Konoha, Hokage's Office. Smoke curled heavily in the air.
Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the encrypted scroll just delivered by the ANBU. His pipe remained motionless between his fingers for a long time.
His brow was furrowed tight, skepticism clouding his face regarding the authenticity of the intel in his hand.
Several letters from different channels were spread out on the desk, clearly linking the timeline of the recent upheavals in the Hidden Mist Village.
"This intelligence... has it been verified?" he asked in a deep voice, his tone unconsciously heavy.
"It has been cross-referenced with several independent sources. We can confirm it is accurate," an ANBU ninja kneeling on one knee responded respectfully.
Across the desk, Tsunade, who had been summoned on short notice, stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the window. Her face also wore a look of shock and uncertainty.
"So you're saying... the Kaguya clan launched an armed coup on the Mizukage building, was suppressed by the Third Mizukage's trap, and the Clan Head died in battle." She sorted through the information, her tone filled with disbelief.
"And then, just a few days later, led by their new Clan Head, they launched a suicidal raid on the Yuki clan territory? And even more ridiculously, they succeeded?"
She paused, her voice tinged with a sense of absurdity. "In just a few short days, the Mist's two most powerful bloodline clans... nearly wiped each other out through internal conflict?"
Just as the two were reeling from the shock of these reports, trying to untangle the threads behind them...
Knock, knock.
The office door was rapped, and a communications ninja walked in briskly, presenting the latest update.
Hiruzen took it immediately, scanning it quickly. As he read, his expression shifted again.
He handed the scroll to Tsunade, his voice sounding a bit distant. "See for yourself."
Tsunade took it, puzzled. Her eyes swept over the scroll, and her pupils constricted instantly.
The latest intel indicated that amidst the chaos in the Mist, an unidentified mysterious figure had secretly infiltrated the Mizukage building and released the sealed Three-Tails Isobu.
The specific outcome was unknown, but the Three-Tails breaking its seal and going berserk was an event too massive to cover up.
The office fell into a long, dead silence once again.
By tacit agreement, neither mentioned that name. After all, neither of them could believe that the blond boy they knew could be the figure stirring up such a storm in the Mist.
"Perhaps... our earlier guess was wrong. Maybe there are other factions within the Mist. That fake explosive tag... might truly have been just a warning," Hiruzen said, trying to find a more reasonable explanation.
Tsunade remained silent, not refuting him. But a thought in her heart grew like wildfire.
If it was him... maybe... he really could create such a 'miracle'?
---
Several days later, Eastern Border of the Land of Fire.
A Konoha patrol squad watched alertly as a group suddenly appeared at the border crossing.
Leading them was a calm-faced, blond-haired young man wearing a standard Konoha uniform.
Behind him followed five men and women in tattered clothes. They looked bewildered and weak, but all possessed striking red hair. They were slowly walking into Fire Country territory.
"Halt! Who goes there? Identify yourselves!"
The squad leader shouted warily, his hand already resting on the hilt of his tantō behind his back.
Night Namikaze stopped. He calmly presented his Konoha ninja ID. "Konoha Chunin, Night Namikaze. Returning from a mission. These five are remnants of the Uzumaki clan I rescued along the way."
"Uzumaki clan?"
The patrol squad exchanged looks. That clan was practically history; seeing several of them appear at once was extremely rare.
They carefully checked his ID. Confirming it was genuine, they looked at the five red-haired people again.
The five were frail, but their eyes were clear. They looked at their surroundings with lingering fear. Combined with that unmistakable red hair, their identity as Uzumaki remnants was basically confirmed.
One had to admire the Uzumaki constitution. These five had been chosen by the Mist as test subjects, meaning their bloodline purity was quite high.
Night hadn't given them special care on the journey, just basic treatment and food, yet they were already out of danger and showing amazing recovery speeds.
Following protocol, the patrol squad separated them for questioning. The answers were consistent:
All five claimed they were captured by Mist ninjas, imprisoned for a long time, subjected to inhumane experiments, and witnessed the deaths of many clansmen. They were rescued while unconscious and didn't know the specific details of their escape.
Since there were no obvious holes in their identities or stories, the patrol followed procedure. They sent a messenger on a fast horse to report this unexpected situation to the village.
Meanwhile, they assigned personnel to escort Night and the group of six back to Konoha.
On the way back, Night finally relaxed a little.
Splitting his focus, he traveled while sinking his mind into the System to try out the newly unlocked [Targeted Tracing] function.
He happened to have a sample he could trace: the container of Senju bloodline flesh he had obtained from the ROOT base.
> [Ding! Detected host possesses partial Senju bloodline sample. Quantity severely insufficient.]
> [Targeted Tracing Goal: Senju Bloodline (Sage Body)]
> [Estimated Cost: 15,000 Points.]
> [Pay points to perform targeted tracing and complete the bloodline map?]
Looking at the five-figure point requirement, Night's eyelid twitched.
As expected, with such a small sample, even emptying his entire point inventory wouldn't be enough.
"No matter. At least there's another path now. Otherwise, I'd really have to make my future brother-in-law suffer a bit..."
Night shook his head slightly, suppressing that somewhat "dangerous" thought.
Due to the Uzumaki group slowing them down, the journey was inevitably slow. After days of layered verification and reporting, Night and his party of six finally arrived at the main gate of Konoha.
The news had reached the village two days prior. When Night walked into the village leading five iconic red-heads, he instantly attracted countless curious gazes.
Chunin Night Namikaze, who had been missing for a long time and presumed dead, had not only returned alive but brought back remnants of the Uzumaki clan.
The news spread before it could even be suppressed, causing a massive uproar among Konoha's high command and the major ninja clans.
The high command was more concerned about how he had returned safely from the earth-shattering chaos in the Mist—especially a certain "Darkness of Konoha," who was grinding his teeth so hard they might crack.
The major clans, however, were wary. They worried whether these sudden Uzumaki remnants would disrupt the village's existing interest structure and dilute their share of resources and power.
Night ignored the probing looks. He calmly led the five Uzumaki members toward the Hokage Tower.
He had already prepared a draft for the upcoming interrogation by the Hokage.
He wouldn't spill everything, but he had answers ready for the inevitable questions.
However, his inner state was far less calm than his surface appearance.
His eyes involuntarily searched the crowd for a familiar figure. A rare sense of nervousness, one he hadn't even noticed, rose in his heart.
Finally, in front of the familiar Hokage Tower, he saw that gallant figure with golden hair fluttering in the wind.
He, who had maintained absolute cool even under the heavy siege of the Mist Village, felt his composure crack. He was getting nervous.