Close Observation, Kakashi Hatake

Hokage Building, top-floor office.

Smoke swirled through the air.

Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, listening quietly as Matsumoto Ryūichi delivered a report so agitated it was nearly incoherent.

"...Lord Hokage! Every word I say is the truth! That jutsu of Uchiha Ryūha's, its power is easily B-rank, perhaps even higher! And he used no hand seals—it was instantaneous! His Chakra control is terrifyingly precise! This is a genius seen once in a century, no, a millennium! Konoha must spare no effort in his cultivation; we cannot let such talent go to waste..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly exhaled a ring of smoke, the haze blurring the expression on his face.

"Matsumoto, calm down." His voice was steady. "Do you have proof for all of this?"

"I do! Of course I do!" Matsumoto Ryūichi hurriedly pulled a sealing scroll from his robes and respectfully offered it with both hands. "These are soil samples from the battle site in the Black Pine Forest, along with the lingering Chakra traces of the two rogue ninjas who fled. I recorded them all using a secret technique! You may verify them yourself!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took the scroll but did not open it immediately, instead tapping his pipe gently against the desk.

"I understand." He looked at Matsumoto Ryūichi, his gaze profound. "Who else knows about this?"

"Aside from the other two children in Team Seven, only I do!" Matsumoto Ryūichi quickly assured him. "I have already strictly ordered them not to speak of it!"

"Mm." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "You did well. Regarding Uchiha Ryūha, the village will keep a close watch. As for mission rankings and resource requests... there is no rush. He is still young and needs time to settle. Too much attention is not necessarily a good thing."

Matsumoto Ryūichi wanted to say more, but meeting Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, he finally lowered his head. "...Yes, I understand."

"You may go." Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand. "Classify today's events as B-rank confidential."

"Yes!"

Matsumoto Ryūichi bowed respectfully and exited the office.

The door clicked shut.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in silence, taking a few more puffs of his pipe before slowly opening the sealing scroll.

As he injected Chakra, the sealing formula on the scroll glowed faintly, revealing a few scorched clumps of soil and two weak traces of residual Chakra.

The Third's gaze rested on those marks for a long time, unmoving.

After a long while, he exhaled a long plume of smoke, his eyes complex.

"Fire Release cast without seals... fire-attribute Chakra compressed to the extreme... using mental energy to replace hand seals..."

Every word carried the weight of a Thousand Jun.

As the Professor of Ninjutsu, he knew better than anyone what this implied.

Should he say it was typical of the Uchiha clan? They always produced geniuses that defied standard specifications.

"Uchiha... Ryūha..." Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured the name.

He recalled the report from the Ninja Academy graduation exam a few days ago, and the unknown bloodline limit named "Eye of the Heart." He remembered the guarantee of Uchiha Ryūha's "loyalty to the clan" that Uchiha Fugaku had secretly submitted.

"Kagami, what do you think?" the Third suddenly asked.

In the shadows of the office corner, a figure wearing a cat-faced mask emerged silently.

"Dangerous." The voice of the Anbu captain, Kagami, was flat and emotionless. "The talent is too high, the bloodline is unknown, and he is of Uchiha descent. If guided correctly, he could be a pillar of Konoha's future. If he loses control..."

He did not finish the sentence.

But the Third understood.

The Uchiha clan was already one of the most unstable factors in Konoha. And an Uchiha youth with such talent and such unknown abilities... was both a hope and a hidden threat.

"Withdraw the people from Root," the Third said slowly. "From today on, you are personally responsible for monitoring Uchiha Ryūha. S-rank surveillance, but do not interfere with his daily life. I want to know his every move, every increase in his strength, and... everyone he comes into contact with."

"Yes." Kagami's figure melted into the shadows and vanished.

Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, watching the night view of Konoha outside the window, his eyes filled with deep exhaustion and worry.

Peace had only lasted a few years, and the conflicts between the major ninja villages were already becoming difficult to contain.

It shouldn't be long before the Third Shinobi World War begins.

At this critical juncture, such a variable has emerged...

Is it a blessing or a curse?

He does not know.

He only knows that the great ship of Konoha is sailing toward a tempest it has never before experienced.

Meanwhile, at the Root base.

Danzo stares at another, more detailed report in his hand—one from the Root ninja who had been "glanced at" by Uchiha Ryūha.

The report not only records the contents of Matsumoto Ryūichi's briefing but also includes Root's own analysis:

"Target Uchiha Ryūha is suspected of possessing extremely strong sensory abilities, capable of easily seeing through the concealment of a Special Jonin."

