Kei didn’t care about what had happened to Hotaru.
Aside from solving the problem of Oboro’s insufficient chakra, Kei had more important matters to deal with. Compared to those, Hotaru’s situation was child’s play.
These past few days, Kei had truly hit the jackpot. One stroke of good luck had followed another.
But that was also the result of Kei choosing the right path and working hard toward it.
The reason you felt that life was so difficult was perhaps because you were always passively accepting those trials without ever noticing the opportunities hidden within them—or seizing them when they appeared.
Kei felt that the Third Hokage’s opposition toward him was precisely the trial Heaven had given him.
Because of Hiruzen’s targeting, Kei had resolved to increase the strength in his own hands. That, in turn, had led him to research the correct method of awakening the Sharingan. That had been his opportunity.
Then Oboro successfully awakened her Sharingan, and the chain reaction that followed had brought Kei even more good fortune.
Back then, in order to prove his theory about the Sharingan, Kei had deliberately created a hero-making campaign. It had brought mythological stories to the people around him and those in the surrounding area.
Mystical and inexplicable things always spread quickly when people started talking about them.
In this world, which had never possessed such an established mythology, the widespread dissemination of stories from Japan’s mythology naturally happened at astonishing speed. Inevitably, that included tales of yokai.
Izanagi and Izanami had also proven that the Sharingan did not need to be a Mangekyō Sharingan to channel the power of the gods. Even an ordinary Sharingan could do it.
There would always be lucky people in this world. Sometimes, all those lucky people lacked was the key that would unlock their potential.
Kei looked at the two ordinary Uchiha Chūnin standing before him, then thought about his own pitiful talent. His heart filled with helplessness.
I really don’t have the protagonist’s luck. I have neither the talent nor the fortune.
The two people before him were unexpected byproducts of the connection between Mangekyō Sharingan awakening and divine power.
"Tell me. What’s going on with the two of you?"
Uchiha Johnny, who came from the Iga Group, held his combat blade horizontally in front of him.
[Uchiha Johnny — Ninjutsu: B, Taijutsu: B+, Genjutsu: C]
"My lord, this is my sword, Dōjigiri Yasutsuna. It is said that a warrior from ancient times once used this sword to slay the great demon Shuten Dōji. I would stroke this sword day and night, imagining that one day I would become a hero who could slay demons myself. Then I was granted the power of Shuten Dōji."
Kei nodded.
Shuten Dōji, also known as Rokudōmaru, was counted among the Eight Million Gods as one of the great yokai. It wasn’t unreasonable for such a powerful yokai to grant someone an ability just as the true gods did.
And since Johnny could use it with only a Two-Tomoe Sharingan, that was perfectly understandable.
After all, Shuten Dōji wasn’t exactly a proper deity. He was merely a great yokai, somewhat like the various animal spirits worshiped as divine beings in folk traditions.
Kei simply didn’t know whether this type of dōjutsu was unique or could be awakened by others. Nor did he know what its exact ability was or how powerful it could become.
"How powerful is it?"
Seeing his lord’s question, Johnny scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.
"It doesn’t seem particularly powerful. It’s basically a compound ninjutsu. I can exhale a huge cloud of alcohol mist, and if I ignite it with Fire Release, it can cause widespread damage. The damage itself isn’t particularly high, but anyone covered by the alcohol mist will continue suffering its effects for a long time. The range is also quite large."
"How large?" Kei pressed.
"Large enough to burn down the Uchiha Clan compound in Konoha without any problem!"
Johnny’s expression was firm, as though he had been waiting for an opportunity to do exactly that.
Kei nodded, wondering what kind of people he had gathered under his command. Why did everyone keep thinking about burning down their own home?
Could his departure have caused everyone to develop some sort of grudge against the Uchiha Clan?
He wasn’t sure.
He’d better keep watching.
That certainly hadn’t been his intention.
Kei turned his attention to Uchiha Joseph.
"And you? What did you awaken?"
[Uchiha Joseph — Ninjutsu: C, Taijutsu: A-, Genjutsu: C]
Joseph looked rather cool as he sniffed and answered Kei.
"My companion blade is Kogarasumaru. Legend says that a black bird once flew before the Emperor carrying a single-edged sword. It claimed to be a messenger from Ise Grand Shrine before flying away and leaving the sword behind. That bird was the Yatagarasu, and the sword came to be known as Kogarasumaru because of it."
Kei found this subordinate rather annoying.
Those are all stories I made up myself, and he actually believes them.
Even the story of this counterfeit sword had been something Kei had embellished purely to increase its commercial value.
How are you seriously using my own story to fool me?
Do you people even know that I’m the one who invented these stories?
Perhaps because the stories had spread through several intermediaries rather than directly from their original source, the true origin had been completely buried.
"You don’t need to tell me all that. Just tell me what you awakened."
Joseph nodded. His expression remained cool. He was even wearing sunglasses indoors in broad daylight.
"My ability is called Tengu’s Counter."
Hearing the name, Kei thought about it for a moment and decided it made sense.
The Great Tengu, the spirit associated with Emperor Sutoku, was said to have been slain by the warrior Taira no Kiyomori, who possessed Kogarasumaru. Therefore, it wasn’t strange that Joseph, who had become obsessed with Kogarasumaru, would awaken an ability related to the Great Tengu.
"What does the ability do?"
