The stage was set.
The cast was in position.
The script had been written.
The director had stepped on stage herself.
Everyone was where they needed to be.
The show had already begun.
The days leading up to this had been calm for both Team 7 and Zabuza's group alike.
The only one who hadn't stopped moving was Hanabi.
But today—the gears of fate were going to pull off a dazzling midair split.
"All right, we're heading out."
Tazuna called a goodbye to his daughter and grandson, then left with Kakashi.
"Hanabi, while I'm gone—you're squad leader." Kakashi passed the authority without ceremony.
"Of course, Kakashi-sensei." Hanabi's manner was easy as ever.
Once Kakashi was out the door, Hanabi turned around and produced two small Hanabi dolls, pressing one into each of Sasuke's and Naruto's hands.
"Keep these on you at all times."
[Aren't those the boom dolls from before]
[Oh my god—I just thought of Frenda]
[You spelled it wrong, it's Frenda]
[So did you, it's Fre—n—da]
[Frenda: Where's your manners?!]
[Can't believe people still do Index jokes. Touching. But I think these dolls do more than just explode]
[Genuinely—the kimono, the red umbrella, the doll—she looks incredible]
[And she's wearing white stockings, not tabi—important distinction (circling this)]
The Riddler Doll worked similarly to an explosive tag but with three key advantages: it could be triggered remotely, it could detonate without dealing any damage at all, and it also doubled as a passive sensor. All in all, quite useful.
"So what do we do?" asked Sasuke—still and as always the only serious, straightforward one in Team 7.
"Stay close. The other enemy hasn't shown up yet." Hanabi said. "And if you need something to do—pack."
"Huh? Are we leaving?!" Naruto jolted upright.
"Of course. Once the talks with Gatō conclude, we move out immediately. Negotiations finished means the mission is complete—Team 7 withdraws safely to the Land of Fire. That's our win."
Naruto fell quiet at that.
"I'm going to say goodbye to Aunt Yukii." He said it softly.
They were leaving. He could at least do that much.
With something complicated sitting in his chest, Naruto walked to Yukii's front door.
He raised his hand to knock—and the door opened first.
"Welcome back, Naruto."
"—!!"
Everything he'd been about to say caught in his throat.
Yukii was making rice balls. The room was spotlessly clean, her clothing and belongings already folded away and neatly stored.
"Aunt Yukii—are you going on a trip?"
"Mm. A very important one, for me." She picked up a photo from the side table, then set it down again.
"Is that—your family?"
Naruto asked.
"Mm." She didn't linger on it. "Naruto, come try some of the red bean soup I just made."
"Oh—can I?!"
Of Naruto's two favorite foods, one was Ichiraku ramen. The other was red bean soup.
"I do wish Naruto would eat more vegetables." Yukii smiled.
In the feed:
[Something is wrong]
[Definitely wrong]
[Absolutely something wrong]
[Can people stop saying "something's wrong" and say what the actual thing is]
[The thing is—three, two, one—]
Almost simultaneous with the danmu, the footage cut to Naruto's first-person perspective: the bowl at his lips, the room going soft around the edges, the light dissolving.
Then the feed cut back to Hanabi.
"Honestly. Not even packed before running off." Sasuke was muttering as he dragged Naruto's bag out of Tazuna's guest room for him.
"Naruto and that woman got along well, didn't they." Hanabi was leaning against the window frame, watching the street outside. "Going to say goodbye at a time like this—must be rough for him."
"Apparently she's been to a lot of places. She even mentioned seeing markings associated with the Uchiha clan while she was in the Land of Lightning."
Hanabi stopped moving her legs.
"…She recognized the Uchiha markings?" Her voice turned grave.
"No, she said she'd seen something similar there. Didn't know it was Uchiha." Sasuke caught the shift in her tone. "Is that a problem?"
"It's a significant one. Everyone knows the Uchiha are a clan of the Land of Fire—that's common knowledge. But during the Warring States era, part of the clan spent time in the Land of Lightning. That period ended long ago. And the people who remained were eliminated by a certain someone." She watched Sasuke's expression change. "Which means: anyone who came across Uchiha markings in the Land of Lightning would have had to be actively searching for Uchiha historical sites or remnants. Or—she already knew the Uchiha name, with enough context to seek it out. And a woman like that couldn't possibly be just an ordinary civilian."
The Uchiha name carried weight in the shinobi world, yes—but for ordinary people, their knowledge of shinobi clans rarely went deeper than the Five Kage. A woman from a small country, who had lost her husband and child—why would she know things like that?
[Still my wife]
[So Yukii really is that woman from before]
[The villain was right beside us this whole time]
"Sasuke." Hanabi was already on her feet. She pulled her kimono skirt up slightly—showing the red cord wrapped around her stockinged legs below.
The danmu went predictably unhinged. The viewers who'd been hollering about white stockings were in full celebration.
This wasn't the moment for that.
Hanabi issued her orders immediately. "Go find Naruto. The doll I gave you—channel chakra into it and you'll be able to sense the other doll's location. I'll get Tsunami-san and Inari somewhere safe, then catch up to you. Don't worry about me. I can track my own doll."
"Understood."
Sasuke dropped the bag and was out the door.
Hanabi moved to evacuate Tsunami and Inari.
"Good. Time for the next phase."
Once they were secured, Hanabi released her Shadow Clone.
On Sasuke's end: he arrived at Yukii's house to find it completely empty. Not a single soul. The room hollowed out.
He drew out the doll and channeled his chakra into it.
"This direction?"
The Riddler Doll wasn't that intelligent—it didn't point. What it did was signal Hanabi, who could sense Sasuke's chakra through it, and she would relay the other doll's location to him from her end.
No automation. Fully manual. Human-powered navigation.
"The docks?!"
Sasuke sprinted and found himself at the waterfront.
The docks were Gatō's territory—but with Gatō in talks with Tazuna today, even his workers had stopped. The place was all but empty.
"—A ship?!"
A cargo freighter was already pulling out of port.
Sasuke gritted his teeth, hit the water running, and chased it down. He jumped onto the freighter and steadied himself on the outer hull, finally letting out a breath.
The tree-climbing and water-walking drills—already paying off.
"Naruto's in here…"
Time to find him.