Dark Release (Part 1)

Then Yahiko said, "All right, it's getting late. Ye, go get some rest. We have things to do tomorrow."

"I know. It's always the same," Ye Wuji muttered, then went to a nearby room to rest. For him, resting was the perfect time to train his chakra.

After Ye Wuji left, only Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko remained. "Sorry, Brother Yahiko. I said something that upset you again," Konan apologized.

"Konan, what made you say that to Ye?" Nagato asked curiously.

"That's right, Konan. The Fuma Clan has fallen into decline. Maybe no one will even mention it in the future," Yahiko said in a low voice. But inwardly, he added, That is, if the main family doesn't show up. Unfortunately, no one heard that thought. What kind of main family could the Fuma Clan possibly have?

"I just think Ye might grow up to become an extraordinary ninja. Then he could carry on the title of the Fuma Clan, Brother Yahiko," Konan explained.

"Whether it gets passed down or not doesn't matter. Even the strongest ninja eventually fade away with time. The Fuma Clan, the Hanzo Clan, and the Sarutobi Clan were all so powerful back then, but now they've fallen into decline too," Yahiko said to Konan and Nagato.

"Besides, the wars are still raging. Don't forget our dream: to put an end to this chaos and build a peaceful world. No single clan of ninja can do that. It will take everyone working together.

"Enough about that. We've been hiding here for a long time. Even if the Mist Ninja began searching for us, they should be about done by now. Still, it's strange that we haven't seen any other ninja wandering around these past few days. Maybe something happened. How about this: I'll go out tomorrow and gather some information. Maybe we won't have to keep hiding here."

"It's time to go out. I'll go with you, Yahiko. That way, even if something dangerous happens, we should be fine. But then it'll just be you and Ye here, Konan. Be careful. Ye is capable, but he's still very young," Nagato said.

"I understand. I'll keep watch outside and hide if anything happens. All right, then. I'll go check on Hua. She might be hungry by now." With that, Konan left first.

"I'm going to get some rest too," Nagato said to Yahiko, then left.

In the blink of an eye, Yahiko was alone in the room. He walked outside and jumped onto the roof. The sky had darkened, and a few stars were scattered across it. The moon was only a crescent. Yahiko sat on the roof, gazing up at the sky.

Yahiko thought, Father always told me to look for the Fuma Clan's main family, but there isn't a single clue. I don't even know where to begin. Maybe the Fuma Clan has completely fallen into ruin, and no one is left. Besides, the Shinobi World is at war, civilians are suffering, and orphans are everywhere. If the Fuma Clan really has a main family, how come no one has ever come out? I wonder whether Hanzo of the Salamander belongs to the Hanzo Clan. If I get the chance, I could look into it. I also heard there's someone in Konoha named Sarutobi. Could he be a member of the Sarutobi Clan? I should ask him if I get the chance.

Father said that long ago, the Fuma, Hanzo, and Sarutobi Clans supported one another. But then, all at once, the members of the three clans disappeared. The ones left behind were people who had been out on missions. The main families of all three clans suddenly lost contact with them, vanishing before they could even send word to those outside. But it's hard to believe that all three clans were wiped out at once. Father once said that even if the Sage of Six Paths were alive, he couldn't make three clans disappear without letting them send out a single message. And even if someone or some faction had the power to destroy all three clans at once, why would they ignore the ninja from those clans who were still out in the world? With power like that, they could have wiped out all three clans completely.

Unfortunately, after the main families disappeared, the remaining members of the three clans kept in touch at first. They shared what they knew, hoping to find some clue about the main families. But as the older generation died off, it seemed the rest forgot that the three clans even had main families. Gradually, the surviving members stopped contacting one another too, as if they had forgotten their ties.

I wonder if what Father said is true. He only heard it from his own father, after all, and the story has been passed down for more than ten generations. That means it must be several hundred years old. Even if the main families really do exist, what difference would it make? So much time has passed that there's no way to know what might have been mistaken.

Damn it. If these people really exist, I'll have to ask why they've ignored everything going on. Weren't the three clans supposed to be powerful? There's been nothing but war, and after all this time, there hasn't been a single period of peace.

Unfortunately, the Fuma Clan doesn't specialize in combat. From the secrets passed down through the generations, the clan was skilled at studying the relationships between ninjutsu, chakra, and hand seals. But what good is any of that in an era of war? At least the Hanzo and Sarutobi Clans still have some powerful ninja who can carry on their legacies. The Fuma Clan is almost finished.

There's no point thinking about all this now. It seems the Hanzo and Sarutobi Clans have completely forgotten about their main families. Maybe these stories survived only because the Fuma Clan wasn't good at fighting. But now no one believes any of it.

From what we know, the three clans once existed, and they still exist today. That much can be confirmed. If so, the story should be true. Then why have I never heard anything about it?

At that moment, Ye Wuji was fast asleep and had no idea what Yahiko was thinking. If he knew, his mind would have been a mess. There wasn't a hint of anything Yahiko was imagining in Naruto. Had these things always existed, or had Ye Wuji's arrival set off a butterfly effect? It was all still unknown.

A few days after Ye Wuji went into hiding, a forest was filled with ninja. From their Forehead Protectors, they were all from Kirigakure. Nearly twenty people were crouching or standing in the middle of the forest, while another fifty or sixty seemed to be keeping watch around them. At this late stage of the Second Shinobi World War, no one would have expected Kirigakure to gather such an enormous force here.

"Have Hétián and the others arrived yet?" one of them asked.

"Not yet. They haven't responded to our messages either. I don't know if something happened," someone answered.

"That shouldn't be possible. With their team's strength, no one around here should be able to stop them from sending a message," another person said.

