Chapter 45: The Gathering Storm
Holding Uzumaki Kushina in his arms, feeling the steady rhythm of her breathing as she dozed, Kagenori felt a surge of energy that banished his fatigue. His entire body felt light, buoyed by an indescribable, fierce happiness. The journey back to Konoha seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, the distance collapsing under the weight of his newfound contentment.
But as the gates of Konoha came into view, the warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by the cold, guarded mask he wore for the village. His smile faded, and his expression became one that warned others to keep their distance.
The gate guards, seasoned chunin, immediately noticed the unconscious Uzumaki Kushina in his arms and moved to intercept him, forming a loose circle.
"Kagenori," one of them demanded, his tone sharp with suspicion. "What's the meaning of this? Why are you and Uzumaki Kushina returning from outside the village?"
With tensions rising, all Konoha ninja were required to log their departures. His return with an unconscious, high-value individual was a major breach of protocol.
Kagenori's cold gaze swept over them. "Kushina was kidnapped by Kumo-nin. Inside Konoha," he stated flatly. "And you noticed nothing?"
"What?!"
The shock on their faces was genuine. The fact of the kidnapping was alarming, but the implication that it had happened within the village's walls was a catastrophic security failure. One of the guards immediately broke away, sprinting toward the Hokage Tower to report.
Kagenori ignored their stunned silence and continued walking, his pace purposeful.
One of the remaining guards, his pride stung by the boy's dismissive tone, stepped forward aggressively. "Hey! We're asking you a question! You can't just walk away!"
Kagenori didn't even turn his head. "What would answering you accomplish?" he replied, his voice dripping with disdain. "As Konoha's gate guards, you were oblivious to this. I don't know if you're incompetent or merely negligent. Either way, I have no obligation to report to you. You are not my superiors."
Leaving them with flushed faces and sputtering indignation, he walked on, his focus solely on delivering Kushina to safety.
He arrived at Uzumaki Mito's mansion. The elderly woman had already returned, a knot of anxiety tightening in her chest when Kushina, who should have been home long ago, failed to appear. She had gone directly to Sarutobi Hiruzen, and the Hokage had mobilized nearly the entire ANBU corps to search for the missing girl. Now, Uzumaki Mito waited in her home, paralyzed with worry.
Hearing the sound at the door, she rushed to open it. The sight of Kushina, safe and sleeping soundly in Kagenori's arms, made her sag with relief, the terrifying weight lifting from her shoulders.
Kagenori's expression remained impassive. "Lady Mito, I've brought Kushina back. She's exhausted. Please, take her to her room to rest."
Uzumaki Mito carefully gathered the sleeping girl into her own arms. Only then did she fully take in Kagenori's state—his clothes were torn and scorched in multiple places, clear evidence of a recent, fierce battle.
"Kagenori," she asked, her voice filled with genuine concern, "are you injured?"
"I am fine," he replied curtly. "I must report to the Hokage immediately. I take my leave." He offered a brief, formal bow and turned to leave.
Uzumaki Mito watched his retreating back, her eyes filled with a complex, unreadable emotion.
He had not gone far from the mansion when an ANBU agent materialized before him. "Kagenori. The Hokage demands your presence. Immediately."
He followed the masked shinobi to the Hokage's office. Inside, he found Sarutobi Hiruzen and Orochimaru waiting, their expressions grave.
Kagenori bowed. "Hokage-sama. Orochimaru-sensei."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped forward, his voice low and serious. "Kagenori. Report. What happened?"
Kagenori relayed the events in a calm, clinical manner: Kushina's abduction, his pursuit, the battle with the three Kumo-nin at the border.
Sarutobi's face darkened with each word. Orochimaru's serpentine eyes narrowed, his usual air of amusement replaced by sharp focus.
Sarutobi looked to his student. "Orochimaru. Your assessment?"
Orochimaru's tongue flicked out. "One thing is certain. Enemy ninja have infiltrated Konoha. The ease of the abduction suggests they had inside knowledge or a significant presence."
"Indeed," Sarutobi said, his expression grim. "It seems they are no longer content with posturing."
"Hokage-sama," Kagenori interjected. "I retrieved the heads of the three Kumo-nin." He produced the scroll and handed it over.
Sarutobi took it, a flicker of approval in his weary eyes. "Well done, Kagenori. With these, our Yamanaka clansmen can extract valuable intelligence." He summoned an ANBU agent and ordered the scroll delivered to the Intelligence Division for immediate analysis.
"There is one more thing, Hokage-sama," Kagenori continued. "During my C-rank mission to eliminate pirates, I encountered three shinobi among them. Unaware of their affiliation but suspecting infiltration, I captured them alive." He bit his thumb and performed the seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"
The white snake appeared once more. "White Snake, regurgitate the prisoners."
"Yes, Lord Kagenori."
The snake convulsed, vomiting the three captured ninja onto the office floor. Unfortunately, the one whose spine Kagenori had shattered had not survived the cramped, acidic journey; his body was crushed and lifeless. The other two, however, were alive and conscious. Their eyes widened in terror at the sight of Kagenori, Sarutobi, and Orochimaru, scrambling backward in fear.
Sarutobi dispatched another ANBU team to take the corpse for memory extraction and the two living prisoners to the T&I Department for interrogation.
The Hokage then walked to a large map spread across his desk. "Kagenori, show me where you encountered these pirates."
Kagenori pointed to a specific location on the Fire Country's coastline.
Sarutobi's eyes narrowed dangerously as he saw the spot.
Orochimaru's hoarse voice slithered through the silence. "It seems… Kirigakure also intends to make its move."
The location Kagenori had indicated was adjacent to the Land of Waves. And to the east of the Land of Waves lay the Water Country. While the Land of Fire and the Land of Waves had little direct interaction, the Land of Waves maintained strong ties with the Water Country. For shinobi from Kirigakure to land on the Fire Country's coast, passing through the Land of Waves was the most logical route.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face grew increasingly grim. The involvement of Kirigakure meant that four of the Five Great Shinobi Countries were now positioning themselves against Konoha. The Cloud, the Stone, the Sand, and now the Mist.
When war came—and it was now a matter of when, not if—Konoha would stand alone, facing the combined might of four great villages. This would not be a border skirmish. It would be a total war, a conflagration that would engulf the entire Land of Fire and threaten the very existence of the village itself. The storm was gathering, and its first drops of rain had just begun to fall.