Mitarashi Anko and Uchiha Izumi had split up for the time being. Walking home alone, Anko suddenly realized how unnaturally quiet the neighborhood was—no meowing, no barking, nothing.
Her eyes narrowed at once. She knew this atmosphere well.
Back when the Third Hokage sent a few Anbu to tail and investigate her, the silence in the air had felt exactly like this.
Anko stopped in the middle of an empty alley, her whole body swallowed by the night's shadow.
She spoke to the air. "Didn't the investigation on me already wrap up? You already confirmed I've cut ties with Orochimaru, didn't you?"
The moment her voice fell—
Figures burst out of the dark: six Konoha shinobi, each wearing an odd-looking mask.
Anko froze for a beat when she saw their masks and gear.
"…Root?"
These six weren't Anbu at all.
They were Root operatives.
Anko's gut tightened. Back then, the Third only sent Anbu to keep an eye on her. Why was Root involved this time?
If she remembered right, Root had already been handed off to Utatane Koharu.
"Mitarashi Anko." One of them spoke in a mature woman's voice—clearly a kunoichi. "As a Konoha shinobi, you shouldn't conceal important intel from the village. Koharu-sama is giving you a chance. I hope you cherish it."
Before Anko could answer, the Root kunoichi pressed on. "Where is the exact location of the Konoha defector, Orochimaru?"
Anko's eyes widened a fraction. "!!!"
How did Root even know about Orochimaru? Did one of them overhear her talking with Uchiha Izumi?
After two seconds of silence, Anko gave a clipped reply: "No comment."
She firmly believed Uchiha Chizumi would kill Orochimaru.
If they handed Orochimaru over to the Third—or to Konoha higher-ups like Utatane Koharu—
There was every chance they'd decide Orochimaru still had value, and spare his life.
That—
Was something Mitarashi Anko could never accept.
"Mitarashi Anko! Do you know what you're saying?" A Root member stepped forward, voice sharp as he barked at her. "How many resources and how much effort has Konoha spent to raise promising new-generation shinobi like you?"
"Koharu-sama and the Hokage value you, value your generation. Don't you feel any gratitude? Do you not care about the debt you owe them at all?"
"Did you forget every last thing about the Will of Fire you learned at the Academy?"
Anko frowned. "I haven't forgotten what Konoha did to raise me. That's exactly why I'm making Konoha better in my own way. And I'm not some extremist like Uchiha Itachi. I'm not going to massacre a clan. I'll punish the villains inside the village under the banner of absolute justice."
She paused, then went on. "Don't bother trying to pry anything about Orochimaru out of me. If you want intel that badly, go ask Chizumi."
"If Chizumi wants you to know it, he won't hide it. If he can't be bothered, it means you were never meant to know."
"What if I ask you myself?" came a slightly aged voice from behind Anko.
Her pupils tightened. She turned to see Utatane Koharu approaching under the guard of two Root operatives.
Koharu stopped ten meters away from Anko.
Even a casual glance could see the distance in her posture, the watchfulness.
Face calm and wrinkled, Koharu said, "Anko, it was I who persuaded Hiruzen to stop investigating you back then. You should be grateful, and you should give me Orochimaru's intel."
"Phew—"
Anko let out a small laugh. "Quite the line-up. My ninja way has always been straight to the point: say it, do it. I said 'no comment,' so I'm not giving you anything."
Koharu sighed. "Konoha's young elites have all been brainwashed by Uchiha Chizumi."
She looked Anko in the eye. "If you were facing Danzō, you'd already be dead, and he'd be rifling your corpse for information. But you're facing me. I'm not as vicious and dark as he was. I won't harm you too badly."
No sooner had she finished than black snakes slid out from the sleeves of Anko's coat.
Anko's smile turned bright and cruel, though the wariness in her eyes didn't fade. "I'm not that easy to take down. Orochimaru might've tampered with some of my memories, but the skills I learned from him? Those, I didn't forget."
"Go. Minimize injuries. Take her alive. Use genjutsu to interrogate her," Koharu said, done with words.
In her mind, anyone "brainwashed by Absolute Justice" wasn't worth debating.
If you weren't speaking the same language, one sentence more was already too much.
Nothing she said would reach them; nothing they said was anything she wanted to hear.
At Koharu's order, the six Root shinobi rushed Anko from all sides. They drew their blades, but didn't point the edges at her. They flipped the blades and swung the flats at her instead.
