Outside the walls of Konoha, the night sky had been swallowed by fire. A sea of crimson flames roared upward, and thick smoke coiled into the heavens like a black dragon, blotting out the moon. The once-proud village beneath was now painted in blood-red light, a battlefield of fire and ash.

The acrid stench of burning wood and charred earth filled the air, suffocating and scorching every breath.

On a high ridge overlooking the chaos, Kakashi and Jiraiya stood frozen, their eyes wide in shock.

"What… what in the world happened here?" Kakashi's voice was hoarse, disbelief woven into every syllable.

Jiraiya's jaw tightened, his expression grim beyond words. "I'm afraid something unimaginable has struck the village…"

The inferno only seemed to grow, greedily devouring rooftops and streets alike, as though intent on consuming every last remnant of Konoha's hope.

Yet even amidst the firestorm, another sight stunned them. In the heart of the village, a colossal torrent of water cascaded from the heavens, a waterfall summoned by jutsu, hammering down with crushing force. But instead of extinguishing the blaze, the water seemed to feed it. The flames raged brighter, fiercer, as if the drowning flood only gave them new life.

"That's impossible…" Kakashi muttered, his single eye narrowing. "Water should've—"

"Look there!" Jiraiya cut him off, pointing toward the heart of the chaos.

From the scorched earth, a grotesque forest of withered wood writhed to life. Twisted, skeletal branches clawed at the sky, stretching outward in eerie defiance. Their bark was dry, brittle, and yet the flames refused to consume them; instead, they seemed to thrive, crackling and spreading further under the fire's touch.

And in the midst of it all, a lone figure descended.

Tobirama Senju. His black cloak billowed as he landed, the ground beneath him shuddering from the impact. No sooner had his feet touched the earth than dozens of withered branches erupted, lunging at him like serpents.

With lightning speed, Tobirama's fingers blurred through hand seals. Razor-sharp water blades shot from his hands, slicing the wooden tendrils apart in a spray of splinters. But the victory was hollow—his eyes narrowed, his senses screaming.

"These branches… they're draining my chakra…"

Beads of sweat trickled down his temple. It wasn't the physical assault that unsettled him—it was the unnatural pull, the parasitic hunger in the withered wood.

High above, Kakashi's breath caught. "This fire… these trees… what is this?"

Jiraiya's face darkened with realization. "Wait. Those branches—don't tell me… that's Wood Release?"

At his words, Kakashi froze. The withered forest wasn't confined to the village anymore. It was spreading outward, slowly creeping toward the very ridge they stood on. But as Kakashi instinctively stepped closer, the branches recoiled. The wood bent away from him, almost as if it recognized him—avoiding him, while lashing out violently at every other shinobi.

Back in the village's heart, Tobirama battled relentlessly. Waves surged from his hands, crashing against the advancing forest, forcing it back—but barely. His silver hair whipped wildly around his face, his body trembling under the strain.

"Damn it… this power…" he growled through gritted teeth.

At his side, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood pale-faced, watching the disaster unfold. "Tobirama-sensei… is this truly Wood Release?"

The Second's hands did not falter, but his eyes narrowed in grim reflection. He glanced at his student—a man he had once believed would inherit his will—and a shadow of disappointment crossed his features.

His voice was low, heavy. "To be precise… this is no longer my brother's Wood Release. It is its opposite. If Hashirama's Wood Release brought life and hope… then this accursed technique brings only death and decay. A perversion of his gift." His jaw clenched. "Call it… Wither Release."

"Wither… Release…" Hiruzen echoed, the foreign words chilling him to the bone.

Tobirama's gaze hardened as he unleashed another tidal wave, holding back the relentless tide of fire and wood. "These flames cling to the dead timber like it was born to burn. No Water Release can extinguish them—at best, I can slow them down. But no matter how much chakra I pour into it, this disaster won't be stopped by my power alone."

The realization twisted like a knife in his chest. Even if Danzo had abused Hashirama's cells, he never could have created this monstrous new kekkei genkai. No—the hand behind this corruption was all too clear.

His eyes flashed with fury.

"That cursed Uchiha brat… Gen!"

