The next day. Konoha Hospital.
Chiya stood in front of Tsunade's office door and knocked lightly.
"Come in."
Tsunade's voice came from inside.
Chiya pushed the door open and saw Tsunade bent over her desk writing quickly. Her golden ponytail swayed slightly with her movements.
She glanced up, saw it was Chiya, and the pen in her hand paused for a moment.
"This early. What is it?"
Tsunade's tone was flat, as if the warmth between them before had never happened.
Chiya walked up to her and set a document on the desk.
"This is the preliminary report the Military Police Force put together last night on the missing children case in the Land of Fire. I thought you might find it useful."
Tsunade glanced at the document but did not open it right away. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her hands.
"I heard about it."
"Are you really leading the team yourself?"
"Yes. Hokage-sama specifically asked me to take charge."
Chiya smiled slightly.
"So before leaving, I came to see you."
Tsunade's gaze rested on his face for a moment, as if searching for something.
In the end, she only let out a quiet scoff.
"Be careful. Don't sink in a small ditch."
"Don't worry. I would hate to leave you a widow."
Chiya reached out and lightly pinched her nose.
Tsunade swatted his hand away and shot him a look, though her cheeks flushed slightly.
"Stop talking nonsense. Get out of here and don't hold up my work."
Chiya smiled and turned to leave.
Just then, the office door was pushed open again. Nono walked in carrying a stack of patient files.
"Tsunade-sama, here are the ones you asked for..."
Her words stopped short. Her gaze landed on Chiya, and a flicker of pleasant surprise and shyness passed through her eyes.
"Chiya-kun?"
Chiya gave her a nod, and in the space where Tsunade could not see, he winked at her.
"Nono. Morning."
With that, Chiya walked out of the office.
Tsunade stopped writing but did not look up.
"Nono, set the files on the desk."
Tsunade's voice was calm.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
Nono stepped forward quickly, set the files down, and turned to walk out.
The moment she stepped outside, she saw Chiya waiting for her in the distance.
A wave of warmth spread through Nono's chest.
"Chiya-kun!"
She jogged over to him.
Chiya looked at her and said in a gentle tone.
"I am heading out on a mission. It may be a while before I return."
When Nono heard the word mission, a look of worry crossed her face at once.
Chiya was the current clan head of the Uchiha.
For an ordinary mission, why would they need the Uchiha clan head to leave the village?
This alone said the mission was not simple. She steadied herself.
"Chiya-kun, please be careful."
"I will."
"It is getting late. I will head out now. When I get back, let us talk more about taijutsu."
Watching the sly smile at the corner of Chiya's mouth, her face went slightly red.
She understood exactly what he meant.
"Yes. When that time comes, I will cooperate fully with Chiya-kun."
Chiya ruffled her hair, then turned and walked away.
Watching his departing figure, Nono lowered her head, clearly affected. Her heart was beating fast.
Suddenly, The door to the room opened.
Tsunade stepped out.
"Nono."
Tsunade spoke.
"Yes!"
Nono answered immediately.
"Come inside. I need to talk to you."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama!"
Nono followed Tsunade back into the room respectfully.
"You and Chiya. You two are close?"
Tsunade's tone was casual, as if she were asking about nothing in particular.
The tips of Nono's fingers tightened slightly. She worked to keep her voice steady.
"Chiya-kun has helped me a great deal. I am very grateful to him."
Tsunade stared at her for a few seconds, then let out a soft laugh.
"Is that so. Then work hard. Don't let his help go to waste."
Something stirred inside Nono.
'Tsunade-sama seems a little off today.'
But she said nothing more, and answered quietly.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade did not press any further. She looked back down and continued working through her documents, as if the exchange just now had been ordinary small talk.
Nono exhaled with quiet relief and slipped out of the office.
In the hallway, Nono leaned against the wall and let her racing heart settle.
She touched the glasses case in her pocket. A complicated feeling passed through her eyes.
"Chiya-kun..."
