The capital of the Land of Fire.
On the side of a bustling street, a publicity team was hard at work setting up promotional stands for the new film The Adventures of Princess Fūun, while actors in costume stood nearby, adjusting their hair ornaments in front of mirrors.
At that moment, they too noticed the images playing across the light screen, along with the scrolling comments flashing past one after another.
And amid this sudden turn of events, before Fujikaze Yukie, Koyuki, Eito, and the other actors who had already appeared on the screen could even process what was happening—
the usually taciturn director, a man who rarely said more than a few clipped words even while filming, was the first to let out an uncontrollable cry of excitement:
"I never imagined the movie would appear on that screen! At this rate, not only the people in the capital but even ordinary villagers out in the remote countryside might get to see it. This is the greatest publicity we could possibly ask for—it's a gift from heaven!"
Watching the director pace back and forth beside the display stand, the production manager hurriedly set down the promotional checklist in his hands and reminded him:
"But Director, we still have no idea what that screen even is. And the movie hasn't officially premiered yet—if the contents get leaked this early, what if the audience loses interest? Or if this brings some other kind of trouble, wouldn't that hurt our early promotion instead?"
Off in the corner, Asama Sandayū, Fujikaze Yukie's manager, did not join the conversation between the director and the production manager. Instead, he stared at the images playing across the screen with a face full of worry.
Clearly, he was afraid that this mysterious light screen of unknown origin might expose Fujikaze Yukie's true identity to the world.
And under the weight of that anxiety, the light screen hanging in the sky did not pause for even a moment. It continued rolling onward, showing the next sequence of scenes.
["B-But, Princess..."]
The young man kneeling on one knee braced himself against the ground with his sword, trying to steady his swaying body as he attempted to say something more.
But the seemingly delicate figure standing at the very front suddenly turned around, revealing a refined face and eyes filled with unwavering determination.
["As long as we keep going, hope will not go out. We can't give up now!"]
["Princess..."]
It was as if they had been infected by the princess's unyielding spirit. The heavily wounded companions lying on the ground all struggled to lift their heads from the rubble, calling out to her in hoarse voices.
But just as that faint spark of hope was about to catch fire, a triumphant laugh rang out from above.
Standing atop a broken section of the city wall was a black-robed priest clutching a skull-topped scepter. Looking down at the four of them from on high, he pronounced their final sentence of death, one word at a time:
["Heh heh heh... Princess Fūun, face reality! There is no chance for you to move forward any farther in this lifetime!!"]
The instant those words of doom fell, countless streams of black mist burst wildly out from cracks in the earth. Like living creatures, they wrapped themselves around the howling gale and spiraled into a vast shadow that blotted out the sky above the battlefield.
Faced with such a horrifying sight, the three men—who had only just been barely holding themselves up on one knee, drained and bleeding—seemed to ignite their final shred of fighting spirit and rose to their feet together.
Even with blood pouring from their bodies, they still raised their weapons high and aimed them at the all-devouring storm ahead.
Yet just as everyone found their resolve again and tightened their grip on their weapons, preparing to charge into the gale—
the black-robed priest standing atop the wall curled his lips into a sinister smile, as though he had long anticipated this exact reaction and had already prepared for it.
In the very next second, with the slightest twitch of his finger, the ground behind Princess Fūun split open. A puppet soldier under his control burst forth, its massive blade descending with terrifying force toward the princess's completely unguarded back.
At that life-and-death instant, the perspective on the light screen suddenly shifted, and the camera landed on a young ninja wearing a Konoha forehead protector.
Leaning forward, eyes locked on the screen ahead, he shouted in a voice brimming with uncontrollable urgency:
["Watch out! Princess Fūun!!"]
"Huh? Th-That guy looks really familiar..."
At a rarely visited riverbank in Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki was bent over picking up trash with a half-full basket strapped to his back, still holding a filthy scrap of paper he had just fished out of the dirty canal.
But the moment his eyes caught the scene on the screen overhead, he froze in place, straightened up, and scratched his cheek in confusion.
Nearby, Sasuke was also collecting garbage in the riverway. Hearing Naruto's remark, he merely shook his head, clearly long since accustomed to Naruto's foolish reactions. Sakura, meanwhile, pressed a hand to her forehead and spoke in a tone that was half exasperated, half amused:
"Naruto, look carefully! It doesn't just look familiar—that's obviously you!!"
"Huh? That's me?!"
Naruto's blue eyes widened as he pointed up at the image in the sky. "But why is that screen showing me?"
Kakashi did not join Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's discussion. Instead, he first swept his gaze over the surrounding area, confirming there were no immediate threats, before finally turning to look at the mysterious floating light screen and muttering under his breath:
"I haven't noticed any sign of enemy shinobi infiltrating from another village, and I haven't sensed any unfamiliar chakra either... but the fact that this mysterious screen suddenly started showing Naruto no matter how you look at it—it doesn't seem well-intentioned."
At first, when the mysterious screen had appeared, Kakashi—being an elite jōnin—had certainly maintained a shinobi's vigilance, but that caution had stemmed more from prudence toward the unknown than from any fear that it might directly harm him or his students.
After all, to him, it was nothing more than a strange floating image of unknown origin. It emitted no chakra fluctuations whatsoever and showed no signs of hostility. It simply did not look like something capable of posing a threat.
That was why he had not interrupted Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's first D-rank mission halfway through. Cleaning the riverbank might have been a simple task, but it was still training in the fundamentals of being a shinobi. There was no need to abandon it just because of a seemingly harmless image in the sky.
But who could have expected that after only a few short minutes, the screen would begin clearly displaying one of his students?
That familiar blond hair and blue eyes—it was unmistakably Naruto, the very same Naruto currently shouting in surprise beside him.
Under those circumstances, Kakashi could no longer afford to treat this as something trivial.
After all, no one could guarantee that this mysterious light screen was not part of some plot directed at Naruto. If someone with ulterior motives made use of it, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Thinking of Naruto's special identity—and of the strongest tailed beast sealed inside him, a force capable of shaking the entire ninja world—Kakashi no longer dared let his students remain out here at the exposed riverbank on the edge of the village.
He immediately raised a hand to stop the three of them, who were still sorting garbage, and prepared to take them back to the safer center of the village first.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 172)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 116)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter119)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 66
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 52
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 55
The Way the Umamusume Look at 42
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 40
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 36
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