On the screen, the moonlight was like water.
A mysterious figure wearing a white mask appeared by the river outside Konoha. He held the neck of a Konoha ANBU wearing a fox mask in his hand, his movements gentle.
Then, he gently placed the corpse into the river at his feet, as if afraid of causing a disturbance that might wake those still dreaming inside the village.
The camera slowly pulled back, revealing the full scene.
Several other ANBU corpses lay scattered haphazardly in the river. The bodies swayed gently with the current, like a row of abandoned puppets.
Under the moonlight, Konoha remained utterly silent, completely unaware of the impending danger.
All that remained was a close-up of the masked figure and the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes.
The scarlet eyes were particularly striking under the moonlight.
[That's right, it's Mr. Simp again. As a master troublemaker, the Nine-Tails Incident was his claim to fame. Of course, except for Namikaze Minato, others only knew of the person behind it, but never saw him.]
[As the saying goes, darkness makes you ten times stronger, while redemption reduces you to a third of your power. In his dark state, Mr. Simp was undoubtedly successful—powerful, decisive, ruthless in achieving his goals, and indifferent to the lives of others, all for the sake of the Eye of the Moon Plan.]
[Unlike later, when Naruto's words made him waver, trying to force a redemption arc that caused his strength to plummet. As the second character in the Shinobi World with power like the Sage of the Six Paths, it is truly laughable that he was defeated by Naruto and Sasuke before they had even obtained Six Paths-level power. Overall, Mr. Simp is the kind of person who was neither thorough in his villainy nor persistent in his heroism.]
---
[Konoha Year 52, Uchiha Clan Grounds]
The Uchiha present instantly erupted.
"See! The Nine-Tails Incident was definitely caused by this Mr. Simp!"
Tetsuka shot to his feet, his Sharingan spinning uncontrollably in his eyes. "The Uchiha's innocence is about to be proven!"
Inabi's face also flushed with excitement. "The Sky Screen showed that this guy has the Sharingan! But he's not one of our Uchiha—at the very least, he's definitely not an Uchiha from Konoha!"
Although the Uchiha clan had already begun reforms based on some of the information presented by the Sky Screen, and their relationship with the village had improved considerably.
But there was still a thorn lodged in the hearts of both the village leadership and the clan.
And that thorn was the Nine-Tails Incident two years ago.
After all, the Sharingan reflected in the Nine-Tails' eyes at the time had clearly proclaimed to Konoha's people that the Uchiha clan was responsible.
Although the Yamanaka clan had since verified the innocence of the Uchiha in the village, the clan still harbored a burning desire to find that unknown Uchiha.
Fugaku sat at the table, his expression dark and terrifying. In his eyes, the Mangekyō Sharingan slowly rotated.
"You… whoever you are, I will find you."
Shisui stood nearby, his killing intent almost solidifying. "Fugaku-sama, once the Sky Screen reveals that mysterious person's true identity, I will immediately submit a request to the Third Hokage to pursue and eliminate him with all our might!"
Fugaku nodded, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes.
"We must eliminate him soon, and I will also accompany you on this mission. According to the Sky Screen, this guy is going to become a being with Six Paths-level power in the future—that will be far too dangerous!"
"He must be nipped in the bud!"
Shisui nodded heavily. "We absolutely cannot let that happen."
---
[Konoha Year One]
Madara looked a bit stunned, "This guy… will become the second Six Paths-level powerhouse in the future? And from the looks of it, he's an Uchiha."
Hashirama asked curiously at his side, "Madara, do you know him?"
Madara shook his head. "I don't even know if this guy has been born yet."
He thought for a moment. Based on Hiruzen's future tenure as Hokage, unless the guy was some kind of ancient monster, he probably hadn't been born yet.
Still, no wonder the Sky Screen had mentioned earlier that when introducing Boruto, it said he possessed Naruto's "Talk no Jutsu." He had been puzzled about what that meant at the time.
But now he understood.
It could actually shake the very resolve of a Six Paths-level powerhouse?
That was too ridiculous!
Madara glanced sideways at Hashirama, feeling that this guy seemed to possess the same trait.
Hashirama, feeling unsettled under his gaze, asked, "Madara, why are you looking at me like that?"
Madara gave a light snort: "Nothing. Just thinking that your mouth is pretty impressive too."
Hashirama scratched his head. "Oh? I didn't know that."
"However, if you can change someone's mind just by talking, that's also a good thing."
Hearing that, Madara rolled his eyes in exasperation.
---
[Konoha Year 50 · Hokage Office]
Minato stared at the masked figure on the Sky Screen, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"It really is this guy!"
His voice was low, filled with suppressed anger.
There shouldn't be many Uchiha wandering outside the village at the moment. So he must ask Fugaku to investigate which members of the Uchiha Clan had gone missing or had been wandering outside in the recent years, to see if he could find any leads.
"Shikaku." Minato spoke.
Shikaku pushed open the door to the Hokage office and quickly stepped in.
"Lord Fourth?"
"Record this person's characteristics. Later, have Fugaku try to identify him."
"Yes."
Minato looked out the window, a flicker of concern in his eyes.
He had already ordered the Barrier Corps to strengthen the village's defenses, but he didn't know if it would have any effect.
