KAGE

It was the middle of the night.

It should have been around 2 a.m.

The ground was covered with corpses.

These people were the ones who had ambushed us the day before. Since then, my mother hadn't had time to deal with them because of everything that happened afterward.

Some time had passed since I spoke with my mother inside the Land of Beginning.

Once again, we tried bringing one of the children into the space, but they couldn't enter.

We decided to test again tomorrow when they were conscious.

It would be better to try with Hikari, since she knew about Tenshō-Seki and was my fiancée.

After that, we decided to move my father's corpse and bury him inside the space.

The tombstone was simpler this time.

It had everyone's handprints.

We painted them while everyone was asleep, and the reason they didn't wake up was because of Saiken's ability.

I still didn't know how she managed to do that.

Tsukishiro Masaroni

Father. Leader. Warrior.

Your legacy will live forever.

---

Now here I was.

A reincarnated man who had followed the entire story of Naruto.

The prototype of a protagonist whose talent was consumed by a golden finger.

His clan was destroyed.

He watched his father die.

He watched his mother cry.

He had a childhood fiancée.

Although she couldn't abandon our engagement, because once her identity was discovered she would be tortured, the possibility of her betraying me was extremely unlikely.

I had a cute little sister.

Along with another younger brother and younger cousins.

The golden finger had awakened.

And I knew the plot.

I knew that if I transplanted the eyes of an Uchiha, I would be able to use the Sharingan.

But I wasn't an amateur.

I knew that the bloodline with the greatest potential belonged to the Ōtsutsuki.

The Byakugan.

It's not that I wanted to do this...

But everything indicated that I should.

Otherwise, why would I have reincarnated precisely in this era?

The era where there were at least three Hyūga and several Uchiha corpses right beside me.

If this wasn't the universe indirectly asking me to acquire their eyes...

Then I didn't know what was.

The most disgusting part was the process itself.

Removing the eyes.

I had to approach the bodies, and thanks to the loyalty each person had toward their own clan, I was able to identify them through their clothing.

I prepared several containers and mixed the spiritual liquid taken from the lake.

Then I began the process.

---

Ten minutes later...

I was kneeling on the ground, trembling while trying not to vomit.

That was literally the most disgusting thing I had ever done.

Even now, I could still feel the sensation of pulling the optic nerve.

Disgusting.

Those people made it seem much simpler than it actually was.

Obito giving his eye to Kakashi.

Madara removing his eyes multiple times.

What kind of insane people were they?

They were all a bunch of masochists.

However, a pleasant surprise appeared from all of this.

After placing the eyes inside the spiritual liquid...

The magic happened.

---

Byakugan

Origin: Hyūga Clan

Ancestral Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki

Status: Purification in progress

Purity: 1%

Integrity: 1%

Evolution Potential: Unknown

---

Sharingan

Origin: Uchiha Clan

Ancestral Bloodline: Ōtsutsuki

Status: Purification in progress

Purity: 1%

Integrity: 1%

Evolution Potential: Unknown

---

Every container displayed the same information.

From what I could understand...

The spiritual liquid could purify and possibly even evolve both eyes.

So what would happen once they evolved?

Ōtsutsuki?

Or something even greater?

Whatever happened...

The future belonged to Tsukishiro Ren.

---

The next morning.

After breakfast, we prepared to leave.

We decided to return to our homeland.

Enough hiding like insects.

It was time to live with the dignity we deserved.

The journey to the Land of Whirlpools would be long.

Once we arrived there, the dangers would be enormous.

But it was time to return.

Our homeland was our homeland.

And currently, the world was at war as always, so the attention of these people would be almost entirely focused on it.

It would be a shame to leave this house.

We had lived here for more than three years.

We had created happy memories and painful memories.

But those were things that were part of life.

---

Night arrived.

It was late.

The street was silent.

In front of me stood a medium-sized two-story house.

The neighborhood was wealthy.

I looked at the house number and confirmed that this was my target.

With my face covered by a blank mask, I jumped over the wall.

Using the right tools, I opened the door.

