NABC Chapter 1: My entire village was slaughtered, and I awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan!
Chapter 1: My entire village was slaughtered, and I awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan!
Sunlight filtered through the layers of leaves surrounding the Starry Sky Forest, casting dappled shadows on the open space at the eastern end of Konoha Village.
"call out!"
A throwing knife landed precisely on the bullseye thirty paces away, its handle trembling slightly in the sunlight.
"Wow! Brother Dai Tu won again!"
A round of applause rang out behind her. A little girl in a coarse cloth dress stood there, her hair in two pigtails, her face flushed with excitement.
Dai Tu turned around and scratched his signature short, black, spiky hair. His large, round eyes were full of sunshine, making him look even more childlike than his actual age.
"Arlene, you've been watching for half an hour, aren't you tired of it?"
"Not greasy at all!" Arlene skipped over and naturally took Dai Tu's hand.
"Brother Dai Tu looks so cool throwing knives! Uncle Wang, the hunter in the village, said that if you used your martial spirit, you would be even more powerful!"
When the topic of martial spirits was mentioned, Dai Tu's smile faded slightly.
He raised his left hand, and the phantom of a small sapling, no taller than the palm of his hand, appeared in his palm.
The sapling was pitifully thin, with only three tender leaves trembling slightly in the wind, as if a slightly stronger gust of wind could break it.
"Sapling Martial Soul..." Dai Tu chuckled self-deprecatingly, withdrew his left hand, and pointed to his own eyes.
At this moment, a single tomoe pattern quietly emerged in the depths of his dark eyes, slowly rotating.
"And this one-tomoe Sharingan, Arlene, don't you think it's ridiculous to put these two martial souls together?"
That's right, Dai Tu is a transmigrator. He has been in Douluo Continent for twelve years, and he has memories of his past life since he was an infant.
It's true that they have twin martial souls, but these two martial souls are ridiculously weak.
The Sharingan with one tomoe, apart from giving him slightly better dynamic vision than the average person and allowing him to barely see in the dark, has almost no special abilities.
The sapling martial soul was even more of a joke. He had tried it countless times, and apart from being able to release extremely weak life force to speed up the healing of wounds by a tiny bit, this little sapling was not even as good as the most ordinary Blue Silver Grass. At least Blue Silver Grass could entangle enemies.
Having innate soul power at level three is considered quite good talent in the remote village of Konoha, but it's practically insignificant in the entire Douluo Continent.
He has been cultivating desperately for six years, and he is only at level seventeen now.
However, there's nothing wrong with that.
He has a childhood sweetheart and a group of kind and simple villagers.
That's right, he grew up eating food from many different families.
Twelve years ago, his mother fled here and gave birth to him, but when he was five years old, his mother fell seriously ill and passed away.
A dagger was left behind, with the image of a black tiger on it.
Unfortunately, the village suffered a disaster last year, resulting in a poor harvest. In order to prevent the children from going hungry, Dai Tu voluntarily sold the dagger to a traveling merchant.
Although he was reluctant, he did not regret that all the children in the village should have enough to eat.
……
After practicing for a while, the two prepared to return, but as they approached the village, his pace gradually slowed down.
Dai Tu frowned and took a deep breath. A faint, metallic smell wafted through the air…
It smells like blood.
Although it was faint, his one-tomoe Sharingan gave him a more acute sense of perception than ordinary people, so he was absolutely right.
"Arlene, stay close to me." Dai Tu's voice deepened as he took Arlene's hand and slowed his pace.
The closer you get to the village, the stronger the smell of blood becomes.
When the two quietly crept to the small hill outside the village, the sight before them made Dai Tu's blood almost freeze.
The villagers of Konoha, all those familiar faces, were all bound with thick hemp ropes and kneeling in the open space at the village entrance.
About fifty soldiers dressed in silver-white armor surrounded them. These soldiers were all fierce and powerful, and the tips of their spears gleamed coldly in the setting sun.
The soldiers' armor had a roaring white tiger pattern engraved on the chest.
"The White Tiger Army..." Dai Tu's heart clenched painfully. One of the most elite legions of the Star Luo Empire, the personal guard of Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Army—why would they appear in this remote border village?
Ahead of the villagers, a young man who looked to be in his twenties was pacing with his hands behind his back.
He wore a magnificent dark red brocade robe, with a jewel-encrusted longsword at his waist. His face was delicate and handsome, but his brows revealed an inescapable sinister intent.
"I'll ask one last time."
The young man's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to the ears of every villager.
"Is there a boy in this village who is about twelve years old and whose surname is Dai?"
He paused, then took out a dagger from his pocket—the very Black Tiger Dagger that Dai Tu had sold.
"This dagger was intercepted from a traveling merchant three months ago. Our investigation..." The man's voice suddenly turned cold.
"It's an old item from the White Tiger Duke's mansion! The owner's mother was a former maid in the Duke's mansion. To tell you the truth, that little bastard is the White Tiger Duke's illegitimate son. The Duchess has ordered that you hand him over..."
He stood up, looked around at all the villagers, and gave a smile that seemed gentle but was actually cold.
"The whole village will be safe. Otherwise... you'll die."
On the hillside, Dai Tu was struck dumb as if by lightning.
illegitimate child?
Is he the illegitimate son of Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger?
The White Tiger Duke, who was second only to the emperor in the Star Luo Empire, the man who abandoned his wife and children in the original story, was his... father?
Then Huo Yuhao... isn't he his younger brother?
They are half-brothers.
……
"We don't know any kids with the surname Dai."
There's no such person in the village.
The villagers remained silent for a moment before gritting their teeth and answering.
The young man, Zhu Ye, the Duchess's younger brother, had clearly lost patience.
