"So you're saying the one behind these clones isn't Uchiha Obito, but the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
In the Mizukage's office, Uzumaki Kushina's eyes widened in disbelief.
"That old man… how could he do something like this?!"
"It's the truth."
Tsunade shook her head, her expression heavy with grief.
"Sensei is no longer the teacher I once knew. Like that former member of Akatsuki, Hikaru, he's completed the Chimera Ritual, grafting five kekkei genkai into himself. He even said that the title of Hokage, and Konoha itself, no longer mean anything to him. Now… he claims he has a higher pursuit."
"A higher pursuit?"
In the corner, Orochimaru's golden eyes lit up, his tongue flicking across his lips as he gave a hissing chuckle.
"So the old man has finally seen through the futility of it all?"
"Orochimaru!"
Tsunade shot him a furious glare. Orochimaru gave a sly, apologetic laugh and said no more—but his eyes still gleamed with curiosity.
After all, they had been teacher and student for decades, each knowing the other's true nature. Orochimaru understood his sensei well.
Some might say that Sarutobi Hiruzen was corrupt, old-fashioned, greedy, small-minded, willing to sacrifice Konoha's interests for politics and compromise.
But Orochimaru knew: those very traits were precisely why the Second Hokage had chosen him as successor.
That the great tree overshadowing Konoha had, in just a few years, completely changed into another person—it was something Orochimaru found hard to believe.
The people in the office looked at each other, none offering much commentary on Sarutobi Hiruzen, especially since many of the Soul Society's Shinigami captains were from Konoha.
"To fight Tsunade evenly, and even gain the upper hand… Sarutobi Hiruzen's Chimera Technique must be far more complete than Hikaru's ever was," Mei Terumī said gravely. "And the situation in Konoha itself must be connected to him as well."
After all, when Hiruzen stepped down, he had been utterly isolated. Even his own Sarutobi clan held him in disdain.
The only one who remained close to him was Danzō. That much, they all knew.
And now, with Danzō having single-handedly dealt with both Hiashi and Fugaku to become Acting Hokage, while Hiruzen's own power had suddenly skyrocketed… the idea that the two weren't connected was absurd.
"But our intelligence operatives in Konoha haven't reported anything unusual."
Yuki Kiri finally spoke, his tone calm and measured.
"After stepping down, Hiruzen had no manpower of his own. And Root, after Fugaku split its power, lost more than half its strength. On their own, they shouldn't have had the resources to complete the Chimera Ritual."
"But what if they had Uchiha Obito's help?" Mei pressed, her brows furrowed.
"With Kamui, he could easily transport resources unseen. And since Hiruzen and Obito are striking together now, it means their cooperation must have started long ago."
If Danzō and Hiruzen had Obito's support, then perhaps it was possible. But the problem was…
"Time, and resources."
Kiri shook his head.
"Lord Yoru has been tracking Obito's movements for quite some time—his control of Akatsuki, his manipulation of Sunagakure and Iwagakure. Obito simply didn't have enough time or resources to be managing all of this simultaneously."
"Not to mention, Lord Yoru still has hidden agents embedded within Konoha. Obito's Kamui alone wouldn't be enough to conceal this from him."
"…So what you're saying is, the one behind Hiruzen and Danzō isn't Uchiha Obito at all, but someone else entirely?"
"Yes. Someone who has the power to evade even Lord Yoru's surveillance!"
At those words, silence filled the room.
Whether it was Orochimaru, Tsunade, or Uchiha Hikari silently standing in the corner, all of them narrowed their eyes.
Uchiha Obito's Kamui was already troublesome enough. If someone even stronger than Obito was involved, then…
"Enough. The enemy may be powerful, but there's no need to make such grim faces."
"As long as we wait for Yoru to return, these people are nothing more than clowns making noise. You haven't forgotten that day's overwhelming pressure, have you?"
Mei Terumī gave a soft laugh, breaking the silence in the room and easing the heavy mood.
