Skipping Stones

"I understand." Shinji took out his key and unlocked the door. Before going inside, he said to Iruka, "Thank you for issuing me a pass this morning."

Iruka paused. "You're welcome."

Shinji nodded, went inside, and closed the door.

He lay down on the bed and let out a small breath of relief.

Haku hadn't been captured, which meant that what happened last night hadn't been exposed.

"Kirigakure is pressuring the village to hand someone over."

He smiled.

He'd still been a little uncertain about who was behind Haku, but after Kirigakure's move today, he was certain: Haku was a spy Kirigakure had planted in Konoha.

Kirigakure's actions today...

On the surface, they were directed at Konoha, but in secret, they were protecting Haku.

The logic behind it was easy to understand.

And it was perfectly normal for Konoha to take Haku in.

First...

Haku's Snow Clan had been wiped out by Kirigakure. As a remnant of the Snow Clan, anyone would assume Haku held a deep grudge against Kirigakure.

Second...

Kirigakure had once plotted to unleash the Three-Tails in Konoha.

During that incident, Kakashi had personally killed Rin Nohara, who had been forced to become the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki.

That was a major grievance between Konoha and Kirigakure, so the Konoha High Command clearly wouldn't pass up any chance to spite Kirigakure.

Finally...

Haku might well be the last ninja in the Shinobi World to possess the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

If Konoha took Haku in, then decades later, Ice Release might become one of Konoha's Kekkei Genkai.

There was motive and there was benefit, and they could rule out the possibility that Haku was a Kirigakure spy. So it made perfect sense for the village to take him in.

After all, it was impossible that Kirigakure would deliberately wipe out one of its own Kekkei Genkai clans just to plant a spy.

At that thought, Shinji shook his head.

The village had probably miscalculated this time!

Haku possessed the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, but he'd already been living away from the Snow Clan before Kirigakure wiped them out. That showed he wasn't a direct member of the clan.

And given Haku's personality, it was hard to say how much he really cared about revenge.

In the original timeline, he'd followed Zabuza and even been willing to give his life to protect him, but it wasn't because he wanted revenge on Kirigakure.

Shinji grumbled inwardly, If the village really handed Haku over, that'd be a joke!

But it was hard to say what might happen.

If Kirigakure stood firm and threatened war, the village, all bark and no bite, might actually hand Haku over.

It wasn't as if something like that had never happened before.

After confirming that Haku was a Kirigakure spy, he found himself wondering again, Was getting close to me a mission Kirigakure gave Haku?

He couldn't figure out why Kirigakure would do that.

Still, after Kirigakure's maneuver today, the odds of the village investigating Haku had gone down. That meant he'd be a little safer, too.

[The plane is under attack.]

[Countdown: 2]

Just then, the mysterious voice sounded again, warning Shinji that the invasion was imminent.

He sat bolt upright on the bed, cleared his mind, put Haku's situation aside for the moment, and began to think about his own plans.

"If I can get my hands on Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyo before this invasion, I'll not only have a much better safety net, I can even try to improve my rating and get a better reward!"

You want me to save the Shinobi World?

Sorry, I'm here to milk you for all you're worth!

As he thought, Shinji took out a map of the village and spread it across the bed.

"Setting aside the central district, the residential areas, the Hokage Building, the hospital, and the Ninja Academy, this area here is the Hyuga Clan compound. This is the Nara Clan's deer park, this is the Inuzuka Clan's kennel, and this is the Aburame Clan's insect room..."

He used a pen to cross out each area on the map, one by one.

He didn't know where Danzo's hideout was, so all he could do was search the map.

Konoha wasn't small, but it wasn't really that big either.

Once he'd ruled out the core districts, commercial areas, residential areas, and each clan's compounds and properties, there weren't many places left.

After crossing out a few more unimportant spots, Shinji's gaze quickly settled on one area.

"Could Root's base be here?"

He could hardly believe it.

This area was very close to the Uchiha Clan Compound. If Danzo had placed his hideout here, that meant he intended to eliminate the Uchiha Clan whether or not they were planning a rebellion.

He thought back to the fragments of memory left behind by the original owner.

The original owner really had rarely gone anywhere near that area, as if it were some kind of forbidden zone.

Then he circled several other suspicious areas on the map. Those places, too, could have been Danzo's hideout.

After that, he put away the map and walked over to the window.

Dusk was settling in, and the streetlights had already come on.

In the distance, the Ninja Academy was brightly lit, too. It looked like the teachers were making their final preparations for tomorrow's Chunin Ninja Exams.

"I can only act if another disturbance breaks out in the village during the Chunin Ninja Exams!"

Shinji wouldn't act recklessly this time. He needed to wait for an opportunity.

In the village...

After being interrogated all night, Sasuke had slept through the day. He went out to get something to eat, then wandered aimlessly until he reached a small river.

"Why is the whole world against me? Damn it!"

Thinking about what had happened the night before, he still couldn't contain his anger.

Then his gaze was drawn to a figure on the other side of the river.

He recognized him: Naruto Uzumaki, the kid at the Ninja Academy rumored to be the "Fox Demon's Child," someone Sasuke had never paid any attention to before.

The other boy seemed to be in the same situation as him. Night had fallen and he should have gone home, but he was still wandering outside without any particular destination.

Perhaps because they were in similar circumstances...

Naruto, on the opposite bank, noticed Sasuke, too.

The two of them stood across the little river, sizing each other up.

A moment later, Naruto walked to the bank, picked up a flat stone, and skipped it across the water toward Sasuke.

Pah. Pah. Pah.

The stone struck the water with a series of crisp splashes, arcing toward Sasuke.

On his side of the river, Sasuke held out his right hand and neatly caught the skipping stone.

Across the river, Naruto smiled and waved at him.

Sasuke wondered, Everyone hates that guy, so why can he still smile so happily?

He didn't understand, but he found that Naruto's smile had somehow rubbed off on him. His gloomy mood suddenly lifted.

Boom!

Just as Sasuke was about to throw the stone back across the river, an explosion suddenly rang out in the woods not far behind him.

Sasuke turned around and looked. "Was that a firework?"

He didn't notice that, as he looked back, the two Anbu Ninja secretly protecting him and Naruto had already dashed toward the woods where the explosion had occurred.