This night was destined to be sleepless.
The violent tremors that shook the village, the collapsing mountains, and the golden light that nearly illuminated the entire night sky forced almost every Konoha shinobi into action.
Under the cold moonlight, swift figures leapt through treetops, racing toward the forest where the ruined shrine stood.
But when they finally arrived, all of them froze.
The once lush forest was gone.
The land had collapsed, mountains had been severed, and a gigantic trench—one that had never existed before—cut cleanly across the earth.
It was nothing short of hell.
If this kind of destruction had occurred inside the village, none of them dared imagine the consequences.
"What the hell happened here?"
Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza stared at the scene, their expressions dark. Since they had stayed behind in Konoha, responsibility for anything that happened here inevitably fell on them.
The Third Hokage had left the village, accompanied by Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Nara Shikaku—the village's top strategist.
Though Ino–Shika–Cho were inseparable, their duties differed. This time, Inoichi and Choza had remained behind.
It was a turbulent period, and the village needed guards. Most of the people who left with the Hokage were ANBU.
And they weren't the only ones who stayed.
"This is serious… I don't know what went wrong with the Sensory Division tonight."
Uchiha Fugaku walked over, his tone cool as he glanced at Inoichi.
As the head of the Sensory Division, Inoichi couldn't escape blame.
"We detected the anomaly immediately," Inoichi replied helplessly.
"We just didn't expect it to escalate to this extent."
Hyūga Hiashi stepped forward and pointed at the enormous, deep fissure in the ground.
"Can you tell what caused it? It looks a bit like Wind Release, but the effect is completely different."
"This kind of damage…"
Fugaku frowned as he approached. The moment he examined the scar, his heart skipped.
The shape chilled him.
Because it looked like—
"It resembles a slash made by something enormous," Choza suddenly said.
As someone proficient in Expansion Jutsu, he was familiar with destruction caused by gigantic bodies. He had also fought alongside Jiraiya before.
"Do you remember Lord Jiraiya's summons? One of them uses a blade—tens of meters long.
A strike like that would leave a similar mark, though not quite this severe."
"Inoichi, do we have anything more specific?" Fugaku asked, his unease growing.
Something else could cause damage like this.
Susanoo.
But he forced himself to remain calm.
"The chakra here is extremely complex," Inoichi sighed.
"There are multiple types, and every single one is powerful."
At that moment, Inuzuka Tsume arrived from nearby, nodding briefly to the others.
"The situation's complicated. Multiple combatants were involved.
I also found insects—Aburame-style. Is Shibi here?"
"…I'm right behind you."
From the shadows, a man wearing dark glasses and a high-collared coat stepped forward.
"I came with you. You didn't notice?"
"…Ah."
Tsume laughed awkwardly.
"Same as ever. Let's focus on the situation."
Shibi raised an eyebrow—unnoticed beneath his glasses.
"There were indeed insects. They belong to our clan, but they're strange.
Their toxicity is stronger, their destructive power higher."
"There's only one person in our clan who specializes in poison insects, and he's home due to his constitution. He couldn't be involved."
"So it wasn't your people?" Fugaku said quickly.
If this could be blamed on outsiders, all the better.
"Could it be Iwagakure? The Kamizuru clan was once your equal."
"They were defeated long ago," Shibi shook his head.
"And this isn't Kamizuru control. The method is Aburame—without question."
He paused, then sighed.
"Actually… aside from the Uchiha and Hyūga, most clans have faced similar issues.
Some of our geniuses are… selectively recruited."
"Enough, Shibi," Choza cut in gently.
"Let's focus on the present. Some things are better left unsaid."
Inoichi nodded silently. His clan had suffered as well.
Hiashi raised an eyebrow and glanced at Fugaku with a faint, knowing smile.
Fugaku's fist tightened.
He'd heard rumors before but never confirmed them. Villages interfering with clans was taboo.
The Uchiha hadn't suffered such treatment—so he hadn't paid attention.
But now…
If this incident was connected to that person—and if the destruction really was caused by a "giant"—
An unsettling thought formed.
"Clan Head Fugaku," Hiashi said calmly,
"This situation is… delicate. Especially if it involves him."
"We all hope for stability," Fugaku replied after a pause.
