"What's that?"
"Why's it so bright?"
"Is it… a fire?"
No matter how remote this forest is, it's still within the village's borders. The villagers who haven't gone to bed yet spot the blazing inferno in the forest at the village's northeast corner. If even the civilians are noticing the commotion, certain people can't just keep ignoring it.
At the village center, beneath the Hokage Rock.
The Hokage Building.
"Sarutobi, what's this about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki getting mixed up with the Uchiha clan?"
Elders Mitokado Homura and Koharu Utatane storm into the Hokage's office, their presence heavy with accusation.
"Just a little coincidence, that's all."
"A coincidence?"
"Yup, a tiny, insignificant coincidence. Just some friendship between kids, nothing more." Behind a wide mahogany desk, a white-haired man in his sixties, dressed in casual white robes, puffs on his pipe, exhaling clouds of smoke.
This man—
He's the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"A *coincidence*?" Homura adjusts his glasses. If it weren't for years of friendship and knowing exactly what kind of person his old classmate is, he might've actually bought that it was just a fluke.
He doesn't dwell on it, instead shifting gears. "Sarutobi, what's your plan this time? Are you using this chance to keep the Uchiha in check?"
"I told you, it's a coincidence. No denying the Uchiha clan's dangerous, but they haven't done anything wrong this time. Using a kid to hit the Uchiha? That's not something we should allow. As long as the Uchiha don't betray the village, they're Konoha's Uchiha."
Hiruzen shuts down Homura's suggestion with a righteous tone.
"So… the forest in the northeast corner. That's Danzo's doing?" Koharu picks up on more from Hiruzen's attitude. This incident is probably like the others—Hiruzen sets the plan, Danzo handles the dirty work.
"Spies from another village."
Hiruzen corrects her slip.
"Spies from another village…" Koharu glances at him, smoothly adjusting her words. "Care to explain why these foreign spies would attack the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Do they think they can just snatch him away?"
"Questions like that are better answered by asking the ones involved."
Hiruzen sets down his pipe and drapes a soft silk cloth over the crystal ball resting in its box.
Then he stands.
With a quick tug, he sheds his loose white robes, revealing the black, form-fitting combat gear underneath.
"Sarutobi, you're going yourself? Wouldn't it be better to stay here and oversee things? We still don't have enough intel on what's happening in the northeast forest…" Koharu objects.
"When it involves Naruto and the Uchiha, I don't have a choice."
Hiruzen lets out a sigh.
Homura eyes the combat gear his old friend was already wearing. *He was ready for this.* And that crystal ball… it's not like he's completely clueless about what's going down in the forest.
"We're coming too," Homura says suddenly.
"Fair enough."
Hiruzen considers for a few seconds, then nods. "Danzo might show up. Make sure he doesn't go off the rails."
"Leave it to us."
Homura agrees, and Koharu gives a slight nod of assent.
Hiruzen opens the window, leaping out with a nimbleness that belies his sixty-plus years.
The two elders, still spry enough not to need canes, follow close behind. They'd come prepared, already dressed in combat-ready attire in case they needed to head to the scene.
Nearby, a swarm of Anbu shadows them.
Hiruzen moves fast, speaking as he races along. "If I had to guess, it's probably revenge. 'Flame Demon' Uchiha Sogen slaughtered hundreds of Mist ninja on the eastern front. These Kirigakure spies are likely targeting him for payback. Naruto probably just got caught in the crossfire."
"…If that's the case, the Uchiha were careless. Knowing they've got enemies crawling all over them, they still got close to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki…"
Homura mulls it over, silently applauding in his head.
Sarutobi's playing a slick game. Instead of accusing the Uchiha of scheming to get close to the Jinchuriki, it's smarter to pin it on them failing to protect him properly. It's a lighter charge, less likely to spark a backlash from the clan. *Drip by drip, saw through wood, boil the frog slowly*—that's the best way to deal with the Uchiha.
Bit by bit, with soft cuts, keep weakening them.
That's been their agreed strategy all along.
As expected, Danzo's brute-force approach—strong-arming clan ninja into Root—can't hold a candle to Sarutobi's finesse.
"Enough of that for now," Hiruzen cuts off Homura's critique. "The priority is saving Naruto. His safety comes first. Everything else can wait." His face wears the perfect mask of a worried elder fretting over a child.
The Hokage himself is heading to the fiery scene in the northeast forest.
The news spreads like wildfire, reaching countless ears in no time. Beneath the calm surface, turbulent undercurrents stir once more. The peaceful night shatters as figures leap across rooftops, terraces, utility poles, and treetops.
Then there's the flood of Konoha's Police Force pouring out.
Even the drunks staggering through the streets sober up enough to realize something big's going down. They scramble home, tripping over themselves to get out of the way.
A tide of people—
All converging on the forest in the village's northeast corner.
---
"One left."
A flaming blade flashes, and the last attacker, paralyzed by genjutsu, loses their head in an instant. The headless body slumps onto the grass. Sogen flicks his blade, extinguishing the flames. The clear, water-like steel reflects the flickering firelight.
Naruto, tucked under his left arm, is still out cold.
Getting hit by a Yamanaka's mental technique will do that—knocking you out for a bit is par for the course.
"Twelve attackers. Four elite combat squads. That's a serious investment." Sogen uses his blade to pry open the dead attacker's mouth. In the firelight, he spots the black curse mark on their tongue—the *Tongue Calamity Eradication Seal*.
*"Yup, definitely Danzo's handiwork. But that old geezer Sarutobi's gotta be in on it too…"*
The curse mark on the tongue is already fading with time. The brain was destroyed the moment the body died, courtesy of the seal's power. Say what you will about Root—their secrecy measures are top-notch. Not just the brain, even the body is self-destructing.
Sogen knows keeping a corpse to pin this on Danzo is a long shot, and capturing one alive? Forget it.
Still—
Danzo's got some seriously brutal sealing techniques. Did he inherit them from the Second Hokage, the grandmaster of forbidden jutsu? Or maybe they're from the Uzumaki clan's legacy? Or, hell, did Danzo cook them up himself? Whatever the case, Sogen's a little jealous.
Sealing techniques are *good stuff*.
They're not just for controlling subordinates. Used right, they're a game-changer in combat.
"Well, the warm-up's over. Time for the main course, yeah?"
Sogen tilts his head skyward. From the moment the fight kicked off, he'd felt a faint sense of being watched from above. Didn't take much brainpower to guess who it was. A few minutes ago, that feeling vanished.
Which means—
The big shot's probably on their way here now.
(Chapter End)