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Chapter 75N
🕑 Added 2025-06-29 15:03:01 +0000 UTCChapter 75N
Konoha’s long-dormant war machine had once again been awakened. After being infused with enough fuel, it roared back to life at full throttle. The invisible smokestack spewed dark clouds that blanketed the sun, casting a shadow named “war” over people’s hearts.
Yet the prosperity of Konoha did not dim because of this.
Its people were already accustomed to life and death. The long recorded history showed that war was the true constant of this world; peace was merely a luxury to be enjoyed occasionally.
In fact,
The looming threat of war had instead sparked a boom in industries tied to arms production, medicine, and logistics. Manufacturers and merchants flush with village contracts could hardly contain their joy. Some unscrupulous ones were even secretly praying for the war to last as long as possible.
Yes, the war hadn’t broken out officially yet.
The envoys from Kirigakure had already been expelled. Konoha had no clear confirmation whether Kirigakure had received their messages. However, reports from the eastern coastal defense forces indicated that they had not encountered the expected violent assault from the Hidden Mist.
Even now, there was no trace of them, leaving many uncertain about Kirigakure’s intentions.
Still, Konoha welcomed the extra preparation time. The mustering and reorganization of forces still required a little more time. As the supreme commander, Rēn also had personal matters to handle and wasn’t in a rush to head to the front lines. He wasn’t willing to leave until everything on the home front had been properly arranged.
“What… should I do?”
Rēn muttered as he cupped his chin in thought, staring at the man lying before him—Biwa Jūzō, fully healed but still trapped in a genjutsu, unresponsive. For nearly three days, this had plagued Rēn. He could be called to the battlefield at any moment.
There was no time left for further prep.
He had to take the risk.
“Shisui, I’m counting on you.”
Rēn turned to the person standing beside him—Uchiha Shisui.
Compared to two months ago, Shisui had changed drastically.
He had grown thinner.
His frail figure looked as though it might collapse in the wind. Beneath his long lashes, his eyes held unresolved pain and deep disappointment. His presence was icy cold, devoid of the vitality he once radiated.
After Hiruzen Sarutobi had fallen,
Shimura Danzō—still bedridden and powerless—was also taken down. All the darkness he had hidden was exposed, one after another. In order to help his idealistic friend face reality, Rēn had brought him to the prison where Danzō was held alongside the others.
He had forced Shisui to personally search Danzō’s memories.
As the wielder of Kotoamatsukami, no fabricated memory could deceive his eyes. What Shisui saw was the vilest depths of this world. As the saying goes, you can misname someone, but not mislabel them.
The title “The Shadow of Konoha” was well-earned.
Since then,
Shisui had become a different person.
His naivety had been utterly shattered.
It turned out the battlefield wasn’t the cruelest part of this world. In the hidden dark, there were still deeper hells where human morals and conscience were trampled.
“Leave it to me.”
Shisui gave a silent nod and stepped forward. He pulled open Jūzō’s eyelids, and the tomoe in his eyes twisted and merged. The power of Kotoamatsukami flowed into Jūzō’s mind. Within seconds, he had altered Jūzō’s memories exactly as Rēn had requested—quick and practiced.
Blood slid from his eyes.
That was the price.
Though both wielded Mangekyō Sharingan, Rēn could still use his dōjutsu many more times before blindness set in. Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami, however, had a painfully long cooldown period. If he did not want to burn out his eyes quickly, he’d have no choice but to overuse Samehada.
“Sit and rest. Samehada is on the table.”
Rēn patted Shisui’s shoulder.
Shisui retreated and looked at the Samehada resting on the table. He reached out and gripped its hilt. A wave of warmth coursed into his body, flowing directly into his eyes, restoring the damaged tissue and replenishing lost chakra.
He sat in the chair, quietly watching as Rēn, just like him moments ago, peeled back Jūzō’s eyelids.
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.
Inside one of Konoha’s long-established ninja tool shops:
“No more explosive tags?”
White-haired, masked Hatake Kakashi scratched his head in frustration and sighed lightly. He turned to leave. Outside, the dazzling sunlight made him instinctively squint his right eye as he adjusted to the blinding brightness.
It was already June.
The blazing sun in the sky radiated intense heat. The pavement was scorching, and the incessant cicadas buzzed like crashing waves. In such weather, it felt like one’s brain was boiling.
“So hot…”
Kakashi shaded his eyes with his hand.
He stood under the shop’s awning, unmoving.
“…I was only gone on a mission for half a month. I come back and the Third’s been impeached, a Fifth Acting Hokage is in power… Feels like I’ve missed a whole year.”
“You’ll get used to it soon enough.”
“By the way, I heard Shimura Danzō was sentenced to death. Is that true?”
“Yeah, though the execution date hasn’t been decided yet.”
“So it’s true… What was he charged with? What the hell did Danzō do?”
“Oh, plenty. Ever heard of the White Fang of Konoha? Supposedly Danzō drove him to suicide with rumors. He also conspired with the rogue Orochimaru to kidnap babies from nearby villages for human experiments. During the Nine-Tail’s rampage, he let the Fourth Hokage fight alone, hoping he’d die so he could take over as Hokage. And he spread false rumors about the Uchiha, trying to steal their Sharingan…”
"Wait Sakumo Hatake killed himself over something like that?
"......I hope you never get married. Idiot."
Two young Chūnin passed by, their voices fading with distance.
Kakashi stood dazed at the shop’s entrance, head down, his darkened right eye fixed on the boundary where light met shadow—motionless like a scarecrow.
“Yo! Kakashi!!!”
A voice, the very embodiment of “enthusiasm,” exploded in his ears like a cannon blast.
Next,
A shadow fell from above.
A man in a green jumpsuit with a bowl-cut landed before him. His dazzling smile sparkled like the morning sun, his perfect white teeth almost painful to look at.
“…Guy?”
Kakashi blinked for a moment before recognizing who it was.
“Kakashi, are you okay?”
Might Guy’s thick, rigid eyebrows twitched. His smile faded, and his intent to challenge Kakashi to a duel vanished instantly. Something was off.
Sure, Kakashi was always a bit odd, but today was worse than usual.
“It’s nothing. Just hiding from the sun—it’s way too hot today.” His mask concealed any change in expression. His downcast eyes avoided contact, making it impossible to read him. Only someone like Guy, with animal-like intuition, could sense that something was wrong.
“You sure you’re okay?”
Guy wasn’t convinced.
“If we’re going to spar, let’s do it another time. I’ve got… things to take care of today.” Kakashi took his leave, walking slowly along the shady edge of the road. Guy stood in the sunlight, watching his friend’s retreating figure.
For some reason, a sense of unease crept over him.
