Everyone Has Secrets

Ninjas—at least a dozen of them—had surrounded them. Under ordinary circumstances, there was almost no hope of escaping.

But the pathetic Senju had actually sent a child to lead the charge. They weren't like those two useless fools from before.

The three Uchiha ninjas got along well and had a certain degree of coordination. Without exchanging a word or even glancing at one another, they already knew what the others were thinking. They used the Body Flicker Technique at the same time, charging at Senju Shugo from three directions.

Uchiha Tadashi on the left was blocked by a wall of trees. On the right, Uchiha Shaku was forced back by Kunai and Explosive Tags, but that created an opportunity for the last man.

"Curse your own hot-blooded youth! It's given me a chance to survive."

Uchiha Chen shouted. Meeting the boy's eyes, he grabbed him by the throat with one hand and laughed.

"Don't come any closer, or this kid's dead!"

The Senju ninjas around them stood quietly in place without the slightest movement, like puppets.

It was too quiet. There wasn't even a breath of wind.

Uchiha Chen sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly looked toward his two clansmen. They stood there blankly, staring at him without moving.

A bead of cold sweat slid down his cheek. A suspicion took shape in his mind, but he desperately tried to deny it, because it was harder to accept than his own death.

A proud Uchiha had actually fallen for a little Senju brat's genjutsu.

I won't accept it! This has to be fake. Yes, it must be fake. How could a Senju make me fall for a genjutsu...

"You should thank Uchiha Niji. If it weren't for the pressure he put on me, my genjutsu wouldn't have improved so quickly. It's over."

A sudden, searing pain in his eyes dragged him back to reality. He could no longer feel the eyes in his sockets. There wasn't a trace of Chakra left in his body, and something had wrapped around his legs.

"Tadashi, Shaku, where are you two?"

A trace of panic appeared on Uchiha Chen's face. People feared losing the things they longed for.

Two corpses lay on either side of him, but he had lost his eyes and could no longer see them. All he could sense was killing intent drawing nearer.

Shugo calmly cut off his head, then ordered an elite Jonin.

"Take Hashirama back to recover."

When Hashirama saw Shugo, his taut nerves finally relaxed. The pain of losing both arms had him passing out on the spot.

The elite Jonin specialized in speed and knew a little Medical Ninjutsu. He protected Hashirama with Water Release Chakra, sealed the two severed arms in a scroll, and immediately ran toward the clan compound.

The Uchiha disdained poisoning their blades, but their strikes still carried tremendous force. The cut made by the katana was neither smooth nor even; it had left jagged bone fragments, half-severed before the arms were roughly torn away.

"I wonder if Rei can reattach them."

Shugo sighed. He had known he would need help on this return, so after much pleading and cajoling, he had brought Senju Rei, a medical ninja, along.

The price was building her a large wooden house, with "maintenance" included afterward.

He had brought so many ninjas to support Hashirama, retrieve the bodies of their clansmen, and check on the Black Feather Clan.

Whatever the reason, the Black Feather Clan's ninjas had caused the operation to go wrong. Given Butsuma's temperament, he would need someone to take out his grief over his beloved son losing his arms.

Whether they were confirming the route or going to help, there was no harm in checking it out.

But as they drew closer, the sensory ninja ran over to Shugo and stopped them.

"Young Master Shugo, there's no need to go. The area is filled with that cold Uchiha Chakra. The Black Feather Clan is gone."

"I understand."

Shugo could only lead his people back the way they had come.

Even if the Black Feather Clan hadn't been wiped out, it had suffered heavy losses. It was no longer worth "punishing" as far as Butsuma was concerned. It held no value for Shugo either.

After they returned to the clan compound, Senju Butsuma learned what had happened to Hashirama and immediately sent the ninja responsible for recording missions to the front lines. He also had the Black Feather ninja who had remained at the compound killed.

Senju Rei didn't usually live there, so she had been assigned a room that normally belonged to a clan member fighting on the front lines. By now, quite a few people had gathered outside the door.

"How is he?"

Shugo found the elite Jonin who had brought Hashirama back and asked him.

"Lady Rei said that because the bleeding was stopped in time and the Senju have strong constitutions, his life isn't in danger. But it'll take a while before his arms can be reattached."

The elite Jonin answered honestly.

"Then why are all these people here?"

"Lady Rei is treating him, so they don't dare disturb her. Besides, they're not 'our people,' so I didn't tell them what happened..."

"...You can tell them."

The elite Jonin nodded and began making his way through the crowd.

Shugo said quietly, "Tobirama, eavesdropping is a bad habit."

Tobirama took off the disguise he had been using and looked at Shugo. He sent his voice through Chakra.

"How did you know something would happen to Hashirama?"

Shugo likewise sent his voice through Chakra.

"I was worried about Hashirama, so I looked into his mission. I figured it out by analyzing the people involved, the mission, and the map."

Tobirama shook his head slightly.

"Too fast. You moved too quickly. If you'd only acted on a whim, you wouldn't have been in such a hurry. When I learned Hashirama was going on a mission, I got a copy of the mission report myself. I know exactly what would normally have happened."

"Shugo, I'm not trying to use this to threaten you. I just want you to understand that Hashirama is my little brother too. If anything happened to my brother, I'd do everything I could to save him, no matter the circumstances."

Shugo was a little puzzled.

"Aren't you curious how I knew something was wrong with Hashirama?"

Tobirama remained calm.

"Everyone has secrets. Am I supposed to investigate every single one?"

"All I know is that you're my brother, and that you're a Senju who would go to great lengths to protect his little brother. That's enough."

Shugo's lips curled slightly. It felt rather nice to be trusted.

After the elite Jonin explained what had happened, the clansmen outside the door gradually left. Only Butsuma, Hashirama, and Tobirama remained outside, waiting for Hashirama to regain consciousness.

Shugo had wanted to stay with them, but Butsuma personally sent him home.

"No matter what the reason was, how you found out about the mission, or what you've done, I won't pursue it this time."

Butsuma left without lingering and returned to the room where Senju Rei was.

"Do you think I care about those words?"

Shugo curled his lip. This time, things had mostly followed the proper procedures. Without the clan leader's approval, taking clan members out on his own only counted as a minor breach of authority at worst.

According to clan rules, he might have to spend a few days in the dungeon as discipline. But that punishment meant little to Shugo; at worst, he'd just have to train in a different way.

After all, the dungeon was full of "talented people," including plenty of ninjas from other clans. Their physiques were bound to vary, so he could have them try his special cooking, version 7.0. Two birds with one stone.

Since Senju Butsuma had to look after his son, Shugo's own father, Senju Genma, was handling clan affairs at the clan leader's home. He probably wouldn't be back for several days.

This wasn't the first time Genma had done this. He had once been Butsuma's right-hand man, and their handwriting habits overlapped so much that they were almost identical.