"The seal-less technique 'Red Fire Cannon' has a power assessment of B+ to A- grade, with extremely high precision in nature transformation; he is suspected of having a natural affinity for the Fire element."

"The effects of the 'Eye of the Heart' bloodline limit exceed estimates; it may possess various unknown applications."

"Target is mentally mature and skilled at deception. Threat level: S (pending observation)."

Danzo's finger taps heavily on the "S" rating.

An S-rank threat.

In the Root assessment system, this level means: must be controlled, or must be eliminated.

"Sarutobi really did send the Anbu to take over the surveillance..." Danzo sneers. "Thinking of using him as a pacifier for the Uchiha? Naive."

He stands up and walks to the wall inscribed with the creed of Root.

"Uchiha Ryūha..." A cold light flickers in his single eye. "Don't let me find an opening!"

Uchiha clan grounds, rear mountain training field.

Uchiha Ryūha sits cross-legged on a rock, eyes closed in concentration.

In his mind, the system panel unfolds:

[Current Side Quest: White Fang's Swan Song (Time remaining: 85 days)]

Time is running out.

He opens his eyes and looks toward the center of Konoha.

Through his Reiatsu perception, the Root presence that had been flickering in his wake until today has quietly vanished.

In its place is a more secretive, more powerful, and "gentler" gaze of surveillance.

It is the Anbu, reporting directly to the Third Hokage.

It seems Matsumoto Ryūichi's report has taken effect.

The higher-ups of Konoha have placed him on their priority observation list.

This is both a good thing and a bad thing.

The good thing is that he has gained more "legitimate" attention, making his movements more convenient.

The bad thing is that his every move will be under the Third Hokage's nose.

But...

Ryūha adjusts his glasses, the lenses reflecting the moonlight.

He never intended to hide in the first place.

On the contrary, he needs to "expose" himself appropriately to secure certain things.

For instance, a "legitimate reason" to approach Hatake Sakumo.

Over the past few days, he has been deliberately gathering intelligence on Hatake Sakumo.

The failed mission, abandoning the mission to save comrades, the criticism from the village, the accusations from his peers, the lack of understanding from his family...

Everything is proceeding according to the original trajectory.

That hero of Konoha is being pushed, bit by bit, into the abyss by the very things he swore to protect.

Ryūha stands up and brushes the dust off his clothes.

He needs an opportunity.

A natural, reasonable opportunity to approach Hatake Sakumo that will not arouse anyone's suspicion.

And that opportunity is currently at the Third Training Ground.

Under the cover of night, the Third Training Ground is empty and silent.

Moonlight spills over the training posts and targets, casting long shadows.

A few older ninja students are surrounding a white-haired boy, shoving him around.

"Hey, Kakashi, heard your dad failed his mission?"

"It wasn't a failure, he abandoned the mission to save his teammates! He caused the village to suffer heavy losses!"

"Haha, so much for the Konoha White Fang, turns out he's just a coward!"

"Exactly! Giving up a mission to save a bunch of dead weight, he's brought nothing but shame to Konoha!"

"Your dad is a coward! A loser!"

Surrounded in the center, the white-haired boy—Hatake Kakashi—clenched his teeth tightly.

His small fists were balled up, his nails digging deep into his palms.

He wore a mask, leaving only a pair of dead, hollow eyes exposed.

In those eyes, there was both fury and humiliation.

But more than that, there was a profound exhaustion and... confusion.

Was his father wrong?

Was it wrong to abandon a mission to save his teammates?

But why did everyone say so?

Why were even the teammates his father had saved accusing him?

"Don't you... dare insult my father!" Kakashi squeezed the words through his teeth.

"Oh, getting angry?" a tall student sneered. "Did I say something wrong? Your dad is a loser! He's made our Konoha a laughingstock in front of all the other ninja villages! If you ask me, he should commit seppuku to atone for his sins!"

"You—!" Kakashi snapped his head up, killing intent erupting in his eyes.

But there were five of them, all Genin students two or three years older than him.

No matter how talented he was, he was only six years old; two fists were no match for ten hands.

"What, want to fight?" The tall student stepped forward with a cruel grin.

"Come on then, let me see if the son of the 'loser White Fang' inherited his talent for being a failure!"

He reached out, shoving hard at Kakashi's shoulder.

Kakashi tried to dodge, but the other two had already blocked his retreat.

Just as that hand was about to make contact—

"That's enough."

A calm voice drifted over from the edge of the training ground.