In the shadowy depths of a dark underground base...
"What's going on out there?"
A sudden tremor rattled the ground, sending small clouds of dust cascading from the ceiling. Shimura Danzō narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he looked toward the two Root guards standing silently beside him.
"That vibration... It wasn't ordinary."
Before he could say more, the two guards received a signal from outside. They bowed slightly and were about to leave to investigate.
But just then—
Oink! Oink!
Three other Root ninjas suddenly appeared from the corridor shadows, masks on, their breathing ragged, uniforms stained with dirt and ash. Panic was written all over their faces.
"Danzo-sama! Urgent report!"
Danzō's single exposed eye sharpened. "Compose yourselves and speak clearly. What has happened?"
The Root ninjas dropped to one knee, struggling to stay calm.
"Sir... it's Uchiha Madara! He's alive!"
"What?!"
Danzo's voice thundered through the chamber. His hands trembled slightly beneath his robe.
The lead messenger continued hurriedly, "We don't know how, but he's appeared in Konoha Village. He's attacking indiscriminately. Anbu teams have been wiped out. Kakashi, Akamichi Choza, even the elite Jōnin—none of them can stop him."
"Fifth Hokage Tsunade-sama has intervened, but... she alone can't hold him back!"
Danzo's expression turned grim, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down his cheek. "This... this is impossible…"
Meanwhile, outside on the once-bustling streets of Konoha, chaos reigned.
The lively marketplace and homes were now reduced to rubble, buildings shattered by force beyond comprehension. Screams echoed in the distance. Civilians fled in droves, holding onto children and clutching the wounded.
And at the heart of this destruction…
A tall figure clad in menacing red armor stood silently among a mountain of corpses.
Blood pooled at his feet. His weapon, a massive curved sickle, was stabbed into the ground beside him like a twisted banner of war.
Leo.
The reincarnated embodiment of Uchiha Madara's will.
He looked around at the bodies of dozens of Konoha Anbu he had just slaughtered. Their attacks had been fast, their resolve admirable—but to Leo, they were like leaves in a storm.
"Such weakness... pathetic."
Leo's Mangekyō Sharingan spun slowly in his eyes, glowing crimson as he gazed emotionlessly at the carnage around him.
The scent of blood filled the air, but Leo didn't flinch. His heart didn't race. His hands didn't shake.
This was who he had become.
No longer a man.
A demon.
A vessel of vengeance and power.
Nearby, a group of Konoha ninjas looked on in horror.
Kakashi, Yuhi Kurenai, Mitarashi Anko, and even Tsunade stood frozen for a moment as they tried to comprehend what they had just witnessed.
Those dozens of elite Anbu… slaughtered in less than ten seconds.
Tsunade clenched her fists, her body trembling slightly.
"This level of strength…" she muttered. "Even I would struggle to do something like this."
And yet Leo had done it casually—without breaking a sweat.
It shook her to her core.
Kakashi, his left eye now bandaged from earlier, gritted his teeth. Even though he could only rely on one eye, he could still feel the pressure radiating from Leo like an ocean crashing down on his chest.
They were dealing with a monster.
Leo stepped forward slowly, his red armor glinting under the blazing sun as his eyes locked onto the assembled shinobi.
"Hm? You're all so quiet now," he said, his tone eerily calm. "What happened to your earlier bravado?"
"Leo!!" Tsunade shouted, stepping forward. "What is your goal?! Why are you doing this?!"
Leo tilted his head slightly, then replied in a low, measured voice:
"My goal?"
He seemed to ask himself the question before giving an answer.
"To reclaim everything that rightfully belonged to Uchiha Madara."
The words echoed ominously.
Kakashi and the others tensed.
Leo continued, his voice colder now, layered with pain and hatred:
"Once, Uchiha and Senju stood together—an alliance of peace and unity. Hashirama offered me the title of First Hokage."
"But Tobirama... that man. He feared us. Feared our power. Because of him, I was rejected. Betrayed."
"My clan... my brothers... all blinded by false peace."
"They chose to believe in the village."
"They left me behind…"
A dark shadow crossed Leo's expression. His Sharingan pulsed.
"There was no one left beside me."
The pain in his words was palpable.
Then he raised his sickle, the weapon glinting wickedly.
"This time... I'll take it all back. By force, if necessary."
Tsunade stepped forward. "Leo, if there's still any shred of the person you once were, then stop this! We are not your enemies!"
But Leo remained unmoved.
"Leave Konoha. All of you. I'll spare your lives."
His voice was final.
But the response came swiftly.
"Not happening!!" Tsunade bellowed, launching herself at Leo with a chakra-infused punch.
Behind her, Kakashi, Asuma, Might Guy, Choza, and others joined in.
Even injured, they were ready to fight to the end.
Leo sighed.
"So be it."
With a slight flick of his wrist, he stored the sickle back into the system's inner space.
And then, with a single hand seal—
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!!"
A titanic wall of flame roared to life, spreading across the battlefield like an apocalyptic wave. It crashed into Asuma's own fire-style technique and devoured it instantly, then surged toward Tsunade and the others.
They leapt away, dodging in time.
But some Anbu weren't so lucky.
"AAAHHHH—!!"
Screams filled the air as a handful of shinobi were consumed by the flames, charred black within seconds.
When the fire died down, Leo stood untouched, his sickle once again in his hand.
And suddenly—
Swish!
He vanished.
Asuma, still recovering from the shock of the inferno, felt the air ripple in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, Leo appeared directly before him, red armor shining like a demon from another world.
Asuma's instincts screamed.
He raised his kunai just in time—but it was too slow.
Leo grinned slightly.
"I see everything."
With terrifying precision, Leo changed the angle of his slash mid-swing.
Instead of slicing toward Asuma's chest, the blade curved upward—
Schlick!
A red arc danced through the air.
Asuma's eyes widened.
He dropped to one knee, clutching at his throat.
Blood sprayed between his fingers.
His mouth opened to speak, but no sound came out.
"Asuma!!" Kurenai screamed.
Asuma's body began to fall, his vision fading as he looked up at the crimson-eyed monster who had struck him down.
Leo stared down without emotion.
This wasn't a personal grudge.
It was war.
It was vengeance.
One step at a time, Leo was reclaiming the world Madara had been denied.
And no one—not the Will of Fire, not the Hokage, not even the gods—could stop him now.
To Be Continued...