enough to bridge the gap in abilities.
The Mangekyo Sharingan, paired with Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu, was a dimension-crushing attack against the people of this world.
However, after a moment's hesitation, he still certified that surge of Cursed Energy and issued the game piece to him—though he didn't award the points, of course. Otherwise, Hakari Kinji could have cleaned out the entire shop.
"Schwarzer, Naruto Uzumaki, Hakari Kinji, Ryomen Sukuna, The President… and the last one… Gojo Satoru."
Uchiha Itachi looked at Gojo Satoru, whose comprehensive score had just jumped a tier to thirty thousand points, and made his final decision.
He had specifically arranged it so that Uchiha Sasuke had yet to awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan. But that was no longer necessary. If he didn't let him get a little stronger, Sasuke likely wouldn't survive the coming battles.
The Culling Game's announcement was quickly sent to the corresponding players. A crystal chess piece materialized, floating before the chest of each chosen individual.
After completing all this, Uchiha Itachi felt the suppression on his body disappear, which meant he was now free to move about.
The final stage is to gather all the game pieces. However, since all the 'participants' are currently gathered in Tokyo, the globally-scoped Culling Game has deemed the condition 'gathered' to be met in Tokyo.
Realizing this, Uchiha Itachi vanished on the spot. He could no longer wait to properly guide his younger brother.
The power within Sasuke's body had already reached the minimum threshold to unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan—at least in theory. But it was clear that Sasuke, being a difficult case when it came to awakening his eyes, still hadn't managed it.
The Sharingan, as the symbol of the Uchiha, the 'Clan of Love,' requires not just extreme emotion, but 'love' itself, and the hatred born from that love.
Uchiha Sasuke had never truly loved anyone. Uchiha Itachi finally noticed this—the greatest flaw in his plan.
From beginning to end, Sasuke has only had hatred: hatred for him for annihilating their clan, and hatred for his own powerlessness. This all transformed into his thirst for power, but something was still missing.
—To put it simply, he's too normal. Not unhinged enough.
The hatred from the clan's massacre, the yearning for power—it's all too normal. How could an Uchiha who isn't completely unhinged possibly possess great power?
"Don't be afraid, otouto-san. I'm here to help you."
Uchiha Itachi decided to rectify this situation. 'Sasuke, you who are mired in hatred, let me first teach you what 'love' is.'
As for a candidate... isn't Naruto Uzumaki perfect?
Crows took flight from the treetops, heading towards Gojo Satoru's base in the distance.
...
...
Time was running out. Even in the world of genjutsu, Gojo Satoru had noticed this.
The power within his arm was still too profound; it was on a completely different level from Cursed Energy or ordinary Chakra.
Even for him, with his Six Eyes, it was difficult to comprehend and learn.
But he had at least managed to discover a few things. Chakra is a fusion of spiritual and cellular energy—of spirit and life. Senjutsu Chakra, on the other hand, mixes in a third component: energy from nature.
In other words, it transforms from a two-in-one power into a trinity of power, completely overwhelming ordinary Chakra in every aspect.
What a shame. He could only grasp a part of it. It was just like when he first learned the Reverse Cursed Technique; he understood, but he didn't fully understand. In reality, the gap between not knowing and true comprehension is immense.
In the outside world, Okkotsu Yuta, carrying a katana, slowly approached the hospital bed.
Gojo Satoru was lying there like a peaceful corpse, a smile on his face.
Looking at Gojo Satoru like this, Okkotsu Yuta didn't hesitate for a moment. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he executed his awakening technique.
"Shing—"
The sound of metal scraping as the katana was unsheathed.
"Time to wake up, Gojo-sensei."
Just as Okkotsu Yuta finished speaking, to everyone's horror, he viciously swung the blade—
"I'm awake, I'm awake, I'm awake!"
"What an unconventional way to say hello, Okkotsu Yuta."
In a flash, Gojo Satoru vanished from the hospital bed, teleporting out of the katana's attack range.
"It was that effective?" Itadori and the others, who had been about to intervene, were stunned. So this was the so-called awakening method?
"It's just a coincidence that I happened to wake up! If I'd been a second later, I would've been sliced! So dangerous! Hey, is this any way to treat your teacher?"
Gojo Satoru said, full of energy. The long rest had clearly allowed him to recover well, though of course, no one wanted to reply to him.
Observing him closely, they realized it was more than just being well-rested. The Cursed Energy around Gojo Satoru had changed significantly; they could sense an aura of Chakra.
Evidently, Gojo Satoru hadn't merely been sleeping. It seemed he had made considerable gains.
'Gojo Satoru, Sorcerer, Comprehensive Score—Thirty-two thousand (Special Grade).'
"This power you have... is it Chakra?"
"It's Senjutsu Chakra. Though, it's not fully perfected yet, of course."
Senjutsu Chakra? Kakashi immediately thought of Jiraiya, one of the Sannin. As an elite jōnin, he had access to a lot of intelligence, including information about the existence of Senjutsu Chakra.
Even in the ninja world, very few people could master Senjutsu. And it's appeared here?
According to the intel he had, Senjutsu was a power that completely surpassed ordinary Chakra. If possible, he wanted to try it too.
But before he could speak, a frenzied surge of Cursed Energy erupted in the center of the room.
"Hahaha! I hit the jackpot!"
Amidst green flames of Cursed Energy, Hakari Kinji began to dance along with the BGM. Before him, a translucent crystal chess piece slowly materialized.
Similarly, another crystal chess piece appeared before Gojo Satoru's chest—the 'King' from a chess set.
"Kakashi-sensei! I got one too!"
Naruto's shout caught his attention. He turned his head to see the same kind of game piece had appeared in front of him as well.
"Three pieces?" The surprise was too sudden. Their worst-case scenario had been getting only one piece.
But before he could celebrate for long, a light shot up from the pieces. Beams of light, like beacons, pierced through all the buildings, marking their locations.
From within their base, from this one not-so-small room, three pillars of light shot towards the sky!
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