Chapter 21: The Wrath of the Uchiha
After dinner, Kyosuke accompanied Fugaku to his study for a private discussion.
By the time the two of them emerged, the sky had completely darkened.
Fugaku looked up at the night sky and said to Kyosuke, "It's getting late. Why don't you stay here for the night?"
Kyosuke, unconcerned, simply nodded in agreement. After all, being alone, it made no difference to him where he stayed.
And so, Kyosuke spent the night at Fugaku's home.
As he was just falling asleep, an urgent, secret report was being delivered in the dead of night to all of Konoha's highest officials, including, of course, the still-unaware Uchiha clan.
This night was destined for turmoil.
In the guest room, a sleeping Kyosuke was suddenly awakened by a faint noise.
Still groggy, he quietly crept to the door and saw a fully armed Fugaku and Chiko speaking with a ninja completely clad in black.
This black-clad ninja was one of the secret operatives secretly trained by the Uchiha. Normally, these operatives were responsible for handling matters that the Uchiha could not deal with openly. Their role was similar to that of Root.
Something's happened! Seeing their grave expressions, Kyosuke was instantly wide awake.
After a moment's thought, he got dressed, opened the door, and walked out.
The three people in the middle of their conversation were not surprised by his appearance. After all, even the weakest among them, Uchiha Chiko, possessed the strength of a Jounin. Noticing Kyosuke's eavesdropping was an incredibly simple matter.
As Kyosuke approached, Fugaku merely gave him a complicated look before ending the conversation.
After the secret operative left, Kyosuke frowned at Fugaku, wanting to ask about the situation.
But Fugaku simply said, "Follow me," and quickly ran toward the council hall.
Kyosuke and Chiko exchanged a look and hurriedly followed.
Soon, they arrived outside the council hall. Before they even entered, Kyosuke could hear the Second Elder's furious roar from within.
"We must strike back! We have to!"
Honestly, this was the first time he had ever seen the Second Elder so enraged. At the same time, the bad feeling in his heart grew stronger.
With a heavy heart, Kyosuke entered the council hall alongside Fugaku.
Only after entering did he realize the hall was packed with over twenty shinobi, all of them Jounin. Almost every well-known powerhouse in the clan was present.
Of course, the four elders who held the highest authority in the Uchiha were also there. But at this moment, they were all silent, with only the Second Elder roaring in fury.
After a long while, the Second Elder finally calmed down and noticed Kyosuke, whose face was pale.
Their eyes met, and Kyosuke suddenly asked, "Is it... is something wrong with Nagisa?"
Sigh. The Second Elder sighed and didn't speak. It was the Great Elder, sitting to the side, who answered him. "That's right. Nagisa... she has been abducted by those damn Sand ninja."
So it's true. After getting a definitive answer, Kyosuke closed his eyes in pain.
He couldn't help but recall the events of a month ago.
"Hey, hey~ Kyosuke, are you going to Orochimaru's place again?" Nagisa had found him early in the morning, her face full of displeasure.
She was unhappy because ever since Kyosuke had been relieved of his duties with the Military Police, he had buried himself in Orochimaru's laboratory, often disappearing for ten days to half a month at a time. Nagisa, with no one to play with, was bored to the point of madness.
That's why she had come to block his door first thing in the morning after learning he had returned to the clan compound the previous night.
Unfortunately, Kyosuke was in no mood to entertain a child at the time and had sent her away with just a few words.
Sometime later, Kyosuke heard that the bored Nagisa had taken some guards and gone out to travel and see the sights. She had been gone for over a month.
Now it seemed that for some reason, she had been unexpectedly kidnapped by Sand ninja.
Furthermore, according to the Great Elder, the group was now fleeing frantically toward the border with her and a few surviving guards. It was clear the Sand ninja intended to take her back to the Land of Wind.
Their motive was likely the Uchiha clan's unique Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan. Fortunately, intelligence suggested that this was an impulsive act. They didn't have the proper means to handle a Sharingan user, which was how poor Nagisa had managed to stay alive.
Since the situation was clear, the next point of discussion was how many people to send on the rescue mission.
After a brief discussion, it was decided that Fugaku would lead ten Jounin to rescue the captured Uchiha Nagisa.
"I'm going too," Kyosuke, who had been silent until now, suddenly said, looking up.
"Nonsense! What use would you be? Don't cause trouble," the Second Elder reprimanded him harshly.
Kyosuke ignored his scolding and simply bit his thumb hard.
Boar - Dog - Bird - Monkey - Ram.
"Summoning Technique!"
Poof!
With a cloud of smoke, countless small snakes of various colors were suddenly summoned.
Seeing this, the Second Elder's mouth opened, but he was at a loss for words.
The Uchiha clan had historically lacked ninja with outstanding sensory abilities. Right now, among the eleven Jounin including Fugaku, not a single one was proficient in sensory skills.
That was why Kyosuke's Summoning Technique had left the Second Elder speechless.
Setting other factors aside, Kyosuke's presence would indeed be a great help to the search and rescue operation.
After a moment of silence, the Second Elder slowly spoke. "You... can go. But if anything happens... I permit you to escape alone. Do you understand?"
His words were directed at Kyosuke, but also at Fugaku and the others.
Kyosuke first nodded, then shook his head, and said with a proud expression, "The Uchiha clan has no ninja who flee. We never have, and we certainly never will."
"YEAH!!!" Hearing Kyosuke's words, the crowd, including Fugaku, erupted in a roar of approval.
Seeing their impassioned state, the elders all smiled with relief.
After finalizing a few details, the Uchiha rescue team prepared to depart.
But just then, their path was blocked by an unexpected group of people.
It was the Third Hokage and his entourage, who had arrived in a hurry.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen; the leader of Root, Danzō; and the elder council members, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura—all four were present.
Their purpose was clear: to stop the Uchiha clan's actions.