Imagine this—
You're hiding inside what you believe is a perfectly safe little bunker.
Then suddenly, the door is blown open.
And nine pairs of crimson eyes stare straight at you.
The pressure alone is enough to suffocate.
"U-Uchiha…?! All of them are Uchiha?!"
The few Iwagakure shinobi hiding inside the earth bunker instantly gave up resisting.
This wasn't what they were told.
They were supposed to infiltrate the Land of Fire.
They were told the border patrols were mostly chūnin.
No one said anything about running into a squad of three-tomoe Sharingan Uchiha.
If they had known, they would've turned around immediately.
Mission failed before it even began. The Iwa ninja felt like they'd stepped in dog shit—what they thought was an easy merit mission had turned them into someone else's achievement.
Against the Uchiha, you had only two real options:
Win—or escape.
If you were captured, you had no secrets left.
At that point, the only choices were suicide… or cooperation.
"I'm Akita Tetsuya," the leading Iwa ninja said hurriedly. He was dark-skinned, broad-shouldered, and heavily built. "Jōnin of Iwagakure. The other three are my students. I'll cooperate fully. I'll tell you everything."
…Well.
He was very sensible.
That was the unanimous thought among the Uchiha.
Akita Tetsuya, however, was thinking something else:
I'm being this cooperative—surely they'll give me lenient treatment, right? Uchiha are monsters on the battlefield, sure, but politically they shouldn't be that ruthless…
What answered him were rotating tomoe within crimson eyes.
Damn it… those cursed Uchiha—
That was where Akita Tetsuya's memories ended.
"That was almost funny," Uchiha Ran said calmly, turning to the others. "With the Sharingan, we can extract the most accurate information possible. Did he really think we'd trust whatever came out of his mouth?"
Under Sharingan control, the four captured Iwa ninja were interrogated completely.
From them, Ran learned Iwagakure's true objective.
For now, Iwa had no intention of going to full war with Konoha.
After their failed raid against Sunagakure, they had realized just how critical intelligence was. As a result, they began sending teams to infiltrate and observe Konoha's movements.
Akita Tetsuya's attack wasn't meant to wipe them out—it was reconnaissance.
Years of dealing with chūnin patrols had given him confidence in his own strength, so he chose to strike.
Unfortunately for him, he ran headfirst into a nightmare.
A total wipeout.
He and his students became nothing more than Sharingan slaves.
"At the moment," Uchiha Tahō analyzed, "Iwa's focus is still on intelligence gathering. But they could attack Konoha at any time. The disappearance of the Third Kazekage was probably the fuse that lit all this."
The other Uchiha agreed.
Once Iwa started gathering intel on Konoha, it was impossible they'd stop there.
But that raised a troubling question.
Why probe Konoha at all?
Why not squeeze the softer target—Sunagakure—instead?
Konoha had maintained a neutral stance. As long as its borders were secure, it had no intention of interfering in conflicts between Suna and Iwa.
So why was Iwa turning its gaze toward the Land of Fire?
The Uchiha gathered and discussed quietly.
Ran cut through it decisively.
"Thinking won't get us anywhere. Come with me to the border camp. We'll hand over the intel to the courier ninja and have them report to the Third Hokage immediately."
He continued without pause.
"And request Hyūga support. If these Iwa ninja are deeply embedded, our sensory techniques won't be enough."
No one objected.
On the way to camp, Ran instructed Tahō to place high-intensity Sharingan genjutsu on the four captives before handing them over.
After all, Konoha's Interrogation Division was even more efficient than the Sharingan when it came to memory extraction.
This is the shinobi world.
No—this was reality itself.
Even without ninja, there would be soldiers. Without chakra, there would be blades.
Peace between people, between nations, was never easily won.
Tahō felt deeply reassured by Ran's decisiveness.
Thirteen years old—and yet so composed, so methodical.
His future truly was limitless.
Over the following days, whether due to luck or simply the effectiveness of Uchiha patrols, Ran's unit captured several more infiltrators.
Konoha — Hokage's Office
Everyone knew the joke:
Konoha's "Three Elders" actually numbered four.
Hiruzen Sarutobi,
Danzō Shimura,
Koharu Utatane,
Homura Mitokado—
All gathered in the office.
They were reviewing the intelligence Ran had sent back.
Based on his reports and the findings of the Interrogation Division, the four reached a consensus:
The Land of Earth—specifically Ōnoki—was likely plotting something against Konoha.
Still, it was only a suspicion.
Logically speaking, Ōnoki's best target should have been Sunagakure, not Konoha.
And yet—Iwa's movements along the border were undeniable.
"What about the Land of Lightning?" Hiruzen asked suddenly.
"No unusual activity," Homura reported. "Same as always. Jōnin Minato Namikaze and the Ino–Shika–Chō formation are stationed there. Kumogakure hasn't moved."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
Jiraiya might be unreliable—but Minato, the man who had mastered Flying Thunder God, was dependable.
His thoughts drifted briefly to Jiraiya… then to Tsunade.
One wandered endlessly. The other was crippled by hemophobia.
Neither was around.
Rubbing his temples, Hiruzen asked, "Do you think we need to send someone to oversee the border personally?"
Danzo's eyes sharpened.
An opportunity.
"We should," Danzo said immediately. "Ōnoki doesn't act unless he sees profit. He won't stop here."
Koharu and Homura agreed—it would be wise to have a powerful shinobi quietly stationed there.
"Strong candidates are limited right now," Danzo said, feigning concern.
Hiruzen thought for a moment.
"Orochimaru is currently free. Have him go discreetly. Homura, notify him."
He added, "As for Ran's request for Hyūga support—send Hyūga Hizashi. Koharu, handle it."
After the others left, only Hiruzen and Danzo remained.
Hiruzen spoke coldly.
"Don't think I don't know you're stirring things behind my back. I can guess it without proof, Danzo. Don't make unnecessary moves."
Danzo said nothing.
But his silence spoke volumes.
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