I had to be careful because the police patrolled these areas.

A wealthy neighborhood was always much more heavily monitored.

When I entered, I looked around.

The house was luxurious.

It was dark and silent because of the late hour.

And so...

I acted.

---

Fifteen minutes later...

The living room lights turned on.

Besides me, there were five other people.

Unlike me, they were all tied up, their mouths covered, their eyes filled with desperation as they looked at me, begging for mercy.

"You know..."

I looked at the people around me.

"I really am a terrible Shinobi."

They didn't understand why this was happening to them.

"Any Shinobi worthy of the name would have completed this job quickly and efficiently, killing all of you immediately."

"But here we are."

"I, your reaper..."

"Instead of giving you a quick and painless death, gathered you all together so you could say goodbye one last time."

"Honestly, I don't know if that makes me good or bad."

I walked in front of each one of them.

"You must be wondering..."

"Why?"

"Why are we attacking you?"

"What did we do wrong?"

I stopped.

"Am I right?"

The family consisted of two adults.

The man was large, wearing a golden chain around his neck.

His skin was smooth and well cared for, a clear result of a comfortable life.

The woman was the same.

She looked well taken care of.

A sign that life had treated her kindly.

Among the children, there were two boys and one girl.

The girl appeared to be the oldest, probably around my age.

The older boy looked about seven years old.

The youngest was around three or four.

"One of the most interesting stories I have ever heard was about Newton."

"I don't know if you have heard of him."

"His story, just like the one I am about to tell you, is incredible."

"One of humanity's greatest discoveries happened because of an apple falling on someone's head."

I paused.

"Have you ever heard of Newton's Law?"

"Honestly, I don't know if Newton exists in this world."

"Maybe this law has another name here in the Shinobi world."

"But this law says that every action has a reaction."

"Which means..."

"If you treat people with respect, they are more likely to treat you with respect."

"If you help someone during a difficult time, that person—or someone else—may help you when you need it."

"If you constantly lie, people eventually lose their trust in you."

"You understand the logic, don't you?"

"It is always like this."

"Whatever you do always comes back to you."

"Those who plant hatred harvest distrust."

"Maybe they can gain allies for a while, but they will rarely find true friendships."

I looked at them.

"Which brings us to this moment."

"Actions are seeds."

"Sooner or later, everyone harvests what they have planted."

"Even the opportunity to earn extra money by reporting a group of wanted criminals."

"After all, what's wrong with reporting a group of fugitives?"

"You're helping humanity."

"Doing a public service."

"And in return, you receive good money."

"It doesn't matter if this group consists of a sick man at the end of his life..."

"A woman who lost everything and only has her family as her anchor..."

"Six children whose ages range from fourteen to seven years old."

"They are fugitives."

"Reporting them is helping humanity."

"And as a bonus, you receive a large reward."

"Practically nobody loses."

I looked directly at the man.

"Interesting, isn't it, Momoshi Genzo?"

The man finally understood why this was happening.

"From the general perspective, you even did a good deed."

"But in my family's eyes..."

"You are the most evil creature that exists."

"Because of you, we lost the pillar of our family."

"I almost died myself."

"My father worked as a hunter, and you had a contract with him."

"He provided the game, and your restaurant operated."

"A good cooperative relationship."

"I could ask why you betrayed him..."

"But I am mature enough to understand that interests always come before everything else."

"However..."

"As I said earlier..."

"The previous action had a reaction."

"My father was a Shinobi and died because you betrayed him."

"I am his son."

"I am also a Shinobi."

"I survived."

"And now I have come to avenge my father."

Hakutsuki appeared in my hand.

I walked toward Momoshi Genzo's wife.

She was terrified.

So desperate that I almost felt bad.

But...

That was the Shinobi world.

I wondered what it would feel like when Itachi exterminated his entire clan.

People who grew up beside him.

People who loved him with all their hearts.

With a movement of my hand, the sword descended.

But before it touched Momoshi Genzo's wife's neck...

Hakutsuki disappeared from my hand.

"What the hell...?"