Time to Show My True Skills

Konoha, Hokage Office

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was livid. On his desk lay a scroll that had just been delivered.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura wore equally grim expressions, at a loss for words.

Danzo sat on the sofa opposite the Third Hokage, one eye closed, and said nothing.

"Danzo, how do you explain this?!"

"Explain what?!" Danzo's eye remained shut. "There was a spy in the village who colluded with Murakami Ame and framed Sakumo, leading to Sakumo's suicide. Isn't that all clear? Murakami Ame has been arrested, too. This was a failure on the part of the Anbu and the Military Police Force. It has nothing to do with Root!"

"Are you really going to claim that the person who contacted Murakami Ame wasn't one of your men?!" The Third Hokage slapped the desk, smashing the recently replaced piece of furniture to dust.

"It wasn't me!" Danzo finally opened his eye and denied it outright.

There was no proof, after all. He had indeed sent the man, but Murakami Ame didn't know that. Since Murakami Ame didn't know, even if they searched every corner of his memory, they couldn't pin it on Danzo.

Suspicion, suspicion didn't put food on the table.

"Enough, Hiruzen. This matter hasn't been fully investigated yet. We can't prove Danzo did it. Something about this is suspicious. Why did that Uchiha Clan prodigy seek out Murakami Ame at this particular time, claiming the Military Police Force was hunting a spy? This doesn't seem like a coincidence. Could the Uchiha Clan be behind it, trying to divide us?"

"Exactly. Maybe the Uchiha Clan did this. Sakumo's existence was a huge threat to them, too!" Danzo put in at just the right moment, pinning the whole thing on the Uchiha Clan.

"Hmph!" Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted and glanced at the two men singing from the same hymn sheet. Did they really think he was an idiot? If the Uchiha Clan had done this, would they have needed to add that unnecessary twist at the end? Sakumo's death had already provided the perfect ending to their plan.

The intelligence from the Anbu showed that the two kids had gone to vent their anger on Murakami Ame because they resented him for White Fang's death. Why did they resent him? Because they were Kakashi's friends.

At least, that was how it looked on the surface.

As for what Suifeng had said at the end, it seemed more like an excuse a child had come up with after doing something wrong and fearing punishment.

He hadn't expected that this excuse would actually get Murakami Ame into the Anbu—and lead the Anbu to discover that there really was something suspicious about White Fang's death. Now the Anbu had erupted.

A conspiracy!

Sakumo had actually died because of a conspiracy?

Their Anbu commander, Konoha's White Fang, had really died because of an enemy conspiracy!

How could they stand for that?

The Anbu were now furious. If they had a clear target, they would probably already have been hacking people to pieces.

Murakami Ame was still alive, but he was suffering more than if he were dead.

Who knew what the Anbu would do to him?

Fortunately, nothing had been exposed. Otherwise, it would have been another major upheaval for Konoha.

"Hiruzen, what are you hesitating for? Once we find proof that the Uchiha Clan was involved, we can—"

"Get out!" Hiruzen cut Danzo off with a sharp shout and pointed at the door.

"You...!" Danzo shot to his feet, glaring at Hiruzen with his one eye. The atmosphere in the office froze. After a long moment, he gave a cold snort, flung his sleeve, and stormed out.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!" (I wouldn't feel right if I left this line out.)

"Suifeng, you were far too impulsive!"

At the Uchiha Clan Compound, in the Great Elder's residence, Uchiha Haruki rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration, unsure what to say.

If it weren't for Suifeng, he would have enforced the clan rules long ago, or even locked him up. But what could he do when the troublemaker was Suifeng? When he was a genius? When he was so young?

"What's the big deal? That guy was obviously a bastard! White Fang-sama saved him, and he turned around and badmouthed White Fang-sama, driving him to take his own life. Doesn't a guy like that deserve to die?!"

