“Kakashi, you’re back?”

While Kitagawa Gen pushed himself, Kakashi had already arrived at the Hokage’s office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had received word that the two had returned, and he was in fairly good spirits; at least for now, it seemed they hadn’t run into any problems.

He had also summoned Tsunade and Jiraiya in advance, since the matter of Hanzō of the Salamander required their input as well.

Still, something struck him as odd, and he couldn’t help asking, “Where’s Gen? And the child outside—who is she?”

“Hokage-sama, Gen went back first. He wanted to rest a bit.”

Kakashi nodded to Tsunade and Jiraiya in greeting before continuing, “That child is Uzumaki Karin. We also ran into some trouble this time.”

“Trouble?”

Jiraiya didn’t seem surprised at all; rubbing his chin, he asked with interest, “What kind of trouble? Something to do with Hanzō of the Salamander? Was this girl from the Land of Rain?”

“Tch, doesn’t sound like you were the one who had much trouble,” Tsunade said. At the mention of Karin’s name she raised a brow, but quickly fixed her attention on Kakashi. “No injuries this time… don’t tell me that brat Gen got hurt?”

“No.”

Kakashi shook his head. They were all fine. “In the Land of Rain, we met Hanzō of the Salamander, but Gen felt something was off about him.”

“Oh?”

At the mention of Hanzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Tsunade all grew serious.

“Gen’s sensory perception isn’t weak. He noticed right away that Hanzō was off,” Kakashi went on, his expression equally grave. “He told me Hanzō might be a fake, because the chakra in his body wasn’t much to speak of, and there were no signs of aging. Looked that way, it was very much like a body double.”

“A body double?”

That answer made the three of them pause, and then, almost imperceptibly, all three let out a sigh.

The once demi-god—who, from a minor village in a small nation, had dared to challenge the great powers—had it really come to this?

“Besides that, he made a point of giving us some information, though parts of it still need to be debated.”

“What did he say?”

“He told us that Akatsuki has been keeping its eyes on Amegakure. He also said someone in Konoha is likely feeding Akatsuki intelligence.”

At that, Kakashi paused, giving the Third and the other two time to think it over.

“Someone in Konoha is feeding information to Akatsuki?”

As expected, those words immediately plunged all three into silence; the Third, in particular, furrowed his brow tightly.

“Don’t spread this matter around carelessly. It could very well be a ploy by Hanzō of the Salamander. I’ll conduct a proper investigation. For now, let’s focus on your mission.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.”

Kakashi nodded. He, too, felt it might be Hanzō’s attempt to sow discord, but a report had to be delivered truthfully.

“After that, we also encountered members of Akatsuki. They pursued us all the way to the Land of Grass, where we engaged them in battle.”

“Akatsuki really showed up?”

“That’s right. One was Uchiha Obito, another was Kurosuki Raiga of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and the last one… was Jiraiya-sama’s disciple.”

“Nagato?”

Jiraiya’s brows furrowed, and he immediately spoke.

“Tell me the details. What exactly happened?”

“Yes.”

Kakashi nodded, then gave a brief account of the battle.

Most of what he recounted focused on the clash with Uchiha Obito; regarding Kitagawa Gen, he said very little.

“In the end, Obito was forced to retreat to rescue his allies and was injured by Gen in the process. He also left something behind.”

Kakashi produced a scroll. With a puff of smoke, a pair of twin swords and a piece of pale flesh appeared before them.

“These are trophies Gen left behind. Nagato, too, was severely injured by him.”

“Is he really that strong?”

Even hearing fragments of the account was enough to leave the three of them astonished.

Whether it was the massive sphere that blotted out the sky, or Gen shattering it with a single strike, both were beyond imagination.

Now, what they wanted most was to know what exactly Kitagawa Gen had done—and what his current condition was.

“He truly wasn’t injured?”

The Third asked with some urgency, and Kakashi shook his head.

“Don’t worry. Gen is fine. As for the other details, it’s better if Karin explains them herself.”

“Hm? This is—”

The Third had just begun to speak when Tsunade suddenly seemed to notice something.

She strode quickly to the fragment of tissue and examined it closely. Moments later, her expression changed entirely.

“There’s a unique force within this. That power… it may very well be the reason Uchiha Obito can use Wood Release!”

“What?”

At the mention of Wood Release, the Third’s face immediately grew grave.

“You mean this thing is the key? Can you be certain?”

“No. It’s only a feeling. I’ll need to take it back and study it thoroughly.”

