The masked man stared at Itachi Uchiha through the holes in his mask.
"I need you to go to Konoha."
"A mission?" Itachi asked quietly.
The masked man was well aware of Itachi's role as a double agent. In fact, Itachi's condition for joining Akatsuki had been clear: as long as he remained in the organization—so long as Itachi Uchiha was still breathing and standing by the masked man's side as a Missing-nin—then neither the masked man nor Akatsuki would make a move against Konoha.
"The Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails and the One-Tail are both in Konoha right now," the masked man said. "You and Hoshigaki will bring them back to the organization."
Kisame stepped in for his partner.
"Hey, boss, we're talking about Jinchuriki. Forget how many people Konoha and Suna have guarding them in secret—just grabbing two Jinchuriki head-on isn't exactly easy."
The masked man's voice dropped. "If you fail, I'll go myself."
On the surface, the words sounded harmless. But to Itachi, they meant only one thing—if he couldn't pull it off, the masked man would strike Konoha.
The three tomoe in Itachi's eyes spun violently. A sharp whine echoed—!
When he looked back at the masked man, Mangekyō patterns had already formed in his eyes.
"You planning to use Tsukuyomi on me? Or Amaterasu?"
The masked man met his gaze, and his own eye shifted into a Mangekyō with a different pattern.
"You should know—most of what you understand about the Sharingan came from me."
"Don't test me, Itachi." His mood had been terrible lately.
"....."
They stared each other down for a long time. In the end, Itachi—still bound by his concern for Konoha's safety—yielded.
"I understand."
Itachi turned. "Let's go, Kisame."
He walked quickly, already far from Kisame and the masked man within moments.
Kisame bowed slightly, then prepared to speed up and catch him.
"See if Zabuza is in Konoha as well."
Just as Kisame took his first step, the masked man's final instruction reached his ears. When he looked back, the masked man had already vanished into a swirling void.
Zabuza?
Hadn't the rumors said that kid died in the Land of Waves? Looks like things aren't as simple as the rumors make them out to be. And it's even tied to Konoha.
Kisame tugged at the corner of his mouth. With his shark-like face, no one could tell whether he was smiling.
The two headed toward Konohagakure in the Land of Fire...
During this time, Karin's identity had been confirmed—she truly carried the blood of the Uzumaki Clan. Although her Adamantine Sealing Chains hadn't awakened, she had far more chakra than most people, and her ability to heal others was exceptionally strong.
The bite marks covering her body proved she was already an outstanding medical-nin. In some ways, she wasn't inferior to Tsunade, the strongest healer in the ninja world. After all, even Tsunade couldn't always save her comrades. But Karin's ability was practically a bug: as long as she had enough chakra, even someone hanging on by half a breath—even with the Shinigami standing over them—could be pulled back from death.
Of course, those same bite marks also testified to what she had endured in Kusagakure, where she had once served as a ninja.
After confirming things with her, Konoha didn't allow her to keep her eligibility for this year's Chūnin Exams. At the same time, the village began negotiations with Kusagakure regarding Karin's return to Konoha.
"Then she can't take the Chūnin Exams?!"
Naruto slammed his fist on the table and shot to his feet.
Minato told him, "If she continues, she'll have to take the exams with the Kusagakure ninja since she has no teammates in Konoha."
It was obvious what those people would do to her.
Sakura gently admonished Naruto:
"This should be the best choice for Karin. Retake the Ninja Academy curriculum, wait for reclassification with Konoha ninja, rebuild connections with her comrades..."
Naruto slumped back down, completely deflated.
"Hmph."
Sasuke snorted, crossed his legs, and smacked the book in his hand onto Naruto's head.
"Instead of thinking about that, why don't you focus on how you're going to complete your S-rank mission, you super idiot? The Chūnin Exams are less than two days away."
"Aaaah! Don't remind me! Damn you, Sasuke!!"
Naruto clutched the book on his head and curled in on himself like a turtle hiding in its shell.
Just then, Minato Namikaze seemed to sense something. His expression sharpened, and in the next instant, all of them dropped downward as if the ground had vanished beneath their feet.
Unlike Naruto and Sakura, who screamed with their eyes shut, Minato-sensei endured the weightless plunge, forcing himself to calmly assess the surroundings.
Nothing but darkness. They were falling endlessly through pitch-black emptiness.
"Minato-sensei!"
It was young Obito's voice. A pair of crimson eyes flared open in the dark.
Obito no longer carried his usual unreliable air; his glowing Sharingan looked almost otherworldly in the darkness. The moment the fall began, he reacted instantly, activating his Sharingan and grabbing hold of Kakashi and Rin by the waist.
On the other side, another pair of Sharingan lit up. Sasuke had grabbed Naruto and Sakura.
Seeing how much those two children had grown filled Minato with relief.
