Konoha Under the Night Sky!

Konoha Village.

Senju Compound.

The evening breeze carried a hint of chill as it swept through this complex of buildings created by Wood Style.

In the central reception hall.

Not a single lamp was lit in the entire hall.

Only cold moonlight filtered through the doors, casting a ghastly white patch across the floor.

Chiba sat in the seat of honor.

A broad low table stood before him, and the tea on it had long since gone cold.

"Tap—tap—tap—"

Chiba half-closed his eyes, his fingers rapping against the tabletop.

The dull knocks echoed endlessly through the empty hall.

That farce during the day was already over.

But Chiba knew perfectly well.

Whether it was Sarutobi Hiruzen's concession or Danzo's miserable death.

It was only the beginning.

The rotten flesh that was Konoha had to be carved out completely with the sharpest blade.

Chiba was that blade.

The Perfect Sage Body granted him terrifying perception, like an invisible net spread over Konoha.

None of the undercurrents stirring within the village could escape Chiba's senses.

The Anbu were scurrying around like headless flies.

The remnants of Root were gripped by panic after losing their leader.

And those ninja clans with generations of history were likely holding emergency clan meetings at this very moment.

A cold smile tugged at Chiba's lips.

He was in no hurry at all.

A hunter always had enough patience to wait for prey to come to him.

Finally.

A wave of chakra came from the edge of the Senju Compound.

Someone had arrived.

And there was more than one.

Chiba stopped tapping the table and leaned back slightly.

Late at night.

The outskirts of the Senju Compound were silent.

A middle-aged man stepped out from the shadows.

It was Shikaku Nara.

He had brought no attendants.

Even Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza had not come with him.

Soon.

Shikaku Nara arrived outside the main hall.

He looked up at the pitch-black doorway, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara Clan."

"I apologize for disturbing Lord Chiba so late at night."

Shikaku Nara kept his posture extremely low.

He bowed respectfully outside the door, not even daring to raise his head.

"Come in."

Chiba's voice came from the darkness.

It carried no emotion, yet it possessed an oppressive authority that needed no anger.

Shikaku Nara stepped over the threshold.

By the faint moonlight, he saw the youth seated in the place of honor.

He was clearly only in his teens.

Yet he possessed terrifying strength capable of making the entire Ninja World tremble.

Shikaku Nara had just wanted to exchange a few pleasantries and probe Chiba's intentions.

But Chiba cut him off first.

"Sit."

"The tea is cold. Pour it yourself."

"Then shut up and wait a while longer."

Shikaku Nara's expression stiffened slightly.

But he was an exceptionally intelligent man.

With just three sentences, Chiba had completely cut off every avenue for his probing.

Telling him to sit was granting him a place.

Telling him to pour his own tea was informing him that there were no privileges here.

And telling him to wait.

Made it clear that he would not be the only guest tonight.

Shikaku Nara walked to the first seat on the left and sat down.

Who else would come?

The Hyuga?

The Uchiha?

Or those small and mid-sized ninja clans that swayed with the wind?

Before long.

An extremely faint buzzing sound broke the silence.

Shikaku Nara's ears twitched.

This was... the sound of insects beating their wings!

At the entrance to the hall.

A man wrapped from head to toe in a trench coat, wearing dark glasses, appeared without a sound.

The current head of the Aburame Clan, Aburame Shibi.

Aburame Shibi stood at the doorway, his body tense to the limit.

The insects inside his body were conveying an emotion called fear.

The Natural Energy radiating from Chiba was practically deadly poison to those insects.

"Aburame Clan, Shibi."

"Greetings, Lord Chiba."

Aburame Shibi's voice was hoarse as he bowed respectfully as well.

"Sit."

Chiba still gave only that one word.

Aburame Shibi entered the hall and immediately saw Shikaku sitting on the left.

Their gazes met briefly in the darkness.

Shikaku Nara's pupils contracted.

He had never expected the Aburame Clan to move so quickly!

After all.

The Aburame Clan had always kept a low profile and almost never participated in the village's power struggles.

Yet they had actually come here of their own accord today?

It seemed that Wood Golem from earlier had thoroughly awakened these clans as well.

Aburame Shibi walked to the first seat on the right and sat down.

He likewise said nothing, like a lifeless wooden post.

The hall fell into deathly silence once more.

Fine beads of sweat began to seep across Shikaku Nara's forehead.

This wordless oppression was more torturous than fighting with real blades.

He could not help looking up at Chiba.

Chiba was holding that cup of cold tea, seemingly savoring something.

"Since you're here."

"Don't keep hanging up there."

"The beams of the Senju Clan aren't for people to tread on."

A moment later.

Chiba set down his teacup.

His gaze passed over the two men and fixed on a corner of the hall.

Shikaku Nara and Aburame Shibi were horrified.

They were both among the best Jonin, yet they had not sensed anyone else!

In the shadows.

The air rippled like water.

A youth with a short sword on his back leaped lightly down from the beam.

Body Flicker Shisui!

The instant Shisui Uchiha landed, he was utterly dumbfounded.

He had spent a long, long time thinking at home.

Danzo was dead.

The Third Hokage's prestige had been utterly shattered.

The credibility of the village's entire leadership had collapsed during the conflict that day.

The Will of Fire he had once been so proud of now seemed like the greatest joke in the world.

Shisui truly did not know what to do.

He desperately wanted to find someone who could give him answers.

So.

Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique he excelled at most to secretly infiltrate the Senju Compound.

He wanted to hear how this Senju descendant with Wood Style viewed the current Konoha!

But he had never imagined.

The infiltration methods he had been so proud of.

Were as laughable before Chiba as if he had stripped naked.

What horrified him even more.

Was that he had actually seen Shikaku Nara and Aburame Shibi in the Senju Compound!

They were the heads of Konoha's core ninja clans!

Why were they here?

And judging by their appearance, they seemed to have been here for quite some time!

Shisui's mind buzzed.

A terrifying thought spread wildly through his heart.

Konoha... was going to split apart!

These ninja clans had already begun seeking a new master in private!

"Uchiha... Shisui."

Shisui's voice was somewhat dry, even trembling slightly.

Standing in the middle of the hall, he felt like a lamb that had wandered into a pack of wolves.

"Sit down."

Chiba pointed to the empty seat beside Shikaku.

Like a puppet on strings, Shisui walked over and sat down.

At this point.

The three factions in the hall had gathered.

Representing Ino-Shika-Cho, the Hokage's staunch supporters.

Representing the neutral and secretive Aburame Clan.

And representing the Uchiha, Konoha's greatest hidden danger.

Chiba's gaze swept across the faces of the three men one by one.

The pressure brought by the Perfect Sage Body was unleashed without restraint at that moment.

The air seemed to turn viscous.

Shikaku Nara's breathing halted, as though his lungs had been stuffed with cotton.

The Kikaichū inside Aburame Shibi's body began to stir frantically, letting out piercing wails.

Shisui instinctively clenched the hilt of his short sword.

"Everyone is here."

"Go on."

"What did you come here for?"

Chiba's tone was casual, as though he were asking about the weather.

Yet all three people present understood.

Every word that followed would determine Konoha's future direction.

Aburame Shibi kept his head lowered, saying nothing.

He had come only to state his position, to prove that the Aburame Clan was willing to submit to the strong.

As for fighting over benefits, that was not the Aburame Clan's strength.

Shisui's mind, meanwhile, was a complete mess.

He had yet to recover from his shock and had no idea where to begin.

In the end.

Shikaku was still the one who forced himself to step forward.

He was the brain of Ino-Shika-Cho.

At a time like this, he had to take responsibility for breaking the ice.