Shio, cloaked in the Nine-Tails' Version 2 Four-Tails Chakra Cloak, was covered from head to toe in dense, solid Tailed Beast chakra that wrapped around her like an impenetrable suit of armor.
Many Sky Ninja launched counterattacks against her. Senbon launchers unleashed torrents of needles like a relentless storm, blanketing the area so completely that there was nowhere for her to dodge.
This was one of the greatest advantages of ninja tools—they allowed users to stockpile overwhelming firepower in advance.
Even mediocre shinobi could threaten far stronger opponents by relying on weapons like these.
Take the Nara Clan of Konohagakure, for example. Although their Shadow Techniques were exceptional, they lacked powerful offensive ninjutsu, so they often relied on explosive tags to make up for their limited attack options.
But Shio simply didn't care.
The senbon struck the Nine-Tails' chakra, yet instead of piercing through it, their sharpened metal tips melted the instant they made contact with the scorching chakra.
Even the shockwaves and flames from the chakra bombs failed to inflict any meaningful damage.
Tomie stared at Shio in utter disbelief.
She looked like a war goddess.
Is she even human...?
No...
Weren't shinobi supposed to gather intelligence, conceal themselves, exploit the smallest mistake in a complex battle of wits, and decide the outcome with a perfectly executed move at the critical moment?
The Uchiha Clan already fought aggressively enough thanks to the Sharingan...
But Shio didn't dodge.
She didn't evade.
She simply charged straight through everything.
That completely shattered Tomie's understanding of what a traditional shinobi's combat style was supposed to be.
Only then did she truly realize something.
Even though she was an exceptionally gifted member of the Uchiha Clan...
Even though her talent was so extraordinary that she'd even developed a bloodline illness...
She hadn't experienced real combat in years.
Everything she excelled at was still the old-fashioned way of fighting as a shinobi.
Just as Hiruzen and Danzō had said, she possessed neither the extraordinary strengths nor the margin for error that set truly exceptional shinobi apart.
"Am I... really this weak?"
"No wonder... no wonder Seisui has been talking to Shio so often lately... discussing work with her..."
Tomie's face turned deathly pale.
As a member of the Uchiha Clan—an especially stubborn one, at that—she had always carried an unspoken belief deep in her heart, though she rarely voiced it.
The strong deserved everything.
If Shio was stronger than she was...
Then it was only natural that Seisui would rather stay close to Shio.
...
Shio swung the malicious Nine-Tails chakra around her, controlling it with the exquisite precision of Fūinjutsu. She condensed it into deadly chains and merged them with the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
In an instant...
Every Sky Ninja attacking Konoha was wiped out.
The barrier limited their altitude. Unable to gain height quickly enough, they had nowhere to hide from Shio's sensory abilities combined with the explosive power of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
"The Nine-Tails' chakra really is convenient..."
Shio let out a long breath and drew the Tailed Beast chakra back into her body.
At that moment, her skin had turned an unnatural dark crimson from enduring such violent power. Some areas even looked as though they had been corroded.
Yet what was even more bizarre was that her extraordinary vitality and regenerative abilities were healing those injuries at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It was as though the powers of a devil and an angel coexisted within a single person.
Shio manipulated the Adamantine Sealing Chains once more.
This time, however, they were no longer deadly spears.
Instead, they became chains of rescue that carried life force, linking themselves to the wounded shinobi.
"By channeling the Tailed Beast's chakra through my unique physique, I can convert it into life force. I'm still far from proficient, but it's more than enough to treat the villagers."
This time, the chains glowed with a soft emerald-green light.
Shio began healing the injured Uchiha and villagers alike.
After all, Medical Chakra Scrolls had yet to become widespread.
Not everyone had access to one.
Tomie was no exception.
One of Shio's chains gently rested against her as well.
Feeling that familiar life force flow into her body once more, Tomie let out a quiet hum. The emotions in her eyes grew even more complicated.
This was far too complicated...
No matter how she looked at it, the woman before her had saved her life.
Twice.
Yet, at least in Tomie's eyes, the two of them were undeniably rivals.
The problem was...
If Tomie had been the stronger one, she honestly wouldn't have minded sitting down with Shio and trying to settle things peacefully.
But she wasn't.
She was the weaker one.
And the feeling of being inferior to her rival stirred the Uchiha blood flowing through her veins.
