Chapter 86: Audience!

Chapter 86: Audience!

"Is there anything you want to say before the end?"

Luk looked at Uchiha Shisui with a gentle tone. The Uchiha clan was indeed full of talented individuals, each with their unique skills and impressive experience points.

"It's not the end yet."

Shisui wasn't about to sit and wait for his fate. He formed hand seals, and the tomoe in his eyes began to spin. Using the power of the Sharingan, he created multiple illusions, and both the illusions and his true form vanished from Luk's sight.

Luk's Mind's Eye of the Kagura easily located all the illusions and the real Shisui, but even with his detection techniques, he couldn't pinpoint Shisui's exact location.

Luk closed his eyes, and the rain on the ground and in the air became extensions of his body. He could sense weight, temperature, and breath, all providing a unique and vivid awareness.

"Your teleportation really scared me, Shisui."

He opened his eyes with a hint of surprise, dodging a knife from behind and swung a powerful punch to the right. The punch went through an illusion, but in the next moment, the illusion solidified and thrust a kunai at Luk.

Crack!

Seeing the kunai shatter, Shisui realized that the person in front of him was someone who could dismantle Susanoo by hand. The chances of taking him down with a kunai were as slim as Danzo becoming Hokage.

Shisui didn't back down; instead, he had all his illusions attack from every direction, creating a storm of attacks that trapped the central enemy.

Although the attacks didn't even scratch him, the person seemed intrigued by Shisui's teleportation technique and focused on the illusions, momentarily ignoring the real Shisui.

Shisui took the opportunity to run to Hiruzen Sarutobi's side, asking anxiously,

"Third Hokage, are you alright?"

He shook the unconscious Hiruzen, and only when he saw him come to did he relax.

"Did we win?" Hiruzen's first question upon waking was about the battle.

"No, we just bought some time." Shisui's voice was bitter.

Hiruzen's eyes darkened, "Use that technique on him."

"But that's supposed to be used as a last resort—"

"I know, but if we don't use it now, Konoha will fall." Hiruzen said solemnly, "I promise to resolve the Uchiha issue smoothly."

"I understand."

Shisui nodded and returned to the battlefield. He saw that all his illusions were trapped in towering water columns, their bodies flickering but unable to escape.

Luk was observing the trapped illusions with a scientist's curiosity, nodding, "The clones you developed are quite remarkable. They're so realistic that they could fool anyone. You must have incorporated genjutsu into them, right?"

"I did gain some insights from the Inuzuka clan. Do you want me to explain it to you?"

Shisui formed hand seals, and the illusions disappeared one by one. He cautiously approached Luk, confirming that he had paused his attack, and pointed to his eyes, beginning to explain his unique teleportation technique.

"The Sharingan's enhancement of genjutsu is on par with the Inuzuka clan, but the ability to turn false sensory experiences into reality is a secret technique of their clan, combined with their unique bloodline limit."

"How did you manage it?"

Luk asked curiously. In theory, his talent should have allowed him to create his own jutsu, but whether it was due to a lack of theoretical knowledge or the fact that his intelligence didn't stack, he hadn't successfully created a unique jutsu yet.

No, come to think of it, if his intelligence did stack, it might have been dragged down by those low-IQ individuals!

"The Inuzuka clan focuses entirely on genjutsu in their combat style. I don't need to make the sensory experiences real; I just need to deceive the enemy. ... Kotoamatsukami!"

Shisui's three-tomoe Sharingan suddenly transformed into a Mangekyou Sharingan. As Luk listened to his explanation and relaxed his guard, Shisui activated the legendary genjutsu—Kotoamatsukami!

Luk's pupils dilated, but it was too late to avoid the eye contact. His body froze, his gaze became vacant, and he fell silent.

"It worked!"

Shisui finally breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that his enemy was under the genjutsu. His eyes throbbed with intense pain, and the Mangekyou Sharingan seemed to have been drained of all its power, turning gray and entering a long cooldown period.

He collapsed to the ground, and just as he caught his breath, he heard the sound of numerous footsteps approaching.

A few seconds later, Fugaku Uchiha and Itachi, accompanied by a large group of Uchiha elites, arrived at the battlefield.

Shisui's heart sank. The arrival of the Uchiha clan was not a good sign, but he quickly relaxed. The Kotoamatsukami he had implanted in the enemy would protect Konoha and stop anyone who tried to disrupt its unity, even if that person was a member of Konoha.

This was a measure he had taken to prevent the Third from breaking his promise.

"Shisui, are you alright?"

Itachi asked.

Shisui nodded at Itachi, "I'm fine. The battle is over."

"Did you control the enemy?"

Seeing the destroyed Hokage Tower and the devastated battlefield, Fugaku was shocked and asked in a serious tone.

Shisui stood up and spoke with a warning tone,

"I used the Mangekyou Sharingan's technique. Now, he is a part of Konoha, and anyone who tries to harm Konoha will be his enemy, even if that person is a member of Konoha."