The reason Joseph had been so vague was that he was afraid Kei would ask about his ability.
After all, his ability was somewhat awkward.
Especially when used against people of higher status.
And now he was facing Kei, the very lord to whom he had pledged his loyalty. Joseph didn’t want Kei to misunderstand him.
But with his lord pressing the issue, he couldn’t exactly keep hiding it.
"The ability is based on challenging one’s superiors. The higher someone’s position is compared to mine, and the greater the difference in strength between us, the greater the power I can unleash."
Kei was pleasantly surprised.
That’s a pretty good ability.
Before his death, the Great Tengu had reportedly bitten through his own tongue and used his blood to write a curse declaring that the scripture would make him the Great Demon King of Japan, reversing the positions of ruler and subject and bringing eternal unrest.
That legend certainly gave the concept of challenging one’s superiors a mythological basis.
This was practically a weapon that allowed the weaker fighter to challenge a stronger opponent and still have a chance of winning.
The more someone was unworthy of their position, the greater the boost Joseph would receive.
For example, if someone possessed mediocre strength but occupied an extremely high position, wouldn’t Joseph become overwhelmingly powerful against them?
"Have you tested it?"
Seeing that Kei wasn’t disgusted by his ability, Joseph finally relaxed.
"Yes. I fought Lord Tenzen. I lost, but I managed to hold him off for a while."
Kei nodded approvingly.
A Two-Tomoe Sharingan user fighting a Mangekyō Sharingan user—and doing so without the latter deliberately holding back—was something even Sasuke wouldn’t have been able to accomplish at that level.
That was already impressive.
No.
It could even be called extremely powerful.
After all, before awakening this ability, Joseph wasn’t even worthy of making Tenzen draw his sword. Yet now he could actually exchange blows with him for a while.
If he encountered that washed-up so-called demigod, Hanzo of the Salamander, wouldn’t Joseph be able to cut him down with a single strike?
No.
Joseph needed to be strengthened further.
In a little while, Kei would assign the two of them to guard the gates.
Hadn’t Joseph said that the greater the difference in status, position, and strength, the greater his power became?
Then Kei could simply give Joseph a low-status position with excellent benefits.
Perhaps that would produce some unexpected results.
The two men, who were still proudly displaying their achievements before Lord Kei, had no idea that their fate had already been decided.
A promotion in benefits.
A demotion in rank.
Well, Johnny was getting the short end of the stick.
But who told them to be brothers?
The two of them could guard the gates.
One would be responsible for one-on-one combat.
The other would handle groups.
Perfect.
Seeing that Lord Kei had merely nodded, the two men realized they couldn’t waste this rare opportunity to appear before him. They had to show off a little more.
"My lord, the power of this dōjutsu isn’t particularly great, but that’s not important. What’s important is this. Look."
Kei was somewhat surprised.
You call that weak? What, are you two planning to overthrow Heaven?
As it turned out, he had seriously underestimated them.
The two men simultaneously exerted their chakra, and armor enveloped their bodies.
Kei was stunned.
"Majestic Attire: Susanoo?"
"No, my lord. This is called the Fear Armor. It’s far inferior to Lord Tenzen’s Susanoo, but it can still enhance our physical abilities. At the very least, once we’re wearing it, ordinary blades and kunai are useless against us. Only ninjutsu can injure us, and even then, the damage is greatly reduced."
Kei’s eyes lit up.
sensei, teach me this!
This was ridiculously powerful.
Not everyone had a chance of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, but if this could be achieved by Chūnin, didn’t that mean it could potentially be mass-produced?
Everyone under his command would eventually reach at least the Chūnin level.
Once Oboro no longer had to worry about running out of chakra, she could suppress an enemy’s abilities while his subordinates activated their Fear Armor.
Wouldn’t that be an absolute slaughter?
Just thinking about it made Kei drool.
"Can everyone use this? Is it like Susanoo—a technique that can be widely used by Mangekyō Sharingan users?"
"Not everyone. But anyone who has obtained a mythological weapon associated with a yokai has awakened something similar. Even those who are weaker are only one step away. It won’t take long for them to master it completely."
Kei was completely baffled.
Those weapons...
No one else knew the truth, but Kei certainly did.
They were all counterfeit artifacts he had created himself for commercial purposes.
How could they possibly have such an effect?
This makes no sense.
Then again...
It makes perfect sense in a world where gods and yokai are apparently real.
Since this was beneficial to him, Kei decided not to dwell on it.
He continued asking questions.
"How many people like this are there?"
"After the two of us awakened, everyone pooled the points they’d accumulated over the past two years and exchanged them for weapons from the Kōga Group. At this point, most of the Chūnin can already do it."
Hearing this, Kei excitedly slapped his fist into his palm.
A Chūnin with a powerful offensive ninjutsu and an ability that greatly enhanced their combat strength during battle...
Wasn’t that basically a Special Jōnin?
Several dozen Special Jōnin, and not the weak kind either.
On top of that, they had around twenty elite Jōnin.
And all of them were still growing rapidly.
If Kei really went all out with a force like this, who wouldn’t be afraid of him?
Just tell me—who’s left to challenge me?
Kei felt that with this kind of lineup, even if he fought Madara Uchiha to the death, Madara would probably have to take him seriously.
Three giant mecha backed by more than a hundred armored soldiers.
Even if they couldn’t kill you...
They could certainly scare you to death.
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