"You bastard, I was seriously worried you'd eat yourself to death." Nara Kazuki gave Kakashi a deadpan glare as the silver-haired ninja finally stumbled out of the yakiniku restaurant, bloated and clutching his stomach. The Akimichi clan shop owner had even handed Kakashi a "Glutton King" award medal in admiration.
Kazuki had eaten there dozens of times and had never seen that damn medal before. He hadn't even known such a thing existed.
"Urp... You're treating, so of course I went all out," Kakashi said contentedly, patting his stomach with a smug grin. Kazuki twitched, resisting the urge to comment—truth be told, he didn't treat Kakashi often.
"Yakiniku is awesome! Kazuki, congrats on becoming a Jōnin!" Guy gave him a dramatic thumbs-up. Kazuki opened his mouth to say something, but in the end just smiled warmly.
He couldn't help but think—Guy also became a Jōnin in the future. Not that Kazuki had anything against Guy—far from it. He genuinely considered Guy his closest bro. But honestly, Guy answering those brutal exam questions? That seemed... unlikely.
Some of those questions had even given Kazuki pause.
Maybe it was the Eight Gates. Once Guy unlocked the full sequence, his power was just too overwhelming to ignore. That must've been it.
After all, Konoha hadn't always understood the full potential of the Eight Gates. But once Guy's father, Might Duy, burned himself out and kicked the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist into oblivion, the higher-ups had to take notice.
And yet, there still weren't many users. Besides Guy and Lee, Konoha didn't have another Duy-level beast in the wings.
"I haven't made Jōnin yet," Kazuki said with a laugh, slinging an arm around Guy's massive shoulder. It felt like hugging a slab of bedrock—dense and unyielding. The man was a walking wall of muscle.
"Heh heh! You'll definitely make it!" Guy said, full of fire and faith. His two dreams: defeat Kakashi, and defeat Kazuki. Every sparring match with Kazuki left him wanting more, but satisfied nonetheless.
Kazuki could push him to open the Gates. Kakashi? Not so much—Guy worried he'd hurt him if he went too far.
Kakashi rolled his eyes. For some reason, he felt weirdly... targeted.
Two days later, Kazuki finally received his mission.
"Lord Fourth, how did I do on the written exam?" Kazuki was genuinely curious. The test had been the weirdest academic hellscape he'd ever experienced, and that was saying something. He still couldn't wrap his head around some of the questions.
"Not bad. You passed." Minato Namikaze smiled and handed him a sealed document.
Kazuki clicked his tongue. He wanted a damn score, not vague praise. But if the Hokage wouldn't say, there wasn't much he could do.
He unsealed the scroll and read the mission details.
[A rogue ninja squad has been spotted near the Land of Fire's borders. They've repeatedly attacked patrol units, causing multiple casualties. Locate and eliminate them. Bonus points for any live captures.]
"Got it." Kazuki crumpled the scroll in his palm, igniting it in a brief puff of flame until nothing remained but ash. No need to carry paper on a battlefield. This type of mission suited him. A one-man op against a rogue squad? If Minato handed it to him, it meant it was within his capability.
"Be careful," Minato said softly.
Whatever else, Kazuki was a close friend of his former teacher. Minato hoped he'd return alive. But if not... then so be it.
That was how the world worked. All the so-called prodigies who died before maturing into legends? They just didn't have what it took. Harsh, but true.
Minato himself had grown under that crucible. He'd once had a peer labeled a genius—but that guy died in the war and was forgotten.
History remembered only the victors. The rest were ash on the wind.
Kazuki nodded silently, packed his gear, and made to leave.
As he stepped out of the Nara compound, he saw his uncle Suzaku waiting. The older man placed a firm hand on Kazuki's shoulder, eyes filled with something unspoken. Then he turned and walked away.
Kazuki submitted the mission clearance signed by the Fourth—a vital document. In Konoha, leaving the village for extended periods required official approval. Otherwise, you'd be branded a missing-nin. Just like Sasuke had been.
