The moment the hat came off, the three saw a young man with yellow hair, his eyes closed as he rested. He looked no older than twenty.
Oddly, he wore an Amegakure Forehead Protector, its slash mark identifying him as a rogue ninja.
Black, rod-shaped objects pierced his nose, ears, and lower lip. Their purpose was unclear, and they gave him a very unusual appearance.
Apart from Shimura Ketsuzo, the other two instantly looked displeased.
"Ketsuzo, this is the big shot you were talking about?" The two had been looking forward to meeting him, but they had no interest in playing along with Shimura Ketsuzo.
Utatane Koharu had lost her patience entirely. She turned to leave the courtyard.
"Wait, Clan Head Koharu." Seeing this, Shimura Ketsuzo hurried to stop her, but she irritably dodged his hand.
"Don't waste my ti—" Utatane Koharu began to complain about his childish behavior, but the rest of her words caught in her throat.
The yellow-haired young man in the courtyard had opened his eyes. Mysterious, concentric rings were arranged across his pale purple irises, drawing in anyone who met his gaze. At the same time, an intense pressure swept over everyone nearby.
"Those are... the eyes of God, from the legends?" Utatane Koharu asked, trembling.
As Konoha's Hokage advisors, both Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were well-read. Of course they had heard the legends of the Sage of Six Paths.
And now, before them, were the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths himself.
"So these are the Rinnegan? Who... are you?"
Despite their shock, the two old advisors quickly composed themselves.
The Rinnegan before them were astonishing, but they knew little about their abilities. Most of what they knew came from legends.
What mattered more to them was the man's identity and what