Late at night, the Fire Temple was quiet and serene.
Inside the meditation hall, beneath a painting of the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara, a single candle illuminated an old monk with a white beard.
By the flickering yellow light, the abbot, Jie, lowered his head and read a scroll of scriptures.
The Sage of Six Paths once said that chakra was a tool to connect people.
Something countless shinobi had failed to achieve—
The Fire Temple had succeeded.
Believers, pilgrims, and practitioners gathered around the temple, offering prayers.
They knelt beneath the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara, burned incense, recited scriptures, and chanted the Buddha's name—
All of which generated a special kind of chakra.
The monks of the Fire Temple called this chakra Karmic Compassion Chakra.
As the monks helped believers resolve their suffering and escape from hardship, they too accumulated this karmic power.
The more believers there were, the greater the monks' chakra became.
Because of this—
Abbot Jie had personally traveled to the capital and worked tirelessly to gain the Daimyō's trust.
As long as the Daimyō supported the Fire Temple—
As long as they gained more believers—
The strength of the temple's monks would continue to grow.
The Daimyō's reasoning was simple.
He was willing to recognize the Fire Temple as the national temple—
But in return, the monks had to serve as his guardian shinobi.
The Fire Temple was more than willing.
The only obstacle…
Was Konoha.
Jie looked down at the scroll in his hands.
It recorded the connection between the First Hokage and the Fire Temple.
Senju Hashirama—
A man of great enlightenment.
He had realized that the "Thousand Hands" did not refer to the Senju clan—
But to the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara, symbolizing the protection of all living beings.
He had ended the Warring States era and established a new order.
Beneath the statue of Avalokiteśvara, he achieved enlightenment—
His spirit underwent a fundamental transformation—
And in one stroke, he broke through his limits, becoming the God of Shinobi.
Jie intended to use Hashirama as leverage—
To find a way to negotiate with Konoha.
Whether the Fire Temple could become the national temple of the Land of Fire—
Was of utmost importance.
They needed believers.
They needed worshippers.
At that moment—
A black blade suddenly appeared beside the candlelight.
The flame could not illuminate it.
It was as if the blade devoured light itself.
Only the reflection of blood droplets on its surface revealed its outline.
The blade thrust forward from behind—
Piercing straight through Jiexing's chest.
Jiexing's heart tightened.
The blade had pierced his lung.
Golden light erupted from his body.
A Thousand-Armed Avalokiteśvara manifested behind him—
Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder!
A golden, chakra-formed Bodhisattva slammed into the attacker behind him—
Blasting him away.
Yet the black blade remained embedded in Jie's chest.
He lowered his head—
Looking at the blade protruding from his chest—
Then at the scroll in his hand.
It recorded that among Hashirama's five ninja blades—
There was one black blade, designed purely for assassination.
Konoha…?
Konoha wants to kill me?
He turned his head—
And saw a masked ANBU.
Yako stared in surprise at Jie's technique.
Strong.
Very strong.
That golden Bodhisattva…
Had a presence comparable to Susanoo—
A solidified chakra construct with immense durability.
The Fire Temple's inheritance…
Was no joke.
Yako dashed forward again.
The Bodhisattva transformed instantly—
Turning into a blood-red Wrathful King.
The compassionate thousand hands became furious flames—
Condensing into crimson fists that smashed toward Yako.
After taking two hits head-on, Yako thought:
Interesting… This technique is worth collecting.
The battle lasted over ten minutes.
Four or five temple halls were reduced to rubble.
Seeing that Jie had no further hidden abilities—
Yako dropped his defenses—
And was crushed to death by Wrathful Vajra Fist.
[Host death detected. Activating Waning Moon Arc system…]
Darkness swallowed Yako's vision.
When he opened his eyes—
He had returned to several days earlier.
Just as he had entered the Land of Fire's border, tasked with assassinating Abbot Jie.