This mission gave Kazuki legal cover. But he couldn't help but feel uneasy as he glanced back at Konoha's gates.
This disappearance... might stir up problems. Especially if a certain war hawk started getting ideas about the Uchiha.
So Kazuki left behind a little landmine—figuratively speaking—for Shimura Danzō.
He wasn't sure if it would blow up in the old bastard's face, but it was worth a try. Rumors could be powerful things.
"Let's hope it works," Kazuki muttered, scratching his head.
Meanwhile, Danzō himself was not having a good day.
The man sat in the dim confines of his Root office, eyes brimming with killing intent.
Since morning, he'd noticed something off.
As always, Danzō had begun his day projecting his friendly elder image—greeting villagers, casually walking through Konoha to bolster his "approachable authority" persona.
But something was wrong.
People kept giving him looks.
At first, Danzō assumed it was the usual awe or fear a village elder commanded. But then he tried to greet a kid headed to the Ninja Academy—a brat who used to call him "Uncle Shimura" with respect.
The boy looked at him, snorted, then bolted down the street laughing.
Weird.
Worse, this happened again. People stared. Whispered. Giggled. Avoided his gaze.
Danzō maintained his façade, but once back at Root HQ, he sent trusted subordinates to investigate.
"These are small issues. If I want to divide the Uchiha, I must earn Uchiha Shisui's trust…" Danzō tapped his desk, chin resting on one hand.
He coveted the Uchiha. Sure, he believed their bloodline was cursed and inherently dangerous—but that didn't mean he didn't want their power. Especially their eyes. The Mangekyō Sharingan… that was real strength.
"Damn that Fourth. Why didn't he just die that day?" Danzō's expression twisted in frustration.
Back during Kushina's failed labor, Danzō had seen his opportunity. If she died, and Minato followed, who else could be Hokage? Certainly not the Uchiha.
He'd even sent Root agents to blockade the Uchiha compound, preventing them from aiding the village during the Nine-Tails' attack. It was a masterstroke—divide the Uchiha from Konoha, deepen mistrust, and set them on the road to ruin.
Double win.
But nothing went as planned. The attacker accomplished little, killed some useless ANBU, and even offed Biwako Sarutobi, Hiruzen's wife.
When Danzō heard a "key figure" had died, he'd held back his smile—hoping it was Minato. Instead... it was Biwako. Useless.
Danzō had fumed ever since. Minato was still young. How long would he sit as Hokage? Meanwhile, he was aging out of his prime.
So he'd been planning two things: eliminate the Uchiha and take Minato down with them.
"Lord Danzō, here's the intel you requested."
His subordinate returned, handing him a report. Danzō scanned it—and his face darkened instantly.
Somehow, a rumor had exploded across the village.
A rumor linking him and the missing-nin Orochimaru in human experimentation—allegedly continuing even after Orochimaru's defection. That recent sewer explosion? A cover-up for a secret lab.
The icing on the cake? They claimed Danzō intentionally got drenched in sewage to fake being an innocent bystander.
Veins bulged on Danzō's forehead. His breath quickened. Because...
It wasn't entirely wrong.
He had collaborated with Orochimaru. Hiruzen had buried it back then—at the cost of shrinking Root's power. Danzō had quietly accepted the loss.
But now someone had leaked it. Along with just enough colorful detail—like being splattered with sludge—to make it entertaining.
No longer a dry conspiracy—this was tabloid gold. The gossip was spreading like wildfire.
"Whoever did this... is good," Danzō hissed, slamming his palm on the desk. If it were just cold accusations, people wouldn't care. But this? It was funny. Funny meant viral.
The more people laughed, the more they talked—and inevitably circled back to the human experiments.
What was he supposed to do? Kill himself like the White Fang?
Danzō clenched his fists in rage. Only two people could've orchestrated this:
Hiruzen Sarutobi—trying to bury him for good.
Orochimaru—seeking revenge or just chaos.
No one else knew enough.
He wanted to storm into Hiruzen's office right now.
But then he paused, mind sharpening.
Motive.
If it was Hiruzen... what was his endgame?
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