The Black-Gold Dragon Emperor's body resembled a moving mountain range. Thick scales covered his entire form, each one gleaming with a cold metallic luster beneath the sunlight, every scale brimming with boundless magical power.
His enormous wings spread open like the firmament itself, blotting out the sky and the sun. The violent gusts stirred by their movement swept dust and debris across the earth, as though heaven and earth trembled in response to his arrival.
The Dragon Emperor's eyes were blazing orange-yellow, deep as an abyss and burning like fire. They carried a crushing pressure like the collapse of the heavens, along with an icy indifference—as if they could pierce through the souls of all living beings.
Compared to the colossal Dragon Emperor, Uchiha Soren appeared incomparably small.
Yet his presence shone like the sun itself. The blazing radiance surrounding him instantly dispelled the darkness brought by the Dragon Emperor.
The moment he appeared, both the surviving God-Kin Captain and Han noticed him.
In that instant, hope flashed simultaneously in their eyes, like a ray of dawn breaking through endless despair.
Even the battle-hardened God-Kin Captain now found his heart filled with a desperate longing—to see divine punishment fall upon the Dragon Emperor.
Ten thousand magic chanters.
Eighty thousand Knights of Glory.
The nearly annihilated Black Scripture.
With these three forces destroyed in a single stroke, the backbone of the Slane Theocracy had been utterly shattered.
Resisting the invasion of the shinobi world had already become nothing more than an impossible dream.
"Foreign races… all deserve to die!"
Fury burned within the God-Kin Captain's heart. Remembering the tireless teachings of the priests, his once-refined face twisted into something savage and terrifying.
But even with his Moonlight-tier strength, he had no room for resistance before the Dragon Emperor's maw.
"Uchiha Soren!"
The Dragon Emperor suddenly lifted his gaze, his orange-yellow eyes blazing with both hatred and apprehension.
With a violent beat of his wings, amplified by the Sea of Magic, a torrent of spells comparable to Tenth-Tier magic descended in succession.
Composite magic combining earth, water, wind, and fire surged forward. Its destructive force rivaled mid-tier Wild Magic, causing the entire world to tremble.
Facing the overwhelming barrage, Uchiha Soren didn't even consider dodging.
Around him, the Crimson Warrior Susanoo rose once again, standing proudly in the sky like a divine war god.
The Dragon Emperor's soul-harvesting earlier had touched his reverse scale—the unforgivable offense that had completely enraged Uchiha Soren.
The nearly five-hundred-meter-tall Susanoo was relentlessly bombarded by magic, yet instead of collapsing, it compressed and condensed.
Gradually, it shrank—until it became an exquisitely crafted suit of full-body armor that fit a normal human frame.
Within the armor, Uchiha Soren's presence became even more imposing. Only his magnificent Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan remained visible, their gaze gleaming with soul-shaking brilliance.
Susanoo evolving from its initial stage to its perfect form represented the accumulation of power.
Now, condensing it back down was the refinement and control of power—like compressing ten thousand tons of ore into an indestructible blade.
Soren's reduced size did nothing to ease the Dragon Emperor's tension.
Instead, every instinct screamed danger.
It felt as if his very life was urging him to flee immediately.
Shock and unease flickered within the Dragon Emperor's eyes. Never before had he felt such overwhelming threat from any being.
"Back in the Sea of Magic… that wasn't even Uchiha Soren's full strength?!"
Suppressing the fear rising within him, the Dragon Emperor roared like thunder.
His wings beat violently, the wind slicing across the land like blades as his colossal body spiraled through the air, stirring boundless magical turbulence.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in Soren's eyes flashed coldly.
His figure had already transformed into a streak of crimson lightning, charging straight toward the Dragon Emperor.
The Dragon Emperor roared and opened his massive jaws, unleashing blazing dragon breath.
Where the breath passed, the air itself seemed incinerated, and the ground instantly turned into scorched wasteland.
Yet Uchiha Soren's figure darted through the inferno like lightning itself, the crimson Susanoo armor shining brilliantly amid the flames.
"Face the fate of your defeat."
His voice was ice-cold.
With a sharp metallic sound, he drew the long blade at his waist and brought it crashing down toward the Dragon Emperor.
"Defeat? Even Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo and Hamura wouldn't dare speak such arrogance!"
