Traitor of Konoha

"Shadow Clone Technique."

The shadow clone created by Kagami gently lifted Juri, who was groaning in pain.

Juri endured the agony, casting her gaze not toward the shadow clone, but toward the real Kagami.

"What are you planning—I, still—"

"The opponent is a 'Shadow' who carries the entire Kirigakure on his shoulders. Honestly, the gap in strength between you and the Water Shadow now is even greater than the gap between you and me when you were still a Genin."

"Wha—"

Her brother's words were delivered with a cold expression.

Seeing Juri look hurt, Kagami smiled gently.

"It's alright. I will definitely protect you. You are my only, the most important—little sister in this world."

"Kagami..."

Juri sensed that her brother's aura was different from usual.

It was the aura emitted by someone who had resigned themselves to death.

Kagami judged the Second Water Shadow to be a powerhouse possessing at least the same strength as the elderly Senju Tobirama.

In that case, the best-case scenario was mutual destruction.

If the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were to assist, Kagami's death would be all but certain.

Therefore, the task at hand was to send this intelligence back to the village and protect as many subordinates as possible.

He would inherit the proud back that the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, had shown them—the young successors of the Will of Fire—all those years ago. "Oh my, I really can't let the target get away!"

Gengetsu aimed his fingertips at the shadow clone of Kagami, who had begun to run.

Kagami moved instantly to intercept.

His right eye widened sharply, and the next moment, Gengetsu was engulfed in pitch-black flames.

Yet, Gengetsu looked down at the black flames burning his body with complete composure.

"Coming at me with that so suddenly, what is this, black flames—?"

"Amaterasu!"

Behind Kagami, to protect Juri who was being held by the shadow clone, black flames erupted in succession.

As the black flames continued to manifest, Kagami's face tightened as if enduring immense pain. The generation of black flames did not cease.

However—a Water Gun suddenly shot out from a direction completely different from where Gengetsu was standing.

The Water Gun bore down on the back of Kagami's shadow clone, which was carrying Juri.

The real Kagami was too far away to catch up, and just as the shadow clone was about to be pierced by the Water Gun—at that moment, a translucent gray Chakra arm emerged from the shadow clone, deflecting the projectile.

"Hey, hey, what was that just now—"

"Amaterasu is not only ineffective, but there are also attacks coming from elsewhere." Even while utilizing the power of the Mangekyo, he could not land an effective blow. Kagami was neither agitated nor annoyed; he was analyzing the situation calmly.

Then, Kagami arrived at a hypothesis.

So it really is a genjutsu. An extremely high-level genjutsu that even the Sharingan, evolved into the Mangekyo, cannot see through.

"A technique of this magnitude must require terrifying precision and a massive amount of Chakra to maintain for a long time. I fear it is not something a human could achieve alone."

"The real body must be somewhere, right? The real body casting this genjutsu."

"To see through the mystery of my technique upon our first meeting, how impressive. But are you sure you should be so relaxed? Right about now, my real body might be chasing after that young lady?"

"That's impossible. This type of genjutsu does not act upon the target, but upon space itself. Since you are here conversing with me, it means you are currently—within the range where my voice can reach you."

"You really are a formidable guy. Was sending Fuguki a failure? In that case—"

"It would be best not to underestimate the Uchiha. The strongest genjutsu users in the Shinobi World are us, the Uchiha Clan."

"Ha, talk is cheap. But tell me, what do you intend to do? You can't break my genjutsu as you are."

To these words, Kagami manifested black flames once more.

The surroundings were enveloped in black flames.

But Gengetsu's expression remained relaxed, indicating that none of the black flames Kagami released had directly struck him.

Or perhaps, as a battle-hardened ninja, Gengetsu remained calm even if he were struck directly.

"Blindly lashing out won't hit me. You aren't looking down on me, are you?"

As blood tears spilled from his right eye, Kagami's widened pupil turned toward Gengetsu.

Sharp pain eroded his optic nerves; Kagami gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows to endure it.

—I will force you out.

Kagami's hands formed seals at an astonishing speed.

The nature transformation indicated by those seals was—Wind.

Immediately following this, a violent gale released from Kagami's body swept into the smoldering black flames ignited by Amaterasu.

Wind strengthens fire.

Buffeted by the gale, the black flames expanded instantly, merging with dozens of other black flames scattered around to transform into an even more massive wall of fire.

