Heitarō * The Warning

Wakako scrutinized Izuna's face, her gaze lingering on his left eye for a long while. "But... is your eye really alright?"

Izuna gets a little flustered when this is mentioned.

He just pretended to be nonchalant and smoothed things over, but he's actually still a bit dazed. The fact that he can still think right now is just him holding on with a do-or-die mentality.

Now that Wakako had pointed it out again, he quickly waved his hand, "Hey! It's nothing! It's just an old problem, don't worry about it."

"But to me, it's not like everything's fine." Wakako frowned slightly.

"I told you I'm fine!"

"Izuna." She suddenly called his name, without adding "sir."

Izuna paused for a moment. Wakako looked at him seriously, "Are you sure there's absolutely no problem with these eyes?"

Izuna was silent for a moment. Then he smiled, a smile as light as before. "This has been the case for a long time. To be honest, I'm used to it. Even without this eye, it doesn't affect me at all, so you can rest assured about that."

Wakako looked at him for a long time, and finally sighed softly. "If you're really okay, that's good... Anyway, be careful lately."

Izuna blinked, clearly not fully understanding her meaning, but still nodded, "... Okay."

Long squatted in the tree, Wakako's words fell into his ears like a pebble thrown into a calm pond.

He understood almost instantly what Lady Wakako was worried about.

The fact that Izuna's eye fell out sends a dangerous signal to both Konoha and other countries:

Uchiha Izuna was not at his peak.

The Uchiha Clan is renowned throughout the world for its Dōjutsu; the Sharingan is their Kekkei Genkai and the foundation of all their tactical systems.

For an ordinary Ninja, losing an eye is already a devastating decrease in Strength, let alone for the Uchiha, who heavily rely on the Sharingan.

Those people would never know what Izuna's Artificial Eye was made of, how much compensatory training he underwent after losing it, or that his combat system no longer relied entirely on Dōjutsu.

They will only see one fact.

Uchiha Izuna's left eye socket is empty.

Long took a deep breath and quickly scanned his surroundings.

He could sense that in the brief few dozen seconds of commotion, several faint Chakra fluctuations disappeared from the edge of the Training Ground.

They were spies from those foreign Ninjas. Even without sensory abilities, he clearly sensed the Chakra fluctuations they generated when they left.

At this moment, they are all carrying the same intelligence and heading in different directions.

This can no longer be kept secret.

In a few days, or even tonight, people will begin to reassess the significance of Uchiha Izuna.

Weigh whether he is a potential assassination target, and whether he is the weakest link in Konoha's defense system.

To be honest, Ryu really wanted to leave immediately and return to Lord Madara's side to report the whole story clearly.

However, he had a duty to protect Lady Wakako. As a guard entrusted by the Daimyo, and also because he personally did not want anything to happen to Lady Wakako, he had to stay by Wakako side to protect her safety.

But not reporting it isn't an option.

Lord Izuna himself didn't take it seriously, and Takashi believed that with Lord Izuna's Strength, he really didn't need the Sharingan, after all, he could still easily defeat them all when they were ganged up on.

He really doesn't need to worry about such Strength.

But no matter what, it's dangerous.

The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; they are plotting against us while we are not. No one can guarantee anything.

So now we need to find someone to inform Clan Head Ban in his place.

His gaze first fell on the group of children dressed in theatrical costumes.

Hinata, Takuma, Rei, and the others following behind them.

They were dressed in costumes from the Tale of the Heike, brightly colored from head to toe, with prominent iconic features, making them stand out in the crowd.

If we send them to relay the message, it would be tantamount to telling all the spies still observing in the shadows that they have begun to consider countermeasures, which would only complicate matters further and make it harder to track down the enemy.

He dismissed the idea and looked at the other side of the Training Ground.

We'll have to find some other children.

He hadn't held out much hope, since the children hadn't gathered around Izuna like he'd seen before, but were instead training on their own at a distance.

The only ones who could withstand Izuna's passionate advances were those who truly harbored a grudge against the Uchiha. Going after them might... hmm?

He paused.

The children, who had been training just moments before, all stopped what they were doing.

Senju Heitarō still held Kunai in his hand, but instead of continuing to practice throwing, he turned to the side, his gaze fixed on Izuna.

The children next to him were the same.

The children of the Akimichi Clan, the Yamanaka Clan, and the Aburame Clan.

They pretended to be organizing Ninja Tools, pretended to be resting, and pretended to be admiring the scenery, but everyone's attention was slightly tilted in the same direction.

It leaned towards Uchiha Izuna was chatting and laughing with Lady Wakako.

Long watched this scene, his brows slowly furrowing.

Could it be that I guessed wrong? Do they actually really like Lord Izuna?

Izuna returned to the Training Ground and told the children that he and the Daimyo's Wife had to deal with Hinata and Rei's matter, and asked them to go back first.

Izuna frantically trying to answer the children's questions.

Then he looked again at the children standing on the edge. After observing for a moment, he noticed that Heitaro was the last to pull his attention away.

That's a Senju, right? Since he's Senju, it's normal that he dislikes Izuna, but he still stays here, hmm...

After thinking for a while, I decided to go find the child and ask him for a favor.

After all, the Senju and Uchiha naturally at odds, and everyone knows this. If he were to go, it would just look like he was accepting a normal request, rather than deliberately bringing information.

After Izuna and Wakako left, Takashi silently fell from the tree and blocked Heitaro's way as he was about to leave.

