Konoha Hospital.
The single room near the corner of the second-floor hallway belonged to Uchiha Sōken.
Life in the hospital wasn't as pleasant as he'd imagined. Sōken had badly misjudged his current influence. After Shisui told the elders what he'd done at the Hokage Building, the elders embellished the story before sharing it with the clan.
And so,
the clan grounds erupted.
That damn Danzo had been turned into a vegetable by the clan head and was lying in the hospital. It was the best news they'd heard in five years. In particular, the members of the Radical Faction who'd been somewhat dissatisfied with Sōken's firm opposition to a Coup at the clan meeting instantly transformed into his most ardent supporters.
When they heard that Lord Clan Head had also been injured in his battle with Danzo and was currently hospitalized at Konoha Hospital, clansmen began arriving in groups of three or five, carrying fruit baskets and all kinds of gifts to pay their respects. They nearly wore down the threshold of Sōken's room. There were so many gifts that there was nowhere left to put them, so they had people take the perishable fruit to the Police Force to be eaten.
"Ugh!!!"
Leaning back against the headboard, Sōken let out a helpless sigh.
"If I'd known this would happen, I would've just gone home. Those little brats from the clan won't go home and sleep at night; they insist on wandering around the hospital on patrol, claiming they're protecting me from an ambush... Honestly, if I've sunk to the point where I need them to protect me, I might as well jump straight out the window."
"Don't say that. This is everyone showing how much they care. Everyone knows you're highly skilled and a formidable fighter, but there's a saying: 'A spear in the open is easy to dodge, but an arrow in the dark is hard to guard against.' They're only doing this because they respect you!"
Uchiha Arashiyama sat on a chair beside the bed, peeling an apple.
The little fruit knife fluttered in his hand like a butterfly. In the blink of an eye, he'd stripped away the shiny red skin, revealing the plump, white flesh beneath.
"Hmph, spare me the nonsense. If you ask me, those brats are just bored. We need to find something for them to do. Anyway, how are things at the Police Force? Any troublesome problems?" Sōken had been in the hospital these past few days, so he'd entrusted nearly all the Police Force's affairs to Uchiha Arashiyama and was enjoying a break himself.
"Not bad! The news that Danzo's become a vegetable has everyone in high spirits. And lately, all those provocations, both open and covert, and the little schemes targeting the Police Force have stopped too. You could say everything's going well!"
Uchiha Arashiyama took a bite of the apple, its sweet juice spurting out.
"Good to hear."
Sōken couldn't be bothered to ask more.
For now, the Uchiha should be able to enjoy a peaceful stretch of time. As long as he didn't fall, the Third and the others wouldn't make a move so casually again. Of course, when they did act, it would be with overwhelming force... But that was a problem for later. For now, he'd focus on the troubles right in front of him!
"Knock, knock!"
The sound of someone knocking came from the door.
"Again?"
Sōken's eye twitched.
He glanced at the gifts piled across the table and coffee table, sighed in exhaustion, and said in a listless voice, "Come in! The door's unlocked!" He quietly wondered who the visitor might be this time. But when the guest pushed open the door—
Sōken raised an eyebrow.
"Sōken, is your injury all right?"
A refined-looking man with an easy smile and an air of scholarship walked in, carrying an elegantly shaped fruit basket that was clearly worth a pretty penny.
"Senior Murakumo."
Sōken sat up straight.
He looked with some surprise at an acquaintance he knew fairly well, though they weren't particularly close: Kurama Murakumo, the recently appointed head of the Kurama Clan. During the Third Shinobi War, he and Sōken had been on the same team a few times. Kurama Murakumo had already been a Jonin back then and had looked after Sōken quite a bit.
But after the Third Shinobi War ended, the Nine-Tails' Rampage broke out before long.
The Uchiha Clan's circumstances had grown increasingly difficult ever since. In fact, Sōken hadn't seen Kurama Murakumo in two or three years... Wait, a light flashed through Sōken's mind. He remembered the meeting at the Hokage Building four days ago. After defeating Danzo, Sōken had felt someone watching him. The person behind that gaze seemed to have been Kurama Murakumo.
"Looks like your injury is healing well!" Kurama Murakumo glanced at the coffee table, piled high with gifts, and simply set his fruit basket on the bed.
"It's just a minor injury. But you're certainly bold, Senior Murakumo. If people found out you'd come to my room... it wouldn't do you any favors. On the contrary, if you angered those old men, things might get pretty difficult for you."
As the saying went, no one visited without a reason.
Kurama Murakumo wasn't a bad person, but neither was he a charitable soul who'd rush to help someone in need. Their relationship had always been nothing special; they weren't close friends by any means.
He must have had some reason for taking the risk of bringing trouble to his clan just to step into Sōken's room.
"Sōken, four days ago, you must have awakened your clan's Mangekyō Sharingan, right?" Kurama Murakumo nodded in thanks to Uchiha Arashiyama, who'd risen and moved aside, then sat calmly in the chair as he spoke. He showed not the slightest awareness that he'd just revealed someone else's secret.
"Arashiyama, keep watch outside. Senior Murakumo and I need to have a proper talk."
Uchiha Arashiyama shot Kurama Murakumo a long look, tossed the apple core, already stripped of its flesh, into the trash, and wiped his hands with a tissue. Then he left the room, pulled the door shut behind him, and leaned against the wall outside to stand guard.
Inside the room,
Sōken sat cross-legged on the bed, studying Kurama Murakumo with interest. "Senior Murakumo, the name Mangekyō Sharingan... where did you hear it?"
"It's no secret," Kurama Murakumo replied calmly. "At the height of our power, the Kurama Clan claimed to rival the Uchiha in genjutsu. One of our ancestors once competed in genjutsu against an Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Thanks to that, I was fortunate enough to learn about it."
"I see!"
Sōken nodded.
In truth, he didn't care whether it was real or not. True or false, he didn't mind letting the outside world know how powerful he was. If he was strong enough, so what if people knew he had the Mangekyō Sharingan? Did they think they could find a way to counter his ocular techniques?
Although Sōken had been plagued these past few days by the endless stream of clansmen, he'd still managed to find time amid the chaos to study his ocular techniques. Breaking through them... wasn't going to be easy.
"Then, Senior Murakumo, what exactly did you come to see me about?" Once the pleasantries were over, Sōken got straight to the point.
"You haven't changed, Sōken. You're just as direct as ever!"
A hint of bitterness crossed Kurama Murakumo's face. He took a deep breath and said, "I came to ask you for a favor!"
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