Night had fully fallen over Konohagakure.
Inside the Hokage Tower, the office of the Third Hokage remained lit. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, the draft of a diplomatic agreement spread before him. Negotiations with Kumogakure had finally reached their final stage. If both sides signed in two days' time, the long-standing tension between the villages would ease—at least on the surface.
"Sigh…"
The old man exhaled slowly, rubbing his temple.
One student had defected.
One wandered the world.
One had died.
Minato's death during the Nine-Tails disaster still cast a long shadow, and the boy Minato left behind was far too young to inherit anything yet. Meanwhile, Danzo's Root faction pressed harder with each passing year, and the Uchiha clan's dissatisfaction simmered like a pot nearing overflow.
Peace outside the village. Turmoil within.
"Once the treaty is signed… I must finally address the Uchiha issue," Hiruzen murmured.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
"Enter."
An ANBU operative stepped in, wearing a fox mask and kneeling immediately. A short blade rested across his back, his posture disciplined and precise.
"Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen's eyes sharpened. He recognized this one—an operative assigned to surveillance near the Uchiha district.
"You're reporting at this hour. Something happened?"
"Yes."
The ANBU spoke without hesitation.
"Moments after nightfall, a Lightning Release technique struck inside the Uchiha residential compound. The impact destroyed part of the Uchiha clan head's roof. The chakra output was abnormally high. Patrol units moved to investigate, but the Uchiha security cordon activated immediately. We withdrew to avoid escalation."
Hiruzen's fingers paused over the treaty.
"A Lightning Release attack… inside the village?"
"Yes. Based on residual chakra density and discharge pattern, the technique was comparable in scale to elite jōnin-level Lightning Release. At minimum… equal to Hatake Kakashi's standard output."
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
He now understood the distant thunder-like boom he had heard earlier.
Since the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha had been relocated to the village's outskirts. Any violent incident there—especially now—was dangerous.
"The Raikage would not provoke us on the eve of a treaty…" Hiruzen muttered.
Another name surfaced unbidden.
Danzo.
That man had never hidden his belief that the Uchiha were a threat. He had proposed extreme measures before. A "warning," perhaps?
But then another possibility emerged.
"…Or someone inside the Uchiha clan has gained a dangerous new power."
Hiruzen looked at the ANBU.
"Maintain surveillance. Do not provoke them. Report any further abnormalities immediately."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
As the ANBU vanished in a swirl of leaves, Hiruzen leaned back.
"…I will need to speak with Shisui soon."
Uchiha District
Within the compound, tension had already subsided.
Uchiha Fugaku stood beneath the damaged roof, the scent of scorched wood still in the air. After confirming the cause, he lifted the emergency lockdown order and dismissed the patrols.
His gaze turned toward a young man standing sheepishly nearby.
"Kaze," Fugaku said sternly. "When testing new techniques, do it outside the village next time. The Uchiha are already under suspicion. We cannot afford incidents like this."
Kaze bowed quickly.
"I understand, Clan Head."
Fugaku's tone softened slightly.
"Fortunately, no one was harmed. But remember this."
With that, the clan head departed.
Once the courtyard cleared, Kaze entered his apartment. A section of wall and roof remained missing, moonlight spilling through the gap. He dropped onto the tatami, limbs spread, staring upward.
His heartbeat refused to slow.
Kaze's Thoughts
The future was moving.
And he knew exactly where it led.
In one year, Uchiha Itachi would slaughter his clan.
Before, Kaze had been powerless—just another name waiting to vanish in the massacre.
But now…
He raised his hand. A faint crackle of blue-white lightning danced across his fingers, humming with living energy.
"I really did eat the Rumble-Rumble Fruit…"
A Logia-type. Intangible. Devastating. Limitless potential.
Even if he hadn't mastered it yet, one year was enough time to grow.
Still… one obstacle remained.
"Tsukuyomi…"
By the night of the massacre, Itachi would possess the Mangekyō Sharingan. A genjutsu that attacked the mind directly. Physical intangibility meant nothing before mental assault.
Kaze exhaled slowly.
"I can't survive that night without preparation."
For a moment, a reckless thought arose.
"A coup… If the clan seizes power first, the massacre never happens."
But reality intruded just as fast.
"The Hokage's forces aren't weak. Shisui… Itachi… both loyal to the village. A direct rebellion would end with the clan erased anyway."
He fell silent.
Then—
A spark.
He was a transmigrator. He knew the future. And he had knowledge from another world—strategy, politics, systems of power.
"In this world, strength decides battles… but politics decides survival."
He sat up, eyes gleaming.
"I don't need a bloody coup."
"I can gather allies."
"I can gain influence."
"I can stand for Hokage through legitimacy."
And then he remembered.
"The day the peace treaty with Kumo is signed…"
"…is also the day Kumogakure attempts to abduct Hyūga Hinata."
His smile was slow and sharp.
"If I rescue Hinata…"
"I gain the Hyūga clan's support."
"With the Hyūga and Uchiha united…"
"…even the Hokage's council will have to acknowledge me."
Lightning flickered softly around his hand, illuminating his determined expression.
"One year."
"Enough time."