Fugaku Uchiha watched as Master Genshi calmly directed the defense, a nagging sense of unease gnawing at him.
Is he really that confident? He must know what we're up against.
The Konoha delegation wasn't weak this time. Elder Koharu Utatane might have kept a low profile, but every one of the Second Hokage's disciples was a force to be reckoned with—her strength had to be at least near Kage-level. On top of that, there were four jōnin, ten chūnin, and three genin. Kakashi might only be a chūnin on paper, but in reality, he fought like a full-fledged jōnin.
Fugaku had sat in on the Mist's war council. Most of their elite were out on campaign; the village had precious few jōnin left. With the Konoha team's lineup, Fugaku figured that even twenty Mist ANBU would struggle to stop them.
But Genshi's voice was steady, even smug. He spoke like a man with an ace up his sleeve.
That could only mean one thing.
Back in Konoha's ANBU, Danzo had drilled it into him: every village has its own secret "language." It could be a gesture, a song, a drawing, or a symbol—anything. Never take things at face value. Sometimes, what's said and what's meant are worlds apart.
Thinking back, when Genshi assigned tasks to Tetsuya, he'd been tapping his cane on the floor in a deliberate rhythm. That wasn't just a habit—it was a code.
A chill crept up Fugaku's spine.
He's setting up a counter-ambush.
All that talk about sending the estate's guards to reinforce the front? Smoke and mirrors. The real plan was to circle around and trap the Konoha team in a perfect pincer.
He glanced around. The safe house was a fortress—three stories of smooth, windowless cylinder, no corners or handholds for climbing, every floor dotted with murder-holes for kunai and shuriken. The only entrance was the main door. Breaking in without special tactics would be a nightmare. If they got caught between attackers inside and out…
"Heh, judging by your face, you've figured it out," Genshi drawled. "That cane you're holding? It's the signal. And they'll be here any minute."
Even blindfolded, Fugaku could hear the mischief in Genshi's tone—the smugness of a kid who just swiped someone's lunch.
He couldn't just sit and wait to die. Fugaku strained, trying to rally chakra, but nothing responded. He was still completely locked down.
"Don't bother, kid…" Genshi said, voice flat, as if reading Fugaku's mind. "You think I could've held this position longer than your Second Hokage if I didn't have real skills?"
Fugaku forced himself to stay calm, to think. If things kept going this way, not only would he die here, but Elder Koharu and the rest of the Konoha team would be slaughtered like fish in a barrel. He needed to give Genshi something—something real.
"The Kaguya rebellion has nothing to do with Konoha!" Fugaku said, voice urgent.
"I'll look into that later. But honestly, whether you egged them on or not, those maniacs were going to rebel sooner or later. All that's changed is the body count."
"Master Genshi, are you really going to throw away the alliance between Konoha and Mist?"
Genshi's reply was cold and sharp. "Funny—weren't you the ones begging us to send troops? You handed the Three-Tails jinchūriki back to us, right? Now you're sneaking around trying to steal her back—talking about friendship while you pull this? Have some shame."
Fugaku was sweating bullets. Clearly, empty words wouldn't cut it.
He was about to speak when Aming burst in with a report.
"Master Genshi, the Konoha ninja have broken through the outer wall! We can't hold the main door much longer. That Utatane woman's Fire Release is ferocious."
Genshi didn't even flinch. "Doesn't matter. Our reinforcements are almost here. If you can't hold the main door, fall back to the first floor. If you lose the first, fall back to the second. As long as the third floor holds, they'll never escape our grasp."
Fugaku's heart plummeted. He shouted, desperate to shift the conversation:
"Konoha's assault on Kannabi Bridge failed! The Nine-Tails is missing!"
That got Genshi's attention at last.
"So that's why you're after the Three-Tails jinchūriki. Makes sense—it's just like Konoha. No tailed beast to defend the village, your defenses are wide open…"
"That's right."
"So you want to take the Three-Tails back—either to keep fighting, or to negotiate for peace. Even if you're doomed, you need some kind of bargaining chip, right?"
"Exactly."
"And now you're going to say, 'If Konoha falls, Sand and Cloud will come for Mist next.'"
"That's—yes…"
Genshi's tone turned icy. "And what's that got to do with us?"
He barked a harsh laugh. "Mist rules the seas. We've got over ten thousand ninja, the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, the strongest navy in the world, and we're conquering the Yuexi Peninsula as we speak! Even if the Wind-Cloud Alliance is strong, what can they do to us? Worst case, we retreat to the islands and wait them out. Don't think a little cleverness makes everyone else an idiot, kid."
"But those 'ten thousand ninja'—most of them are already dead on the beaches of Coin Harbor…"
Genshi laughed. "That's a good one, kid."
He went on, mocking, "A few days ago, Konoha got word from Jiraiya: Sand's Kakuzu ambushed us at Coin Harbor. Less than one in ten of our ten thousand survived. The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, is missing in action. The remnants should limp home in the next day or two."
Fugaku's voice was firm. "It's true."
"You—! Liar!" Genshi's anger lashed out—Fugaku felt a sharp smack to the back of his head.
"Let me go. Yamanaka Inoichi, one of our team, can contact Konoha directly. Jiraiya's in the village—ask him yourself."
Genshi knew Jiraiya had marched with the Mist army.
"Kid, if you're going to try and trick me, at least make it believable. Don't think I won't kill you."
Genshi's hand closed around Fugaku's throat.
Just then, the sound of shouting and marching thundered from outside. The reinforcements had arrived—Fugaku could hear the numbers in their voices.
"Good. Now we can drop the act," Genshi said, tightening his grip.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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