Weakness was the original sin.
Weakness was ugly.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Shio turned her head and curiously examined Tomie's twisted expression.
Her Mind's Eye of the Kagura wasn't as overwhelming as Mito's. It couldn't analyze someone's emotions with the precision of a measuring instrument.
But emotions this obvious...
She could sense them perfectly well.
"I saved you, didn't I? Are you okay?"
Shio reached out and gently touched Tomie's forehead, the gesture resembling someone trying to soothe a frightened little animal.
It wasn't something the old Shio would have done.
Or rather...
It wasn't something that most people in the shinobi world would have dared to do.
A three-tomoe Uchiha suffering from a bloodline illness sounded like an extremely dangerous lunatic.
In most people's minds, they weren't much different from an explosive tag that could go off at any moment.
But power could change a person's mindset.
Shio possessed a regenerative body, the Adamantine Sealing Chains, the Mind's Eye of the Kagura, the Nine-Tails' chakra, and Mito's personal training in Fūinjutsu.
At this point, she felt as though she lacked nothing.
All she needed to do was continue training and fully realize her potential.
Even something like love was merely something to think about after peace had been achieved in both the village and the shinobi world. What truly mattered was herself and her work.
To the current Shio, a mere three-tomoe Uchiha wasn't much of a concern.
So what if she lost control?
Just tie her up with the Adamantine Sealing Chains.
"...Yes, you did save me."
Tomie bit her lip unwillingly. A fierce look flashed through her eyes before she suddenly shouted, "You can have him! I lost!"
"What are you talking about?"
Shio stared at Tomie in complete confusion. After thinking for a moment, realization suddenly dawned on her.
"Wait... are you talking about Seisui?"
"What else would I be talking about?" Tomie replied in a low voice.
"He's a person—a human being with his own independent will."
"Not just you or me. Even if he decided to date another man, that would be perfectly normal. This idea of yours that whoever's stronger gets to have him is just... bizarre."
Shio couldn't help laughing.
She was beginning to think those stereotypes about the Uchiha recorded in old texts weren't completely baseless after all.
There really was some truth to them.
She was treating Seisui like some kind of prize to be won.
Tomie froze before instinctively protesting.
"I never thought that!"
"You used to remind me of myself."
"You always fixate on one person or one thing. It's true that Seisui was the one who saved you, but you also need to recognize how much the village's resources contributed."
"It was me, Orochimaru, Hiruko, Tsunade-sama, the generous support of the Aburame Clan, the funding provided by many other shinobi, and the Scientific Research Department's daily accumulation of research data that made the technology to save you possible."
Looking at Tomie, Shio couldn't help thinking back to her former self.
"I used to stubbornly believe that Seisui alone had saved me, while completely overlooking the fact that the village deployed its forces against Kusagakure and crushed those bastards on every front."
Tomie fell silent.
She couldn't deny that.
After her surgery had succeeded, she'd secretly asked Tobirama, Isshin, and the others about it.
She had assumed both the clan and Seisui must have paid an enormous price to cure her, and she'd wanted to find some way to repay them.
Instead, they'd simply told her to live well and work hard.
Helping her had merely been something the village was capable of doing.
And it hadn't been special treatment.
If Konohagakure ever grew to the point of maintaining over a hundred thousand active shinobi, it obviously wouldn't be realistic for people like Tsunade to personally oversee the medical care of every jōnin-level shinobi.
But at the current scale...
It was entirely possible.
Besides, very few illnesses were as troublesome as Tomie's.
Most could be treated at Konoha Hospital.
Medical Chakra Scrolls were like broad-spectrum antibiotics, making countless problems much easier to deal with.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Are you saying I don't love the village? Or that I'm too weak...?"
Tomie slowly clenched her fists.
A surge of anger welled up inside her.
Because Shio had struck directly at the deepest part of her heart.
Lies didn't hurt people.
The truth was the sharpest blade.
As an Uchiha...
As a shinobi...
Allowing anything to hinder the growth of one's own strength was inexcusable.
Especially when someone like Shio stood right before her as such an overwhelming contrast.
"It's not that you don't love the village. The way you protected everyone just now was beautiful."
Shio flashed a grin, revealing her pointed canine teeth.
"But you are a little weak. Don't blame me for being blunt. After giving it some thought, I've decided that 'speaking my mind' is going to be my ninja way."
