Chapter 306: Six Paths Ascension
Inside the temporary Hokage Office in Konoha, the atmosphere among the Konoha officials was extremely oppressive, thick with fear and uncertainty about the newly formed Shinobi Alliance.
Clatter!
Just as the silence stretched to its breaking point, a black shadow, moving at high speed, appeared in the center of the office, kneeling on one knee.
It was an Iwagakure Anbu—one of Ōnoki's embedded intelligence operatives!
Everyone's hearts suddenly jumped into their throats! The intelligence brought back at such a crucial time would certainly not be good news!
"Tsuchikage-sama!"
The Anbu Ninja's voice was loud and clear, carrying an undisguised urgency.
"The latest intelligence from the border!"
"Kumogakure... has retreated!"
"What?!"
Ōnoki's small, frail body swayed violently in mid-air. He gripped his floating cushion, almost losing his balance.
"Say it again!" he commanded, his voice sharp with shock.
"What happened to Kumogakure?!"
"Kumogakure's northern border forces have retreated thirty li (approximately 12 kilometers) along the entire front! They have abandoned the frontline where they were confronting Konoha's defensive force!" the Anbu Ninja replied in a deep, precise voice.
The meeting hall once again fell into a prolonged, shocked silence.
Everyone—the Iwagakure Jōnin, the clan heads, the strategists—was stunned.
The Fourth Raikage A, known for his violent, reckless nature—the muscle-headed brute who would fight at the slightest disagreement—actually... chose to retreat?
What did this signify?
It meant that even that brute, whose head was full of muscles and pride, felt a deep-seated, paralyzing fear when faced with the terrifying power that Konoha now displayed—a power capable of swallowing entire nations!
Uchiha Akira had first flattened Sunagakure. Then, in the blink of an eye, he had annexed the entire Kirigakure and the Land of Water without shedding a drop of blood.
The current Konoha was no longer just a Ninja Village. It was a terrifying super-monster that encompassed the military and economic power of three Great Ninja Villages!
Alliance?
A thin, bitter smile appeared at the corner of Ōnoki's mouth.
The so-called Shinobi Alliance was nothing more than a nervous flock of sheep, terrified by a hungry wolf, huddled together and trembling in the face of inevitable predation.
No one dared to charge first. Everyone was afraid of becoming the hungry wolf's next meal.
Now, even Kumogakure had pulled back its forces, prioritizing defense over offense.
If Kumo retreats... what about Iwagakure?
"Alas..." A sigh, unheard by anyone but himself, escaped Ōnoki's lips.
He slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, all political hesitation and internal struggle in his gaze had vanished. Cold calculation remained.
Ōnoki waved his hand, signaling the Anbu to retreat.
Then, he gave his final, desperate orders to his remaining commanders.
"Pass on my command."
"Abandon the frontline. Do not engage the Konoha northern defense team."
"All troops, retreat as well, and all personnel are to be immediately stationed in Kusagakure (Hidden Grass Village)!"
"Turn Kusagakure and its surrounding areas into an impregnable, hardened fortress! We will use their land as the buffer! That will be our central war headquarters!"
"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama!"
The high-ranking officials' bodies trembled slightly, but without the slightest hesitation, they responded in unison.
With the order given, everyone filed out, leaving the office to execute the plan.
Soon, only Ōnoki remained in the empty office.
Ōnoki's back began to ache faintly again.
"Retreat is not surrender, Uchiha Akira."
"Rather," he muttered to himself, "it is to use this annexed land, and the desperate will of the Iwagakure shinobi, to forge an insurmountable defense line. A wall you must break."
"Uchiha Akira, you brat..."
"If you want to chew through this old bone of mine, you had better come with very, very good teeth!"
A few days later.
Konoha, Hokage Office.
Uchiha Akira, who had just finished reviewing important financial and logistical documents, leaned back in his spacious chair. He felt a deep, profound sense of accomplishment.
