—Knock! Knock! Knock!
Might Guy's heavy fists banged on the door in a reserved yet forceful rhythm. His expression was grim, thinking about their earlier companion. Silver hair, silver eyes, and movements that were nearly impossible to keep track of.
Whenever Guy's gaze drifted away from the boy's figure, he would always feel a chill run down his spine. His instincts screamed for him to look back.
'That boy... The Ghost of the Land of Rivers.'
Shimura Danzo, Konohagakure's Fifth Hokage, had first introduced this identity to the village jounin. His information was purposely held back from being placed on the Bingo Book for a reason:
His intelligence was a strategic weapon.
Instead of being hunted down, it was more likely that the Ghost would be recruited instead.
'I don't like where this is going...'
For some reason, Guy felt a sense of dreadful foreboding.
* * *
Suguru looked through the familiar scenery. His gaze sifted through the many walls that populated the village as it had done many times before.
The only difference this time was the blatancy of his action.
'Indeed, with the Shinrakugan, I can avoid many annoying assumptions.'
Suguru's pupils dilated, granting him a varying field of vision through the Shinrakugan's scope. Each chakra signature flickered and danced, betraying the hidden currents within Konohagakure.
His eyes scanned for any suspicious amalgamations of chakra signatures and took note of synchronized movements occurring throughout the village.
Suguru's gaze then settled on the Hokage's office, and the barely concealed energy signature of the old man was somehow quite comforting. However, Hiruzen seemed burdened by the many tumultuous events lurking in the dark.
The Hokage's chakra seemed to churn with fatigue and instability. An illusion of dread.
Mission after mission after mission.
Although Hiruzen wasn't the one being sent out, organizing it all had taken its toll. The layered plans, the contingencies, and the unexpected variables each took an artery and a blood vessel in the old man's brain.
A pang of pity echoed through him. Hiruzen was burrowed deep in his never-ending cycles—the paperwork, his duties, and his iron-blooded pragmatism. Twice had he been relieved of his duties, yet thrice had he taken the seat of leadership.
Perhaps finding a legitimate and appropriate successor was about to fall upon the discussion table.
Thinking up to here, Suguru couldn't help but chuckle.
Currently, he stood at the village's peripheries, his eyes reflecting a mixture of curiosity and amusement.
'They forget so easily,' he thought, observing the hustle of villagers as they went about their day, blissfully unaware of the hidden power dynamics swirling beneath the surface.
The whirlpool was slowly forming. Which fleet would find itself destroyed at a moment's notice?
He recalled the lessons he inadvertently learned from Orochimaru—patience was key, a virtue in the game of shadows.
'And here I am, waiting to unveil my hand.'
Suguru continued to walk.
As he maneuvered through familiar streets, he marveled at how easily he blended into the backdrop—looking like an ordinary villager lost among extraordinary shinobi. He noted how certain eyes darted toward him in intrigue, but quickly averted their gazes, as if they sensed something uncanny about him without fully understanding what it was.
After all…
Suguru would always be looking right back at them.
'Perhaps it's that,' he mused, an amused smirk creeping across his lips.
His focus sharpened as he approached an alley where rumors whispered about missing-nin sightings. He knew Danzo's machinations were at play; whispers of discontent simmered just beneath Konoha's surface.
A rustle caught his attention; a pair of academy students laughed as they darted past him, perfectly carefree. They left behind a flurry of water balloons, along with the words.
"This is for the Hokage!"
Suguru blinked.
'Isn't that… Konohamaru?'
As soon as Suguru realized this, the boy in question had already disappeared behind a corner.Konohamaru was quite swift, that was for sure.
So, he continued his walk.
Suguru approached a nearby shop selling scrolls and equipment for shinobi.
The shopkeeper greeted him warmly,
"Ah! Hello, we've just recently received a new batch of specialized kunai — care to take a look?" he asked cheerily.
"No, but thank you."
Suguru replied smoothly, feigning casual interest while keenly observing every detail—the types of weapons displayed, each scroll neatly stacked, and even the subtle hints in the shopkeeper's demeanor that revealed his anxiety over dwindling customers.
"I'm just browsing."
These were words said with a small smile. Thus, Suguru eventually turned away after making small talk and continued to analyze his surroundings.
As he resumed his path toward Hiruzen's office, he caught a glimpse of Team Kakashi training nearby. Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and… Hyuga Mitsuko.
'Naruto's absence is still quite the jarring reality.'
Suguru shook his head. The influx of details was quite daunting to process. The butterfly effect had long run its course, and Konohagakure today was a totally different monster from the original.
This… coalescence of power…
Excitement colored Suguru's face at the mere thought of all hell breaking loose.
'I wonder if Danzo had even figured out his own resurrection technique,' Suguru thought, mulling over the possibility being more possible than he initially thought.
Unfortunately, there was more work to be done before he could explore such sentiments freely. He had a plan forming—one that required precision and patience to execute perfectly amidst Konoha's ever-changing tides.
Suguru continued his stroll, melting into the daily village life.
From a concealed rooftop perch, a figure, cloaked in the shadows, observed Suguru. A hiss of disdain escaped their lips.
Their gaze, perpetually narrowed, took note of Suguru's casual demeanor, the way he watched without being seen.
"This pup… already makes waves beneath the surface."
The figure muttered, a low, venomous purr.
"Intriguing… but too reckless."
Suguru remained undisturbed. He wasn't looking at the rooftops, at the coded messages flitting across windows, or the subtle manipulations of chakra threads weaving through the crowd.
He looked at nothing, at everything—absorbing the symphony of life in Konoha without judgment.
He observed, he processed, he analyzed. His mind, a sponge, drunk on the essential elements of power. The village pulsed with secrets, ripe for picking.
He felt them tangled in the very air, convoluted patterns of ambition, fear, and desperation.
"Hehehehe,"
It was inevitable that Suguru would start laughing. His gaze meeting that of the person who had been watching him.
—Crack.
One does not simply gaze into the abyss without it gazing back.
'Is everyone targeting the Chuunin Exams nowadays?'
Suguru grinned.
'Kaisugan!'