"Lord Sandaime, this is the document submitted by Kumogakure."
An Anbu agent handed over a scroll. "A group of envoys from Kumogakure will soon arrive in Konoha. They claim to want to learn more about tailed beast countermeasures."
Sarutobi Hiruzen unrolled the document and scanned its contents. Though the language was diplomatic and courteous on the surface, he could smell the underlying intent a mile away—disgusting.
"Hmph," muttered Mitokado Enma with a scowl. "Kumogakure has always been scheming. Now that they've seen us weakened by the Nine-Tails, they're looking to test our strength. They're not just coming to learn—they're looking for an opening."
"Enma's right," Utatane Koharu said with a sigh. "Kumo has always been like a pack of wolves. They circle when they smell weakness, waiting for the chance to strike."
Sarutobi tapped the ash from his pipe before responding. "The question is—what do we do about it? Kumo's already making moves at the border. We can't just sit around and hope for the best. Everyone must do their part. I want each of you to mobilize some elite troops from your clans to support our border defenses."
"The Nine-Tails Rebellion didn't cause large-scale losses across the village, but the Anbu suffered heavily. Combined with the number of injured, we're stretched thin."
Utane Koharu and Mitokado Enma looked uncomfortable, exchanging a quick glance.
"Sarutobi, that's asking a lot," Enma finally said, forcing a cough. "Our clans are small to begin with. After the Nine-Tails attack, we barely have enough manpower left."
"But according to the records," Sarutobi replied coolly, "your clans were primarily in charge of evacuation efforts that day, not direct combat. So where, exactly, did your losses come from? Don't tell me the evacuees didn't make it out."
He knew exactly what they were doing—trying to protect their own interests under the guise of concern. It was true their clans were small, but not so small they couldn't spare a few troops.
"Sarutobi," Koharu said quickly, trying to shift the blame, "why not let Danzo handle this? His Root division has been expanding aggressively. He's got a lot of capable people under him."
"You don't need to worry about that. Root has already deployed. They'll reach the border by this afternoon. At least this time, Danzo's been more cooperative than you two."
"Then why target us?" Enma argued. "Why not ask the Uchiha and Uzumaki clans? Why are we being singled out?"
"I will be asking them too," Hiruzen replied firmly. "But your clans will provide at least one jonin, ten chunin, and twenty genin each. That's non-negotiable. If you can't gather that many, then you'll just have to figure something out. We've been comrades for decades—you don't think I know exactly what resources your clans still have?"
"My own Sarutobi clan will be contributing five jonin, thirty chunin, and sixty genin. This isn't up for debate."
Faced with Hiruzen's direct pressure and intimate understanding of their capabilities, the two had no choice but to grudgingly agree. He hadn't pushed them past their limit, but he'd made it clear there'd be no escaping responsibility either.
Once the two elders left, Uchiha Fugaku entered the office.
"Fugaku, I need your help this time," Sarutobi said, his tone noticeably softer. He hadn't wanted to rely on the Uchiha, but the situation was critical. The village hadn't fully recovered from the Nine-Tails attack.
"Sandaime-sama," Fugaku replied calmly, "I'm sure you remember the agreement made with the First and Second Hokage—that the Uchiha would refrain from participating in village politics, and in exchange, we'd also not be required to contribute in times like these. Your current request goes against that agreement."
Fugaku wasn't trying to provoke him. His tone was measured, respectful—but firm.
"I understand," Hiruzen replied with a sigh. "The village hasn't treated the Uchiha fairly. But right now, we need every capable hand. Konoha is in trouble."
"I'll assist," Fugaku said after a pause. "But the Uchiha and Uzumaki personnel will operate under my command alone. I won't allow anyone else to direct them. Is that acceptable?"
Sarutobi nodded. "Fair enough. I can agree to that. After all, the Uchiha wouldn't take orders from someone like Danzo."
Though it was a compromise, Sarutobi still felt some relief. Despite the Uchiha's growing strength, he maintained a baseline of tolerance toward them. Perhaps that was what still earned him the title "Ninja Hero."
---
Uchiha Fugaku soon led his clan toward the border. Part of his willingness to move quickly stemmed from confidence—after all, there was still a clone of Uchiha Xiuyu's ancestor guarding their territory. But the other reason was simple: he wanted the younger generation of Uchiha to see more of the world beyond the village.
