Mao walked through the streets under cover of night. Facing the chilly night wind, she tightened her collar, hiding the delicate straight collarbones bathed in moonlight.
Under the lights, the familiar yet unfamiliar Konoha stretched its neon reflections across her vision, clearing much of the dull haze from her mind.
The girl in Konoha chunin combat gear curled her lips into a faint smile as she gazed at the most terrifying beast in the Shinobi World, hidden deep within the night.
Konoha.
As this colossal beast devoured the essence of the sun and moon and continued to evolve, the clan lands originally planned for each family had no choice but to follow the city's expansion. Coupled with the needs of ninja clans to practice ninjutsu, most chose to move away from Konoha's central districts.
But Uchiha and the Hagoromo Clan, much like their alliance during the Warring States era, had fought side by side and did not choose to separate.
The Uchiha, who had produced the Rinnegan, had unquestionably ascended to the throne of the Shinobi World's foremost clan. Yet they had chosen the same path as the Senju Clan.
Though not as thorough as the Senju, the streamlined Uchiha population had become merely a second-tier ninja clan within Konoha.
They ranked below the Uzumaki, Hagoromo, Sarutobi, and Shimura.
Thus, after Naori became an elder, cold winds occasionally swept through Konoha, carrying the clamor that there was no one left in the Uchiha.
Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
The ambition to conceive the Rinnegan.
As Mao entered the Hagoromo Clan's compound, she felt a trace of pity for certain people's malicious fantasies and forgave their ignorance.
Perhaps.
Mao's gaze passed through the doorway and settled on the sliding door flickering with firelight. She could not help slowing her breathing as she felt a