As the Nine-Tails rampaged toward the south with Kagami perched atop its massive head, the reinforcing army fractured under the crisis. Half of the force, led directly by Torifu and Shikasuke, scrambled to pursue the beast and contain Kagami's rogue assault. The remaining half dug into the encampment, struggling to stabilize the rising chaos.
The Uchiha, meanwhile, dropped their packed gear back onto the sand. Tension thick enough to choke on hung over the oasis as their leadership stepped back into the newly risen command tent to confront the remaining reinforcement commanders.
Not even an hour had passed since the catastrophe struck.
"This has absolutely nothing to do with the Uchiha!" Naka roared, slamming his fist onto the wooden table.
"Yet it was Uchiha Kagami who ambushed us," Danzo retorted smoothly, his expression completely unbothered. "Unless you mean to tell me his surname has suddenly changed?"
The two continued to bicker fiercely. This time, even Naori did not move to hold Naka back. Meanwhile, Shinichi stood silently in the shadows behind his older clansmen, tracking every subtle shift in Danzo's posture and Kenji's body language.
He stared past the eye slits of Kenji's porcelain Anbu mask. Behind the ceramic visage lay a pair of cold, dead eyes, scanning each Uchiha present like a predator measuring its prey.
"Regardless of your excuses," Kenji cut through the shouting.His voice was hollow and dry, entirely devoid of human warmth. "If the Uchiha clan does not bring Kagami down by its own hand, the village will have no choice but to officially declare him a rogue ninja."
A collective gasp rippled through the Uchiha ranks.
Before they could even process the weight of the threat, Danzo pressed on. "As Kagami's former comrades and friends, this is the maximum amount of leverage we can provide to cover for his... infractions. But there is a limit to our tolerance."
"What exactly is it that you want us to do?" Fukashi finally stepped forward with a low dangerous growl that raised the tension inside the tent.
"Bring Kagami into custody yourselves," Danzo demanded. "Keep this an internal dispute between Uchiha before the rest of the village catches wind of it."
"Fine," Fukashi spat. He gritted his teeth so hard they threatened to crack, turning on his heel to exit the tent with the rest of his kin.
"However," Danzo's sharp voice pierced through as he followed them out into the blistering heat of the oasis alongside Kenji. "You will have to leave half of your active shinobi force behind. And either Naka or Naori must remain at the encampment."
"WHAT?!" "You are going too far!" "How dare you!"
The Uchiha squad captains erupted in fury, a dozen pairs of eyes instantly flashing crimson as their Sharingan spun to life. The Konoha Jōnin and Senju veterans reacted instantly, shifting their weights as their hands drifted over their weapon hilts and ninja pouches.
The acrid scent of sweat, dust, and drawing steel permeated the fortress town. The powder keg was one twitch away from exploding.
"Look at the facts," Kenji asserted. His unnaturally desolate voice lacked any semblance of warmth, sending an involuntary chill down the spines of the younger shinobi present. "An Uchiha possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan has forcibly captured the Kyūbi and my mother to satisfy a personal vendetta. Your clansman has violated a direct decree from the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, to forcefully perpetuate this war. Given Kagami's loyalty to Konoha, how could he achieve such act without your clan's explicit support and instigation?"
The accusation struck like a physical blow, throwing the Uchiha into shocked, murmuring disarray. Fukashi's eyes widened before narrowing into slits of pure, unadulterated rage as he glared at the Anbu Commander.
"That is a baseless accusation with no clear proof!" Fukashi barked.
"Proof?!" Danzo matched his volume, stepping forward with bold arrogance. "The last Uchiha who possessed the Mangekyō and successfully enslaved the Kyūbi was also a rogue ninja—and the only traitor in Konoha's history. It is a well-documented fact that many within your compound still harbor sympathies for Uchiha Madara's ideals. It is reasonable for us to enact safety measures. In exchange for your cooperation, Kenji will accompany your 'disciplinary force'."
"You mean he will monitor us," Fukashi growled.
Danzo offered no reply, simply locking eyes with Fukashi. Around them, the clansmen tightened their grips on their weapons, silently preparing to drop the pretense of alliance and cut their way out.
"I will stay," Naori's voice broke the suffocating deadlock as she stepped away from the vanguard.