After three or four long minutes of falling, Minato finally spotted a white point of light. His blue eyes shone with unwavering focus. With a Flying Thunder God kunai already held in his mouth, he reached out and seized both Sasuke and Obito with all his strength.
"Don't let go!" he warned them.
Obito shouted, "I won't let go, absolutely not!"
Sasuke nodded without a word.
The light grew larger and larger until they passed straight through it...
Blue sky spread above them, and a vast forest stretched out below. Scattered houses peeked through the trees.
Was this a small village?!
…
Remember? The promises we made here when we were kids."
"Mhm."
We said we'd build a village here—a place where children wouldn't have to kill each other anymore. We'd establish an Academy to train them, and once they grew stronger, they'd take missions based on their individual skills and abilities. With missions ranked by difficulty, we'd create a village that never sends its children to the front lines to die.
And once the village was complete, we'd keep all our younger brothers safe.
Catching a leaf carried by the wind, the man with long, wild black hair murmured, "Back then I thought it was all just childish dreaming. If we worked hard enough, we could make it real… and yet I..."
He was drowning in guilt, still unable to forgive himself for losing the last younger brother he had sworn to protect.
Time and time again, he wondered: if he had agreed to Hashirama earlier, would Izuna still be alive?
In his mind's eye, he saw Izuna standing behind him, Tobirama behind Hashirama, the four of them building this village together. That was the future he and Hashirama had once dreamed of.
Beside him, a man with deep wheat-colored skin, straight dark-brown hair, and two insect-like bangs hanging over his forehead cut in. "We'll see our dreams come true—one by one."
The man asked for his friend's thoughts. "The leader of the ninja who protects the Land of Fire from the shadows will be called the Hokage. What do you think?"
"What?"
"The Daimyo of the Land of Fire wants us to choose a representative for the village. I was thinking you—"
He didn't finish.
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
A scream tore down from hundreds of meters above them.
"A kid?!"
The two men looked up, instantly recognizing the shrill cry as a child's voice.
The one with the long, wild black hair widened his eyes. The patterns of the Mangekyō Sharingan spun into existence within his pupils.
"Six kids! And an adult!" They were falling straight out of the sky.
Madara was stunned.
He immediately gathered his chakra, forming a massive dark-blue giant around himself. He meant to use Susanoo to catch them.
But he never expected the blond man holding the children to stay calm, flick a kunai from his mouth, and—
The next instant, every single one of them vanished right under Madara Uchiha's nose?!!
Hashirama's eyes tracked the special kunai the blond man had thrown.
In the next moment, Minato was already gripping Obito and Sasuke. Obito held Rin and Kakashi, while Sasuke held Naruto and Sakura. They reappeared above the kunai, and with a graceful twist, Minato brought all of them in for a safe landing.
Hashirama's eyes widened. "Is that… the Flying Thunder God Technique?!"
Sakura and Naruto were still gasping for air.
Sasuke and Obito managed to keep their composure, but once they were safely on the ground, Sasuke's legs shook. He barely caught himself by grabbing Naruto, who was crouched down, keeping them both from toppling over. Obito practically collapsed onto young Kakashi, nearly vomiting up his lunch.
"Idiot, don't puke on me!" young Kakashi snapped, shoving Obito off.
Rin thanked Obito, who held his cool for exactly three seconds before turning away to retch again.
Luckily, he hadn't eaten much lunch, so nothing came out.
Naruto scratched at his messy blond hair. "What the hell—where are we?! Don't tell me we time-traveled again! I haven't even finished my mission yet!"
Obito muttered, "I haven't even started mine."
"Who the hell are you people?!!"
Madara and Hashirama landed in front of them in a flash.
Ignoring the kids sprawled across the ground, their sharp, hawk-like gazes locked onto the only adult—Minato Namikaze.
News of a Senju–Uchiha alliance had already shaken the Ninja World. Spies slipping into the village were nothing new.
But no spy had ever dragged a group of children to their deaths like this blond man seemed to be doing.
For the two men who founded the village to protect children, this was absolutely unacceptable.
Minato studied the two men, recognizing one of the faces all too well.
He raised his hands above his head in a harmless gesture. "We mean no offense. We ended up here because of a failed space–time ninjutsu."
He avoided mentioning the missing mission scrolls, attributing everything solely to the failed technique.
Minato was certain the man in front of him had witnessed his use of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"What are you all doing here?!" another voice rang out behind them.
"Ah, Tobirama!" Hashirama said. "Madara, you must've exposed our location when you used Susanoo earlier."
What Hashirama didn't realize was that his casual remark sent shockwaves through Minato's mind.
Madara, Tobirama… and the man before him who looked exactly like the First Hokage. And behind them, that white-haired man whose name and appearance were identical to the Second Hokage.
This place…
The founding era of Konohagakure?!