The earth-shaking battle inside the Forest of Death had been far too terrifying.
Countless eyes witnessed the forest that sprouted from the ground, the towering Wooden Golem, and Shukaku, the One-Tail, that was forcibly knocked back to its original form.
The news spread like ripples on a pond, racing outward from Konoha Village in every direction across the Ninja World.
Spies from every nation hidden in Konoha—regardless of rank—passed the intel along by their own channels the very instant it broke.
Konoha had produced a twelve-year-old monster who awakened Wood Release and single-handedly suppressed Shukaku, the One-Tail—Tejima Shinichi!
That name, together with the shudder-inducing feat, swept through the entire Ninja World…
....
Land of Wind, Sunagakure.
Inside the Kazekage's office, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, clutched a freshly decoded emergency scroll, his face dark.
Every character on the scroll grated on him.
"Wood Release… suppressing the full Shukaku… even the False Sleep Technique was broken by force…"
Rasa read the report again and again before finally setting it down.
Feeling he'd sat too long, he rose, walked to the window, and gazed out at the lonely village shrouded in sand and wind.
Yellow sand filled the sky, mirroring the turmoil inside him.
Gaara—his ultimate-weapon and son—had actually lost, even after bringing out the full Tailed Beast and using the False Sleep Technique to free Shukaku completely?
Lost to a Konoha Genin of the same age?
How was that possible?!
Who in the world was this Konoha Ninja called Tejima Shinichi?
Wood Release—the power of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama—was it truly this terrifying!?
A chill crept up Rasa's spine.
If the intel was true, Konoha would see explosive growth in the coming years.
A Kage-level powerhouse wielding true Wood Release carried strategic weight beyond ordinary imagination—
"With Wood Release like that, the Jinchuriki of the other four villages will lose their edge against Konoha…"
At that moment, the forbidden yet tempting Konoha Crush plan proposed not long ago by the Konoha rogue Orochimaru flashed uncontrollably through his mind!!!
Originally, for the future of Sunagakure, to escape dependence on the daimyo and the village's financial straits, he had been leaning toward joining Orochimaru in a desperate gamble.
But now… Rasa's fists clenched unconsciously.
With such a monstrous genius in Konoha, was the village really "strong in appearance but weak within," as Orochimaru claimed, and easily crushed?
The very existence of Tejima Shinichi was a variable outside the plan!
Should he still proceed?
For a moment, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, stared at the endless sands outside the window, hesitation and struggle filling his heart…
Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
Inside the Tsuchikage's office, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, hovered in mid-air, an intel report in his hand.
Before him stood his son, the burly Kitsuchi… and his still young but already gifted granddaughter Kurotsuchi.
"Confirmed, old man?" Kitsuchi asked in a deep voice, his thick brows knit tight.
Ōnoki slowly lowered the scroll, shock and gravity written across his face.
After all, he had lived through the era known as the "God of Shinobi"!
He had truly seen Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama in the flesh.
No one alive knew better how the entire Ninja World had once lived under those two men's shadow—how fragile the balance of the Five Great Nations became before absolute power!!!
—The might that altered terrain in an instant, suppressed Tailed Beasts, and ended the warring-states chaos… now surfacing in a twelve-year-old boy, already showing the budding strength the First Hokage had shown in his youth… How could he not be shaken? How could he not feel deep anxiety for Iwagakure's future?
"Confirmed. Details may vary, but the core facts are solid: Tejima Shinichi, twelve years old, the Third Hokage's disciple, wields true Wood Release and, before countless witnesses, defeated the rampaging Shukaku."
Even prepared, Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi gasped at the Tsuchikage's words.
"Twelve… defeating a Tailed Beast…" Kurotsuchi murmured. She prided herself on talent, yet compared with this she was a firefly beside the full moon.
But then, blinking wide eyes, she asked, "That Wood Release… is it like Grandpa's Dust Release—one of the legendary kekkei tōta?"
"I don't know…" Ōnoki shook his head, voice complex. "But its symbolic meaning and practical power are, in some ways, even more feared than kekkei tōta…"
He paused, gaze sweeping his son and granddaughter, and finally sighed.
"Never thought the First Hokage's power would reappear in an era like this. Konoha's luck… leaves one speechless."
Kitsuchi spoke in his deep, muffled voice, regretful: "If only Deidara were still in the village… with his talent and Explosion Release, maybe…"
Ōnoki waved a hand, cutting his son off, weariness showing on his face.
"That brat Deidara only has eyes for his so-called 'art'; his heart isn't in the village… Forget him."
He fell silent in that moment, gaze growing distant, laden with worry.
"Originally we Iwagakure had two Jinchuriki—the Four-Tails and the Five-Tails—enough high-end force to rival any village. Alas, that stubborn Roshi left the village over political differences!"
Now a monster heir had appeared in Konoha, while Iwagakure's younger generation—though possessing fine seedlings like Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi—seemed lacking in both strength and deterrent compared with the boy named Tejima Shinichi.
Ōnoki slowly lowered himself back into his seat and rubbed his aging lower back.
"It seems the structure of the Ninja World will soon change!"
"Kitsuchi, Kurotsuchi, the village's future will rest on your shoulders after all. You must be more cautious—and work harder."
Kitsuchi nodded heavily.
Kurotsuchi, too, set aside her usual playfulness, her small face dead serious.
Silence filled the office, only the wind outside Iwagakure howling…