Chapter 5

Cries of fear filled the surroundings as chaos spread around the Uchiha Villa. Ryuu looked at the scene from his room and frowned in confusion. "What was that sound, and why are they so scared?"

When the sound rang out, Ryuu first thought that it was an explosion but something didn't seem right. How could an explosion make the ground shake so much?

Biting his lips, he took the bottle of painkillers on the table with him and after putting on his weapon bag, he took the stairs and went to the street to get a better understanding of the situation.

From afar, he saw what seemed like a giant feline with a golden mane and a line of white lightning flowing out of his spinal cord. As if that wasn't enough, the lion-like creature sported two stone-like wings that sent debris flying with every flap of them.

"W-what?!" Stunned by the scene, Ryuu forgot to move as he watched the creature wreaking havoc in the middle of the streets.

"Stop dazing and move!"

It was a sudden cry followed by a feeling of weightlessness. A hand grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and moved at incredible speeds. Ryuu who watched while flying astonishingly quickly, couldn't help but gasp as he looked to the side.

A handsome figure with deep lines on his face and black hair tied in a ponytail below his neck and wearing a set of black fitting clothes beneath a few pieces of white armor was the one carrying him. One look made Ryuu's eyes constrict as he stared at the most popular and conflicted figure inside the Uchiha clan.

"I-Itachi!"

"Don't speak! You'll bite your tongue!"

Before Ryuu could comprehend what he said because of the loud sound of wind in his ears, a staggering explosion resounded where they had just been followed by the appearance of a large beast. It was a creature with eyes that could only see left and right because of the shape of its head, from his forehead grew a pair of hardened limbs that reminded Ryuu of the hammerhead shark, except that those limbs were slightly curved backward. If anything, it had a 50% similarity to a rhinoceros and 20% similarity to a hammerhead shark, the remaining 30% were simply too exotic for him to compare with any other animal.

"W-what is happening?!"

Before he could react, they came to a sudden pause as Itachi's voice rang loudly in his ears. "Get down!"

Doing as he was asked, Ryuu watched wide-eyed as Itachi's lean figure jumped from the edge of a rooftop towards a gigantic boulder flying towards them. Like a figure coming out of a superhero comic book, Itachi's thin arm reached forward with his hand closed into a fist, and punched the enormous object.

Even the people standing below watched stunned as the rock was blasted into countless smaller and harmless pebbles.

Standing on another rooftop, Itachi's voice rang out in everyone's ears.

"Everyone, go to the Naka Shrine! Half of the clan's Jonin gathered there to help protect the civilians, do not wander around!"

Before Ryuu or anyone else could say something, his figure flickered in the air and disappeared followed by a gust of wind.

Gritting his teeth. Ryuu stood up and followed the orders, no matter what, he had to survive this calamity first.

***

From the top of the Hokage monument, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his trusted subordinates stood with their eyes sweeping across the village filled with sources of smoke rising up in the air because of fires.

His and the others' battle attire had been completely dirtied in this mess.

"Eyes, what did you discover from the traitor's mind?"

Hearing his words, Kurama Unkai, an old man wearing armor similar to that of Itachi but with a mask covering his head, answered quickly. "The people responsible for this are all Jonin from the God Beast Cult. When I searched their minds, I could only see from the moment they had finished infiltrating the seal. Whoever it is that commanded them has an incredibly high mastery of Fuinjutsu, I can't even recognize it despite my years of interrogation, there's a high possibility that this is a completely known Fuinjutsu created from the ground."

Hearing his words, Hiruzen frowned deeply as many thoughts revolved in his mind for a moment. Before he could say his next words, a man with short and slightly spiked hair and gauze covering his right eye appeared. The man had a cross-shaped scar on his chin and his right hand was also covered by gauze while also being suspended as if it had been gravely injured.

"Hiruzen, do not bother asking this, you know the answer already."

"Then, what do you suggest, Danzo? Do you perhaps know why they are here?"

Danzo grunted and looked at Hiruzen from the corner of his eyes which housed a subtle feeling of despise. "Unlike you, I have long arranged surveillance for Konoha's key areas of interest. The culprits stormed into the teacher's abandoned laboratory in search of something."

Hearing this, Hiruzen looked at him with some confusion and astonishment in his eyes. "Why would they want to invade an empty laboratory? We have since long wiped that place clean, they couldn't be after the dust-covered tables and chairs, right?"

Danzo shook his head. "I'm not sure myself, but I already have people investigating this matter."

Turning around, the look of despise on Danzo's eyes changed to one filled with killing intent, but he didn't dare focus on his target at the moment, it simply covered him like an aura. Before he left the Hokage Monument, he gave Hiruzen one last look, and the corner of his mouth was raised ever so slightly, completely unnoticeable.

Meanwhile, in a warehouse disguised as a simple tool shed on the first floor of the academy. A figure wearing a straw hat smirked as he copied the contents of a large scroll that had been previously hidden in a compartment hidden behind one of the room's walls.

"Hiruzen, after so long, I finally managed to get my hands on it. Your will of fire made the village strong but blinded your eyes. Humph, eight years, in eight years I'll complete my plans and at that time, I'll let you feel the pain of betrayal, you foolish old man." Turning around, the figure left the room as his body slowly dissolved mid-air as if turning into a literal puff of air.

A blond-haired kid who happened to pass by at this moment stared at the misty cloud that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and could somehow pass through objects as if they didn't exist. Seeing how it passed through the wall and disappeared, he blinked his eyes for a moment as his whole body shuddered. "AAAAAHHH! Ghosts are real! Ghosts are real! I'll never sneak around the old man's office anymore! I promise ya know!" Turning around, he ran away crying out loud and completely frightened.