Chapter 297: The Ritual of the Evil God, Mastering the Divine Sword!
Chapter 297: The Ritual of the Evil God, Mastering the Divine Sword!
A voice filled with fury erupted from Uchiha Ci's mouth!
And then—
Before everyone's eyes, in the very center of the grand hall—
The wind suddenly rose!
Blazing winds, visible to the naked eye, swirled into existence, strands of flame leaping forth from the gusts, and within those flames, the reflections of countless beings flickered.
Then—
A storm of fire spiraled upward, surging toward the heavens!
Like the blazing sun, the flames and lightning surged from the sword, which was firmly embedded in the ground!
With this sword as its spine, twenty-six bones, shimmering between golden yellow and crimson red, materialized out of thin air, forming the spine of a massive dragon!
And then, from this spine, shoulder blades, humeri, sternum, jawbone, zygomatic bones, nasal bones, frontal bones, and parietal bones—
One by one, the bones rapidly took shape and grew!
In the end, a colossal half-bodied skeletal giant emerged—terrifying, grotesque, and though burning in searing flames, it radiated an eerie chill!
The blazing skull lowered slightly,
And in its hollow eye sockets, two golden pupils—radiant like the noonday sun—suddenly ignited!
Under this scorching yet chilling gaze,
Everyone in the hall instinctively stopped what they were doing. Their heads tilted upward in a daze, and their bodies—like wound-up toys—became stiff and motionless.
"W-What is that!?"
They swallowed hard, staring blankly—
At the thirty-meter-tall skeletal giant, lifting one massive hand and spreading its bony fingers!
The next moment—
A blinding white light engulfed everything in sight.
"—BOOM!!!"
Thunder roared like a war drum, shattering the silence!
Then—
Their vision turned black.
They could see nothing.
They could hear nothing.
They could feel nothing.
Their last thought before losing consciousness—
It was as if a divine thunder lance had descended from the heavens, piercing through the sky and the earth, striking them down!
The searing heat lasted but an instant—
And everything was reduced to nothing.
They had been vaporized.
Literally.
Yet, this—
This was merely the first residual shockwave of the divine weapon, the so-called "Sword of Raijin," summoned by the skeletal Susanoo!
---
Meanwhile, outside—
"—BOOM!!!"
Like the rolling thunder of countless chariots, an earsplitting explosion shattered the dreams of countless residents of Yunming City!
They awoke to the deafening sound of the continuous thunder,
Climbing out of bed, stepping to their windows and doors,
They looked up, thinking a storm was about to descend—
And then, what they saw shook them to their very core—
A pillar of lightning illuminated the entire city, an image forever seared into their memories!
It pierced the dense storm clouds above, striking the enormous palace nestled in the mountains at the city's edge!
Then, the earth trembled!
The ground cracked open, towering mountains crumbled in an instant, and heaven and earth seemed to merge into one!
The blinding white thunder did not fade, standing like a lance connecting the heavens and the earth!
As if the Thunder God above had grown displeased with the palace and its inhabitants,
And sought to uproot it, tear it down—
The resulting shockwave blasted forth like a tidal wave of sand,
Blotting out the sky!
"Is… Is that a god?!"
Countless people stared in shock, the same thought rising in their hearts.
And at that moment—
Figures rushed out into the streets, forming a growing crowd.
They stood in the roads, staring blankly at the sky-piercing lightning, their faces a mix of awe and collapse.
Yet among them, leading the masses through the streets of Yunming City,
A small figure, draped in a black robe, stood with arms spread wide—
Eyes filled with fervor and barely contained madness, arms raised in rigid devotion, clutching the Scripture of the Evil God as if embracing the entire city, embracing all who shared his faith.
Then—
With a voice both tender and filled with reverence, he howled:
"The time has come!"
"We have toiled in hardship yet suffered ceaselessly, our souls battered by tribulation yet voiceless in our pain!"
"Meanwhile, the wretched and corrupt bask in wealth and splendor!"
"But as our eyes behold this moment—"
"We shall witness the light!"
"We shall witness justice!"
"Oh, how greedy they are—sinners!"
"Ye, burdened with the weight of countless sins, shall now face divine punishment!"
"Perish in agony alongside your wretched transgressions!"
"This world shall taste the horrors of hell, shall echo with cries of torment!"
"Yet those who revere the Evil God—shall be redeemed amidst this fearless wailing!"
"Worship the Evil God—"
"Worship the Evil God—"
"The innocent souls across the realms shall overturn all, cleansing the world in blood!"
Then, the small figure cast aside his hood and tore open his black robe,
Arms spread wide as he leaped into the frenzied crowd!
Held aloft by countless hands, his face burned with fanatical rage, a fire that threatened to consume even himself!
With his throat torn raw, he roared:
"KILL! KILL! KILL!"
"Samurai? Kill them! Ninjas? Kill them! Nobles? Kill them! The Daimyō? Kill him most of all—"
"Kill them all!"
"KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!"
"Raise the altar, paint the streets with blood, and build a tower of severed heads!"
"Then—"
"Welcome the Evil God!"
"Let this nation be cleansed in fire!!"
As the mad roar spread, as these words ignited the hearts of those who had long suffered,
The city's streets—
Those who had hesitated—
Their expressions twisted, darkened, turned wrathful!
Bloodshot eyes flared open across the city!
Like streams converging into a great river, countless figures surged forward, slipping through the shadows, vanishing into the storm of sand raised by the thunderous impact.
Until at last—
They became a tidal wave of people!
---
Back in the ruined palace—
The four-hipped, multi-tiered roof had been blasted open by the descending thunder.
The once-opulent hall was now on the verge of collapse.
The floor was shattered beyond recognition, as if plowed over hundreds of times.
The windows and walls had been obliterated by the shockwave, flung outward in a cascade of debris.
Only a few broken pillars remained, barely holding up the remnants of the ceiling—
And even they were riddled with cracks.
Now—
Only three people in the hall still drew breath.
Uchiha Ci, standing within his skeletal Susanoo.
Namikaze Minato, shielded by the Susanoo's bony hand.
And Ryūzōji Sugiya, trembling beside Minato.
[You have successfully equipped Susanoo with the divine weapon: Futsunomitama.]
The skeletal armor surrounding Uchiha Ci slowly dissolved into embers,
And the sword, crackling with blue lightning, faded along with it.
As if nothing had ever happened.
The world fell silent again.
Uchiha Ci let out a comfortable sigh, stretching his sore shoulders and neck from channeling Susanoo and enduring the divine thunder.
Crack! Crack!
After adjusting his bones, he stepped forward—
Toward Minato.
At that moment—
Seeing Uchiha Ci approach once more,
Ryūzōji Sugiya shuddered violently, shrinking behind the unconscious Minato in terror.
"W-What are you going to do!?"
But Uchiha Ci merely cast him a look of utter disdain and said coldly—
"Get lost."
Then, gazing down at Minato, Uchiha Ci sighed.
"Sorry, Minato."
"You must become Hokage, bearing the weight of the world."
"And I—"
Uchiha Ci looked up—
At the countless figures leaping toward them.
His gaze turned cold.
"I will be the one to wield the sword!"