Chapter 309: The New Directive and Uchiha Akira's Grand Design
In front of the assembled prisoners, the very fabric of reality tore open. Pitch-black fissures jaggedly expanded out of thin air, hovering like open maws over the dusty courtyard.
"What the hell is this thing!" a prisoner screamed, his voice cracking as he scrambled backward. Chains rattled wildly against the stone floor.
The hearts of the numerous inmates were entirely swallowed by blind terror. They pushed against one another, desperate to escape the unnatural voids, but there was nowhere to run.
Then, an irresistible, terrifying suction force erupted from the depths of each crack. The air itself seemed to scream as it was dragged into the abyss. The prisoners' bodies were pulled off the ground, their limbs twisting at unnatural angles as they were forcibly crammed into the unknown darkness.
Everything concluded in a fraction of a second.
The dark fissures snapped shut, leaving behind nothing but the settling dust, as if they had never existed at all. On the open ground of the prison yard, one hundred and eighty-six heinous criminals had vanished without a single trace.
The Konoha shinobi responsible for guarding the perimeter, along with the Head Warden, stood frozen in place. Their hands gripped their weapons tightly, yet their minds were completely blank.
What just happened?
Was it a genjutsu?
How could over a hundred living men simply be erased from existence in the blink of an eye?
Under the stunned, wide-eyed gazes of the guards, Uchiha Akira's figure blurred. Like a fragile bubble popping in the sunlight, he vanished from where he stood.
Within the Imperial Heaven Space, deep inside the core area, the atmosphere was dead and silent.
At this exact moment, one hundred and eighty-six transparent, crystal-like cages materialized in a massive ring around the spatial core. Each ethereal cage imprisoned one of the newly captured inmates. They maintained the exact terrified expressions they wore in the final fraction of a second before being absorbed. Eyes bulging, mouths open in silent screams, they remained entirely unmoving. It was as if time itself had stopped for them.
Streams of extremely pure energy were continuously forcibly extracted from their paralyzed bodies. The life force transformed into visible, glowing currents that slowly drifted through the void, flowing directly into the pulsing spatial core at the center of the dimension.
Uchiha Akira's figure materialized in the heart of this core area.
He closed his eyes, quietly sensing the subtle, complex changes occurring within his personal world. One hundred and eighty-six shinobi, a roster that even included three Jonin, were having their raw power siphoned away. After being filtered and transformed by the spatial core, that energy continuously nourished the very foundations of this dimension.
A surge of refined power, flowing directly through his soul link, fed back into Akira's main body. He felt the subtle warmth spread through his chakra pathways.
'Although the immediate improvement in my personal strength is still not much, this is an excellent start,' Akira thought.
He had long anticipated this outcome. What truly concerned him right now was the physical expansion of the dimension itself. After absorbing the combined energy of these one hundred and eighty-six shinobi, the invisible boundaries of the entire Imperial Heaven Space were pushing outward at an extremely slow, yet measurable, rate.
'At this current pace, in about a week, the diameter of the entire space will expand by two to three meters.' Akira quickly ran the calculations in his mind.
The speed was not fast. But the implications were staggering. It meant that a clear, visible path to infinite power had just been laid out before him. As long as there was enough "nourishment," his private world could grow indefinitely.
But there was another crucial factor to consider. The Imperial Heaven Space possessed a secondary characteristic: [Creature Resonance].
Any living creature that voluntarily entered the Imperial Heaven Space and lived there long-term would have their ambient life energy continuously nourish, strengthen, and expand the dimension. The more creatures that settled within its borders, and the more vibrant their collective life force, the greater the passive energy they would provide.
'Currently, the creatures settled inside cannot directly boost my combat power,'Akira mused, his dark eyes reflecting the glowing currents of the core.'But as the Imperial Heaven Space continues to evolve, in the future, it might be possible to draw upon the combined power of every single creature living within this world!'
An incredibly grand blueprint slowly unfolded in his mind. He intended to build this dimension into his ultimate base of operations. It would become an absolutely safe, completely controlled, and infinitely growing empire.
As for the outside Ninja World... that would simply serve as the most fertile soil, providing the highest quality resources for his world's growth.
His next step was clear. He would continue to increase the number of enemy shinobi suppressed by the core. At the same time, he could appropriately relocate a select portion of loyal Konoha shinobi into the space. They would build infrastructure while their presence naturally accelerated the dimension's expansion.
With a mere thought, the space around Akira warped.
He reappeared on the open ground of the prison yard.
The Warden and the surrounding guards violently flinched, their bodies trembling as the Hokage materialized before them. One hundred and eighty-six living prisoners. Just moments ago, right before their eyes, those men had been completely erased in a manner that defied all logic.
"Warden," Akira spoke, his voice cool and even.
The Warden's body violently shook. His knees gave out, and he instinctively slammed into the dirt, pressing his forehead against the ground.
"Sub... subordinate is here!"
