In a damp, underground cellar, Danzō Shimura sat on his stone throne, listening to the report from the two failed Root members.
"...We could not sense him, my lord. It was like a ghost. He manipulated my partner's senses without leaving a single trace of chakra," one of them said, his voice monotonous but unable to hide his confusion.
Danzō lightly tapped his fingers on the arm of the throne. A "ghost." The one who had sent the warning leaf to Hiruzen. The one who had infiltrated the Uchiha headquarters without being detected. The one who had interfered with his plan tonight. This wasn't multiple people. This was just one. A single shinobi, with concealment and intelligence skills on an unimaginable level.
"He has a weakness," Danzō murmured. "Everything has a weakness. And his weakness is the Jinchuriki. He will not let that child come to harm. We will no longer chase the rat. We will set a trap, and wait for the rat to walk into it."
Kenji knew he was being hunted. Not by patrol teams, but by a sharp and ruthless intellect. He spent his time strengthening his "network." His Shadow Clones, now even more sophisticated, no longer moved through the village. They simply existed, hidden in dark corners, in attics, in the trunks of trees, becoming his eyes and ears everywhere. He was turning the entire village into his own personal early-warning system.
Several weeks passed in tense silence.
Then came the Heroes' Memorial Festival. The entire village was decorated with red lanterns, the air filled with the smell of food and the sound of laughter.
Naruto, like any other child, was drawn to the excitement. He timidly approached a ring-toss game stall, his eyes lit up with eagerness.
But as he held out his money, the stall owner, a large, heavy-set man, slapped his hand away.
"Get lost, you monster!" he yelled. "You're not welcome here! It's because of you that my son..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone around them understood. Their gazes towards Naruto changed. The cheerfulness vanished, replaced by fear, resentment, and ostracism. The crowd automatically parted, forming a silent circle around the boy.
Stared at by hundreds of eyes like a criminal, Naruto felt his entire world collapse. He turned and ran, tears welling in his eyes.
Kenji, observing it all from a distance, clenched his fists. He recognized it immediately. This incident was too public, too cruel. It wasn't a random outburst. It was a staged play. A psychological attack aimed at Naruto, to push him to the brink.
Naruto ran, and ran, until he reached the foot of the Hokage Monument. He climbed up, past the steps, until he stood on the head of the Fourth Hokage, his father. From here, he could look down upon the entire village glittering with lights, a happy village that had no place for him.
In his despair, he slipped on a loose rock.
His small body lost its balance and fell!
Below, in the shadows, several Root members were in position. They weren't looking at Naruto. They were using all their senses to scan the surrounding area. They were waiting. Waiting for the "ghost" to appear and save the boy.
But no one appeared.
Just as Naruto was about to fall onto a sharp ledge below, an unusually strong gust of wind suddenly blew up from the cliff face.
That wind wasn't natural. It was created by one of Kenji's shadowless clones, who had anticipated this move and was lying in wait. The gust wasn't strong enough to be detected as a jutsu, but it was strong enough to change the falling trajectory of a small body.
It pushed Naruto to the side. Instead of landing on the sharp ledge, the boy fell into a thick, dense bush, safe with only a few minor scratches.
He was scared, but alive.
The Root members were stunned. What just happened? A gust of wind? It was an unbelievable stroke of luck. They searched, they scanned, but they found no trace of any intervention.
Danzō's trap had failed.
From a treetop far away, Kenji breathed a sigh of relief. He had once again protected Naruto without revealing himself.
But a cold feeling ran down his spine. Danzō was no longer just trying to kidnap Naruto. He was now willing to risk the Jinchuriki's life just to lure him out.
This game of chess had become much more dangerous. Defense was no longer enough. It was time for this shadow to learn how to strike back.