The moment Heitaro looked up and saw the Gunbai pattern on his body, his face darkened, and his hand instinctively reached for the Kunai at his waist. "What are you doing?"

"There's something I need your help with," Long said.

Heitaro's fingers hovered loosely over the Kunai handle, neither gripping it tightly nor letting go.

He sized up the adult from the Uchiha Clan before him, his eyes filled with wariness. "Uchiha? Need my help?"

"Yes. I hope you can help convey what just happened here to Lord Madara."

Heitaro glanced in Izuna's direction, then quickly looked away. "What does this have to do with me?"

Long didn't expose him.

He knew who that person was who was staring blankly at Izuna's back just now. "You saw it. His left eye popped out."

"... just Artificial Eye."

"Those people don't think that way," Ryu said. "Their spies were nearby just now. Before long, everyone will know that Konoha's Uchiha Izuna is blind in his left eye. Someone will want to take advantage of this opportunity to attack him."

Heitaro remained silent. Takashi continued, "I need you to go and report this to Lord Madara."

"Why not just send his lackeys?"

"They're too conspicuous; anyone who relays the message will be telling the people in the shadows that we're on guard. We can only find someone they wouldn't think of to tell the message, and someone who won't arouse suspicion."

Don't you have Summoning Beast?

Long paused, then changed the subject, "Since you're there, you can convey the information in more detail."

"Then how do you know I won't hurt him?" Heitaro's voice was muffled.

"If you really wanted to, you wouldn't have been standing here in a daze just now."

Heitaro's expression changed very subtly, as if he had been touched on something he didn't want to admit.

After a long silence, he spoke in a low voice, "That Madara Uchiha wouldn't believe a Senju like me."

"He'll believe me," Long said. "Are you going or not?"

Heitaro's lips pressed into a thin line. He glanced at Takashi, then finally removed his hand completely from the Kunai. "What exactly do you want me to convey?"

"Tell Madara everything that just happened. Let him decide what to do next."

Heitaro left without saying a word.

He didn't take the straight route; instead, he took the longest detour.

I ventured into the woods through the path on the south side of the Training Ground, walked upstream along a tributary of the Naka River for a while, and then climbed over the rock wall behind the Hokage Building.

This route took him almost half an hour longer, but he felt it was necessary.

He understood what the Uchiha said, and he couldn't let anyone know that he was running errands for the Uchiha.

The corridors of the Hokage Building were empty.

The excitement of the Appointment Ceremony had faded, and the Mission Hall was still packed with people, but the staff at the front desk had changed.

Hashirama and Madara were sprawled out in the Hokage's Office at that very moment.

Hashirama lay on his back on the sofa, his magnificent Hokage Robes crumpled up, and his straw hat pulled down over his face.

Ban sat down next to him, and he took off his embroidered coat, looking exhausted as well.

Hashirama let out a long, muttered murmur from beneath his straw hat, "Ugh... I'm going to die... Why didn't Tobirama come to help me... He came once... Why didn't he come to help me... Why... Doesn't he love me, his Big Brother anymore...?"

"Damn it, if they ever dare to come here again, I'm going to beat them up, I swear..." Madara's voice sounded a little weak.

"No, you wouldn't," Hashirama, joining in the fun.

"I can."

You won't.

"I can!"

"You would never hurt someone who simply idolizes you. I understand, I totally understand."

"... You know nothing! Get up and fight!"

"No fighting! I'm exhausted! Let me just lie here! So, Tobirama, where have you been...? Big Brother needs you..."

"I give up, you really don't want to use your brain at all."

"But I'm really tired -- aren't you just lying there too?"

Madara pinched the bridge of his nose, gritting his teeth, "I guess I'll have to beat them up next time."

Heitaro knocked twice on the door and then opened it. "Excuse me, Lord Hashirama, Lord Madara."

Hashirama raised a hand from his lying position and waved it at him. "Oh, Heitaro. What's wrong?"

Madara ignored him, assuming he was Hashirama, so he didn't even change his posture and continued to lounge around nonchalantly.

Seeing the state of the two, Heitaro couldn't help but pause for a moment.

Why do these two look so disheveled? Don't they care at all about their appearance?

Heitaro glanced at Madara but didn't say he wanted to tell him alone, because he intended to inform his own Clan Head.

He promised Ryu would tell Madara, but he didn't say whether he would tell him alone, right?

Clan Head, upon hearing this news, will you begin to target the Uchiha?

After closing the door behind him, he said to the two of them, "Just now in the Training Ground, Lord Izuna's left eye popped out."

Hashirama suddenly ripped his straw hat off his face, his eyes fixed on him like a hawk's.

Ban immediately sat up, staring intently at the child.

Heitaro was somewhat surprised by Hashirama's reaction.

Although Hashirama has always been on the side of the Uchiha Hashirama, it seems he actually knew about Uchiha Izuna's eyes and genuinely cared about Izuna; otherwise, he wouldn't have reacted so immediately.

He recounted the whole story from beginning to end.

Hashirama calmly inquired, "Where is Izuna now?"

"He left with Lady Wakako. She said she was going to discuss the marriage between Hinata Rei and Uchiha Hinata."

"Did he leave towards the Uchiha or the Hyuga Clan?"

"Uchiha."

Madara stood up. "Hashirama, create a clone."

"Alright, I'll send another one to find Tobirama." Hashirama stood up, looked at Heitaro, and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's what I should do."

Wood Clone Hashirama, Heitaro's main body left the Hokage Building with Madara.

Heitaro stood there thoughtfully for a moment before leaving the Hokage Building to continue his training.