In the Land of Lightning, Uchiha Sasuke raced through the darkness.
Days ago, after leaving that small village, he'd learned from the mysterious old woman about the Land of Lightning's oppressive caste system.
Having weathered countless twists and turns in his life, Sasuke was desperate to find a purpose beyond revenge.
Whether it was the Land of Lightning or the Land of Fire, what mattered to him was taking real action—changing something with his own hands.
He wanted to use his strength to fight for change, to challenge the status quo.
Right now, he just happened to be in the Land of Lightning. That made it the perfect springboard—a stage for him to make his move.
The night he left the village, he traversed mountains and valleys until he found a relatively peaceful settlement. There, he chose a trustworthy family to whom he entrusted the dog he'd taken at the old woman's request. He also paid them to temporarily care for the kitten he'd rescued from the forest. Given what he was about to do, bringing pets along would only slow him down.
The next night, he struck.
He infiltrated a subordinate city of the Land of Lightning, broke into the fortress general's home, annihilated the general's guards, and severed the general's head—then hung it from the city gates.
He left his name behind, declaring this was just the beginning: he would keep killing until the Land of Lightning publicly abolished the caste system that had endured for centuries.
The old woman had once said that simply saving a group of enslaved outcasts wouldn't solve anything. As long as the rotten culture remained, those he saved would only meet an even more tragic fate.
Only by uprooting the source could true change begin.
Sasuke agreed with her—he knew he couldn't change culture itself.
But he had his own approach.
"I can't erase the Land of Lightning's deep-seated culture, but I can eliminate those who profit from it."
"I'll reshuffle the top echelons of the Land of Lightning. If the new rulers continue the same evils, I'll reshuffle again—over and over, until I get the hand I want."
Unwittingly, Uchiha Sasuke's quest had become a grand challenge:
—The struggle between power and culture!
He didn't know if he'd succeed, but he had to try.
At this stage, even though Sasuke's intentions were noble, his methods still bore the shadow of his vengeful past—a decade of darkness that had left its mark.
He moved with ruthless efficiency. In just seven days, hundreds of nobles and tens of thousands of their cronies in the Land of Lightning fell to his thunderous justice.
The entire country was thrown into turmoil.
The Daimyo's palace sent envoys, promising Uchiha Sasuke that if he abandoned his path of darkness, he'd be granted legal status and noble rank in the Land of Lightning.
"Heh, so that's how it is…"
Once again, the old woman's words were proven true.
Sasuke killed the Daimyo's messenger, unleashed his full Susanoo, and scattered copies of the Daimyo's letter across every city he passed.
The Daimyo, furious, issued a nationwide decree: a bounty of one billion ryō for anyone who could kill Uchiha Sasuke—and immediate elevation to the noble class.
"It's time to light the fires of revolution."
Sasuke set his sights on a night assault against the Daimyo's palace.
The Daimyo had been expecting this. After all, with Uchiha Sasuke's string of audacious attacks, a direct assault was hardly out of character. He had prepared accordingly—summoning the Fourth Raikage and the village's most elite jōnin to defend the palace.
The Raikage, worried that Kumogakure might be targeted in his absence, left his trusted strategist, Dodai, to guard the village.
After the Raikage's departure, Dodai grew more and more uneasy.
He was a man who always thought several layers deep.
He suspected that Uchiha Sasuke's actions were just a smokescreen, meant to draw attention to the Daimyo's palace while his real target was Kumogakure.
He simply couldn't believe a rogue ninja, barely able to protect himself, would risk everything to play savior for another country.
What kind of reckless fool would do that? It defied reason.
This had to be a conspiracy.
Dodai voiced his suspicions to the Daimyo.
But the Daimyo dismissed his concerns.
Dodai understood—compared to the palace's safety, Kumogakure was just a pawn.
If the village was destroyed, so be it.
Still, Dodai worked through the night, devising over twenty contingency plans based on Uchiha Sasuke's known patterns.
But this time, his cleverness backfired.
Sasuke really was going for the Daimyo's palace.
Tap…!
His dash through the darkness came to an end.
Uchiha Sasuke strode openly into the territory of the Land of Lightning's Daimyo palace.
Kumogakure's Barrier Corps had erected thirty-three layers of barriers around the palace—the same level of protection as Paradise Island during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Back then, it had taken both Naruto and Killer B, two jinchūriki, working together to break through.
Standing before the barrier, the Fourth Raikage, A, loomed like a living monolith.
After three months of wind and rain outside Amegakure, he looked tougher than ever.
His eyes blazed as he bellowed, thunder rumbling in his chest: "Uchiha Sasuke!! I haven't even settled our old score from the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, and now you come waltzing to your death!"
Sasuke advanced with icy calm, not even sparing the giant before him a glance. "Raikage, you're nothing but the Daimyo's lapdog. I've been wondering where to place you in the coming revolution. Now I see—servitude has seeped into your very bones. No matter who becomes the next Daimyo, you'll always be a harmful element. So I'll execute you, along with that corrupt Daimyo."
"Outrageous!!!"
The Raikage's fury erupted, lightning chakra roaring to life.
"Uzumaki Naruto, don't blame me for breaking my promise to you—it's this Uchiha Sasuke who's too damn arrogant!!!!"
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
The Raikage's Lightning Release chakra surged to new heights—even Sasuke was taken aback by its intensity.
Ever since Naruto hit him with the Super Added-Weight Rock Technique half a year ago, he'd mastered his twenty-ton body with ease.
Two months ago, he could tear through the Four Red Yang Formation with his bare hands.
Now, he was even stronger.
"Uzumaki Naruto, I really should thank you—because of you, I awakened the ancestral power of the Yotsuki clan!!"
The Land of Lightning had deep ties to the Sage of Six Paths' ninja sect—it was the birthplace of Asura's descendants.
The Yotsuki clan was a branch of Asura's line.
The Gold and Silver Brothers? Both were Yotsuki descendants.
The Raikage threw his head back and howled: "Tonight's a full moon—the time for the Yotsuki clan to reveal their true form! Awooooooo…!"
Bathed in moonlight, the Raikage's body began to transform.
Sasuke's pupils narrowed sharply. "He's… transforming?!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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