Iwagakure.
The door to the Tsuchikage's office was pushed open.
Kitsuchi walked in first, followed by Kurotsuchi. Akatsuchi entered last and shut the door behind him.
"Father."
Kitsuchi stepped forward with a grave expression. Ōnoki looked up in surprise.
"Han's last known location was a forest near the Land of Grass. The search team found signs of battle there. The damage covered a wide area."
"The people traveling with Han are also missing. But the strange thing is, although the battle was clearly intense, there were no traces of ninjutsu left at the scene."
Kitsuchi paused, then stated his conclusion.
"This was an operation targeting him."
Ōnoki put down the documents in his hand. His face showed no surprise.
That calm reaction only made the atmosphere in the room heavier. Kitsuchi and the others looked at him and understood. Ōnoki had already expected this outcome.
After all, Han had been missing for seven days.
Based on his mission route, he should have returned to Iwagakure with his squad within five days at the latest. A delay of a day or two was not unusual for ninja, but by the third day, there was still no signal.
The registered communication points had not received Han's routine check-in. The border patrols had not seen his squad return either.
On the fourth day, Ōnoki sent out the first search team. Now, on the seventh day, they had brought back definite evidence: traces of a fierce battle, and a completely empty scene.
This was not a delay. Nor was it an accident.
It was a disappearance.
"If I remember correctly…" Ōnoki seemed to think of something and looked at Kurotsuchi. "A few months ago, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki of Takigakure also went missing, didn't she?"
Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi exchanged glances. Their eyes also turned to Kurotsuchi.
Although Kurotsuchi was young, she was Ōnoki's granddaughter and an important member of the younger generation being trained. She had taken part in tracking that intelligence.
"Yes, Old Man."
"Tell me the details."
"About four months ago, Fū, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki of Takigakure, was attacked while escorting someone to the Land of Iron. Her guards were killed, and Fū disappeared."
"Takigakure initially sealed off the news, but our spies confirmed the incident. The attackers were Kakuzu, a rogue ninja from Takigakure, and Hidan, a rogue ninja from Yugakure."
"Kakuzu… Hidan…"
Ōnoki repeated the two names, his eyes narrowing. During the Ninja World Wars, he had once hired the Akatsuki to handle certain shady matters.
Kurotsuchi hesitated for a moment, then gave her opinion.
"But Old Man, I think Han's situation might be different from the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki's."
Ōnoki raised his hand, signaling for her to continue.
"Fū had not fully mastered the Seven-Tails' power, and Takigakure is only a small village. It isn't strange that two S-rank rogue ninja like Kakuzu and Hidan could succeed together."
Her eyes sharpened.
"But Han is different. He is a perfect Jinchuriki, capable of full Tailed Beast Transformation. His strength is top-tier even in the entire Ninja World. For him to disappear without a trace, without even sending out a distress signal…"
"It should be impossible for just rogue ninja like Kakuzu and Hidan, right?"
Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi both fell into thought.
Kurotsuchi looked straight at Ōnoki... "If… if one of the other Four Great Nations really made a move, then…"
She did not finish.
Ōnoki's eyes narrowed. A few seconds later, he spoke.
"Then prepare for war."
His firm words gave the three of them a strong sense of security.
After a brief silence, Akatsuchi, who was usually quiet and reserved, suddenly spoke in a low voice.
"However, Lord Tsuchikage… Captain Kitsuchi, there is one more thing I have been thinking about."
Akatsuchi swallowed.
"Could Han's disappearance be related to that attack from more than ten years ago?"
The sentence struck like thunder. Ōnoki and Kitsuchi's expressions changed at once. Only Kurotsuchi looked confused.
"More than ten years ago?" she asked. "Uncle Akatsuchi, what are you talking about?"
Kitsuchi opened his mouth as if he wanted to explain, but in the end, he pressed his lips together and looked at Ōnoki.
That incident from more than ten years ago was one of Iwagakure's top secrets. It was also a thorn Ōnoki had never been able to remove from his heart.
Ōnoki looked at Kurotsuchi and did not avoid her question. She would need to know sooner or later.
"More than ten years ago, Rōshi and Han encountered an unknown enemy while on a mission outside the village."
Kurotsuchi listened closely.
"At that time, Rōshi and Han were already Jinchuriki who could fully control their Tailed Beasts' power."
Ōnoki paused, as if weighing his words.
"But according to their report afterward, the battle ended in an instant."
"What… an instant?" Kurotsuchi repeated in shock.
"Yes." Ōnoki nodded. "The opponent used only one strike."
He looked at Kurotsuchi and said solemnly,
"One strike defeated both of them at the same time while they were in full Tailed Beast Transformation."
The office fell silent. Kurotsuchi's confusion quickly turned into shock.
"One… one strike?" Her voice rose sharply. "Defeating two Jinchuriki at the same time?"
As Ōnoki's granddaughter, she had seen the terror of a fully transformed Tailed Beast Jinchuriki. That was why she understood how impossible those words sounded.
For someone to defeat two of them at once… That level of strength was beyond her understanding.
"Then… who was that person?" she asked.
"We don't know." Ōnoki shook his head. "They left no clues to their identity, and they have not appeared again in the dozen years since."
