—Uchiha Yue is at the center of everything,— Tsunade said dully. — More precisely, his eyes.
Her voice, devoid of the usual authoritative notes, sounded especially heavy in the silence of the office.
— As soon as we find a way to break through this zone of dead silence, we will take his eyes. With this kind of strength, we will become invincible. And if you have to sacrifice the Land of Fire for that... well, the land will remain. We will build a new Konoha, an even greater one. The Daimyo? He's going to have to accept it.
Tsunade didn't want to, but she convinced herself that she had no choice. If Konoha's survival and the legacy of the Will of Fire were at stake, then the fate of the ruler and his country was an acceptable price.
So they didn't have a month. They had two, three, maybe four months— exactly until Uchiha Yue finally swallowed up this world. As long as there was a chance to face him, it wasn't too late.
—And... what will become of the inhabitants of the Land of Fire?" Jiraiya mused thoughtfully.
He feigned indecision, but in his heart he already accepted that she was right. As for the civilians... for Konoha's sake, they could only mentally ask for forgiveness.
Everything was simple for him. The Land of Fire could fall, but Konoha never did. The safety of the village was an absolute priority.
That is why Uchiha Yue, who corrected the Will of Fire and harmed the village, was doomed. It was his sin, his fault. And Tsunade? No, that's a completely different matter. How can you compare her, one of the Three Legendary Sannins, with some upstart Uchiha? Only someone who did not understand the true essence of the Will of Fire and was unable to think from the position of the Hokage could put them on the same level. The logic was impeccable in its cynical selectivity.
"That's their problem,— Tsunade said casually, dismissing the question. — Let them leave the country. When we get Yue's eyes, everything will be over and they will be able to return.
But was that really the case?
In the area consumed by his power, all life — from bacteria in the soil to ancient trees and wild animals—was wiped off the face of the earth. Due to the continuous draining of energy, this area was turning into a scorched, icy wasteland. Complete ecosystem collapse and irreversible climate change… It would take centuries for a modern state to recover from such a blow. What can we say about the semi-feudal Land of Fire.
She risked turning from a prosperous state into a poor, starving land.
But Tsunade and Jiraiya didn't think about it. They were Shinobi, not farmers. They were concerned about strength, not harvest.
The decision was made. In the coming months, Konoha's best minds had to create a ninjutsu capable of resisting Yue's power. And the fate of the country and the will of the daimyo before the brilliance of the Mangekyo Sharingan had no meaning.
Time passed. A month has passed since Uchiha Yue's awakening shook the world.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire, realizing the futility of his hopes, fled with his family and entourage, seeking refuge in neighboring countries. His act was a signal to everyone. The panic was growing. The Daimyo of other countries were pressing their Hidden Villages for immediate action. The spot of dead silence on the map was inexorably spreading, and no one could stop it.
It was then that, somewhere in the shadows, someone unearthed ancient information about the Uchiha clan.
First, rumors leaked about the main weakness of their dojutsu: Mangekyo Sharingan leads to blindness. The world breathed a sigh of relief. So this monster can't run amok forever!
But the relief was short-lived. A month has passed. Uchiha Yue used his technique continuously, twenty-four hours a day. By all accounts, he should have gone blind by now. But the destruction zone only grew.
Then new information surfaced: Izanagi. The forbidden resurrection technique at the cost of vision. It explained how he could have survived, but it didn't explain the main thing: why hadn't he gone blind yet?
And then it dawned on everyone. The realization was cold and scary. Uchiha Yue was not subject to the laws of this world. He didn't need the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. He himself was a new law, surpassing everything that was previously known.
The spirit of the rulers was broken. If you don't kill this man, the world will end. He wasn't just a powerful enemy—he was a walking natural disaster. Already, the territory he had absorbed was almost a fifth of the Land of Fire. With such power, it was enough for him to simply walk through any country to wipe it off the face of the earth.
There was no escaping him. One careless step of this titan covered a distance that would take an ordinary person an entire day to travel.
The only thing that saved the world was that almost everyone was sure of: Uchiha Yue couldn't move for some reason. Perhaps he lost control of his own power and became its hostage. After all, great power always comes at a price. When a mortal gains divine power without being prepared for it, disaster is inevitable. It seemed like the only logical explanation.
Realizing the scale of the threat, the Daimyo tried to force the Five Great Shinobi Villages to unite.
However, the Kages of all the villages ignored their calls. Solve Uchiha Yue's problem? It was as if they had not heard the pleas of their rulers. Each of them had their own reasons, their own plans and their own fears. And while the world stared in panic at the spreading stain of death, the Shinobi leaders were playing their own, much more complex and dangerous game.