The sun was rising over the ruins of Konoha when Noah crossed the main gate. The village still smelled of ash and dried blood even weeks after that disaster, but the rescue teams had already cleared the main streets.
The Hokage Tower building was partially reconstructed. The outer walls still showed cracks, but the interior was already functional. Noah climbed the stairs unhurriedly, his white bandage over his left eye still fresh, his ANBU uniform stained with blood.
The gate guards recognized him and stepped aside.
—The Hokage is waiting for you —said one.
Noah nodded and entered.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood behind his desk, leaning on his hands, looking at an unfolded map. His pipe rested to one side, still smoking.
He looked up when Noah entered.
—Nawaki —he said, his voice deep but not severe—. I'm glad to see you alive.
—Hokage-sama.
Noah stopped in front of the desk. His posture was that of a soldier who had returned from the battlefield.
Hiruzen looked at him for a moment, noting his bandaged eye, then pointed to a chair.
—Sit down. Tell me.
Noah obeyed. He crossed one leg over the other, rested his arms on the wooden armrests, and began to speak.
—The mission was... complicated.
—Missions of this rank always are.
—We reached a mountainous area after days of gathering information. The people of the Land of Sky were building a weapon, just as you suspected. A floating fortress. They called it the Ancor Vantian.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.
—A floating fortress?
—That's right. Or at least, that's what they were trying to do. Apparently, they didn't have a suitable power source to fuel that thing. It seemed more like a flying temple than a military base. My comrades and I deduced that they planned to use it as a headquarters for future attacks. A mobile base they could deploy over any target.
Hiruzen clenched his jaw.
—What happened to the fortress?
—We destroyed it. The shinobi guarding it were more than we expected. They ambushed us at the access gorge.
Noah paused and sighed deeply, lowering his gaze.
—My two comrades... did not survive.
Silence settled in the room. Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment.
—I'm sorry to hear that. They were good shinobi.
—They were —Noah replied, without emotion.
—And the fortress?
—Completely destroyed. Nothing remained that they could reuse. Everything disappeared.
Hiruzen nodded slowly. There was something in his eyes, a flicker of doubt, but he did not express it. Nawaki had always been an exemplary soldier. His reports had never failed.
—You did well —he said—. Tomorrow you can come to pick up your new document certifying your position in ANBU. You may also choose an S-rank jutsu from the library as a reward.
—Thank you, Hokage-sama.
Noah stood up, ready to leave. But Hiruzen raised a hand.
—One more thing.
—Yes?
—Have you heard anything about Danzo?
Noah went still. His face showed genuine confusion —or at least, it seemed so.
—Danzo Shimura? No, Hokage-sama. I haven't seen him since before I left. Is something wrong?
Hiruzen looked at him for a long time. But he found nothing.
—Nothing —he said finally—. You may go.
Noah bowed and left.
The door closed behind him with a soft click.
Hiruzen stared at the empty space for a long while. Then he sighed and slumped into his chair.
—What are you plotting, Danzo? —he murmured—. Where have you gone?
---
Noah descended the stairs at a leisurely pace, his boots echoing on the stone. As he crossed the main gate, the cool night air brushed his face.
He walked through Konoha's main streets unhurriedly, dodging workers and shinobi carrying materials.
As he walked, his lips curled slightly.
—Hiruzen… —he murmured, almost reluctantly—. Your dear friend Danzo is not coming back.
A gust of wind kicked up dust around him.
—The village will save itself a lot of headaches with his absence.
He kept walking… until he stopped dead at the sound of something in his mind.
His gaze lifted slightly, as if listening to something that wasn't there.
—Oh…? The fusion is complete?
An expectant silence enveloped him for a moment. Then, without adding anything else, he resumed his walk.
He slowly opened his fingers, and a small eyeball appeared on his palm.
His left hand slowly rose to his face, stopping over the bandage covering his eye.
His fingers slipped underneath, into the empty socket, and placed the eye in its place.
His fingers then tensed for a second and pulled the bandage.
His left eye opened.
A subtle, almost imperceptible pressure emanated from his left orbit. The eye that had been empty for seven days was now full.
The Mangekyō Sharingan began to spin.
The star-shaped pattern that had accompanied him for so long blurred, reconfiguring, transforming. The edges rounded, the red light intensified until it became crimson, and on the surface of the iris appeared a perfect full moon, surrounded by three tomoe slowly rotating around the outer circle of the pupil.
—Finally —Noah whispered, looking at his reflection in the glass of a nearby window—. Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
In a blink, his eye returned to normal.
The crimson light dimmed. The tomoe stopped. The full moon faded.
His left eye returned to normal, taking on the same emerald green tone as his right eye. As if nothing had happened.
Noah let the bandage fall between his fingers, not bothering to put it back on.
He continued walking. The streets became more familiar as he approached the Senju residence. The family home stood at the end of the road, its dark walls silhouetted against the starry sky.
Noah stopped in front of the door.
His hand brushed the wood, but he did not enter. He stood there, motionless, staring at the grain of the aged wood.
—It's time —he said, his voice grave, without his usual mocking tone—. To evolve my right eye.
---
The Konoha council meeting room was small, lit by candles casting dancing shadows on the walls. Hiruzen sat at the head of the table. Across from him, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado occupied their usual places.
Both had faces marked by fatigue. The war, the attacks, the losses... everything had taken its toll.
—Reports —Hiruzen said, without preamble.
Koharu was the first to speak.
—The search teams have found no trace of Danzo. Nor of the twenty elite jōnin who accompanied him. They disappeared two weeks ago. As if the earth had swallowed them.
—No clues?
—None.
Homura intervened.
—Do you think it could be related to the Land of Sky's attack?
—I don't know —Hiruzen admitted, rubbing his temple—. But Danzo never does anything without a purpose. If he disappeared, it's because he has some plan.
—Or because someone made him disappear —Koharu said, her voice barely a whisper.
The silence grew thick.
—Let's leave that for now —Hiruzen decided—. Let's talk about the war.
He unfolded a map on the table. The red ink marks indicated enemy movements, supply routes, and defensive positions.
—With the destruction of that floating fortress at Nawaki's hands, the Land of Sky has lost the project they invested the most resources in. Without that, their offensive potential is drastically reduced.
—Are you sure Nawaki is telling the truth? —Homura asked, skeptical—. He's young. Perhaps...
—Nawaki has never failed a mission —Hiruzen interrupted him—. And I know his abilities. If he says he destroyed the fortress, he did.
Koharu nodded.
—Then we can take advantage. Attack now while their morale is low.
—Exactly.
Hiruzen pointed at the map.
—The War Council has decided. We will go all out against the Land of Sky. We will avenge the fallen. We will avenge Konoha!