"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

Hozuki Gengetsu, weaving signs in an instant, generated a colossal wall of water. It was not merely spewing from his mouth, but erupting from geysers that burst through the ground.

The mountain-like explosive flames collided violently with the equally massive wall of water.

However, fire is inferior to water. By nature, Kagami's explosive flames should have been extinguished—that was how it was supposed to be.

The black flames did not vanish.

Inheriting the piercing power of the wind, the flames were not blocked by the water wall; instead, they slowly eroded its surface and pushed forward.

Facing this bizarre sight, Hozuki Gengetsu changed his expression for the first time.

The thickness of the water wall increased.

The momentum of the explosive flames intensified.

Surrounding trees were either knocked down or burned to charcoal.

Fresh blood flowed from Kagami's eyes.

The power of Hozuki Gengetsu's Water Release was worthy of the name "Shadow," truly astonishing.

The explosive flames did not go out—but precisely because they would not extinguish, if they were pushed back, they would become a double-edged sword that would burn Kagami himself.

The essence of the water and fire struggling against each other lay in the fact that Kagami's Mangekyo—Amaterasu—was continuously fueling the flames.

In this situation, Kagami struggled to analyze the circumstances calmly.

Hozuki Gengetsu was suppressing Kagami's explosive flames so desperately; this meant it could be assumed that Hozuki Gengetsu's true body was on the other side of the water wall, or perhaps there existed some kind of summoning beast capable of creating illusions.

At the very least, the goal of pinning him here had been achieved.

Snap—something inside Kagami's body broke.

Bleeding not only from his eyes but also from his nose and ears, Kagami realized his Chakra could not hold out much longer.

His clenched molars shattered. Kagami squeezed out everything he had left.

"Gate of Opening—Forbidden Jutsu: Six Kings Divine Lesson!"

A torrent of Chakra surged wildly from within Kagami's body.

This was a Forbidden Jutsu conceived by Senju Tobirama back in the day and inherited by Zhijian.

By materializing the soul and separating it from the body and spirit, the user allows their physical form and spirit to return to the natural world, synchronizing themselves with natural energy.

The user gains adaptability to all five Chakra natures and a vast reserve of Chakra, but their physical body dissolves and vanishes as if melting into the natural world.

Even for an Edo Tensei body, using this technique causes it to disappear, requiring reincarnation once more; it is a double-edged sword in the truest sense.

Once this technique is used, it cannot be stopped voluntarily. It can only be halted with the power of someone who has mastered the same technique and understands soul manipulation.

And the only one who had fully mastered this technique was the late Senju Tobirama.

A gale roared, sweeping away everything, and the black flames burned all things like the fires of hell.

The mist—dispersed.

Kagami collapsed to the ground.

The Susanoo deployed to protect his body was no longer in its original form, leaving only a thin skin of Chakra.

Even this could not be maintained; the afterimage of the Susanoo melted away into the air.

At the edge of his blood-red vision, Kagami saw it.

A giant clam, and the massive block of water covering the Second Water Shadow, Hozuki Gengetsu.

Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave.

One of the pinnacles of Water Release developed by Hozuki Gengetsu.

This technique gathers his own Chakra and all the surrounding water to create an ocean; it can freely crush opponents or protect himself—it is one of Hozuki Gengetsu's trump cards.

Sensing Kagami's torrent of Chakra and foreseeing that the water wall would be breached, Hozuki Gengetsu returned beneath his partner, the giant clam, and used this technique to protect it.

He judged that if used for offense, his power would be dispersed and broken by Kagami's concentrated breakthrough, so he used it entirely as a wall to protect them both.

The water block remaining now was mostly debris eroded by Kagami. The remaining volume of water was barely enough to cover the giant clam.

The water block and the giant clam vanished.

Kagami stared at the staggering Hozuki Gengetsu—and extinguished all the scattered black flames.

That was the final use for the last bit of Chakra Kagami could muster.

"Why did you extinguish the black flames?"

Hozuki Gengetsu looked down at the fallen Kagami.

Kagami did not answer.

He could not answer.

His consciousness was already fading; both body and spirit were merely waiting to dissipate.

This was the territory of the Land of Fire.

It was the land where the Konohagakure that Kagami Uchiha loved was located.

The inextinguishable black flames would burn everything to ash without discrimination.

If left behind, they would cause harm to the Land of Fire—to his comrades.

