You Don't Understand. He's Different

"Yotsuki Sora..."

"Yes, Lord Madara. He's a kinsman of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths. The Third Raikage adopted him later."

Deep underground, in a pitch-black cave.

A bizarre, pure-white figure burst out of the earth and respectfully spoke toward a dark corner.

"He previously defeated the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi, and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki. This time, he single-handedly defeated thousands of Hidden Stone shinobi and even forced the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, to retreat!"

"...A kinsman of Kinkaku and Ginkaku?"

The voice from the darkness seemed to soften noticeably.

"Yes."

The pale figure seemed to gather his thoughts. After a moment's pause, he continued.

"That guy not only has physical prowess and Lightning Release Nintaijutsu on par with the Third Raikage, but also possesses an extremely special and powerful Kekkei... or rather, Kekkei Tōta. With that power, he defeated Dust Release in a direct clash!"

No reply came immediately from the dark corner. After a brief silence, a hunched, ancient figure emerged from the shadows.

His face was extremely aged, his body withered, his hair white, and his flesh all but gone.

Yet this nearly rotted old man radiated a suffocating aura.

Beneath his withered white hair, a pair of blood-red Three-Tomoe Sharingan eyes flickered in and out of view, like an evil demon reaper from hell!

"Defeated Dust Release in a direct clash... Interesting."

That brat Ōnoki was weak, but Madara had always acknowledged the power of Dust Release as a Kekkei Tōta.

Anyone capable of overpowering Dust Release head-on must have awakened something remarkable, thanks to inheriting Kinkaku and Ginkaku's bloodline.

But that was all.

Of all the powers in the world, only the Uchiha and Senju stood supreme.

Only shinobi who possessed these two powers could reach the end of the shinobi path. Only someone who brought these two powers together could recreate the myriad phenomena!

"Don't pay too much attention to that guy. How is that brat Obito doing now?"

"He just took the village's Chunin Ninja Exams."

"He's a Chunin now? He's finally showing some promise." Madara's lips curled slightly. "In that case, the plan should soon—"

"Uh, he didn't pass."

"..."

Watching Madara fall silent, White Zetsu scratched his head. "Can that kid really become your successor? He just looks like an ordinary dead-last."

"...He's different."

White Zetsu scratched his head again, unable to understand what his boss meant.

He's different? What's so different about him?

Wait.

Maybe he really was different!

The Uchiha Clan was Konoha's foremost shinobi clan. Its members were practically all talented elites by the standards of ordinary shinobi.

And yet Obito, born into the Uchiha Clan, had always been the dead-last in his class.

His chakra control was so poor that he couldn't even use the Clone Technique properly, and his Fire Release kept catching in his throat. For an Uchiha, that was an extremely rare thing.

Could it be that he had a Tailed Beast inside him, too, interfering with his chakra?

Thunder rumbled, and pride soared.

The battle lasted three whole days and nights.

Thousands upon thousands had surrounded a single man, and even the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had personally joined the fight.

Yet the final outcome left the world utterly dumbfounded.

Thousands of Hidden Stone shinobi had died, the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki was gravely injured, and White Stone Gorge had been razed to the ground.

And Yotsuki Sora had walked away from the battlefield completely unharmed!

When this report reached the desks of the major shinobi villages' leaders, every face wore an expression of utter disbelief.

"Are you sure this is a battle report and not some novel or play?!"

Sunagakure.

Inside the Kazekage's Office.

Rasa, who had just finished handling orders for the front lines, shot to his feet in shock. He stared at the scroll before him, unable to believe his eyes.

"I wish it were fake news, but I'm afraid the report may actually be understating things."

"During the three days and nights Yotsuki Sora held off the enemy alone, he killed at least a thousand shinobi. The number of critically wounded is beyond counting." Ebizo's voice was grave. "The Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki was seriously injured, and White Stone Gorge was wiped off the map!"

"We originally thought that guy was just a weapon of war Hidden Cloud had kept under wraps. But now it seems his combat strength may even surpass the Third Raikage's."

"You misjudged him, Fourth Kazekage."

"This guy..."

Rasa stared at the scroll in his hands. The more he read, the more he doubted the report's accuracy.

But the facts were plain: Iwagakure had lost. An army of tens of thousands of Hidden Stone shinobi had been defeated, all at the hands of a man who had been missing for more than a decade.

How had one man managed to do this? Was Yotsuki Sora simply too strong, or were the Hidden Stone shinobi all useless?

After a long silence, Rasa finally spoke.

"Have we confirmed the report about Pakura?"

"Yes. She's in Kumogakure. She was probably captured by Yotsuki Sora."

Damn, damn, damn! (striking a pose)

Couldn't that woman Pakura have been killed at some other time? Why had I gotten the bright idea to stick my nose into this mess?

Sunagakure and Kumogakure had fought the Wind-Lightning War, but the war was over, and the two sides had signed a ceasefire agreement.

But after hearing the report about Sora, Rasa's restless little mind had started turning. He had sent Pakura over there without a second thought.

And now look what had happened.

Yotsuki Sora had swept across the battlefield, unstoppable.

And Pakura had been captured by him.

Put those together, and there was a very real chance that Sunagakure and Kumogakure would plunge back into war!

"The priority now is to distance ourselves from Pakura." Seeing Rasa's expression grow darker, Ebizo spoke gravely. "Our war with Konoha isn't going well. No matter what, we mustn't reignite the conflict with Kumogakure."

"We only barely held off Kumogakure's attacks before, thanks to favorable timing, terrain, and circumstances. Now there's Yotsuki Sora on top of that..."

"I know that, of course. But how do you expect us to distance ourselves from her?"

Rasa irritably slammed the scroll onto the desk in front of him. "Should we just label Pakura a missing-nin?"

"Why not?"

"W-what?"

Rasa jerked his head up and stared at Ebizo.

"Pakura may be respected, but you're the Fourth Kazekage now, the leader of the entire Land of Wind."

"Once the missing-nin order goes out, who do you think the villagers will believe: you, the Kazekage who governs them and rules over them, or a Sand hero who has left the village and been captured by the enemy?"

At that moment, this top Sunagakure official, in charge of intelligence and espionage, revealed his coldest side.

"Since you've already done it, then you have to see it through, Rasa."