Under the orders of Yuzuru, Kumogakure—and even the entire Land of Lightning—launched a sweeping campaign to purge traitors.
Countless people were branded as spies, arrested on the spot, and sent straight to Orochimaru's experimental facilities, where they became raw materials for his research.
For a time, panic spread throughout the Land of Lightning. No one dared to speak again about opposing the war or embracing peace.
The Third Raikage and Tōdai, along with the rest of the high command, felt that the measures were somewhat excessive, yet they continued to support Yuzuru without hesitation.
Even Orochimaru himself was startled when thousands upon thousands of civilians were delivered to his base as reserve experimental subjects.
He had never fought such a well-funded war before.
Back when he was in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzo had constantly urged him to conduct human experimentation, yet were always stingy when it came to providing test subjects.
They wanted both the benefits and the moral high ground—something that simply couldn't compare to Yuzuru.
Of course, despite never caring much about human life, even Orochimaru grew concerned that Yuzuru was becoming increasingly radical. He took the initiative to seek him out, stating that there were already more than enough "materials" for human experiments and that there was no need to continue arresting people on such a large scale.
Yuzuru nodded, then sent the remaining detainees to the mines as free labor.
He had long anticipated that "bleeding-heart" types would emerge within his rule.
Human empathy varies in strength; such cases were inevitable.
But in Uchiha Yuzuru's view, you could be compassionate yourself—just don't morally coerce others into joining you.
Especially when those people openly formed factions to oppose his plans.
They had barely been fed for a few days, yet already fancied themselves important enough to interfere in the grand tide of the shinobi world.
That, in itself, was another form of arrogance.
In that case, it was better to let them witness the true darkness of this world.
After the Land of Lightning was stabilized once more, Yuzuru increased investment in ideological education.
Only by working on both fronts could true stability be maintained.
————
————
Konoha Year 58.
After years of consolidation, combined with Konoha's contribution of one hundred billion Ryō, the Land of Lightning completed its territorial integration.
The Land of Rain, the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Hot Water, the Land of Iron…
These occupied minor nations finished their basic reconstruction, and the people living there had already accepted their new identities.
The Land of Lightning had become an unprecedented behemoth, unmatched in recorded shinobi history.
Kumogakure.
Cloud–Lightning Gorge Experimental Base.
Fugaku walked familiarly into the deepest chamber and pushed the door open.
"Orochimaru, I'm here for the follow-up examination."
"Fugaku, wait a moment."
After speaking, Orochimaru gave a few instructions to Kabuto Yakushi, then beckoned to Uchiha Fugaku.
"Come over, Fugaku."
Uchiha Fugaku nodded and sat down on the only chair in the room.
Orochimaru inserted numerous wires connected to various instruments into Fugaku's body, staring unblinkingly at the data lines on the monitors.
After a long while, he finally asked, "Fugaku, over these past few months, have you felt any abnormalities?"
"None at all. I feel better than ever."
Hearing this, Orochimaru finally smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. "It seems our transplant surgery was a success."
"Your eyes…"
"They've already begun to slowly recover their Dōjutsu Power,"
Uchiha Fugaku replied calmly.
Several months earlier, after an intensive search throughout the Land of Lightning, a child named Shin had finally been found.
Research revealed that his body's cells did not reject those of any other person.
After Orochimaru fused Shin's cells with White Zetsu cells, he was delighted to discover that the rejection response had almost completely vanished.
Under Yuzuru's directive, Uchiha Fugaku then underwent the White Zetsu cell transplant.
After this period of adaptation, his body had fully fused with the White Zetsu cells.
Not only had his chakra increased, but the Dōjutsu Power of his Mangekyō Sharingan had begun to slowly recover for the first time.
He had also gained the ability to use the Wood Release bloodline limit.
While it couldn't be compared to Senju Hashirama's Wood Release, it was still a highly effective combat method.
"I'll inform Yuzuru right away," Orochimaru said, picking up the phone.
Moments later, Yuzuru appeared out of thin air inside the laboratory.
Seeing Fugaku and Orochimaru, he smiled. "The White Zetsu cell transplant experiment has matured?"
Orochimaru licked his lips. "That's right. It's ready for use, and as per your request, there are no visible traces of the transplant from the outside."
As he spoke, Orochimaru glanced at Fugaku.
Understanding immediately, Fugaku removed his clothes and slowly turned in a circle before Yuzuru.
"That's enough, that's enough. There's no need to show me something like that."
"Fugaku, put your clothes back on."
Yuzuru looked away, suppressing the urge to punch someone.
The corner of Fugaku's mouth lifted slightly before he calmly dressed himself again.
"Yuzuru, now that my Mangekyō Sharingan will no longer go blind, we should be able to proceed to the next phase of the plan."
"However… can my eyes really allow the clan to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan in batches?"
Seeing Fugaku's lack of confidence, Yuzuru patted his shoulder. "You need to trust me. I can't guarantee that everyone will awaken it, but those with sufficient talent shouldn't have a problem."
"Your Dōjutsu is crucial to the Uchiha clan."
One of Fugaku's Mangekyō abilities was Tsukuyomi no Mikoto.
It functioned like a life simulator—so long as the ninja trapped inside couldn't realize they were under genjutsu, they would live out an incomparably realistic lifetime within it.
It couldn't have been more suitable for helping clan members awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Praised so highly by Yuzuru, Fugaku was visibly moved and replied solemnly, "Yuzuru, I won't let you down."
Yuzuru nodded, then turned to Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, in the future, many Uchiha clan members may awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"You'll have to work harder. Make sure the White Zetsu cell transplant surgery achieves a one hundred percent success rate."
Orochimaru laughed softly. "Yuzuru, I've recently perfected the Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique. Time no longer has any value to me."
"I'll put everything else aside and devote all my energy to the White Zetsu cell transplant surgeries."
Hearing this, Fugaku asked in confusion, "Living Corpse Reincarnation?"
Orochimaru spread his arms, speaking with fervor. "The Living Corpse Reincarnation Technique is a forbidden jutsu that allows life to continue endlessly. It turns all impossibilities into possibilities."
"Now, I possess eternity."