He looked at Akatsuchi.
"However, Han's disappearance this time should not be related to that incident. If that person had acted, they would not have waited until now, nor would they have used such a roundabout method."
Akatsuchi lowered his head and muttered, "Maybe I was overthinking it."
Ōnoki waved his hand. "No. Every possibility needs to be considered."
He turned to Kitsuchi.
"Continue searching for Han's whereabouts. At the same time, activate the emergency communication channel for Rōshi. If he can still receive messages, tell him what happened in the village."
"Understood."
Kitsuchi accepted the order and was about to leave to arrange the mission.
But just as he turned around...
BOOM!
A deafening roar came from the northwest of the village, like a heavy object smashing into the earth.
The entire Tsuchikage's office shook violently. No, the whole of Iwagakure, built into the mountains, shook from the impact.
"What's going on?" The sudden change made Kurotsuchi cry out.
But before anyone could answer, while the tremors had yet to fully fade...
Woo—woo—woo!
A piercing alarm rang through the sky above Iwagakure.
...
A few minutes earlier.
High in the sky northwest of Iwagakure, the Scale Wood Dragon spread its wings and hovered in the wind.
Shinichi stood on the dragon's head, looking down at the village built among the mountains below.
"So this is Iwagakure."
"It really is a hard place. Just like stone. No wonder the Will of Stone was born here."
"What a pity."
Shinichi lowered his crossed arms, raised his right hand, and spread his fingers, as if he intended to grasp the entire village below.
"Your luck has run out." His eyes turned cold, and he pressed his palm downward.
"I'll use this place to make my strength known. After today… the Ninja World will remember me."
The moment he finished speaking, Shinichi lightly tapped the dragon's head with the tip of his foot. He leaned forward, separated from the Scale Wood Dragon, and dropped straight down.
Wind pressure struck his face. His hair was pulled back, and his robes snapped loudly. He adjusted his posture in midair and shot toward the ground like an arrow.
At Iwagakure's northwest perimeter, in the patrol zone, a four-man squad had just finished their morning patrol and was walking back along the mountain path.
The captain walking at the front was a middle-aged ninja. Enjoying the rare peace, he sighed.
"Another smooth day."
The young squad member behind him laughed.
"That's right, Captain. No abnormalities, and everything is quiet."
The squad member walking last stretched, looked up at the sky, and narrowed his eyes.
"Exactly. And the sun feels great today. The weather is… What is that?"
His words stopped abruptly. His eyes locked onto a black dot that had suddenly appeared in the sky. The other three looked up at the same time. Their pupils shrank.
The black dot rapidly grew larger in their vision.
No. It was not a black dot.
It was a person. A person falling headfirst toward them at terrifying speed.
"Get away!" The captain's roar rang out. The four of them threw themselves to the sides.
BOOM!
The figure smashed into the spot where they had just been standing.
The earth shook. Dust shot into the sky. Broken stones flew everywhere.
The shockwave flipped the four ninja who had dived to the ground, sending them rolling several meters away.
"Cough… cough, cough…"
"Ugh…"
Coughs sounded one after another through the thick dust.
The young squad member gritted his teeth, slapped one hand against the ground, and forced himself up.
"Ca-Captain?" His voice trembled. "What happened?"
Another squad member drew a kunai and leaned against the rock wall, breathing hard.
"What was that just now? Was it a person?"
The captain did not answer. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see what was in the center of the smoke and dust.
The dust was too thick. He could only make out a standing silhouette.
"You… who are you?" the captain shouted, suppressing his fear. "This is Iwagakure! State your identity immediately, or else…"
The smoke and dust finally cleared.
Shinichi stood in the center of the crater and looked up at them.
The four Iwagakure ninja stared at his face, then at his bare forehead. He wore no forehead protector. He was not a ninja from any known village.
The young squad member tightened his grip on his kunai. His throat bobbed.
"Ca-Captain, this…"
Shinichi's indifferent gaze swept over their hostile stances.
"You all," he said calmly. "You should have a signal to contact the village, right?"
The four froze. The captain's pupils contracted.
Shinichi continued... "Send the signal. Tell the people in the village..."
He paused.
"...I have arrived."
The moment those words fell, Shinichi lightly stomped the ground.
There was no warning.
Boom!
Terrifying chakra erupted from his body. An invisible shockwave burst outward.
The remaining smoke and dust scattered at once, and spiderweb cracks spread across the ground in every direction.
The four ninja did not even have time to react. That enormous chakra pressure slammed down on them like a mountain.
"Urgh!"
The young squad member's knees buckled, and he was forced flat against the ground, his cheek pressed to the rock.
The other two also groaned. Their bodies bent, hands braced against the ground as they struggled to stand.
The captain was slightly stronger. He clenched his jaw, veins bulging on his forehead. But in the end, his trembling legs could not support him. He dropped to one knee, unable to summon even the thought of resistance.
He stared wide-eyed at the figure in the center of the crater, horror filling his eyes.
This level of chakra…
This pressure…
Impossible.
How old did this young man even look?
What made his heart pound even harder was what the other party had said.
Notify the village?
Why would an invader ask them to notify the village himself?
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