The Cleanup List

Dawn broke, but the sky was still dark.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi trudged down the street, his body weighed down by exhaustion.

He hadn't rested at all the night before.

Instead, he had followed the scroll Orochimaru gave him.

He'd successfully extracted a sample of First Hokage Cell Serum.

But time had been too short. Before he could dilute it, morning had already come.

All he could do was seal the undiluted First Hokage Cells inside the scroll.

After all, without Orochimaru's help,

he didn't dare experiment as recklessly as he had the night before.

First Hokage Cells really were terrifying.

Even diluted several times over, they'd nearly brought him to the brink of death.

This time, Uchiha Yatsuhashi decided he would follow Orochimaru's precious research notes

and dilute the First Hokage Cells several times over, then several times again, before experimenting.

Determination was a good thing, but he had to stay alive first.

As he drew close to the Uchiha Clan's residential district,

Uchiha Yatsuhashi caught the familiar aroma.

The oily fragrance of Okonomiyaki mixed with the sweet and salty sauce, making it especially tempting in the chilly morning air.

The Uchiha Clan's usual arrogance was well known throughout the village.

It had also earned them the resentment of many villagers.

Perhaps only this renowned pancake shop,

with its exceptional flavor, could entice non-Uchiha villagers to willingly set foot in the Uchiha district.

The shop had only been open a little while, but a short line had already formed outside.

The owner, Uchiha Tesho, was a round-faced, middle-aged man who was always smiling.

He skillfully flipped the pancakes on the griddle.

His movements flowed effortlessly. Adding the toppings, cracking the egg, flipping the pancake—each step was like a performance.

Standing outside the crowd, Uchiha Yatsuhashi called out loudly,

"Hey, give me three Okonomiyaki!"

Uchiha Tesho looked up at the sound of his voice. When he saw Yatsuhashi, he paused for a moment.

Then his smile grew even brighter.

He swiftly packed up three steaming-hot Okonomiyaki, carefully wrapping each one in waxed paper.

"Here you go. They're best fresh off the griddle!"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi took the three Okonomiyaki without a change in expression

and headed toward Konoha's training ground, eating as he went.

The customer at the front of the line called out indignantly.

"Hey, boss! That kid cut in line, and I don't think he paid!"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Uchiha Tesho said with a cheerful grin, never slowing his hands.

"That's my kid. He's a ninja, too, and he's in a hurry to train!"

"All right, all right, I'll add extra bonito flakes and mayonnaise to yours!"

At that, the customer at the front grumbled but let it go.

Though Uchiha Yatsuhashi was already a Genin, he had never taken a single mission.

He still made a living off his parents' pancake shop.

Uchiha Tesho had once told him while flipping Okonomiyaki,

"Your old man's Okonomiyaki is the best in all of Konoha..."

The shop's Okonomiyaki really was famous, so if his mother, Uchiha Uruchi, hadn't objected,

he might not have been named Uchiha Yatsuhashi at all, but Uchiha Osaka.

The morning sun cast a distinctive glow over the training ground.

"Burn, my youth!"

Might Guy's spirited shout rang out as he did push-ups.

Sweat glistened in the newly risen sunlight,

and even his green jumpsuit was already soaked through over most of its surface.

"How many?"

"One hundred and eight..."

Might Guy's face was slick with sweat, but he showed no sign of stopping his push-ups.

"Yatsuhashi, you're late today!"

Might Guy sprang to his feet with a graceful flip.

He gave a thumbs-up, his teeth flashing brilliantly in the sunlight.

"You know, self-discipline is the meaning of youth!"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi waggled the paper-wrapped food in his hand. "Then discipline yourself. I'll eat these two myself."

"Heh..."

Might Guy scratched his head sheepishly, and his stomach chose that moment to growl.

He took the Okonomiyaki Uchiha Yatsuhashi handed him, bit off a huge mouthful, and then narrowed his eyes in bliss.

"Mmm! I could eat Okonomiyaki every day and never get tired of it!"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi watched Might Guy wolf down his food, a flicker of envy in his eyes.

Back in their early days at the Ninja Academy, they had both been at the bottom of the class.

