Under the amplification of the Blut Arterie (Moving Blood Guise), Ringo Ameyuri's thunderous lightning no longer resembled ordinary lightning-style attacks—it had transformed into a devastating force, almost equivalent in magnitude and destruction to Lightning Release: Kirin.
Paralyzed by the lightning-infused spiritual power, Orochimaru couldn't move a muscle. All he could do was watch helplessly as the thunderbolt dropped from the clouds in a millisecond flash, engulfing his entire body in an apocalyptic surge.
In an instant, everything went white.
The deafening explosion seemed capable of splitting the earth apart. Blistering heat, surging electricity, and the fury of the heavens slammed down onto Orochimaru's form, engulfing the entire landscape in a blanket of destruction.
The ground cracked and shattered, rocks burst apart. Every Quincy and Shinigami watching wore a look of pure disbelief.
As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the Lightning Blade: Kiba was known to be capable of drawing power from nature itself. That much was common knowledge.
But what it could draw was always limited—just a fraction, perhaps one-thousandth, of natural lightning's strength.
And yet, the destructive might Ringo Ameyuri unleashed just now? That was on par with forbidden jutsu!
"It doesn't just boost physical attributes and energy output… it even amplifies jutsu?"
Uzumaki Kushina's face was filled with awe.
The strength of this amplification was no weaker than Sage Mode. And because it was a spiritual power-based attack, its destructive force might even surpass senjutsu.
Spiritual power's damage to the soul was unique to this new system—unparalleled even within the shinobi world.
Sage Mode might be more versatile, but if you wanted sheer killing power?
The threat posed by Blut Arterie (Moving Blood Guise) was on another level.
As the overwhelming lightning finally began to dissipate, what remained of Orochimaru, one of the Three Legendary Sannin and captain of the 12th Division, was now a pitch-black, carbonized corpse. The thunderbolt had utterly obliterated him like a wrathful god smiting a mortal.
The sight drew gasps of terror from the audience.
"T-this is…"
Ameyuri looked at the blackened husk with disbelief. She hadn't expected that even with her full power activated, the combination with Blut Arterie would yield such terrifying results.
Even Orochimaru had been taken down?
But rather than elation, Ameyuri felt panic. Orochimaru wasn't just a squad captain—he was also one of Kirigakure's most important researchers. And she'd just… vaporized him in a test?
"Alright, Orochimaru, that's enough. Stop playing dead."
Yuko Yoru sighed, glancing at the scorched "corpse" lying on the battlefield.
Scared the poor girl half to death…
If there was one thing Orochimaru was good at—aside from being creepy—it was not dying. Ever since becoming a Shinigami, his survivability had become near-legendary.
Frankly, anyone else trying to kill Orochimaru would need serious effort, and even then, only if he allowed it.
Hearing Yoru's words, everyone turned to stare at the charred remains.
And sure enough, just a few seconds later…
The blackened husk cracked open. Orochimaru emerged, completely unharmed, licking his lips with that familiar unsettling smile.
"What an astonishing enhancement."
He showed no concern for the unknown fluids dripping from his body. His golden eyes gleamed as he stared at Ameyuri's blood-veined figure.
"A several-fold increase in physical stats. Spiritual power surge. No side effects. No long delay like with natural energy. Comparable to a perfect Sage Mode."
"If paired with the Blut Vene's defense, then even the weakest Quincy would have the combat power of a Seat Officer-level Shinigami—or a Jōnin-class ninja."
It had only taken a few minutes of combat, but Orochimaru had already recognized the full potential of Blut Arterie.
A flawless amplification, with no recoil.
Combined with the near-invincible defense of Blut Vene—capable of shrugging off even Jōnin-level taijutsu—the implications were staggering.
And the most terrifying part? Every Quincy could equip both Blut.
That meant…
In the near future, every Quincy would have the strength of a Jōnin-level shinobi.
And how many Quincies were there in the Land of Water right now?
Hundreds? Thousands?
No—over ten thousand!
Thanks to Yuki Yoru's personal endorsement and the backing of the Daimyō of the Land of Water, Shadow Island, now revered as the Fourth Holy Land, had gained widespread fame.
The mystic sage Miroku, the "Shadow Prophet," was now renowned throughout the shinobi world.
Every day, dozens—if not hundreds—flocked to him to become Quincy under his guidance.
Meaning, within just a few years, Yuki Yoru had amassed an elite army of ten thousand Jōnin-level warriors.
And in another few years?
Or a decade?
Unimaginable.
Once the entire Land of Water became Quincies, its population would be fully militarized.
At that point, Yuki Yoru would possess the strongest military force in the entire shinobi world.
Some might argue he already did—with the Gotei 13 backing him, what more did he need?
Well then, that's that.
"But this jutsu… must be difficult to teach, no?"
Tsunade frowned, raising an important point.
"Blut Arterie is based on inscribing spiritual seals into the body's internal chakra network."
"It blends spiritual power with natural energy, forming a perfect Sage Mode that doesn't require years of training. But the threat of spiritual power with natural energy still exists."
"If the balance is broken, the resulting backlash could destroy the user's body—same as a failed Sage transformation."
Like turning to stone if you fail at Toad Sage Mode.
This statement sobered many of the Quincies present. But even so, most still looked eager and excited.
Ameyuri among them.
From her perspective, a little risk for that kind of power was a no-brainer.
