In the dim light of the Hokage's office, Danzo Shimura let out a sharp, cold snort. He didn't care about "internal restructuring." He cared about control.
"Sarutobi, look at the reality," Danzo rasped, his one eye fixated on the smoke rising from the Hokage's pipe. "Shisui—the only bridge we had—is being systematically dismantled. He's being pushed out of the power circle. If we lose our eyes inside the Uchiha, they will rebel, and we will be the last to know."
Sarutobi remained silent. The "Night of the Nine-Tails" was a wound that never truly healed. It had cost him his successor, Minato, and his wife, Biwa. The suspicion Danzo was feeding wasn't just political; it was personal.
"I will handle the monitoring," Sarutobi said finally, his voice heavy.
Danzo narrowed his eye. "The boy, Hiko, is the catalyst. He is the catfish stirring the pond. As long as he is free, the Uchiha will never be 'quiet' again. I will have him brought in for questioning. An evil brat like that cannot be left to fester."
Sarutobi didn't stop him. In his mind, if Danzo could "contain" Hiko, it might actually stabilize the village. He didn't realize that Hiko wasn't a fish in a pond—he was the tide itself.
The Uninvited Guests
Hiko was walking home late. Fugaku had taken personal charge of the Police Department's transition, which meant Hiko couldn't just slip away early anymore.
As he turned down a quiet alley leading toward the Uchiha district, two figures flickered into existence. They wore the standard gray flak jackets and porcelain masks of the Anbu, but their stance was different. There was a cold, mechanical stillness to them.
Root, Hiko thought, his expression remaining bored. Danzo really is a man of action. He couldn't even wait for the sun to go down.
Hiko didn't stop. He didn't even slow down. He walked toward them as if they were nothing more than street lamps.
The two Root ninjas shifted, their hands moving toward their tantō hilts. They were used to people trembling at the sight of the mask. They expected Hiko to demand who they were or try to flee. Instead, he walked straight past them.
"Uchiha Hiko," one of them barked, his voice devoid of emotion. "Lord Danzo requests your presence. Immediately."
Hiko stopped, but he didn't turn around. He looked at the moon and sighed. "Is this an 'invitation' or an 'arrest'?"
The Root ninja narrowed his eyes behind the mask. "What is the difference?"
"The difference," Hiko said, finally turning with a mocking tilt of his head, "is that for an arrest, you need a warrant signed by the Hokage. And for an invitation... well, I'm simply not interested in meeting an old man who spends his days wrapped in bandages. Tell him to send a prettier messenger next time."
The air turned cold. "You do not refuse Lord Danzo," the second ninja hissed, stepping forward to block Hiko's path. "You will come with us, one way or another."
The Trap is Sprung
Hiko let out a soft, dry laugh. "Are you sure you want to do this here? We are less than three hundred meters from the Police Headquarters. You're standing on Uchiha soil, wearing masks, and threatening a Captain of the Guard."
"Lord Danzo's authority—"
"Does not exist here," Hiko interrupted. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, the shadows on the rooftops shifted. A dozen Uchiha officers, led by a grinning Zhiyan, materialized from the darkness. They had been trailing Hiko ever since he left the office—not as guards, but as a "reception committee" Hiko had prepared in advance.
"Captain!" Zhiyan shouted, his Sharingan already spinning. "We have two unidentified masked men harassing a high-ranking officer. Orders?"
The Root ninjas froze. They were elite, but they were outnumbered five-to-one in the middle of a hostile district.
"I was just walking home when these two 'unknown assailants' attacked me," Hiko said, his voice loud enough to carry to the nearby houses. "They seem to be impersonating Anbu to kidnap a clan official. Zhiyan, take them down. Use whatever force is necessary."
"With pleasure!"
"Wait! We are—" The Root ninja tried to reach for his identification, but the Uchiha didn't give him the chance.
In a blur of Fire Style and Taijutsu, the two Root agents were overwhelmed. They were good, but they weren't prepared for a coordinated ambush by Uchiha elites. Within seconds, they were pinned to the ground, their masks shattered and their arms twisted behind their backs.
"Charges, Captain?" Zhiyan asked, holding one of the struggling ninjas by the hair.
"Assaulting a Police Captain, impersonating village officials, and attempted kidnapping," Hiko said, checking his fingernails. "Throw them in the darkest cell we have. If anyone comes looking for them, tell them we caught two 'stray dogs' and we're waiting for a formal inquiry from the Hokage to release them."
"What about Danzo?" the Root ninja spat, blood leaking from his mouth.
Hiko leaned down, his eyes turning into red slits of mockery. "Danzo? Who is that? Never heard of him. If he's a friend of yours, tell him he should teach his subordinates better manners."
Hiko turned and walked away, waving a hand over his shoulder. "I'm going to sleep. Don't wake me unless the Hokage himself comes to apologize for his 'missing' subordinates."
The Root agents were dragged away, kicking and screaming, into the depths of the Uchiha prison. Danzo was waiting for his prize to be delivered; instead, he had just handed Hiko two hostages and a perfect political excuse to scream "Harassment!" at the next Council meeting.