"But this has nothing to do with the Uchiha. As Shibi said, some matters don't concern us—or the Hyūga."
"However," his tone sharpened,
"if someone tries to drag our people into unreasonable death, the Uchiha will not stand by."
Hiashi stiffened.
That was a direct jab at the Hyūga.
Silence fell.
Almost everyone present thought of the same name.
"Shimura Danzo…"
"Lord Danzo… I'm sorry. We couldn't find Uchiha Shisui's body."
In an abandoned underground laboratory, Ren sighed helplessly.
"Shisui was too strong. That green chakra giant was both offense and defense incarnate. Ordinary Wood Release couldn't break it, so—"
Danzo stared blankly at Ren.
He was too shocked to speak.
That godlike power—he couldn't forget it.
"How is this possible?" Danzo finally whispered.
"That golden chakra… is that your power?"
"Yes," Ren nodded calmly.
"I learned it from Teacher Tsunade."
He smoothly pushed the credit elsewhere.
"It's a fusion of Wood Release and Senjutsu—probably a variant of Sage Techniques.
After all, Sage Techniques are powerful. The First Hokage used them to perform True Thousand Hands."
"My ability isn't good enough, so I took a different path. I didn't expect—"
Not good enough?
Danzo's mouth twitched.
That was Susanoo.
The Uchiha's strongest power.
And Ren had shattered it in a single blow—turning the caster into fragments.
Fear crept into Danzo's heart.
If Hiruzen learned of this…
He would never allow Danzo near Ren again.
And if Ren keeps growing… will my curse mark even work?
Danzo had wondered that long ago.
Control through curse marks humiliated the strong.
That was why he relied on hatred, bonds, and ideology.
"For Konoha" was a chain of belief.
Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Nono were chains of vengeance.
Danzo understood darkness better than anyone.
"You've done excellently, Ren," he said at last.
"Perhaps you're not yet the First Hokage—but how many in this world could compare? Your future is limitless."
Ren blinked.
Why did his "boss" suddenly sound so kind?
Then again—it wasn't wrong.
"And this counterfeit Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion… really feels amazing."
Ren recalled cleaving Shisui's third-stage Susanoo.
That sensation was intoxicating.
Roughly speaking, that slash rivaled Madara's battlefield Susanoo strike.
The difference?
Madara swung casually.
Ren had activated a full ultimate.
"An ultimate weaker than someone else's normal attack?"
Still—his chakra reserves limited repetition, not his body.
"With more chakra, it'll only get stronger."
"Thank you, Lord Danzo," Ren said politely.
"But what do we do now?"
"Shisui is dead. His body is gone. The village is already investigating—"
"Enough," Danzo interrupted.
"We leave."
His Mangekyō was lost—but Shisui's death alone was a victory.
One less Uchiha threat.
Now his priority was stabilizing Ren.
And eventually—
Possessing Ren's power.
Back in Konoha, Ren reappeared via Flying Thunder God.
Looking at the triangular kunai, recalling Danzo's words—
He felt only disgust.
If Ren didn't know Danzo's true nature, he might've been fooled.
But years of being used as Root's disposable tool had taught him everything.
Training camps.
Massacres.
Curse marks.
Memory erasure.
He hadn't killed Danzo earlier only because he couldn't.
Now?
Letting him die easily would be a waste.
"You won't die unknown," Ren murmured.
"That would be my failure."
Inside the broken hut, Shisui lay in bloodied rags.
"You really tried to kill me," Shisui muttered weakly.
"If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be talking," Ren replied, tossing him medicine.
Afterward, Ren explained everything.
The failure of Shisui's plan.
The Uchiha's internal rot.
The clan head's indecision.
Shisui listened in silence—then despair.
"…So what about you?" he finally asked.
"Why save me? Why help the Uchiha?"
Ren shrugged.
"Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara built Konoha together."
"If the First Hokage could do it—why can't I?"
Shisui laughed bitterly.
"You really are different."
"Rest," Ren said.
"Think carefully. Either a few die—or the entire clan does."
Shisui fell silent.
That night, Konoha searched in vain.
And far away, Uchiha Itachi read Shisui's final letter.
As his Mangekyō awakened, he chose—
Not the clan.
But the village.
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