Konoha was deep in the dead of night.
The faint remaining moonlight was obscured by clouds, and nearly all lights had been extinguished, leaving only a single lamp shining brilliantly in the darkness.
Leaves of the parasol tree rustled in the night wind.
A Root ninja codenamed Owl concealed himself within a tree, watching the lit window in the distance.
Through the slats of the study's blinds, he could see the boy called Hyūga Kumokawa bent over a desk, writing.
The surface of the diary reflected the warm glow of the desk lamp.
According to intelligence, the target had maintained this diary-writing habit for many years.
"Meow."
A faint cat's meow mixed with the chirping of insects reached his ears. Owl frowned warily, turning to look for the source. He saw two dark figures moving rhythmically, one on top of the other—two cats meowing with vigorous enthusiasm.
"..."
Owl silently averted his gaze, inwardly complaining that he must be going crazy for being so on edge. The target was just a child.
Even as he thought this, his mind involuntarily recalled "Kamaitachi" and his miserable state after losing an arm. A chill ran down his spine.
Never underestimate anyone. He had no desire to end up like that.
Just then, he saw Kumokawa suddenly stop writing, glance up at the clock, rub his reddened eyes, slot the pen into the diary's leather clasp, and stand up to leave the study.
Click.
With the soft sound of the bedroom door closing, the light went out, plunging the entire residence into darkness.
Owl remained motionless, silently hidden among the trees.
Only when he heard the distinct sound of snoring carry from the distance did he finally lower his hands, which had been ready to form seals for a sensory jutsu.
Like a leaf falling in the wind, he silently Body Flickered to the window.
The open window made a faint sound as Owl slipped noiselessly into the study.
He first stored the diary into a scroll, then began searching the study soundlessly.
Unlike "Kamaitachi," he wasn't here to assassinate Kumokawa. Finding nothing particularly unusual in the study, he decided to take only the diary.
After returning everything to its original state, just as he was about to leap out the window—
"Who's there?!"
A loud shout suddenly rang in his ears. Owl's pupils constricted instantly.
The next moment, before he could even react, a sharp whistling sound, like a shrieking demon in the wind, came from behind.
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter Technique."
Ssshh!
Owl barely managed to dodge to the side with all his strength. A crescent moon-shaped wind blade swept past him. Blood droplets splattered against the wall, leaving an irregular semi-circle as a line of blood gradually expanded along his arm.
Splurt!
Blood gushed out as if breaching a dam. His arm slid clean off from the shoulder and thudded to the floor.
Owl grunted, his body trembling slightly. Not bothering to retrieve the severed limb, he hurriedly leaped out the window.
But he didn't see what happened after he left.
In the distance, the black cat, which had been moving atop a calico cat, paused its actions.
Its white eye looked in the direction Owl had fled before it extended a paw and smacked away the foolish companion trying to nuzzle closer.
"If you want to take something, you have to leave something behind," the cat seemed to say.
Inside the bedroom, Hyūga Kumokawa lowered his hands from their seal-forming position, a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his face as he quietly waited for the system's prompt.
Meanwhile, clutching his stump, "Owl" quickly arrived at a cliff face. Activating a hidden mechanism, he stepped into a dense, heavy shadow.
As he descended deeper underground, moisture and moss gradually covered the dark corners, enveloping him in a humid atmosphere. Yet, instead of feeling suffocated, he felt a sense of security, like returning home.
"That guy's strength is indeed not simple. No wonder Kamaitachi failed against him," Owl thought, looking at the blood gushing from his severed arm, a mix of fear and shock gripping him.
Within the vast, enclosed underground space, the lighting was surprisingly bright, almost like daylight.
There was even a laboratory with a large observation window, where figures in white lab coats and masks busied themselves.
Rows of glass refrigerators displayed various specimens, numerous unnameable reagents, and petri dishes containing cell tissues.
Nearby were glass containers filled with transparent green liquid, preserving strange plant specimens, along with parts of animal bodies—eyeballs, kidneys, and other bloody organs.
On the other side of the observation window, Shimura Danzo stood expressionlessly. His narrow left eye held only profound darkness as he stared fixedly at the busy figures before him.
No, to be precise, he was staring at the object on the experimental table.
It was a thumb-sized piece of white flesh—cell tissue from the "First Hokage."
But soon, one of the researchers turned around and shook his head slightly at the man.
Seeing this, Danzo's face darkened. He raised a hand to touch his bandaged arm.
"A bunch of useless fools. Without Orochimaru, can you accomplish nothing?" he growled, feeling the increasingly aggressive erosion of the Hashirama Cells.
Danzo's arm had been severely injured in a past battle. So, in the eyes of others, including Hiruzen Sarutobi, his usually slung arm was a remnant of that injury. They didn't know this arm was no longer his own.
Even Danzo himself didn't know the origin of this arm. That bastard Orochimaru had remained tight-lipped, only saying it was a byproduct of his Wood Release cultivation experiments.
Hungry for power, Danzo naturally chose to transplant it, using up his entire stock of Sharingan. But what he never expected was that the Hashirama Cells' erosive properties far exceeded his predictions.
In just a few years, the cells had gradually eroded the arm. And to this day, they still couldn't figure out how Orochimaru had managed to make this arm bear the Hashirama Cells.
No one could replicate it. They only discovered that the Sharingan could suppress the erosion.
