Kaede Kitahara had no idea what had just gone down in the Hokage's office, but he could tell something was off.
Someone had been inside his room. And it wasn't his mother, Fangko Kitahara. Ever since he became a ninja, she wouldn't casually step into his room anymore. Ninja work meant secrets, and she understood that. His father had been a chunin, so she knew the basic rules.
And even if she had cleaned, she wouldn't have restored everything so carefully.
Some tiny details he'd hidden weren't put back exactly right. That alone proved someone had been there.
"Anbu… that fast." Kaede Kitahara thought to himself.
It wasn't hard to guess who had snooped around. Fortunately, aside from his diary, he didn't have anything incriminating. Let them search.
After all, he really had interacted with something central to the village today: the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails.
He scanned the room again to make sure nothing was left behind. Once satisfied, he headed downstairs for dinner.
Because ninja work was dangerous and he was often sent on missions, Fangko Kitahara always prepared a bigger and more thoughtful meal whenever he was home. It was her way of caring for him.
After eating and washing up, Kaede Kitahara returned to his room and opened his diary for the day.
Ichiraku Ramen is pretty good. If there's one place in all of Konoha that's guaranteed to stay standing no matter what, it's probably Ichiraku. Even if the whole village gets wiped out, everything else collapses, this place will still be fine. After all, it's Otsutsuki Ichiraku. Hahahahaha.
At that same moment, Hatake Kakashi felt the diary updating. He found a safe spot, opened it, and started reading.
Ichiraku Ramen?
He knew the place, but nothing seemed special about it.
Otsutsuki Ichiraku? What kind of title was that?
Kakashi was already used to the strange nicknames that popped up in Kaede Kitahara's diary from time to time.
"Feel the pain, feel it on the next floor, feel the pain, feel it on the second floor, a whole bag of rice is exhausting, a whole bag of rice makes me do laundry, mud all over the mouth, who even gave you a bag of rice, Shinra Tensei."
Kakashi stared at the bizarre, nonsensical string of words.
He felt tired just looking at it. He couldn't understand a thing. Was today's entry another mess of confusion?
Suddenly, a video appeared beneath the text.
Kakashi immediately clicked on it.
The first thing he saw was a pair of feet and an orange-haired figure rising into the sky while a group of masked people watched from below.
"Flying? Light-Weight Rock Technique?" Kakashi frowned. Plenty of ninjutsu could launch someone into the air, but true flight was rare.
Then he looked closer at the watchers. Every one of them wore Anbu gear. Their armor was different from the green tactical vests worn by regular chunin and jonin.
Among them, he recognized two people. One was a purple-haired Anbu who hadn't turned her face his way, but he could guess it was Uzuki Yugao, Gekko Hayate's lover.
The other was unmistakable: a woman in green clothes with golden twin-tails, the kanji for "gamble" on her coat.
One of the Sannin. The Slug Princess, Senju Tsunade.
And the orange-haired man floating in the sky wore a black cloak with red clouds.
"The red-cloud cloak… Itachi's organization." Kakashi muttered.
In the video, Pain kept rising higher and higher, speaking as he ascended.
"Accept pain, understand pain."
"Accept pain, understand pain."
"Those who do not know pain can never understand true peace."
Pain continued floating upward until his silhouette aligned with the sun.
The scene shifted to a close-up of the Rinnegan, its rippling rings swirling like a tide.
"I will never forget Yahiko's suffering. From this moment on, let the world feel pain. Shinra Tensei."
With his final words, he unleashed an overwhelming repulsive force.
In an instant, centered around him, the entire Leaf Village was flattened.
One attack. The whole village erased.
The video was short, but the impact on Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke was immeasurable.
Since its founding, Konoha had never faced a crisis like this. Not during the Second War, not during the Third. No enemy had ever pushed the battle inside the village, let alone wiped it out with a single jutsu.
In the face of such catastrophic force, how many ninja could survive?
Ninja wielded supernatural techniques, but their bodies were barely tougher than regular humans. Being crushed in a pressure wave like that meant certain death.
And there were countless civilians in Konoha. After that attack, would even a hundred people survive?
"This… how is this even possible…"
Sasuke froze completely.
He had never imagined anyone could reach this level of power. Even the Itachi he hated so deeply wasn't capable of something like this.
This strength was far beyond Kage-level.
"Itachi's part of this group too." Sasuke's mind raced.
He remembered the cloak. Itachi had worn it. That shark-faced monster wore it too. They were all in the same group.
Kakashi's expression grew darker by the second. He had already suspected Itachi was involved with a powerful criminal organization. And now he had undeniable proof.
Two known members, both S-rank rogue ninja: Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. Both Kage-level threats.
For such monsters to work together, the leader of this group had to be someone even more terrifying. Someone with enough authority and power to control them.
And now that leader stood before him on the screen.
Spouting cryptic lines about pain and peace.
Then wiping Konoha off the map in one move.
A god among men.
For the first time, Kakashi realized the ninja world might be far deeper and more dangerous than he'd ever imagined.
He remembered Kaede Kitahara's earlier diary entries about world-ending threats. He hadn't taken them seriously before. He had never heard of any ninja capable of mass extinction.
But now… now he had seen it.
Someone who could obliterate a village in a single strike. Give him enough time, and destroying the entire world wasn't impossible at all.
This was Konoha. A fortified military stronghold.
And it was wiped out as easily as stepping on an anthill.
[A/N: Enjoying the story? You can read more chapters early and support me here:patreon.com/Aeroscissors]