Chiya pushed open the door to the Security Force headquarters office. He had barely sat down when the office door was knocked on gently.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and Mikoto walked in carrying a delicate bento box, a gentle smile on her face.
"Chiya-nii, I brought you breakfast."
Chiya's gaze landed on the bento in her hands.
Inside, one seaweed roll sushi after another was arranged neatly, with fresh vegetables and a small dish of soy sauce on the side.
"You made this specially for me?"
Making sushi first thing in the morning?
Chiya was a little surprised.
Mikoto's cheeks turned slightly red, and she gave a small nod.
"Yes. This morning I saw Kushina go to Chiya-nii's house. Knowing her noisy personality, I was worried she would end up taking up too much of Chiya-nii's time and he wouldn't get to eat breakfast."
A flash of amusement passed through Chiya's eyes. So she had seen Kushina.
When it came to being considerate and gentle, nothing beat his own dear secretary Mikoto.
He reached out and pulled her, and Mikoto stumbled without warning and fell right into his lap.
"Ah!"
She let out a small cry and instinctively grabbed his shoulders to steady herself, her face instantly turning completely red.
"Chiya-nii, this is the office."
"What are you afraid of?"
Chiya laughed softly and lightly pinched her waist.
"No one is watching."
Mikoto was so embarrassed her ears burned, but she couldn't resist him and had no choice but to sit quietly in his lap, carefully opening the bento box.
"Chiya-nii, try it."
She picked up a piece of sushi and held it up to Chiya's mouth.
Chiya opened his mouth and bit down, and the tip of his tongue brushed past her fingertips without meaning to. Mikoto's fingers trembled slightly, and she almost dropped the sushi.
"Is it good?"
She held back her embarrassment and asked in a small voice.
"Yes."
Chiya nodded, then picked up a piece and held it to her lips.
"You eat too."
Mikoto hesitated for a moment, then finally opened her mouth with a red face and took a bite.
The two of them shared the bento like that, one bite at a time, their fingertips occasionally touching, the mood between them warm and tender.
Until.
Knock, knock, knock!
Urgent footsteps came from outside the door. Mikoto immediately jumped up from Chiya's lap like a startled rabbit and hastily straightened her slightly wrinkled clothes.
"Come in!"
Only after Mikoto had tidied herself up did Chiya speak.
A Security Force ninja pushed the door open and bowed respectfully.
"Clan Head, Anbu Captain Hatake Sakumo is requesting that you come over."
Chiya's brow furrowed slightly.
"Right now?"
"Yes. He said it is an urgent matter."
Chiya nodded.
"Understood. I'll head over immediately."
After the Security Force ninja left, Mikoto looked at him with some worry.
"Chiya-nii, Anbu is calling for you. Could there be trouble?"
Chiya stood up and casually ruffled her hair.
"The Uchiha have been keeping a low profile lately, and the area we manage has had no problems at all. Where would trouble come from?"
"Mikoto, come with me."
Mikoto froze.
"I can come too?"
"Of course."
Chiya smiled.
"You are my secretary, after all."
"Let's go."
The Anbu headquarters was located in the most hidden area of Konoha. The entire building was as black as ink, and even sunlight seemed unable to penetrate its shadow.
The moment the two of them stepped through the front gate, a suffocating pressure washed over them.
The walls on both sides of the corridor were lined with masks. Every single one was cold and eerie, as if silently watching everyone who passed by.
A faint smell of blood and medicine drifted through the air. Occasionally, low voices could be heard coming from deep within, but they would cut off the moment anyone was noticed approaching.
Mikoto unconsciously grabbed the sleeve of Chiya's robe, her fingers trembling slightly.
"Scared?"
Chiya asked in a low voice.
Mikoto bit her lip and gave a small nod.
"This place is so oppressive."
Chiya said nothing. He simply turned his hand and held hers, his warm palm pressed against her fingers, silently giving her a sense of security.
The tension in Mikoto's nerves eased a little. She took a deep breath and stayed close behind Chiya's steps.