But Might Guy had successfully advanced to Chunin the previous year.

Although the standards for promotion had been relaxed during wartime,

his progress was still far beyond what Uchiha Yatsuhashi, still a Genin, could hope to match.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi had never pinned all his hopes on the Sharingan.

Even with weak chakra, there were still exceptions who could become powerful.

Like the man before him, Might Guy, who had become strong through Taijutsu alone.

So, ever since he was little, Uchiha Yatsuhashi had insisted on morning training with Might Guy.

Only in the afternoon did he head to Orochimaru's laboratory.

But his results had been meager. His Taijutsu had improved slowly, nowhere near as impressively as Might Guy's.

"Come on, Yatsuhashi! Today's goal is a hundred laps around the training ground, followed by five hundred leg raises!"

Might Guy quickly finished his breakfast and struck a runner's starting pose.

Watching the fire burn in his eyes,

Uchiha Yatsuhashi was just about to wave him off. After all, he hadn't slept all night.

He was only here to bring Might Guy breakfast, as usual.

"Hm?"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi sensed something was wrong, but before he could turn around,

Might Guy had already stepped in front of him.

Two Anbu wearing animal masks had silently appeared behind them at some point.

"Quick reflexes," the Anbu member on the left said, his voice muffled by his mask. "No wonder you're Might Duy's son."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

A few years ago, "Might Duy's son" had been a mark of shame.

But ever since the "Eternal Genin" defeated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen,

that title had become a source of honor.

The Anbu member on the right ignored Guy

and stared straight at Yatsuhashi. "Are you Uchiha Yatsuhashi, the special Genin recommended by Orochimaru?"

"Yes." Uchiha Yatsuhashi's voice was calm, but his palms were sweating.

"No wonder. His chakra isn't even up to the standard for an ordinary Genin..."

That Anbu member murmured to his companion. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone present could hear him.

"What do you want with Yatsuhashi?"

Might Guy frowned, still standing in front of Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

"Lord Hokage has summoned him."

The Anbu spoke coldly. "Come with us."

At that, Uchiha Yatsuhashi's heart sank.

No way. I'd already expected Orochimaru to defect.

But I didn't think it would happen this soon.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi forced himself to stay calm and stepped out from behind Might Guy.

"It's all right, Guy."

"Are you sure it's all right?" Might Guy pressed, his gaze shifting between Yatsuhashi and the Anbu.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi nodded and gave Guy a strained smile.

"Should I ask your parents to help?"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi shook his head. "No."

He knew his civilian parents couldn't change something like this.

It was better not to tell them and make them worry.

This sort of thing had happened before, when Orochimaru's research hit a bottleneck.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi would spend a stretch of time in seclusion at the laboratory, too.

So his parents wouldn't be especially worried.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi turned and walked toward the Anbu.

The two Anbu members flanked him, one in front and one behind,

and the three soon disappeared into the woods at the edge of the training ground.

But the two Anbu didn't take Uchiha Yatsuhashi to see the Hokage.

Instead, they locked him up in an Anbu prison.

Fortunately, he wasn't the only one being held there.

On the contrary, more than a hundred people of all kinds were locked up there.

They all had one thing in common: they had once served under Orochimaru.

As more and more people were detained, their discontent naturally grew.

"What is this? Are we under house arrest?"

"You have to give us a reasonable explanation!"

"I have a mission tomorrow!"

But the Third Hokage's appearance quickly quelled everyone's anger.

What he said next, however, left them deeply shaken.

The Third Hokage told them that Orochimaru had defected.

"Some of you took part in his research; others worked under him for a long time. The village needs to determine whether any of you conspired with him in his defection, or whether he left any spies behind."

"For the investigation that follows, we'll need everyone to cooperate with the Anbu."

The Third Hokage's tone softened. "The village will clear the names of the innocent and compensate them. But if anyone withholds anything..."

He left the sentence unfinished, but everyone understood the warning he hadn't voiced.

Suspicion soon spread through the once-noisy crowd.

The rest of the screening process also proceeded with everyone's cooperation with the Anbu.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi sat against the wall, preparing to close his eyes and rest.

After all, he was only a Genin—more specifically, a special Genin with weak chakra who had been recommended by Orochimaru.

