Inside Konoha Village.
After another ten days, during this time, there were finally some new developments in the Spirit Society.
The first wave of Shinigami forces had begun to reclaim the surrounding small villages.
As long as a village was incorporated into the territory of the Spirit Society, the villagers inside could enjoy the treatment of Spirit Society citizens.
The Spirit Society did not interfere in the lives of these villages; they simply allowed them to bear the title of being "affiliated with the Spirit Society."
The next announcement made by the Spirit Society shook the entire ninja world.
The Spirit Society would establish a comprehensive academy at the original border of the Spirit Society.
This so-called comprehensive academy would teach residents chakra and various forms of knowledge.
They could choose to become ninjas, scientists, or even teachers if they wished.
The courses taught at the comprehensive academy ranged from combat to research.
Among them, courses in science, biology, physics, and more were particularly emphasized by the Spirit Society.
As long as they successfully completed their studies, they could find good positions within the Spirit Society.
Enrollment was not restricted by one's family background; as long as you were six years old or older, you could enter for free.
As long as your annual performance met the requirements, you could continue studying at the comprehensive academy.
Furthermore, you had the right to read all books.
You could acquire any knowledge you desired if you wished.
For the ninja world, this information was like an earthquake, and it dealt an unprecedented blow to the various nations and ninja villages.
Countless residents were drawn to the Spirit Society.
In this day and age, knowledge was undoubtedly the most precious commodity.
Knowledge could change one's destiny, but knowledge had always been monopolized.
However, the Spirit Society had opened a wide avenue for the common people.
"If you want to rewrite your destiny, if you long for respect and fairness, then join the Spirit Society." The Spirit Society's slogan was simple but drove everyone crazy.
"Welcome all nations to join the Spirit Society!" The announcement that followed made countless daimyo furious.
Join the Spirit Society? You're overestimating yourself.
Our country has been established for decades, even centuries. How could we submit to an emerging force?
The major ninja villages were in turmoil, although the vast majority of villagers still stayed in their villages, they all harbored a longing for the Spirit Society deep in their hearts.
Even within the villages, there were discordant voices: "Why not join the Spirit Society? After all, they said they would only dismantle the privileges of the high-ranking and wealthy, and not interfere with the daily lives of the common people."
The villagers were not foolish; they quickly understood the pros and cons.
For the upper class and wealthy families, the Spirit Society was a wolf.
But for the common people, the Spirit Society was an angel, offering them hope for a better life.
Information about villages that had improved thanks to the Spirit Society quickly spread throughout the ninja world.
It further solidified the resolve of countless individuals to join the Spirit Society.
The influence of the Spirit Society continued to expand.
For a moment, the leaders of the major ninja villages were all on edge.
And after this dark half-month, Konoha's research had finally reached its conclusion.
Inside the Konoha laboratory, Tsunade looked at her subordinates with a serious expression.
"What's the current situation with the Spirit Society?" she inquired.
"The surrounding small villages have mostly been absorbed, and it's expected that in half a month, they will begin absorbing the nearby small ninja villages and may launch a full-scale attack on our ninja world coalition." A ninja stepped forward, speaking gravely.
"Half a month? That should be enough time." Tsunade murmured to herself, then assigned tasks to her subordinates.
After dismissing everyone, she took out a vial of white liquid, her expression resolute.
"At last, the Wood Release cells should rightfully belong to the Senju clan."
She clenched her teeth and forcefully injected the serum into her own neck, pushing the liquid into her body.
"Please let me succeed. Konoha can't afford a second failure." She silently prayed in her heart, and then her body began to undergo cellular movements, waves of pain washing over her like a tide, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
Over a dozen days later, the Spirit Society had completed the absorption of the surrounding areas. Under Naruto's orders, the captains of the Shinigami began heading to the major ninja villages.
In the Hidden Cloud Village, Orochimaru gracefully descended and tossed a letter toward the Fourth Raikage.
