The cells in the Maximum Security Block were separated one by one. Each inmate was confined in isolation, and only at set times of day were a few well-behaved ones allowed outside for brief airings.
But today, the moment Uchiha Dainine opened the first cell, he was hit by a vicious surprise attack.
A sharp pain lanced through his side, right where an old injury had lingered ever since he retired from the battlefield. It was as if the prisoner knew his weak spot and struck it with precision.
Still, Dainine reacted quickly. Staggering forward from the blow, his hand was already reaching for his weapon pouch.
He intended to teach this bastard a lesson.
But before he could act, the chained convict exploded with inhuman strength, launching himself with both feet into a brutal tackle right into Dainine's side—once again targeting his crippled waist.
Eyes wide, Dainine tried to circulate chakra and cast a jutsu—but he was too late.
The moment he chose to draw a weapon instead of retreating with jutsu, his fate was sealed.
Many inmates in this block were seasoned killers. Empowered by Survivor, this one could see the weak points in others—an instinctive understanding of where to strike.
He saw the dim aura around Dainine's torso, sensed the flawed muscle pattern, and drove into it with surgical precision.
Dainine stabbed a kunai into the inmate's shoulder, but the counterattack shattered his lower spine. His scream of agony echoed down the halls.
The convict ignored the blade buried in his shoulder, scrambled up, and with chained hands groped Dainine's body until he found the keys.
The alarm soon followed, triggered by Dainine's cries.
The inmate's face twisted into a grin.
First, he unlocked himself. Then he began walking cell to cell, opening the others.
More and more prisoners were freed.
But instead of rushing for escape, they immediately turned on each other.
Brawls broke out within seconds.
The first inmate—despite his head start—was soon grabbed by a giant and twisted into a mangled sculpture, then hung over a swinging cell door like a trophy.
The guards who arrived quickly pulled Dainine to safety—but didn't re-enter.
The chaos was beyond their scope. They immediately escalated to the upper chain of command.
Within three minutes, a special ops ANBU squad arrived and began subduing prisoners with chakra shock therapy.
Meanwhile, two reports landed on two desks:
One on Hiruzen Sarutobi's, and the other on Shimura Danzō's.
"The signs are clear. This was no accident," the Third Hokage muttered, scanning the intel. "Notify Shisui. I need a full mission debrief."
A blur of black passed through the room as one ANBU operative immediately vanished.
In Root's base, Danzō stared at the documents, his face hardening into a cold sneer.
As expected.
"That brat still doesn't have the guts to do what's necessary," he muttered.
"If he really wanted to erase suspicion, the best move would've been to trigger those strange creatures in the streets of Konoha—then establish a solid alibi."
"That way—even if I personally suspected him—I'd need hard evidence. His reputation is too clean, too perfect."
"But instead, he triggers them in a prison? Killing a bunch of dead men walking? Even with an alibi, it's obvious he did it. In fact, it makes him look guiltier."
"This stunt fits too well with his persona."
Danzō chuckled darkly at the thought. Then his expression twisted.
"…No. That's not it."
"He's sending a message."
I can trigger this anytime. Anywhere. Even without being there myself.
"Knowing Hiruzen, once he's convinced Kujo won't harm the village directly—but still has access to a powerful threat—he'll default to passive surveillance and hand things off to Root."
"Wait…" Danzō's single eye sharpened. "This might be a trap. Hiruzen could start doubting me instead."
"The prison attack looks like a frame job. It's precisely the kind of setup Hiruzen might fall for—tailored to Kujo's personality."
The realization hit him like a punch.
That little bastard's been aiming at Hiruzen this whole time… banking on him not making the first move. And now Hiruzen's begun doubting me.
"Doesn't he fear my retaliation? Or is there something I missed… or is his real goal… Root?"
Unconsciously, Danzō had begun treating Ishiki Kujo as a true adversary. A threat that needed to be evaluated. Eliminated.
He gritted his teeth.
"Hiruzen's still having Shisui monitor him… If Kujo can maneuver this freely even under Uchiha surveillance, then without hard proof, Hiruzen won't act."
Danzō's gaze darkened. "But I will."
"Anyone with that kind of dangerous potential must be eliminated before they grow stronger."
That was Danzō's way. Always had been.
Even if he hadn't been injured in their previous clash, he'd still failed to subdue Kujo. That alone was unacceptable.
Back in the village…
Ishiki's shadow clone remained at the table with Shisui and the others until almost 2 p.m.
They would've stayed longer if any of them drank.
After the meal, Ishiki returned to the hospital and resumed the work of his clone's clone.
Using Ripple, he could still sense Shisui keeping tabs on him—but he didn't mind.
In fact, once he confirmed it was the Sharingan watching him, not the Byakugan, he relaxed considerably.
Under Byakugan surveillance, swapping real body and clone was tricky.
But with the Sharingan? All he needed was one blind spot—and he could make the switch cleanly.
That's exactly what he'd done at the training field.
And having used both eyes himself, Ishiki could confidently say—Byakugan was far more oppressive for surveillance.
Meanwhile, Shisui's real body arrived at the Hokage's office.
"What was Kujo doing this afternoon?" Hiruzen asked bluntly.
"He was with me, Mirina, and Yamashiro Aoba. We were eating lunch. The gathering just ended when I received your summons," Shisui answered plainly.
"Lunch?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.
He'd assumed Shisui would monitor Kujo from the shadows, not actually join him.
"Did Kujo leave your sight during the meal?" the Hokage pressed.
"No. Not even his shadow clone. I had eyes on them the whole time," Shisui said with certainty.
He'd used a crow clone to tail Kujo's shadow clone the moment he sent the message to Aoba.
"…I see." Hiruzen nodded, expression thoughtful.
Then, a decision.
"Shisui—Orochimaru will soon depart for the Iwagakure border to reinforce that front. I'm assigning Kumogakure patrol to you."
"You'll select two elite squads from the Uchiha, and take your own team to secure our borders."
Shisui's face lit up.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Surveillance was frustrating work. After all this time, he'd come to believe Kujo was no threat.
Being given this new task—and the authority to lead Uchiha squads on border patrol—was to Shisui, a sign of renewed trust in the Uchiha Clan.
To him, it meant the village was finally healing.