Chương 120

*** Shisui POV The summon came at sunrise. I stood at the edge of the Hokage Monument, masked and silent, overlooking the waking village. From behind the blank white porcelain of my ANBU faceplate, my eyes tracked the rooftops and courtyards below. Konoha was stirring. Training fields were filling. Shops unlocking. The distant clang of weapons echoed faintly from the eastern district. I didn't turn when the other ANBU arrived. The chakra signature gave everything away. Subtle. Disciplined. Familiar.

"Captain," the masked operative said, stopping at my side.

"Direct orders from the Hokage." I reached out and took the sealed scroll without a word. I pressed two fingers against the edge and sent a pulse of my chakra into the seal. The ink shimmered faintly, then unraveled with a quiet hiss. Only after confirming the release did I begin reading. A beat passed. Then another.

"Genin team leadership," I muttered. The wind pulled gently at my cloak. Below, the village carried on. The other ANBU remained silent. Waiting. I read the names again. Noa, Kaen Uchiha, and Sena Yamanaka. Three young shinobi, each of them marked by talent, and two with clan weight. One carried a Sharingan. One was heir to the village's wealthiest household, and one of its most politically connected. And the last… the last was something even the Hokage hadn't fully defined yet.

I rolled the scroll and tucked it beneath my cloak.

"Understood. I'll report in by midday," I said. The other ANBU nodded once.

"We'll update the records, Captain." Then flickered away, gone with the wind. I lingered for a moment longer. My gaze turned back to the streets of Konoha, watching the village shift and breathe beneath the morning light. So, this was the next move. Pulled from ANBU rotation and given a leadership post. It wasn't a punishment, and it wasn't quite a reward. It felt more like a test. Maybe it was a narrow way out for the Uchiha, or maybe it was a leash waiting to snap and collapse everything. But I didn't mind.

If there was even a small chance to change the trajectory of things between the Uchiha clan and the village, then I would take the risk and do my best. From now on, I wouldn't just be watching from the shadows. I'd be at the center. Teaching. Protecting. Testing. And if necessary… deciding. I reached up and touched the edge of my mask, feeling the surface. The glassy smoothness. The stillness behind it. For years, this face had spoken for me more than my own ever did. Then I removed it.

The breeze touched my skin like a stranger. Cool. Unfamiliar. It wasn't the first time I had taken it off, but this time felt different. This time, I wasn't slipping into another mission. I was stepping into something different. The mask was gone, but the weight stayed. I exhaled through my nose and gave a dry, tired smile. I was supposed to be an assassin, not a babysitter. But then again, Konoha had never cared much for job descriptions. You could be reading stolen content.

Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Time to read up on my team and do my research," I muttered. *** Sena POV I sat with perfect posture, hands resting lightly in my lap, back straight despite the growing stiffness in my shoulders. The tea in front of me had long gone cold, but I didn't touch it. Letting it sit untouched was a quiet signal. Not rude, but deliberate. My mother noticed, of course. She always did. Across from me, she sat framed by the soft morning light that filtered through the tall glass panels lining the eastern wall.

The shadows of the garden trees fell across the floor in narrow strips, like prison bars laid in sunlight. Her seasonal kimono was elegant and dignified, winter-gray with the faint trace of falling snow petals. She hadn't spoken since we sat. Not a single wasted word. Father, on the other hand, had already filled the silence with three humming tunes, two passing compliments, and now, finally, a quiet chuckle as he set his cup back onto the tray.

"Well," he said, still smiling, "it's official. The Hokage signed off on it. Your team is confirmed." I waited. I knew he wanted me to ask. I didn't. He continued anyway.

"Noa, Kaen Uchiha, and you. Team assignments were just finalized. Shisui will be your jonin." My mother's hand froze for half a second on her teacup. A pause no civilian would ever catch.

"I see," she said softly.

"So you pushed it through."

"I lobbied for what was logical," Father replied.

"Nothing more."

"Logical," Mother repeated. The word left her mouth like frost.

"You placed our daughter between an unstable boy with no clan anchor and an Uchiha with awakened Sharingan. That's not logic. That's positioning her next to a powder keg."

"She'll be fine," he said, unconcerned.

"You underestimate how much of this was her plan." He glanced at me, smiling just enough to show his teeth. I met his gaze with a polite expression, nothing more. He was right, technically. I had made sure the possibility was clear to him some time ago. I just hadn't expected him to move so quickly or so decisively.

"Having Noa on your team places you at the center of the board," Father said, now speaking directly to me.

"It's no longer speculation. He's the strongest student the Academy has ever seen. Stronger than the Senju boy. Stronger than Kaen. The Hokage himself has started watching him closely." Mother finally looked up from her cup. Her voice was calm but precise.

"So, she hints once, and you bend over backwards to indulge her. Still so easily swayed by your only child." Father chuckled.

"I didn't bend. I made a strategic decision. Placing her with Noa is not just about protection. It gives her the chance to advise him, support him, and influence his development, carefully and without pressure." Mother turned to face me fully now.

"You belong in the political track. With the advisors, where your mind matters. Not running through forests with weapons and relying on others to survive."

"It's just genin work for now," Father said.

"D-rank missions. Finding lost dogs and checking bridges. Let her build trust with the boy. That trust will matter later." I listened, calm on the outside. Inside, the old script played in perfect rhythm. My father's strategy was sound. My mother's objection was expected. This was how the Yamanaka household worked. Every word a layer. Every glance a move on a larger board. I had wanted this. Or at least, I had thought I did. But lately, something was shifting.

I thought of Noa, not just his power or potential, but the way he carried himself. The quiet burn in his eyes during training. The dry wit. The way he acted like every gain came through fire, and every loss was just one more weight he chose to carry. He rarely asked for help, but he accepted it, and he appreciated the person who gave it to him. He didn't chase praise, but he earned it anyway. And more than that, he cared. He watched over his friends even when they didn't notice.

He stood in front of danger without hesitation. He worried when they were hurt, even if he didn't know how to say it out loud. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I had stopped thinking of him as only a piece on the board. And that was the problem. Mother's eyes flicked toward me, just briefly. She must have noticed a small shift in my expression, maybe the way my gaze softened for a moment. That was all she needed to press the opening.

"You're hesitating," she said.

"Why?"

"I'm not," I replied. I didn't raise my voice. I didn't need to.

"I'm thinking."

"Hm," she murmured, unconvinced. Father leaned back in his chair, watching me with that same merchant's ease.

"You'll do well," he said.

"Just remember that connection and leverage are two sides of the same coin. Friendship is useful. But don't forget what's at stake."

"I haven't," I said. That much was true. I hadn't forgotten anything. But I was beginning to feel the weight of it in ways I hadn't anticipated. If Noa ever realized just how many people were trying to use him, how many of us had plans that wrapped around him quietly, I wasn't sure how he'd react. And worse, I wasn't sure where I'd stand when that day came. A/N: Alright troops, bad news. I have been drafted into a three-day mission (25, 26, 27 August). Sadly, it is not in the Land of Fire, just boring work travel.

That means no chapters during those three days. I know I just came back from a week off, but trust me, I did not plan this ambush. I will be back on 28/8, ready to get the posting schedule rolling again. Until then, make sure no one burns the place down in my absence. Sorry for the disruption, and thank you all for being awesome.: D