On a high mountain outside Konoha village in the Land of Fire.
From this position, one could see the entire village. The buildings, row upon row, looked as small as ants from a distance.
Tōshirō looked down from a height of several kilometers, his gaze slowly moving from the center of the village to the outskirts. Unlike the brightly lit center, only a few scattered lights twinkled here.
"Hmph, even after all these years, Konoha hasn't changed much. It's still as corrupt as ever."
As if to destroy the sight with his own hands, Tōshirō reached out and clenched his fist.
"Is this the village Lord Tōshirō once lived in?"
From his disdainful tone, Hoshi Hana guessed that the man in front of her seemed to have a lot of animosity toward Konoha.
"I'm going back to the village to see some old friends. I'm sure they'll have some very interesting expressions when they see me."
Hoshi Hana looked at the innocent smile on Tōshirō's face. If she didn't know his true nature, she would naively think he was a cheerful and bright young boy.
"What about me?"
Hoshi Hana pointed to her nose, waiting for her assignment.
Tōshirō held his head, pretending he had forgotten. "Oh my, I was so excited to go back to the village that I completely forgot."
Hoshi Hana, who had been working tirelessly for him, pouted. "Am I that insignificant?"
"My apologies, my apologies..." Tōshirō laughed heartily. "You can help me gather intelligence."
Hoshi Hana's spirit perked up. "What kind of intelligence?"
Tōshirō said calmly, "Ninjas with strong personal power but who don't belong to any specific faction."
Hoshi Hana speculated, "Lord Tōshirō, are you...?"
Tōshirō smiled patiently. "Yes, I plan to create an organization. It will be an organization dedicated to peace..."
Unlike his past antics with the Phantom Troupe, he was now serious about building his own faction.
"Huh?"
Hoshi Hana was a little confused.
She looked at Tōshirō strangely. This man, who had just happily slaughtered Dotō Kazahana like a chicken, didn't seem like a man who loved peace.
Hoshi Hana expressed her concern. "It's usually very difficult to tame people like that..."
"It doesn't matter. I'll take care of it."
Tōshirō's calm voice was filled with absolute confidence. "You just need to report the information back to me..."
"Yes..."
"Then I'll leave it to you..."
Tōshirō said casually as he walked to the edge of the cliff. Below was a bottomless abyss. A fall would surely end in certain death.
However, Tōshirō acted as if he didn't see the danger. Without even blinking, he casually jumped off.
His action startled Hoshi Hana. She quickly ran to the edge of the cliff, looked down, and shouted with worry, "Lord Tōshirō—!"
As her voice faded, a giant deep-blue figure suddenly appeared below. It was over ten meters tall, with its arms spread horizontally, soaring like a bird.
Supported by a massive amount of chakra, the Spirit Fire could fly.
"That is..."
Hoshi Hana's eyes trembled. A young boy stood calmly on the shoulder of the deep-blue giant. His brown cloak fluttered in the wind with a snapping sound.
Perhaps feeling his subordinate's concern, Tōshirō turned his head and gave Hoshi Hana a small smile.
Hoshi Hana's face flushed. She covered her shoulders with her hands and muttered to herself like a lovesick fangirl. "He's such a charming man. I must work hard to earn Lord Tōshirō's favor."
Above the clouds, the soaring Spirit Fire flew toward Konoha. Soon, it entered the village's airspace.
Tōshirō, perched on the Spirit Fire, opened his crimson, snowflake-patterned eyes.
Under the gaze of those eyes, the transparent barrier surrounding Konoha was completely visible.
"A barrier, is it..."
Tōshirō rested the back of his hand on his chin. Approaching directly would trigger the village's barrier sensors, and he would be discovered.
"Hmph, that's just what I want..."
The corners of Tōshirō's mouth curled up. He had no intention of hiding anyway.
If he was going to cause a commotion, the bigger, the better.
He wanted to see how the Konoha elders would deal with him now.
He would gladly face them all.
Tōshirō wanted to make the Konoha elders realize that in the face of absolute power, all their schemes and tricks were worthless.
His snowflake-patterned eyes, flashing red, emitted a strange and ominous aura in the darkness.
"Spirit Fire, say hello to everyone."
As his voice faded into the darkness, the Spirit Fire stopped flying. Its body suddenly plummeted, crashing through the transparent, semi-circular barrier like a falling meteor.
Inside the barrier monitoring room, a white-robed ninja sensed an extremely large chakra crashing through the barrier. He shot up, his eyes wide open, and shouted,
"This is bad—!"
Hearing this, the ninjas in the room, who were bored and playing cards, immediately stopped and asked urgently, "What's happening?"
"Enemy attack—!"
"What!"
"A huge object is falling from the sky, breaking through the barrier and plummeting toward the outskirts of the village."
"Is it a Tailed Beast—!"
The only other time Konoha had been attacked in this way was the incident with the Five-Tails. Once bitten, twice shy, they naturally thought the same thing.
"I'm not sure. I only know that judging by the chakra of this thing, it seems to have chakra no less than a Tailed Beast, but..."
"But what!?"
"But it's also a little different from a Tailed Beast..."
"Damn it, are we going to relive the same tragedy!?"
"Don't panic! You all go and notify the Hokage immediately and head over there."
"Where is the exact location?"
"Uh... it seems to be near the Uchiha compound."
"Huh?"
Everyone was stunned. An enemy attack should be aimed at the center of the village.
Why would they choose that location? That area was not only remote, but it was also where the Uchiha clan lived.
"What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and go!"
The barrier ninja urged them.
"Yes."
After they left, only a few barrier ninjas remained in the room. They closed their eyes, praying that the past tragedy wouldn't repeat itself.
The Uchiha compound.
To avoid arousing suspicion from the Konoha elders, the Uchiha clan maintained their usual habits. They went about their business as usual. A few clansmen walked down the streets, laughing and chatting.
Boom.
A loud, earth-shattering noise. The nearest Uchiha clansmen rushed to the scene. They saw a giant shadow silhouetted in a dense cloud of smoke. It was a humanoid figure, kneeling on one knee.
Then, as if sensing someone approaching, the humanoid monster turned its head. A cross-shaped green light spread from its eyes, giving off an ominous aura.
Under the gaze of this light, the Uchiha clansmen who arrived first all felt a chill in their hearts. Their faces were grave. "What kind of monster is this!"
An Uchiha with a buzz cut said, "It doesn't look friendly, no matter how you look at it."
Another Uchiha with bangs nodded slightly. "We have to try and hold this guy off. We can't let it get near the compound. There are women, children, and the elderly there."
As they were talking, the huge monster in front of them became more noticeable. It was then they suddenly saw a white-haired boy on the monster.
He sat on the monster's shoulder with one leg propped up and the other dangling in the air, looking calm and relaxed.
An Uchiha clansman who was looking up immediately shouted, "Who are you!"
Tōshirō lowered his gaze, his eyes narrowed. From the three-tomoe patterns in their eyes, it was clear that they were his clansmen.
"Hmph..."
Tōshirō's lips curled into a smile. He didn't answer and instead commanded the Spirit Fire to attack them, wanting to have some fun.
(End of Chapter)
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