The Uchiha clan was born for battle. Without the fire of real conflict, an Uchiha was incomplete.
At the rear of the group, two figures walked together: Shisui and Itachi.
"Are you adjusting alright, Shisui?" Itachi asked, his voice soft. "You just got those eyes back. I'm worried it might affect your fighting."
Shisui smiled faintly. "Don't worry. I'm grateful to our ancestors for leaving me this three-tomoe Sharingan. Besides, we're Uchiha. We adapt."
Not long ago, Shisui had returned in secret, retrieving his Sharingan from Itachi and witnessing the darker side of the village firsthand. That experience had shaken him. The idealistic Shisui who once believed wholeheartedly in the Will of Fire had changed.
To Itachi, Shisui was more than a comrade—he was a big brother. He had thought Shisui was dead. Seeing him return was a miracle.
"Shisui," Itachi said after a pause, "the gap between the clan and the village… it feels like it's getting worse. What should we do?"
Itachi had always been precocious, worrying about the clan's place in the village from a young age. He had the talent to back up his thoughts, too. While Shisui was the most gifted of their generation, Itachi wasn't far behind.
"You're still too young," Shisui said gently. "You've got time to see the world, to understand it. Don't rush to conclusions yet. But maybe… maybe we were wrong to believe Uchiha should simply integrate into Konoha."
Itachi looked surprised. "You mean we shouldn't support the village anymore?"
"Not quite," Shisui replied. "But I've realized how naive I was. Perhaps it's not wrong for Uchiha to lead Konoha. Think about it: since the First Hokage's death, Konoha has grown weaker. The Second Hokage at least kept things stable. But under the Third… we've had two Great Ninja Wars, and the village continues to decline."
He glanced toward the village behind them.
"All this talk of the Will of Fire—what has it really done? If all it asks for is sacrifice and blind loyalty, isn't that just another form of exploitation?"
Fugaku, walking ahead of them, kept a close eye on the conversation behind. He couldn't hear every word, but from Shisui's shift in tone and Itachi's expressions, he could tell something had changed—and that gave him a rare sense of relief.
Thanks to Xiuyu's warning, he'd realized his son's ideology was dangerously naive. Now, with Shisui's renewed perspective, the timing was perfect to reshape Itachi's thinking.
Fugaku felt a twinge of guilt for not being more involved in his son's development. But it wasn't too late. Everything was falling into place just in time.
-------------------------
Uchiha Shisui's new theory sent Uchiha Itachi—ever the deep thinker—into silent contemplation. But Shisui didn't press. He understood how hard it was to change someone's core beliefs. That kind of shift required the right timing and the right trigger to crack through years of ingrained thinking.
The Uchiha unit soon arrived at the border. After setting up a temporary camp, Fugaku wasted no time breaking the team into smaller squads and preparing for immediate deployment.
He had no intention of delay. This seemed like a mere probing attack from Kumogakure, and even if it turned into a full-scale assault, Fugaku wasn't worried. Since receiving the teachings of his ancestor, his strength had skyrocketed.
Besides, this time they brought elite forces—including Shisui. Even if the Fourth Raikage and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki showed up, Fugaku was confident they could hold their own. The elite Uchiha jonin had their own summoned beasts, and once summoned, trapping the Eight-Tails wouldn't be impossible—difficult, yes, but not out of reach.
This was the root of Fugaku's confidence: power. Power was always the foundation.
"All right, the unit will split into three squads. Shisui and I will each lead one. Inahime, you and Itachi will handle support."
"Yes, sir!"
---
Meanwhile, at the Konoha border—
With Yugito leading and Omoi as his second, the Kumogakure squad began its tentative infiltration.
"Captain, we've crossed into the Land of Fire. This is dangerous! What if a Konoha ninja jumps out at us? Shouldn't we head back before something happens?" Omoi was visibly uneasy.
This wasn't the first time Omoi had worked with Yugito Nii, and if she didn't know him so well, she might've thought he was trying to shake the team's morale.
Omoi was competent—he just worried about everything. He looked like a coward, but when push came to shove, he never backed down. He simply had a habit of overthinking.
