"Sage Art: Ultra Big Ball Rasenshuriken!"
Yuzuru hurled the shuriken he had condensed in his hand with all his strength. In the next instant, the entire Cloud Lightning Gorge shook violently, as if a massive earth dragon were turning beneath it.
Several mountain peaks were instantly reduced to dust by the overwhelming power of the Rasenshuriken.
"So this is the power of senjutsu…"
Yuzuru murmured to himself.
With senjutsu chakra enhancing them, the power of all ninjutsu increased by severalfold—far more than before.
Beyond that, senjutsu chakra also provided tremendous reinforcement to taijutsu.
In an era where the Six Paths no longer appeared, he, Uchiha Yuzuru, was already the undisputed strongest.
Dual Kamui, senjutsu, Senju and Uzumaki Sage Bodies, Yotsuki bloodline, Scorch Release, Magnet Release…
With so many powerful bloodline limits and inheritances stacked together, even Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara at their peak would have stood no chance against him.
"That's enough. It's time to make a trip to the Land of Wind."
After spending several days, Yuzuru had already mastered senjutsu with ease.
Now, as long as he brought Sara with him and sealed the Ryūmyaku Vein into his body, he would be able to fight in Sage Mode for extended periods of time.
——
——
Land of Wind.
Desert.
Ruins of Roran.
Sand blew across Sara's face, yet she smiled.
"It's been a long time since I came back here. I really do feel a bit nostalgic."
She spoke softly.
It had already been thirteen years since she left the Kingdom...
Even though the memories from back then had gradually grown blurry, the moment she arrived here, an emotion she couldn't suppress still welled up in her heart.
Hearing this, Yuzuru smiled. "If you're feeling nostalgic, you could always bring the people of Roran back here to settle down in the future."
Sara immediately hugged his arm. "No way."
"Nostalgia is nostalgia. We finally managed to find a new place to live—there's no chance we'd come back here."
Even back then, with the power of the Ryūmyaku Vein supporting them, the people of Roran could only barely get by.
There was also absolutely no form of entertainment.
Compared to the Land of Lightning now, the difference was like heaven and earth.
Not to mention her people—even she, the former queen, had no desire whatsoever to return and live here again.
"Just kidding."
Yuzuru led Sara to the location where the Kingdom once stood.
After more than ten years, the entire site had been completely buried beneath sand.
Relying on memory, the two quickly found the location of the Ryūmyaku Vein seal.
What had once been a factory was now nothing but ruins, with various parts scattered across the ground.
Just as Yuzuru and Sara stepped inside the factory, two enormous centipedes burst out from underground.
"There's an enemy!"
Sara cried out and immediately hid behind Yuzuru.
After having White Zetsu cells transplanted, she was now able to refine chakra, but she had no actual combat experience as a ninja.
So when faced with danger, she instinctively chose to cling to a reliable thigh.
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique!"
Yuzuru formed hand seals, and several sharp chakra wind blades sliced the massive centipedes into multiple pieces.
"They're puppets…"
Seeing the puppet parts scattered across the ground, Sara couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.
These things reminded her of someone she hated to the bone.
Mukade!
Yuzuru snorted coldly and directly released a Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique toward an open area nearby.
In the next moment, a ninja wearing a Sand Village forehead protector rushed out from the ruins.
"This place has already been occupied by Sunagakure. If you don't want to die, leave immediately."
The Sand ninja spoke in a deep voice as he looked at Yuzuru and Sara.
Hearing this, Yuzuru removed his hood, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Why don't you go back and ask Rasa whether he dares to stop me?"
He had already recognized the Sand ninja in front of him—Hundred Legs.
The very same Mukade he had encountered years ago in the Kingdom of Roran.
"Y-you are…"
When he saw Yuzuru's face clearly, the Sand ninja's pupils shrank violently. His voice trembled.
"Uchiha… Yuzuru?!"
In an instant, all will to fight drained from him.
His name was Hundred Legs—just an ordinary puppeteer from Sunagakure.
After the Ninja Alliance's campaign against Kumogakure and the Third Great Ninja War, he had carved Uchiha Yuzuru's appearance deep into his memory.
Three years ago, when Yuzuru had single-handedly reduced Konoha to ruins, Hundred Legs had fully realized one fact.
With Sunagakure's current strength, it was absolutely impossible to defeat Uchiha Yuzuru.
And so, he had left the village without authorization, wandering alone through the Land of Wind in search of a way to overcome Yuzuru.
By sheer chance, he eventually discovered the Ryūmyaku Vein.
According to records he had once seen in the village, the Ryūmyaku Vein—said to be controllable only by successive queens of Roran—possessed endless power.
The discovery filled him with excitement. He believed that as long as he could control the Ryūmyaku Vein, he would gain the power to contend with Uchiha Yuzuru.
But he never expected that before he could even figure out how to control it, Yuzuru would come knocking at his door.
"So you do seem to know a few things…"
Yuzuru appeared before Hundred Legs in an instant and kicked him away with a single strike, sending him flying in sheer terror.
Hundred Legs rolled across the ground and came to a stop right at the center of the Ryūmyaku Vein seal.
"Don't come any closer! If you do, I'll undo the Ryūmyaku Vein's seal! Once it goes berserk, none of us will survive!"
Sweat poured down Hundred Legs' face as he shouted hoarsely at Yuzuru, who was steadily approaching.
Facing the man before him, he had no hope of victory whatsoever.
Only by dragging everyone down together could he make the other side hesitate—even if just a little.
Yet Yuzuru ignored his warning entirely. Instead, he slowly drew the long blade from his waist.
"In this world, no one can threaten me."
"Are you ready to accept the reality of your own death?"
With those words, Yuzuru swung his blade.
A blinding, extreme blade light surged toward Hundred Legs in an instant.
Feeling that unprecedented power, the most primal fear rose within Hundred Legs' heart.
I can't dodge it…
I'll die!
Since becoming a ninja, he had never once experienced such utter helplessness.
Before Uchiha Yuzuru, he was nothing more than an ant that could be crushed at will.
"Damn it!"
A ruthless glint flashed through Hundred Legs' eyes as he forcefully pulled out the kunai sealing the Ryūmyaku Vein.
In the next moment, a pillar of purple light shot straight into the sky, swallowing Hundred Legs whole.
Watching Hundred Legs vanish, Yuzuru sheathed his long blade.
Space-time had closed.
He had deliberately refrained from killing Hundred Legs earlier, kicking him toward the Ryūmyaku Vein seal on purpose so that he would break it himself.
Otherwise, killing him here directly could trigger unpredictable time paradoxes.
Seeing Yuzuru standing there in a daze, Sara called out anxiously,
"Yuzuru, the Ryūmyaku Vein's power is going berserk! We have to control it quickly!"