For many reasons, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, once again assumed full control of the village—a decision that, at this moment in time, was undoubtedly the best outcome for Konoha.
Being incredibly familiar with Hokage affairs, Hiruzen quickly drew up a comprehensive reconstruction plan for the village. He personally revised the defensive layout, anticipating everything from enemy invasions to the reemergence of Tailed Beasts.
Under his leadership, the people of Konoha—both ninja and civilian—threw themselves into rebuilding. For most, it was unfamiliar work.
The villagers had long grown used to the peace and security Konoha provided. Even during the Shinobi World Wars, the fighting had rarely touched the village itself.
But despite their inexperience, progress was swift thanks to shinobi support. Still, Hiruzen found himself working late into the night, every night—overwhelmed by the sheer volume of crises that demanded his attention.
Among them, one issue stood above all:
What to do about the Fourth Hokage's son.
After careful discussion among Konoha's leadership, and taking into account the village's devastated condition, Hiruzen made a difficult decision—Naruto's heritage would be kept secret.
He would not be known as the son of Minato Namikaze. He would take his mother's surname instead and be raised as Uzumaki Naruto.
Likewise, Naruto's identity as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki was also kept a secret.
Konoha was too fractured, too vulnerable to protect someone of such significance. The boy was both a political target and a military asset. Revealing who he was would put him in constant danger—from assassins, spies, and worse.
It was better to raise him anonymously than to let him become a lightning rod for conflict.
More than that, the villagers—traumatized by the Nine-Tails' rampage—had channeled their grief and rage into hatred for the beast itself. If they discovered that the demon fox had been sealed into a child in their midst…
Naruto's life would be nothing short of hell.
So Hiruzen made the call:
Everything would be buried.
"Foolish Hiruzen… has that nightmarish battle taught him nothing?!"
Far beneath the surface, in the shadows of Konoha's Root division, Danzō Shimura stood in silence, his cane striking the stone floor with a sharp crack.
His face was unreadable—but his eyes burned with contempt.
The clash between the Shinigami had shaken even him. That level of power… it was beyond anything Konoha could currently withstand.
And now, with Minato dead, and the village's elite in ruins, Konoha was standing on shaky ground.
And Hiruzen wanted to hide the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki?!
It was madness.
In Danzō's mind, the jinchūriki should've been seized by Root, subjected to strict control, and trained for over a decade—molded into the ultimate weapon and shield for the village.
But the moment he voiced that opinion, Hiruzen had shot it down without hesitation.
Danzō still remembered the words—cold, firm, and final:
"Danzō… I am the Hokage."
It was the first time in two years he'd heard that tone.
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen…"
He gripped his cane tightly, eyes narrowing.
"If Konoha is to survive in a world of monsters like those… we need weapons. Strong ones."
"Greenhouse flowers can't survive in a storm. Only by weathering wind and rain can they grow into towering trees."
He turned, calling out.
"Someone!"
"Yes, Lord Danzō."
A Root operative appeared, kneeling.
"Spread the news throughout Konoha that Uzumaki Naruto is the incarnation of the Nine-Tails Demon Fox..."
"Yes, Lord Danzō."
...
The Nine-Tails' rampage had brought unimaginable devastation. The destruction far surpassed what had occurred in the original timeline.
Even with Hiruzen's best efforts to suppress the truth, news of the disaster spread like wildfire across the Shinobi World.
The world trembled.
Just days earlier, attention had been focused on international collaborations—megaprojects between Konoha, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure, all centered in the Land of Iron.
Now?
The headlines read:
Konoha attacked. The Fourth Hokage is dead. The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki has changed.
Whispers turned into waves. Every hidden village and border nation began watching closely.
It was Year 51 of the Konoha Calendar. The Third Shinobi World War had ended barely a year ago.
But that war had ended abruptly, with too many questions unresolved.
The grudge between Konoha and Iwagakure, for instance, had never been settled. Hiruzen's use of the Box of Ultimate Bliss had only deepened the Stone Village's hatred.
Now, seeing Konoha wounded and bleeding, Ōnoki was practically giddy with glee.
Unfortunately, the damage that box had inflicted on Iwagakure was so severe that, despite their hatred, they simply lacked the manpower to retaliate.
