"There's something off about all this."
Ao stood atop the Mizukage's office, his Byakugan scanning the battlefield below. His brow was furrowed so tight it looked like a rusty lock.
Dawn was breaking over Hidden Mist Village. The riot had raged all night, and now the streets were littered with corpses—Kaguya rebels and Mist ninja alike, though the Mist casualties were clearly greater. Bodies sprawled everywhere, twisted in the morning fog, painting a scene both tragic and haunting.
"Sir, you don't need to worry so much," a masked ANBU said, stepping forward. "Lord Áo Péng has stabilized the front. Give me Master Genshi's guards, and I'll crush these thugs before sundown."
Ao didn't answer immediately. Instead, he gave the ANBU a long, meaningful look.
"Kishaku Kōta, you're a native of the main island, right?"
The ninja blinked, then nodded. "Yes, sir."
Ao let out a relieved sigh. "Good. Otherwise, I'd have to wonder if you were a sleeper agent from Leaf or Sand."
Kishaku Kōta stiffened, speechless.
"Sir… what do you mean?"
Ao didn't bother to look at him. He deactivated his Byakugan, speaking slowly. "These rebels are running on pure bloodlust. Like you said, Áo Péng has the line stabilized. A little more effort and the riot ends. Even if the Mizukage's office falls, it doesn't matter—the final victory will be ours."
"Then… what's so fishy about it?" Kishaku Kōta asked, confused.
Ao pointed toward the battlefield. "Don't you find it odd? How did they get into the village? The drainage pipe locations—only me, the Mizukage, and a handful of top brass know. Not even Master Genshi. So how did the Kaguya clan figure it out?"
Kishaku Kōta hesitated. "That… is strange."
"There's a puppet master in the shadows," Ao muttered, his gaze drifting toward Master Genshi's mansion.
He knew well: the true heart of the village wasn't this office, but Master Genshi's estate. Why? Because that's where the Three-Tails jinchūriki was kept.
The Kaguya uprising was clearly an inside job, traitors working with outsiders. But the way it was playing out made no sense.
If Ao were calling the shots, he'd have sent everyone straight for Master Genshi's mansion, triggered a Three-Tails rampage, and overwhelmed the village's defenses. Instead, the enemy was locked in a slugfest at the Mizukage's office.
It was like throwing out four twos and two jokers in a card game—wasting a sure win.
Was there another plot here?
Ao shook his head. As long as Áo Péng's line held, Mist Village was safe. The force at Master Genshi's mansion would remain untouched unless things got truly desperate.
With the Mizukage's main army away, Ao's resources were limited. He couldn't crush the rebellion instantly, but he could protect the essentials and minimize losses.
And the essential was the jinchūriki. The rest—fallen ninja—were just numbers in a compensation ledger.
Plus, the village still had reinforcements en route. Once the four hundred from Bubble Island arrived, the rebellion would be finished.
Just then, a chilling thought struck Ao.
What if there was a third faction in the village, watching everything from above—maybe even higher than him?
If so, this whole setup was terrifying.
They'd be waiting for the right moment, and their target would be Master Genshi's mansion. No doubt about it.
But why hadn't they moved yet?
Only one explanation: they didn't have enough manpower to take down the two hundred ninja guarding the mansion.
If that was true, then this chess game was just getting started.
A new plan began to form in Ao's mind. Time to flush out these hidden pests.
He glanced at Kishaku Kōta, pulled a blank scroll and pen from his pocket, and scribbled out a quick message. Then he pressed a semi-liquid rubber seal onto the scroll, blew on it, and handed it over.
"Deliver this secret message to Master Genshi, and follow his orders."
Kishaku Kōta bowed, took the scroll, and hurried off.
Ao watched him go, then beckoned to the empty rooftop. Another ninja appeared beside him.
"Shadow him. Don't let him notice. If he delivers the scroll to Master Genshi, leave him be. But if he hands it off to someone else…" Ao drew his thumb across his throat.
"Understood." The ninja nodded and slipped away.
"Let's see who's left standing at the end," Ao murmured.
Maybe Ao didn't realize it, but sometimes there really isn't a mastermind behind the chaos—sometimes it's just a mess of coincidences. But this time, he'd actually guessed right. Like a relay race run by the blind, Konoha's eighteen-person team had picked up the baton Maki had tossed, becoming the third force in the village.
And just as Ao suspected, wary of the two hundred ninja guarding Master Genshi's mansion, they'd held back, waiting for the perfect moment.
Koharu Utatane watched the red sun rising over the horizon, then turned to Fugaku Uchiha.
"Is it time to move?"
Fugaku considered. "Just about. I'll go take out Áo Péng. Once Master Genshi's ninja start moving, you act."
"Got it. Wait—someone's coming!"
Koharu tensed, glancing behind her.
"Fugaku, Kakashi—intercept."
"Yes!"
Fifteen minutes later, Fugaku and Kakashi dragged two captives before Koharu. Both were bound hand and foot, mouths gagged, squirming helplessly—clearly caught alive.
"Well, well. A messenger and a tail. Looks like Mist's internal power struggles haven't changed a bit," Fugaku said, tossing a scroll to Koharu.
She didn't rush to open it, instead carefully inspecting the rubber seal.
Drawing her ninja blade, she didn't slice the seal but pried at the scroll's end cap. In moments, the cap popped off, and she slid the scroll out, just like pulling the cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper.
"Looks like our window just opened. Fugaku, forget the battlefield—interrogate these two, find out everything you can. The more details, the better."
"No problem."
Fugaku grabbed Kishaku Kōta by the collar, staring into his eyes. Within seconds, Kishaku Kōta was shaking uncontrollably, a spreading stain darkening his pants.
"Who'd have thought Mist Village had a force like this lurking in the shadows? Fascinating," Fugaku sneered.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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