For the sake of his successors, Kagami exhausted his final strength.

Gengetsu narrowed his browless eyes, gazing at Kagami.

Gengetsu would no longer pursue Juri.

Assuming a ninja of jonin-level strength arrived to challenge him, a fatigued Gengetsu would likely be defeated.

His exhaustion was that severe.

However, the reason was not limited to that.

"To have a 'Shadow' like me specifically named to kill one of the Uchiha Siblings—even if the client paid a deposit and offered an unlimited reward, I feel this request is far too arrogant—"

"Regardless of the client's objective, Kagami Uchiha—you are indeed strong."

Hailed as the strongest of Kirigakure, even surpassing the First Water Shadow, Gengetsu held a certain respect for the man who had pushed him to such a state.

He could not trample upon the people Kagami Uchiha wished to protect, nor his will.

"Second Mizukage—are you alright?"

"Fuguki. What are you panicking about?"

Fuguki, who had appeared quietly behind Gengetsu, carried an air of confusion.

The battle between the black flames and the wild waters that had just unfolded had turned this place, once a forest, into a barren wasteland.

It was simply unbelievable that the two ninjas at the center of it were unscathed.

Gengetsu looked at Fuguki's appearance and chuckled softly, turning his back on the still-fallen Kagami.

"We are retreating."

"Shall I finish him off?"

"No need."

To Fuguki's words, Gengetsu waved his long sleeves with boredom.

In the mist that began to spread once more, the figure of the monster of Kirigakure gradually faded into it.

The training ground of Konohagakure.

Young ninjas were shedding sweat.

Some were throwing Kunai, sighing at their lack of control; some were striking straw targets, clutching their hands in pain from the rebound; some were wearing green spandex, walking around on their hands while balancing weights on their feet.

This was clearly an outlier.

Diejian sat on a bench at the training ground, merely watching the children.

Once, Zhijian had also been here, burying himself in training alongside his companions.

He recalled the days when he first became a ninja.

That girl who was hostile toward him, and her brother.

To say he had no thoughts regarding such biased team assignments would be a lie.

Even so, to inherit the will of his late grandfather, he was still determined to find a way to get along with that girl.

It was probably over there, Diejian thought, looking toward the woods.

That girl—

Juri had once fallen flat on her back in a sorry state, dizzy from a genjutsu.

Ever since losing his grandfather and his Teacher, he had been pondering what a ninja truly was.

What exactly did their predecessors see in a future where they only knew how to slaughter one another?

The hatred for the one who killed his Teacher was intense.

But at the same time, he also thought:

If only he had been there. At that time, Diejian was in Uzushio Village, the homeland that flowed with his own bloodline, due to the orders of the Third Hokage.

He resented the Third Hokage for issuing that order, and he also resented himself for failing to be at the scene.

But in the end, this was merely self-consolation.

He sighed at why it was always the people around him who met with misfortune.

"It's Ina."

"You guessed right."

Ina smiled as she sat down beside Diejian, holding a cold glass of juice.

"Are you thinking about Teacher Kagami's matter?"

"The retaliation against Kirigakure was blocked by the Third Hokage. He said it would trigger an all-out war."

"If we go to war with Kirigakure, Uzushio Village will be dragged into it. It's the correct judgment, isn't it?"

"How is Juri doing?"

"She hasn't left her room all week; she hasn't shown her face once."

"I see. After all, he was her only brother."

"Honestly, I really want to slaughter those guys from Kirigakure."

"Diejian—"

"I know. But just thinking about Juri losing her only kin, I can't help but feel restless."

Seeing Ina lower her eyes in sadness, Diejian realized he had spoken out of turn.

This wasn't the kind of thing to say in front of a woman.

Diejian apologized and shifted the conversation to his much younger brother.

Ina also brought up the topic of her nephew.

Ina laughed and said he was absolutely forbidden from calling her "aunt," and Diejian laughed along with her.

On the other hand, Diejian was pondering the matter of Kirigakure.

What exactly was behind this incident?

According to reports that the "Shadow" of Kirigakure had mobilized, Shimura Danzō and Torifu Akimichi, who were acting independently, supported Sakumo and repelled the Seven Ninja Swordsmen with almost no injuries, and the wounded Juri was also safely recovered.

If the goal was to assassinate the Feudal Lord, why would the Water Shadow appear before the Uchiha Siblings first?

