Moonlight filtered through the windows of the Seventh Police Unit's office, casting long, dim shadows across the room.
A black-clad shinobi slipped inside without a sound.
After carefully checking the surroundings, the intruder opened a drawer and retrieved a file hidden at the very bottom. This was the document Uchiha Yoru had guarded obsessively for days. That alone made it worth the risk.
Hatake Kakashi moved with practiced calm, but his expression beneath the mask was tense.
Yoru's behavior after receiving this file had been wrong. Too guarded. Too alert. Kakashi couldn't afford to wait any longer. If this information vanished or was destroyed, his chance would be gone.
He opened the file.
Inside wasn't paper, but a scroll.
At first glance, it contained nothing special. Personnel lists for the Seventh Unit. Logistics. Routine internal data. Valuable, yes, but not enough to explain Yoru's unease.
Then Kakashi frowned.
"A seal…"
He lifted his forehead protector, revealing his left eye, and formed a quick hand sign.
The seal dissolved.
A crimson, three-tomoe Sharingan spun into motion.
This wasn't an ordinary seal. It was an Uchiha-specific technique, designed so only a Sharingan could reveal the real contents. As Kakashi's vision shifted, an entirely different script surfaced across the scroll.
His breath caught.
This was—
A flash of cold light cut through the darkness.
Kakashi reacted on instinct, twisting away as a blade sliced past where his neck had been. He released the scroll and raised his arms just in time to block a follow-up kick.
A dull thud echoed through the office.
The small flashlight Kakashi had been using spun through the air and hit the floor, its beam swinging wildly. For an instant, the room was illuminated.
Two pairs of eyes locked onto each other.
Uchiha Shisui stood there, short blade in hand, his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning as he stared in disbelief.
Kakashi's mask had been torn away in the exchange, exposing his own Sharingan.
The scroll hit the ground and rolled open.
In that brief moment, with both Sharingan active, neither of them needed time. The information burned itself into their memories instantly.
"Hatake Kakashi," Shisui said, his voice low and shaking.
He had suspected. But seeing it confirmed still hurt.
So this was the village's answer. Spies. Even here.
Before either of them could move again, the window shattered.
A bolt of lightning tore through the room.
Kakashi barely had time to turn before a lightning-wreathed blade punched straight through his shoulder. Pain exploded, followed by numbing paralysis. His chakra froze, refusing to respond.
"Yoru! Yoru-niisan!" Shisui shouted in shock.
Uchiha Yoru landed silently, his blade buried in Kakashi's shoulder, eyes dark and furious.
"Kakashi," Yoru said hoarsely, staring down at him. "We were classmates. I trusted you. Why?"
The disappointment in his voice felt heavier than the wound.
Kakashi couldn't answer.
Between the paralysis and the guilt crushing his chest, he lowered his head, silent, waiting for judgment.
Yoru pulled the blade free. Blood splashed across the floor as Kakashi collapsed to one knee, pale and shaking.
Then Yoru turned.
"Shisui," he said coldly. "Why were you in my office?"
The question hit its mark.
Shisui had no answer.
He hadn't stumbled onto Kakashi by chance. He'd come because Yoru had been acting strangely for days, locking himself away, tension written into every movement.
Yoru walked to the fallen scroll.
Under the stunned gazes of both men, his Sharingan focused, then his foot came down.
Lightning crackled.
The scroll burned to ash beneath his heel.
Silence fell, thick and suffocating.
"You both saw it," Yoru said quietly.
Kakashi said nothing.
Shisui lowered his head, shame written across his face.
Yoru closed the drawer and turned back to them. Only his eyes were visible now, glowing red in the darkness.
"Kakashi. I don't care who sent you or why," he said. "But if a single word of what you saw tonight leaves this room, I will kill you."
His gaze shifted to Shisui.
The same killing intent followed.
"That information was never verified. It could be enemy disinformation. If it spreads and destabilizes the village…" Yoru's voice hardened. "For Konoha. For the village. I will not hesitate."
He vanished.
A heartbeat later, his kick slammed into Shisui's chest. Shisui crashed back into Kakashi, both of them smashing into the wall as cracks spread across it.
Yoru stood before them, chakra surging, Sharingan blazing.
"For Konoha," he said slowly, each word heavy."For the village."
"I will cut away all bonds."