Kitsuchi stood in silence, taking in the full scale of the devastation. His brows furrowed deeply as he processed the scene and its implications. After a few moments of quiet thought, he finally spoke, his voice heavy with concern.
"This has to be the work of the Akatsuki," he said grimly. "Damn it… this is bad. Once Konoha hears about what happened here, they might jump to conclusions. They could think we conspired with Akatsuki to ambush Inoiki."
He shook his head in frustration, the weight of potential political fallout settling on his shoulders.
"But that's not the case at all."
Kurotsuchi stood nearby, still holding one of Inoiki's signature short swords in her hand. The blade felt oddly heavy now. Her expression was solemn as her eyes swept across the wrecked landscape, littered with the remnants of battle. Her gaze drifted toward the center of the largest crater.
Wordlessly, she walked to it.
There, half-buried in the dust and ash, lay a cracked Konoha forehead protector. The metal plate was dented and blood-streaked, the cloth frayed at the edges, stained with crimson. Kurotsuchi bent down and picked it up, turning it over slowly in her hand. The sight of it sent a quiet chill through her chest.
The depression in the center of the crater—the vague imprint in the earth—was unmistakably human in shape. And the proportions…
"It's his size," Kurotsuchi murmured. "That's Inoiki's silhouette…"
Kitsuchi stepped beside her, his face grim. "Yes. That's definitely him. And judging by the blood and the destruction… he's either gravely injured—or worse."
Kurotsuchi nodded, her jaw tightening. "From the intel we've gathered about Akatsuki, there's only one person capable of inflicting this level of devastation. Their leader. The one with the Rinnegan."
Kitsuchi exhaled slowly and nodded in agreement. "Pain… or whatever name he goes by. It would explain the gravity-based destruction and the precision of the attack."
He ran a hand through his hair, clearly troubled. "But what do we do now? How are we supposed to explain this to Konoha? No matter how we frame it, they might not believe us."
He looked to his daughter, anxiety etched across his features. The thought of being blamed for the death or disappearance of one of Konoha's most powerful and mysterious young shinobi was daunting. The political implications were terrifying.
Kurotsuchi, still staring at the bloodstained forehead protector in her hand, replied without hesitation.
"We tell them the truth. We don't have a choice. If we stay silent or try to hide this, it'll only make things worse. Konoha will assume the worst—that we were involved. But if we report it immediately, at least they'll know we had nothing to do with it."
Kitsuchi slowly nodded. "You're right. I'll contact the Tsuchikage immediately. We need his guidance—and his authority—to handle this the right way. We'll wait for his orders before reaching out to the Leaf."
Kurotsuchi didn't respond right away. Her eyes scanned the battlefield one more time, lingering on the broken blades scattered like fallen leaves across the shattered terrain. Each sword had once danced through the air, guided by Inoiki's mental power. Now, they lay abandoned.
She tightened her grip on the forehead protector, her heart heavy with the weight of uncertainty.
Kitsuchi saw the sadness in his daughter's expression—the silent grief she wouldn't put into words. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder for a moment, then withdrew.
"I'll send the message," he said quietly.
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Kurotsuchi alone amidst the wreckage.
She remained there, standing in the wind, surrounded by silence and steel, mourning the loss of a warrior who may yet live… but whose fate hung in the balance.
----
Two days later, in the Hokage's office, the atmosphere was light and somewhat chaotic—as usual.
Naruto stood before the desk, arms crossed behind his head, going on and on about how he wanted a tougher mission. "Come on, Granny Tsunade! Give me something real this time—not another C-rank snoozefest!"
Tsunade sat at her desk, rubbing her temples with a sigh, visibly exhausted by Naruto's persistence. "Naruto, for the last time… you're not going on an S-rank mission just because you're bored."
Team Asuma stood nearby, chuckling at the familiar back-and-forth. Shikamaru smirked while leaning lazily against the wall, Ino smiled with mild exasperation, and Choji munched on chips, clearly amused by the whole scene.
But the mood shifted abruptly.
The doors to the Hokage's office burst open with a loud thud, slamming against the walls. A woman from the Intelligence Division stumbled in, panting heavily, her forehead slick with sweat. Her urgency was palpable.
"Hokage-sama! Bad news—very bad news!" she shouted, her voice cracking with panic.
Tsunade's expression immediately turned sharp. "What are you doing barging in like this? Compose yourself!"
"I apologize, Lady Hokage," the woman said, catching her breath. "But this couldn't wait. I just received a high-priority transmission from Iwagakure."
Without another word, she hurried to Tsunade's desk and handed over a sealed scroll. "This is the urgent message. It concerns Inoiki."
At the mention of that name, Ino stiffened where she stood. Her fingers clenched slightly at her sides, though she said nothing.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she took the scroll from the woman's outstretched hands. "What? Did something happen to Kurotsuchi? Was Inoiki not able to protect her?" she asked, already unsealing the message.
The woman from the Intelligence Division did not respond. She kept her gaze lowered, unwilling to say aloud what was written—especially not in the presence of Yamanaka Ino.
Tsunade began reading.
At first, her expression remained neutral. The report detailed how Inoiki had displayed overwhelming strength in defending Land of Earth. He had successfully repelled a group of rogue shinobi, saving Kurotsuchi's life in the process.
But then, the tone of the letter shifted.
The report confirmed that the Five-Tails Jinchūriki had been captured by the Akatsuki.
Tsunade's eyes darkened.
Naruto, watching closely, tilted his head. "Granny? What is it?"
She looked up, her voice grim. "The Five-Tails Jinchūriki of Iwagakure has been taken by Akatsuki."
The entire room fell silent.
Gasps of disbelief spread across the gathered shinobi. Even Shikamaru looked startled. Ino's hands dropped to her sides, her gaze locked on Tsunade. Naruto clenched his fists.
But Tsunade held up a hand. "Wait. Let me finish the report first. There's more."
Her eyes scanned the rest of the message, and as she read, her expression darkened further. Lines of tension carved deeper into her face. Her grip on the scroll tightened.
Then, suddenly, she slammed her palm onto the desk with explosive force. "Bastard!"
The desk splintered beneath her hand, wood shattering and flying across the room. The floor cracked from the force of her chakra, radiating outward from where she stood. Her aura flared with raw fury.
Shizune, startled, stumbled back. "L-Lady Tsunade?!"
In a flash, several ANBU operatives appeared in the office, surrounding Tsunade defensively, ready for any hostile presence. But it was not an intruder. It was grief. It was rage.
Naruto took a step forward, alarmed. "Granny Tsunade, calm down! What happened?!"
The others looked toward her, their eyes wide with confusion and fear.
Tsunade took a deep breath, trembling with anger and sorrow. Her voice came low, rough, and filled with weight.
"Inoiki… after completing his mission… was returning to Konoha when—"
----
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