The air shimmered faintly around Shinsui as he stood upon a jagged cliff overlooking the Hidden Leaf Village — Konohagakure. His eyes, cold and distant, scanned the vibrant life within the village walls. Children laughing, shinobi training, merchants shouting out prices. A peaceful illusion. One he would unravel thread by thread.
A long breath left his lips. Ten thousand years had passed in the other world, but here, time had not moved. Renji Uzumaki still stood behind him, unaware of the journey Shinsui had taken. To him, the portal had closed and reopened in the blink of an eye.
But Shinsui had changed.
He was no longer just a sealed remnant of the Warring States era. He was now a being who had walked with gods, shaped a universe, and molded entire races with the flick of a finger. And now, the time had come to return his attention to this world.
Not with swift destruction—no. That would be mercy.
He would let this world rot.
With a flick of his wrist, a ripple of shadow extended from his fingertips and danced along the ground. The air darkened. A portal opened within the trees beyond the cliff, and from the portal, weak, gnarled figures emerged. Hunched, crooked demons, no taller than a child, with twisted limbs and slavering mouths.
They were pathetic in the Abyss. Low-tier vermin not even worthy of names. But here… oh, here, they would be terrors.
"Let them loose," Shinsui said calmly. "One by one. Let them burrow beneath the skin of this world. No cities burned, no skies torn — not yet. Just enough pain to remind them that peace is a dream they do not deserve."
Renji watched quietly, unsure whether to feel fear or awe.
"You… you're really going to destroy everything?" he asked.
Shinsui smiled faintly. "No. I'm going to let it destroy itself. I will simply provide the push."
The first demons slipped into the trees, disappearing toward the borders of Fire Country, their senses attuned to chakra. They would find fear, feed off it, and grow stronger with every scream.
Shinsui turned, his cloak fluttering behind him as he descended from the cliff.
"I think it's time I went for a walk," he said, hands in his sleeves.
---
On the path leading into the forest outside of Konoha, Mito Uzumaki adjusted the strap of her satchel and walked calmly, her red hair swaying with every step. She was heading out on a short journey—her own pilgrimage, as she often called them, to meditate and reinforce the sealing barriers across distant shrines.
Though she had long since solidified her place in the village, there were still days she needed solitude. Her chakra was strong, her seals unmatched, but something had been gnawing at her senses lately—a pull, as if something ancient had stirred.
As she stepped onto the forest path, the air shifted.
She paused.
And then… she saw him.
Standing just a few meters ahead, bathed in shadow and sunlight alike, was a man. No — a figure. Tall, composed, draped in dark robes threaded with patterns older than the land itself. His eyes locked with hers, a crimson spark deep within them.
Her breath hitched.
"You…" she whispered.
The man stepped forward.
"It's been a long time, Mito," Shinsui said, his voice calm and heavy with buried storms. "You've changed. But not enough."
Her hand slowly drifted toward the seal marks etched on her palm, ancient instincts flaring.
He smiled.
"Don't bother. I didn't come to fight… not yet."
She narrowed her eyes. "Then why are you here?"
"To stretch my legs," Shinsui replied, stepping closer until he stood before her. The wind blew between them, a quiet herald of the storm that was to come.
The chapter ended not with a battle cry, nor the clash of chakra—but with silence. Two Uzumaki. Two legacies. One moment hanging on the edge of ruin.