The Past National Calamity! Kill Whitebeard?

"Hokage-sama, Uchiha Shisui of the Uchiha Police Force has been missing for a long time."

In Konoha Village, inside the Hokage's office.

An Anbu ninja reported the information he had: "According to what I know, Uchiha Shisui met with Danzo-sama of the Root in private before disappearing."

"I suspect there is a special connection between them. If we search for information in these areas, we might find their whereabouts."

But as he said this.

The Anbu ninja noticed...

The Hokage's expression didn't change at all.

As if he already knew about it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to smoke his pipe, making small clicking sounds.

He was reviewing the documents on his desk.

Casually, he responded: "I know. For now, don't worry about them. I have a task for you: monitor the Uchiha clan's reaction to Shisui's 'disappearance.'"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

The Anbu ninja nodded quickly.

And disappeared with a swoosh.

The empty office now had only Hiruzen Sarutobi, who lifted his gaze to look out the window, puffing on his smoke-filled pipe: "Danzo has finally decided to go this far."

Though Danzo hadn't told him much, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Danzo well enough to predict his actions.

Danzo said he wanted to use Shisui's eyes against Whitebeard.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi suspected Danzo's intentions went beyond that.

Bringing Shisui far from Konoha...

Danzo wouldn't do it just for Whitebeard and Naruto, would he?

"Danzo, don't do anything that puts me in a difficult position!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag on his pipe.

His face showed no extra emotion.

"Hokage-sama!" Suddenly, the office door was pushed open, and a worried Itachi Uchiha rushed in: "Hokage-sama, is Shisui... is he okay?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled slightly.

"Don't worry," he said. "Shisui and you are the future of the Uchiha clan. Nothing will happen to him."

He added: "Danzo won't do anything extreme."

This last statement cleared up everything.

...

In a coastal town in the Land of Fire.

Naruto, blindfolded, was feeling his way forward. This was part of Whitebeard's Observation Haki training, making Naruto walk the streets without sight.

The townspeople witnessed a strange sight.

A blond "blind" boy, carrying a load several times his size, staggering through the town, occasionally bumping into walls.

A giant with a huge sword followed behind the blond boy.

A red-haired mother and daughter held hands, walking behind the giant.

Behind them, a masked man with a book in one hand and the other in his pocket.

No one dared to stand in their way.

In fact.

When these "odd people" appeared, the townspeople didn't dare leave their homes.

They peeked through small window gaps to avoid being noticed by the strange group.

Whitebeard exerted immense pressure; just seeing his absurdly large naginata was enough to make people's hair stand on end.

It sent shivers down their spines.

"We're being avoided like the plague," Kakashi remarked, his dead-fish eye catching sight of someone peeking from a house. His gaze met the peeper's, who quickly shut the window in fright.

Such exaggerated reactions left Kakashi exasperated.

Before long.

Whitebeard suddenly grabbed Naruto by the back of his shirt, lifting him like a kitten, and said: "Stupid son! If you go any further, you'll fall off."

"Eh?" Blindfolded, Naruto was confused.

He lifted the corner of his blindfold.

Naruto was shocked.

"It's the sea!" Though Naruto had never been to the sea, he had seen pictures of it in the village, so he knew what it looked like.

"And there are so many boats!" Naruto looked around, seeing various boats: "Dad, there must be at least twenty boats here!"

The smallest could carry one or two people.

The largest could hold twenty or thirty people.

"Gurararara, you call this many?" Whitebeard laughed: "These boats are just the size of a small fishing village back in my homeland!"

The vast ocean before him.

Stirred Whitebeard's emotions.

At this moment.

Whitebeard noticed something off about Kushina; she stood still, gazing at the sea with a look of nostalgia and sadness.

"Mom, you're hurting me..."

Karin, holding her hand, weakly reminded.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Karin." Kushina snapped out of it, squatting to check her daughter's hand: "Does it hurt? Let me blow on it, and it won't hurt."

Kushina blew on Karin's hand.

Standing up, she saw Whitebeard, Naruto, and Kakashi all looking at her.

"Sis, what's wrong?"

Naruto asked curiously: "You seem sad."

Even Naruto didn't know why he could feel Kushina's sadness.

"Because I..."

Kushina took a deep breath: "Because I remembered what this place is. When I escaped from Uzushiogakure as a child, my first stop was a small town in the Land of Fire."

"This is that town." She looked around: "I didn't expect it to change so little after all these years."

"From here, sailing in that direction takes less than a day to reach Uzushiogakure."

"From Uzushiogakure, it takes a few days to reach the Land of Water."

Kushina explained.

Though she wasn't a sailor, her escape as a child taught her the distances between these places.

...

"Phew... we made it." Far behind Whitebeard's group, figures appeared on the town's rooftops.

Most wore masks.

Only Shisui Uchiha didn't.

"Whitebeard, the jinchuriki, Hatake Kakashi, and a red-haired kid and woman." A Root Jonin put down his binoculars, reporting: "There are five of them."

"Hatake Kakashi can be ignored; he's from Konoha and won't help Whitebeard. The jinchuriki can also be ignored; he's just a five-year-old kid."

"The targets are Whitebeard and the two red-haired females." The Root Jonin's tone was filled with killing intent: "Shisui Uchiha, it's up to you to kill Whitebeard."

"...Kill?"

Shisui frowned at the Root Jonin: "Danzo told me to use my Sharingan to alter Whitebeard's will. He never said to kill him."

After saying this, Shisui noticed the Root ninjas all focusing their attention on him.

Making him tense.

"Mission plans can change, and this is the latest order from that person."

The Root Jonin explained.

...

...