"Reiatsu?" Kakashi repeated the unfamiliar word, his eyes filled with scrutiny and confusion.
"A kind of inner power, distinct from Chakra." Uchiha Ryūha extended a finger and pointed it lightly at Kakashi's forehead.
"Sense it the way you sense Chakra flowing through your pathways, but it's more elusive, closer to the tremors of the mind and soul."
A faint blue light flickered at his fingertip, and an intangible yet undeniably real pressure enveloped Kakashi.
Kakashi's body tensed instantly, instinctively trying to resist.
But he found that even breathing had become difficult—there was no killing intent, yet the pressure was suffocating as the deep sea.
A moment later.
After teaching Kakashi the entire Reiatsu training method, he immediately sank into deep cultivation.
Seeing this, Ryūha's mouth curled into a crooked smile.
"Hopefully this little guinea pig can forge a path of his own."
Early spring, Year 43 of Konoha.
The fighting on the front lines had reached a stalemate.
Kumogakure's "AB Duo" had repeatedly torn through Konoha's defenses along the border of the Land of Hot Water.
Konoha, meanwhile, was barely holding the line thanks to Namikaze Minato's elusive Flying Thunder God and the bloodstained White Fang wielded by Hatake Sakumo.
With every day the gears of war turned, more blood seeped into the soil.
Konoha's frontline headquarters, late at night.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the battle reports on his desk. The embers in his pipe flickered, illuminating the deep wrinkles on his face.
He was alone in the tent, yet the oppressive atmosphere was colder than the autumn rain outside.
The flap was suddenly thrown open.
"Lord Hokage!"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura rushed in almost simultaneously, both wearing expressions of shock and anger rarely seen on their faces.
Close behind them came Shimura Danzō, leaning on his cane and walking with steady steps.
"Something's happened." Mitokado Homura slapped a bloodstained intelligence scroll onto the desk, his voice trembling.
"Two hours ago, the third strategic supply convoy, led by Jonin Uchiha Yashiro, was ambushed by Kumogakure in Wind Howl Canyon."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's pupils contracted. "How did it go?"
"The entire convoy was wiped out." Utatane Koharu closed her eyes, her voice strained.
"The convoy had forty-seven people, including Uchiha Yashiro and three Uchiha Jonin, eight Chunin, and thirty-five escorting shinobi... not one survived.
"Twenty carts of Military Ration Pills, Explosive Tags, medical supplies, and the latest military equipment were all destroyed or captured."
"Bang!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his fist on the desk. Spiderweb cracks spread across the solid wooden surface. He stared at the scroll, veins of red spreading across his eyes.
Uchiha Yashiro was a pillar of the Uchiha Clan's middle generation, with strength that ranked among the best of the Jonin.
He specialized in Fire Release and Shurikenjutsu and was Fugaku's right-hand man.
More importantly, those supplies were enough to sustain three frontline camps for half a month, and the military equipment was a secret weapon against Kumogakure's Lightning Release forces.
"How could this happen..." Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was hoarse. "The supply route was top secret.
"Only the headquarters, the convoy leader, and the Special Operations Squad responsible for security along the route knew about it.
"How could Kumogakure have ambushed them so precisely in Wind Howl Canyon—that was the most concealed of the three alternate routes!"
"That's exactly the problem."
Shimura Danzō spoke slowly.
He walked up to the desk, his one eye sweeping across everyone before settling on Sarutobi Hiruzen. His voice was terrifyingly calm:
"The supply route was leaked."
The tent fell deathly silent.
"What are you implying?" Utatane Koharu demanded. "Are you saying there's a spy among us?"
"Not necessarily among 'us.'"
Shimura Danzō took another scroll from his robes and unrolled it. "The route was finalized twelve hours before the convoy departed.
"There were five people in the know: you, Hiruzen; me; the frontline logistics chief, Akimichi Dodo; the convoy leader, Uchiha Yashiro; and..."
He paused, then enunciated each word:
"The leader of the Fourth Special Operations Squad, Uchiha Ryūha, who was responsible for security between Wind Howl Canyon and Eagle Sorrow Ravine."
Sarutobi Hiruzen jerked his head up. "You suspect Ryūha?"
"It's not suspicion." Shimura Danzō pushed the scroll toward him. "It's evidence."
The scroll contained Root's investigation report.
It detailed the time and location of the convoy's ambush, an analysis of the battle traces, and—
A "survivor" found in a hidden cave three kilometers from the ambush site.
A frame-up, executed to perfection.
"Uchiha Inabi, a member of the convoy and an Uchiha Chunin, escaped the ambush by chance, but was gravely wounded and fell unconscious."
Shimura Danzō's voice was like a snake's hiss. "When my subordinates found him, he was barely clinging to life.
"Medical Ninjutsu brought him around briefly."
"What did he say?" Mitokado Homura asked urgently.
Shimura Danzō looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, a cold glint in his one eye:
"He said that six hours before the convoy departed, Uchiha Ryūha secretly approached Uchiha Yashiro.
"He claimed that 'the latest reconnaissance reports showed Kumogakure activity along the original route' and recommended changing course to Wind Howl Canyon."
"Yashiro believed him?" Utatane Koharu asked in disbelief.
"Uchiha Ryūha is the Uchiha Clan's brightest genius in recent years, promoted to Special Jonin at eleven.
"He emerged unscathed from an encounter with the AB Duo, and his standing within the clan is at its peak. Moreover," Shimura Danzō added.
"He vouched for Wind Howl Canyon's safety, claiming the sensory abilities of his Eye of the Heart bloodline limit were proof."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand trembled.
"But that's only one side of the story!" Mitokado Homura objected.
"Uchiha Inabi is an Uchiha. If he might lie to protect his own clan, then he might also..."
"Or he might be telling the truth."
Shimura Danzō cut him off, then took another item wrapped in oilcloth from his robes and placed it on the desk.
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