Peace?

Konoha.

Hokage Office.

Minato Namikaze buried himself in a mountain of documents.

The four great nations had massed troops at the borders, while undercurrents churned within the village.

Every piece of intelligence weighed heavily on him.

Suddenly.

The pen in Minato's hand paused slightly.

A sharp glint flashed through his azure eyes.

He abruptly raised his head.

His gaze pierced through the wide floor-to-ceiling window, shooting straight toward the bustling main street below the Hokage Building.

A violent, evil spatial fluctuation was tearing open without warning in the very heart of Konoha.

At the center of the street.

The air twisted violently, like boiling water.

A profound, pitch-black spatial vortex appeared out of nowhere.

Like the gaping maw of an abyss waiting to devour its prey.

Villagers and merchants on the street stopped in terror.

From within the vortex.

Six figures clad in black cloaks patterned with red clouds stepped out one after another.

Their faces were cold and expressionless.

Their faces were pierced with black metal rods.

Six pairs of emotionless pale-purple ripple-patterned eyes looked down upon this prosperous ninja village.

Immediately afterward.

A pale, slender figure emerged.

Orochimaru extended his long tongue, and an excited, icy gleam flickered in his snake-like eyes.

Finally.

Obito Uchiha, wearing an orange spiral mask, appeared from the vortex.

His crimson Sharingan scanned the surroundings through the mask's eyehole.

The spatial vortex closed behind them.

"Ah!!!"

"Enemy attack!!!"

Piercing screams shattered Konoha's tranquil afternoon.

The crowd scattered frantically in every direction like a startled herd.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Almost at the same instant, the sounds of air tearing rang out in succession.

More than twenty elite ANBU wearing animal masks flickered into view like ghosts from the surrounding rooftops and utility poles.

They drew their gleaming ninja blades and encircled the eight uninvited