"Jiraiya the Sage is here! Everyone, stop immediately! Outside Konoha is no place for you to run wild!" Arriving late, Jiraiya descended from the sky and landed firmly on the ground, raising his voice in a loud shout.
Yet the sight before him, though scarred with devastation and clearly the aftermath of a fierce battle of ninjutsu, was strangely calm.
The intense clash he had expected was nowhere to be seen. The scene was so quiet it left him puzzled.
All that entered Jiraiya's sight were two men and a cat.
Uchiha Keizumi, Biwa Jūzō, and Tachibana Jirō.
Jiraiya froze. "Why is it you three?"
"It's already over, meow." Tachibana Jirō, now shrunk back to normal size, had a weariness in his eyes. Enlarging himself to such proportions had clearly drained his stamina and chakra at alarming speed.
He rolled his eyes at Jiraiya and snapped: "This is your so-called resolve to change the shinobi world? You couldn't even get here in time—yet you still want to seek out some 'Child of Prophecy'? You even want to mold that savior into whatever shape you please?!"
Jiraiya: "…"
He hadn't even spoken a word yet, and this ninja cat was already berating him again. Why did it seem to dislike him so much? Was he simply born without luck with cats?
But as one of the Sannin, it wouldn't do to argue with a cat.
Keeping his face composed, Jiraiya turned to Uchiha Keizumi and asked: "Keizumi, from far away I saw a massive wooden figure, and the roots of the trees here are bursting out everywhere. Who used Wood Release just now?"
Before Uchiha Keizumi could answer, Jiraiya caught sight of Jūzō from the corner of his eye. To his surprise, Jūzō's gaze had fallen squarely on Keizumi.
Why was this guy staring at Keizumi?
Huh?
Wait a second!
Jiraiya's eyes widened. He gaped at Uchiha Keizumi, blurting out in shock: "You were the one who used Wood Release?"
"Not just him." Jūzō, still shaken, brushed the dust from his clothes and said, "There were also two other bizarre-looking fellows who could use Wood Release techniques."
Then, unable to hold back, Jūzō muttered under his breath, "Just how far has Konoha's bloodline spread? Why does it feel like everyone and their mother can use the legendary Wood Release these days? Looks like it's being handed out wholesale—maybe even for free."
Jiraiya: "…"
From those few words, Jiraiya gleaned startling information.
—Uchiha Keizumi truly could use Wood Release.
—Just moments ago, Keizumi had been fighting at least two enemies from outside the village, and they too could wield Wood Release.
A heavy weight settled in Jiraiya's chest.
Wood Release…
That was the bloodline limit with which the First Hokage had once subdued the shinobi world. Since the First's death, not a single new Wood Release user had appeared in the Senju clan.
The old man had once mentioned that Orochimaru had experimented with Wood Release—and that there had even been one successful case. But that success had been hidden away.
Wait!
Could this be connected to Orochimaru?
The moment the name crossed his mind, it was like a switch had been flipped. Jiraiya pressed on urgently: "Keizumi, the ones you faced—were they Orochimaru? His subordinates? Or… his disciples?!"
Uchiha Keizumi replied coldly: "It was your grand-disciple."
"Huh???"
Jiraiya froze.
He didn't quite process what he had just heard.
...
"Huff… huff… truly amusing."
Without a change in expression, Obito stretched out his hand and brushed across the shrieking Black Zetsu. Kamui's power activated instantly, sucking Black Zetsu directly into the Kamui dimension.
The wails that had chilled Obito's nerves finally came to an abrupt end.
He lowered his gaze coldly, staring at the Uchiha before him.
"Youngster… it seems your relationship with that brat isn't so good. In fact, your ties with the Uchiha clan as a whole aren't good. Even though you yourself are one of their own, you still harbor thoughts of joining forces with outsiders to move against the Uchiha."
The single scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan revealed in Obito's eye narrowed slightly, his voice hoarse as he said, "Do you not know who I am? Do you think I would ever turn against the Uchiha clan? By seniority… I am your ancestor."
Uchiha Itachi drew in a deep breath, then slightly raised his head to meet the man's gaze.
Expressionless, he said, "I have no reason to explain myself to you. I'm only here to ask whether you're willing to cooperate. Whether you intend to strike the Uchiha clan or not, at the very least, you surely hold killing intent toward Uchiha Keizumi."
"After all, he was the one who tormented your subordinate into that state. Since that's the case, then we share a common enemy. As for what I said about the Uchiha clan, that was only to test your thoughts."
"Heh… hahahaha!" Obito burst into that wild laugh unique to the Uchiha.
"Interesting, youngster."
His laughter faded, face returning to calm. "And after all this? Colluding with outsiders, killing fellow shinobi… neither Konoha nor the entire Land of Fire will ever tolerate you."
Itachi replied, "That's why I've come before you."
"You're one of Akatsuki, aren't you? If Konoha won't tolerate me, then perhaps only your organization can."
The corner of Obito's mouth curved upward. "So the younger generation of Uchiha isn't without ambition. Youngster, wait for my word."
Hearing the man who styled himself as "Uchiha's ancestor" say this, Itachi felt a faint, subtle breath of relief inside.
