Chapter 159: Hiruko’s Ambition

"Sir? This is a man?"

Hearing the Daimyō of the Land of Frost address that elegant figure as "sir," several lecherous Daimyō immediately changed their expressions.

"A man? Isn't that even better?"

Of course, some with more unique preferences eyed Hiruko with even greater greed.

"No! Absolutely not! Show some respect! He's here to help us—our only hope for survival!"

The Frost Daimyō quickly glanced at Hiruko. Seeing his growing irritation, the Daimyō hurriedly changed the topic. He had personally witnessed the immense power Hiruko wielded and was terrified that one wrong word might lead to their massacre.

"Just him? How's one person going to help us? We're facing three ninja villages!"

The Daimyō of the Land of Bears scoffed, raising his chin. Even though Hiruko's titles—immortal shinobi, scientific genius—sounded impressive, they were up against forces from three ninja villages, including some from the Five Great Nations.

"Tch, them? They're nothing."

Finally, Hiruko spoke, his voice dripping with disdain for the three villages. The moment he opened his mouth, the gathered Daimyō were stunned.

"My Chimera Technique allows me to absorb the Kekkei Genkai of bloodline limit shinobi. Once I collect five different Kekkei Genkai, I will become the perfect immortal shinobi."

"At that point, forget three ninja villages—even the entire shinobi world won't be my match!"

Underneath the bandages, Hiruko's lips curled into a twisted smirk, his tone brimming with arrogance.

The Daimyō exchanged uncertain looks.

"Five? So you'll be unbeatable after collecting five? Does that mean you haven't finished yet?"

The Daimyō of the Land of Waterfalls, eyes sharp as a fox, immediately caught the discrepancy in Hiruko's words. His observation drew the attention of the others, who now scrutinized Hiruko closely.

Hiruko merely chuckled, as though he had anticipated their doubts.

"Indeed, I'm missing one final piece: the Sharingan of Konoha's Uchiha Clan. And I'll need your assistance to obtain it."

"My aid doesn't come free. This is the condition for our cooperation."

Hiruko's calm smile gave the Daimyō pause for thought, while he himself sank into deep contemplation.

Helping these Daimyō was merely a facade, a stepping stone in his greater plan.

The final integration of the fifth Kekkei Genkai required a perfect confluence of time, place, and opportunity—not something that could be done hastily. Otherwise, he would've stolen the Sharingan from Hatake Kakashi long ago, back during the Third Great Ninja War.

With the Chimera Technique incomplete, directly opposing three ninja villages was suicidal. Hiruko wasn't that foolish.

Initially, he had planned to lay low until the solar eclipse to activate the curse mark he had placed on Kakashi, seizing the Sharingan without lifting a finger.

But recent wars had thrown his plans into disarray.

Through his informants, Hiruko learned how much the shinobi world had changed in the past two years:

The revival of the Second Hokage, the destruction of villages by godlike powers, the resurrection of Uchiha Madara, the return of the First Hokage, reversals of life and death, and even victims of the Nine-Tails Night being brought back to life.

These developments shattered his long-held scientific worldview.

As a former classmate of the legendary Sannin, Hiruko had grown up hearing tales of the founding Hokage. Expecting Kakashi to defect willingly in the face of such figures was now laughable.

Adding to his woes, the Second Hokage had recently launched a campaign to unify the shinobi world. If Hiruko waited for the eclipse, the entire shinobi world might already belong to Konoha. Obtaining the Sharingan would then be nearly impossible.

But fate had given him a new opportunity.

The Uchiha Clan, thought to be extinct, had been resurrected!

Moreover, Konoha had assigned some of them to oversee conquered territories.

With a little help from these desperate Daimyō, Hiruko could exploit the chaos to kidnap an Uchiha, steal their Sharingan, and retreat.

Once the solar eclipse arrived, he would merge the final Kekkei Genkai and achieve perfection as an immortal shinobi.

By then, Konoha's efforts to unify the shinobi world would only serve to pave his path to glory.

It was a flawless plan!

Hiruko's laughter echoed in the room, even as the Daimyō hastily finalized their agreement with him.

...

Land of the Sky

Amidst a desolate wasteland stood a massive fortress of stone, suspended in midair. A closer look revealed bloodied corpses strewn across its surface.

On top of the fortress stood a figure wearing a felt hat, glaring furiously at the man below—Uchiha Madara.

Shinnō seethed with uncontainable rage.

When Konoha declared war on the entire shinobi world, he had slipped into a war-torn country to gather intel, occasionally harassing Konoha shinobi in secret.

But then he encountered him.

This monster had seen through his disguise instantly, pursued him relentlessly, and seemed intent on wiping him from existence.

And the worst part? He was strong.

Even after the Body Revival Technique, Shinnō had failed to gain the upper hand. His survival was thanks only to his extraordinary vitality.

But that wasn't the end. Madara had followed him all the way back to the Land of the Sky, annihilating every last soldier he had prepared for revenge against Konoha.

Desperate, Shinnō activated the Ancor Vantian, the Sky Village's ultimate weapon.

"You'll regret this! Witness the power of the Ancor Vantian!"

With a sinister grin, Shinnō watched as the fortress's massive cannon, powered by the artificial tailed beast Reibi, began to charge.

But below, Madara simply smirked.

"That name's even dumber than Hashirama's childhood jutsu, 'Super Fire Style Illusion Slash Big Shuriken Combo Technique.'"

Madara's disdainful glance only fueled Shinnō's fury.

The cannon fired, shaking the air with a deafening explosion.

Yet when the dust settled, Madara stood unscathed, surrounded by the blue aura of Susano'o.

"This level of attack doesn't even deserve Hashirama's attention... or Tobirama's… No, it's beneath all of them."

With a flick of his wrist, Susanoo's blade cleaved through the cannon and the fortress itself, reducing it to rubble.

When Shinnō crawled from the debris, barely alive, Madara scooped him up with a smirk.

"You're coming back to Konoha. Tobirama loves studying freaks like you."