XX-level Hokage

Flora casually flipped through the ancient book in her hands, but if you looked closely, you would notice that the petals around her were arranged in a peculiar rhythm.

"You're analyzing me." Miko suddenly spoke, her voice cold.

“Likewise.” Flora pushed up her glasses, a knowing smile playing on her lips. “Your eyes are special. They can see the flow of energy within me and even predict the slightest movements of my muscles. Is this the Sharingan’s perceptive power?”

“Not only that.” Miko raised her chin slightly. “I can see through the physical form of your petals. Although you have created many clones with the petals to confuse people, your true form is nowhere to be hidden in my eyes.”

"Really?" Flora closed the book. "Then can you see through this?"

She snapped her fingers lightly. "A Hundred Flowers in Full Bloom - Wings of Illusion".

Countless petals appeared out of thin air, not directly attacking the princess, but forming intricate patterns around her like a kaleidoscope. These patterns were not illusions, but visual deception created by the colors and arrangement of the petals.

Miko's Sharingan narrowed sharply. In her vision, the surrounding space seemed to be displaced, upside down, and confused left and right. "It's interesting to use physical means to create visual interference."

Miko remained calm. She closed her eyes, cutting off the visual signal. "But toying with sight in front of the Uchiha is like showing off one's limited skills before an expert."

When she closed her eyes again, the three tomoe in her pupils instantly merged into one. "Genjutsu: Sharingan!"

A powerful surge of spiritual energy broke through the maze of petals and invaded Flora's spiritual world.

Flora swayed slightly, feeling as if she were suddenly surrounded by a burning sea of ​​fire, with countless giant Sharingan eyes staring at her from the sky.

"Mental attack." Flora bit her tongue, using the pain to instantly snap back to reality. "So that's how it is, direct suggestion to the brain, and the Overlord..."

Unlike the oppressive aura of the Dark Lord, this one is more subtle and eerie.

"A draw."

Miko withdrew her genjutsu, the red light in her eyes fading. "You broke the genjutsu faster than I expected. For someone without chakra, your willpower is very strong."

"You flatter me." Flora smiled as she reopened the book. "It seems that the power system of the Huzhe Kingdom is more worthy of study than I imagined."

The two exchanged a smile. Although they didn't escalate the conflict, they both held each other in high regard. The clash of wits between wise men often ends with a subtle exchange.

If the previous battles were still within the realms of "physical" and "mental," then the scene in the corner of the training ground was somewhat... eerie. Lilim was floating in the air, commanding her army of negative ghosts.

Her opponents are Nobuyo Kurama and Rui Yuhi, who also possess special abilities.

“Go! Turn them all into negative idiots! Horo horo horo!” Lilim let out her signature laugh.

However, the ghosts suddenly stopped when they approached within three meters of the believer. The believer sat cross-legged on the ground, an easel in front of her, her brush moving rapidly in her hand. "Painting Realm - Color Stripping".

As the believer put pen to paper, the white ghosts were suddenly dyed with a riot of colors—polka dots, stripes, even floral patterns. The originally eerie and terrifying ghosts instantly transformed into comical circus balloons.

"Huh?! My ghost!" Lilim exclaimed in shock. "How did it become like this! It's not desperate at all!" "Because despair can be erased," the believer said calmly, her eyes ethereal.

Immediately after, Yuhi Rui delivered the finishing blow. "Magic Tree Binding Kill... Modified Candy House." Rui formed hand seals.

Lilim suddenly realized that her environment had changed.

It was no longer a martial arts arena, but a world filled with pink clouds and giant candies. Her body was "bound" by a giant lollipop, unable to move.

"This is an illusion?!" Lilimza exclaimed. "But it feels so real... and this lollipop really does seem sweet..."

This is a combined technique between me and Sister Xin Nu. "Tears' gentle voice echoed in the space," Sister Xin Nu said, "she's responsible for rewriting the 'truth,' while I'm responsible for filling it in."

"Details, Lilim, remember, negativity isn't allowed in this world."

"Damn it! Two against one! That's not fair!" Lilim shouted angrily. "I'm going to tell Father!"

Seeing Lilim being "sweetly punished" in the illusion, Alice and Zona, who were watching, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Bonus Chapter: Royal Meet-and-Greet (The End)

Location: Ninja Kingdom, Imperial Capital, Main Hall, Side Hall; Time: Midway through the banquet

As the banquet progressed, the initial tense atmosphere, as if the palace roof was about to collapse at any moment, was eventually soothed by the delicious food and wine (the minors drank specially made fruit juice), transforming into a more subtle and enthusiastic interaction.

