Kakashi lay on a bench in Konoha Park, his face hidden behind a familiar orange book—Icha Icha Paradise. He looked completely at ease, enjoying a quiet nap.
Suddenly, the air shimmered with the Body Flicker Technique, and someone appeared beside him.
Kakashi sat up instantly, alert. When he saw who had arrived, his visible eye blinked in surprise.
"Gekkō... Hayate?"
"You are…"
Hayate looked flustered, sweat beading on his forehead.
"Kakashi-senpai... Shigure—Gekkō Shigure—he's missing."
"…What?"
Kakashi was taken aback. "What do you mean, missing?"
"He hasn't come home in over a day," Hayate said, anxiety in his voice. "We've looked everywhere in the village. There's no trace of him."
Kakashi frowned.
Gone?
How could someone just disappear like that?
Especially someone like Shigure...
Kakashi quickly collected his thoughts. "Are you sure he's not anywhere in Konoha?"
"Positive. We've searched thoroughly, but there's no sign of him."
This wasn't a trivial matter. Shigure was a highly talented genin—skilled not only in kenjutsu, but in taijutsu and ninjutsu as well. If another village somehow captured him…
No, such a possibility was far-fetched. There was no way a foreign shinobi could infiltrate Konoha and abduct someone like Shigure without anyone noticing.
Even so, Kakashi wasn't about to dismiss it.
"Search again—every corner of the village. Mobilize the ANBU. We can't afford to overlook anything."
With only Moonlight Hayate's manpower, combing through all of Konoha would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Meanwhile, Kakashi decided to speak to Naruto and Sasuke. If anyone might've heard from Shigure, it would be them.
But after locating them separately, both boys shook their heads. Neither had seen or heard from Shigure recently.
Still, upon hearing of his disappearance, they immediately volunteered to help search.
Kakashi expanded the inquiry, speaking to other genin of the same generation.
Hinata. Ino. Shikamaru.
All were questioned. All drew blanks.
Simultaneously, the ANBU began a full sweep of the village. But hours passed, and there was still no trace of Shigure.
Naturally, the Third Hokage—Sarutobi Hiruzen—was soon informed of the ANBU's deployment.
He summoned Kakashi.
"No news?"
Kakashi shook his head. "I've questioned nearly all the genin of his age group. None of them know anything. At this point… the only logical conclusion is that Shigure left the village on his own."
"Left the village?" Hiruzen's brow furrowed. "But why?"
There was no clear reason for a promising genin to defect or disappear voluntarily.
Hiruzen's expression darkened. "Search outside the village. I want Shigure found today. Send every available ANBU."
There were only two plausible explanations left in Hiruzen's mind.
One: Danzo had made a move.
Two: A rival village was behind it.
Between the two, Hiruzen leaned heavily toward the first.
After Kakashi left, Hiruzen didn't hesitate. He descended into the Hokage Building's hidden passage and headed straight for the Root base.
Danzo, seated within his shadowy chambers, was busy with his usual machinations. He didn't expect a surprise visit from the Third Hokage.
"Well, well... Sarutobi," Danzo said with a faint smirk. "Didn't think I'd see you stepping into the darkness yourself."
Hiruzen didn't waste time with pleasantries.
"What did you do, Danzo?"
The question landed like a kunai. Danzo paused.
"…What are you accusing me of now, Sarutobi?"
But Hiruzen caught the flicker of hesitation in Danzo's eyes.
That was all the confirmation he needed.
It was Danzo.
"Danzo, I've turned a blind eye to many of your operations in the past, but this—this crosses the line. Whatever you've done with Shigure… stop it."
Danzo's gaze hardened. The pretense dropped.
"So you've figured it out."
He stood, his voice gaining weight. "Then let's not dance around the issue, Sarutobi. I should be the one leading this village. I should be the Hokage!"
Hiruzen froze.
…What?
He came here expecting an interrogation—but instead, Danzo was openly declaring his ambition?
So that was it.
He'd taken Shigure… in some twisted bid for power?
Danzo had long coveted the position of Hokage. Hiruzen knew this all too well—but what did that have to do with Shigure's disappearance?
Just as Hiruzen was about to press Danzo further, a Root ninja suddenly appeared beside them.
"Report, Lord Danzo! A massive chakra fluctuation has been detected outside the village!"
A terrifying chakra fluctuation?
Was it an enemy?
Hiruzen shot Danzo a cold glare. "We'll continue this later. I'm warning you—don't lay a hand on him!"
With that, the Third Hokage turned and stormed off.
Danzo was left frowning. "Don't lay a hand on him?"
Who was he referring to?
Yamato?
And how did Hiruzen find out about my cooperation with Orochimaru? Could it be... did Orochimaru betray me?
Impossible. Orochimaru would never expose himself that easily.
Then what exactly was Hiruzen asking about?
Danzo turned toward the kneeling Root ninja and questioned, "Did anything unusual happen in Konoha today?"
"Report, Lord Danzo. Nothing major, but… Gekkō Shigure seems to be missing."
Shigure?
So that's what Hiruzen was referring to earlier!
He must've been asking about that kid—and I mistakenly assumed he was onto my secret dealings with Orochimaru. Damn it… I may have said too much.
Hiruzen would realize the slip eventually.
Danzo's expression darkened. He turned to the Root ninja. "Why wasn't I informed earlier?"
"You were in the middle of another matter, Lord Danzo. You told us to wait before reporting."
Whoosh!
Danzo slammed his cane against the ground. "So now it's my fault?"
"I—I wouldn't dare say that, Lord Danzo!"
Tch. And now there's this chakra disturbance outside the village…
Enemy infiltration? Or something else?
Danzo was seething. A simple misunderstanding had nearly exposed everything.
Damn it!
Meanwhile, a squad of elite shinobi had already rushed to the outskirts of Konoha. Among them were Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hatake Kakashi, and Gekkō Hayate.
"Lord Hokage, were you also searching for Shigure just now?" Kakashi asked, falling in step beside him.
"I was," Hiruzen replied calmly. "I used the Telescope Technique to search the entire village… but I couldn't find a single trace of him."
Kakashi frowned. If he used the Telescope Technique, why wasn't he in the Hokage's office?
There was no time to dwell on the thought.
As the team entered a nearby forest, they were abruptly struck by a massive wave of chakra pressure.
The gale-force wind that followed forced them to stop in their tracks.
The Third Hokage narrowed his eyes, visibly shaken. "What kind of power… Who could be releasing such overwhelming chakra?!"
Kakashi and Hayate both froze.
They recognized it.
It wasn't an enemy's chakra.
It was familiar.
Too familiar.
The two of them spoke simultaneously, their voices tight with disbelief.
"…That's Shigure's chakra!"
...
TN:
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