In the Land of Fire, within a forest, the rising sun looked like spilled blood.
The dust had been soaked through with thick, sticky blood; stepping on it produced a chilling sound.
Itachi stood there, his pupils trembling, stunned in place. Several lifeless bodies lay behind him.
They were his Jonin instructor and teammates from Team Three, as well as the merchant caravan they had been tasked to protect.
There had been no chaotic battle cries, no roaring clashes, just a silent figure walking toward them, and life had been swept away like fallen leaves in the wind.
The bonds he had only just formed were so easily severed.
"You…"
Itachi stared at the masked figure ahead, his grip on the kunai trembling, whether from fear or anger, even he didn't know.
He was still too young, only recently a genin.
Fear slithered like an icy serpent through his bones, freezing his limbs.
Until, the last remaining teammate standing before him clenched a kunai and rushed forward like a moth to a flame.
Thud!
A headless body collapsed, blood flowing freely, its scent staining the air, turning Itachi Uchiha's eyes crimson.
"Hm?"
Seeing the twin tomoe forming in those eyes, along with that all-too-familiar mix of grief and rage, Obito felt a flicker of interest.
'Awakened the Sharingan through a comrade's death, and with two tomoe right away?'
'This kid… was different.'
With that thought, his intent to kill faded. He stored the goods into a scroll, and his figure vanished.
When he reappeared, Obito stood atop a tree, frowning at a Venus flytrap-like form emerging below.
"What's going on, Zetsu?" he asked in a low, hoarse voice. "Shouldn't you be in the Rain Village watching Nagato? Why come here?"
"Madara-sama, something's wrong!"
Zetsu looked up and shouted, "All the White Zetsu monitoring Hanzo have suddenly lost contact! Nagato suspects something has happened in the Rain Village, he's already gone to kill Hanzo!"
"We couldn't stop him, he should be almost there by now!"
Hearing this, Obito Uchiha's expression darkened beneath his mask, a deep sense of unease rising within him.
At the same time, inside the tower of the Rain Village.
In a room that had once been off-limits to all, Hanzo sat facing Arata. Shenda and another ninja named Heiji stood nearby.
"Shadow… what exactly are these things? And who put them inside me?"
Looking at the White Zetsu bound in black shadows, Hanzo's anger had yet to subside.
Even though he had calmed down, the sheer strangeness of the situation gnawed at his nerves.
He had never noticed their existence, not once.
He couldn't even imagine how long those things had been inside him. Just thinking about it made his skin crawl.
"So these things are called White Zetsu," Arata said with a faint smile. "Troublesome, yes, but since we've formed a partnership, I'll remove this hidden danger for you."
"However… this might hurt. Endure it."
Hanzo frowned. "Do you take me for a weakling?"
Without further explanation, Arata placed his hand on Hanzo's shoulder. Dark markings began to spread again.
But this time, they carved into his body.
Like plum blossoms blooming in winter, the patterns sank into his flesh.
"AAARGH!!"
Even prepared, Hanzo let out a scream as if his body were being torn apart.
This pain was beyond anything he had endured, reaching into his very soul.
Veins bulged, his skin split, his entire being seemed to fracture.
"Hanzo-sama!"
Shenda and Heiji panicked, moving to help, but Arata stopped them.
"This is a gift," he said calmly. "And the price he must pay."
Hanzo clenched his teeth, forcing himself silent.
Thump! Thump!
His heart began to pound violently.
His blood surged like molten lava.
Muscles dissolved and reformed, fibers twisting tighter and stronger.
Before their eyes, his withered golden hair regained its luster.
His shriveled body filled with vitality once more.
"This feeling…"
Hanzo trembled, not from fear, but from power.
Strength. Life.
The very things he had longed for.
At that moment, Arata turned his head toward the outside.
"You wanted to know who planted those White Zetsu?"
"He's here."
Shenda and Heiji looked out the window.
In the distance, three figures approached through the storm, cloaked in black robes with red clouds, eyes glowing with rippling purple.
Pain had arrived.
He had no need to hide.
He was "God."
"Go," Arata said softly.
"Let that arrogant god witness the power of a hero at his peak."
"Tell him, maybe the future belongs to him."
"But right now… declare that this moment still belongs to you."
Hanzo trembled, but this time, it was from excitement.
The hero who once defied the Five Great Nations had reclaimed his strength.
"Hah! You bastard!"
He laughed at the top of his lungs and vanished.
"Whoever that 'lord' of yours is… thank him for me."
In an instant, he appeared atop the tower, looking down at the approaching figures.
Biting his finger, he formed a seal.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
As his roar echoed through the morning mist,
The earth split apart.
"ROAR!!"
A massive, purple-black beast erupted from the ground, unleashing a deafening, monstrous howl.