Days later, a red-haired kunoichi from the Uzumaki Clan burst into the secluded rainforest, tears streaming down her face as she ran.
"Yuka! Yuka! Something terrible's happened!"
Yuka leapt down from the treehouse.
Other Uzumaki kunoichi, alarmed by the pained voice, rushed over.
Moments later, after a few brief words, they all collapsed to their knees in the rain.
Only Uzumaki Yuka remained standing, barely. Her head tilted back, face to the sky, letting her tears blend with the rain and drip silently into the muddy earth below.
The heir of the Senju Clan—Nawaki—was dead.
The Fox was an ANBU agent planted in the Senju Clan as a spy. He'd already uncovered the intel. He had warned the young heir ahead of time.
And yet… Nawaki was still dead.
Iwagakure had claimed responsibility—loudly and proudly. They boasted of killing the most dazzling genius Konoha had seen in a decade. A fitting retaliation, they said, for the Mount Ushiga incident.
But how? Nawaki had been guarded by none other than Orochimaru, a veteran jōnin. How could an Iwa assassination squad have possibly succeeded?
Only now did Yuka fully understand why the Fox had stressed one thing above all: do not reveal the truth to the Senju—yet.
Since the death of Lord Tobirama, Konoha had become unrecognizable. Cold. Merciless. Everything had changed.
The Uzumaki Clan had dared to suggest Princess Kushina become the next Three-Tails jinchūriki. It had infuriated the Konoha leadership. Uzushio Village was abandoned—discarded like trash by the very village it once supported.
And the Senju were no exception.
Their opposition to Konoha's choice for the second Nine-Tails jinchūriki had set them at odds with the powers at the top.
Konoha would not tolerate dissent. Not from anyone. Not even from the Senju.
The Senju Clan had challenged authority—and authority had struck back without hesitation.
This was Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo Shimura's Konoha.
Not the Konoha of old.
***
After parting ways with Yuka, Yako rejoined his squad in the Land of Rain.
Purple Cat rushed up to him. "Captain, are you all right?!"
She had been frantic after seeing the Fox dragged off by the Eight-Winged Crow. She circled him quickly, scanning for injuries.
"I'm fine," Yako replied. "I was taken by one of the Uzumaki remnants' summoning beasts. But I also uncovered new intel on them."
He turned to the others. "Let's return to the main encampment in the Land of Grass and report what we found."
But before they could arrive, a massive piece of news swept through the Land of Rain like wildfire.
Even civilians were whispering it.
A great tragedy had struck the ninja world.
The young Senju heir—Konoha's genius—was dead.
Iwagakure shouted it from the rooftops, proclaiming they had done the deed.
Yako narrowed his eyes. Typical Ōnoki—seizing credit for what he didn't earn.
No doubt the Tsuchikage had wanted Nawaki dead. Just like he wanted every gifted child of Konoha dead.
But this?
If he truly meant to kill Nawaki, he wouldn't have sent a small force—the boy was under Orochimaru's personal protection.
Too large of a force, and Konoha's frontline would've noticed. A full battle would've erupted.
Yako had a good idea of the truth.
Captain Yellow Dog, furious after learning that Senju shinobi had made contact with Uzumaki remnants, disguised himself as Iwa-nin and personally set the trap.
The frontline commander, Mitokado Homura, had assigned Nawaki's squad a custom mission. Captain Yellow Dog had full knowledge of its details.
He used that intel to intercept the team route—and killed Nawaki with a trap.
Whoever laid that trap was nearly Orochimaru's equal in skill.
Even with Yako's warning, it hadn't been enough. Nawaki died anyway.
Yako had deliberately arranged for Longspear Egret to pursue a different target—keeping him away from the trap. Anyone used as bait that day was guaranteed to die.
When they finally reached the encampment, Yako saw them from a distance.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya stood outside the mortuary tent—one on each side, silent.
Inside, Tsunade was on her knees, weeping beside the corpse.
Nawaki had been dead for days, and Tsunade hadn't left his side.
Orochimaru leaned rigidly against a wooden post, his face unreadable, eyelids lowered.
Jiraiya, by contrast, burned with anger—glowering at Orochimaru, as if the Sannin had just said something cruel to Tsunade.
Nawaki's death had shaken Orochimaru more than he let on. He wasn't as cold as he pretended to be.
Inside the tent, the floor was lined with more bodies. Senju shinobi—many had died. How many, no one knew.
Word soon spread that both Hiruzen and Danzo had arrived at the frontlines.
In the small jōnin war council, Tsunade made a furious proposal:
"From now on, every squad must include a medical ninja."
If Nawaki's squad had included a Senju medical-nin—not a Sarutobi or a Shimura—perhaps he'd still be alive.
The two Konoha operatives assigned to Nawaki had been political picks—dead weight, meant to forge 'bonds' with the higher-ups.
Useless.
Word had it Nawaki had been killed by a double-layered explosive tag trap.
The first tag launched a bundle of tags to waist height—where the second set exploded, shredding every organ inside his body.
Captain Yellow Dog's trap had been... elegant.
Only one jōnin supported Tsunade's motion: Kato Dan.
Their bond deepened. In the wake of Nawaki's death, Dan became one of her few emotional anchors.
In the chaos, Yako found the ANBU command tent.
Inside were Danzo and Captain Yellow Dog.
Yako stepped forward and gave his report.
"Lord Danzo. Captain. I tracked the Uzumaki remnants. They've been moving erratically between the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass. Their trail is difficult to follow."
He bowed and waited.
Captain Yellow Dog waved him off.
Yako exited the tent.
The air around the ANBU camp was thick. Oppressive. Everyone wore tense expressions, as if Danzo had just unleashed a storm of fury inside.
Killing Nawaki hadn't been the plan. But there had been no choice.
Captain Yellow Dog had made a grave error—allowing a direct encounter between the Uzumaki and the Senju heir.
There had been no time to wait for the Nine-Tails' sealing to shift hands.
So they acted swiftly.
Killed him.
Even for the ANBU, this had been a devastating cost.
If Orochimaru or Tsunade discovered the truth, the consequences would be dire.
And behind Nawaki stood the full force of the Senju Clan.
Late that night, it was the Fox Squad's turn to guard Danzo's tent.
Yako saw Orochimaru approaching, his form slipping silently into the shadows of the canvas.
Yako sharpened his senses, straining to listen.
Ten minutes passed.
Nothing.
There must have been a barrier seal—no sound escaped.
Inside, Orochimaru's slitted pupils locked onto Danzo's face.
Danzo was expressionless. No sign betrayed the fact that he had ordered Nawaki's death.
After a long silence, Orochimaru finally spoke.
"Life is so fragile… Lord Danzo.
I had such high hopes for my student, Nawaki.
Yet a few explosive tags… and he's gone.
The traps were… ingenious. So refined that even I might have fallen to them. Unbelievable, really.
Since when has Iwagakure bred such talented trap specialists—so masterful with explosive tags?
Nawaki's potential was greater than mine. And now… he's gone.
Lord Danzo… I accept your proposal.
We'll begin the research you mentioned—on transplantation, enhancement, and modification of the human body… for the sake of Konoha."