Moonlight illuminated the quiet night sky, with only a sparse scattering of stars above Konoha’s deserted streets.
Uchiha Sasuke, having just finished a full day of training, was walking toward the Uchiha clan compound with an exhausted look on his face.
He had been pushing himself through this kind of brutal training for a long time.
After all, he was an avenger!
“Hm?”
As he walked, he suddenly heard someone calling his name, prompting him to turn around.
There, he happened to see Naruto—the boy who had inexplicably felt familiar to him since childhood, yet whom he found incredibly annoying—and…
“Gen Hoshino?”
Sasuke knew Gen Hoshino to some extent.
Gen was several years ahead of him at the Academy and was considered quite capable.
He had also heard that this guy had beaten all of his teammates badly enough to send them to the hospital, becoming the only one to graduate…
“You trained until this late?”
While Sasuke was lost in thought, Gen Hoshino had already walked over with Naruto.
After sizing Sasuke up, he turned to Naruto.
“Look at him. Now that’s the attitude of someone who wants to become a shinobi. If I remember correctly, he was the top student of your class too, wasn’t he? That’s the difference between you two.”
“Tch…”
Naruto unhappily dug a finger into his ear.
He didn’t even know why, but whenever Sasuke was mentioned, he immediately felt irritated.
“I’ll definitely surpass him! I’ll become a shinobi, and then I’ll become Hokage!”
“Idiot.”
Sasuke didn’t hold back either.
He gave a disdainful snort.
“Come back and say that after you actually pass the graduation assessment.”
“Damn you, Sasuke…”
Naruto immediately lost his temper.
He rolled up his sleeves, ready to argue properly, while Sasuke simply stared at him coldly.
Gen Hoshino had absolutely no intention of stopping them.
These two “brothers” in terms of chakra were rather amusing.
Besides, he was wondering whether the two of them might trigger some kind of quest.
One percent for Sage Mode was already impressive.
If the chakra of these two really could be obtained through quests, he didn’t even dare imagine how much it would be worth.
“Hm?”
However, just as he was enjoying the spectacle of the two arguing, Gen suddenly felt a strange chill run through him.
He had the distinct sensation that something was watching him.
The feeling was so clear and conspicuous that he couldn’t ignore it.
“What the hell…?”
Gen didn’t dare make any rash move.
He remembered that ANBU had indeed been following Naruto, but they had already left after Naruto met up with Kakashi and Jiraiya.
So who was it?
[A new Side Quest has been obtained.]
At that moment, his system suddenly flashed.
[The Dead Last Better Not Get Cocky]
[Take the initiative and deal with Uchiha Obito.]
“…”
Well, now he knew exactly who had arrived.
But he was even more confused.
Why had Uchiha Obito come here?
And as for “dealing with” that guy…
Gen might not be afraid of an ordinary shinobi battle, but Uchiha Obito was one of the most troublesome people in the shinobi world thanks to a single Mangekyō Sharingan.
“Still, this is Konoha… And there’s also that exclusive Kakashi quest…”
Gen silently weighed his options.
He walked over and spoke quietly.
“Congratulations on passing the graduation assessment.”
“Hm? Thanks…”
Gen snapped back to reality and nodded.
His expression, however, was somewhat strange.
Sasuke had actually congratulated him personally?
They weren’t exactly close, were they?
“By the way…”
Sure enough, Sasuke’s tone immediately changed.
“I heard that beating all your teammates badly enough to send them to the hospital can also count as passing. Is that true?”
“…”
Gen rolled his eyes.
The story really was getting more ridiculous with every retelling.
“That depends on your jōnin instructor’s judgment, as well as your own ability. I just happened to get lucky.”
“Tch. You really were lucky. You even got to leave the village.”
Naruto muttered from the side, while Sasuke immediately seized upon the important part.
“Leave the village…”
Sasuke had always desperately wanted to become a shinobi so that he could leave the village and kill Uchiha Itachi.
It was his greatest obsession.
“That’s right. Leave the village.”
Gen had made up his mind as well.
As he slipped a hand into his ninja tool pouch and rummaged around, he spoke.
“Besides, we encountered someone on that trip. Someone you know very well.”
“Someone I know very well?”
Sasuke frowned.
He seemed to realize what Gen was getting at.
Gen smiled and continued.
“Yeah. That person was Uchiha Itachi.”