"This is a declaration of war. In three days, the Spirit Society will launch a full-scale attack on the ninja world coalition."
Similar scenes were playing out in other ninja villages.
The villages were furious but helpless; they could only gather their ninja and form armies.
However, what made them despair was that nearly 10% of the gathered ninja had already defected.
In the face of death, many ninja could not overcome the fear in their hearts.
The disparity was just too great, and even inexperienced lower-level ninja understood that the final outcome was already sealed.
These three days were an absolute torment for the ninja villages.
Powerful figures from all the villages gathered with their armies, and all the ninja had expressions of determination as if they were prepared to meet death.
After being saved by the Eight-Tails and recovering, Killer B also joined the ninja world coalition, swearing to protect the peace of the ninja world.
And during these few days, Konoha received an unexpected visitor.
In the sky, a man slowly descended.
He had pale skin and long blue-white hair, slender willow-leaf eyebrows, and naturally no eyes. He wore white clothing, and there was a hook-shaped pattern around his neck.
He landed directly in the compound of the Hyuga clan, his body exuding a terrifying amount of chakra. The shockwaves of his chakra alone sent countless Hyuga clan members stumbling.
"Enemy attack?!" The entire Hyuga clan mobilized, and Konoha's ANBU moved swiftly as well.
The recent events had already made their lives quite troublesome.
Had Konoha reached the point where anyone could invade it?
What made them helpless was that Tsunade had been missing for at least ten days. According to her subordinates, Tsunade was in seclusion at a critical juncture.
So now, Konoha had only one Kage-level powerhouse left, Itachi Uchiha.
Daito of the Otsutsuki clan looked at Hinata Hyuga with empty eye sockets, a bone-chilling sensation running down anyone's spine. He extended his hand, and then he saw Hinata's neck being twisted in a painful and distorted manner.
In severe pain, he cried out and looked fearfully in the direction of Hinata. He immediately felt a terrifying presence from her, along with astonishing chakra.
In his line of sight, a girl with purple hair was looking at him, her pure white eyes radiating a disturbing light.
"I sense something on you that could be very helpful to me," Hinata said calmly as her pure white eyes began to show signs of turning blue.
"If I obtain your power, my eyes might evolve sooner," Hinata murmured as she reached out her hand.
The next moment, Shisui's body uncontrollably flew towards Hinata.
"Repulsion? Your eyes..."
In that instant, Shisui finally let go of his arrogance and understood the vast difference between them. If his eyes had the potential of the Mangekyo Sharingan, then Hinata's eyes surpassed even that.
Not only did she possess the abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan, but also a terrifying power with a corrosive nature.
Her bloodline was not just pure; it had mutated beyond the original limits.
"Snap." When Hinata gripped Shisui's neck, fear appeared on his face for the first time.
Kihabi, who had just escaped death, immediately started crying.
"It's a good thing we have Hinata," the clan leader said, relieved. He looked at Hinata with pride.
Hinata used to be a timid girl with insufficient talent and character, far from deserving the position of clan leader. However, at some point, Hinata changed. She became hardworking and her personality became stronger. Under Naruto's "guidance," she even evolved her Byakugan.
Naruto and Konoha may have an irreconcilable hatred, but he had done a favor for the Hyuga clan. The pure blood running through Hinata's veins would benefit future generations, potentially surpassing the Sharingan with the evolved Byakugan.
Now, with these eyes, Hinata had comfortably reached the level of a Kage. Once her evolution was complete, the Kage level would not be her limit.
Hinata looked coldly at Shisui, who was writhing in pain and almost crying.
Shisui had grown up on the moon and had little experience, so his tolerance for pain was pitifully low. Hinata tossed him aside as if he were trash, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"Who are you? Why do I sense a familiar aura?" she asked.
"What a terrifying woman. How did she become like this?" Shisui's soul was almost frozen as he looked at the unfamiliar Hinata.