Anko moved in the same heartbeat. The black snakes shot from her sleeves like arrows loosed from a bow, streaking toward the Root operatives.
As they chopped the serpents aside with their blades—
Anko bit her thumb and slammed one hand to the ground.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!!!"
…
Elsewhere in Konoha—inside Ichiraku Ramen.
The Hyuga Main House sat in tense silence. Hinata set her bowl down and sat ramrod straight, her small face plainly tight with nerves.
Every time a customer came or went, every eye in the Hyuga group tracked them, which left the normal patrons unsettled and spooked.
Strictly speaking, this kind of behavior was bad for business, and as the proprietor's daughter, Ayame should probably have said something.
But they were paying too well—and "Hinata-sama" alone had already polished off more than a dozen extra-large bowls with add-ons, pushing close to twenty.
Suddenly—
Hinata's eyes widened a touch. She tightened her grip on Hanabi's hand, making the girl wince, pain twisting her delicate features. Remembering her elder sister's warning not to speak out of turn, Hanabi clapped a hand over her mouth and endured it.
He's here!!!
Hyuga Keizuka, wallet still bleeding, took a deep breath and looked at the person who'd arrived—but he didn't dare meet the man's gaze. He shifted his eyes downward, stood up, and spoke first. "…Chizumi-sama, the Hyuga Main House is all here."
It was Uchiha Chizumi who had thrown most of the Main House into Konoha's jail, leaving them in their current sorry state.
And yet he still had to call the man "-sama." It was a disgrace to the Hyuga's pride.
If only he could muster a little backbone—
"If Chizumi-sama has orders, the Hyuga Main House will do our utmost!" What Keizuka thought and what he said were polar opposites. One misstep and he'd be the great sinner of the Main House, nailed to the clan's pillar of shame.
"For now, the Main House is to stay at the inn on Konoha's Fourth Street," Uchiha Chizumi said, skipping small talk. "The rooms are booked for a year. The Konoha Uchiha Police Corps covered the cost. Do not return to the Hyuga compound for now."
He paused, then added, "Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin is currently living at that inn as well. I've already spoken to her. She'll keep an eye on you."
The Main House blinked, collectively taken aback.
"Meow—'keep an eye on you' doesn't mean personal service," Jujirou chimed in. "You won't be treated like babies, and you're not getting special privileges. Don't twist it."
The ninja cat continued, "Chizumi-sama thinks some members of the Branch House aren't exactly… well-behaved. The radicals might target Main House women and children."
"To prevent a pointless tragedy, he's giving you a safe place to stay—and having one of the Sannin on site to scare off petty lowlifes."
Keizuka's eyes widened.
So… that's why he called all of them here?
Truth be told—
Keizuka himself felt the Hyuga compound wasn't that safe anymore. Especially these last two days, some Branch members had been looking at him strangely. It sent a chill through him, a Special Jōnin of the Main House.
Under the same roof, if the Branch wanted to move against the Main House—and the Main House dared not trigger the Caged Bird—
It would be far too easy.
A little something slipped into their food, and the few Main House survivors could be wiped out overnight.
…Hiss.
So this time, Uchiha Chizumi was actually thinking of the Main House's safety?
The Main House felt as if they were dreaming. Yesterday, he'd "gone on a killing spree" against them; today, he was arranging protection. The whiplash was unreal.
"Meow." Jujirou seemed to read their thoughts. In an odd singsong voice, he said, "Chizumi-sama doesn't judge people by faction. He judges them by good and evil. You've heard the rumors in Konoha by now. You still don't get this?"
Enlightenment dawned on Keizuka.
So they were the few decent ones left in the Main House.
For a long moment, he didn't know what to say.
After a brief hesitation, he bowed his head.
"Thank you."
Which was also an acceptance of Chizumi's arrangement. It was, undeniably, safer.
…
The Land of Rain.
Sheets of immaculate white paper unfurled behind Konan, forming wings like an angel's and lifting her into the air.
Under Biwa Jūzō's upturned gaze, Konan glided across the ravine and landed near him and the wood clone.
Her wings scattered soundlessly; she touched down with a blank face, thin slips of paper appearing under her toes to hold her above the mud, keeping a drop of filth from touching her.
She came openly, without a hint of stealth.
Jūzō immediately understood the wood clone had been right: this woman had to be a clone. If she were here in the flesh, she wouldn't stand alone before the "Lava Release Beast"—unless she also knew this was only a wood clone.
