Konoha, Year 54.
Autumn.
Night draped the village in a seductive hush.
Sparse lanternlight dotted the rows of houses, dim and scattered, barely holding back the dark. After days of large-scale investigations, the streets had thinned out noticeably. Those with sharp instincts shut their doors early the moment dusk fell, closing themselves off from whatever stirred outside.
This state of tension had lasted a full week.
And as time passed—along with the disappearance of that Uchiha prodigy—the village, fresh from a partial reshuffling of power, seemed to develop undercurrents beneath its surface.
The Nara clan.
Inside the clan head's study.
Nara Shikaku sat before a low table, flipping through dossiers laid out in front of him. His once-smooth brow had grown faint creases in just a few days.
One finger tapped lightly against an unfolded flowchart of accounts on the table.
Dense lines and annotations tangled together in a mess.
The great tree called Konoha—its roots had rotted so badly that the decay had already climbed into the crown.
After staring for a long time, Shikaku finally leaned back, rubbing his brow. He pressed hard against his throbbing temples, and a sentence slipped out before he could stop it—
"Investigate what needs investigating. Arrest who needs arresting. Kill who needs killing."
Recently, several massive, unexplained expenditures had surfaced, all pointing toward the outskirts of the village.
More precisely—toward several abandoned Root facilities.
"So there are still remnants of Root…" Shikaku muttered. "Even dismantled, they've left claws buried deep."
"It might be time to… remind certain families of their place."
He paused.
"But the Byakugan mentioned in the reports…"
"Please don't let it be the Hyūga…"
Thinking of the Hyūga clan—and their unwavering support of Uchiha Kai—only made Shikaku's headache worse.
He couldn't understand it.
How could a clan that firmly stood behind Uchiha Kai have someone slipping out to abandoned outposts on the village perimeter?
And even making contact with shinobi from other great villages?
Behind the Akimichi clan's barbecue restaurant.
Akimichi Chōza's massive frame was awkwardly squeezed onto a tiny stool.
Before him lay mountains of ingredient lists and thick logistics reports.
His fingers traced a string of numbers on the page as his brow gradually knotted into a tight lump.
"Meat consumption…" he rumbled. "Down thirty percent compared to last month…"
"Vegetables and grain are up instead?"
Chōza muttered in his deep, muffled voice.
"Patrol rations haven't changed. ANBU rotations haven't increased… no battles on the front lines either. So where did all this extra food go?"
Gulp.
After brooding for a moment, he downed a mouthful of cold tea, trying to suppress the unease rising in his chest.
Lately, the clans handling village logistics had been quiet—far too quiet.
And when things grew abnormal, there was always a reason.
After hesitating for three minutes, Chōza grabbed the lists and headed out.
Beneath the Yamanaka flower shop.
Intelligence Analysis Room.
Yamanaka Inoichi sat with eyes closed, perfectly still.
Countless fine strands of mental energy radiated outward from him, linking dozens of faintly glowing crystal orbs scattered throughout the room.
These were the communication nodes monitored by the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques.
Suddenly—
Buzz.
One of the orbs lit up with a thin, pale white glow.
A blurred white pupil flashed past.
"Byakugan? Hyūga?!"
Inoichi's lips pressed together as he focused harder.
"No—this is… a Cloud Village encrypted signal?!"
"Why would a Cloud signal appear at the edge of the Forest of Death?!"
His eyes snapped open, sharp light bursting forth.
That area was deep within Konoha's territory.
A high-level encrypted signal used by the Cloud Village for emergency contact and positional guidance appearing there—what did that imply?!
Inoichi's heart sank.
He rose immediately, no longer able to sit still.
The same moment.
The Police Force.
Temporary command center.
Uchiha Fugaku sat at the head seat, the crimson three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes slowly rotating under the dim light.
The atmosphere was heavy.
"Clan Head!"
An Uchiha jōnin strode in quickly and reported in a low, urgent voice.
"The Third Patrol Unit discovered combat traces in the Forest of Death!"
"Residual Lightning Release and Earth Release chakra detected!"
"Preliminary assessment—at least five chūnin-level foreign shinobi infiltrated."
"And there's a high chance they're from the Cloud Village…"
"Lightning and Earth?" A cold glint flashed in Fugaku's eyes. "Cloud and Stone?"
Sensing something amiss, he turned sharply toward a Hyūga branch-family jōnin responsible for liaison duties.
Suppressing the anger in his chest, he questioned him point-blank:
"Hyūga Fū! Your clan has been overseeing surveillance in that sector—any abnormalities?!"
Drip.
At Fugaku's words, sweat instantly beaded on Hyūga Fū's forehead.
At a time like this, one wrong answer could drag the entire Hyūga clan into serious trouble.
After a brief pause—replaying all previous reports in his mind—he finally spoke:
"R-reporting to Lord Fugaku! All outposts are normal!"
"Branch members maintain round-the-clock rotations. Unless guided by a Byakugan, no one could bypass their detection."
Byakugan?
Fugaku nodded silently.
Everyone knew how fiercely the Hyūga guarded their eyes—more obsessively than even the Uchiha did.
They had placed seals upon seals for that very reason.
So an outsider using a Byakugan was impossible.
And a local Byakugan user…
After a moment, Fugaku shook his head and looked back at Hyūga Fū.
"Yet I've just received confirmation that foreign shinobi have already infiltrated."
"Return and inform the Hyūga clan head. Immediately recheck every outpost and surrounding area in the southeast."
"Otherwise…"
"Yes!" Hyūga Fū answered sharply, heart pounding.
He was just as baffled—who could possibly evade the Hyūga's detection?
After issuing orders, Fugaku's voice dropped.
He gazed at the night beyond the window, worry weighing down his features.
"And… increase scouts and sensory teams. We must ensure Uchiha Kai and Lord Jiraiya's safety at all costs."
Konoha was moving at full speed, excising its internal tumors one by one.
In other words—
Konoha was becoming healthier… but also weaker.
More than a dozen clans had been implicated.
The strain from that alone was something even Konoha couldn't bear lightly.
And now—at this most delicate moment—external threats had quietly emerged.
Only after all patrol assignments were dispatched did Fugaku turn back to the window.
The Mangekyō in his eyes rotated slowly.
Fragments of scenes flashed within as he murmured:
"The Raikage and the Tsuchikage… those two old bastards really do have sharp noses."
"Ha… perhaps the Fourth Great War… is coming after all."
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