Just as there are rogue ninja in every village, every faction has people who go against the mainstream. Konoha is no exception—and neither is the Uchiha clan.
Not all Uchiha supported the coup, and not all wanted to leave Konoha. Before the battle, Clan Leader Fugaku Uchiha had already arranged for some to act as "seeds" for the clan's future in case the coup failed, quietly sending them out of the village. Their departure was subtle enough to evade Konoha's notice without the Byakugan—but not subtle enough to escape the eyes of other Uchiha inside the compound.
Some had already sent their families away before dawn, but most stayed.
Their reasons were complicated. Those who remained in the Uchiha compound included Fugaku's die-hard supporters, who believed the coup would succeed, as well as many who naively thought that even if the coup failed, the kind-hearted Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would never harm ordinary Uchiha civilians.
However, once the Nine-Tails appeared and Hiruzen rushed off to restrain it, command of the Uchiha compound fell to Danzo Shimura and his Root unit—hardliners who fully supported the "Uchiha extermination" policy.
The battle instantly grew more brutal. Unlike the ANBU, Root regarded every Uchiha, not just the ninja, as an enemy.
In a dark alley—
A long sword cleaved downward. Blood sprayed. A man screamed and collapsed.
Just before he fell, he shoved his daughter away and roared:
"Run!"
The little girl stumbled a few steps, then looked back. She saw her father lying in a spreading pool of red, and two Root ninja standing over him with blood-stained blades.
Fear, hatred, and rage exploded inside her. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her dark eyes began to twist and change—two small tomoe slowly orbiting around her pupils.
Gritting her teeth, she burned the faces of the two masked ninja into her mind, wiped her tears with the back of her hand—and ran.
"Awakening the Sharingan at a time like this?" one Root ninja muttered in surprise, then shook his head.
"Pointless."
He stepped forward to give chase—only to have his ankles seized from behind. The girl's father, an ordinary Uchiha who sold dango for a living, clung desperately to his legs. He had no Sharingan; the red in his eyes was only blood and ruptured vessels.
The man sobbed and begged:
"Please… let my daughter go…"
"She's only five… she doesn't know anything…"
Thud.
Steel punched through his skull with a dull sound.
The Root ninja tried to shake him off, but even in death, the man's fingers wouldn't release him. Clicking his tongue, the ninja crouched to pry the hands loose and said to his companion:
"Hinata, you go. If we wait, she'll get too far."
"She awakened the Sharingan."
Hinata understood the implication. It wasn't that Uchiha without Sharingan could be spared—Danzo's mission evaluation for this operation was based on how many pairs of Sharingan each team collected. If they let the girl escape now, some other squad might claim her.
"Understood," Hinata replied.
Because Neiki had become too unpredictable lately, even Danzo no longer knew where he might appear on the battlefield. Neiki's original teammates had already been temporarily reassigned to other captains.
Hinata followed the girl's trail. The child's panicked, untrained movements left a messy, obvious path; Hinata soon caught up.
"Come out. I'll make it quick."
She stepped into an empty restaurant, speaking toward the closed bathroom door.
Crash!
Glass shattered at the rear. Hinata kicked the door open to find the bathroom empty. Looking out through the small window, she saw a tiny figure scrambling away down the alley.
Shaking her head, Hinata leapt after her.
The girl turned a corner. When Hinata caught up again, she found the child standing in the middle of the narrow lane, looking left and right in despair.
Hinata's gaze slid past the girl—to the figure leaning at the far end of the alley.
"Captain Neiki?"
Her tone jumped in surprise.
"Hm? Hinata…" Neiki looked mildly taken aback. Pointing at the girl, he asked, "She your target?"
"Yes." Hinata nodded.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Hinata's grip on her blade tightened. She stepped forward, slipped past the girl's clumsy kunai thrust, and cleanly took her head. Without a word, she placed the freshly harvested Sharingan into a prepared container.
"That all you've got?" Neiki asked, eyeing the few eyes Hinata had on her.
With her skills, she should have collected more.
"The rest went to the team leader," Hinata explained. Noticing the bulging pouch at Neiki's waist, she hesitated, then asked, "Is Captain Neiki also on this mission?"
If he was here, why had she been reassigned to a different squad?
"Me? Yeah…" Neiki tilted his head. "Where's your team leader? Take me to him."
Unsure of his intentions but unable to refuse her former captain, Hinata led him over. Their team leader was standing under an eave, reading a signal slip.
"Neiki?" The man glanced from the message to Neiki, then back again.
—He drew his blade.
"Neiki! Trying to steal my Sharingan too?"
Neiki narrowed his eyes, catching the word "Sharingan" written on the slip in the man's hand.
He'd barely started collecting, and rumors were already spreading.
"I'm acting under direct orders from the Hokage," Neiki said calmly. "I'm here to reclaim the Sharingan. Don't make this difficult."
Danzo couldn't exactly run to Hiruzen to verify orders in the middle of the Uchiha rebellion—so Neiki was free to say whatever he liked.
"You're Root!" the team leader snapped, grinding his teeth.
"Not anymore," Neiki said, shaking his head as he drew his short blade.
ANBU and Root had clashed countless times in the dark, sometimes killing each other outright during missions. Danzo had even ordered Root to assassinate Hiruzen before.
Neiki now claimed to be following the Hokage's orders—but his actions were clearly against Danzo. That alone proved they stood on opposite sides. If both wanted the same cache of Sharingan, there was only one way to settle it.
Three minutes later, Neiki stood over the fallen Root captain, pulling the man's pouch from his belt and tying it to his own.
He glanced at Hinata, who had stayed motionless throughout the fight, and said, "Yours too."
Hinata silently handed over the three Sharingan she'd collected.
"Captain Neiki… how did you suddenly become the Hokage's subordinate?" Hinata asked as he turned to leave.
"What are you trying to say?" Neiki looked back at her.
"I… can I… follow you?" Hinata asked cautiously. "I want to serve the Hokage too. I still want to be your subordinate."
She had been thinking about this ever since Neiki confronted her team leader.
Neiki smiled, patted her lightly on the shoulder, and walked away. His voice echoed in the narrow alley:
"Then get stronger. Changing your fate is up to you."
"Right now, you're not qualified."
Not qualified for the Hokage to pull you out from under Danzo.
Not qualified to stand at my side.
That is the reality.
Neiki had seized his fate from the Main House with his own hands, while Hinata was still far from even understanding herself.
The Hokage—or Neiki?
She didn't yet realize those were completely different roads.
And because her strength was lacking, both would turn her away.
Watching Neiki's retreating back disappear into smoke and flame, Hinata's eyes grew dim beneath her mask.
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