Except for his own people, almost everyone else was a suspect. Yet, this sudden appearance of Raiton (Lightning Release) felt far too strange.
"Akahana, think carefully. Before you were ambushed, did anything unusual happen? Don't overlook even the smallest detail," Shigeo continued to ask.
Akahana twisted her right hand while recalling, "Nothing special. Just… a weird dream. I've never been to Uzushio Village, but right outside the Forest of Death, I dozed off for a short while and dreamt of its ruins. Of course, it was just a dream—maybe it doesn't mean anything!"
"Uzushio Village, huh? If we want to know the truth, perhaps going there will tell us everything. Wumang, Akahana, you two take care of the nine examinees. I'll go check it out."
"My lord, but this is during the Chūnin Exams. If you suddenly disappear, what if the other villages start asking questions?"
"Just tell them I have urgent matters to attend to. Nothing else needs to be said."
As soon as he finished, Shigeo vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already in the Land of Whirlpools. Following the clues, he found the ruins of Uzushio Village—the very place that had appeared repeatedly in his dreams. It looked exactly the same as in them.
The clan emblem still visible among the ruins spoke of the former glory of the Uzumaki Clan. Sadly, now everything here had become nothing but legend.
According to records, Uzushio Village was destroyed a few years before the Second Great Ninja War. Some said it was because of their powerful sealing techniques; others said it was because of their bloodline.
But thinking deeper, the reason wasn't hard to guess. Back then, Tailed Beasts were still in the wild, treated as natural disasters. Yet Uzushio's strong bloodline and sealing techniques made them the Beasts' natural enemies. If the village had used its resources to capture and weaponize the Tailed Beasts as Jinchūriki (human vessels), it would have posed a massive threat to every other nation and shinobi village.
Thus, Kirigakure and Kumogakure launched a joint assault and erased the small Uzushio Village from the map.
Recalling this, Shigeo smirked coldly. If he hadn't had the power to protect his own nation, would Nanmo Country have already become another Uzushio Village?
The answer was obvious—yes.
This was the ninja world. Everything was decided by power. If you had strength, you lived and ruled. Without it, death was your only path.
People liked to say, "keep your head down and survive." But who among them hadn't endured silently? And yet, has mere endurance ever truly saved anyone? In the end, everything still comes down to power.
As Shigeo investigated the area, dark clouds suddenly gathered overhead, thunder rumbling as if a storm was about to break.
But strangely, the clouds hovered only above the ruins of Uzushio. Everywhere else remained bright and sunny.
While he frowned at this anomaly, a bolt of lightning struck from the heavens straight toward where he stood—then a second, then a third. Each strike came with precision, as though the heavens themselves sought his death.
The lightning was enormous, but devoid of any Chakra signature. It felt like a divine calamity descending from the sky.
Shigeo dodged swiftly, leaping away in several blurs until he disappeared.
Standing atop a tall tree beyond the ruins, he used his sensory technique—but sensed no one. Not only that, even animals had vanished after the lightning strikes.
What was happening? He had been dreaming about this place for days. Akahana had a similar dream before her ambush. There was the Raiton that appeared from within a tree hollow. And now this again. All too strange.
It felt as if unseen eyes were watching him from the dark… and invisible hands were stirring events to kill him.
Shigeo scanned the surroundings again but found nothing.
The thunderclouds remained above the ruins, refusing to drift elsewhere. Whether it was because of his speed or something else, no further strikes occurred beyond that boundary.
After circling the area, he returned to the ruins. The clouds had dispersed, and the glow of the setting sun bathed the land in a dim golden hue.
Just as he relaxed to admire the sunset, a sudden surge of Ranton (Storm Release) energy appeared behind him—aimed straight at his heart.
Shigeo activated Jiton (Magnet Release), but for some reason, he couldn't gather enough Chakra. The Ranton beam shot forward. His Rinnegan flared, and he narrowly evaded, glaring furiously around.
"Who is it?! Hiding in the shadows—what kind of coward attacks like this? Come out if you dare!"
Only silence answered him. The technique had manifested out of thin air, as if conjured by the air itself.
He jumped clear of the ruins, and suddenly countless flames erupted, sweeping toward him. This time, he saw it clearly—the flames were appearing spontaneously in the air. No hand seals, no Chakra signatures, no caster at all. Still wary, he expanded his mirror-sensing field to maximum and kept his Rinnegan active, scanning every direction with no blind spots.
Yet there was no one. No Kamui, no Uchiha Obito hiding. Nothing.
So how could Raiton, fire, and Ranton all appear from nothing?
The earlier Ranton had come too suddenly, tearing his robe. Shigeo removed his outer cloak, revealing the blue long-sleeved tunic beneath.
As night fell, he leapt across the forest, widening his search radius—but found nothing.
Finally, he chose a cave to rest in. That night, his dreams returned.
Once again, he stood within the ruins of Uzushio Village—but this time, they were different. The scene resembled a vast three-dimensional illusion. Lava flowed everywhere, ruins and molten rock intertwined, and the emblem of the Uzumaki Clan glowed crimson around him.
He could feel the heat licking his skin, as though he truly stood there.
If he hadn't been certain that he'd never even met a single member of the long-destroyed Uzumaki Clan, he might have believed that he'd once annihilated their village himself—and that they now haunted him from beyond the grave, seeking vengeance.
The next day, Shigeo visited the ruins twice more, each time encountering mysterious attacks. But with his formidable taijutsu, none could harm him.
By afternoon, he expanded his search area again—this time shifting focus from Chakra-bearing shinobi to ordinary civilians, hoping for a clue.
Then, far from the ruins on a distant hillside, he found a few scattered homes.
He had been here once before. Back then, he had used sensory techniques to probe the residents but found only normal people, so he hadn't bothered investigating further.
But this time, something caught his eye.
In one courtyard, two aprons fluttered in the wind—splattered with bright colors. The kind used by oil painters, stained with pigments that could never be washed away.
(End of Chapter)
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