"From today onwards, all death row inmates in this facility who are deemed beyond redemption no longer need to be executed," Akira commanded, looking down at the trembling man. "Imprison them all. When a certain number has accumulated, report directly to me."
Akira paused, letting the silence stretch for a fraction of a second. "I will personally handle them."
The Warden pressed his head harder into the rough stone. Personally handle them? Handle them exactly like he did just now? The thought made cold sweat pour down his spine.
"Yes! Subordinate... obeys!" the Warden roared his response, using all his might to keep his voice from breaking.
Akira said nothing more. The air around him slightly warped, twisting light and shadow, and he disappeared from where he stood.
Inside the Hokage Office, the afternoon sun filtered through the large windows.
Uchiha Akira's figure appeared out of thin air. He walked directly behind the heavy oak desk and sat back in the high-backed chair that symbolized Konoha's absolute highest authority.
The prisoners were just the first batch of nourishment. Next, it would be the entire Ninja World. Kumogakure, Iwagakure... all those shinobi who dared to stand as enemies of Konoha would become the fuel for his world's growth.
Akira tapped the wooden tabletop with his index finger. A single, sharp knock.
An Anbu operative instantly materialized in the center of the office, dropping to one knee with his head bowed.
"Hokage-sama."
"Go and invite Nara Shikaku."
The Anbu did not waste a single word. His figure blurred into a Body Flicker, vanishing from the room.
A few minutes later, a polite knock sounded at the office door. Nara Shikaku walked in, carrying his usual, seemingly half-asleep laziness on his face. He slouched slightly, his hands tucked into his pockets.
"Hokage-sama, you called for me."
"Shikaku." Akira picked up a tactical map from the desk, glancing over the marked borders before setting it down. "What do you think about the current situation on the front lines?"
Shikaku stifled a yawn, though his eyes remained sharp. "Kumogakure and Iwagakure have completely retreated. They are hunkering down in strict defensive formations."
He stepped closer to the desk, gesturing vaguely toward the map. "The Raikage, that brute, actually chose to pull back. It seems our decisive move to annex the Hidden Mist has scared him witless. He doesn't want to risk a direct confrontation while we have the momentum."
Shikaku shifted his weight. "As for Ōnoki, that old fox directly withdrew his troops all the way to the Land of Grass. Their alliance seems stable on the surface, but in reality, they all harbor ulterior motives. No one wants to be the first to stick their neck out and take the brunt of Konoha's counterattack."
"So, I suggest..."
"I need you to formulate a new battle plan," Akira interrupted, cutting Shikaku off before he could finish his tactical assessment.
Shikaku was stunned. He closed his mouth and looked up at the man sitting behind the desk. He suddenly realized that today, the Hokage seemed different. There was a heavy, suffocating gravity to his presence that hadn't been there yesterday.
Akira slowly interlaced his fingers and rested them on the desk, his dark eyes locking onto the Nara clan head. "The core of this new plan revolves around only one thing."
"What is it?" Shikaku asked subconsciously, his lazy demeanor entirely vanishing.
"From now on, when Konoha's troops perform missions on the front lines, they will completely change their combat strategy," Akira stated, his tone leaving absolutely no room for debate. "I only want one thing."
"Prisoners."
Shikaku's pupils suddenly contracted. "Prisoners?"
"Exactly." Akira's voice was frighteningly calm. "Capture alive all enemies you encounter. Whether it is Kumogakure or Iwagakure, any enemy shinobi defeated by our forces on the battlefield—as long as they have a single breath left in their bodies, bring them all back to me."
Akira leaned forward slightly, the shadows of the office clinging to his shoulders. "Not a single one is to be left behind."
Shikaku's brilliant brain began to work rapidly, calculating the sheer scale of such an operation. Capture them alive? How would the frontline units guard so many hostile prisoners? How would they transport them back? How would the village dispose of them once they arrived? The manpower, medical supplies, and food resources required to sustain such an operation would be an astronomical figure.
This completely defied the fundamental logic of war. You killed the enemy to reduce their numbers and secure victory, you didn't burden your own supply lines with thousands of hostile captives.
"Hokage-sama, with all due respect, what is the meaning of doing this?" Shikaku couldn't help but ask, his brow furrowed in deep concern.
"You don't need to understand the meaning."
Akira's gaze sharpened into a piercing glare that felt like a physical weight pressing down on Shikaku's chest.
"You only need to execute the order," Akira said coldly. "This is the Hokage's order."
Shikaku's heart skipped a beat. The sheer absolute authority radiating from the man behind the desk forced the Nara clan head to swallow every logical argument he had prepared.
"...Yes." Shikaku slowly lowered his head, pressing all his tactical doubts and deep confusion back into the depths of his heart. "I understand, Hokage-sama."
He took a step back, maintaining his bow. "Within three days, I will present a completely new combat plan tailored to this directive."
"Very good," Akira nodded, his expression returning to an unreadable calm.
Without another word, Nara Shikaku turned and exited the office, the heavy wooden door clicking shut behind him.
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