In the streets, civilians began to emerge from the underground shelters. They looked around with eyes of disbelief, seeing how their home, their Konoha, lay in ruins. Women wept. Children asked for their parents. Men cursed the attackers with words they had never uttered before.
—Who were they? —asked an old man, his voice trembling—. Who did this to us?
—The Land of Sky —replied an exhausted chūnin—. They will pay for this. The Hokage has promised it.
The old man nodded slowly.
—I hope it's soon. I don't know how much longer this village can endure.
The chūnin did not answer. He only turned east, toward the sea, and clenched his fists.
Vengeance was underway. But the scars that night left on Konoha would take years to heal.
---
The path narrowed as Noah's new ANBU team advanced toward their objective.
The border between the Land of Wind and the Village of Rain was an inhospitable terrain, where the arid desert soil began to dampen under the influence of the perpetual storms from the west. There were no trees, only rock formations that stood like sentinels, eroded by centuries of wind and water.
The four-man team advanced in formation, with Noah bringing up the rear.
Around him, the three ANBU moved with a synchronization that betrayed their joint training, which they tried to hide without much success.
Suddenly, the team leader —wearing a badger mask— raised a closed fist as a signal to stop.
The other two stopped instantly. Noah did as well.
—What's going on? —asked one of them with a snake mask, his hand slowly descending toward his kunai holster.
The leader did not answer immediately. He took a scroll from his pocket, unrolled it with slow movements, and pointed to a spot on the map drawn inside.
—According to intelligence —he said, his voice distorted by the mask but still understandable—, the road ahead is dangerous. Too exposed. I've located an alternative route that will be safer for us.
He turned slightly toward Noah, who was still at the rear.
—We'll detour this way.
Noah said nothing. His eyes, hidden behind his fox mask, observed the map for an instant. Then his gaze rose toward the horizon, toward the path they had been following, and beyond, toward the route the leader indicated.
His brow furrowed beneath the mask. Only for a second.
Then, his expression relaxed.
—Let's see how far you want to take this farce —he murmured to himself, so low that even the ANBU's trained ears could not catch it.
—Did you say something? —asked the snake-masked one.
—Nothing. Let's keep going.
The three ANBU exchanged a quick, almost imperceptible glance. Then, they continued the march.
The detour led them along a steep path, flanked by rock formations that rose on both sides like natural walls. The ground was uneven, full of cracks and loose stones. Visibility decreased with every step.
Noah now walked in the middle of them. It had not been his decision. Simply, without seeming deliberate, the three had positioned themselves at his sides. The leader ahead. The snake-masked one to his left. The third, wearing a dog mask, to his right.
Noah smiled beneath his mask.
How subtle.
He said nothing and did not change his pace. He showed no sign of having noticed the formation.
Instead, he kept walking without protest.
To his left, the snake-masked ANBU felt a chill run down his spine. Something was off. Nawaki Senju was not stupid. Intelligence reports described him as a born strategist, a tactician capable of reading a situation in seconds despite his young age. He had survived missions that would have killed any other older jōnin.
How is it possible he hasn't noticed anything?
Is he that stupid?
No. He's too smart.
Doubt settled in his mind like a thorn.
What if he already knows? What if he plans to do something?
He mentally shook his head. No. It couldn't be. Danzō had planned this carefully. The three had been specifically selected for this mission.
This had to work.
The leader, the badger-masked one, walked ahead. His senses were on high alert, but his body showed no tension. He appeared normal.
But the next second, he spun around abruptly.
His movement was fast, but not so fast that Noah couldn't have reacted if he had been alert.
His kunai was already in the air, aimed at the young man's neck.
—Now!
Simultaneously, the other two attacked from the sides. The snake-masked one threw a shuriken wrapped in chakra. The dog-masked one lunged straight with an unsheathed katana.
The leader's kunai pierced Noah's body.
And it went through without resistance.
—What!?
The body exploded into a cloud of white smoke, revealing a wooden log that fell to the ground with a dull thud. Splinters flew in all directions.
—Substitution Jutsu!
The three ANBU spun around, searching for the target.
—Up there —said the leader, looking up.
Noah stood on one of the rock formations, about twenty meters high. His fox mask gleamed under the faint evening light, and although they could not see his face, they knew he was smiling.
—Do you think I didn't notice? —Noah said, his voice calm, almost amused—. Ever since we left Konoha, I knew you would take me to a place like this. That's why I came. Because I wanted to see how far you were willing to go.
The leader gritted his teeth.
—It doesn't matter! —he shouted—. Now!
From the rocky forest, from among the twisted trees and the shadows of the formations, figures began to emerge. One after another, coming out of their hiding spots, deploying in a semicircle around Noah's position.
Masked shinobi. More than twenty in total.
And among them, walking with measured steps, hands hidden behind his back, appeared an unmistakable figure.
Danzō Shimura.
The man stopped a few meters from the rock where Noah stood upright. His expression was impassive, but his eyes —dark, deep— scanned the young man with the coldness of a predator assessing its prey.
—Nawaki Senju —Danzō said, raising his voice so all could hear—. I did not expect you to be so perceptive.
Noah did not respond. He only watched, his fox mask hiding any emotion.
Danzō took a step forward. His hands remained hidden behind his back, but his fingers were tense, revealing that he was ready to act at any moment.
—I have not come to fight you, Nawaki. I have come to offer you something.
—Something? —Noah's voice came from behind the mask, flat and disinterested.
—A purpose. A path. A way to serve Konoha as you deserve.
Danzō began to walk in a slow circle, circling the base of the rock.
—You are the First Hokage's grandson. You carry his blood, his legacy. The Wood Release you possess is the same that Hashirama used to found our village and protect it from external threats. But tell me, Nawaki... are you really using that power to protect Konoha? Or are you just surviving, completing aimless missions, without vision?
Noah tilted his head slightly.
—Aimless? I have completed every mission assigned to me. I have given everything for this village so far. Is that not serving my village well?
—You have —Danzō conceded, stopping and looking directly at the rock—. But you could do much more. Under my tutelage, under my wing, your abilities would be enhanced. Unlimited resources, specialized training, access to forbidden techniques that only a few know. You could become Konoha's ultimate shield. The new pillar that will uphold the Will of Fire.
Silence spread between them.
—The Will of Fire —Noah repeated, and for the first time, his voice revealed a note of irony—. Haven't I been doing that all this time? Killing for Konoha? Risking my life for Konoha?
—You have —Danzō replied—. But you could do better. With me, Nawaki, you would not be a mere soldier. You would be a ultimate weapon. And weapons, when in the right hands, can change the course of history.
—Right hands? —Noah let out a laugh.
It was brief at first, almost a snort. But then it grew and intensified into genuine laughter that bounced off the rock formations and filled the air like the echo of a distant thunder.
Danzō frowned.
—Do you find something amusing?
Noah removed his mask.
His face, youthful but marked by an intelligence that seemed to look beyond the visible, turned toward Danzō. And in his eyes there was no respect, no fear, not even curiosity. Only contempt.
—You? —he said, his voice now clear, unfiltered—. You want to train me? You? A dog hiding in the shadows who doesn't even dare to show his true face in the village. Do you think you are more powerful than me? That these supposed elite jōnin could handle me?
Danzō clenched his jaw.
—Do not underestimate...
—Underestimate? —Noah interrupted him, his smile widening—. I'm not underestimating anything. I'm stating a fact. I am more powerful than all of you combined. And you want to train me. What a joke!
His laughter burst out again, louder this time, more mocking. The masked shinobi exchanged uneasy glances. Some tightened their grip on their weapons. Others tensed their muscles.