Just then, a series of cold, detached, mechanical notification sounds rang out exclusively in Akira's mind.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for successfully annexing the Kirigakure and conquering the entire Land of Water!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, your disciples Uzumaki Naruto and Hyūga Hinata, have reached the Jōnin level in their overall strength assessment!]
[Overall mission complete. Reward settlement in progress...]
[Reward settlement complete!]
[Rewards have been issued. Please find an uninhabited location to receive them, Host!]
A cold, eager glint flashed in Uchiha Akira's eyes.
Annexing a great Ninja Village, plus two disciples reaching Jōnin level... this time's rewards are definitely extraordinary!
It's time.
Uchiha Akira stood up without the slightest hesitation. He didn't bother using the door.
The next second, his figure instantly vanished from the Hokage Office.
Space shifted violently.
Endless yellow sand. Scorching air. The vast, indifferent solitude of the desert.
Uchiha Akira's figure appeared in the deepest part of the Land of Wind's desert hinterlands. A place utterly uninhabited.
"System, begin receiving rewards." Akira chanted the command in his mind.
[Rewards being issued...]
BOOM!!!
A terrifying, primordial energy—indescribable in words—suddenly poured into Uchiha Akira's body from an external source.
Akira's body, at this moment, began a world-shaking transformation. The cellular structure, the chakra pathways, the very essence of his being—it was undergoing a brutal, rapid leap from the 'mortal' to the 'divine' level!
RUMBLE!
With Uchiha Akira at the center, the entire desert floor trembled violently. Sand was lifted and swirled.
An invisible, god-like pressure spread outwards from Akira's body, crushing the very air.
Crack!
The sound was internal. It was the sound of some invisible barrier, some internal, natural limit within Akira's body, being completely shattered!
Uchiha Akira suddenly opened his eyes!
The shackles of peak Kage-level—the highest level of conventional shinobi power—were, at this moment, utterly broken!
Rikudō Level! (Six Paths Level!)
He, Uchiha Akira, had finally stepped into this realm belonging only to gods!
Buzz—
Nine pitch-black orbs appeared silently behind him, floating and slowly rotating in a perfect circle, obeying his absolute will.
Gudōdama! (Truth-Seeking Orbs!)
[Inorin's Note: Gudōdama are spheres of black chakra containing all five nature transformations plus Yin and Yang Release. They are the ultimate manifestation of Onmyōton (Yin-Yang Release) and signify Rikudō power.]
Akira could clearly feel that his connection with the entire world—the very space, the energy, the elements—had profoundly changed.
This was the power of the Six Paths!
The rewards were not yet over.
[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the exclusive Origin Space — [Six Paths: Imperial Heaven]!]
A massive, overwhelming stream of information instantly surged into Akira's mind, nearly buckling his awareness.
[[Six Paths: Imperial Heaven]: The Host's exclusive origin world. Its initial size is equivalent to the landmass of a Great Shinobi Village, with a complete ecological cycle within, capable of sustaining living beings.]
[This space is bound to the Host's soul and can transform in countless ways according to the Host's absolute will.]
Akira tested the power. With a thought, the scorching desert scene before his eyes instantly changed.
He was now standing in a brand new world. His world.
Under his feet was lush green grass, impossibly rich soil. Mountains rose and fell in the distance. Rivers surged, their water clear and fast. White clouds dotted the brilliant blue sky, and the sunlight was warm, perfect.
Everything here exuded a rich, vibrant aura of life and pure, unpolluted chakra.
"My... world?"
Akira extended his hand. A wisp of breeze brushed his fingertips. A colorful butterfly, impossibly bright, landed delicately on his shoulder.
Here, he was the sole, undisputed deity!
With a thought from Uchiha Akira...
A distant mountain peak silently rose from the ground, soaring thousands of feet into the clouds, reshaping the horizon.
Another thought...
The surging river instantly changed its course, circling the newly formed mountain, creating a shimmering, azure lake.
He could freely move mountains and change the direction of rivers! He could create water in a desert!
And this immediate, massive terraforming power... this was not even the most profound aspect of the [Imperial Heaven] dimension.
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