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It was an almost unnaturally peaceful afternoon in the sixtieth year of Konoha.
Sunlight spilled lazily across Konoha's streets through the layered contours of Kage Rock.
Naruto Uzumaki ambled down the road, wondering whether to get dinner at Ichiraku Ramen or play a prank on Iruka-sensei.
Suddenly, an enormous shadow enveloped the entire village without warning.
"Huh? Is it going to rain?" Naruto scratched his brilliant blond hair and looked up in confusion.
The next second, he—and everyone else in Konoha—froze in place.
The sky was no longer its familiar azure blue.
Instead, an immense screen of light stretched beyond the horizon, covering the heavens like a scroll unfurled by a god.
"Wh-what is that thing?!"
"Are we under attack?!"
"Quick! Notify Lord Hokage!"
After a brief, deathly silence, panic spread through the crowd like a plague.
Screams, sobs, and the hurried footsteps of shinobi shattered the village's tranquility.
Countless kunai and shuriken were instinctively gripped tight as terrified villagers scrambled for cover or rushed toward their children.
Not much time had passed since the Third Shinobi World War. The shadows left by war had yet to fade completely, and Konoha was at its most vigilant!
A shrill "Kree!" pierced the sky.
A ninja hawk belonging to Konoha's reconnaissance unit tried to approach the screen of light, only to pass straight through it.
"Approaching it is useless! It has no physical form!" A member of the Hyuga clan activated his Byakugan, but the screen seemed like a bottomless ocean. His vision could not penetrate it at all, nor could he see any sign of chakra flowing within it.
Inside the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, abruptly pushed open the window and took the pipe from his lips, his face filled with unprecedented shock and concern.
An ANBU ninja had already appeared behind him like a ghost and dropped to one knee.
"Organize the evacuation of all noncombatants immediately! Activate a level-one alert! Summon every jonin! Send out all reconnaissance squads and determine that thing's origin and purpose!"
Order after order came swiftly and steadily, but the Third Hokage's hand clenched around the window frame betrayed the turmoil within him.
The same chaos was unfolding in the other four great nations. The Kazekage of Sunagakure, the Raikage of Kumogakure, the Mizukage of Kirigakure, and the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.
They all stood at the highest points in their respective villages, gazing up at the Canopy Screen that enveloped the entire world, their hearts filled with suspicion and wariness.
The entire shinobi world ground to a halt, gripped by panic at this sudden phenomenon.
Meanwhile, the man responsible for it all—Hyuga Xiu—lay leisurely on the grass outside his secret base, admiring his "masterpiece" through the gaps between the leaves. An unnoticed smile curled his lips.
"Looks like it worked pretty well. Even more impressive than I expected!"
He murmured to himself, a flicker of excitement flashing in his eyes like someone who had pulled off a prank. "Panic! Suspect each other! This stagnant pool needs to be stirred up even more."
He was not from this world, merely a soul who had accidentally transmigrated here and knew the story well.
He had no powerful kekkei genkai, nor a tailed beast to give him an unfair advantage. He was just an ordinary chunin, one who belonged to a marginal branch even within the Hyuga Lineage.
He knew of the tragedies to come and the darkness hidden beneath the sunlight, but with his own strength alone, even protecting himself might be difficult.
The arrival of the Sky Screen System, however, had shown him a glimmer of hope. As long as enough people believed in the Canopy Screen, he would have a chance to turn fiction into reality and change the future.
And so a mad plan took shape in his mind. Since he could not change the world through strength, he would overturn everything through information!
Using the system, he created this so-called "prophetic Canopy Screen."
He would weave an outrageous lie, make the entire shinobi world actors in his script, and lead them step by step toward the future Hyuga Xiu had crafted for them.
Just as everyone's nerves were stretched to the breaking point, the screen of light in the sky suddenly changed again.
The glow on its surface began to flow, rippling like water before slowly gathering into several enormous words formed from light—"Konoha's Shadow: The Truth Behind the Nine-Tails Incident."
"The Nine-Tails Incident?!" Everyone in Konoha was stunned.
That disaster twelve years ago was a wound that could never heal in the hearts of Konoha's people, and the source of Naruto's childhood suffering.
The faces of the Konoha Leadership changed abruptly at the sight. The Third Hokage's heart sank as an ominous premonition seized him.
The words on the screen slowly faded, replaced by crystal-clear moving images.
[The first image to appear showed the Nine-Tailed Fox rampaging through Konoha.]
[The next moment, however, the scene shifted to a dark underground cavern, where the dripping of water echoed with exceptional clarity.]
[Tap... Suddenly, a discordant sound intruded.]
[Tap... Tap... The sound of hardwood soles striking stone slabs grew clearer and clearer!]
[Finally, as the sound drew closer, a blurred silhouette cut through the darkness!]
[It was an old man with a sinister face, leaning on a cane. Layers of white bandages covered his right eye and right arm, making him look like a disabled elder who had yet to recover from grievous injuries.]
[A line of small text appeared above his head on the screen—Shimura Danzō, leader of Konoha's Root Organization.]
In truth, the screen hardly needed to introduce him. Danzo's face and name were already enough to silence crying children in Konoha. Across the shinobi world, there was not a single village's leadership unfamiliar with Shimura Danzō.
[As the viewpoint slowly shifted, it revealed a young man opposite Danzo. His skin was grayish white, his long blue hair was tied into several braids, and stitches covered his body.]
[A line of small text appeared above his head as well—Mahito, special grade cursed spirit of the Ninefold Organization.]
[The young man wore an inhuman smile filled with curiosity and malice as he idly poked a struggling white creature on the ground with one finger.]
["Danzo, you're finally here! Oh, look at this! What a fascinating structure! This thing called 'White Zetsu' doesn't even have a fixed soul shape. It's like a lump of modeling clay you can mold however you please. So much more fun than an ordinary human soul!"]
[Then he suddenly squeezed hard. White Zetsu let out a brief, strange cry as part of his body deformed like mud!]
["Hmph!" Danzo snorted coldly. "Your toys are making you lose sight of your purpose! What did you find in his memories that's worth anything?"]
["Oh! How cold of you!" Mahito released his grip and flung White Zetsu aside like garbage.]
["I found a very interesting 'future'!"]
["A pathetic little man in a mask who calls himself 'Madara Uchiha' plans to take advantage of Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki giving birth in the near future. He'll release that big fox and destroy your entire village!"]
"What?" Most of Konoha's people were utterly shocked.
They had always believed the Nine-Tails' rampage was an accident. They had never imagined someone had been pulling the strings behind it.
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