After flying into the sky and looking down over Konoha, Hyuga Hoshishaku felt a surge of excitement.
It wasn't as breathtaking or beautiful as seeing a modern city from a plane in his previous life.
Still, getting a close-up view of a small civilization from a low altitude was a novel experience.
But even as he admired the scenery, he couldn't help feeling a little less confident in the original story.
This place was huge, almost the size of a small county town, and probably had a population of at least a hundred thousand. Yet the original story had only shown such a tiny fraction of it?
Unlike Xingzhuo, Senju Yuto was so excited that his little face had turned red as he sat on the Flying Bird's back.
First, he tried to pick out the buildings he recognized. Then he grew curious about the villagers, who looked like ants from up here. Soon, he was gazing dreamily at the endless forests in the distance.
Xingzhuo could understand the child.
He had been born around the time Konoha was founded, when his parents were at their busiest.
His two older brothers were rarely home, either. One had gone to the Daimyo Palace in the Land of Fire for a long-term assignment, while the other had set off to travel the Ninja World and hadn't sent so much as a word.
And ever since he was little, Yuto had been paralyzed by his mental state. He couldn't even walk, and his world amounted to nothing more than that small courtyard.
Out of insecurity and timidity, he hadn't even wanted to leave the courtyard.
And because he never left it, he had no playmates or anyone to talk to.
Even so, exploring his own tiny world had been difficult, since his wheelchair wasn't advanced enough.
Xingzhuo thought, If he hadn't run into that Fate Commission, this poor kid would've left this world half a year ago, wouldn't he?
That must've been why the original story never mentioned him.
Looking at the adorable red-haired boy before him, Xingzhuo felt a fond, protective affection for his young relative. He ruffled Yuto's hair and decided to take him on a proper tour of the scenery today.
After circling Konoha for more than ten minutes, the Ink Wash Flying Bird headed south.
There was a lake that way, and they could go take a look.
The two of them flew to a lakeshore not too far from Konoha.
They took off their shoes and played by the water for more than an hour. Only when the sun had set and the sky had grown dim did they finally head back to Konoha, still reluctant to leave.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Xingzhuo saw that Konoha below was enclosed by a solid barrier, which glowed with a faint green light.
He knew the village must have encountered an emergency serious enough to require the activation of its high-level defensive barrier while they were away.
That meant they probably couldn't go back just yet.
Yuto, beside him, was also well-versed in Sealing Techniques.
He reached the same conclusion when he saw the barrier.
"This is a sealing barrier that requires twenty ninja to maintain. Something must've happened in the village."
He spoke with deep concern, his voice full of helplessness.
The barrier had a faint illusory quality, and night had fallen. They couldn't make out what was happening inside the village; all they could see was its blurry outline.
As they hesitated in the sky, a muffled boom suddenly came from the direction of the lake where they'd just been playing.
They both turned to look.
They saw a palm-sized red creature fighting a wooden figure, with thunderous booms echoing from their battle.
Senju Yuto suddenly exclaimed, "That's my father's Wood Golem Technique!"
"Father's fighting a monster!"
"Xingzhuo, let's hurry over and take a look!"
But Xingzhuo, who was watching the same direction, suddenly remembered something.
What was the biggest event of Year Seven in Konoha?
Of course, it was the legendary battle between Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
Madara had come mainly to take a bite of Hashirama's flesh, so he could combine it with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and gain the Power of All Creation—in other words, the Rinnegan.
His second reason was that he genuinely wanted to fight Hashirama. If he couldn't win, he could fake his death and escape, trusting that his good friend would preserve his body.
That battle had carved a valley into the landscape, creating the Valley of the End in later generations.
So this was happening today?
Was it really that much of a coincidence? If he hadn't taken the little boy out for a ride on the Ink Wash Flying Bird, would Uchiha Madara not have come calling?
Those Uchiha really were born evil.
Yuto, still waiting for Xingzhuo to answer, grew frantic. He reached out, grabbed Xingzhuo by the arm, and began shaking him.
"Xingzhuo! Brother Xingzhuo, take me there! My father's over there. I want to see him!"
Xingzhuo wanted to say that if the Nine-Tails fired a Tailed Beast Bomb, they'd both be killed on the spot.
But at the last moment, he changed his mind. "If we go over there, Lord Hokage might get distracted and be ambushed by the monster."
Hearing that, Yuto realized the same thing and fell into a dilemma.
Meanwhile, Xingzhuo watched the battle in the distance while keeping an eye on Yuto.
Eventually, Yuto thought it through. Though disappointed, he agreed with Xingzhuo and decided not to go check on things.
The two of them circled the village in the air, confirming there were no enemies below.
Xingzhuo was about to descend near Konoha Gate when Yuto grabbed his arm tightly.
Xingzhuo glanced at Yuto, then followed his gaze toward the battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
Even from this far away, he could see the Wood Golem being smashed apart by the Nine-Tails.
Yuto's little face turned pale at the sight. He clung tightly to Xingzhuo's arm and looked up at him with pleading eyes.
When Xingzhuo didn't say anything, Yuto's voice grew frantic.
"Brother Xingzhuo, could you paint the Flying Bird black with ink, then take us a little closer so we can see what's happening?"
"Or you could drop me off and I'll go take a look myself. It looks like my father's been defeated."
Defeated? That wasn't possible.
In the original story, the battle had lasted until dawn. In the end, it was Senju Hashirama—the one who didn't want to kill—who killed Madara and won.
But Yuto was beside himself with worry. If Xingzhuo didn't agree, the boy might do something reckless.
And with night covering them, they couldn't return to the village anyway.
Rather than hide somewhere and risk getting hit by a Tailed Beast Bomb that came out of nowhere, it might be better to get a little closer. Watching the fight from the sky didn't seem like such a bad idea.
Thinking it over, Xingzhuo nodded and agreed to take Yuto closer.
"All right, I'll take you over to see what's happening. But you have to stay calm and make sure we don't give away our position. The two of us couldn't even withstand the shock waves from their battle, let alone help them."
"You have to believe in your father. He's the God of the Ninja World, the strongest person in the world."
Seeing that his friend had agreed to take him, Yuto nodded without hesitation. He agreed to whatever Xingzhuo said.
After getting his promise, Xingzhuo prepared to pilot the Flying Bird over to see what was happening.
But he still needed to take extra precautions.
First, he took Yuto down to the ground. Then he spent twice as much mental energy drawing a completely black Flying Bird, without a single speck of white, and infused it with a large amount of Yin Release Chakra to ensure it would be highly agile when controlled.
Only then did he take the anxious Yuto back into the sky and cautiously approach the battlefield.
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