Uchiha Shisui had recently gained a new "cellmate."
Like him—and like Hyuga Makoto, who had been put to work under heavy supervision—she was from Konoha. The only difference was that Mitarashi Anko was a girl.
At first, Shisui had been curious how Kaguya Ren had managed to "acquire" a young ninja like Anko—Orochimaru's disciple, no less—yet the moment he heard from Ren that Orochimaru had been branded an S-rank missing-nin by Konoha, the shock hit him so hard he went blank.
"I don't understand, Fourth Mizukage."
When he finally snapped out of it, Shisui looked across the dining table at Kaguya Ren, who was casually enjoying a plate of steamed deep-sea lobster, and addressed him with the new title he'd recently settled on.
"Why would someone like Orochimaru—high-ranking, the Hokage's student—choose to betray the village? Konoha wouldn't be what it is today without his efforts. Why… could he cut away everything tied to Konoha so easily?"
The corner of Ren's mouth lifted as he swallowed a tender piece of lobster.
"You say that, and it makes me wonder if you've ever really read Konoha's history—your Uchiha history, too, Shisui."
He leaned back slightly, eyes glinting.
"Uchiha Madara co-founded Konoha with Senju Hashirama. He nearly became the First Hokage. And then? He still abandoned the village, abandoned the clan—walked his own road. Later he even returned with the Nine-Tails to burn the whole thing down."
Shisui fell silent for a moment, gaze dropping to the crab on his plate—its claws raised as if in defiance.
"Those aren't the same."
He spoke slowly, carefully.
"From what the elders say, Madara was feared even long after Konoha was founded. Other than Hashirama, he barely had friends in the village. I can understand why someone like that might choose to leave."
He inhaled.
"But Orochimaru is different. He was born and raised in Konoha. His teacher is the Third Hokage. His comrades are Lady Tsunade of the Senju and Jiraiya, the one chosen by the toad sages. Countless shinobi have served under him, been protected by him. So many younger ninja would follow him willingly—people even hoped he'd become the Fourth Hokage."
Shisui's brows tightened.
"With that many bonds… how could he cut them all without hesitation?"
Anko sat nearby, expression flat, saying nothing—but her ears had perked up so obviously that even she couldn't hide how much she wanted to hear the answer.
Ren didn't look at Shisui first.
He looked at Anko—the girl Orochimaru had effectively used as collateral—and continued with dispassionate calm.
"Simple. The road he wanted to walk didn't match the road Konoha demanded."
He kept cutting the lobster as if he were commenting on the seasoning.
"Orochimaru… in every sense, he's a proper 'Konoha' product. But his thinking was never quite the same as a normal ninja steeped in the so-called Will of Fire."
Ren's eyes half-lidded.
"Maybe before he fully understood himself, he had moments where he believed in sacrificing for the village. But the fact he ended up entangled with Danzo tells you he reached one conclusion clearly."
Ren tapped his fork lightly.
"He could never be the kind of man who values other lives above his own."
"Or-orochimaru-sama… he didn't—" Anko's protest slipped out, weak enough that even she didn't believe it.
Ren didn't bother pressing her. He simply continued.
"You don't need me to explain what 'Root' is. What it does. How it operates."
His voice remained level, but the air cooled.
"If Danzo were still alive, with his strength and his accumulated network, even with the Fourth Hokage in place, Root wouldn't have been crushed overnight. It might have been restrained, sure—but it wouldn't be strangled."
Ren's gaze sharpened.
"But Danzo died. Root's biggest pillar vanished. And the Third took away the one thing that might've kept Root alive—its protection."
He spread his hands slightly.
"So what did Konoha intend to do with Root after that? The answer was obvious."
Shisui's fingers tightened around the crab's shell.
"In that situation, Orochimaru—already stained by the darkness—was pushed out of the village's power structure. For him, if Konoha could no longer carry his ambitions, then cutting ties and pursuing his own ideal was the natural choice."
