Taboo (1)

If history were a long scroll of paintings, then upon that scroll, there were bound to be certain stories that left behind bold, vivid strokes.

And some stories, some people, shone as brilliantly as stars, and were thus recorded in the annals of the Ninja World.

In the forty-second year of Konoha, the Third Ninja World War, launched by the allied forces of the Rock Ninja and Sand Ninja, came to a temporary end.

On that harrowing night, Tsuchikage Ōnoki was severely injured, while the allied Rock Ninja and Sand Ninja forces were all escorted away by the Kazekage Chidong, who arrived later.

No one lingered over this foreign land any longer.

The Mist Ninja who had intervened during the war also returned empty-handed, having gained no tangible benefits.

The ninjas who had lived through that night all kept silent about what had happened.

It was as though everyone had suddenly become mute. Everything that had happened that night became taboo in the eyes of all ninjas!

Yet when daylight came, whether they were the Cloud Ninja who arrived afterward or the Konoha ninjas, all were left dumbstruck upon seeing the devastated ruins stretching dozens of kilometers.

"Th-This... what happened here!?"

A Konoha ninja who had come to provide support stared wide-eyed at the enormous ruins and asked in a trembling voice.

Hearing him, a Konoha ninja who had personally experienced everything that had happened the previous night passed by him with an exhausted expression. He patted him on the shoulder, shook his head with a complicated look on his face, and said nothing more.

The Konoha ninjas who had come to provide support could only stare blankly at the exhausted Konoha ninjas following Jiraiya back toward the village, their faces full of confusion and curiosity.

What exactly... had