Rage erupted in the Dragon Emperor's eyes.
His massive wings snapped open as seven-colored magical radiance burst across his body.
"You think you're the only one hiding your strength?!"
A divine armament—an artifact created through high-tier Wild Magic capable of raising one's level—materialized across his dragon body.
His power surged beyond Level 100, stepping directly into the Six Paths domain.
The magic he unleashed instantly grew even more terrifying.
Layer upon layer of radiant flames dyed the entire sky in seven colors.
Unfortunately for him, Uchiha Soren was even stronger.
The crimson blade carved a brilliant arc through the sky.
The magical torrent was split in half instantly.
"AAARGH—!"
The Dragon Emperor, who had been spewing dragon breath, let out a miserable scream. His massive body tumbled through the sky, whipping up violent storms.
Where the crimson blade passed, the Dragon Emperor's scales—durable enough to forge World-Class Items and ignore Tenth-Tier magic—shattered one after another.
Blood poured down like torrential rain.
"Die here."
Soren's voice was merciless.
His figure flickered like a phantom in the air as the crimson blade swung again and again—each strike carrying chilling killing intent and a sharpness capable of severing all things.
"High-Tier Wild Magic: Ultimate Explosion!"
The Dragon Emperor roared.
All the souls he had absorbed earlier were burned as fuel for Wild Magic, erupting into Six Paths–level power.
An endless radiance exploded across the sky.
It was as though the entire world was being torn apart.
Terrifying energy rippled outward, making every element tremble while cracks like spider webs spread across space itself.
Uchiha Soren sneered.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan gleamed with absolute dominance.
"Creation of All Things."
He raised the crimson blade high above his head.
Infinite power gathered along its edge, as though it could split heaven and earth apart.
The blade flashed.
Like thunder.
The raging energy of the Ultimate Explosion was cleaved straight through. The devastating blast split apart instantly, dissolving into countless fragments of light that vanished into the air.
Despair and terror flashed across the Dragon Emperor's eyes.
Never had he witnessed such terrifying strength.
"Y-you—"
Before he could finish speaking, Uchiha Soren appeared before him in an instant.
"Die."
The crimson blade descended, unstoppable, aimed directly at the Dragon Emperor's head.
But at that very moment—
Two mysterious forces suddenly appeared.
One force, like shadowy tendrils from the darkness, instantly seized the Dragon Emperor and dragged him back from the brink of death.
The other force manifested like invisible chains, binding Uchiha Soren and momentarily restraining his movement.
"Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo… and Hamura."
A flicker of surprise passed through Soren's eyes before he immediately realized who was interfering from the shadows.
Yet his attack did not stop.
The crimson blade swept through the air in a brilliant arc—slashing directly toward the Dragon Emperor's claw.
The Dragon Emperor's anguished scream echoed across the sky.
His massive claw was severed instantly.
Blood erupted like a fountain.
Under the protection of the mysterious power, the Dragon Emperor abandoned his severed claw and fled in disgrace, retreating deep into the Sea of Magic.
Just as Uchiha Soren lifted his foot to pursue him into the boundless Sea of Magic—
A sharp alarm suddenly rang in his mind.
Within his consciousness, the prayer of the shrine maiden Momiji thundered like a bell, shaking his soul.
"Lord Soren, please stop! Do not pursue him!"
Her voice was filled with panic and dread, as if she had personally witnessed the approaching catastrophe.
Her trembling words came rapidly.
"I saw it! The Dragon Emperor will self-destruct! The Sea of Magic will go berserk and destroy everything! Lord Soren will also perish within it!"
Soren's heart tightened as he understood the warning instantly.
His gaze flickered.
Then gradually settled.
He decided to spare the Dragon Emperor—for now.
"I'll let you live this time," he muttered unwillingly.
But in the next moment, furious flames ignited in his eyes as his gaze seemed to pierce through space itself—landing on the two brothers he despised the most.
"Those two Ōtsutsuki brothers… are truly troublesome."
Clicking his tongue in irritation, his impatience toward them only deepened.
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed the anger within his heart and prepared to return to Oni-Nin Village to consult Momiji and see if she had any further prophecies.
"Still…"
"Iwagakure…"
His gaze swept across the devastated battlefield before settling on the shattered earth beneath him.
