The Land of Earth was vast, its mountains standing like ancient sentinels against the sky. It was a land built on resilience, on strength, on the unshakable will of its people.
And at its heart, nestled deep within the craggy terrain, stood the Hidden Stone Village.
It was still young. A rising power among the shinobi world, founded by a man who had carved a future from the harsh rock with his own hands.
The First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, was not a man who tolerated uncertainty.
And tonight, uncertainty had arrived at his doorstep.
Jiro and his squad moved quickly through the winding paths of Iwagakure, their steps silent against the stone. They had been gone for days, yet their return was unnoticed by most.
Most—except those who mattered.
They were expected.
As soon as they reached the intelligence hall, the guards at the door wordlessly stepped aside, allowing them entry. The council was already waiting.
At the center of the room, seated on a raised stone dais, was Tsuchikage Ishikawa.
The old warrior did not look up as they entered. He remained still, carved from the same stone as his village, his hands resting on his knees in quiet thought. His white beard, rough and unkempt, did nothing to soften the sheer weight of his presence.
Jiro and his squad knelt before him, pressing their foreheads to the ground in respect.
A deep, rumbling voice filled the chamber.
"Speak."
Jiro took a breath. "We encountered the wanderer."
Ishikawa's gaze slowly lifted. His dark eyes, sharp as cut obsidian, regarded them with quiet intensity.
"Alive and unscathed," he mused. "That alone tells me this is no ordinary man."
Jiro hesitated. "He is… beyond anything we have encountered before."
A ripple of murmurs passed through the gathered shinobi, but Ishikawa silenced them with a single glance.
Jiro continued.
"He did not use techniques. He did not wield weapons. He barely even moved. And yet…"
He clenched his fists.
"When we attacked, it was like we were trying to strike the wind."
Ishikawa studied him. "Did he counter?"
Jiro swallowed. "No. Not in the way we expected."
He gestured to Daichi, who had been silent since their return. The tracker's face was still paler than usual, his fingers twitching slightly at his sides.
Ishikawa turned his attention to him. "What happened to you?"
Daichi hesitated. Then, in a quiet voice, he said:
"He touched me."
A pause.
Daichi's hands trembled as he clenched them. "And for a moment… I felt nothing."
Silence.
The shinobi in the chamber exchanged glances, uncertain.
Ishikawa's expression did not change. "Explain."
Daichi exhaled sharply. "It wasn't pain. It wasn't a jutsu. It wasn't genjutsu. It was just… absence. Like my body had already been left behind, and my mind was just realizing it too late."
Shion shuddered. Ko gritted his teeth.
Ishikawa finally leaned forward.
"Do you know what you are describing?"
Jiro shook his head. "No, Lord Tsuchikage."
The old man exhaled through his nose. "It is called Mu no Katachi. The Form of Nothingness."
A hush fell over the room.
Ishikawa continued. "Long before the era of shinobi, there were warriors who sought not power, but detachment. They did not seek to master elements, weapons, or even battle itself. They sought to master existence."
Jiro frowned. "You're saying this man is one of them?"
"I am saying," Ishikawa said, his tone heavy, "that we may have stumbled upon something older than this village. Older than the very idea of shinobi itself."
A weight settled over them.
This was not what they had expected.
Jiro forced himself to ask the question none of them wanted to voice.
"Is he a threat?"
Ishikawa's fingers tapped against the stone of his seat. Then, he closed his eyes.
"No."
Relief began to settle—
"But he could be."
The air grew tense again.
Ishikawa stood, his broad frame casting a shadow over the chamber.
"If this man is truly nothing," he said, "then he is something to be feared. Because power that desires nothing is the hardest to control."
He turned to one of the council members.
"Double the surveillance," he ordered. "Do not engage unless provoked. Watch him. Learn from him. And most importantly—"
His gaze sharpened.
"Make sure he does not set his sights on Iwagakure."
Jiro hesitated. "And if he does?"
Ishikawa did not answer immediately.
Then—
"If that day comes, we will pray the mountains can still stand."
The council dispersed.
Jiro and his squad bowed once more before leaving the chamber, their mission now heavier than before.
Because for the first time in his life, Jiro had seen fear in the eyes of a man who had never feared anything.