The Land of Lightning.
There were no clouds in the sky, yet a continuous roar like thunder echoed.
Uchiha Yuzuru wore clothes bearing the Uchiha Clan's fan crest, with a long katana slung across his waist.
His black hair danced in the wind, and his dark eyes appeared even more profound against his fair skin.
He walked alone on the road, blue electrical arcs occasionally flickering around him.
"After activating the Yotsuki Clan's Bloodline, using Lightning Release to Cultivate my body feels even more natural than before…"
Uchiha Yuzuru felt the changes in his body, a faint smile appearing on his face.
The next second, the sound of Chidori chirping erupted, and Uchiha Yuzuru's right hand was enveloped by a large amount of lightning.
"Chidori and its derivative, Chidori Stream, have been fully mastered. Combined with the Sharingan, they can unleash considerable power in combat. Once I return, I can teach the Cultivation method to the clansmen."
Uchiha Yuzuru dispersed the Chidori in his hand, and with a thought, a sky-blue Chakra sphere immediately appeared in his palm.
Next, he should study the nature transformation of the Rasengan.
Cultivating as he walked, Uchiha Yuzuru arrived at a landscape resembling a Gobi Desert.
As far as the eye could see, there were weathered rocks and towering rock mountains everywhere.
Hardly any vegetation could be seen.
Combined with the incessant thunder in the sky, it gave one the feeling of being in Hell.
"To be imprisoned in a place like this for hundreds of years and still survive, they truly are resilient."
Uchiha Yuzuru stopped at a canyon, the outer perimeter of its entrance dotted with over a dozen rock houses built from stone.
Dozens of Kumogakure Ninja blocked Uchiha Yuzuru's path, stating coldly, "This is a Forbidden Land. No approaching."
Uchiha Yuzuru said nothing more, simply pulling out the Third Raikage's order from his Pregnant and tossing it over.
Before long, dozens of Kumogakure Ninja all knelt on the ground: "Greetings, Lord Yuzuru!"
"You may return to the Village."
Upon hearing this, a leading Kumogakure Ninja said, "Lord Yuzuru, the fellows inside are very dangerous. Should we stay and help you?"
"No need." Uchiha Yuzuru waved his hand, walking unhurriedly into the canyon.
The foremost section of the canyon was very narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass.
After walking for about another mile, the path ahead suddenly opened up.
The ground was covered in huge puddles, the water within them blood-red, looking just like blood.
Some skeletal remains were scattered at the bottom of the puddles, a truly horrifying sight.
Continuing forward, the base of the hard rock mountains revealed numerous regularly shaped rock caves.
As if sensing Uchiha Yuzuru, pale-skinned people emerged from the rock caves in unison.
Roughly estimating, there must have been over a hundred of them.
"Who are you?!"
Seeing Uchiha Yuzuru alone, a leading elder asked.
"Someone here to save you." Uchiha Yuzuru said indifferently, "Chinoike Clan, I've come to take you back to Hidden Cloud Village to live."
"What?!"
Upon hearing Uchiha Yuzuru's words, everyone present was greatly astonished, their faces showing expressions of disbelief.
Having been imprisoned for hundreds of years, they had long given up all hope of leaving.
Now, Uchiha Yuzuru's sudden arrival left them somewhat bewildered.
The elder asked with a trembling voice, "What happened outside? Why are we suddenly being released?"
Before Uchiha Yuzuru could speak, a Chinoike Clan member suddenly shouted, "That clan crest… you're from the Uchiha Clan!"
As his voice fell, all the Chinoike Clan members first froze, then glared angrily at Uchiha Yuzuru.
"Damn Uchiha, it was you who exiled our clan here back then!"
"We want revenge!"
The eyes of some radical Chinoike Clan members emitted a red glow similar to the Sharingan, and their pupils transformed into horizontal "— " shapes.
Uchiha Yuzuru felt a surge of power constantly assaulting his mind.
At the same time, the Chinoike Clan members simultaneously formed hand seals, and the red spring water in the puddles surged, with several massive Blood Dragons sweeping towards Uchiha Yuzuru.
"Die!"
The Blood Dragons instantly swallowed Uchiha Yuzuru.
The next second, Uchiha Yuzuru's disheveled figure appeared before them.
Seeing the wounds on Uchiha Yuzuru's body, the Chinoike Clan members all sneered.
"Repent, Explosion!"
Boom!
The smiles on the faces of those radical Chinoike Clan members had not yet faded when their bodies were blown to smithereens.
The remaining Chinoike Clan members looked ahead in disbelief.
"H-how is this possible? Why did they self-destruct?"
"What terrifying genjutsu, when…?"
"It must have been those three-tomoe Sharingan; they looked directly into that guy's eyes!"
In the eyes of many Chinoike Clan members, those who had just died had first shouted, then their faces began to show strange smiles.
Immediately after, they formed hand seals and self-destructed.
Such abnormal behavior clearly indicated they were under genjutsu.
This made all the remaining Chinoike Clan members feel a sense of dread.
One must know that their eyes could also release genjutsu, and their resistance to genjutsu was very high.
But in that instant, all the hostile clan members fell under the opponent's genjutsu.
This power was truly terrifying.
Seeing the Chinoike Clan members quiet down, Uchiha Yuzuru stood still, stating expressionlessly, "Can we talk properly now?"
An invisible pressure continuously permeated, and all the Chinoike Clan members lowered their heads.
The leading elder gathered his courage and said, "Our people were wrong just now, please continue."
Uchiha Yuzuru nodded in satisfaction, not pursuing the matter further.
Being imprisoned in such a place for a long time, becoming extreme and irritable was a very normal thing.
There was no need to implicate those who had no intention of fighting because of this.
"Based on the reactions of those few just now, you should still remember what happened back then."
"In that era, our Uchiha Clan was merely hired by the Lord of Lightning Country."
"The one you should truly hate is the Lord of Lightning Country."
Upon hearing Uchiha Yuzuru's words, the Chinoike Clan members all showed bitter smiles.
They knew full well that it was the Lord of Lightning Country who had caused their predicament.
But even if they hated him, what could they do?
The Lord of Lightning Country was completely beyond their reach.
Thinking of this, the Chinoike Clan elder suddenly realized something and asked Uchiha Yuzuru, "Sir, are you saying that your releasing us is not the Lord of Lightning Country's intention?"
If it were the Lord of Lightning Country's intention, the other party shouldn't have said things like "if you must hate, hate the Lord."
But without the Lord's permission, who would dare to release a criminal clan like them from Hell Valley?
Seeing the elder's confusion, Uchiha Yuzuru said indifferently, "Times have changed. From today onwards, we no longer need to heed the Lord's wishes when we act."
"The era of the Ninja has arrived."