Chapter 56
Omoi's weapon clattered to the sand as it fell from his trembling hands. His face was pale as paper, lips quivering uncontrollably, legs rooted in place as if turned to stone.
Samui's perpetually calm and composed demeanor had completely vanished. Her body trembled violently, her chest rising and falling rapidly with labored breaths beneath her tight combat uniform. Her beautiful eyes were wide with shock, beads of sweat rolling down her delicate collarbone and disappearing beneath her collar.
"An... illusion?" Omoi muttered mechanically, digging his fingers deep into his thigh, yet feeling no pain whatsoever.
His worldview had completely shattered in this moment—what kind of genjutsu could simultaneously deceive over a thousand elite ninja? What kind of illusion could bring down the Raikage with a single strike?
Before this absolute power, all the Cloud ninja had become frozen statues, only their wildly beating hearts proving they were still alive.
Just moments ago, this Cloud army had marched confidently to battle, each warrior believing they could easily tear a chunk of flesh from "weakened" Konoha.
Reality had slapped them across the face.
A mysterious teenager, through his power alone, had crushed decades of accumulated Cloud pride into dust.
Deathly silence blanketed the desert.
Killer Bee was the first to regain his composure, forcibly suppressing the Eight-Tails' terror as his mind raced. He removed his sunglasses, revealing an expression more serious than ever before, and stepped forward:
"Honored... sir of Konoha." His voice was hoarse with tension. "The Hidden Cloud was at fault for this transgression. I swear by my name as the Eight-Tails jinchuriki—"
At this point, he dropped to one knee, placing his right hand over his heart: "The Hidden Cloud guarantees we will never again encroach upon Konoha's borders, and we offer the Land of Lightning's specialty chakra metal ore veins as compensation."
This gesture left all the Cloud ninja in disbelief.
The usually carefree Killer Bee-sama was now groveling so humbly! Yet looking at that bottomless chasm, no one dared voice objections.
Killer Bee glanced secretly at his unconscious brother in the crater below, then added: "If you do not find it disagreeable, the Hidden Cloud would be willing to form a permanent alliance treaty with Konoha."
His forehead pressed against the scorching sand, sweat instantly evaporating into white steam.
Yu's indifferent gaze swept over their terror-stricken faces. His eyes held no victor's arrogance, only a transcendent calm that seemed beyond worldly concerns.
Space began to distort, and the young man's figure gradually faded.
Before completely disappearing, his words reached everyone's ears with crystal clarity:
"Remember what you've said."
As the final syllable fell, the teenager's form vanished completely into the heat shimmer, leaving only scattered deformed weapons and that chasm cutting through the desert.
Killer Bee remained kneeling for a long time until he was certain the other had truly left, then collapsed weakly onto the sand.
Behind him, the Cloud forces remained silent as graves, all still immersed in that soul-deep terror.
The desert's hot wind continued to howl, yet could no longer blow away the chill that had settled over every Cloud ninja's heart.
Meanwhile, one inescapable question circled in every Cloud ninja's mind:
Why had Konoha hidden such terrifying power while their spies learned nothing of it?
Several kilometers away on a sand dune, a strange mass of black, mud-like substance watched everything silently.
It moved like a living thing among the sand grains, its surface rippling constantly.
"Uchiha... Yu..."
The black sludge seemed to be savoring that name, filled with complex emotions—fear, desire, rage...
Part of it slowly rose, forming a featureless hand that reached toward where Yu had vanished, then fell limply.
'Time to change plans'
The black substance silently seeped deep into the sand, leaving only faint traces of chakra fluctuation that were soon scattered by the desert wind.
Deep beneath Konoha Village, in the underground shelter.
The air suddenly rippled as a figure stepped out of the void.
"Yu!"
Two young voices called out almost simultaneously.
Sasuko, with her ink-black hair, shot to her feet, her cool eyes instantly brightening. Beside her, Naruko with her golden twin-tails broke into a brilliant smile.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Yu hurried to the two little girls, his gaze gentle as he looked them over.
He knelt down to meet their bright, sparkling eyes at eye level, a warm smile playing at his lips: "Come on, let's go home."
He took Sasuko's hand with his left, Naruko's with his right.
Naruko bounced excitedly, her twin-tails swaying: "Finally! We can leave this dark, gloomy place!"
Though Sasuko said nothing, she quietly tightened her grip, holding Yu's hand more firmly.
Space rippled again as their figures were gradually swallowed by the distorted light and shadow.
When they reappeared, the three were back in their familiar courtyard.
Sasuko seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
"Yu..." She wavered for a moment, finally lifting her small face, her dark eyes full of concern. "This whole time... where did you go?" Her slender fingers gripped his palm. "You weren't hurt, were you?"
Memory suddenly flashed back to that night—
The blood-soaked teenager who had appeared suddenly at her window, while she had still thought of him as some delinquent underachiever.
She had even questioned whether he'd been off carousing in some disreputable establishment...
Thinking of this, Sasuko touched the pendant at her throat, her heart clenching as if something had seized it.
Naruko also moved closer: "Right, right! Yu disappeared for so long, we were worried sick!"
Yu's movements paused slightly, then he chuckled softly.
He gently ruffled Sasuko's silky black hair, smiling warmly: "Don't worry, I'm quite strong now, you know."
With a mischievous wink at Sasuko, his tone turned playful: "At least... I shouldn't count as dead last anymore, right?"
Sasuko instantly remembered her past assessment of him, her pale cheeks flushing with a light blush.
"Eh? What dead last..." Naruko tilted her little head. "Are you talking about Yu?"
"D-dummy! Who asked you to butt in!" Sasuko immediately turned on Naruko, pointing at her indignantly. "If you ask me, you're the real hopeless dead last, you little dummy!"
"What's that supposed to mean!" Naruko pouted, secretly glancing at Sasuko before muttering under her breath: "Sasuko always does this... taking her anger out on me whenever she gets mad..."
Sasuko's face grew even redder: "Y-you're talking nonsense! I'm not angry!"
...
Meanwhile, on the other side,
The entire ninja world was undergoing earth-shaking changes due to Yu's earlier actions.
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