A person like this, able to freely enter and leave Konoha, was far too dangerous.
More importantly… who exactly was this?
---
[Konoha Year 60 · Hokage Office]
Hiruzen looked at the Sky Screen, his tone carrying a sigh.
"Now I finally know who was responsible for the Nine-Tails Incident… I really wronged the Uchiha."
Tsunade, sitting nearby, let out a cold snort. "Old man, what good does it do to say that now? The Uchiha have already been wiped out."
She paused, "Though, I never expected that Itachi was a spy placed by you."
Hiruzen smiled bitterly. "That child… was also left with no choice. His original intention was to protect the village, but he just didn't expect things to develop to that point."
Tsunade: "The question now is, who is this Mr. Simp?"
"According to the intelligence from Itachi, he's currently in the Akatsuki, using the alias 'Tobi' and posing as an intern member. We just don't know his true purpose," Hiruzen said.
"Then we have a problem. We can't deal with Nagato right now." Tsunade rubbed her temples.
Nagato was clearly a Super Kage-level powerhouse. And apart from seeing him destroy Konoha with a single strike, they had no other intelligence on him.
Tsunade thought to herself, maybe she should have Jiraiya go investigate? After all, that guy's information-gathering skills were top-notch.
But she immediately dismissed the idea. Jiraiya's most urgent task right now was protecting Naruto. With the Sky Screen's revelations, Naruto would likely become a target for some people.
Hiruzen was also worried. The Sky Screen had said that Mr. Simp would become a Six Paths-level powerhouse in the future, and right now, they had no way to deal with that.
---
[Akatsuki Hideout]
The atmosphere here was slightly tense.
Itachi locked his eyes firmly onto Obito. Even someone as calm as him could barely suppress the killing intent surging in his heart.
The one who controlled the Nine-Tails, the instigator who caused the rift between the Uchiha clan and the village, the one who drove the Uchiha step by step toward annihilation.
It was him!
And he himself had actually joined forces with this man to wipe out the Uchiha clan.
In this instant, Itachi felt as if he was in hell, wishing he could take Obito down with him right here and now.
But this guy's space-time ability was too troublesome.
More importantly, Sasuke… Sasuke still needed his eyes.
He couldn't act impulsively.
Itachi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
Pain, or rather Nagato, was also sizing up Obito.
His purple Rinnegan revealed nothing of his true thoughts. However, what the Sky Screen had said was good news for Nagato.
At the very least, "Uchiha Madara"—or rather, this guy—truly wanted to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Regardless of anything else, that was enough for him.
The other Akatsuki members, meanwhile, began teasing Obito.
Deidara was the first to speak, his tone full of sarcasm: "Tobi, I never would have guessed! You're older than me, yet you act like a kid all day long!"
He circled around Obito.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. The second Six Paths-level powerhouse—how impressive!"
Hidan also looked thoughtful: "Hey, Tobi, so you were a good person before? Then you went dark? And then you got talked back to the light? Your life's quite a ride, huh."
Kakuzu said nothing, but inwardly he was thinking, a bounty at the Six Paths level—how much would that be worth?
Kisame, cradling Samehada, wore a complicated smile on his shark-like face.
He felt no real turmoil inside.
The stronger his true boss was, the better.
It seemed the Eye of the Moon Plan was real, and he hadn't been lied to.
As for Obito, he was once again frozen stiff. He let out a few awkward chuckles behind his mask.
"I already said, that guy isn't me."
Of course, unless the Akatsuki members were all brain-dead, no one believed him.
He looked at Itachi, whose face bore clear killing intent, then at the other Akatsuki members casting all sorts of probing glances. He silently decided that the next time, he simply wouldn't attend the organization's group activities.
And what did the Sky Screen mean by him lacking resolve?!
He got swayed just because Naruto said a few words to him?
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Nothing could shake his love for Rin!
That Naruto kid—if he ever crossed paths with him, he'd have to shut him up first. He couldn't let him talk.
Or perhaps… should he just go kill Naruto now?
But the thought had barely surfaced before he dismissed it.
If he killed Naruto, the Nine-Tails wouldn't be revived for several more years. And at the rate the Sky Screen was revealing things, his true identity and the Eye of the Moon Plan would probably be exposed before it could actually revive.
It was all because of those bastards from Kirigakure. Otherwise, he could have already begun the Tailed Beast capture plan.
---
[Konoha Year 60, Training Ground]
Naruto and the others sat in the shade of a tree, watching the Sky Screen listlessly.
Naruto rested his chin on his hand and yawned: "Didn't they say they were going to talk about the stuff from when I was born? When's that gonna come… instead, it's this Simp guy again."
Sakura said softly from the side, "Maybe they need to clarify the background first?"
Sasuke said nothing. He just stared at the Sky Screen.
'Mr. Simp…'
He had heard this name many times now.
Akatsuki, the Uchiha massacre, the Nine-Tails Incident—this person's shadow was everywhere.
So who exactly was he?
Kakashi didn't say anything either. He was completely focused on the Sky Screen.
The one who controlled the Nine-Tails, the one who caused his sensei's death—was he finally about to be unmasked?
*****
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister