The ground began to tremble. A terrible shockwave radiated outward in every direction, and a blazing sphere of red light engulfed the entire area, searing enough to make it impossible to keep one's eyes open.
An indeterminate stretch of time passed. When the light finally faded, the Mutant Silver Wolf's massive body lay crumpled heavily on the ground, while Skyler Quinn—though his complexion was far from healthy—still stood upright, unbroken.
The moment he saw the Silver Wolf collapse, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Though the creature's strength had been a step below his own, they were both of the First Sequence, and the gap between them was not all that wide. Had it been the version of himself from before absorbing the Dragon Blood and Dragon Pearl—without deploying his Flame Dragon Armor—winning would have come at a steep cost, even in the best case.
Now, he had sustained some injuries, but his overall condition was not bad.
"If I were you, I would have summoned the Flame Dragon Armor at the very end and finished it off outright. At the very least, you could have plundered a portion of its energy to strengthen yourself."
Brandon White's voice reached Skyler Quinn's ears. Quinn simply shook his head.
"Once you plunder a Mutant Beast, the quality of its meat drops by a certain margin."
"This one is meant for you, after all."
"For me, the chance to fight a First Sequence Mutant Beast with innate talent is far more valuable than its flesh."
His original intention had been to familiarize himself with his lightning-element abilities. He hadn't expected to run into Brandon, let alone be given the opportunity to battle a First Sequence Mutant Beast head-on. Compared to a handful of raw energy, this experience was infinitely more precious.
His earlier plan to hone the power of thunder had not gone quite as intended—but during the fight, the Silver Wolf had displayed an extraordinarily potent form of thunder. Had his own strength not been the deciding factor, at the same level he very well could have been overpowered.
Still, the battle had granted him a measure of genuine insight into the nature of thunder itself.
The effect of that was far superior to training alone.
"Do as you like."
Brandon said this with an easy indifference, already unconcerned. Powerful Mutant Beasts were no shortage on the planet, and while First Sequence specimens were vanishingly rare in proportion, against the backdrop of the countless living things across the globe, their absolute numbers were still not insignificant.
He collected the Silver Wolf's corpse into his spatial storage, then turned to Skyler Quinn with a brief nod.
"I have things to attend to after this. Head back on your own."
"Oh—one more thing. There's a Heaven-and-Earth Treasure in that Silver Wolf's den. It can enhance a Mutant Beast's bloodline."
"Humans will benefit from it to some degree as well, but it's best given to a Mutant Beast."
"How you make use of it is up to you and yours."
The moment he finished speaking, a deep, pitch-black void tore open in the air behind him.
"Where are you going?"
Skyler Quinn stared at the wormhole that had materialized at Brandon's back, confusion written plainly across his face.
"Another world."
With a single step, Brandon walked into the void. A flash of light—and the dark, fathomless rift vanished as though it had never been there.
"Another world..."
Come to think of it—could a wormhole like that carry other people along?
Skyler Quinn shook his head, summoned his Flame Dragon Colt, and set off toward the Imperial Capital Spiritual Energy Bureau.
The battle with the Mutant Silver Wolf had given him a thorough read on his own current capabilities. His grasp on thunder had deepened as well. With his objective achieved, there was no reason to linger.
That said, before he left, Skyler Quinn brought his mount to a halt. There was still the Heaven-and-Earth Treasure in the Silver Wolf's den that he needed to retrieve.
Naruto World. Konoha.
Inside a grand, sweeping palace.
Uchiha Madara sat at the uppermost seat of the hall, draped in a black-and-crimson layered coat of armor. His Rinnegan stared out, utterly devoid of emotion.
Time drifted on. The space around him began to ripple, and for a brief moment his Rinnegan flickered with the faintest response. The corner of his mouth curled upward.
"They've arrived."
The words had barely left his lips when three figures—two men and one woman—stepped out from the distortion in space.
"So this is the Naruto World, then?"
The woman at the front was none other than the group owner, Roxie Vale. When she had first emerged from the rift, she had been brimming with excitement and curiosity—but as she took in her surroundings, something about it all felt distinctly off.
What was with this extravagant palace? When had the Naruto World ever had something like this? Was it from the moon? No—that didn't match either.
"Hello, everyone. This is our first proper meeting."
"My name is Roxie Vale. I'm the group owner."
"Please, let's get along well from here on out."
Despite the unsettling feeling, Roxie Vale remained warmly enthusiastic as she greeted Uchiha Madara at the top of the hall, and Marquis Voban and Brandon White standing behind him.
What was interesting, however, was that her gaze lingered on Madara and Voban for less than three seconds before shifting entirely to Brandon—where it stayed for the remainder of the greeting. She had even forgotten to lower the hand she was still waving with. Her wide eyes were overflowing with unspoken questions.
Was this man actually human?
Was he a little too good-looking?
Her undergraduate education suddenly felt entirely inadequate to produce the words she needed?
And what was with this inexplicable pull—this feeling of wanting to draw closer? Was this some kind of charm technique?!
"Get away, demons and monsters. Get away, demons and monsters."
Roxie Vale repeated this frantically in her own head, forcing herself to tear her gaze away. She looked at Uchiha Madara for another two seconds, pushed the sensation down, and finally nodded to herself with quiet satisfaction.
Uchiha Madara, who had noticed the direction of her stare, let the corner of his mouth twitch ever so slightly.
What was that supposed to mean?
"The King who rules the shinobi world?"
"One who achieved an unprecedented feat—the first sovereign to ever govern the entire shinobi world?"
"The greatest ninja in history—Uchiha Madara?"
"You altered their memories with the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
Brandon White had only been mildly curious about what Madara had done after his revival in the shinobi world. Using the power of his[Natural Authority], he had pulled a thread of information—and what he found was this.
"It is simply a means of maintaining peace in the shinobi world."
Uchiha Madara said this without a shred of embarrassment.
To be fair, the descriptions were not all that exaggerated. Yes, the peace had been achieved through the power of the Infinite Tsukuyomi—but compared to the alternative, in which people were trapped forever within a dream, what Madara had done this time was far more restrained. He had simply implanted a handful of false memories.
Weighed against the peace itself, those memories were a trivial thing. And the benefits that peace brought were tangible—felt directly, in the lives of every person it touched.
Having accomplished what no one before him had ever managed—having ruled the entirety of the shinobi world and ushered in an era of peace—Uchiha Madara could indeed be called the greatest ninja in history.
The only question was whether these people, if they were ever to wake from the fabrication, would still consent to it.
But that was a thought Madara almost certainly did not care about.
Peace, in the end, always demanded a price. Compared to the lives of loved ones and close friends, a fabricated memory was, if anything, a remarkably fair trade.
Whether they consented was irrelevant.
What mattered was that Uchiha Madara believed in his own actions.
Any true powerhouse carried within them an unshakeable conviction. No one could alter what he had decided.
"This is your palace, then?"
Marquis Voban remarked with genuine interest, turning his attention to the architecture around him. The design was rather impressive, and the materials were extraordinarily lavish.
Sandalwood. Jade screens. Pearls. Crystal.
"Not bad at all."
"Though—are you certain you have the ability to govern this many people across the entire shinobi world?"
(End of Chapter)