The Uchiha clan… had an incident?
The news crashed down like a bolt from a clear sky, leaving the Third Hokage utterly stunned. For a brief, fleeting moment, his mind was thrown into disarray, overwhelmed by a torrent of unnamed, dreadful possibilities.
Fortunately,
that moment of helplessness lasted only an instant.
In the blink of an eye,
the Third regained his composure.
He didn't scold the Anbu who'd rushed in with the report—even though the man had shouted loud enough for the Kiri-nin to hear. It wasn't that the Third was exceptionally magnanimous; rather, the messenger hadn't even finished speaking, and his next words made mention of the Kiri-nin as well.
"A mysterious individual infiltrated the Uchiha compound and abducted a young child. While escaping, he ran into Uchiha clan jonin and was recognized. Reports say he is Mizushiro—one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"
The Anbu blurted out the long report in a single breath,
nearly suffocating himself.
But that wasn't the end.
He inhaled sharply and continued, "The Uchiha clan has already mobilized. Clan head Uchiha Fugaku is leading a group this way toward the embassy."
At last,
the report was complete.
Yet everyone present was left dazed by the sheer weight of the information.
The implications were enormous.
Anjō Oniyuzu couldn't help turning it over in his mind. If the Konoha Anbu's report held no deception, and Mizushiro really had abducted an Uchiha child… then who in the village ordered him? Were they targeting the Uchiha Sharingan?
But to act so openly was absurd. Did they not think to inform him—their advisory elder?
Or—
was someone eyeing him with displeasure and setting him up?
But who in the village even had the authority to command a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to throw his life away for a scheme like this? Only the Mizukage or Elder Genji could. And the Mizukage would never issue such an order. As for the Elder Genji… he would never do something so harmful and pointless.
After considering it for a while,
he found both possibilities unlikely.
Which left only one conclusion:
Mizushiro himself was the problem.
Something was definitely wrong with him.
Unlike Anjō's spiraling overanalysis,
Kyoichi in that moment only became more convinced of his previous suspicion—Mizushiro might truly have escaped using Reverse Summoning. But now that the Uchiha clan was involved, the method he used to slip out of the embassy no longer mattered.
With Uchiha dragged into the storm,
Kyoichi was certain: Mizushiro was connected to Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu.
In his memory,
to trigger Obito's Sharingan awakening, Madara had orchestrated Rin Nohara's death, using Kiri-nin as the catalyst. Later, Obito manipulated the Fourth Mizukage and created the Bloody Mist… hardly a coincidence.
Even if Obito was fine right now,
the Uchiha clan had many members. Madara and Black Zetsu didn't need Obito specifically—they only needed an Uchiha to use as a pawn.
This whole incident…
was likely staged to force some Uchiha child to awaken their Sharingan.
And once again, the Kiri-nin…
were just the catalyst.
"Someone, surround the embassy!"
At that moment,
Orochimaru, who had been silent for a while, spoke first and issued an order.
Immediately after,
he glanced at Kyoichi, then at his own teacher, explaining, "The Uchiha clan is likely charging here to settle the score with the Kiri-nin. We can't let both sides collide head-on. The situation is unclear—if they clash now, it may be exactly what someone wants."
"Agreed."
After a brief moment of consideration, the Third Hokage accepted Orochimaru's judgment. Even though the Anbu reported that Mizushiro, a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, had abducted an Uchiha child, they could not simply assume the entire Kirigakure contingent was responsible.
If the Kiri-nin were indeed staging this themselves, then they would settle it once the truth was uncovered.
After all, aside from Mizushiro, every other Kiri-nin was inside the embassy.
As long as they secured the building, none of them could flee.
If the Kiri-nin were merely scapegoats,
then they needed to determine who was manipulating events from the shadows… and not fall into the trap laid by the real mastermind.
"Orochimaru, you oversee the embassy."
The Third assigned the task of containing the Kiri-nin to Orochimaru.
Then,
he turned toward the east.
The Uchiha arrived almost immediately—only a heartbeat behind the Anbu messenger.
At the head was the current clan leader and commander of the Konoha Police Force—Uchiha Fugaku. Behind him followed seven or eight Uchiha clansmen, all wearing dark green jonin flak jackets.
Every single one of them…
was a jonin.
When the Third Hokage saw the Uchiha jonin squad,
a flash of wariness flickered in his eyes. But he buried the feeling deep and stepped forward, intercepting Fugaku head-on.
"Fugaku, what are you planning to do?"
"Hokage-sama!"
Fugaku halted, his expression cold and composed.
"A young child of our clan, Uchiha Tsuruyu, was attacked and abducted. Fortunately, Shisui and Obito were sparring late at the training grounds, and on their way back, they encountered the kidnapper. Obito recognized him as a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist… As clan head, I must give my people an explanation."
"Fugaku, calm yourself. This matter isn't simple."
The Third Hokage cut him off before he could argue. "What we need to do now is not take revenge on the Kirigakure, but rescue the abducted Uchiha Tsuruyu. Fugaku—you said Shisui and Obito saw the kidnapper?"
As he spoke,
his gaze moved past Fugaku toward the jonin squad—where two young boys stood.
One, round-nosed and gentle-looking, was Uchiha Shisui.
The other, with goggles over his forehead protector, was Uchiha Obito.
The Third knew them both well.
The former was the Uchiha's brightest prodigy, notorious on Kirigakure battlefield for earning the title "Shunshin" by taking dozens of Kiri-nin lives. He was also the grandson of the Third's former teammate, Uchiha Kagami.
The latter was the clan's rising dark horse—once considered a dead last, only to awaken his Sharingan on the Kusagakure battlefield. And not just one tomoe—he awakened with two. Now, he had already matured into a three-tomoe Sharingan wielder. Obito was also Minato's student, making him the Third's "grand-student," in a sense.
"Shisui, Obito—come closer and speak."
Ignoring Fugaku standing before him, the Third Hokage directly beckoned the two fresh, young Uchiha boys.