Chương 45: The Pact

"Tsume-sama, would you like some water?" Risuke Nogawa approached during the march, holding a waterskin out with both hands. Tsume glanced at him, took it, and tossed it sideways to Shin. He caught it quickly.

"I've prepared one for him as well." Nogawa produced a second waterskin and offered it to Tsume with the same careful deference. Shin uncapped the first and drank. Over the rim, he watched Nogawa speaking to Tsume with that deeply respectful expression—nothing like the man Norikata Gotō had described. No trace of looking down on anyone.

"The name of the Hidden Leaf alone has kept every bandit on this road at a distance," Nogawa said, bowing his head slightly.

"We're grateful."

"Wouldn't have mattered either way." Tsume waved it off.

"Your guards could handle common highway thieves."

"Perhaps—but it would've been a hassle. With you here, Tsume-sama, we've avoided a great deal of unnecessary trouble." He paused.

"When we arrive in the Land of Rivers, Tomotoshi and I intend to show you proper hospitality."

"We'll see." Tsume passed her waterskin to Kuromaru beside her. The great wolf-dog clamped his jaws around the spout, tilted his head back, and drank.

"Shin." Tsume turned.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine." He shook his head, but his legs were heavy. His body still didn't have the stamina for this—hours of walking on unpaved roads wore him down faster than he wanted to admit. Nogawa's gaze drifted to the blade strapped horizontally across Shin's pack. He looked at it once, then again. The sword's fittings had the unmistakable look of something expensive.

"Forgive my rudeness." Nogawa bowed toward Shin.

"May I ask—was the previous owner of that blade a samurai, or a shinobi?"

"A shinobi," Shin said, inclining his head in return. The previous owner. Zeri Kano.

"I see." A flicker of disappointment crossed Nogawa's face.

"Though his family were originally samurai," Shin added, remembering what Hana had once told him.

"Generations back."

"Thank you for telling me." Nogawa smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. Shin understood, at least partly. For a samurai, the sword was life itself. For a shinobi, it was just another tool. The world belonged to shinobi now. Samurai had been left behind by the age. Seeing a fine blade in the hands of someone who didn't understand it the way a swordsman would—Nogawa couldn't have found that easy.

"You're too kind," Shin said, returning the bow. He seems like a decent person. I wonder why Gotō said those things about him.

"Tsume-sama!" Tomotoshi Ueno came trotting up in short, quick steps.

"There's a town about half an hour ahead. Shall we stop and rest there?"

"Your call." The Hokage's office.

"What is Danzō after now?" The Third Hokage sat behind his desk, pressing both thumbs against his temples. The latest ANBU report lay before him. Danzō's ROOT operatives had begun actively assisting the ANBU investigation into Shisui Uchiha's death. Hiruzen had a rough picture of how Shisui had died. What remained unclear was Danzō's motive. And now, this performance—pretending to investigate the very death he'd had a hand in. It couldn't be for appearances. Danzō had no need for that, and it wasn't in his nature.

So what was he looking for? What answer—or what thing?

"What about the Uchiha?" Koharu Utatane spoke from his right.

"How have they reacted to Shisui's death?"

"A significant number of clan members have been conducting their own investigation. They've also requested ANBU assistance." Hiruzen answered.

"And Fugaku?" Koharu's brow furrowed. Hiruzen fell silent for a moment.

"…Nothing," he said.

"No reaction at all."

"Could he have been involved?" Homura Mitokado asked from his left. Hiruzen's frown deepened. He'd considered the same thing—and the more he turned it over, the more plausible it became. Shisui Uchiha and Fugaku Uchiha had stood on opposite sides within the clan. Everyone in this room knew that. Shisui had been the first to oppose Fugaku's plans for a coup. Which made Fugaku the person with the strongest reason to want Shisui gone.

"Then between Fugaku and Danzō…" Homura's voice trailed off, uncertain. Could there be some kind of pact between them? Hiruzen's gaze darkened. Three sharp knocks broke the silence.

"Enter," the Hokage called. A shinobi pushed through the door, bowed, and spoke.

"Lord Hokage. Itachi Uchiha is here to see you."

"Send him in." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Hiruzen considered for a moment, then gave the order. The shinobi withdrew. A moment later, the door opened again and Itachi Uchiha stepped through, dressed in his full ANBU uniform.