At the name, Hiruzen flinched, his expression collapsing into pain and despair. He turned his gaze toward the spreading inferno, the grotesque forest, and the shadow of a power Konoha had never prepared to face.

"Danzo…" he whispered, his voice raw. "Why… why did you go this far? Was your thirst for the Hokage's seat worth damning the entire village?"

The only answer was the roar of fire and the creak of burning wood, as Konoha was swallowed whole.

Not far away, a sea of withered wood surged like grotesque, writhing tentacles, spreading in every direction. Each dead branch ignited as though it hungered for destruction, and the flames had already begun racing dangerously close to the borders of the Land of Fire.

Konoha had declared a state of emergency. Within moments, the village's elite jōnin assembled, their hands blurring through seals as torrents of Water Release techniques burst forth. Great waves and water walls collided against the advancing firestorm, but the results were disheartening—they slowed the blaze, but could not smother it.

The withered wood burned with a malice of its own, feeding on chakra as though it was alive.

Kakashi, moving in tandem with Jiraiya, stared at the sight with a deep, gnawing unease in his chest. Something about these flames, about that eerie wood, felt wrong—too deliberate, too alive.

While others poured their strength into suppressing the spread, Kakashi edged closer to a smoldering branch, curiosity overcoming caution. He extended a gloved hand, and the instant his fingertips brushed the charred surface—

Visions erupted in his mind.

It was as if the wood itself had swallowed time and now disgorged it into him. Vivid scenes replayed before his eyes: a ferocious battle between Shimura Danzō, Senju Tobirama, and the Third Hokage. The clash of ninjutsu, the roar of chakra, the searing hatred—everything was detailed, immediate, overwhelming, as though Kakashi himself had been thrust into the heart of that battlefield.

Reeling, he instinctively funneled a thread of his own chakra into the branch. To his astonishment, the withered wood responded—not with rejection, but with resonance.

A strange warmth pulsed back into him. The wood returned fragments of chakra it had absorbed from other Konoha shinobi, flowing into Kakashi's weary body and revitalizing him instantly.

The sensation was alien, yet hauntingly familiar… like a power half-remembered, something both intimate and dangerous.

Kakashi's heartbeat quickened. What is this…?

Jiraiya noticed his distraction, his brow furrowing, but before he could speak, Tsunade burst onto the scene, her face tight with urgency.

"Tsunade, what the hell is happening here?" Jiraiya demanded.

Her reply was heavy, tinged with disbelief. "I don't know either. But an emergency order just came from the Hokage's office. Shimura Danzō… has been classified as an S-rank rogue ninja."

"What?!" Jiraiya and Kakashi spoke at once.

"Why? What did he do?" Kakashi asked sharply.

Tsunade shook her head. "The full details weren't included. But if the order came directly from the Hokage, then the situation is worse than we think. We need to meet with him immediately."

Before any of them could move, shadows flickered across the ground. Several masked Anbu operatives appeared, kneeling slightly in respect.

"Honored Sannin. Hatake Kakashi. The Hokage requests your presence—at once."

The three exchanged wary glances, then nodded without hesitation.

Moments later, they were guided to a secluded clearing. The air here was suffocatingly heavy, pressing down on them like invisible chains. Hiruzen Sarutobi stood at its center, his face etched with grief and exhaustion.

Beside him loomed a cloaked figure, silent, motionless, hidden beneath a hood of shadow.

Jiraiya's impatience snapped. "Old man, what the hell is going on?!"

Hiruzen parted his lips, but no words came. His eyes flickered toward the hooded figure, and in that silence, the man stepped forward.

"Allow me."

His voice was calm, but it carried the weight of history. With deliberate slowness, he reached up and pulled back his hood.

The faces of Tsunade and Jiraiya went pale. Their eyes widened in disbelief, their bodies rooted to the spot as though struck by lightning.

"Gr-Granduncle…" Tsunade's voice trembled. "That's impossible…"

Senju Tobirama's sharp gaze swept over them, but when his eyes landed on Kakashi, his expression darkened instantly. His voice cut through the air like a blade.

"Monkey! What is the meaning of this?! Why is there an Uchiha standing here?!"