“He has a daughter?”
The Sky Ninjas exchanged glances.
Normally, whether someone had a daughter or not wouldn’t be surprising.
But… Uchiha Sasuke was not a normal case.
Although they didn’t recognize him personally, judging from his appearance, only around sixteen or seventeen, he was clearly a minor.
For a minor to already have a daughter meant he had broken the vows!
“Heh, what a disgrace to the ninja world,” the Sky Ninjas muttered.
A ninja who broke the rules was usually called trash, however, one with power who broke the rules was called a disgrace.
“!” Sasuke’s face darkened.
After taking revenge, he still intended to restore the glory of the Uchiha clan!
For this, he had strictly upheld his principles for three years—even when joining Orochimaru, he had refrained from needless slaughter, all to protect the Uchiha’s honor.
And now, with just one remark, he was being branded a “ninja disgrace.”
Chidori Current!
Blue lightning burst out, crackling like the cries of a thousand birds.
“Waaah!” The Sky Ninjas were electrocuted, their eyes rolling back, collapsing before they could even resist.
Instant defeat!
Yet Sasuke felt no satisfaction. He turned sharply to glare at Sora, his gaze cold and sharp, and said, “You used me to deal with them.”
Although Sora hid her strength well, it was clear she hadn’t wanted to act personally.
After all, the ninja world was full of weirdos.
Sora had spoken casually, not expecting things to escalate, and now she clasped her hands together like a devoted monk and said, “This little monk had no such intention.”
“Then what was your intention?” Sasuke pressed.
“This little monk harbors no deeper meaning. You need not overthink it.”
Irritated, Sasuke gritted his teeth. “Monks aren’t supposed to lie.”
Monks had even stricter codes than ninjas, and lying was forbidden.
“That was not a lie,” Sora said lightly.
Sasuke wanted to scoff—If a sixteen-year-old boy having a daughter wasn’t a lie, what was?
Though simultaneously, he caught the depth in her eyes—that firm, certain tone.
What did it mean?
…Did he really have a daughter?
‘Impossible!’
Sasuke frowned. “Who exactly are you?”
Seeing his serious expression, Sora suddenly felt mischievous. A wicked smile appeared under the red cloth covering the lower half of her face—hidden from view unless one had x-ray vision.
“This little monk’s name is Sora,” Sora answered.
Sora?
The ninja world had English. Though Sasuke wasn’t an academic prodigy, his knowledge wasn’t shallow, so he instantly understood what “Sora” meant.
A monk named in English—how stylish.
“Where are you from?” Sasuke questioned further.
“Unspeakable.”
“…”
Obscuring the truth—just avoiding lying. That made her earlier words seem even more credible.
…Did he really have a daughter?
‘Ridiculous!’
Still, Sasuke thought… maybe not now or in the past, but what about the future?
‘The future… Could this Sora have the ability to foresee the future?’
It was known that the priestesses of the Land of Demons had similar abilities, albeit only concerning people’s deaths.
Monks and priestesses weren’t that different—having similar powers wasn’t impossible.
Sasuke’s mind raced with deductions, but he noticed Sora already stepping past the collapsed Sky Ninjas, heading toward the fortress’s main hall.
‘What is she planning?’
Driven by suspicion, Sasuke followed.
Moments later, at the fortress’s main hall—
Because they had entered from the side, they hid behind decorative stone blocks and witnessed a scene:
Naruto and Amaru, who had entered through the front entrance, saw a white-haired man seated on a throne at the center of the hall.
“Teacher Shinnou!” Amaru cried with joy.
Indeed, there sat the man, Shinnou, who should have been dead—Amaru rushed forward, throwing herself into his arms.
Shinnou rose, spreading his arms and embracing her.
“I knew it—I knew Teacher wasn’t dead!” Amaru sobbed happily, nuzzling against him like a kitten.
Naruto, however, looked utterly confused. “Why… why is Uncle alive? What’s going on?”
He didn’t wish Shinnou dead—he simply found it odd.
Even though he wasn’t skilled at intelligence gathering, he could tell something was wrong.
Both he and Amaru had seen Shinnou pierced by several kunai.
Even a strong ninja would’ve died from that—and though Shinnou was a renowned healer, death seemed inevitable.
Shinnou smiled gently, stroking Amaru’s head like a pet, and said, “For simple-minded people like you, how should I explain it so you understand?”