"Your assignment was to secure sensitive intel," Konan said, amber eyes cold on Jūzō. "Not betray Akatsuki and bring him to the Land of Rain. When you joined, I warned you: betray Akatsuki and the price will be beyond your imagination. At times like that, 'death' might even be a luxury."
"Hey, hey—"
Jūzō denied it flatly. "Don't project your malice onto me. When did you ever tell me not to bring Uchiha Chizumi here?"
He paused, then went on despite the frost in her expression. "Besides—"
"The man who actually knows the truth about Uchiha Madara has come to you in person. Doesn't that help you understand him better? Isn't that exactly what you wanted?"
Jūzō exhaled. At this point, there was nothing to do but lean in.
He looked Konan in the eye. "Or are you afraid of Konoha's Lava Release Beast? Strictly speaking, I over-delivered on my mission. Don't tell me Akatsuki butchers new recruits like beasts of burden?"
Konan stared at Jūzō for a moment, then turned her gaze to the wood clone of Uchiha Chizumi.
"Even in the Land of Rain, your name carries far," she said. "Uchiha Chizumi, the Uchiha prodigy who fought in the Third Great Ninja War. Founder of the 'Absolute Justice' ninja way. The man who dared kill the Fire Daimyō alone—and walk out of the capital alive."
"You may not know this, but your deeds have already spread across the ninja world. Plenty of busybodies are starting to lump you together with your clan's ancestor, Uchiha Madara—convinced you'll become the second Madara."
She narrowed her eyes.
"As far as I know, 'Uchiha Madara' seems very interested in you. He's been digging into your life from the shadows. That tells me you're holding some of his secrets."
"How about a trade? Akatsuki will kill someone for you—anyone—so long as it's within our power."
"In return, you give us Madara's secrets."
The air went still. Rain began to patter again. Konan didn't bother shielding herself with paper; she let the water soak her, the black-and-red cloak clinging to her form, damp strands of hair sticking to her white cheek.
The mood weighed heavy enough to make Jūzō tense, absurd as that felt.
He was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—how was he getting nervous at a time like this?
Chizumi's wood clone finally spoke, meeting Konan's amber eyes. "I don't need Akatsuki to kill anyone for me. If we must set terms for intel, here's the best one: every core member of Akatsuki lines up and bares their necks. That would be a fair trade."
Konan blinked.
A flash of irritation cut across her cool features, but before she could answer, the wood clone continued, face unmoved. "However—if dragging that man's secrets into the light trips him up, makes his life harder, I'm happy to oblige."
"If that brain-rotted lapdog dies because of it, all the better. Even if he doesn't die by my hand—let villains tear each other apart."
"Besides, Uchiha Obito's 'secrets' barely qualify as secrets to me. They hardly count as intel."
The wood clone's words hit like a detonation, leaving Konan stunned.
For a moment, she didn't even have time to take offense at being called a "villain."
"Uchiha… Obito?" she repeated, brows knitting.
"You tell her," the clone said, tilting his chin at Jūzō.
"Me?" Sweat prickled down Jūzō's back. Konan's eyes were on him now.
Damn it—dragging me into this is basically admitting I knew 'Madara's' secret and didn't report it. But right here, right now, all he could do was draw a deep breath—
Steady himself—and lay out everything he knew.
Konan listened, and silence like a tomb followed.
Absurd, she thought. A Uchiha kid younger than her had somehow bluffed both her and Nagato.
"Uchiha Madara" was just a mask. The man behind it was a Konoha nobody named Uchiha Obito.
But she didn't think the intel was fake.
It was the only explanation for why "Madara" had been so fixated on Chizumi.
Everything clicked into place.
She didn't know how long she stood there, how long she needed to digest the sheer volume of what she'd heard.
At last, Konan's gaze shifted, gaining a ripple of emotion.
She looked hard at Chizumi's clone. "You crossed half the world from the Land of Fire to tell me this, and you don't want anything for it—you just want Uchiha Obito to suffer? Honestly, I don't buy it. My gut says your purpose in the Land of Rain is not that simple."
Of course it wasn't! You think he's targeting just Obito? He's aiming at all of Akatsuki!
Jūzō groused inwardly.
"Men like you—if you don't say it, no one alive can guess what you're really thinking." Before the clone could respond, Konan went on. "Whatever you're after, here's my advice."
"Don't kid yourself that your so-called Absolute Justice can stand against all of Akatsuki. Step back from things you shouldn't touch, and you might live longer—consider it a courtesy for sharing intel freely."