But if this continued, the Sharingan he currently possessed wouldn't be enough to suppress the Hashirama Cells anymore.
"Dammit!" Danzo cursed inwardly. "If 'Tenzo' hadn't been taken by Hiruzen, perhaps I could have had him seize that Sharingan from Hatake Kakashi."
As he pondered where to obtain more Sharingan,
The masked Owl appeared at his side, holding out the scroll. Half-kneeling beside Danzo, his voice trembled. "Lord Danzo."
Smelling the strong scent of blood, Danzo's expression stiffened. He frowned, looking at Owl's arm.
"Another arm injury?"
Danzo's face twitched slightly, feeling almost targeted. But he quickly dismissed this inexplicable thought, took the scroll, and waved his hand.
Owl hurried away to treat his injury, while Danzo opened the scroll and skimmed its contents.
He had ordered Kumokawa's diary brought back to gain a detailed understanding of this Hyūga "failure" and to see if he held any value for recruitment.
The diary entries were mostly trivial daily routines. Danzo read quickly, constructing a mental image of the person.
A child who was once timid and incompetent, but after his father was driven to death by his own clansmen, began to crave power.
Craving power is good.
He feared those who were devoid of desire.
Danzo soon reached the "reflection" Kumokawa had written for Hiruzen Sarutobi. His reaction was one of disdain, even tinged with bitterness and jealousy.
That hypocrite Hiruzen didn't deserve such praise.
Only the part about "roots" in the reflection made Danzo pause for a moment.
However, when he turned to the next page, his movements halted abruptly. He stared fixedly at a sentence in the diary, his expression subtly shifting.
[...Perhaps my heart is like a tree. The more it yearns for the light above, the deeper its roots must drive downward, into the earth, into the depths of darkness.]
Meanwhile, in Kumokawa's bedroom.
The system's prompt tone rang in Kumokawa's mind as wished.
[Ding! Your lie has been judged as [Sweet Talk]. Shimura Danzo experienced an emotional fluctuation, reaching the level of [Finding a Kindred Spirit]. Obtained 400 Truth Points.]
"Who keeps a diary seriously anyway?" Kumokawa smiled slightly, thinking to himself, Materialize Jutsu - Lightning Release Armor.
[Cost: 1000 Truth Points. Confirm materialization?]
"Confirm."
[1000 Truth Points deducted. Remaining Points: 10593.]
Excellent. Still a way to go before ten thousand. Thanks for the points, Lord Danzo.
Kumokawa lay back on the bed and slowly closed his eyes. The memories of the "Lightning Release Armor" began flooding into his mind.
However, as he closed his eyes, a question he had been pondering for a while resurfaced.
"Since I can materialize ninjutsu..."
"Could I also materialize abilities from other worlds?"
But directly materializing abilities from worlds different from the ninja world... he had already tried that. It definitely didn't work.
The system's materialization was based on the rules and logic of the current world. It seemed impossible to create other systems out of thin air besides chakra.
But Kumokawa had a hypothesis.
"What if, based on the existing foundations of this world—soul, body, natural energy, and chakra—I imitate and create abilities from other worlds?"
Without a doubt, if he could truly create something from nothing, if he could shatter everyone's worldview and make them believe in the existence of this unfamiliar power...
Then the Truth Points he could harvest would be no small amount.
In fact, his design involving Orochimaru was precisely to test this hypothesis.
For example, if the Sage of Six Paths could create the Pure Land, couldn't he, through lies and points, create a ninja world version of "Hueco Mundo"?
Hueco Mundo, a concept from another world (Bleach), exists in the void between the human world and the Soul Society. It's a dimension where "Hollows" reside—malevolent spirits and vengeful ghosts formed from deceased humans who gain power by consuming their own kind.
Kumokawa wanted to use a method of "grafting" and "substitution" to attach his fabricated "Hueco Mundo" onto the real-existing "Pure Land."
Pure lies are not believable.
Three parts falsehood, seven parts truth—that's how you fool people.
After all, he would inevitably clash with the Sage of Six Paths someday. It would be best if he could seize some of the Sage's authority.
However, perfecting this idea required the help of the esteemed Lord Orochimaru.
Guided by that scroll, Orochimaru, who already had profound achievements in the field of soul research, should undoubtedly be able to fabricate a self-consistent theory and logic.
Then, Kumokawa could transform that theory and logic into a truly existing "rule" in reality.
He would become like the Sage of Six Paths, possessing an independent small world and controlling numerous powerful souls.
---
Author's Note:
I find Boruto really ridiculous. Take that Shin Uchiha, for example. They say his constitution is very special; he doesn't reject any tissue transplanted onto his body. Therefore, Orochimaru transplanted many Sharingan, collected by Danzo during the Uchiha massacre, onto Shin's body. Later, he gave Shin's right arm, already transplanted with various Sharingan, to Danzo as his new right arm.
But, damn it, that's complete nonsense. Itachi was 13 when he became an ANBU captain, after which he slaughtered the clan. That was several years after Orochimaru's defection. Yet, Danzo already had that bandaged arm full of Sharingan before Orochimaru defected.
I can only borrow the setting slightly and try to rationalize it. I'm really fed up. The contradictions between the anime, manga, and databooks were already giving me a headache. Now there's Boruto on top of that. I can't ignore it either, as much of its content relates back to earlier Naruto plot points.