Chapter 14: Rumors and the Hidden Hand
Southwest of the Hidden Leaf Village lay a region bordering the great forests of Konoha—
the clan lands of the Nara.
Since the Warring States era, the Nara clan had been famed for their mastery of secret medicines. The medicinal formulas accumulated by their clan were said to rival—even surpass—the stockpiles of Konoha's own medical division.
Because of their herbal trade and the necessity of raising deer herds, the Nara clan had always lived close to the forest. When Konoha was first established, they naturally chose this relatively remote area as their home.
At the very center of the Nara clan compound stood the residence of the current situation clan head, Nara Shikatsune.
It was a traditional wooden structure, a single-story building with open corridors deliberately designed around it. Gentle breezes passed through from time to time, carrying away the heat and replacing it with a welcome coolness.
Unfortunately, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt none of that comfort.
Getting ambushed while traveling to sign an alliance was one thing—but the moment he returned to the village, he was greeted by a storm of rumors.
Before him lay a shogi board set on the floor.
The pieces representing his side had already been slaughtered into a disastrous rout.
Everything about the Nara clan was fine—
except for this one infuriating habit.
No matter the topic, they always insisted on discussing it over a game of shogi.
Go on then, play to your heart's content.
Who could possibly beat a Nara at their own game?
That said, playing shogi did nothing to dull Shikatsune's mind. Even while moving pieces, his brain remained razor-sharp.
"So you're saying," Hiruzen frowned, pinching a shogi piece between his fingers and pretending to think for a moment before dropping it randomly onto the board,
"that before I even returned, someone had already begun deliberately spreading rumors unfavorable to me?"
As expected—
The piece was captured immediately.
In truth, Hiruzen wasn't bad at shogi.
If anything, his skill was respectable. On a good day, he could even manage to win against Shikatsune once in a while.
But right now, his mind was in chaos.
His Hokage position had vanished overnight—how could he possibly focus on board strategy?
So he casually adjusted another piece on the board.
Shikatsune didn't care whether Hiruzen was playing properly or not. Nor did he show the slightest intention of going easy on him. After a brief moment of consideration, he made his move.
But this time, he moved elsewhere—
choosing not to capture the piece Hiruzen had deliberately offered up.
"That's right," Shikatsune said calmly.
"And it's highly likely that whoever is behind this also planted people inside the Land of Lightning."
"Based on the timeline you just gave me, the very same day you were ambushed in Kumogakure, rumors—some true, some false—had already begun circulating within Konoha."
"The only way information could spread this quickly across the entire shinobi world," Shikatsune continued calmly,
"would be through summoning techniques."
"To be honest, when rumors first began circulating in the village that the Hokage might have been killed, I didn't take them too seriously. I even thought it was just enemy spies trying to stir trouble."
"You know that ever since the Hokage established both the ANBU and the Police Force as dual safeguards, such clumsy espionage should've been impossible."
"And yet—"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows knit tighter and tighter. Shikatsune couldn't have made it clearer:
someone was targeting him deliberately, even to the point of planting agents in the Land of Lightning well in advance.
"Have you figured out who's spreading the rumors?" Hiruzen asked gravely.
"Or at least narrowed it down? You understand this kind of meticulous planning can only mean one thing—the person wants the position of Third Hokage."
"But aside from the Uchiha," he added, troubled,
"I honestly can't think of anyone who would try to compete with me for the Hokage seat."
Shikatsune casually picked up a piece between two fingers and set it down—
another of Hiruzen's pieces vanished from the board.
Visibly, there were barely any pieces left on Hiruzen's side.
Yet Hiruzen himself didn't seem to notice. Lost in thought, his right hand idly nudged a piece back and forth.
"Checkmate."
Shikatsune's voice snapped Hiruzen back to reality.
Only then did Hiruzen realize—he had already lost.
Shikatsune continued evenly:
"There's no need to find out right now. In a few days, once the Hokage election begins, whoever steps forward to challenge you will reveal the answer themselves."
"The Second Hokage was extremely sensitive to this sort of thing. Anyone who doesn't want to be treated like the Uchiha—constantly watched and suppressed—would never be foolish enough to expose their intentions early."
"Most likely, they dared to stir things up only because Lord Tobirama had left the village."
"His sudden death was probably not part of their original plan."
"At first, they spread ambiguous rumors in a limited scope. Then, when circumstances changed, they revealed their real intent—publicly smearing you and Danzō."
"That suggests the plan was altered on the fly."
Shikatsune paused, then added with a trace of admiration:
"Whoever is behind this is extremely sharp. Their adaptability and speed of response are far beyond ordinary. Even if it were me planning this, I'm not sure I could have done better."
Since the game was already lost, Hiruzen finally stopped paying attention to the board. He rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply.
"Now isn't the time to admire our opponent, Shikatsune. We're in the open, they're in the shadows. If we wait until the day of the jōnin confidence vote to act, it'll already be too late."
Shikatsune chuckled softly.
"If we set aside motive and look purely at strength and influence, there are only a handful of factions in the village capable of competing with you—and executing a scheme on this scale."
"Of course," he added, smiling,
"we can rule out the Uchiha first. They wouldn't bother with something this roundabout."
He laughed.
"Did you know? After today's assembly, Uchiha Aoba openly declared that their clan intends to nominate their own leader for Third Hokage."
"Care to guess how many votes they'll get?"
"If only the Uchiha vote for themselves, wouldn't that be… awkward?"
"Uchiha…" Hiruzen muttered.
Shikatsune hadn't needed to bring them up. Just hearing the name was enough to give Hiruzen a headache.
Uchiha Kagami might have been born an Uchiha, but he was a shinobi who truly inherited the Will of Fire. Even Danzō—of all people—acknowledged that from the heart.
Hiruzen would never do what the rumors claimed—deliberately abandoning or harming Kagami.
His thoughts drifted back to the day of the ambush.
After being caught by Kumogakure's pursuit force, Tobirama had drawn away the strongest threats—the Gold and Silver Brothers—but the remainder of their elite troops had continued the chase.
Unfamiliar with the terrain of the Land of Lightning, Hiruzen's group was quickly overtaken and forced into another desperate situation.
That was when Kagami had volunteered to stay behind.
He had revealed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
According to Kagami, it was the very eye once possessed by Uchiha Madara.
At the time, Hiruzen had felt a pang of regret.
Had he known Kagami possessed such power, perhaps they should have all stayed and fought alongside their teacher…
He forcibly pushed those thoughts aside.
This was no time for sentiment.
No matter what, Kagami and Lord Tobirama had not returned. Both had been lost in the Kumogakure incident.
And now, Hiruzen had no choice but to steady himself and face the crisis before him.
He lifted his head and looked straight at Shikatsune.
"Shikatsune… I think we need to—"