But Kumogakure—Hidden Cloud—was another matter.
Their forces had withdrawn early during the Third War. They'd preserved nearly their entire military strength, not out of cowardice, but pragmatism. They believed a full clash with Konoha would only weaken both sides, benefiting others.
Now, with Konoha weakened and the Fourth Hokage gone, Hidden Cloud was ecstatic.
To them, the reason Konoha had prevailed in the war's early stages was clear:
Minato Namikaze—the Yellow Flash.
He alone had suppressed both the Eighth-Tails' jinchūriki and the Fourth Raikage, turning the tide at every front.
But now, Minato was gone.
The Nine-Tails had a new host.
Konoha was exhausted.
This was their moment.
With a wave of his hand, the Fourth Raikage mobilized his forces.
He appointed Dodai as field commander, deployed Killer B, the perfect jinchūriki of the Eighth-Tails, and Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki.
They gathered 3,000 elite shinobi and quietly slipped through the Land of Hot Water, heading for the Land of Fire.
Konoha, though devastated, had not lowered its guard entirely. Border patrols remained in place.
But the disparity in power was massive.
Even though Konoha detected the incursion early and mounted a resistance, their defensive lines collapsed almost instantly.
They simply had no one left—no heavy-hitters to hold the line.
While Hidden Cloud had suffered losses during the Third War, their core forces—except for the legendary Third Raikage—remained intact.
Led by Killer B, Hidden Cloud surged forward.
Konoha fell back, desperately buying time and sending pleas for help to the homeland.
War had returned to the Land of Fire.
And across the world, every major power watched with bated breath—some to spectate, others to scheme, waiting for their chance to profit from the chaos.
"If this keeps up… the Fourth Great Shinobi War could erupt at any moment."
In the Hidden Mist Village, atop Kirisumi Island, two figures stood silently on a jagged cliffside, overlooking a field of writhing, monstrous Hollows devouring each other in the glow of the setting sun.
Behind him, Uchiha Shisui spoke coldly:
"This doesn't align with the three-nation alliance we planned."
The man before him—Yuki Yoru—did not reply at once.
"You know, Shisui… our real partners aren't the Hidden Sand. It's every nation along the east-west corridor. The entire shinobi world."
Down below, a masked humanoid Hollow emerged victorious—having devoured all rivals. It let out a triumphant roar toward the sky.
Yoru's face was unreadable.
"Konoha's survival isn't what matters. What matters is shifting the way this world thinks."
Fueled by energy from the Ryūmyaku, their Hueco Mundo cultivation project had progressed astonishingly.
There were now several Adjuchas, dozens of Gillian-class Hollows, and over a thousand lesser ones under their command.
The only regrettable thing was that the souls collected from various parts of the Shinobi World were now somewhat insufficient.
"Actually, it's quite good for Konoha and the Hidden Cloud to go to war. Leaving aside other things, at least Hueco Mundo will have more nourishment."
Shisui growled.
"But you promised Minato. You made a pact. Konoha is a better partner than that barbaric mess Hidden Cloud."
Yoru's voice was calm.
"Still sentimental about Konoha, are you?"
Shisui clenched his fists.
"…Do you really have to be this ruthless?"
Yoru turned to face him. Behind his calm gaze, power stirred like a deep ocean.
"Ruthless? No. If I'd been ruthless, Konoha would've vanished during the Third War."
He studied Shisui's face—his Rinnegan glowing faintly.
"I've been lenient enough, Shisui... How about this? You know everything I'm doing now is to better face those extraterrestrial visitors in the future. Can you tell me, what are the true factors that can drive all of this, that can drive the development of the Shinobi World?"
Shisui's voice rose, angry and desperate:
"I don't understand what you mean, but war is absolutely not what we want!"
Shisui froze for a moment, then roared:
"War forces nations into arms races. It deepens hatred. It divides. We'll never unify the shinobi world that way."
"You said it yourself—peace, trade, cooperation. That's the path to unity. That's the only way we can prepare for what's coming!"
He stared Yoru down.
"Besides… the other two in Soul Society—they wouldn't want Konoha destroyed either."
