Being Observed

Still processing the sudden surge of power, he frowned as he reflected. "It must be from defeating the Sunagakure army," he muttered.

"That must have increased the progress of unlocking and merging the template."

Suddenly, a series of system messages appeared:

[Ding! Congratulations Host. For defeating the Sunagakure army, killing ninjas, eliminating Sunagakure captives and opposing Konoha ninjas without blinking, the system rewards you with an additional 6%.]

[Congratulations host. You have become the Homelander (Hero) of Konoha. The system rewards you with 1%.]

[For not showing deference to Konoha's high executives, the system rewards you with 1%.]

[The Host is urged to keep striving, follow their instincts, free themselves from restrictions, and act according to their desires.]

He was stunned by these notifications.

He hadn't expected such a substantial experience reward all at once. He remembered the last time the system had granted him 2% for what happened with Pakura, thinking it had been an anomaly.

Now he realized that the system really seemed to be encouraging him to act without restrictions.

'This doesn't add up,' he thought, a look of doubt crossing his face. Even with 8% of experience unlocked, the power increase seemed disproportionate.

"System, show me the properties panel,"

A transparent panel materialized before his eyes, visible only to him.

[

Host: Luo Lei;

Age: 19 years,

Chakra Attributes:

Fire, Wind, Thunder, Earth, Water, Yin, Yang;

Skills:

Hatake Kenjutsu[Grand Master]

Shunshin no Jutsu[Grand Master]

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu[Grand Master]

Kawarimi no Jutsu[Grand Master]

Suiton[Grand Master]

Raiton[Grand Master]

______

Homelander Template Statistics

Template Level: 41.8%

Constitution: 1690

- 169 times more resilient than an average human.

Spirit: 685

- 137 times mentally stronger than an average human.

Strength: 1050

- Capable of easily lifting 73.8 Tons.

Speed: 680

- Moves between 565 and 635 meters per second.

- Equivalent to a speed between 2,034 and 2,286 kilometers per hour.

Heat Vision:

- Reaches between 4800 and 5400 degrees Celsius

- At these temperatures, almost all known materials would be in a gaseous state.

- If you could expose a complete car to this temperature, it would turn into gas in a matter of seconds

Available Template Extraction: 0]

"This... this can't be," he muttered in disbelief.

Despite only an additional 8% of the template being unlocked, almost all of his attributes had doubled.

But what really took his breath away was the increase in his physical strength. It hadn't just doubled, but multiplied several times. A single blow could now generate a force of 73.8 tons.

Breathing deeply, trying to calm down and process this new reality. "It seems that as I unlock more of the template, the attributes don't just increase, but grow exponentially,"

Suddenly, something else caught his attention. "Wait a minute... has my Chakra reached the Super Kage level?"

Cautiously, he probed his Chakra reserves.

…..

In a dark corner of the camp, where shadows merged with the earth, Black Zetsu emerged cautiously.

His dark form blended perfectly with the night, barely distinguishable from the shadows cast by the surrounding tents and trees.

From his hidden position, he fixed his gaze on Luo Lei's tent. Despite the distance, he could clearly perceive the changes that were occurring.

An invisible, but palpable pressure emanated from him, growing in intensity with each passing moment.

What was most disturbing wasn't just the increase in power, but the quality of that power. There was an arrogance, a sense of absolute superiority that permeated the air around Luo Lei.

It was a sensation that Zetsu had experienced only once before, in the presence of a man whose name still resonated with fear and respect throughout the world: Madara Uchiha.

The idea struck his mind like lightning, 'Could it be that Luo Lei is already comparable to Madara?' The mere possibility was so shocking that he found himself momentarily paralyzed.

However, as quickly as it came, he tried to stifle that thought. Madara, along with Hashirama, were considered the "legendary Shinobi".

The idea that Luo Lei, a relatively unknown ninja until recently, could reach that level of power in such a short time seemed absurd.

'Impossible,' he told himself, trying to convince himself. 'Absolutely impossible.'

And yet…

"Oh, so someone has been spying on me? How lovely."

The night seemed to have frozen for an instant. The silence of the camp was broken by Luo Lei's voice, charged with cold amusement.

His senses, now sharpened beyond imagination, had detected Black Zetsu's presence with crystal clarity.

His eyes, glowing with intensity, fixed directly on the spot where Black Zetsu was hiding.

A wave of killing intent, so dense it almost seemed tangible, emanated from him, enveloping the area.

This discovery was more than a mere annoyance. Being watched, spied upon, went against everything his new power represented.

It was a personal affront, a threat to the absolute freedom and control he now felt running through his veins.

Black Zetsu, for his part, felt fear paralyze him momentarily. For the first time in eons, he experienced genuine terror.

"Not good!"

Without wasting another second, he merged with the ground, his molecules dispersing in a frantic attempt to escape.

"Escape?"

Luo Lei quickly became little more than a residual image, leaving a void in the air behind him.

In a matter of seconds, he found himself in front of an imposing mountain, his silhouette outlined against the night sky.

Finding his target, he said threateningly. "Hey, black thing"

"I know you're in there, hiding like the coward you are. So listen carefully: if you dare show your pathetic face around here again, I'm going to make your precious Madara wish he'd never been born."

Inside the mountain, Zetsu froze. How was it possible that he knew about his connection to Madara?

Before he could fully process this revelation, the world around him transformed into a crimson hell.

Luo Lei's eyes glowed with intensity, and from them burst a beam of energy, of such intense heat that it made the space around it ripple.

Boom!

The beam of red light pierced through the mountain as if it were paper, cutting through solid rock with precision.

The mountain split cleanly in half. The cut was so perfect, so absolute, that for a moment it seemed as if nothing had changed.

Then, with a deafening roar, the two halves began to separate, revealing the interior of the mountain and, with it, Zetsu's hidden form.

The beam, which had traversed kilometers of solid rock without losing an ounce of its power, found its true target.

Zetsu felt his body being cut

'How is this possible?' The question echoed in Black Zetsu's mind as his form disintegrated. 'How did he know my name?'

In his last moments of consciousness, he faced a reality that defied everything he thought he knew.

Luo Lei had not only perceived his exact location, but had demonstrated power that rivaled Madara's.

______

In the depths of Amegakure, where eternal rain fell upon a city, an underground cave harbored a dark presence.

Black Zetsu, in his original form, was in this hidden sanctuary when the information from his destroyed clone reached him. The news struck his consciousness like lightning.

"NO, IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

His yellow eyes glowed with amazement and terror. The implications of what he had just witnessed through his clone were disturbing.

Luo Lei had not only detected and destroyed his clone with terrifying ease, but had also uttered words that shook him.

The casual mention of Madara, the veiled threat, everything pointed to knowledge that Luo Lei shouldn't, couldn't have.

"How is this possible?" The question echoed in his mind, bouncing off the cave walls. "How can he know that Madara is still alive? What else does he know?"

Panic, an emotion almost unknown to this millennial being, began to invade his being. The carefully crafted plans of centuries seemed to crumble before his eyes.

"No, this is too serious..." he muttered "...I must inform Madara immediately."

Without a moment's more hesitation, he merged with the cave floor.

________

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