"I get it, Omoi," Yugito said calmly. "But I'm a Jinchuriki—you can trust I'll get us out of here in one piece. It's just a recon mission. Don't stress."
But just as she finished speaking—
Shuriken flew through the air.
"Look out!" Yugito shouted.
Omoi's reflexes weren't bad. The angles of the shuriken were tricky, but he dodged the first two and unsheathed his blade to deflect the rest. Still, one shuriken clashed with another, changing its trajectory—
Thwack!
—It hit him squarely on the butt.
"Dammit!" Omoi winced, clutching the injured cheek. Luckily, it hit a fatty area—not his, uh, vital zone. He breathed a sigh of relief.
He had no idea what purpose that area served other than peeing, but when he asked Master Killer Bee once, the man had turned red and muttered something about "marriage" and "children."
Yugito narrowed her eyes. "Be careful. That technique—it's Uchiha. Only those red-eyed freaks throw shuriken with such deadly precision."
Sure enough, twelve Uchiha emerged from the trees, wearing their iconic clan uniforms. There was no mistaking them. They even wore their clan's crest like a badge of honor—probably a holdover from their flamboyant ancestor, Uchiha Xiu Yu, who'd never dressed like a traditional, low-profile shinobi.
"Two Kumogakure Jinchuriki, huh?" the lead Uchiha said with a smirk. "Your village must be feeling bold—sending you to invade the Land of Fire? Are you trying to start a war?"
It was none other than Uchiha Shisui. He'd stumbled across the enemy sooner than expected—but that wasn't a bad thing. Compared to dealing with a massive force, dealing with the Two-Tails Jinchuriki and her squad was manageable.
"We were just passing through," Yugito said smoothly. "You believe us?"
Shisui shrugged. "Sure. If you say so, then let's part ways peacefully."
"Great. Sounds good." Yugito let out a breath of relief and turned around.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
A storm of shuriken rained down, crashing into the water barrier.
"Didn't we agree to disengage? What the hell, Shisui?" Yugito shouted.
Shisui smiled faintly. "Us? Breaking the truce? Look at your own guys. They were forming seals the moment you turned around."
There it was—both sides had tried to get the drop on each other. Classic shinobi behavior. No trust, no hesitation—just kill or be killed.
"Fine," Yugito growled. "That doesn't count. Let's really back off now. Deal?"
"Sure, no problem."
"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique!"
"Lightning Style: Gratitude Wave!"
"Goddammit! You lying bastard!" Omoi cursed, launching his own jutsu.
"You too, intruders! You think I'm letting you walk away?" Shisui retorted. He knew full well Kumogakure wouldn't send Jinchuriki on a whim. There had to be more to this mission. He was already thinking about how to subdue them and ease the pressure on Clan Head Fugaku.
As the flames and lightning lit up the battlefield, every Uchiha activated their Sharingan. The weakest among them had already awakened the two-tomoe stage.
This was the first time Yugito had fought against a full Uchiha squad—and being surrounded by a dozen red-eyed warriors was enough to give her chills.
"Fire Rat Jade!" Yugito roared.
Blue, rat-shaped flames surged from her mouth, splitting into multiple smaller fireballs that homed in on the Uchiha members like tracking missiles.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique! x16!"
The Uchiha clan responded with synchronized fire-style jutsu, their giant fireballs smashing into Yugito's tracking flames mid-air, dispersing the heat and light across the battlefield.
Shisui gave orders swiftly. "I'll handle the Jinchuriki. The rest of you, break off and engage!"
The battle erupted into chaos.
Shisui moved like a blur, appearing behind Yugito and Omoi in an instant.
"Uchiha Style: Sword of Flames!"
His sword ignited in crimson fire and slashed across their backs in a clean arc.
Both Jinchuriki grunted in pain. The blade not only cut deep, but seared the flesh, leaving behind a smell like burnt meat.
Shisui's instantaneous body flicker was absurdly fast, giving him the upper hand—but only because they'd let their guard down.
Yugito snarled, swiping at him with clawed fingers. Shisui blocked with his blade.
Up close, her transformation was becoming clearer—whisker marks had appeared on her cheeks, and her chakra surged, healing the burn on her back at an alarming rate.
"Tch... what a troublesome woman," Shisui muttered to himself, tightening his grip on the flaming blade.
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