Heavy snow blanketed the sky. Five figures stood atop the mountain, their White Robes blending into the wind and snow.
The damaged stone reliefs on the cliff beneath their feet had witnessed this land's decline from prosperity to ruin.
Yes, today, the ruins of old Konoha had welcomed visitors yet again.
But for all of them, this was a return to familiar ground.
Of the five white-robed figures, four wore masks. Together, they gazed at the pink-haired young woman before them, shorter than any of them, their eyes filled with devotion and respect!
Just half a month earlier... Kakashi, who had been missing for days, had officially returned to the new Konoha at the foot of Kikyo Mountain and assumed the position of Sixth.
After he took office, the former Root members, left leaderless by Danzo's death, all feared for their own safety, afraid they would be called to account for old grievances and past wrongs.
Indeed, in the name of bidding farewell to the old era, Kakashi had proposed a reckoning for Danzo's former subordinates.
But at this critical moment, a girl who had never appeared on Root's radar stepped forward. She asked Hokage Kakashi to let her take over Root's remaining forces and lead them in continuing to serve Konoha.
Utterly absurd... That was what every Root member had thought at the time.
But to their astonishment, Hokage Kakashi readily accepted the girl's request and even appointed her Root's new leader on the spot!
Clearly, Kakashi and the girl had staged this performance together to bring Root back under his control.
Once the Root members realized this, they immediately questioned whether the girl truly had the ability to lead them.
The girl declared then and there that she would accept any challenge.
In the end, apart from three