He had visited the Ninja World a long time ago and had seen what Hinata used to look like. From the moment he first saw her, he was attracted to the cute Hinata and had decided to make her his future wife, raising pure Otsutsuki descendants together.
But now, Hinata had grown up, and she had become terrifying.
Who would dare to marry such a woman?
Facing Hinata's threatening questions, Shisui didn't dare to answer, but he had no choice.
Soon, he revealed his entire identity.
The Hyuga clan quickly understood the situation and learned that their Byakugan was actually descended from the Otsutsuki clan, but their bloodline had become too diluted.
Only Hanabi and Hinata had pure blood, which meant they had a chance to evolve the Byakugan into the Mangekyo Sharingan. The Mangekyo Sharingan was comparable to the Rinnegan.
Thinking about this, the clan leader's eyes lit up with excitement.
At present, the power of the Seireitei was unstoppable, and the Ninja World Alliance was powerless to stop it.
If the Hyuga clan could awaken multiple pairs of Mangekyo Sharingan, they would have confidence. Perhaps they could join the Seireitei and secure a good position within it.
In all honesty, given the high potential of the Byakugan, it was reasonable to offer some benefits.
It could be said that one of the main reasons the Hyuga clan had not left Konoha was the Seireitei's rule against the existence of any noble families.
For a large clan like the Hyuga, this rule diluted the purity of the Byakugan lineage. Allowing the Hyuga clan to integrate into the Seireitei, intermarry with commoners, and potentially achieve breakthroughs in the future was not unreasonable.
They needed more bargaining power.
"Pledge loyalty to the Hyuga clan, or die," Hinata said calmly, looking at Shisui.
"It's impossible. The Great Otsutsuki clan..." Shisui was angry, but before he could finish his sentence, his neck was pierced. He stared wide-eyed, completely unaware of what had just happened.
Dead?
Did he just die?
Couldn't you at least try to talk him out of it?
His mind was filled with too many thoughts, but they all disappeared in an instant.
Hinata's eyes emitted a blinding white light as she extracted his pure white soul.
The soul emitted a piercing scream, its consciousness completely erased.
Hinata carefully sent the white mass into Hanabi's eyes, revealing a perfect smile.
"This way, Hanabi can awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan."
Even before the evolution was complete, the eyes already had the ability to extract bloodline limits and erase consciousness. Hinata knew that once her eyes fully evolved, even top-tier Shinigami might have to bow before her.
Watching this scene, Itachi Uchiha, who had just arrived, breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
It seemed that Konoha's power had increased once again.
Konoha truly deserved its reputation as the strongest ninja village and the cradle of geniuses.
Under the pressure of hatred and war, Konoha unleashed unprecedented potential.
The Hyuga clan cheered, having lost hope after Shisui's earlier remarks.
Their Byakugan had become diluted to an unimaginable degree, which meant that their chances of awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan were slim. Compared to the Rinnegan, the Byakugan's abilities were limited.
However, now, their future clan leader had shown that the pure Otsutsuki bloodline was of little significance in her presence.
She had awakened a bloodline limit beyond the Byakugan.
In the future, the Hyuga clan's bloodline might also experience a breakthrough.
They did not know that Hinata's eye evolution had Naruto to thank, and if they did, they would despair.
At this moment, Hinata's reputation had reached its peak. Her father looked at her with pride and even contemplated passing on the clan leader's position to her directly.
The future of the Hyuga clan looked bright.
Among the crowd, Neji Hyuga looked at Hinata with deep admiration and swore his loyalty to her.
After Hanabi successfully awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, the war finally began.
Three days had passed, and the Shinigami army of the Seireitei began to gather. At the same time, the assembled forces of the Ninja World reached their peak.
The four Kage took turns rallying the troops, delivering inspiring speeches about the darkest times in the history of the ninja world, the need to protect world peace, and the future of humanity.
"This is the darkest era of the ninja world. In order to protect the peace of this world and the future of humanity, please, fight together!"