Hoshigaki Kisame, Hōzuki Mangetsu, and several clan heads and elders all let out faint smiles.
None of them could forget that day—the earth-shaking, godlike spiritual pressure that had descended upon them. And the one who possessed such power was their Fourth Mizukage!
Yes. As long as the Fourth returned, these enemies were nothing but clowns. What was there to fear?
Seeing everyone's expressions shift, Mei spoke with confidence:
"Our principle has always been to underestimate the enemy strategically, while valuing them tactically. With Yoru on our side, we only need to remember one truth—"
"That is: before us, there are no enemies!"
Her confident words brought smiles to everyone in the office, though a few who knew hidden secrets showed faint traces of unease in their eyes.
"Wait… if both Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen are connected to Uchiha Obito, then Danzō's earlier request must have been…"
Kushina finally realized, her expression tightening.
Hinata had already left Kirigakure. For Danzō to specifically demand her return could only mean some kind of scheme.
And everyone here knew—Hinata, as Yuki Yoru's sole disciple, was extremely special. Whatever Danzō was plotting, nothing could be allowed to happen to her!
Yuki Kiri gave a small nod. She had already anticipated this.
"Don't worry. I've already sent the Lord Second along with her."
At these words, several people in the room let out a breath of relief.
With Gengetsu Hōzuki accompanying her, there truly shouldn't be any problems.
If he unleashed his full strength in an instant, his power would eclipse all of Kirigakure—so much so that even the Fourth would avoid crossing him head-on. With him there, Hinata should be safe. And even if the enemy did have some hidden scheme, the Second could at least hold them off, protect Hinata, and perhaps even extract valuable information.
While the upper echelons of Kirigakure discussed the current situation, the very person they considered their ultimate safeguard—Yuki Yoru—was having a far greater headache.
In the vast emptiness of the void, a faint light flickered within a spatial node, only to dim and vanish soon after.
Inside the Dream World.
Yuki Yoru frowned deeply. His pitch-black spiritual power had already dyed the entire world.
His control over this world had reached ninety-nine percent. This world, nurtured by Gamamaru for over a thousand years, was about to fall completely into his grasp.
As long as he seized the world's source, its ownership would shift to him.
But reality wasn't so simple.
With the overwhelming force of his own spiritual power, and with Gamamaru willingly letting go, Yoru's mastery of this world had surged to ninety-nine percent almost instantly. Yet the final one percent—no matter what he did—remained beyond his reach.
It was as if a thin membrane barred his way. Everything beyond was already within his sight, yet he simply could not cross through.
"That damn toad really was decisive…"
Countless eyes appeared within Yoru's gaze. He had already seen the truth of why this world remained beyond his control.
Though Gamamaru had willingly given up this world, at the very last moment he issued a final command over the authority he still held.
Self-seal!
Sealing the source, sealing the core, sealing the world itself.
Gamamaru's final command meant Yoru could not directly seize control of the world, even though Gamamaru himself had lost his power over it.
No matter how much Yoru encroached upon the world's authority, its core remained in a state of self-sealing.
And with the source self-sealed, it meant this world could not be completely controlled by Yoru.
Yoru's eyes remained calm. The power of the Almighty (all-Knowing and All-Powerful) allowed him to see through Gamamaru's methods and also know the method to break it.
Spiritual power poured endlessly toward the world's core. Yoru even gave up his control of the Dream World itself, gathering all his strength and surging directly at the sealed core.
His spiritual power struck, the vast pressure shaking the Three Realms slammed against the core without restraint. The self-seal lasted only a second before it shattered apart.
A pure white radiance spilled out from the Dream World's source, sweeping toward Yoru.
But he was already prepared. With a surge of spiritual power, he easily blocked the light, and even seized it in his hand.
Yet as he gained control of that power, the surrounding world began to collapse. Like a tower of blocks losing its foundation, it crumbled apart.
Yoru showed no surprise—he had foreseen this outcome.