Yoru nodded thoughtfully.
"True."
A beat passed.
"But if I forbid you from helping Konoha against Hidden Cloud—what then?"
"..."
Shisui fell silent.
He knew what he would do.
But Yoru's reaction?
Impossible to predict.
The difference between them was no longer just skill.
It was dimensional.
Yoru suddenly chuckled.
"Relax. I was joking."
"I told you, I won't micromanage you. You—or the other two—can go help Konoha. But there's one condition."
Shisui perked up.
"Name it."
Yoru pointed to the Hollow below—still howling at the sky.
"I want you to use your power… to devour that thing."
"Wh-what?!"
...
Meanwhile, on the Moon.
Inside a shrine housing the Giant Tenseigan, a faint glow flashed across the massive eye.
A nearby shrine puppet, bathed in its glow, suddenly dropped its broom and bolted down the corridor, violating every protocol and tradition etched into its programming.
It burst into a grand hall and collapsed in a deep bow before the figure on the throne.
"M-Master!"
"Hm, has Toneri awakened?" A handsome middle-aged man in a pure white magatama robe, eyes closed, leaned back on the throne and spoke calmly.
"No, no."
The puppet was trembling with fear, sweating profusely as it said: "It's, it's the Giant Tenseigan in the shrine, it's behaving abnormally..."
"What?!"
The middle-aged man suddenly opened his eyes. His pure white eyes were extremely similar to the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan, but these eyes appeared even cleaner and clearer.
The next moment, he instantly vanished from the throne, quickly rushing towards the shrine where the Giant Tenseigan was enshrined.
The Giant Tenseigan... this treasure on the Moon, formed from the combined Byakugan of all the Ōtsutsuki branch family members, was the most important treasure of the entire Ōtsutsuki clan. No accidents could possibly be allowed to befall it!
Having rushed to the shrine where the Giant Tenseigan was enshrined, the middle-aged man's eyes narrowed as he watched the Giant Tenseigan continuously emitting a faint glow. He quickly performed several hand seals, then placed one hand on the Giant Tenseigan.
The next moment, an inexplicable power overflowed from the Giant Tenseigan. Then, a vision immediately appeared in his mind.
He saw Hōzuki Gengetsu clashing with a Shinigami. Felt the shockwaves of their spiritual power.
But then—something else.
Something far more terrifying.
"Wait—this power…"
He staggered.
A divine strike. A descending force of annihilation—too vast, too ancient.
His voice dropped to a whisper:
"That's… the Great Ancestor's power…"
The middle-aged man's hand slowly withdrew from the Giant Tenseigan, but his expression had grown deeply conflicted.
His name was Ōtsutsuki Konohito—a descendant of the Moon's Ōtsutsuki Branch Family.
The Ōtsutsuki of the Moon were direct heirs of Ōtsutsuki Hamura, younger brother to the Sage of Six Paths. For generations, they had upheld a sacred duty: to guard the husk of the Ten-Tails, the Gedō Mazō, sealed far from the Earth.
But after Hamura's death, the clan had split.
One faction—the Main Family—believed in coexistence with the world their ancestor had helped build. The Branch Family, however, saw a world plagued by unending war and believed that Hagoromo's creation had failed. In their eyes, it needed to be wiped clean.
This ideological rift sparked a long-standing enmity between the two families. Though both sides had restrained themselves for centuries, hatred festers in silence.
Eventually, war broke out.
The Branch Family emerged victorious. They pooled their Byakugan, forming the Giant Tenseigan, and used it to utterly annihilate the Main Family—those who still clung to peace.
But their triumph came at a terrible cost. The battle had decimated their numbers. In the end, only a few members of the Branch Family remained.
In recent years, with the passing of several elders, only he and his son Toneri were left on the Moon.
This situation made Ōtsutsuki Konohito himself doubt whether his ideals, and everything the Branch Family had done, were truly correct.
But now...
"Great Ancestor... do you also believe that the world you created is full of sin and needs to be cleansed?!"
Ōtsutsuki Konohito murmured, his mind stirred. The Giant Tenseigan before him seemed to be responding to his words, its light shining even brighter.
"I understand..."
"I won't let you down!"