Ren paused, then added with faint amusement:
"Though I didn't expect them to tear each other apart so completely, without leaving even a shred of face."
Shisui stared at the crab claws in his hands, murmuring as if to himself.
"A conflict of roads… is it really so cruel that someone can abandon their home, abandon friends, abandon a teacher, abandon memories and every bond?"
"When neither side believes they're wrong," Ren said lightly, "that's when the fight gets ugly enough to turn into hatred."
He spoke as if it were a universal law, then—deliberately—turned that same gaze on Shisui.
And Shisui's scalp prickled.
"W-why are you looking at me like that?"
"Because you'll make a wonderful, vivid example someday, Shisui."
Ren snapped his fingers, smiling with infuriating warmth.
"In a few years, I'll probably have you rebuilt into a 'globalist' ninja who genuinely believes peace doesn't have to orbit Konoha."
He leaned forward slightly.
"And if Kirigakure and Konoha ever host a joint Chunin Exam… and I send you as the jonin leading a delegation to Konoha for 'exchange'…"
Ren's smile widened.
"How spectacular do you think the argument will be between you and your Konoha comrades—your own clan, your own family?"
Shisui's face went deathly pale.
Ren chuckled, utterly entertained, while Anko silently shoveled her dinner into her mouth as if the food could drown out the conversation.
No wonder Orochimaru-sama sent me here…
Only someone like the Fourth Mizukage—someone who toys with people's hearts so smoothly and thinks in such strange, sideways ways—could ever stand as Orochimaru-sama's equal partner.
…Wait. If I think that way, doesn't that mean Orochimaru-sama is strange too?
—
"Cough… cough…"
Obito frowned as he watched Madara's coughing fits grow more frequent.
"Are you dying, Madara?"
"Unfortunately," Madara rasped, "even though my body grows weaker by the day… as long as the Demonic Statue remains under my control, this vessel will not truly die of age."
After forcing down his breath, Madara's grin returned—sharp as a blade—as he studied Obito's right eye, that ominous, unfamiliar power coiled within it.
"Your ocular power has been growing quickly. Is it because Kaguya Ren's movements have become bolder?"
"The war is over," Obito said coldly, clenching his right hand, "but that doesn't mean he'll stop getting stronger. I must stand above him before he finds a way to surpass you."
"Then retrieve your other eye," Madara said, voice thin but insistent. "A Mangekyo is only complete when both eyes are reunited. Especially yours. The amplification will exceed what you imagine."
"When I've learned everything you know, I'll take it back," Obito replied, expression flat.
"But not yet. First I must make up what I lack."
His voice was calm enough to be chilling.
"That man's physique is already close to your old rival, Hashirama. I must raise my ninjutsu and taijutsu to near your prime before I can hope to win. Otherwise—even with a complete Kamui—I can't guarantee I can kill him on the spot."
Madara glared.
"Arrogant brat. As if you've seen my prime."
Then his eyes narrowed.
"…But you're not wrong. He isn't an enemy you can handle with a Mangekyo alone."
Madara coughed again, then motioned. A White Zetsu clone rose from the earth.
"If you won't retrieve your eye now, then at least ensure another set remains within our grasp."
"Another set?" Obito's brow creased.
"An investment I placed in another boy for the Eye of the Moon Plan," Madara said, voice low. "He was meant to learn of us and fall into darkness."
His breath rattled.
"But Kaguya Ren interfered. The owner of that eye escaped the cage I built—and shows signs of slipping beyond control."
Madara leaned back, weakened, but his order remained iron.
"Go with White Zetsu to the Land of Rain. It will tell you what to do."
His gaze pinned Obito.
"Don't disappoint me."
"I don't need you to tell me."
Obito placed a hand on White Zetsu—and vanished into the underground darkness.
Yet just before he disappeared, a flicker crossed the cold Mangekyo.
That person escaped your cage…
Then what about me?
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