Then she looked at Jūzō. "I still doubt your loyalty. This mission doesn't count. You created complications and did more than you were told."
"???" Jūzō stared.
He'd nearly died in Konoha, and this paranoid woman wanted to dock his pay on top of it?
Still—
It meant he wasn't being kicked out of Akatsuki.
He suspected she was letting him stay because of Chizumi—keeping him as a conduit to the man. From a Seven Swordsman of the Mist to a glorified messenger boy.
The realization hit him like a slap.
While he was spiraling, Konan's paper wings unfurled again.
And then—
A kunai sliced past Jūzō's ear and, faster than thought, punched straight through Konan's throat.
"Letting a self-righteous tyrant who treats innocent lives like toys stroll away—clone or not—leaves a bad taste," the wood clone said, flat as ice.
Konan's eyes narrowed; her body shattered into a storm of paper.
She was—
Indeed a clone.
"Paranoid enough," Jūzō muttered at the drifting sheets. "If she'd been here in person, maybe we could've dropped her right here."
He froze a second later.
Wait. Why the hell did I say "we"? Since when did I assume I'd team up with Uchiha Chizumi to wipe out Akatsuki?
Crap. Did I just get brainwashed by his 'Absolute Justice'?
Genjutsu?
When did he hit me?
"—To erase my paper clone in an instant, before I could even react… he's certainly formidable."
Inside Akatsuki's base in the Land of Rain, Konan exhaled slowly.
The clone's memories slammed into her mind, knitting her brows.
It took a long time to steady herself.
"Him?" Nagato's brows drew tight as well. "The one who met your clone was that new recruit, Biwa Jūzō? He attacked your clone?"
"No."
Konan shook her head. "Jūzō looks slippery and I still doubt his devotion, but he doesn't yet have the guts to lay a hand on Akatsuki's core. The one who dispelled my paper clone was Konoha's Uchiha Chizumi."
A flicker crossed Nagato's face. "He came to the Land of Rain?"
"Mhm."
"As the rough intel suggested: a man hard to communicate with and stubborn besides. I honestly don't know what he wants." She recapped what had happened. Nagato fell silent in thought. "And he just… handed you the intel."
"Nagato," Konan cut in softly. "The information Chizumi holds about 'Uchiha Madara' is staggering. The truth is—Madara's been dead a long time. The one we've been working with is a Konoha shinobi named Uchiha Obito."
"—Hah."
A shadow crossed her eyes. "Which means a Konoha genin once stood before us, chin high, ordering us around. A sniveling brat from the Konoha, hiding behind a mask."
"Jūzō also told me—Obito is Jiraiya-sensei's grand-student. His teacher was Namikaze Minato. Strictly speaking, he's our junior. Yahiko's, too."
Her voice echoed in the wet black of the cavern.
Whatever Obito's aims were, whether or not he truly aligned with Akatsuki—
Deception was unforgivable to Konan. Once she realized he'd lied—lied on a scale this massive—she trusted him no longer.
Nagato fell into long silence.
"Nagato," Konan said at last, "Jūzō—speaking for Chizumi—also laid out Obito's ability and specifically highlighted his weaknesses."
"In front of you and me—"
"He has no secrets left."
…
At the same time—perhaps by coincidence—Uchiha Obito returned to Akatsuki's hidden base in the Rain. A nagging unease had sent him back; to that suspicious old woman, staying away would only look like guilt.
She was digging into whatever Chizumi knew—
Which meant she already suspected him.
The right move, then, was to act dismissive. The "real Uchiha Madara" wouldn't spare a thought for an ant like Chizumi.
"—Hnh. I was impatient before," Obito told himself. "One careless move triggered a chain reaction—Black Zetsu still hasn't recovered, and Uchiha Itachi is dead because of it—"
He reflected deeply for all of five seconds.
Then, mask on and voice roughened to match Madara's timbre, he went to find Konan and Nagato.
The moment he saw them, though, something felt off. The air was wrong. Both of them were… strange.
Obito frowned under the mask, but didn't dwell on it. "I went to Konoha to scout the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki. While I was gone, did Akatsuki recruit any promising new members? We're going to need talent for what's ahead."
Nagato looked at him.
Konan looked at him.
"We did," Konan said evenly. "He's a Uchiha. You might even know him."
Obito paused.
"Who?" he asked, voice a picture of calm.
"Uchiha Obito," Konan said.
~~~
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