Amamiya Rei handed a handkerchief to Shisui.
She was utterly silent, not making the slightest sound.
Yet her presence alone brought Shisui a profound sense of reassurance and steadiness.
It was as if, so long as Rei was by his side, he would never again know fear or emptiness.
"Rei… I'm going to the battlefield."
Tonight, Shisui had come not only to apologize, but also to deliver a truth Rei could not ignore—
war was coming.
Even though no formal declaration had yet been made, everyone could already feel it pressing in from all sides.
War was inevitable.
The death of the Fourth Hokage had been like a bucket of oil spilled upon smoldering embers, and those embers had now roared into flame.
Conflict had become war.
Shisui had received an urgent summons: he was to march for the border.
Rei's pupils contracted. She stared blankly at Shisui, her voice dazed as she uttered, "War…"
A sharp ache pierced Shisui's chest. He vowed at once, his words tight with conviction:
"Rei, you will not go to the battlefield. Rest assured… I won't let you set foot in that inhuman slaughter."
"And you?"
Rei's crimson eyes brimmed with worry.
"Will you be hurt?"
"Will something happen to you?"
"Shisui…"
Amamiya Rei could not allow Shisui to lose so much as a shred of flesh. That would be nothing short of wasteful.
But his mind had already begun to itch with restless calculation.
The battlefield… yes, after the hospital, it would be the second great granary.
Still, such things required patience.
In the blink of an eye, his mind had spun through countless schemes.
Looking at the girl before him, Shisui felt warmth surge like a tide through his chest.
Fixing his gaze intently upon Rei's crimson eyes, he swore: "I told you I will always protect you. I will never die."
Amamiya Rei: "…"
The one Shisui most needed to protect was the flesh on his own body.
After seeing Shisui off, Rei could not sleep. He sat upright and began practicing the Rasengan.
He might not be able to master the Flying Thunder God Technique yet, but surely the Rasengan was within reach.
By dawn, Rei still hadn't succeeded.
"…"
Calmly, he changed into the standard ANBU uniform.
Though he had not produced the Rasengan, he at least understood its principles. With understanding came possibility; with possibility, only time stood in the way. Unlike the Flying Thunder God, which was pure torment for any normal human being to learn.
Namikaze Minato truly was a damn prodigy!
Casting a glance at the nanny caring for Naruto, Rei left the house and made his way toward the Hokage Tower.
On his back, he carried the long blade he had plucked from Kakashi yesterday, along with a biwa wrapped in black cloth.
His assignment was simple: simply to stand behind Sarutobi Hiruzen like a background figure, occasionally responding when the Hokage summoned him.
The doors of the Hokage's office stood wide open.
Rei stopped at the threshold, meeting the weary eyes of Sarutobi Hiruzen, who looked up with a face full of sorrow.
Hiruzen's brow eased slightly. "You've come."
Rei gave a single nod. His divine, almost otherworldly beauty was mostly hidden behind the fox-faced ANBU mask, yet his long, glossy black curls—like strands of lustrous seaweed—were still strikingly distinctive.
It was no surprise Hiruzen recognized him at once. More than that, according to the duty roster, today was his turn to stand guard behind the Hokage anyway.
Rei took his place behind the Hokage. His thoughts still lingered on the Flying Thunder God Technique. He had no desire for conversation with the old man, but Hiruzen—lonely, old, and burdened—could not keep silent.
"Have you ever experienced war?" Hiruzen asked in a voice heavy with meaning.
Mind your own damn business.
Behind the mask, Rei rolled his eyes. At last, he understood the advantage of wearing a mask, he no longer had to manage his expression.
"I don't know if it counts as war," he said evenly. "When I was a child, hiding from conflict with my parents, I saw shinobi slaughtering one another."
His words drew a bitter smile from Hiruzen, who shook his head. "Yes… slaughtering one another. They may belong to different villages, but in the end, they are all shinobi, all human…"
Before his sigh had faded, the sound of urgent footsteps swelled outside.
In the next instant, the Hokage's office flooded with people.
Konoha's elders, clan leaders, elite shinobi—the chamber grew crowded, air thick with tension.
Among them, Rei picked out Kakashi's silver hair, and the stern face of Uchiha Fugaku.
"The reports have arrived!"
"There's no more need to wait!"
"No more probing!"
"Strike now!"
"We cannot allow Kumogakure or Kirigakure to seize the initiative!"
Leaning heavily on his cane, Shimura Danzō strode into the Hokage's office. His words were as sharp and forceful as his entrance.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged a glance.
Koharu spoke, her tone less forceful than Danzō's but carrying the same conclusion:
"Since Minato's death, Kirigakure has attacked us twice. Just last night, Kumogakure stirred the waters as well. We truly cannot sit idly by any longer."
Homura added gravely:
"If not for foresight—and the reinforcements dispatched ahead of time—the shinobi at the border might have been annihilated."
Rei thought to himself: those reinforcements must have been Shisui and his team.
"War is unavoidable."
Danzō's sharp gaze locked onto Hiruzen. He knew exactly what the Hokage was hesitating over. His voice pressed down, relentless:
"We cannot afford to delay and squander this chance."
The atmosphere thickened, the office heavy with the suffocating weight of expectation.
Closing his eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen drew in a deep, shuddering breath. When they opened again, they blazed with steely light. His voice was like iron striking stone:
"Then we strike back."
"Orochimaru."
He called the name of the student he was most proud of.
Orochimaru stepped forward, his pale figure moving into the dim light across from Hiruzen.
Rei thought he caught Orochimaru's gaze flicker toward him.
And Rei had never doubted himself.
Yes, Orochimaru had looked at him.
"…"
Rei narrowed his eyes. He already knew what would follow.
Orochimaru would be named commander of the frontlines.
The very next moment, his suspicion was confirmed.
Hiruzen placed the command in Orochimaru's hands.
"Shikaku."
Another name followed.
"You will go with Orochimaru to the frontlines as chief strategist."
"Yes," Nara Shikaku replied with solemnity.
Hiruzen's eyes moved then to Uchiha Fugaku and Hyūga Hiashi.
Before he could speak, Fugaku stepped forward of his own accord:
"I will lead the Uchiha to battle."
Hiashi followed quickly with his pledge.
One after another, the other clan heads voiced their commitment, voices firm but tinged with dread.
Only once the pledges had been made did Hiruzen look back to Nara Shikaku: "The distribution of personnel will be left to you."
Shikaku inclined his head, accepting the burden.
It was then that Danzō spoke again.
"Kumogakure's Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails both wield perfect control over their Beasts. To send ordinary shinobi against them would be nothing but needless slaughter…"
His words, deliberate and heavy with implication, deepened the shadows in Hiruzen's eyes.
Rei: "…"
Of course Danzō was up to no good.
The moment Danzō opened his mouth, Rei knew exactly what kind of shit he was about to spew.
---