The instant he heard that name, Sasuke’s expression twisted violently.
The sheer intensity of his hatred even startled Naruto beside him.
“And that guy has joined a mysterious organization.”
Gen continued speaking.
At the same time, his hand suddenly emerged from his ninja tool pouch.
“The members of that organization are all extremely dangerous. For example…”
In the next instant, several kunai carrying explosive tags shot straight toward a nearby tree!
BOOM—!
A violent explosion erupted, flames and smoke intertwining in the darkness.
Against the peaceful night, the sudden blast was painfully bright.
“You…!”
Both Sasuke and Naruto were startled.
But they quickly noticed that beside the tree, which had been blown apart, a hazy figure was gradually becoming visible.
At that moment, Gen Hoshino’s voice sounded once more.
“That guy…”
…
“Jiraiya has returned?”
Inside the Root base, Shimura Danzo was looking over a document in his hands.
Although the Uchiha clan massacre had resulted in him being stripped of his official position, he still believed that one day he would rise again.
After all, he had even attempted to assassinate his old friend, Hiruzen Sarutobi, without suffering any real consequences.
And he had eliminated a major threat to Konoha…
So he continued gathering information from within Konoha, using it to make his own assessments.
“Why has he come back? Could it be…”
Then, as though he had suddenly thought of something, his face tightened.
Don’t tell me that bastard came back to take over as Hokage?
“Long time no see, Danzo.”
But just then, a familiar voice came from behind him.
The voice caused Danzo’s body to stiffen.
“You certainly haven’t visited this place in a long time, Hiruzen.”
Fortunately, his professional composure was excellent.
He quickly recovered and returned to his usual working demeanor.
“How rare. The busy Hokage finally has time to come and visit his good friend?”
“You brought this upon yourself.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat down opposite Danzo, his pipe between his teeth.
He sighed.
“You shouldn’t have gone after Shisui. And you certainly shouldn’t have forced Itachi to do all of this. The Uchiha were always part of Konoha. You…”
“That’s enough, Hiruzen.”
Danzo interrupted him with a dismissive shake of his head.
“You knew what Uchiha Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan was capable of. Would you really have felt safe letting him remain alive? Having Uchiha Itachi carry out all of this prevented civil war within Konoha. It even spared you from getting your own hands dirty, and you’re still dissatisfied? Everything I did was for Konoha. I merely carried on the will of our teacher!”
“You’re beyond saving.”
Hiruzen’s expression darkened.
“Have you forgotten Kagami? What do you think he would say if he saw what you’ve done?”
“Kagami was an exception. Most of them were like Uchiha Setsuna. I simply did what had to be done!”
Hiruzen stared at Danzo, who stubbornly held his head high as though he were saying, I did nothing wrong.
His anger continued to rise.
His gaze grew cold as he stared at Danzo.
His lips began to move, but Danzo seemed to sense what was coming.
“Enough. You didn’t come here just to argue with me, did you?”
Before Hiruzen could utter the words “I am the Hokage”, Danzo had already cut him off.
“…”
Hiruzen rubbed his brow.
After a moment, he finally spoke.
“As for Kirigakure, how many Root agents do you still have there? And how can they be activated?”
“Kirigakure?”
Danzo’s eyes lit up.
He finally understood why Hiruzen had come to see him.
The situation in Kirigakure was extremely complicated, and infiltrating the village was extraordinarily difficult.
But Root had specialized in precisely this sort of operation.
And Danzo immediately realized something else.
This was an opportunity.
“There are indeed still some of my people there. But if you want to activate them, only I can do it.”
“Danzo, don’t push your luck.”
Hiruzen had expected this, but he still frowned at Danzo.
“I can restore some of your authority, but everything must be limited to this mission. The consequences of what you did were too severe, and everyone isn’t a fool.”
“Hmph. I already told you that everything I did was for Konoha. I don’t care what other people think.”
Danzo snorted.
He knew he had to proceed one step at a time, so he wasn’t particularly concerned.
“As for the mission, don’t worry. If I couldn’t handle things like this, you wouldn’t have kept me around to serve Konoha all those years.”
Hiruzen nodded.
Danzo’s operational ability was indeed something he could rely on.
However, just as he was about to continue warning Danzo, an ANBU shinobi suddenly rushed into the room.
“Hokage-sama, something has happened…”