You Don't Understand, He's Different

"Yotsuki Sora..."

"Yes, Lord Madara. He is a kinsman of Gold Horn and Silver Horn, one who inherited the Sage of Six Paths' bloodline. Later, he was adopted by the Third Raikage."

In an utterly dark underground cave.

A bizarre, pure-white figure emerged from the earth and respectfully addressed the shadowy corner.

"Earlier, he defeated Kitsuchi, the son of the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, as well as the Five-Tails Jinchuriki. This time, he single-handedly crushed several thousand Hidden Stone ninja and even forced back the Third Tsuchikage Onoki!"

"...A kinsman of Gold Horn and Silver Horn?"

The figure in the darkness seemed to soften noticeably.

"Yes."

The pale figure seemed to be choosing its words. After pondering for a moment, it spoke.

"That guy not only possesses physical prowess and lightning-style Nintaijutsu that rival the Third Raikage, but he also wields an extremely unique and powerful Kekkei Genkai... or rather, a Kekkei Tōta. With the aid of that power, he managed to overcome Dust Release in a direct confrontation!"

No response came from the dark corner at once. After a moment of silence, an extremely old, hunched figure stepped out from the shadows.

His face was incomparably aged, his body withered and shriveled, his head full of white hair, his flesh nearly gone.

Yet this old man, who was practically decayed, radiated a suffocating aura.

Beneath that dry white hair, a pair of scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan flickered in and out of view, like an evil ghost or grim reaper from hell!

"Defeating Dust Release in a head-on clash... Interesting."

Although that brat Ōnoki was weak, Madara still held the power of his Dust Release, a Kekkei Tōta, in high regard.

To be able to crush Dust Release in a direct confrontation, that fellow who inherited Gold Horn and Silver Horn's bloodline had likely awakened something truly extraordinary.

But that was all.

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

Only ninja who possessed both of those powers could reach the end of the ninja path. Only an existence that brought both powers together could recreate all things!

"No need to pay that fellow too much attention. How is that brat Obito doing now?"

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

"So he's a Chunin now? He's finally starting to look the part." The corners of Madara's lips lifted slightly. "In that case, the plan should soon..."

"Uh, he didn't pass."

"..."

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

"...He's different."

White Zetsu kept scratching his head, unable to understand what his leader meant.

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

No.

He really might be different!

The Uchiha clan was Konoha's foremost ninja clan. To ordinary ninja, its members were practically all talented elites.

Yet Obito, who had been born into the Uchiha clan, had somehow always been the dead last in his class.

His chakra control was so awful that he could barely use the Clone Technique, and his Fire Release techniques sputtered like he had phlegm stuck in his throat. That alone was an extremely rare occurrence for an Uchiha.

Could it be that he also had a tailed beast inside him interfering with his chakra?

Thunder rumbled as heroic spirit soared.

This war lasted for three days and three nights.

Several thousand people had surrounded and attacked a single man, and even the Third Tsuchikage Onoki had personally entered the battlefield.

Yet the final outcome left the world utterly stunned.

Several thousand Hidden Stone ninja died in battle, the Third Tsuchikage Onoki was severely injured, and all of White Stone Gorge was reduced to level ground.

Meanwhile, Yotsuki Sora left the battlefield completely unscathed!

When this battle report reached the desks of the upper ranks of the major ninja villages, everyone wore exceedingly vivid expressions.

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

Hidden Sand Village.

Inside the Kazekage's office.

Having just finished handling the frontline deployment orders, Rasa sprang to his feet in shock, staring at the scroll before him with utter disbelief.

"I wish this were fake news, but the information in it is probably already understated."

"During the three days and three nights Yotsuki Sora held the rear alone, he killed no fewer than a thousand enemies. The number of severely wounded is impossible to estimate." Ebizo said gravely, "The Third Tsuchikage Onoki was badly injured, and all of White Stone Gorge was wiped off the map!"

"I originally thought that guy was merely a war weapon Hidden Cloud had kept concealed, but now it seems his combat power may even surpass that of the Third Raikage."

"You misjudged him, Fourth Kazekage."

"That guy..."

Rasa stared intently at the scroll in his hands, growing more suspicious of the intelligence report's authenticity the more he read.

But the facts were just that. Hidden Stone had lost. A battle of encirclement and extermination that had gathered over ten thousand Hidden Stone shinobi had been defeated just like that—by a man who had vanished for more than a decade.

Was Yotsuki Sora simply that strong, or were all the Hidden Stone shinobi a bunch of useless trash?

After a long silence, Rasa slowly spoke.

"Has the intelligence on Pakura's side been confirmed?"

"It has. She's in Cloud Hidden Village. She was most likely captured by Yotsuki Sora."

Huff! Huff! Huff!

That woman Pakura could have died whenever she wanted. Why the hell had I gone brain-dead and gotten involved in this mess?!

Although Hidden Sand and Cloud Hidden Village had fought the Wind-Lightning War, the war had already ended, and the two sides had signed a ceasefire agreement.

But after hearing Sora's intelligence report, Rasa's restless little mind had started turning, and he had sent Pakura over directly.

And now, look at this.

Yotsuki Sora was charging through the battlefield like a dragon, his momentum unmatched.

Pakura had even been captured by Yotsuki Sora.

With this turn of events, there was a very real chance that Hidden Sand and Cloud Hidden Village would reignite the flames of war!

"The top priority is to first sever our ties with Pakura." Ebizo looked at Rasa's increasingly grim expression and said in a low voice, "Our war with Konoha hasn't been going well. No matter what, we cannot reignite a war with Cloud Hidden Village."

"Previously, we only barely held back Cloud Hidden Village's attack by relying on favorable timing, terrain, and unity. Now that Yotsuki Sora has been added to the mix..."

"Of course I know that! But how do you think we're supposed to sever our ties with her?!"

Rasa irritably threw the scroll in his hand onto the desk before him. "Are we supposed to directly label Pakura a rogue ninja?"

"Why not?"

"W-What?"

Rasa abruptly raised his head and looked at Ebizo before him.

"Pakura may have prestige, but you are now the Fourth Kazekage of Hidden Sand—the Kage of the entire Land of Wind."

"Once the wanted notice for a rogue ninja is issued, do you think the villagers will choose to believe you, the Kazekage who manages and rules them, or a hero of Hidden Sand who has already left the village and been captured by the enemy?"

At that moment, this absolute upper echelon of Hidden Sand, the Kazekage's advisor mainly responsible for intelligence and espionage, revealed his most cold-blooded side.

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