He wasn't capable of conspiring with Orochimaru, much less acting as his spy.

So he probably wouldn't be among the first to be questioned.

After all, the elite Jonin were the Anbu's top priority,

followed by the Chunin, and then him.

But what happened next was completely unexpected to Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

Only a short while later,

Danzo arrived with his men.

And he headed straight for Yatsuhashi.

"Are you Uchiha Yatsuhashi?"

"Yes." Uchiha Yatsuhashi stood up, looking at the two Root shinobi beside Danzo.

He thought to himself, This is bad.

"When was the last time Orochimaru summoned you..."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi chose not to hide anything and recounted what had happened the previous night in full.

He did leave out the details of his own experiment, however, and said that he'd been working on Orochimaru's other research.

"So you spent the whole night working in the laboratory?"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi nodded. "The research Orochimaru left behind was too profound. I didn't manage to produce any substantial results."

Danzo turned to the Root shinobi beside him and received their confirmation.

All of this would be easy to investigate, so Uchiha Yatsuhashi had chosen not to hide it.

He had only recounted the facts, while omitting details that might reflect badly on him.

"Did Orochimaru leave anything behind for you before he left?"

After hesitating for a moment, Uchiha Yatsuhashi handed over the scroll Orochimaru had left him.

A Root shinobi beside them took it and examined it. "This is a First Cell culture Orochimaru had hidden away..."

Danzo snorted. "As expected. He secretly kept samples of the First's cells!"

Then he took another look at Uchiha Yatsuhashi, whose skills were far below those of an ordinary Genin.

His gaze lingered for a moment on those ordinary black eyes.

"Feeble chakra. Little talent for ninjutsu."

Danzo sounded as if he were reading from an investigative report. "Orochimaru kept you by his side because of your outstanding performance in research?"

"Yes. I helped Orochimaru improve the formula for the cell culture medium and solve several theoretical problems."

Danzo stared at him for a long time.

His gaze seemed to have weight, pressing down on Uchiha Yatsuhashi's shoulders until he could barely breathe.

The Hashirama Cell Transplantation Project had already yielded results.

The detailed experimental data had also been documented.

That made Uchiha Yatsuhashi, as one of the participants, seem somewhat superfluous.

"You're free."

Danzo finally left him with those words, then turned and walked away.

He didn't want to waste too much time on this Genin.

After all, Orochimaru's defection had caused him plenty of trouble, too.

"But don't leave the village, and be ready to answer questions from the Anbu at any time."

"Yes."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi bowed his head in reply and waited until the footsteps of Danzo and the Root shinobi had completely faded.

Only then did he slowly let out a breath.

He had made the right bet.

By handing over the scroll Orochimaru had left behind, he had avoided being thoroughly searched by the Anbu.

Otherwise, he would have lost the only remaining sample of First Hokage Cells.

Even after leaving the Anbu prison, Uchiha Yatsuhashi could hardly believe it.

Danzo had actually let him go so easily.

Evening, Hokage Office

Since the Fourth Hokage had only just taken office, many of the village's affairs had yet to pass into his hands.

He looked at the first list Danzo had submitted.

Smoke drifted slowly from the pipe in his mouth, lingering in the glow of the setting sun.

The list included many people who had been released that day. Though they had been let out of the Anbu prison,

they were all still under close, covert surveillance by the Anbu.

"Hmm, just a Genin?"

The Third Hokage looked at Uchiha Yatsuhashi's name on the list.

Ordinary Genin didn't usually appear on a purge list of this level.

Just as the Third Hokage was beginning to wonder, he soon spotted the note Danzo had specifically added beside Uchiha Yatsuhashi's name.

A participant in the Hashirama Cell Transplantation Project.

Seeing those small words written in dark red,

the Third Hokage's doubts were dispelled.

Although the Hashirama Cell Transplantation Project had failed, it still involved many dangerous techniques.

If those techniques were allowed to leak, they could cause the village a great deal of trouble.

And with his special status as a member of the Uchiha Clan, along with Orochimaru's defection,

after several seconds of inner struggle, the Third Hokage finally approved Danzo's special purge list.