"Come to think of it, it's time I went to see the Nine Tailed Beasts..."
Manji raised a hand and tied up his long, dangling hair. The neat ponytail accentuated his graceful, otherworldly bearing.
His plain green robes fit him perfectly, and the fresh scent of the mountain's plants still clung to their hems.
After all these years, he still cared deeply about the Nine Tailed Beasts he had raised.
The Ninja World had long since fallen into chaos. The Ninja Sect had splintered, and in this troubled mortal realm, the various ninja clans circled like hungry wolves, all coveting the Tailed Beasts' world-destroying power.
They wanted to tame the Tailed Beasts.
In the past, he had watched coldly from the sidelines and never interfered in worldly affairs. Ordinary mortals were weak; even if they coveted the Tailed Beasts, they couldn't inflict any real harm.
But times had changed.
After the Ninja Sect's dissolution, the ninja clans had inherited Hagoromo's legacy. They were far stronger than before and could now pose a lethal threat to the Tailed Beasts.
He was the Nine Tailed Beasts' master. By any measure, he ought to protect his disciples.
Manji swung the Gunbai onto his back. Its faintly visible patterns shimmered in the mountain's soft light.
He lightly touched down on the bluestone steps, then leaped from Mount Myōboku and teleported straight to the mortal world.
He finally stopped at the crossroads where he had taken in Sarutobi all those years ago.
But the village that had once been filled with curling cooking smoke and the sounds of chickens and dogs had long since become a desolate wasteland.
Ruined walls lay buried beneath wild grass. The scorched earth was barren, with only a few crooked, withered trees standing amid the desolation. Black-feathered crows cawed from