"That's not necessarily true. If it was Konoha, they could do it. Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade are all here. If they joined forces, with a few others, they'd be more than capable," someone pointed out.

"Impossible. They're facing off against Hanzo of the Salamander and the Rain Ninja right now. How could they have time to come after us? Besides, wasn't a preliminary peace agreement reached a while ago?"

"It was only a verbal agreement. Do you think it means anything? They might be pretending to make peace with Hanzo while secretly attacking us. You never know."

Before long, seven or eight people had spoken up. Half of them believed Konoha was attacking them. The rest stayed silent.

"Enough," said the man who had spoken first. "Why are you all guessing? Has the person we sent to investigate come back yet?" He cut off the argument, then turned to someone nearby and asked.

"Reporting to Lord Ueda, not yet." Before the man could finish, a figure came running toward them from a distance. He quickly changed his answer. "He's back, Lord Ueda."

As he spoke, the figure reached his side.

"Did you find anything?" Ueda asked at once.

"Reporting to you, sir. There's no news at all about Lord Hétián and the others. But we found several traces of a battle in one place. Judging by the scene, quite a few people were involved, and there were signs of several kinds of Water Release. Hétián and the others may have fought someone there. But we didn't find any bodies." The newcomer reported everything he knew in one breath.

"Where?" Ueda asked directly.

"In a forest nearby." As he spoke, the man took out a scroll and opened it to reveal a map. He pointed to a spot.

"The Jinlun Mountain Range, near the Land of Earth," Ueda murmured. Then he asked, "Taro, the information we received a while ago said that man escaped there, didn't it?"

"Yes. But I don't think he could have taken on Hétián and his men alone..." The man stopped there and gave the others a look that made it clear what he meant.

"So it was someone from the Land of Earth. That's possible. They've always been eager for war. Their quick agreement this time was suspicious," said a ninja who had been looking down. He suddenly raised his head.

"That would explain it. Otherwise, why would Chukichi have dared to steal the Scroll of Sealing from our village? Fortunately, the Mizukage discovered it in time, so that bastard only got half of the scroll."

"Chukichi had forgotten who he was. He dared to betray the village, and on top of that, he tried to get his hands on the Scroll of Sealing. Don't forget what the Mizukage said. We have to get that half of the Scroll of Sealing back at any cost," Ueda said as he stepped forward.

"We can't really blame Chukichi, can we? The Daimyo had his entire clan killed. If Chukichi hadn't run, he might already be dead," someone murmured.

At that, Ueda glared at the speaker. The man glared right back at him. "Kazuki, Yuki Kazuki, I hope this is the last time I hear you say something like that. I know the Daimyo may have acted unjustly, but think about yourself—and your clan. It's fine to say that here, but if you go around saying things like that, even the Mizukage may find it hard to protect you."

"I think Kazuki has a point. Chukichi's a traitor this time, but who knows who will defect next? The Daimyo's treatment of people with Kekkei Genkai is just... just..." At Ueda's glare, the speaker trailed off.

"Right. The Daimyo can't go after the clans with Kekkei Genkai just because he was once targeted by someone with one. I don't have a Kekkei Genkai myself, but look at this war. We could have achieved some results, yet the Daimyo insisted on interfering.

"So far, several clans with Kekkei Genkai have been wiped out. The Daimyo sent their strongest fighters to the battlefield. That would have been fine if they were fighting for the village, but look at what he actually did. As soon as those people left, he sent men to kill everyone who remained—not even sparing the children. He also leaked information on the battlefield, getting all of them killed by the enemy. And the Mizukage hasn't done a thing about it. If this goes on, Kirigakure won't have any Kekkei Genkai left."

Once that was said, several people began speaking up in succession. If Ye Wuji had heard them, he would have known that this was probably the beginning of the era when Kirigakure became known as the Blood Mist—the time when Kirigakure began its all-out extermination of Kekkei Genkai. That Yuki Kazuki was probably a member of the Yuki Clan, which possessed an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. Unfortunately, the clan would still be wiped out later. In the end, the Land of Water's Daimyo, who had ordered it, would be assassinated by someone with a Kekkei Genkai. The assassin had been sent by Kirigakure.

"Ueda, I think we should just retrieve the Scroll of Sealing. As for whether Chukichi is..." Someone lowered his voice.

"Right, Ueda. Chukichi didn't really want to betray the village. Otherwise, he could have taken the scroll outright instead of going to all that trouble to copy it. That's what got him caught by the Mizukage. If it hadn't, Chukichi would have escaped without a trace by now."

"Do you think I don't know that?" Ueda glanced around, then lowered his voice too. "You can keep these things to yourself. Don't say them out loud. Otherwise, do you think Chukichi could have escaped from the Third Mizukage? And look at the people sent here this time. There are four clans with Kekkei Genkai represented. Do you think they'll go all out? I know you're close to Chukichi, but keep it to yourself."

Hearing this, the speaker slapped his forehead, looking as though he had suddenly understood.

"But, Ueda, what about Hétián and the others? It looks like they may have been wiped out," someone asked.

"Never mind. We'll see what we find when we get there," Ueda replied. Then he called out, "Move out!"

They blamed the people killed by Nagato and the others on the Land of Earth. And because Zetsu had cleaned up afterward, the Mist Ninja had nothing but suspicions and no evidence. There was no way they could hold the Stone Ninja of the Land of Earth responsible. It was a lucky coincidence. The Mist Ninja got caught up in their own village's problems and let the matter drop. That worked out well for Nagato and Ye Wuji.

If the Mist Ninja had really investigated the matter, they might have discovered Nagato and the others. Then Nagato, his companions, and Ye Wuji would all have been in danger.