Four years later.
Within Konoha's territory, near the coast, a vast cluster of buildings had been constructed facing the sea.
This city was called Kishimoto City.
It was the capital and political center of the Ninja Alliance Nation. The most powerful person in the entire Ninja World lived in the tallest building in Kishimoto City.
Emperor—this was the honorific used by the city's residents and all ninjas for that person.
It was said that this Emperor was unmatched beneath the heavens, his strength standing at the pinnacle of the Ninja World. He was a being capable of slaughtering an entire nation alone. Countless legends spread from that tallest building throughout the city, becoming known to the world.
Someone once said that Lord Shadow Emperor had transformed into a blazing sun, leapt into the sky, trod upon the heavens, vanished into the clouds, and battled a god.
That day, heaven and earth overturned, and the sea flowed backward.
That day, a fine bloody rain drifted across the endless ocean.
It was said that the sky itself had wept for the fall of a god.
Because after that battle, the Emperor had returned, while the god had never descended to the human world again.
All these legends had been compiled into books by an author named Nine-Tails and circulated throughout the Ninja World. They sold extremely well. Nearly everyone owned a copy and admired the Shadow Emperor's grandeur at all times.
At that moment, inside that tallest building.
"Hey, Kurama, when did I ever transform into a blazing sun and go up to fight some god? And what god falling, the sky weeping... That's complete nonsense. You can't just make up rumors about me because your cookbook sales are losing money, can you?"
Sitting on a tatami mat, Naruto held a newly