According to Sakumo's testimony, the fighting style of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen they engaged was not intense; it gave him the impression that they were merely trying to stall for time.

Then the target wasn't the Feudal Lord, but one of the Uchiha siblings. Juri, while regarded as a Problem Child within the village just like Diejian used to be, was still virtually unknown.

In the generation of the "White Fang," Juri, who remained a Genin until the very end, likely had a very low reputation in other villages.

Even the murdered Kagami Uchiha was not one of the most core figures to the village.

The friction between the Uchiha Clan and the village had been temporarily suppressed due to the policies of the Second Hokage—was this to create friction between the Uchiha and the current administration? Diejian pondered.

The attack occurred at the only moment Diejian was away.

What would the Uchiha Clan think?

Why did an Uchiha expert have to be killed?

If Diejian had been there, Kagami would not have participated in this mission.

The resentment of the Uchiha Clan would be directed at Kirigakure and Diejian. However, the mission Diejian was absent for was a suddenly assigned top-secret mission.

If this information leaked, it meant there was a traitor among those on the Konoha side who knew about the top-secret mission.

However, it was hard to imagine a traitor among the three: the Third Hokage, Diejian, and Shimura Danzō.

If that were the case, then the traitor was on the side of Uzushio Village, who knew Diejian was coming.

Konoha and Uzushio Village had been clear allies since the era of Hashirama.

It didn't seem like a betrayal by the entire village.

Then, whoever defected to Kirigakure must have been acting on an individual level.

I should go investigate.

"Diejian?"

He had fallen into deep thought before he knew it; he must have been silent for too long.

A worried Ina leaned in, staring at Diejian.

"Is something wrong?"

"Ah, sorry."

"Are you tired? Did you pull an all-nighter? It would have been fine to postpone our date."

"Seeing you isn't a hardship. It's just that I haven't seen you much lately."

"I'm happy to hear that. But don't push yourself too hard, really."

"I told you, it's nothing. In the year since the Second passed away, I've realized that most things eventually work out."

"People call that 'pushing yourself,' you know."

Ina smiled at Diejian as he stood up and stretched.

"Let's move my body a little."

Diejian said, rotating his shoulders.

He thought that moving his body might help alleviate the restlessness he couldn't shake off.

Zhijian's gaze returned to Dai, who was still walking on his hands.

Without using Chakra, relying purely on Taijutsu, Dai was quite something.

As a sparring partner for rebuilding one's foundation, he was a rare existence.

"Then, I will be your opponent."

"Hm?"

Just as Zhijian was about to call out to Dai, a voice came from behind him.

Ina and Zhijian turned around in surprise.

Standing there was Uchiha Shuri, his glossy black hair fluttering in the wind.

"Shuri!"

Ina called out Shuri's name with the joy of a long-awaited reunion.

She stood up and ran toward Shuri, asking motherly questions like whether he had been eating well and if he was sleeping.

Shuri smiled as if amused, replied that he was fine, and reached out to touch the short ponytail swaying at the back of Ina's head.

That mischievous hand, wanting to pull at it, was gently stopped by the perceptive Ina.

"Shuri—"

Zhijian didn't know what to say to Shuri and froze.

Shuri scoffed at such a Zhijian, casting a look of contempt his way.

"Spineless man. You were probably just overthinking like a woman anyway."

Having been subtly hit in his weak spot, Zhijian was momentarily speechless.

Shifting his gaze, he saw Sakumo waving from a short distance away.

"I'll spar with you, Zhijian. It's been a long time since I've moved my body, too."

Flames ignited on Shuri's arms.

Sensing the atmosphere, Sakumo silently stepped back.

The children, sensing the danger, scattered like spiderlings.

Ina approached Dai, who was still focused on walking on his hands, and told him it was dangerous here, urging him to leave.

Zhijian did not understand what Shuri was thinking.

She did not seem trapped by hatred. Nor did she seem to harbor the pent-up frustration that Zhijian felt.

She was just, as usual, looking to pick a fight with Zhijian. In any case, Zhijian did not want to get hurt, so he wrapped his body in a Wood Release cloak, preparing himself for a hand-to-hand battle with Shuri.

Shuri kicked off the ground and lunged.

"Oooooooooh!"

A few minutes later, under the watchful eye of Sakumo, the cheers of the children, who had become spectators, echoed beneath the blue sky.