Mission Fragment

By the time the clan meeting ended, it was already late at night.

One by one, the torches outside Naka Shrine went out. The Uchiha left with their anger still simmering, but they did not disperse in their usual rush.

Because tonight, they had witnessed something with their own eyes.

There really was a ghost within the clan.

And this ghost was not lurking outside the Konoha High Command. He had infiltrated the Uchiha themselves.

That was even more chilling than the Secret Tunnel.

Shin-getsu stood on the shrine steps, watching the last group of clan members leave.

He did not ask who was talking about him, nor did he listen to the growing calls for "Shin-getsu to step forward."

Tonight's clan meeting had achieved half its goal.

Shinsuke had been exposed.

But that was not enough.

Pushing a pawn onto the board did not mean the person moving the pieces behind the scenes would show himself.

What really mattered was following this lead and digging out whoever had reached into the Uchiha clan.

Fugaku stood beside him, his expression graver than usual.

"You did well."

Shin-getsu did not turn around.

"It's not over yet."

Fugaku glanced at him.

"You know there's someone behind Shinsuke?"

Shin-getsu nodded.

"There definitely is."

"His reaction today didn't look like something he'd come up with on the spot."

"It was more like he'd rehearsed his lines many times, only to lose his rhythm when things went off script."

Fugaku fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"What do you plan to do?"

"Interrogate Shinsuke first," Shin-getsu said.

"But we can't ask him directly who's behind him."

"He'll either keep his mouth shut, or someone will have already taught him how to respond."

Fugaku's eyes flickered.

"You mean...?"

Shin-getsu turned and looked at Fugaku.

"Investigate everyone he's been in contact with over the past week."

"Meals, patrols, missions, unauthorized absences at night—who he met, what he said, where he went."

"If he didn't figure this out on his own, he must have left traces somewhere."

Fugaku nodded.

"I've already sent Tekka to do that."

"That's not enough," Shin-getsu said.

"Shinsuke is only a peripheral node."

"If the person behind him is cautious enough, they won't contact him directly."

"They're more likely to pass messages through a third or fourth intermediary."

Fugaku watched him.

"Then where do you want to investigate next?"

Shin-getsu did not answer right away.

He looked up at the street outside the shrine.

The night breeze stirred, and the shadows of the trees swayed.

"Start with that Communication Talisman."

"If Root dared to slip something like that into the clan meeting, they must have thought it wouldn't be discovered."

"Its source, materials, and traces of its formula could all leave clues."

Fugaku's gaze darkened.

"You think we can start with the talisman?"

Shin-getsu nodded.

"Right."

"Especially the strokes used in its seal."

"Different shinobi have different sealing habits. Even if the paper talismans look identical, the way the chakra ink is stabilized could reveal something."

"If Shinsuke didn't get it directly from a contact, but was given it in advance, then whoever handed it over will have left a weak point."

A trace of genuine respect flashed in Fugaku's eyes as he listened.

This child's way of thinking was already beyond the level of an ordinary shinobi.

He hadn't rushed to arrest anyone.

He was looking for a chain of evidence first.

That was exactly what the Uchiha lacked most right now.

"Good."

Fugaku nodded.

"I'll have Inabi and Yashiro continue the investigation."

Shin-getsu added, "Also, anyone in the clan who's been in frequent contact with Shinsuke over the past few days should be isolated and watched separately."

"The closer they are to him, the more likely they are to be used as the next messenger."

Fugaku's eyes turned colder.

"You suspect there's a second mole?"

Shin-getsu did not deny it.

"Root wouldn't plant just one point of contact."

"Now that Shinsuke's been exposed, they're probably already preparing a backup messenger."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't have set up tonight's trap so smoothly."

Fugaku gave him a long look.

"Go home and get some rest."

"I'll handle the rest."

Shin-getsu shook his head.

"I can't rest yet."

Fugaku frowned.

"Your injuries haven't healed."

"I'm not planning to investigate anyone," Shin-getsu replied calmly.

"I'm going to train in Lightning Release."

Fugaku paused, taken aback.

Shin-getsu looked up.

"After we dragged Shinsuke out tonight, Root will be much more cautious."

"They won't pull out right away. They'll only be more eager to find out exactly how dangerous I am."

"So I have to make myself more dangerous as soon as possible."

Fugaku fell silent.

He wanted to say that this wasn't something a nine-year-old should say.

But after tonight, he no longer saw Shin-getsu as just a child.

This Uchiha orphan had already shown sound judgment and a frightening rate of growth.

In the end, Fugaku said only, "Don't train yourself into the ground."

Shin-getsu nodded.

"I won't."

With that, he turned and left the shrine.

Fugaku watched him go and remained silent for a long time.

Only when Tekka hurried over from the back of the shrine did he speak again.

"Clan head."

"Shinsuke's been taken into custody."

"We made sure he couldn't contact anyone else. He's locked in the basement of the Police Force."

Fugaku nodded.

"Has he talked?"

Tekka gave a cold laugh.

"No."

"He's stubborn as a mule."

"But from the look on his face, he's starting to get scared."

Fugaku asked, "Did he try to contact anyone?"

Tekka lowered his voice. "He did."

"Not long after we locked him up, he tried to bite through a thin talisman with his tongue."

"We stopped him."

Fugaku's gaze suddenly sharpened.

"What kind of talisman?"

Tekka's expression darkened.

"A very thin signal talisman."

"The outer layer was disguised as a scrap of paper tucked inside his mouth."

"The moment he bit through it, it would activate automatically."

Fugaku's gaze turned icy.

"It wasn't for one-way messaging. It was an emergency contact signal."

Tekka nodded.

"Right."

"That means this wasn't his first time doing something like this."

"And he may have other things hidden in his mouth."

Fugaku said coldly, "Search him first. Don't let him die."

Tekka grinned.

"Don't worry."

"I won't let him shut up that easily."

Uchiha Clan Grounds, backyard Training Ground.

Shin-getsu stood in the middle of the open space, his right hand held out.

A small cluster of blue-white arcs danced lightly above his palm.

Crackle.

The lightning wasn't strong, but it was much more stable now.

He had come straight here after returning from the clan meeting.

He hadn't wasted any time.

The scroll for Lightning Style: Earth Flash lay nearby.

He had also gone over the basic Lightning Release control techniques Kakashi taught him during the day several times in his mind.

The most important thing about Lightning Release wasn't speed. It was stability.

The more turbulent the chakra became, the easier it was to injure yourself.

And what Shin-getsu needed most right now was to suppress that turbulence.

A small spark crawled slowly across his palm.

He could feel the Lightning Chakra gradually adapting to his chakra pathways.

He hadn't yet properly released the Earth Flash technique, but even this basic control was already helping him considerably.

Just then, he heard soft footsteps behind him.

Shin-getsu didn't turn around.

"Senior Tekka?"

"Yeah."

Tekka walked into the yard with a small lamp in his hand.

"The clan head asked me to tell you about Shinsuke."

"Was there something wrong with him?"

Tekka nodded.

"There's a serious problem."

"That kid had an emergency Communication Talisman on him. This wasn't his first time."

"And we found two things at his residence."

"One was an old Root sealing needle."

"The other was a torn-off page from an unsigned mission report."

Shin-getsu's eyes shifted slightly.

"What did the page say?"

Tekka handed him a sealed sheet of paper.

Only half the contents remained.

"Target: continue stirring up discontent within the clan, with a focus on influencing Shin-getsu..."

The words after that had been soaked through and were unreadable.

But those first few words were already enough.

Shin-getsu stared at the line, his gaze turning cold.

"As I thought."