A Run and a Sway

"..."

Uchiha Ao stared wide-eyed at Kagami, who still had his eyes closed.

What the hell was that "mother's scent"?!

Brother Jing, I never knew you were that kind of person.

He seriously suspected the other guy had woken up ages ago and was deliberately flirting.

No, this wasn't flirting anymore. This was straight-up pervert behavior...

"...Ah!"

Senju Rinon had been blushing almost nonstop since entering the tent. Uchiha Kagami's sleepy murmur had nearly shattered her composure. She clenched her teeth, gave up on the treatment, sprang to her feet with a slap, covered her pretty face, and ran outside.

"Hey, Rinon, don't go!"

Uchiha Ao hurriedly called after her.

"How's Brother Jing's injury?"

"..."

Senju Rinon was a healer with a kind heart, after all. She hesitated, but eventually stopped just outside the tent and said softly,

"H-he only used up too much chakra. After medical treatment and half a day of rest, he should wake up."

With that, she ran off without looking back.

A run and a sway...

Uchiha Ao felt a little relieved by her answer. He turned to look at Uchiha Kagami, whose eyes were still closed and breathing steady, and gave him a doubtful look.

"Are you really still asleep?"

As he spoke, he pried open Kagami's eyelids with his fingers.

All right, his pupils really hadn't moved.

So he'd just blurted that out from the heart. I wonder how Brother Jing will react when he wakes up and finds out about this.

Heh heh heh...

I can't wait.

Just then, a quarrel broke out outside the tent. From the voices, it sounded like Hiruzen and Danzo.

Uchiha Ao's ears twitched, and he caught most of what had happened.

It was nothing more than Danzo being called to account by Hiruzen for not taking part in the hunt for Kinkaku and Ginkaku. But the guy had brushed it off by claiming he'd been exterminating rogue ninja and that all his subordinates had been wiped out.

"Heh... all his subordinates wiped out? If those rogue ninja were that powerful, they wouldn't be rogue ninja. Danzo probably just came up with a high-minded excuse to get rid of his own forces."

You could tell from the utterly inhumane Root he would create in the future that the guy's heart was as cold as iron.

Uchiha Ao scoffed and couldn't be bothered to think about it anymore. He'd be better off using the time to analyze the chakra technique he'd obtained from Ginkaku, which was similar to Lightning Release Armor.

He didn't have enough chakra left to add it to the Skill Panel, but studying its Chakra Pathway could still give him some useful insights.

By now, the argument outside had gradually died down. But knowing Hiruzen, the best outcome the two of them could reach would be to charge Danzo with dereliction of duty.

A moment later.

Footsteps sounded outside the tent.

Uchiha Ao tensed. Could that bastard Danzo have heard that Brother Jing was unconscious and come to attack him?

At the thought, he began gathering chakra, ready to activate the Eight Inner Gates at any moment.

"Ao, it's Hiruzen. May I come in?"

The footsteps stopped. The person outside seemed to have sensed the tent's guarded atmosphere and called out first.

"..."

Uchiha Ao silently withdrew the chakra he'd gathered to activate the Eight Inner Gates. After a moment, he replied,

"Come in."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled back the tent flap. He didn't bring up the intelligence, but first looked toward Uchiha Kagami on the bed and asked with concern,

"How's Kagami?"

"Not bad. Rinon's healed his internal injuries. He just needs to rest properly now."

"I'll have someone bring some food in a while. Eating something will help with his injuries, too."

"...Thank you."

"No need to thank me. It's the least I can do."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and waved a hand. "Speaking of which, I owe you an apology..."

Uchiha Ao looked up at him, puzzled.

"Your reconnaissance mission was supposed to bring you here to the base first. Then we would escort you reconnaissance ninja to a safe location, and you'd carry out the mission from there.

"But that bastard Danzo misled you along the way... As the commander of the front-line camp, I really should apologize to you.

"I've already reported Danzo's recent conduct to the Hokage. You'll get a satisfactory answer in due course. He really has gone too far lately. He fears Teacher Tobirama most, so I'll have Teacher Tobirama punish him!"

Fears his teacher?

Uchiha Ao looked at him strangely. That guy actually had someone he was afraid of?

But thinking about it, it made sense. Tobirama Senju was a shrewd man. Putting young Danzo in his place would be a piece of cake.

Danzo had probably picked up six or seven tenths of his warped, cold-blooded nature from the Second Generation, but ended up a poor imitation. No wonder everyone hated him.

"By the way."

Seeing that he and Ao had grown closer, Hiruzen Sarutobi pulled a stool out from under the bed and casually asked,

"Why did I just see Rinon run out with her face all red?

"Did something happen in here?"

As he spoke, his eyes glinted with mischief.

The look on his face plainly said: Come on, little brother, admit it. You must've done something embarrassing.

Things like this had happened plenty of times before. Usually, either the capable and beautiful Senju Rinon beat the offender half to death and tossed him to the roadside, or she ignored him completely.

But why didn't Brother Ao have any injuries on his face?

Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to realize something and sighed inwardly: Ah, a good face really does make it easier to pick up girls.

"This really isn't my fault."

Uchiha Ao fought down a smile and looked completely innocent. "You can only blame Brother Jing. The girl was treating him just fine, and then he suddenly murmured, 'Mother's scent.' That's what scared her off."

Naturally, he left out the shoulder-touching and teasing.

Brother Jing already had children, so it didn't matter if his reputation took a hit. Ao was different; he still had his best years ahead of him.

So Brother Jing would just have to take the fall for now.

"Mother's scent?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi reacted just like Ao had, staring wide-eyed in disbelief.

Was Kagami actually a closet pervert, despite seeming so honest and straightforward most of the time?

Should I invite him along the next time I use the Telescope Technique to spy on the Women's Bathhouse?

Ahem, ahem... No, better not. The fewer people who know, the longer I can keep watching.

If Teacher finds out, I'll probably have to run all over the village with the Flying Thunder God Technique on my heels.

Heh... Still, I can tell Hizuki and the others about it another day. They'll get a good laugh out of it.

He chuckled lewdly a few times, then gathered his thoughts and asked seriously,

"Ao, before coming in, I set up a soundproofing Ninjutsu and a barrier formation. Now, can you tell me exactly why Kinkaku and Ginkaku were hunting you?

"What was that intelligence about...?"

Judging by how seriously Kinkaku and Ginkaku took it, this intelligence might really help delay the war as much as possible.

If so, he, everyone at the front, and all the children back in the village would owe Uchiha Ao for what he'd done.

That was why he'd been so friendly toward Ao since entering the tent.

"It was only by chance that I learned about it from their conversation."

Uchiha Ao's expression turned serious. He knew how much weight Hiruzen Sarutobi carried in the Second Hokage's eyes. Telling Hiruzen was no different from telling the Second Hokage, so he simply shared all the intelligence.

"To ignite a full-scale war with Konoha, Kinkaku and Ginkaku plan to have large numbers of ninja from the Raikage's faction die on the front lines. Then they can take advantage of the situation and easily start a war between the two sides. Their real target is Lord Hashirama's wife, Lady Mito.

"As for the exact time and place of the suicide mission, they've set it for..."