As for what happened in the Land of Hot Water—
He knew nothing.
Just like in his previous life—
Sarutobi Shinnosuke would be killed.
Even if he did know—
He wouldn't rewind time for Shinnosuke.
[Waning Moon Arc activated!]
[Between two full moons, the host has one revival opportunity. Upon death, you will return to the last full moon night.]
[Reward selection:]
Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder!
Wrathful King Technique
Sealing Iron Wall
Sealing Iron Wall?
Useless.
The Fire Temple's sealing techniques couldn't even restrain Kakuzu or Hidan.
As for Thousand-Hand Kill—
Yako hesitated, then rejected it.
That technique required true compassion—
The will to protect all living beings.
He had none.
If he ended up in the Six Paths of Reincarnation—
He'd probably be the Animal Path.
But the second option—
Wrathful King—
That intrigued him.
As the saying goes—
Even Bodhisattvas have their anger.
Buddha has both compassion…
And wrath.
If it was wrath—
Then Yako felt he had talent.
The moment he selected Wrathful King—
A complete inheritance of the Fire Temple's Wrathful King cultivation flooded into him.
Eight crimson figures appeared before him—
The Eight Wrathful Kings.
Trailokyavijaya.
Yamantaka.
Chakravartin.
…
Among them—
Yako's gaze locked onto one.
Trailokyavijaya – Conqueror of the Three Worlds.
A strange resonance stirred within him.
This Wrathful King represented the conquest of past, present, and future—
Transcending life, death, samsara, and nirvana.
Yako—
A transmigrator.
A man who had died and revived over fifty times.
Every death—
A past life.
Every revival—
A continuation of the present.
Every future—
A path he could reshape.
His first life—
He died in Tsurugetsu Tavern.
His second—
In the wheat fields of the Land of Whirlpool.
His third…
His fourth…
…
Each death.
Each rebirth.
All of it became his deepest understanding of existence.
For others—
Cultivating the Wrathful King required true death and rebirth.
For Yako?
He had done it fifty times.
His system had already allowed him to transcend life and death.
At that moment—
His spiritual power surged violently.
Just as Hashirama had awakened under Avalokiteśvara—
Yako achieved enlightenment.
He clasped his hands together.
"Wrathful King Avatar—Three Lives Form!"
A crimson, three-headed, six-armed avatar manifested around him.
Each face represented—
Past.
Present.
Future.
It was different from Jie's.
More violent.
More terrifying.
He continued channeling chakra.
"Wood Release: Three-Life Wooden Golem!"
The Wrathful King fused with Wood Release—
Creating a massive, three-headed, six-armed wooden construct.
Then—
He pushed further.
"Wood Release… Top Transformed Buddha—Wrathful Thousand Hands!"
The earth trembled violently.
A colossal figure erupted from the ground—
Hundreds of meters tall.
Not Avalokiteśvara—
But a furious Wrathful King.
Its face twisted in rage.
Its presence felt like something dragged out of hell itself.
Its hands—
Each one as large as a Tailed Beast.
Yako had lived fifty lives.
Each life—
Nine transformations.
Fifty lives—
Four hundred and fifty arms.
Not yet a true "thousand hands"—
But close enough.
At that moment—
His chakra broke past the Kage level.
Into something beyond.
Super-Kage.
From here on—
Chakra quantity no longer mattered.
He would never run out in battle.
Standing atop the Three-Life Golem—
Which stood atop the Wrathful Buddha—
Yako finally approached the level of Senju Hashirama.
That feeling—
Of spiritual transcendence—
Was intoxicating.
He dispersed the construct.
Then—
Froze.
His consciousness was forcibly dragged out of his body.
Into a vast, empty dimension.
A shallow pool stretched endlessly beneath him.
A figure floated in the distance.
An old man.
The Sage of Six Paths.
Yako frowned.
Being summoned like this—
Was unpleasant.
Very unpleasant.
What did he want?