The Spectators' Shock

At the edge of the Forest of Death, the original silence was completely shattered.

When the first violent clash of chakra and deafening explosions rang out, countless sharp-sensed ninja throughout Konoha almost simultaneously raised their heads. One of those chakras was cold and immense, unmistakably familiar—it was Orochimaru! The other was equally astonishingly powerful, carrying the blazing heat of fire and an unfathomable heaviness, yet it was utterly unfamiliar.

Figures swiftly leaped up from all across Konoha like startled birds, racing toward the source of the disturbance.

The first to arrive were several nearby ANBU. They landed soundlessly on the branches of towering trees, but when they saw the scene in the forest clearing below, their pupils contracted sharply beneath their masks.

More figures appeared one after another.

ANBU squads wearing animal masks, Root ninja with even gloomier auras and slightly different attire, and even members of the Security Department clad in Uchiha Gunbai uniforms—they were responsible for maintaining order within the village, but they could not ignore such a massive disturbance so close to Konoha.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio and elite Jonin from prominent clans, including Hyuga Hiashi, also arrived in succession. They stood atop distant trees, watching with grave expressions.

The battle in the clearing had already reached its peak. The devastating chain explosions of the Mutual Multiplying Explosive Tags had only just subsided. Dust and smoke still hung in the air as the towering Rashomon, which had forcibly withstood every blast, slowly dissipated.

The two people standing in the clearing made every onlooker suck in a breath.

One was one of the Legendary Sannin they had expected to see: Orochimaru.

But the other left everyone utterly incredulous!

He was a tall youth with unusually long hair, fair skin, and handsome features. His slowly spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan clearly proclaimed his identity—the Uchiha Clan.

But who was he?

Nearly everyone had the same question. Since when had the Uchiha Clan produced such a young powerhouse? He could actually fight Orochimaru to this extent? Had these two caused the devastated battlefield below, as though a Tailed Beast had plowed through it?

"Is that... Kyohaku?" a member of the Uchiha Police Force cried out, his voice filled with uncertainty and shock. He vaguely recognized the youth. Wasn't he an orphan from the clan's fringes, whose parents had died long ago and who had been deemed useless? And wasn't he... a cripple? Yet there was not the slightest sign of disability in the way he stood now. Where had that overwhelming chakra and fierce presence come from?

At that moment, two even more powerful presences descended.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Shimura Danzō arrived almost at the same time, landing at the front. Hiruzen Sarutobi gripped the Adamantine Staff, his brows tightly furrowed as his sharp gaze swept across the battlefield before settling on the unfamiliar Uchiha youth. Danzō remained expressionless, but the light flickering in his single eye was chillingly cold.

They had seen the final moment when the fighting ceased. They had seen Orochimaru pat the youth's shoulder in approval. They had seen the youth calmly settle his chakra.

"Kyohaku... Kyohaku Uchiha," Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured. He remembered the name. About seven years ago, that child had lost his parents in a spy incident and suffered a disability in his right foot. The records stated that he had become a medical ninja after graduation, then seemingly followed Orochimaru. Yet his file's assessment had been utterly ordinary—one could even say he had shown no potential whatsoever.

But now...

Orochimaru... is this the disciple you chose and secretly nurtured? At such a young age, he possesses the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, such immense chakra reserves, and can even skillfully use the Mutual Multiplying Explosive Tags technique... How much effort have you invested in him?

Do you intend to use him to win over the Uchiha Clan? Are you laying the groundwork to contend for the position of Hokage in the future? Or... are you interested in him personally? Looking at Kyohaku's healthy, rosy complexion, so full of vitality, then recalling the direction of Orochimaru's research in recent years, an even deeper thought surfaced in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind, making him uneasy. He had originally believed Orochimaru taking a disciple had merely been a whim. Now, it seemed far from simple. This Kyohaku Uchiha had hidden himself far too well!

Beside him, the shock in Danzō's single eye swiftly turned into cold regret and killing intent.

Uchiha! Another damned Uchiha genius!

And one nurtured by Orochimaru!

A disabled orphan marginalized by his own clan should have been the easiest sort of target to control or eliminate! How had he overlooked him back then? Because of that superficial disability? Or had the identity of a medical ninja dulled his vigilance?

Danzō regretted it bitterly. Such an unpredictable variable had completely slipped beyond his control and had even joined the camp he despised most—Orochimaru and the Uchiha. Judging by the strength and potential Kyohaku had displayed, given time, he would surely become a grave threat!

"Kyohaku..." Danzō forced the name out through clenched teeth. The veins on the back of the hand gripping his cane bulged. "He must be reassessed... must..."

In the clearing, Orochimaru seemed to sense the many eyes watching from around him. He let out a hoarse chuckle, then slowly sank into the ground and vanished.

Only Kyohaku Uchiha remained standing amid the ruins. He seemed to sense the scrutinizing, shocked, and wary gazes surrounding him. Slowly, he turned his head, and his scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan swept coldly over the spectators at the edge of the forest, lingering briefly in the direction of the Third Hokage and Danzō.

There was no panic, no fear, not even any unnecessary emotion.

Then his figure flashed. Turning into an afterimage, he silently disappeared into the depths of the forest at a speed far surpassing an ordinary Body Flicker Technique, leaving behind only Konoha's shaken higher-ups and elite Jonin, staring at one another as turmoil surged through their hearts.

Konoha's skies seemed destined to stir with unforeseeable waves because of this suddenly emerged Uchiha youth.