These girls, who share the same father but grew up in completely different worlds, once their stomachs were full, their competitive spirit and curiosity were stirred once again.

On the east side of the banquet hall, in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling window.

Uchiha Miko was kneeling on the tatami mat, holding a cup of freshly warmed tea. Her deep black eyes seemed to be calmly watching the cherry blossoms falling outside the window, but in reality, her peripheral vision was fixed on the green-haired girl not far away beside her.

That's Amezuki Amber from Wano Country.

Amber was quietly polishing the katana bow called "String of Time," her movements so slow it seemed as if time itself had slowed. "I've heard your eyes can see the future?"

Miko finally couldn't help but speak. She put down her teacup, her tone filled with the pride and arrogance unique to the Uchiha clan, "In our ninja world, my Sharingan can also perceive the precursors of all actions. I don't believe that the so-called 'seeing the future' is superior to my dynamic vision."

Amber stopped wiping and turned her head, her golden eyes gleaming with a mysterious light.

"The future isn't about actions, Miko-neechan," Amber's voice was clear and cool as jade. "It's a river of countless possibilities; what your eyes see are muscles."

The contraction of energy, the flow of chakra—these are used to predict the trajectory of the next second. But what I saw... was the fruit falling to the ground.

"The result?" Miko raised an eyebrow slightly, her three-tomoe Sharingan instantly activating, crimson light swirling in her eyes. "Then let's give it a try. We'll use that cherry blossom."

Miko pointed to a pink petal falling outside the window.

"Before it hits the ground, I'll pin it to the center of the window frame with a shuriken. Since you can see the future, can you be faster than me?" Before the words were even finished, Miko had already made her move.

There was no dramatic movement; with just a flick of the wrist, a kunai transformed into a black lightning bolt, striking the petal with pinpoint accuracy. The angle, the force, and the timing were all flawlessly perfect.

However, just as the kunai was about to touch the petal, "Bang!"

A very faint sound of a bowstring snapping back rang out.

Amber didn't nock an arrow; she simply pulled back the bowstring.

A strange thing happened. The kunai, which had been moving with unstoppable momentum, suddenly stopped in mid-air for a fraction of a second, as if it had been stuck in place by some kind of invisible glue for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, a wave of emerald green chakra swept across, and the cherry blossom petal vanished into thin air, reappearing in the center of the window frame—firmly pinned down by an invisible air arrow.

Miko's kunai, caught in that momentary pause, grazed the flower petals and struck a nearby pillar. "This..." Miko's pupils contracted sharply, "Space-time ninjutsu?"

“It’s a time jump.” Amber put down her bow, her golden pupils regaining their calm. “I’m not faster than you, Miko-neechan. I just cut the moment the arrow was shot to before your kunai arrived. In the dimension of time, speed is meaningless.”

Miko remained silent for a moment, the red light in her eyes faded, but the competitive spirit in her eyes burned even more fiercely.

“Interesting.” She picked up her teacup again, a faint smile playing on her lips. “It seems that besides Sister Tianchen, I have another goal I must surpass: Tianyue Amber. I will see through your time with my own eyes.”

Amber smiled slightly and performed a standard Wano Country greeting: "I'm always ready."

In a corner of the banquet hall, an art exchange with a "supernatural" feel was taking place. "What?! Not cute at all!"

Lilim, with her pink spiral twin tails, floated angrily in mid-air, the Kumasi doll in her arms deformed from her squeezing. She pointed at a painting on the easel in front of her and protested to the girl who was painting.

The artist is Kurama Nobunaga.

The girl, who possessed the ability to turn the illusory into the real, was currently immersed in her own world, her paintbrush flying across the canvas. "But... this is how I see your ghost," the believer whispered, her voice somewhat soft, but her brush never stopped.

On the canvas, the round, somewhat comical negative ghosts that Lilim had originally released underwent a transformation under the brush of the Nobunaga.

They became longer and more twisted, with black ink flowing from their empty eye sockets, and their mouths split open to their ears, like vengeful spirits from the abyss.

The most terrifying thing is that this painting is "alive".

The vengeful spirit in the painting is moving, and you can even faintly hear the harsh sound of fingernails scratching the canvas.

"Aaaaaah! Don't let them move!" Lilim cried out in fright, hiding behind Yuhi Rui. "My ghosts are meant to make you negative, not dream! Your art style is too dark! I'm giving you a bad review!"