Tsunade spoke in a low, serious tone. At this point, even Kakashi couldn’t help but add, “Gen also said he felt something was off about that piece of flesh. That’s why he kept it and asked me to deliver it to you, Hokage-sama. Looks like there really is something significant hidden within it.”

“This isn’t just a serious problem.”

The Third’s expression darkened. Recalling the words of Hanzō of the Salamander—even if that man had only been a body double, the fact that he could speak those words meant they had surely come from the real Hanzō.

Uchiha Obito’s Wood Release… Konoha had been investigating how that was possible all along, but they had never found any leads.

Now, however, it felt like a direction had finally appeared.

Hanzō had said someone in Konoha was leaking information to Akatsuki. And back then, though Konoha had officially halted the Wood Release experiments…

'Danzo and Orochimaru were still conducting research. Could it be…?'

Sarutobi Hiruzen dared not think further. The more he considered it, the graver the implications became.

Suddenly he felt a tightness in his chest. Massaging his brow, he finally spoke.

“Tsunade, study this carefully. But this matter must remain top secret—aside from us here, not a word must leak!”

“Yes.”

“Bring the girl in. Kakashi, why do you want her to explain? And why did you bring her back?”

“Because… she witnessed everything. And she’s quite special—her sensory perception is extremely sharp, and her blood is said to have powerful healing properties. It was Gen’s idea to bring her back.”

Kakashi didn’t dare reveal too much about Karin. He offered only a vague explanation.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Tsunade. With that, he finally felt some relief. At that moment, ANBU escorted Karin inside.

“Don’t be nervous.”

Karin still looked visibly anxious, but Sarutobi Hiruzen had already forced himself into his “kindly elder” demeanor. Smiling, he spoke.

“I know your name, Karin. I am the Third Hokage of Konohagakure. Can you tell me what you saw?”

“It was someone deliberately trying to destroy Kusagakure. The shinobi of Konoha saved Kusagakure!”

Already tense, Karin’s words made the Third’s face freeze on the spot. Meanwhile, Kakashi quietly edged back behind Jiraiya and Tsunade.

“Kusagakure…?”

“Yes, Kusagakure! All of this was caused by those villains!”

“What happened to Kusagakure?”

“…”

And while Kakashi and the others were discussing matters in the Hokage’s office, Kitagawa Gen slowly opened his eyes back at home.

In that very instant, he silently vanished from within his room. High above, the heavens stirred as a strange energy rippled restlessly.

An unseen force trembled through the skies, then quietly descended into a hidden corner of the Land of Fire.

...

The power of the sky trembled in secrecy.

On the moon, the three Ōtsutsuki watched in numb silence as the massive Tenseigan erupted once again.

That eye had been calm for a rare stretch of time, allowing them to breathe a little easier.

But that calm was once more broken. This time, they could clearly feel that the “Giant Tenseigan” was even more out of control!

“That person again... and this time the control seems even stronger?”

The Grand Elder let out a sigh he couldn’t suppress. The authority of this control grew greater and greater, and even for them, it was becoming increasingly troublesome.

“Can we track this person down?”

The Third Elder, unable to endure it anymore, asked in a low voice.

“If we can find him, could we do something about it?”

“Very difficult. His authority over the Tenseigan’s control keeps increasing. If we act rashly, the outcome will be disastrous.”

The Second Elder shook his head, firmly opposing such a move.

“I’m not being timid—this is simply the reality we face. Have you even considered what kind of person could be stirring this power?”

“What kind of person...?”

The Grand Elder froze at those words. Suddenly, his pale eyes widened.

“You mean this person might not be from the shinobi world?”

“Not from the shinobi world... then he must be—”

The Third Elder also froze, his expression shifting drastically.

The records on the moon far surpassed those of the shinobi world. After all, the moon’s civil strife had been battles within their own clan, and much of that knowledge had been intentionally preserved.

What their forebears had left behind remained intact. They indeed knew far more than anyone else!

Even if many details were blurred, they still vaguely understood—there was another clan that had come from the heavens.

“Don’t overthink it. Perhaps it’s one of those Hyūga. Or maybe, back during the great clan war, some coward from the Main Family secretly fled to the shinobi world.”

At this critical moment, the Grand Elder interrupted, taking a deep breath and speaking in a cold tone.

“This is not something to dwell on. Our task now is to train Toneri. As for the rest...”

“Hmph. If that person pushes too far, we’ll strike back. And don’t forget—”

“It is the people of the heavens who most wish to see the shinobi world destroyed!”

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. /TitoVillar

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