She murmured softly, then shook her head and walked toward the patient ward.
Uchiha Military Police Force headquarters.
Twenty elite ninja stood fully equipped and ready.
Chiya stood at the front of the formation, his gaze sweeping across every firm face before him.
"Before we depart, I will say this one more time."
Chiya's voice was steady and strong.
"The objective of this mission is to investigate the missing children case. But other forces may be involved behind the scenes. Everyone must stay alert and follow orders."
"Yes, Clan Head!"
The group answered in unison.
Chiya nodded and raised his hand.
"Move out!"
The formation marched out of the Military Police Force headquarters in order, heading toward the village gate.
Villagers along the road stopped one after another, their eyes filled with respect and anticipation.
"That is the Uchiha formation. Are they heading out on a mission?"
"I heard many children have gone missing from villages across the Land of Fire. The Uchiha clan head is personally leading the investigation."
"With them on it, the problem will definitely be solved."
Chiya heard the talk around him and let the corner of his mouth rise slightly.
'This is exactly the effect I wanted.'
Why did these villagers know all this?
Naturally because Chiya had arranged for the information to be let out.
Boosting the clan's presence and public impression was something the Uchiha could not afford to miss.
Letting the villagers see the Uchiha taking responsibility was necessary.
Of course, it would also draw out any enemies hiding in the shadows.
The formation moved through the busy streets and gradually approached the village gate.
Chiya's gaze drifted across the crowd without any obvious intent, and sure enough, he caught sight of several figures acting suspiciously.
'Their little movements are completely exposed to my eyes.'
'I am not afraid of you watching. I would be more worried if you did not watch.'
"Move a little faster. Do not disrupt the daily lives of the people."
Noticing more and more villagers turning to look from ahead, Chiya gave a small fake cough and called out to the Uchiha formation behind him.
Under the respectful gazes of the villagers, Chiya's group finally left Konoha.
The suspicious figures hidden among the crowd scattered in almost every direction at nearly the same moment and vanished from sight.
Far away, at the border of Amegakure. Inside a hidden base.
"Captain. We have spent roughly half a month patrolling the areas where the Kirigakure ninja were previously spotted. We have not seen a single one of them."
A ninja who had returned from scouting gave his report to the assembled commanders.
"So you still have not been able to identify the ninja with the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai you encountered before?"
A raspy voice spoke.
The one-eyed ninja captain at the center of the group swept his gaze across the room.
"It looks like we were tricked. The one they faced very likely was not a Kirigakure Kekkei Genkai user."
"Tricked?"
"Then how do you explain the Ice Release..."
The one-eyed captain let out a cold scoff.
"What is there to explain. Kirigakure has been tearing itself apart from within for the past several years. Never mind the ninja we sent to infiltrate them, they are killing their own comrades. Under those conditions, how would they have the energy or the manpower to send someone onto the battlefield?
On top of that, Ice Release without chakra to sustain it will melt back into water within a short time. By the time our main force returned to check, the Ice Release had already dissolved into water. There was no way to tell whether it had been Water Release or Ice Release.
If the enemy planned it exactly that way, does that not explain everything?"
The reporting ninja felt a jolt in his chest. Could it really be as Captain Ishiro said?
If that were the case.
"Could it be..."
The one-eyed ninja let out a cold laugh.
"It has to be genjutsu. According to our intelligence, almost no Suna-nin were present on that battlefield. The only ones there were Konoha-nin. And Konoha has no shortage of ninja skilled in genjutsu. It looks like we were played by Konoha-nin this time."
At those words, everyone in the room woke up to what had happened.
"So it was genjutsu. That is the only thing that makes sense. Kirigakure would never send a Kekkei Genkai user into battle at a time like this."
"Shameless Konoha-nin. Using genjutsu like that to pin it on Kirigakure."
The ninja all began to speak at once, their anger toward Konoha's so-called actions clear.
"By my order, move immediately to the border of the Land of Fire.
Make them pay the price for toying with us."