"Looks like they won't learn their lesson until they see the coffin." He waved his hand. "Drag these lowly people out one by one and chop off their fingers. I want to see just how stubborn they are."
"stop!"
Dai Tu leaped down the hillside and stood between the villagers and the soldiers.
All eyes instantly turned to him.
"Dai Tu! What are you doing back here!" the old village chief shouted hoarsely, his eyes filled with anxiety.
Dai Tu didn't turn around. He looked at Zhu Ye and said, word by word, "I am the person you are looking for. Release them, and I will go with you."
Zhu Ye looked Dai Tu up and down, and when he saw his short, black, spiky hair and his signature big eyes, a cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"It really is you. You do have a bit of the Dai family's looks."
He slowly walked up to Dai Tu, then suddenly raised his foot and kicked Dai Tu hard in the stomach.
"Bang!"
Dai Tu was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a tree before sliding to the ground. A sharp pain shot through his abdomen, and he felt as if his internal organs had shifted.
Dai Tu was instantly subdued and pinned to the ground by Zhu Ye.
"I never expected a bastard to have twin martial souls, but unfortunately... he's too weak."
Dai Tu struggled desperately, but Zhu Ye's feet felt as heavy as mountains.
Only then did he see clearly that four soul rings appeared behind Zhu Ye, two yellow and two purple, a four-ring Soul Master!
Dai Tu resigned himself to his fate, staring intently at Zhu Ye: "I'll go with you, let them go, you promised."
"Agree?" Zhu Ye burst into laughter as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.
When the laughter abruptly stopped, his expression was already as cold as ice.
"Who told you that I, this young master, keep my word?"
Dai Tu's pupils suddenly contracted.
Zhu Ye slowly drew his longsword, the tip pointing at the kneeling villagers, his voice echoing in the open space at the village entrance:
"The White Tiger Duke's Mansion will never allow the existence of any filthy illegitimate children, especially... a twin martial soul hybrid that could threaten my sister's child's right to inherit the throne."
He paused, a cruel expression of almost glee spreading across his face.
"As for these villagers? Ha, only the dead can keep secrets forever."
"Kill them." Zhu Ye's voice was soft, but it exploded in Dai Tu's ears like a thunderclap.
"Leave no one alive."
"No!!!"
Dai Tu's eyes were bloodshot, and he tried to rush over, but two soldiers held him down firmly.
He watched helplessly as the villagers in the first row were dragged out.
That was the blacksmith's family. The blacksmith was a taciturn middle-aged man who always liked to hum off-key songs while forging iron. His wife was the best seamstress in the village, and she sewed many of Dai Tu's clothes.
They also have a seven-year-old son, a chubby-cheeked boy who always pesters Dai Tu to teach him how to throw knives.
The blacksmith did not beg for mercy. He turned his head and looked at Dai Tu, who was being pressed to the ground, a forced smile appearing on his face, which was blackened by the furnace fire.
"Little Tu...it's not your fault. Live well..."
One villager after another fell down, but no one blamed Dai Tu.
"Look closely, you little bastard. Their deaths are all because of you."
"If it weren't for you, this illegitimate child who shouldn't exist, they could have lived a peaceful life in this poor, remote place."
"You're the one who killed them."
Dai Tu gritted his teeth, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He tried to close his eyes, but Zhu Ye used his soul power to forcefully pry open his eyelids.
Arlene was in tears!
Zhu Ye walked to A Lin's side and used the tip of his sword to lift her chin.
"Little girl, seeing how protective you are of him, I'll give you a chance." He pointed at Dai Tu, "Now you call him a 'bastard,' say he's the one who ruined you all, and I'll spare your life. How about it?"
Arlene's small body was trembling, and large tears were falling down her cheeks.
"No...it's not Dai Tu's fault..."
She sniffed and tried to force a smile, though it looked worse than a grimace.
"Brother Dai Tu...don't cry...Ah Lin, don't be afraid..."
Zhu Ye's expression instantly darkened.
"court death."
The longsword was raised and then lowered.
"Pfft!"
The sharp blade pierced Arlene's back and emerged from her chest.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Blood splattered onto Dai Tu's eyes, staining them crimson.
Zhu Ye walked up to Dai Tu and patted Dai Tu's face with his blood-stained sword.
"Don't worry, I won't let you die too quickly. I'll gouge out your eyes, cut off your hands and feet, turn you into a human pig, and take you back to the Duke's mansion so my sister can see what happens when someone dares to tarnish the Dai family bloodline."
"Then, I will burn this place down. No one will know what happened in Konoha Village, no one will know that fifty-three lowly people once lived here."
"In everyone's hearts, the White Tiger Duke's Mansion will always be a symbol of light, justice, and the heroes who protect the empire."
"As for you?" Zhu Ye's smile widened, revealing his gleaming white teeth.
"It's just a pile of garbage that shouldn't exist."
Dai Tu did not move.
He wasn't even looking at Zhu Ye.
His gaze fell on Arlene's gradually cooling body, on the place where the blacksmith's family had collapsed, on the old village chief's unseeing face, and on Aunt Li's last look at him.
blood.
Blood was everywhere.
The people he knew, the people he swore to protect, fell one after another.
And he could do nothing.
Dai Tu felt like the world had turned blood red!
Dai Tu slowly raised his head.
Zhu Ye met a pair of eyes.
A pair of scarlet eyes, as if blood were flowing within them.
The pupil, which originally held only one tomoe, began to spin wildly. The tomoe split into two, then into three. The three tomoe spun rapidly within the pupil, faster and faster…
Then, at a certain moment, it suddenly freezes.
The three magatama twisted, deformed, and connected, eventually coalescing into a pattern that had never appeared in the world before.
It was a complex, eerie, dart-shaped pattern that seemed to draw one's soul into it.
Kaleidoscope Sharingan.
"You... all deserve to die!!!"