Amaru, lost in regained joy, failed to notice anything amiss.
Shinnou explained, “This fortress is called ‘Ancor Vantian.’ Though it appears to be ruins, it’s actually the ultimate weapon the Sky Ninjas spent decades developing.”
“Ancor Vantian?” Naruto repeated.
Shinnou surveyed the hall and smiled, “It means the Fortress of the Empire.”
Naruto’s gaze swept the surroundings before locking onto Shinnou. “Uncle, you were hit by so many kunai. Why are you perfectly fine inside their capital fortress?”
Though he couldn’t pinpoint it, his instincts screamed danger.
Shinnou said, “Fooling Sakura and Hinata wasn’t easy—I had to fake my death.”
“!” Only then did Amaru sense something wrong.
Fake death?
Why would a teacher need to fake death to deceive allies?
Shinnou continued, “By using a technique that regenerates damaged tissue, pretending to die is easy.”
“A technique?” Naruto blinked.
Though Shinnou was known as a healer, could he really use ninja techniques too?
Naruto’s mind spun. He snapped, “Since earlier, what are you even talking about!? I’m asking why you’re here with the Sky Ninjas!”
Shinnou gazed at Naruto with a half-smile.
Naruto stared back.
“You must’ve infiltrated here to defeat them, right?” Naruto asked hopefully.
‘…Still hoping?’
Shinnou sneered. “Wake up.”
“Teacher?” Amaru was stunned.
In the next instant, she screamed—Because Shinnou’s large hand clamped around her head, lifting her bodily into the air.
Her scalp ached from the pressure, and she struggled instinctively.
Despite that, to Shinnou, it was as insignificant as a breeze.
“Why would I kill my own subordinates?”
With these words, his identity was clear.
He… was the leader of the Sky Ninjas!
“Amaru!” Naruto, seeing her suffering, rushed forward to rescue her.
Shinnou swung her like a hammer, smashing Naruto aside.
“Fourteen years ago, I disguised myself as a wandering doctor to gather the formula to revive the Zero-Tails. After thirteen years, I finally obtained it in Konoha.”
Amaru was frozen in shock.
Naruto roared, “You deceived us all along!”
Shinnou laughed, “And now I’ve revived the Zero-Tails, obtaining the power of Dark Chakra.”
“You bastard…” Naruto gritted his teeth.
Amaru clutched Naruto and said, “Naruto, Teacher Shinnou seems strange, right?”
Hearing her, Naruto’s eyes softened.
It was like having your guardian suddenly turn into a demon king—who could accept that?
“There is nothing wrong with me,” Shinnou said coldly. “The Shinnou you believed in—never existed.”
Amaru trembled all over, unable to believe it.
“When people harbor darkness in their hearts, it generates Dark Chakra. That’s how Zero-Tails was born. Simple—yet it took fourteen years.”
“Darkness of the heart?” Naruto seemed to grasp something.
“Anger, hatred, despair—all fuel Dark Chakra,” Shinnou said, coldly eyeing Amaru. “Your village was attacked to ensure Zero-Tails possessed you and revived through your despair. Well done, Amaru.”
“Ah—!” Amaru recalled the kind, gentle Shinnou she had admired… It was all a lie.
Naruto sensed her body go limp and shouted, “Stay strong, Amaru!”
Regardless, he knew… his words were weak.
If Iruka, the Third Hokage, Kakashi, or Jiraiya had betrayed him, he too would despair.
And after the despair… There was only emptiness.
Amaru collapsed like a broken doll.
“Hahaha, I feel it!” Shinnou laughed triumphantly, black mist swirling around him.
This was the Dark Chakra born from despair—Zero-Tails hadn’t died, it had merely relocated to the fortress’s power core.
Amaru’s despair was converted into Dark Chakra and transferred to Shinnou, becoming his power.
“Hm?”
Grasping the Dark Chakra, Shinnou suddenly sensed a force completely opposite to it coming from the side entrance.
The opposite of darkness—light!
Shinnou’s heart shuddered.
“Could there be Light Chakra in this world?”
Light Chakra… it sounded like something that would naturally suppress Dark Chakra.
‘Unacceptable!’
Shinnou waved his hand toward the side entrance.
Boom!
Dark Chakra burst out, shattering the decorative stones—forcing the hidden observers into the open.
— The end of the Chapter–
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