"Lord Hokage. Lord Mitokado. Lord Utatane." Itachi dropped to one knee in the center of the hall, head bowed. Hiruzen laced his fingers together, resting his chin on them, and studied the young man kneeling before him.

"What brings you here, Itachi?" Homura and Koharu sat flanking the Hokage, watching Itachi in silence. The four of them were alone in the room.

"Lord Hokage." Itachi kept his head low.

"It concerns the Uchiha." Hiruzen's expression didn't change. He'd expected as much.

"The Uchiha compound will be sealed off this afternoon," Itachi said. Hiruzen's brow tightened. On either side of him, Homura and Koharu stiffened.

"Today, then…" The Hokage spoke slowly—whether to himself or to Itachi, it was impossible to tell.

"…No." Itachi said.

"It isn't."

"Explain." Hiruzen fixed his gaze on him.

"There's no operational plan in place." Itachi's head remained bowed, his expression unreadable.

"I don't know the reason for sealing the compound. But Fugaku won't act recklessly."

"Itachi." Hiruzen's voice was measured.

"Have you considered the possibility that Fugaku has excluded you from the plan entirely?" Silence. What Hiruzen said was perfectly logical. Fugaku knew Itachi's loyalties were wavering. Cutting him out would be the natural move.

"…I placed one of Fugaku's confidants under genjutsu," Itachi said, his voice low.

"I can confirm it isn't today." A beat.

"I'm asking Lord Hokage not to act rashly when the news of the compound's closure reaches you this afternoon. I will continue to monitor the situation closely and report any developments immediately." Hiruzen held his gaze on Itachi. The two elders wore equally grave expressions.

"Please trust me, Lord Hokage." Itachi's voice gained weight. Silence stretched.

"Itachi… look up." Itachi raised his head. Their eyes met—both pairs steady, both unreadable.

"I'm counting on you, Itachi." The Hokage gave a single nod, his expression unchanged. Something in Itachi seemed to release.

"Thank you for your trust, Lord Hokage." He lowered his head again.

"I'll take my leave." Itachi rose and walked toward the door.

"Making a choice like yours… that's no easy thing, Itachi." Hiruzen's voice came from behind him. Itachi's body went rigid mid-step. He didn't respond. He walked out and closed the door behind him. Click. The warmth drained from Hiruzen's face the instant the latch caught.

"How much of that do we believe?" Koharu asked.

"Not a word of it," Homura said coldly.

"You think he was lying?"

"Itachi Uchiha has made his choice—and it's the Uchiha clan." Homura's eyes were ice.

"But there was no reason for him to come here and feed us something so transparently absurd. He's not that foolish." Hiruzen's voice was low, heavy.

"Then why?" Koharu pressed.

"Was the intelligence false? A deliberate feint to lull us?" Homura said. Before anyone could answer, another knock came at the door.

"Enter." The door opened to reveal a shinobi in the white uniform of the Barrier Team, forehead protector in place, a stack of papers in his hands. The Barrier Team? Something cold settled in Hiruzen's chest.

"Lord Hokage." The shinobi placed the documents on the desk.

"We've detected a high frequency of barrier fluctuations at the Naka Shrine."

"The Naka Shrine?!" Homura's voice cracked.

"That's inside the Uchiha compound!" Hiruzen went through the Barrier Team's data page by page, his expression darkening with each one.

"Dismissed," he told the shinobi. The man bowed and withdrew.

"Someone has been breaching the barrier and entering the village repeatedly." Hiruzen's voice was steel now.

"…Could it be the Uchiha themselves?" Koharu asked.

"What if it's shinobi from another nation?" The blood drained from Homura and Koharu's faces simultaneously. At a time like this—foreign shinobi appearing inside the Uchiha compound. The implications were impossible to ignore.

"Has Fugaku lost his mind?!" Homura slammed his palm on the armrest.

"He'd destroy Konoha!" Hiruzen rose from his seat and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out over the village.

"Unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable!"

"Hiruzen! We can't afford to wait any longer!" Homura was on his feet.

"If the Uchiha are colluding with foreign shinobi—threats from within and without—the consequences are beyond imagining!" Hiruzen stood motionless, his expression shifting between shadow and light. He thought of what Itachi had just told him—the sealed compound, the assurances. Strung together with this new intelligence, the picture was beginning to clarify. But then what was Itachi's purpose?