"Anyway, don't get involved in this sort of thing again!" Uchiha Haruki said wearily. Suifeng was still too young. He might be a genius, but he wouldn't understand the complicated relationship between the village and the Uchiha Clan. Even if Haruki explained it now, he wouldn't get through to him—and it might even backfire. In the end, Haruki could only wave helplessly and say, "Go home. You're grounded for a month, starting now. Don't come out!"

"Yes!" Suifeng left looking dejected, his face full of grievances.

He was nearly sickened by his own performance. He hurried home as fast as he could and shut the door. Only then did he let himself smile.

This should let me keep an eye on Obito all the time without arousing suspicion!

That was right. Obito had always been his target. What did Murakami Ame have to do with him? And what did the way Sakumo died have to do with him?

He had been building up his image all along: first, the image of a genius, and then that of a friend to Obito and Kakashi.

What, you say Suifeng and Kakashi were enemies? Hadn't you heard that fighting brought people together?

They were both geniuses. Geniuses admired one another.

If you weren't a genius, you weren't even qualified to be friends with one.

What kind of relationship did he have with Kakashi?

A friendship forged through fighting!

Just like the relationship between the Prodigal Son of the Sage of Six Paths and Uchiha Sasuke!

I can fight him, I can scold him, I can bully him—but you can't!!

That was a bond!

Exactly. He needed that kind of image, that legendary bond. Only by establishing it could he act in the future without arousing suspicion.

Murakami Ame was just a tool, an unlucky bastard. If he died, he died.

"White Fang is dead, and the Third Great Ninja War is imminent. If I don't start planning now, it'll be too late!"

The Third Great Ninja War was about to begin. He was already a Genin, and he would certainly take the Chunin Ninja Exams in a few months. Kakashi had passed those exams, so they would be no challenge for him.

The most important thing for him in the Third Great Ninja War was Obito's eye. He had to save Obito's eye and make sure Obito didn't give it to Kakashi. That meant he couldn't let Kakashi lose his own eye. If Kakashi's eye was intact, then even if Obito were on the verge of death, he couldn't force Kakashi to remove his original eye and replace it with his own, right? The two of them weren't actually hooking up.

So the key was to protect Kakashi's left eye. And how could he do that? Naturally, he had to be by their side at the critical moment.

Given the Third Hokage's temperament, seeing how close he was to Obito and Kakashi, he would surely think of using this so-called bond to win him over. During the Third Great Ninja War, he would put them together. Even if they weren't on the same team, they would be in the same batch of shinobi troops.

Suifeng was even more confident about this than the Third Hokage himself.

To get Obito's eye, he also needed strength. How could he snatch it without enough power?

Taking stock of his current abilities, he realized he still wasn't strong enough.

His Body Techniques were decent, but nowhere near mastery—he was about Chunin level. Fortunately, his Iron Body had made some progress. It wasn't enough to make him invincible, but combined with his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, it could just about keep him alive.

But staying alive wasn't his goal.

As for genjutsu, whether it was the Mist Servant Technique or the Hell Viewing Technique, they were only good against rookies. Against a strong opponent, he'd be done for.

In ninjutsu, his Lava Release kekkei genkai was a major weapon. If he revealed it, it would certainly make everyone's eyes pop, but that was about it. Ninjutsu consumed too much chakra, and he could only use it to barely keep himself alive.

What about his Zanpakuto?

He knew his Zanpakuto's name, and according to the rules of the Shinigami world, he should have been able to perform Shikai by now. But he had never succeeded. The reason was simple: he didn't seem to have enough chakra. His Zanpakuto, assimilated into the rules of the Ninja World, consumed even more chakra than Lava Release. What was the point of having a Zanpakuto if he couldn't perform Shikai? To use it to cut people? He wasn't skilled with a blade. Using his Zanpakuto like an ordinary katana to cut people would be a waste.

Strength Enhancement Technique? Heh. Thanks to the clan's records, he had learned a few chakra-bursting techniques, but he could only use them as a last resort, for one or two strikes at most. What good was that?

The biggest problem was that his sensory abilities weren't strong. That was a fatal weakness on the battlefield!

Now, it was time to show his true skills!