"Caw—caw—caw!"
The cry of a night owl split through the darkness, making the already eerie forest seem even more unsettling.
Rustle… rustle…
The wind brushed against the trees, leaves whispering softly as the air grew heavy with silence.
Leo stood facing Tsunade, uncertain of her intentions. After all, he had just killed Uchiha Shiro right here not long ago.
The soil beneath their feet was still freshly turned, and the charred remains of leaves and branches still bore the marks of a Fireball Jutsu.
"Who am I? Little boy, you really don't know?"
Tsunade folded her arms under her chest, a faint smile playing on her fair, confident face as her golden-brown eyes sparkled under the moonlight.
"Why should I?" Leo replied coldly.
If Tsunade intended to use what she had witnessed to threaten him, he was prepared to defect from Konoha immediately.
Right now, he still lacked the power to silently eliminate someone like Tsunade, so he was already bracing for the worst.
"About half a year ago," Tsunade said slowly, "I led a team of shinobi on a mission. We passed by a small village wiped out by Sand Nin. Hundreds were slaughtered—only a few survived. You were one of them."
"I was gravely injured and unconscious at that time. I never saw you. If what you say is true, then you're the one who saved me?" Leo asked evenly.
"More or less. But I didn't expect that the half-dead kid I saved would, in just three months, gain the power to kill an elite chūnin alone."
Tsunade stepped closer, bending slightly at the waist to study Leo's expressionless young face.
After three months of brutal training—and the awakening of his three forms of Haki—Leo had shot up in height, taller than most kids his age.
Even so, he was still about half a head shorter than Tsunade.
From his current line of sight, though, things were… problematic. Even looking straight ahead, he was blinded by an expanse of dazzling whiteness.
Damn it… what does this woman eat to grow like that?
Tsunade seemed either oblivious or deliberately teasing him—after all, in her eyes, he was just an eight-year-old kid.
But she didn't know that beneath Leo's childlike exterior lay the mind of a calm, mature man.
He silently recited his Heart-Clearing Mantra, suppressing distracting thoughts, and said coldly:
"You saw everything, didn't you, Lady Tsunade?"
"Mm. I saw what I needed to see. Cold, decisive, killing and burying the body—those aren't things a child should be capable of," she admitted frankly.
"Heh. A child? In this era, are there any truly innocent children left? Lady Tsunade, did you come here just to say that? Or are you planning to drag me back to Konoha for judgment?
Because if you try, I will fight back." Leo's voice was calm but unwavering.
Tsunade's expression softened slightly. "Who said anything about arresting you? It's just one dead Uchiha—good riddance! I've been sick of them for a while anyway."
Hearing that, Leo let out a quiet breath of relief. As long as she wasn't here to capture him, things wouldn't have to turn bloody.
Still, he said respectfully, "Thank you."
If no one had seen him, killing an Uchiha wouldn't be a problem.
But since Tsunade had witnessed it, her silence meant he now owed her a favor.
"Oh? You can say thank you? I thought you only knew how to glare," Tsunade teased with a smirk.
Having just killed someone, Leo had no desire to linger in this gloomy forest. "Goodbye."
He turned to leave without hesitation.
"You're leaving? Just like that?" Tsunade blinked in surprise. She still had so many questions.
"Hey, kid! Don't walk away from me!"
Her voice echoed through the trees, but Leo didn't stop.
Tsunade stomped her foot in irritation. What a stubborn brat!
He was calm, ruthless, and frighteningly mature for his age.
"Wait! That blue sphere in your hand earlier—how did you make it?"
Tsunade caught up to him, curiosity burning in her eyes.
With her sharp perception, she could tell it was a ninjutsu, but it was unlike anything she'd ever seen—no hand seals, pure chakra manipulation. It didn't exist in any of Konoha's known jutsu scrolls.
"I created it myself," Leo said flatly.
"Created it yourself? Impossible! You're a kid—how could you invent a jutsu like that? Its power was at least A-rank!"
Tsunade stared, wide-eyed, waving her hands in disbelief.
"Just because you don't believe it doesn't mean it's impossible."
Leo shot her a sidelong glance and continued walking.
"Come on, tell big sister how you did it, hmm?" Tsunade asked with a playful smile, her curiosity genuine.
Leo paused briefly, then said coldly:
"Rub it with your hands."
Then, without another word, he turned and strode off into the night, leaving Tsunade frozen on the spot.
"Rub it… with your hands? What the hell does that even mean?!"
Her brain lagged for a moment, and by the time she recovered, Leo had already vanished into the darkness.
Meanwhile, back in the shadows of Konoha, the winds of conspiracy were already stirring.
Although Leo's battle with Uchiha Shiro had not been made public, beneath the surface the currents were shifting violently.
At the Root Division, a masked operative knelt before Danzo, who sat shrouded in shadow. He was reporting the results of the confrontation.
Even Danzo, hardened by years of blood and intrigue, was momentarily stunned.
"Uchiha Shiro is dead? He was an elite chūnin—and he was killed by an eight-year-old child?"
Among chūnin, elite-level ones were exceptional—those with special talents, bloodline limits, or remarkable abilities.
Uchiha Shiro, wielding the Sharingan, was far above the ordinary.
"Yes, sir. Moreover, that child seems to possess not only monstrous strength but also a seal-less ninjutsu—one we've never seen before. Uchiha Shiro was killed by that very technique," the Root agent reported.
"How interesting… and he bears hatred toward the Uchiha as well. This Leo must be brought into Root," Danzo said, eyes glinting coldly.
"However, sir," the agent added cautiously, "members of the ANBU were also monitoring the battle. The Hokage likely already knows."
Danzo snorted. "Leave the Hokage to me. You're dismissed."
"Yes, my lord."
With a soft poof, the Root operative vanished in a puff of white smoke.
At the same time, in the Hokage's Office, a cat-masked ANBU was giving his report to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Sarutobi took a long drag from his pipe, brows furrowed deeply, the smoke curling around his troubled expression.
Something had begun to shift in the quiet village of Konoha…
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