The backlash only happened when the body was critically injured anyway. If you're already hurt enough for the backlash to matter, you're practically dead already.
What was a bit of petrification in the face of that?
"Exactly."
Yoru nodded.
"That risk existed in the early designs. If the internal balance broke during injury, it could send the user straight from critical condition to outright death."
"So I modified it."
"The Blut Vene works by guiding spiritual particles through the body's chakra network, anchoring them at pressure points and conducting energy through the bloodstream, forming a defensive spiritual shield."
"That design gave all Quincies a significant boost in defense. But to me, the real value was in understanding the connection between human tissue and spiritual particles."
"That was the origin of Blut Arterie."
"I used Sage Mode as a reference, combining spiritual particles with natural energy. Over the course of a year, I optimized and refined the formula—resulting in what you see now."
Most of the Quincies and Shinigami looked completely lost.
But those who understood—Orochimaru, Tsunade, and others—looked increasingly serious.
They realized the technical barriers Yoru had broken through.
How much time, effort, and sheer genius it had taken to go from nothing to perfection in just one year.
"From brain to lungs, to heart and stomach—these form the body's most crucial chakra centers," Yoru continued.
"These are collectively known as the Eight Gates—also where chakra is most densely concentrated in the average shinobi."
"Quincies aren't different from ninja. Both are living humans. One has chakra; the other has spiritual power."
"I used the Eight Gates as anchor points, interlinked in synergy. As long as blood flows, as long as spiritual particles remain, as long as willpower endures, as long as those eight points aren't shattered simultaneously—the user won't suffer any harm."
The room went silent in awe.
Even Orochimaru was stunned.
"So this really is a completely stable, perfectly compatible, zero-side-effect version of Sage Mode—for Quincies?" he whispered, licking his lips.
"A breathtaking masterpiece."
"Well… not perfect," Yoru said modestly.
"It's a bit tricky to install. You can't learn Blut Arterie as easily as Blut Vene'—it's like the difference between learning a C-rank jutsu and an A-rank jutsu."
And frankly, with power like this, that wasn't hard at all.
If mastering an A-rank technique gave you perfect Sage Mode, who wouldn't try?
Even the Shinigami present looked jealous.
They wanted this too—but unfortunately, this was exclusive to Quincies.
Still, the Shinigami weren't too bitter. They had their own trump cards—Kido, Zanpakutō releases, and more.
But even so…
The Blut Arterie's debut was a total success.
Now came the next step: training others.
Luckily, that didn't require Yoru's personal involvement. Miroku, the sage of Shadow Island, would handle it all.
With his current projects complete, Yoru took a moment to check in on the latest happenings in Konoha—and sent some guidance to Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku had an epiphany.
With the war between Konoha and Kumo concluded, his first steps were to reinforce the Land of Fire's border defenses, distribute death and injury compensations, and reorganize the mission backlog.
Finally, he began issuing commendations and promotions to those who had distinguished themselves—especially young talents.
Even Uchiha Setsuna and… Shimura Danzō received appointments.
[Appointed: Danzō as Deputy Director of ANBU, Advisor to the Hokage Council]
[Appointed: Akimichi Torifū as Deputy Head of the Mission Department]
[Appointed: Uchiha Setsuna as Head of the Mission Department]
These announcements sent shockwaves through the senior jōnin community.
Especially the appointment of Danzō.
Most had assumed he'd be imprisoned, like Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Instead, Fugaku promoted him.
He didn't even care about Danzō's past actions against the Uchiha. He valued merit over grudges.
And that shook Konoha to its core.
Originally, everyone thought Fugaku would immediately purge the old regime—disbanding Root, centralizing all authority.
But he didn't. He kept Root intact, and gave Danzō a new role.
Even former Sarutobi loyalists began to hope.
But the biggest shock came when Fugaku delivered the official punishment for Sarutobi Hiruzen:
Accusations:
Faulty decisions during the Third Shinobi War against Kirigakure.
Letting Konoha's advantage against Iwagakure slip away.
Allowing his clan to monopolize the village's economy.
Causing housing prices to spike so high that even jōnin could barely afford apartments.
Still, when it came to the "Hiruzen treason incident", Fugaku ruled fairly.
He declared that Hiruzen had not betrayed the village—that Kumo had acted with deceitful intent, and Hiruzen had been a victim.
That verdict stunned Hiruzen.
And it earned Fugaku even more respect.
Most thought he would crush the old Hokage.
Instead, he gave him an honorable conclusion.
This—this is why Fugaku became the Fifth Hokage.
But only Fugaku himself knew…
Just how viciously cunning Yoru's advice had been.
Whether Hiruzen was innocent or not didn't matter.
What mattered was that the Sarutobi clan returned everything they had taken.
Their land. Their businesses. Their monopolies.
As for their reputation?
Konoha had hated them for a long time.
With Hiruzen imprisoned and his crimes exposed, even if he wasn't guilty of treason—he was already seen by the public as a filthy, power-hungry old dog.
Fugaku's maneuver accomplished everything:
Earned trust from the jōnin.
Gained respect from the leadership.
Preserved public hatred toward the Sarutobi clan.
Crushed Hiruzen's image permanently.
A masterstroke.
Fugaku could only marvel.
"My Fourth Mizukage… You could dominate the world with power alone…
But why the hell are you this good at politics too?!"