Shouta Kazuki barely had time to register the surroundings before the weight of his grandfather nearly knocked the breath out of him.
"My grandson! You scared me half to death!" Kazuki Ryoma's grip was so tight it felt like he was trying to physically anchor Shouta to reality. "I'm too old for this kind of shock! What were you thinking?! If you ever disappear like that again—!"
"Grandpa—air—I need air!" Shouta wheezed, squirming in his grasp.
Kazuki Haruto, his father, let out a deep breath, rubbing his temples as if trying to ease a headache. "At least you're back in one piece." His voice was calmer, but the tension in his posture betrayed his relief. "You have no idea how worried we've been."
Shouta chuckled awkwardly. "Uh… yeah, sorry about that?"
Before he could even get his bearings, a cold, commanding voice cut through the reunion.
"Shouta Kazuki."
The warmth of family vanished in an instant.
Shouta stiffened slightly and turned to face the one-eyed elder of Konoha, Shimura Danzo, who stood tall with his ever-present cane, his lone, piercing eye locking onto Shouta with unsettling intensity.
"I am Danzo Shimura, Elder of Konoha," he stated, his tone devoid of warmth. "You will explain yourself immediately. Where did you go? What did you experience?"
Shouta had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.
No welcome back, no are you okay—just straight to the interrogation, huh? Typical Danzo.
Before Shouta could form a response, another voice intervened.
"Danzo," Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, spoke in his usual calm but firm tone. The old man exhaled a long puff of smoke from his pipe before continuing, "Give the boy a moment to breathe."
Danzo's lips curled into a faint scowl, but he took a step back begrudgingly. "Hmph. Fine."
Shouta quickly wiped away the remnants of his grandfather's emotional outburst—seriously, the old man had nearly drenched his shoulder in snot—and turned his attention to the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama!" Shouta greeted, giving a polite bow.
Hiruzen chuckled. "No need to be so formal, child. Your grandfather once served under me. You may call me 'Grandpa Hokage' if you wish."
Shouta blinked. "Really? I can call you that?"
"Haha, of course!"
Shouta had to admit—Sarutobi was good. If he weren't a reincarnated soul with knowledge of how things would unfold, he might've actually fallen for the act.
By associating himself with the Kazuki family in such a friendly manner, Hiruzen was securing goodwill—not just from Shouta, but from his entire family. A brilliant political move.
Danzo, meanwhile, remained silent, though his eye darkened slightly at being ignored.
Hiruzen's tone shifted back to a more serious one.
"Now then, Shouta, can you tell us what happened?"
Shouta scratched his head, putting on the most clueless and innocent expression he could muster.
"Ah… well, Grandpa Hokage, I honestly don't really know myself!" He widened his eyes, making his confusion look as genuine as possible. "One moment, Iruka-sensei was teaching us about summoning techniques, and I thought I'd give it a try… and then—poof! I was somewhere else!"
Hiruzen's gaze sharpened. "Somewhere else?"
"Yeah!" Shouta nodded enthusiastically. "It was a weird place. I don't know where it was, but there was nothing there! No people, no animals—just a strange, empty space. I walked around for a bit, and then, out of nowhere, I was back here!"
Hiruzen stroked his beard, clearly deep in thought.
A reverse summoning… but to where?
When Jiraiya had been reverse-summoned to Mount Myōboku, he had immediately encountered the toads. If Shouta had ended up in one of the legendary summoning lands, there should have been creatures there to greet him.
Had he not been recognized?
Or was he lying?
Danzo remained silent, his calculating gaze analyzing every inch of Shouta's expression.
Shouta could tell that both men were suspicious, but that was fine. As long as they had no proof, he was safe.
Inside, he smirked.
Like hell I'm telling you the truth. No way am I explaining that I now have Uchiha Madara as a summoning beast.
There was no chance in hell he was going to expose that fact—especially not in front of these two. If Danzo got wind of such an ability, he would stop at nothing to exploit it for his own agenda.
Hiruzen finally spoke. "Did you encounter any strange creatures?"
Shouta shook his head immediately. "Nope! There was nothing there! It was completely empty! I didn't see a single living thing. I just wandered around for a while, and before I knew it, I was back here!"
Hiruzen frowned slightly. Something didn't add up.
Jiraiya's first reverse summoning had led him straight to the toads of Mount Myōboku. Why would Shouta's experience be different?
Was it possible that wherever he went was not one of the three holy lands?
Or worse… was he hiding something?
Danzo's frown deepened. His instincts told him that the boy wasn't telling the whole truth.
Shouta, on the other hand, simply played the part of a confused and innocent child, doing his best to look harmless.
Inwardly, he was amused.
Yeah, keep guessing, old men. No way I'm giving you anything.
He had an ace up his sleeve now—Uchiha Madara himself.
And if he played his cards right, nobody would ever see it coming.