At this moment, aside from Tsuchikage Han's solitary figure, the entire shinobi army of Iwagakure had been nearly wiped out.
The Iwagakure forces that once marched forward with unstoppable momentum now lay in utter ruin.
Wherever one looked, only silent wreckage remained.
Nearly three thousand shinobi had perished here.
Forget maintaining its current status—Iwagakure would be fortunate simply to avoid falling to the level of minor villages like Kusagakure.
The shinobi world had become a fierce race of development.
One step ahead meant staying ahead forever.
Now that Iwagakure had fallen so far behind, its future growth seemed almost impossible.
Being replaced by Sunagakure had practically become inevitable.
The blood-soaked earth resembled a crimson sea.
Tattered banners trembled in the cold wind as if mourning the souls of the fallen.
The nearly hundred thousand corpses of the Slane Theocracy lay scattered across the battlefield, forming a horrific tableau straight out of hell.
The air was thick with the stench of blood.
A suffocating silence blanketed everything, the chilling atmosphere freezing the hearts of those who remained.
Standing above the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, Uchiha Soren surveyed the battlefield with a cold gaze.
With a wave of his hand, the severed dragon claw vanished instantly—teleported directly to the Konoha Science Division.
The head of bloodline research there, Root, would refine the Dragon Emperor's true dragon blood with meticulous precision.
Through it, the physical strength of his clones would rise to an even greater level.
Once their bodies were strengthened, reaching Level 100 would take only moments—and breaking past that limit would become effortless.
At that time, he could contend with the Dragon Emperor for control of the Sea of Magic.
Once he controlled the Sea of Magic, all of Uchiha Soren's future concerns would vanish.
And the Dragon Emperor's death would inevitably follow.
"Leader…"
Han looked up at Uchiha Soren descending from the sky and spoke in a low, sorrowful voice.
The towering, powerful man suddenly appeared hunched and aged, his face filled with grief.
Beside him, the God-Kin Captain stood quietly.
His expression was strangely calm, as though he had already accepted the fate awaiting him.
There was no fear in his eyes.
Only acceptance.
The Slane Theocracy had lost all hope.
Before the leader of the shinobi world—who had severed the Black-Gold Dragon King's claw and forced it into flight—escape was impossible.
All he could do was wait silently for judgment.
"Leader."
Han staggered forward a few steps, hope flickering in his eyes.
"There are resurrection spells on the Magic Continent… Is there any chance the shinobi of Iwagakure can be revived?"
"If nothing else… I'm willing to trade everything in exchange for the forbidden technique Impure World Reincarnation. Iwagakure cannot survive without them!"
Watching Han grow increasingly incoherent, Uchiha Soren felt a trace of pity.
But no true sympathy.
"All resurrection magic and ninjutsu require the souls of the living," he replied calmly.
"That True Dragon King has already devoured their souls and turned them into fuel for magic."
"Reviving them is impossible."
A shadow passed through Soren's eyes as he spoke.
From his perspective, every time the True Dragon King used Wild Magic, it was like stealing resources from him.
If the Dragon King ever unleashed Wild Magic fueled by millions of souls, Soren could withstand it—but the loss would be painful.
At the Six Paths level, every level required exponentially more Ascension Points.
Even killing a million genin in the shinobi world wouldn't provide a tenth of what was needed for the next breakthrough.
And for his clones to reach beyond Level 100 required an astronomical amount.
If only the people of the Slane Theocracy and Iwagakure—
Just as regret surfaced in his mind, Han collapsed to the ground like a man who had lost everything.
Seeing his devastated state, Soren simply teleported him back to Konoha.
The disaster that had befallen Iwagakure was simply the result of terrible fate.
Over the next few years, Konoha would provide compensation to Iwagakure.
If the village managed to recover and rebuild, Soren wouldn't mind lending them assistance.
Besides—
The shinobi world had reached the time for unification.
There was no longer any need for countless scattered ninja villages.
In the past, he hadn't unified the world because he feared the world couldn't support its population.
Better for Konoha to act as the Sword of Damocles, hanging over every village's ruling class and maintaining order while Konoha developed.
But now—
Konoha had reached a level of productivity capable of supporting the entire world.
Under its leadership, everyone in the shinobi world could be fed, clothed, and trained as shinobi—learning ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and countless everyday ninja techniques.
The shinobi world had reached the moment of great transformation.
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