"Hiruzen?!" Homura's voice rang out again. The Third Hokage turned, strode to his desk, picked up a brush, and began writing. Each stroke was swift and certain. When he finished, he pressed a seal onto the document. He repeated the process four times.

"Someone!" An ANBU materialized in the center of the hall, dropping to one knee, mask blank and still. Hiruzen rolled the four papers into cylinders. Blue chakra flared across his hands, and intricate black patterns crawled over the white surfaces—security seals.

"Deliver these to every border post in the Land of Fire. Maximum speed." The ANBU took the four sealed scrolls, and vanished.

"The Land of Wind is currently our ally," Homura said, having read the content over Hiruzen's shoulder.

"Suddenly tightening the borders will require an explanation. The same goes for the Land of Rivers."

"If there's nothing to find, all the better. But we can't afford not to act. Explanations can come later." Hiruzen's voice allowed no argument.

"And the Daimyō?" Homura frowned.

"He'll learn about troop movements at the borders soon enough."

"Do not notify the Daimyō. The situation has already slipped beyond clean management. Ignore any correspondence from the capital until further notice." Hiruzen made the decision without hesitation. He paused, drew a slow breath.

"Someone." Another ANBU flickered into existence—kneeling, masked, silent.

"All ANBU currently stationed in the village are to stand by for deployment," Hiruzen ordered.

"And dispatch five squads to reinforce patrols along the village perimeter." The ANBU nodded once and vanished.

"What about the jōnin?" Homura asked.

"Too many clan shinobi among the jōnin ranks—mobilizing them would be complicated. If we're dealing with the Uchiha alone, ANBU will suffice." Hiruzen's voice was calm, controlled.

"If it comes to open conflict, we deploy the jōnin then."

"The Uchiha are no ordinary opponent. We'd be facing dozens of Sharingan. Can ANBU really handle that?" Homura hesitated. The Sharingan's reputation spanned the entire shinobi world.

"As long as the Uchiha remain inside the village, we hold absolute advantage." Hiruzen's gaze was steady. Not a trace of fear.

"What about civilian evacuation?"

"Assign the chūnin and genin. Fugaku wants control of Konoha—he won't target civilians."

"War again…" Koharu murmured, almost to herself. Silence. Hiruzen's eyes flickered, but he said nothing. Itachi… is this truly all you're willing to accept?

"Someone." A pause.

"…Summon Jōnin Kakashi Hatake." Itachi had barely stepped out of the Hokage's building when he saw Danzō walking toward it. Two ROOT operatives flanked the old man—white cloaks, hoods drawn, masks beneath. Itachi stopped dead. His eyes locked onto Danzō. Danzō didn't spare him a glance. His left eye half-closed, he walked past Itachi as though the young man didn't exist. Itachi's fists clenched. Behind his eyes, something dark and bottomless churned.

"Lord Danzō." Itachi spoke to Danzō's back. The old man's stride halted.

"Ah, Itachi." Danzō turned slowly, regarding him with flat indifference.

"Here to report more intelligence about your father?" Itachi's breath caught. His nails bit into his palms hard enough to draw blood. He inhaled—long, deliberate—and forced the calm back into his eyes. He let the mockery pass without acknowledgment, and turned to face Danzō fully.

"I've heard that ROOT has been assisting with the investigation into Shisui's death," Itachi said, each word measured.

"Oh, that." Danzō's tone didn't shift. No pretense, no evasion.

"I'm simply looking for something." Looking for something. Itachi's heart sank. He knew exactly what Danzō meant.

"Shisui told me it could change the village. I'm curious." The faintest smile touched the corner of Danzō's mouth—cold, thin.

"Do you know what it is, Itachi?" Silence.

"Shisui… was a talented student of mine. A shame he didn't walk the right path. Cost him his life, in the end. A real pity." Something cracked inside Itachi's composure. A violent force surged through him—an instinct screaming to draw his blade and close the distance.

"If you come across any of Shisui's effects, you should tell me. That thing is cursed. It's what killed him." Danzō turned away as he spoke, a flicker of contempt crossing his face. He resumed his walk toward the Hokage's building. Far too green. Can't keep his composure for even a moment. Shisui… you chose the wrong person.