Damn!

A surge of anger rose in Fugaku's heart as he glared at the talented clan member.

A monster strong enough to rival the entire Konoha by himself. If he belonged solely to the Uchiha, they could restore their former glory, and with proper use, even unifying the Five Great Nations was not impossible.

Kakashi had assigned such an exceptional weapon to Konoha!

Before he could think further, a clearly fatigued Hiruzen Sarutobi approached. He first glanced at the silent Luk, who was hanging his head, and then nodded at the Uchiha shinobi.

"Thank you for your support. Shisui did a great job; he averted a crisis for Konoha."

"Third Hokage, you flatter us. However, with such a major incident, even the Hokage Tower being destroyed, why didn't you notify the Uchiha clan's ANBU, and only inform the other clans?"

Fugaku Uchiha didn't mince words. Whether in terms of strength or public opinion, they had the upper hand.

Hiruzen, who had just endured a fierce battle, felt a deep weariness. For a moment, he genuinely didn't want to deal with such political bullshit anymore.

"The Uchiha clan is too far from the village and couldn't arrive in time. It's not just you; the Aburame clan's insects are unsuitable for combat in heavy rain and didn't come either."

Hiruzen first explained his reasons for not calling the Uchiha, then shifted the focus.

"Actually, I did send a messenger, but they might have been delayed along the way."

Sarutobi glanced at Luk and promptly shifted the blame onto him, knowing that the other party was already subdued.

"Perhaps the enemy thought the Uchiha were too strong to handle and secretly intercepted and killed the messenger!"

Luk, who had been silent with his head down, subtly moved his fingers.

With this praise, Fugaku couldn't say much more. Although the Third was on his last legs, the person responsible for the order to protect Konoha was still here. Acting now would be suicidal.

"Who is this person? How did he manage to resist you, the ANBU, and the major clans, only to be stopped by a genius of the Uchiha clan?"

Fugaku played along with the Third's words, subtly praising his own clan.

If the events of tonight became public, the Hokage's reputation would be severely damaged, while the Uchiha's would improve.

Shisui, no matter how loyal to the Hokage, couldn't shake off the Uchiha name.

Sarutobi: ...

He didn't want to argue with Fugaku anymore and turned his gaze to Luk, extending his hand.

"Give me the bell in your hand."

Luk obediently handed over the bell.

Sarutobi examined the bell, figuring out its mechanism. He infused it with a thread of chakra, and one by one, the unconscious shinobi were released.

Fugaku, standing nearby, was visibly shaken. Itachi's report hadn't been complete; he had thought only a small elite force was involved, not half of Konoha's combat strength.

Itachi stepped forward to check, "They seem fine; their physical injuries have been healed."

Sarutobi's expression grew even more peculiar as he asked Luk, "What was your true purpose?"

Luk answered with a blank expression, "To retrieve the Scroll of Seals and, while I was at it, incapacitate all the Konoha shinobi."

"Why did you do this?"

"Because Konoha is too corrupt and needs a change. I am that change."

Sarutobi fell silent, pondering for a moment before continuing, "So, you genuinely want to help Konoha?"

"Of course."

"Why do you want to help Konoha? What ties do you have to it? What is your true identity?"

Luk stiffly replied, "I am the purest Konoha member, one of its founders, I am..."

"Madara Uchiha."

Swish—

Fugaku and Itachi, who had been listening, were stunned by the mention of their ancestor. The next second, they saw Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly step back, his face drenched in cold sweat as he shouted.

"No!"

"Shisui! Your Izanagi didn't work; this person wasn't controlled!"

"Run!"

Swish, swish, swish—

No shinobi was a fool. After Sarutobi's anguished cry echoed, the area around Luk was immediately empty.

Luk adjusted his glasses, and his stiff face became more expressive, his lips curling slightly.

"The Thousand Transformations Mirror," the final magical artifact he had crafted, was not very useful but could shield him from unwanted sights, like Shisui's eyes.

Though Luk believed his soul's strength would prevent Shisui from controlling him, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Alright, I had fun with this last trick, so I won't torment everyone any further."

Luk spoke gently, and his body began to rise in the air under everyone's watchful eyes.

"No one starts at the top, not you, not me, not even the God of Shinobi."

He removed the Thousand Transformations Mirror, crushing the one-time-use artifact. Then, he ran his right hand through his hair, using his extreme control to achieve the effect of gel hands.

"But the vacancy of the throne of heaven is about to end. From now on, I will stand at the pinnacle..."

Rising high into the sky, Luk looked down at the ants below.

The cumulonimbus clouds in the sky transformed into a massive vortex, and an endless torrent of rain began to gather. Howling winds followed, creating a scene reminiscent of the end of the world, high above.

The ruler of the sky issued commands from within the apocalyptic tableau, an invisible pressure from the soul gradually increasing.

"Come to me."

The divine presence of a god.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end