'Forgive me, Father. The number of those in Konoha who admire Uchiha Keizumi grows by the day. Sooner or later, his power will completely overshadow that of the Hokage.'
'That is something I cannot allow to happen. And it is also something Lord Hokage himself would never wish to see. Even if he hasn't spoken of it, his worries cannot be hidden.'
'Moreover, within the Uchiha clan itself—whether among the radicals led by Uchiha Setsuna, or those of Father's moderate faction—most harbor certain peculiar thoughts toward Uchiha Keizumi.'
The power of Absolute Justice is gradually hollowing out the entire Uchiha clan. It will spill over until it hollow outs all of Konoha. They are far more dangerous than the radicals led by Uchiha Setsuna.
As the self-proclaimed "Uchiha ancestor" and that bizarre masked creature with the swirling face departed one after the other, countless thoughts flashed through Itachi's mind.
He could already sense the "conflict" within the village reaching a peak.
At this peak, one side would either have to retreat, or else the tension would evolve into open strife. In Itachi's mind, the side that retreated could never be the Hokage. Otherwise, could Konoha still be called the Hokage's Konoha?
At that time, Konoha would likely become Uchiha Keizumi's Konoha!
"Since you've already made the wrong choice…"
"…then you must pay the price for it."
Countless faces of his clansmen flashed through Uchiha Itachi's mind.
Some were familiar, some were strangers; some had once been close to him, others had treated him with hostility; some were elite shinobi of Konoha, others were ordinary civilians; some were children not yet twelve, others were old men with one foot already in the grave.
His eyes, which had been half-closed, slowly opened.
Resolute, he turned and prepared to head back to Konoha.
…
Inside Konoha, Hiruzen had scarcely left the Hokage Building when a child of the Hyūga clan came running up in haste to report something.
Perched on the child's shoulder was a green-skinned, purple-haired toad.
Hiruzen recognized it at once. This was a sage toad from Mount Myōboku, and also one of Jiraiya's "senseis."
"Hokage-sama…"
Hyūga Neji relayed everything he had seen and heard. As Hiruzen listened, his brows furrowed.
"A wooden figure?"
Suddenly, a thought struck him.
"Most likely Wood Release," said Shima, the Toad Sage. "Fukasaku and little Jiraiya have already rushed over. Whoever that person truly is, we'll know soon enough."
At this, Hiruzen instinctively cast his gaze to the ANBU operative standing at his side.
That was the child he had forcibly taken from Danzō—one who possessed the Wood Release kekkei genkai. The successful experiment of those years.
In Hiruzen's understanding, in the entire shinobi world today, perhaps only "Yamato" possessed the Wood Release.
But now it seemed…
Another shinobi capable of using Wood Release had appeared, fighting not far outside of Konoha.
So was he a shinobi of Konoha…
Or a shinobi from another village?
"I understand," Hiruzen said in a deep voice. "ANBU, deploy immediately! Tenzō, you will lead the operation. Take two ANBU squads and go support Jiraiya!"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Yamato, codename "Tenzō" within ANBU, nodded at once.
Moments later—
One after another, ANBU operatives sprinted out of Konoha.
"Haa… just one crisis after another."
Hiruzen pressed his aching brow as he watched the ANBU depart, muttering, "This old man isn't given even a moment to catch his breath."
This period had been the most exhausting of his tenure as Hokage. Even during the Third Shinobi World War, he had never felt so fatigued.
Then Hiruzen lowered his gaze to Hyūga Neji.
He recognized him, of course. Neji was the top prodigy of the current Academy, and thus had drawn the Hokage's particular attention.
With a kindly smile, Hiruzen asked, "Neji-kun, though you've brought important intelligence to me, why did you leave the village at night?"
Neji kept his head lowered. "Because I heard that Uchiha Keizumi had left the village. I wanted to follow and see for myself. But halfway there, I was stopped by Jiraiya-sama."
Hiruzen froze. "Keizumi?"
"Because I don't believe the Will of Fire can bring justice for my father," Neji spoke before Hiruzen could even ask. "Only his Absolute Justice can avenge my father and judge those of the main family."
Hiruzen: "…"
The matter of Hizashi… this child still hadn't let it go!
Hiruzen fell silent. In the end, he—the Third Hokage—couldn't escape responsibility. If Konoha had shown more backbone back then, if he as Hokage had directly rejected Kumogakure's outrageous demand, then Hyūga Hizashi would never have become the sacrificial pawn.
Yet at the time, he had believed Konoha could not afford another war with Kumogakure. Renewed conflict would only draw in the circling wolves, inviting other villages to profit as fishermen from their struggle.
So—
He had merely hinted to the Hyūga clan to pay a certain price to appease Kumogakure's anger.
That choice led to tragedy.
And it left this child with such hatred.
Realizing that this burden truly lay on his own shoulders, Hiruzen found the words of admonition stuck in his throat.
Instead, a faint trace of guilt lingered in his heart.
'Forgive me, Neji-kun. At that time, this old man could only sacrifice the Hyūga's interests for the sake of Konoha.'
He let out a quiet sigh within.
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