“I think it has a very evocative quality.” Yuhi Rui smiled gently, her red eyes reflecting the eerie painting. “Sister Xin Nu has captured the emptiness and fear inherent in the spirit, but since it’s a gathering, adding a few warmer colors would be even better.”

As she spoke, Lei extended her finger and gently touched the canvas. "Magic: Falling Cherry Blossom Technique."

A faint pink halo enveloped the canvas. The writhing spirits suddenly had several flower wreaths on their heads, and the background changed from a dark abyss to a cherry blossom forest with falling petals.

That sense of terror was instantly replaced by a strange and beautiful feeling.

"So, does this make us look like ghosts throwing a party?" Tears asked, tilting her head.

Lilim peeked out from behind Tears, looked at the painting, then at her own ghost, and finally gave a haughty snort: "Well... I guess you could call it tasteful. Since you're so eager to learn, then this lady will mercifully teach you some Gothic aesthetics!"

Looking at the revised painting, the gloom in the woman's eyes seemed to dissipate somewhat: "So...fear can be pink too?" She thoughtfully picked up a pink paintbrush and began to draw blush on the faces of the vengeful spirits.

Xiao Nan, who was watching (though she was dozing off), couldn't help but mutter, "The atmosphere is getting weirder. What's the point of just drinking tea and eating snacks! Since you're sisters, you should have a strength contest!"

In the center of the banquet hall, Yu Shouman finally couldn't suppress the chakra within her anymore. She stepped onto the tatami mat, rolled up her sleeves with a bold gesture, revealing her muscular forearms, and approached Filon again, "Hey! Dare to have a contest to see who can break this first?"

Manka pointed to a huge decorative obsidian in the center of the hall—this was an ultra-high-density rock that Manka had specially created using Earth Release and Wood Release to decorate the space.

Boa Feren was elegantly adjusting the hem of her cheongsam when she heard this. She raised her eyelids disdainfully, her deep blue eyes filled with arrogance.

“A rude address. My name is Boa Philen.” Philen stood up, her crimson cloak billowing behind her without wind. “Since you’re so eager to witness true power, I’ll grant your wish. However, playing childish games like breaking stones is far too boring.”

"So how do you want to play?" Wan Hua asked.

“It’s very simple.” Philen walked to the obsidian, slowly raised her long right leg, and instantly wrapped her high heel with dark Armament Haki, which shone with a metallic luster. “We will each strike once. Whoever can completely destroy the inside of the stone without breaking the surface wins. This is called internal destruction, which is what you call advanced technique.”

"Ha! Interesting!" Mangekyou's eyes lit up, and a green chakra aura instantly enveloped her entire body. "Isn't this a contest of control? The monstrous strength of the Mikite clan is not just brute force!"

"Sister Tianchen, this kind of competition should be fine, right?" Wanhua looked at Otsutsuki Tianchen.

Guan Chen nodded in agreement; she had no objections. Her only responsibility was to prevent the sisters from hurting each other. "Begin!"

With a command given.

Philen kicked first, her movements as graceful as a dance, but when that "fragrant foot" struck the obsidian, it made almost no sound.

Only a muffled popping sound echoed in the air. The obsidian remained motionless, its surface as smooth as a mirror.

“Philan pulled her legs back, crossed her arms, and stood there confidently. It was Wanhua's turn.”

Manka took a deep breath, gathered his chakra in his fist, and instead of using explosive, monstrous strength, he compressed and rotated his chakra to the extreme.

"Superhuman Strength - Heaven-Piercing Fist - Inch Punch!" *Bang!*

With a crisp sound, Wan Hua's fist slammed into the other side of the stone.

Similarly, there wasn't a single crack on the surface of the stone. The entire room fell silent for three seconds.

"What? A tie?" Ya, who was watching, was a little disappointed. "I thought it would be a draw."

Just then, a gentle breeze blew by. Whoosh—

The massive obsidian suddenly shattered into countless tiny particles, instantly collapsing into a pile of black sand.

"Did you see clearly?" Philon pointed to the pile of sand, a smile playing on his lips. "The half that I kicked apart had sand grains of uniform size, just like flour."

Wan Hua wasn't to be outdone, grabbing a handful of sand from her side: "Ha! I think you're getting old and your eyes are failing! The sand on my side is even crystalline!"

The structure is almost falling apart! It's clearly more fragmented on my side!

The two locked in a fierce confrontation, forehead to forehead, neither willing to yield. "I clearly won!"

"Insolent fool! I am clearly superior!"