"Tomie, you need to understand something. Everyone in the village is a comrade, but relationships between individuals still exist in different circles."
"If your strength isn't on the same level, you might not even have anything to talk about."
Shio repeated the words Mito had once told her.
That was precisely why, after marrying Hashirama, Mito had only become even more demanding of herself.
When the person beside you was discussing Sage Mode and the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands...
Even if you couldn't match that level, you couldn't exactly contribute by talking about the Academy Three Techniques, could you?
The gap couldn't be that enormous.
"Not even have anything to talk about...?"
The moment Tomie imagined it, her first instinct was to reject the idea.
But in the very next moment...
A voice deep inside her told her otherwise.
That was the truth.
Seisui had already mastered the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique.
Meanwhile, she was still nothing more than a frail three-tomoe Uchiha.
If this had been the Warring States Era, even Izuna-sama's Mangekyō Sharingan would have been cut down by the Flying Thunder God Slash.
Let alone someone like her, who hadn't even awakened the Mangekyō...
And who knew nothing about the scientific research Seisui loved most.
"You..."
"So... what should I do?"
Tomie had intended to argue a little longer.
Instead, what came out sounded almost like a plea.
"You should become stronger. You're an Uchiha. Then find something you want to do besides Seisui, and develop yourself in every aspect."
"You're Tomie."
"You're a shinobi of Konohagakure."
"And only after that... are you a woman who happens to love Seisui."
Shio recalled Mito's words. Imitating the Uzumaki princess's composed expression and manner of speaking, she delivered those profound words with an air of quiet authority.
Tomie stared blankly at Shio.
Those words left her stunned once again.
Had she really changed that much in just a few months?
Only a few months ago, Shio had been the girl who burst into tears because of Seisui's utter lack of romantic awareness and had slapped him across the face in frustration...
Now she carried herself with all the bearing of a true master.
"All right, I still have things to do. You take care of the cleanup."
Shio withdrew the chains wrapped around Tomie and looked up at the sky.
Within Konoha's barrier, bolt after bolt of lightning-charged ballista arrows tore through both the air and the Sky Ninja with cold, unwavering precision, cutting down the invaders one after another.
There was no doubt about it.
The one responsible had to be the Hokage's shadow, Konoha Council Member Hyūga Hizashi.
"What a terrifying ability..."
After sensing it for only a moment, Shio realized that Hizashi was positioned at the center of the village, firing in every direction.
The area his attacks covered had already far exceeded the normal visual range of any shinobi.
"The village truly is full of remarkable people. Relax for even a moment, and you'll be left behind..."
Shio murmured to herself before heading toward the next battlefield, completely unaware that Tomie was still standing there.
Tomie's eyes settled on the pitch-black Root insignia on Shio's arm.
Her breathing became even more strained.
The new Root was universally acknowledged throughout the village as its elite—the shinobi who commanded the greatest respect.
"No..."
"I can't go on like this..."
For the first time in her life, Tomie felt an overwhelming sense of urgency.
It wasn't just because of Seisui.
It was because the shinobi of her own generation had already crossed to the other side while she remained frozen in place.
If they were talking about seniority...
Shio had only been in Konoha for a few years.
And if they were talking about bloodlines...
The Uzumaki Clan was certainly powerful, but the Uchiha Clan was no less formidable.
"I need to ask Seisui..."
"Is it really true that we have nothing in common anymore? That without strength and scientific research, we have nothing left to talk about? Could it really be true, just like he said... that the one he loves is the village itself?"
The thought took root in her mind.
Despite the chaos inside her head, she didn't remain standing there.
Instead, she threw herself back into her duties.
She did exactly as Shio had instructed—helping with the cleanup, tending to the wounded, and hunting down isolated Sky Ninja.
"Become an independent shinobi... and walk your own ninja way..."
Tomie let out a quiet sigh, her heart filled with both anxiety and anticipation.
It was a strange, twisted feeling.
As though standing before judgment only made her more excited.
As though her very body fed on emotions like these.
What kind of answer... will Seisui give me?
...
Outside the barrier...
Danzō flew just above the ground using his Wind Release Chakra Mode, continuously spewing dense, razor-sharp wind blades and compressed wind bullets from his mouth as he slaughtered the scattered Sky Ninja.
Good boy...
A trace of satisfaction crossed Tobirama's mind.
