On the ruins, a wild wind howled.
Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned on the Adamantine Staff and looked up at the dark-gold giant standing between heaven and earth.
That suffocating pressure, those chakra fluctuations that seemed as if they could easily tear the sky apart.
It was too similar.
The old man's gaze grew a little dazed, his thoughts seeming to return to that night decades ago.
At the Valley of the End, he had once seen such a sight from afar. That man named Madara Uchiha had controlled a blue Susanoo, descending like a demon god, and fought Hashirama Senju, the First known as the "God of Shinobi."
That battle changed the order of the ninja world.
That battle also became a lingering shadow in the hearts of everyone in Konoha.
"Madara..."
The Third murmured to himself.
But it was not quite the same.
Back then, Madara's Susanoo had radiated only coldness, destruction, and utter arrogance. That chakra made people feel despair, made them feel that they were merely ants that could be wiped out with a casual gesture.
But the one before him...
The Third closed his eyes and carefully sensed the chakra permeating the air.
Within that dark-gold radiance, he felt Yashiro Uchiha's resolve, felt Uchiha Tekka's hot blood, felt Itachi Uchiha's purity.
He even felt the Hyuga Clan's gentleness, the Nara Clan's steadiness, the Akimichi Clan's weight...
Though this power was likewise so strong it made one tremble, its core was warm.
It was a deity born from the gathered will of countless people who wanted to "protect their home."
"Teacher..."
The Third opened his eyes, looked at the moon in the night sky dyed red by firelight, and gave a bitter smile.
"You once said the Uchiha were a clan of love, but once that love was