"Naori!" Naka yelled, reaching out for her.
"Are you certain, Naori?" Fukashi asked, his eyes heavy with worry.
"I am," Naori said, offering a tight, fragile smile before her own eyes transformed into the flowery pattern of her Mangekyō. "Naka won't be able to hold his temper if he stays behind. Don't worry. I am more than capable of protecting myself and the rest of our clansmen."
Fukashi stared at her for a long moment before giving a solemn nod. He reached out, grabbed the back of Naka's collar, and violently dragged the protesting Uchiha forward. The Uchiha clan split into two groups as Fukashi led Kagami's Seventh Division and half of the Second Division out.
Shinichi lingered at the rear of the departing group. His gaze swept across Danzo, Naori, the remaining Uchiha, and the tightly coiled Konoha shinobi, before finally locking directly onto Kenji's motionless figure. He committed the Anbu Commander's precise chakra signature to memory. Then, channeling chakra into his soles, Shinichi blurred into a Body Flicker, catching up with the battalion as they charged south.
***
As the group surged forward, chasing after Kagami and the detachment tracking the Nine-Tails, Shinichi caught up to the front ranks at a blinding speed. His chakra flared violently as his hand flew to his hilt.
Kenji, instantly tracking the sudden fluctuation behind him, began to spin around.
"Shinichi! No!" Fukashi bellowed, but the warning came too late.
Swish!
Shinichi blurred past Kenji with a Body Flicker, the unsheathed edge of his blade locking directly beneath the Anbu Commander's Adam's apple.
The entire march ground to a screeching halt.
Psst! clatter!
The clean vertical cut from Shinichi's blade caused Kenji's white porcelain deer mask to split perfectly down the midline. The two halves tumbled into the sand, revealing a hollow and expressionless face beneath. Shinichi's past-life instincts confirmed his suspicion in an instant: Kenji was nothing more than a husk of the man he once was. He was more a tool than a shinobi now.
The Anbu escorts flanking Kenji instantly drew their weapons, but the surrounding Uchiha captains reacted faster, forming a perimeter and trapping them within a wall of spinning Sharingan.
Shinichi spoke. "It was you who delivered the news of the Nidaime's death to Kagami. Wasn't it?"
"What?!" Naka muttered, his jaw dropping in sheer shock.
Fukashi, however, remained silent. His posture stayed stiff and calm, confirming that the very same thought had already been festering in his own mind.
Shinichi twitched his wrist slightly, pressing the cold steel a millimeter deeper against Kenji's throat, but the Anbu Commander remained unresponsive to the threat.
"Inside the tent, you and Danzo offered secrecy to protect our clan's honor," Shinichi continued. His obsidian eyes transformed into crimson as his voice grew sharper. "Yet the moment we stepped outside, you broadcasted that classified information to the entire camp. Do you take the Uchiha for a pack of easily manipulated fools to be toyed with at your whim? Tell me—is this Hiruzen's will? Or was it Tobirama's?"
Fukashi finally stepped into the dead space, extending his hand to firmly pull Shinichi's sword back a fraction of an inch.
"We do indeed require an answer to that," Fukashi stated. He stepped into his son's place, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning to life as he scanned Kenji and the surrounding Anbu in far more meticulous detail than before.
He tracked the flow of their chakra. Their chakra networks were perfectly stable—there was no trace of active Genjutsu tampering. Realizing that they were entirely conscious of their actions against the Uchiha, Fukashi's eyes flared with renewed ferocity. "Speak. Now."
Unperturbed by the Mangekyō staring him down, Kenji simply opened his mouth. He parted his lips just enough to reveal a complex, geometric sealing formula coming to life on top of his tongue, activating in response to Fukashi's Sharingan. After letting the Uchiha take a good look at the seal, he closed his mouth. His expression went blank again as he pulled his high collar up to mask his face in place of his shattered porcelain visor.
"Your efforts are useless," Kenji said in a monotonous voice. "You will extract no information from us. And should any of us fall during the course of this operation..."
He left the threat hanging in the air. He simply stared into Fukashi's Mangekyō, then flicked his chin forward toward the southern horizon, signaling the Uchiha to stop wasting time and continue the hunt.