Now that's how my disciple ought to conduct himself.
Looks like risking my life to cover his retreat back then wasn't for nothing.
"I am the Hokage's Advisor of Konohagakure! Who dares stand against me?!"
Hovering in the air, Danzō drew his Vacuum Blade across an enemy's throat before roaring his declaration.
Tobirama's face immediately darkened.
This is what happens when someone spends too much time lurking in the shadows.
They end up doing things with absolutely no class.
That showmanship is painfully forced...
Orochimaru chuckled.
"If it were you, Sensei, you'd never resort to something so crude."
Tobirama narrowed his eyes as he stared at the flying fortress.
That chakra cannon...
He wanted it.
Its power couldn't compare to a Tailed Beast Bomb, but the underlying principles and mechanical design were immensely valuable.
Unlike Orochimaru and Hiruko, Tobirama wasn't primarily interested in the cannon itself.
What fascinated him was the flying fortress.
What kind of energy source is keeping something like that airborne?
The Sky Ninja actually possess technology on this level?
If Konoha could obtain a similar power source, Tobirama was confident he could raise both the village's industrial output and scientific research capabilities by another significant margin.
The problem was...
He didn't know any techniques suited for anti-air combat.
For someone renowned as the master of forbidden techniques, it was perhaps his only real shortcoming.
After all, he'd spent most of his life researching the Uchiha.
And very few members of that clan could fly.
Tobirama drew one of his Flying Thunder God kunai.
He exchanged a glance with Minato beside him.
Both of them shook their heads.
At the fortress's current altitude, throwing a Flying Thunder God kunai onto it while avoiding interception from the Sky Ninja would be extraordinarily difficult.
Gravity itself formed a natural defensive barrier.
'If all we wanted was to destroy that fortress, it wouldn't be difficult. If Mito or Hiruzen fought without holding back, they'd eventually bring it down.'
Airborne weapons offered countless advantages.
But their defenses were comparatively fragile, since maintaining flight required an extremely delicate balance.
'The real problem is preserving it intact...'
'If we don't attack it, that chakra cannon will keep bombarding the village's barrier.'
'But if we do attack it, we'll have a hard time recovering an intact framework.'
To reverse-engineer something, the more complete the sample, the better.
Tobirama's mind raced through possibility after possibility.
Minato also frowned.
For the current shinobi world, a fully developed aerial force was something almost unheard of.
The Sky Ninja had created an entire military system unlike anything anyone else possessed.
Compared to the other minor hidden villages, they had every reason to be proud of their achievement.
It was just unfortunate for them...
That there was simply no answer to the Rinnegan.
"Minato-kun! Seisui-kun!"
"If you can get those kunai onto that giant thing, you'll have a way to deal with it, right?!"
At that moment, a peculiar man clad in a green skintight suit with Root's jet-black shoulder insignia rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath.
"Now is the time to uphold the Way of Protection..."
"The village is under attack. I'll use the boiling blood of my burning youth to drive back our enemies!"
Might Duy crossed his arms and opened the First Gate.
Then the Second.
Then the Third.
Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed straight through to the Fifth Gate, green chakra blazing around his body like roaring flames.
"Duy, go back and reread the Hokage's instructions!"
Tobirama hurriedly called out, "You're not allowed to use the Gate of Death so casually! The Sixth Gate is more than enough for a situation like this!"
How could someone so straightforward be this extreme too...?
Tobirama actually got along very well with Might Duy.
Or rather, people who were a little simple-minded tended to complement the personality of the original Darkness of the Shinobi.
The two were colleagues in Root and often ate together.
Tobirama would also collect data on Duy's physical condition, trying to compensate for the limitations that poverty during his youth had imposed on his body's potential.
"Why would I use the Gate of Death? What are you talking about, Seisui-kun...?"
"That's my final trump card—the one I'll use to protect the Hokage-sama and the village!"
Duy glanced back at Tobirama. Noticing the Uchiha crest on his shoulder, he nodded thoughtfully.
The look on his face clearly said:
An Uchiha, huh? Well, that explains it.
The corner of Tobirama's mouth twitched.
For a moment, he had the strange feeling that he'd just been mocked by a gorilla.
Still, he wasn't offended.
Duy was practically an "animal friend."
He was simply blunt, without any malice.
Now if Izuna had been the one saying it...
That would've been a completely different story.
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