This was Gamamaru's scheme.
The existence of the world's core was meant to trap Yoru within it. The moment Yoru struck the core, the Dream World would lose its support and begin to collapse.
After realizing Yoru was vying to seize control of the Dream World, Gamamaru made a decisive choice: sacrifice the world itself in order to use Yoru's own greed to trap him within it forever!
If Yoru lashed out at the core, the collapse would consume the entire world, annihilating everything, leaving him with nothing.
It was a choice to harm a thousand but perhaps kill none—a self-destructive tactic. Yet for Gamamaru at that moment, it was the best option.
The world collapsed. Space fractured. In an instant, the Dream World shattered like an illusion, breaking apart into nothingness.
A biting chill surged against him. Yoru furrowed his brows—the weightless sensation was unpleasant.
There was no sunlight, no air. No gravity, no living beings.
Only darkness. A stillness as if time and space did not exist. Nothingness, eternal and equal, a void of silence and death.
For a moment, the vast universe left Yoru stunned. A phrase suddenly surfaced in his mind:
To investigate how and why this place came to be is meaningless. It is enough to know that it exists.
The boundless cosmos stretched without end, infinite and immeasurable. This was the true universe—an existence beyond the shinobi world!
Around him, there was no chakra, no natural energy, no spiritual power.
Fortunately, Yoru had already undergone his transformation; his body overflowed with spiritual power, transcending the mortal species. Otherwise, even a spiritual body would struggle to survive in such an environment.
Even so, this place was not suitable to linger in.
Yoru attempted to sense the shinobi world. The positioning of spiritual particles was mutual; though separated by great distance, he could still faintly perceive the Quincy and Shinigami within that world.
They were like a lamp burning in the endless night, like a lighthouse on the vast ocean, sending Yoru the signal that would guide him home.
But the two realms were separated by an immense distance, and in this universe there was no spiritual power nor any other form of energy. If Yoru wanted to tear open space directly and cross the void, the consumption would be enormous—so great that even for him now, it would be hard to endure.
There was no helping it. He could only use the simplest, most straightforward method.
Fly.
Locking onto the shinobi world's location through spirit-particle positioning, Yoru hurled himself headlong into the cosmic void, advancing ceaselessly toward his target.
His speed was tremendous, yet in the deep universe not the faintest light could be seen. Perhaps, on occasion, a few scattered points of light would appear, but no matter how much Yoru accelerated, those lights remained what they were—mere specks, the distance between them never seeming to shrink.
Seeing this, Yoru abandoned any thought of exploring other star systems and focused all his effort on rushing back to the shinobi world.
But as he flew, Yoru suddenly sensed something—an eerie ripple stirring through the surrounding space.
The next instant, a towering white-clad giant tore through the void, a massive crimson chakra axe gripped in his hands, cleaving down toward Yoru's neck with a thunderous strike!
BZZZT!!
The axe's force was unstoppable, carrying with it the aura of Yin-Yang release that transcended all else.
Yoru's brows furrowed, his expression dark as still water. Without flourish, he struck out with a single hand. Torrential spiritual power burst from his hand, twisting the space itself in unnatural ripples.
The crimson axe collided with his spiritual power. Yoru's body trembled faintly, but the white giant was forced to stagger back again and again.
Seeing this, Yoru's eyes revealed a flash of surprise. The giant, on the other hand, seemed puzzled that what should have been a near-certain killing blow had failed. Shaking its head, it gathered a mass of crimson chakra that erupted forth, hurtling at Yoru in an instant.
A barrier of spirit particles absorbed the blast of chakra. But with a flicker of white light, the giant's massive form appeared right before him. Its hand closed, molding the crimson chakra into a spear, which it drove straight at Yoru's head!
VMMMM!!!
The surging might of the chakra was overwhelming, suffocating. Yoru's face remained expressionless. One hand crashed toward the charging giant, while his other hand clenched abruptly at the space behind him!