They passed through the deep corridor. At the far end was a heavy iron door.
Two Anbu ninja wearing animal masks stood at the entrance. When they saw Chiya, they gave a slight nod and stepped aside.
The door was pushed open, and the space inside was much brighter than expected.
Sakumo was standing in front of a long table, head lowered as he read through documents.
Hearing the movement, he looked up. His silver-white short hair was strikingly bright under the light.
"You're here."
His voice was steady and calm, completely at odds with the oppressive atmosphere of the Anbu.
Chiya nodded.
"What is so urgent?"
Sakumo's gaze paused on Mikoto for a second but he did not ask anything.
He simply picked up a sealed scroll from the table and handed it to Chiya.
"Take a look at this."
Chiya took the scroll, unrolled it, and quickly read through it. His brow gradually tightened.
"Human trafficking?"
The scroll recorded a piece of covert intelligence in detail.
Near the border of the Land of Fire, large-scale child smuggling had recently begun appearing.
Fortunately, these children were not from the Land of Fire itself.
They were from other countries, including war orphans from other major nations.
Sakumo said in a heavy voice, "According to the Anbu's investigation, after this group of children was secretly transported into the Land of Fire, they were intentionally scattered. This is the work of an organization with counter-intelligence awareness. The scale of their influence is likely considerable."
Chiya's fingers tightened slightly, and his eyes went cold.
"Root?"
Sakumo shook his head.
"There is no direct evidence for now. But it is a possibility."
Chiya was silent for a moment. His gaze fell again on the data about the children in the scroll.
Ages, genders, countries of origin, and even photographs of some of them.
Most of them had hollow eyes and frail bodies, as if they had long since lost any hope of living.
"What do you want me to do?"
Chiya looked up and asked.
Sakumo looked directly into his eyes.
"The Third's intention is to investigate quietly and avoid alerting our targets. But I believe these children cannot wait."
His voice was low and firm.
"I already approached the Hyūga Clan, but they did not seem interested in this kind of matter."
"So I came to you. This mission requires your strength."
Chiya stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.
"Sakumo, you are more interesting than I expected."
The force the Hokage faction valued most, the Anbu.
The force the Hokage faction gave special "attention" to, the Uchiha.
He was an Anbu Captain, yet he openly and directly sought cooperation with the Uchiha. Wasn't that just handing people ammunition to use against him?
In fact, if he wanted to work with the Uchiha, he could have arranged an informal meeting or a meal, approached Chiya that way, and still achieved the same goal.
Sakumo did not respond. He simply waited quietly for his answer.
Chiya closed the scroll. A look of seriousness had entered his eyes.
"When do we move?"
"Tonight."
"Understood."
Chiya nodded, then looked toward Mikoto.
"Head back to the Security Force and notify the guard unit to assemble."
Mikoto opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she only gave a quiet nod.
"Yes."
Chiya ruffled her hair. He had naturally noticed the worry in Mikoto's eyes, and said in a low voice, "Don't worry."
Sakumo watched the two of them interact. A flicker of something complicated passed through his eyes.
'This kid has quite a rich and complicated love life.'
On the other side.
Inside the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen had already received word that Uchiha Chiya had gone to the Anbu.
His brow was tightly furrowed.
Just recently, Root had sent him intelligence saying that the Anbu and the Uchiha had been getting somewhat close.
And now this.
He immediately prepared to summon Koharu and Homura for a small meeting.
But then he thought of the contributions Sakumo had made to the Anbu and to Konoha over the years.
In the end, he let out a long sigh and gave up the ruthless thought that had crossed his mind.
After a moment of silence, he called out to the Anbu stationed at the door.
"Have the Uchiha's Aoki from Anbu come here."
"Yes!"
It wasn't long before.
Uchiha Aoki came before Hiruzen.
Hiruzen looked at him and went straight to the point.
"I have a matter I want you to handle."
Hiruzen's face showed a rarely seen sternness.
"Monitor Hatake Sakumo in secret. Especially anything between him and the Uchiha. From now on, you will report to me every day."