Campfire Talk

It was late at night.

In the border forest camp, most of the shinobi had already turned in. The occasional footsteps of patrols mingled with the crackling of wood in the bonfires.

The Fourth Hokage's temporary tent was brightly lit.

Minato Namikaze wasn't sitting in the seat of honor. Instead, he sat cross-legged beside a brazier, holding an iron kettle and brewing tea.

"Have a seat, Xuan Shi."

Minato gestured to the cushion across from him, his tone as casual as if he were welcoming a neighbor into his home. "There's no Hokage here, just two shinobi worrying about the village."

Xuan Shi bowed slightly, took off his shoes, and sat down across from Minato.

"Thanks to you, we made it through the day."

Minato poured Xuan Shi a cup of steaming tea. "Kakashi... Ever since what happened to Obito and Rin, he's had too much on his mind. He's always acting rashly on the battlefield, as if he's seeking some kind of release."

Xuan Shi accepted the teacup with both hands, feeling its warmth against his palms.

"Kakashi is a genius," Xuan Shi said softly. "He's just carrying too much. Sometimes, the living suffer more than the dead."

He raised his head and met Minato's clear gaze.

"It's the same for us Uchiha. We've been living under the shadow of 'that man,' and it's exhausting."

That man.

Madara Uchiha.

Minato's hand paused slightly as he poured the tea. He looked at Xuan Shi in surprise.

In Konoha, the Uchiha Clan usually avoided speaking Madara's name, treating it almost as taboo. Few Uchiha would bring up his name in front of a Hokage of their own accord, let alone speak of him so openly.

"A shadow..." Minato set down the teapot, his gaze growing distant. "It's true. Madara left deep scars on the village, so everyone remains wary of the Sharingan."

"But I don't see it that way." Minato looked at Xuan Shi. "Power itself is neither good nor evil. What matters is how it's used. Today's battle proved that the Uchiha's power is a blade that protects Konoha."

"Thank you for trusting us." Xuan Shi took a sip of tea.

He'd laid enough groundwork. Now it was time to get to the point.

"Lord Hokage." Xuan Shi set down his teacup and leaned forward slightly. "You asked me earlier what I thought of Cloud Village's movements."

"Go on," Minato said with a nod.

"I think... it's too deliberate."

Xuan Shi traced a line across the tabletop with his finger.

"Cloud Village may be warlike, but the Raikage isn't a fool. Sending a few vanguard units to their deaths at a time like this has no strategic value beyond provoking Konoha."

"Unless..." Xuan Shi paused, lowering his voice. "It's covering up something. Or, rather, someone wants to draw Konoha's main forces away from the village—especially you."

Minato's gaze instantly sharpened.

A diversion.

He'd considered the possibility himself, but had never found solid evidence.

"What do you think their target is?" Minato asked.

"The Uchiha's sensory barrier recently picked up some... strange spatial fluctuations near the Naka River."

Xuan Shi dropped his first bombshell.

Of course, it was a lie. But he was confident he could make Minato believe it.

"The fluctuations were extremely faint and didn't match any known jutsu from the Five Great Nations. It was as if... something could ignore barriers and pass directly through space like a ghost."

"Space-Time Ninjutsu?"

As a user of the Flying Thunder God, Minato was highly sensitive to the term.

In the entire Shinobi World, only a handful of people could wield Space-Time Ninjutsu. If someone really could come and go as they pleased, ignoring Konoha's sensory barrier...

Minato's expression grew grave.

"If someone like that really exists, and they mean Konoha harm," Xuan Shi continued, guiding him along, "when would they choose to strike?"

He looked at Minato and spoke slowly, word by word:

"Probably... when the seal is at its weakest."

Click.

The teacup in Minato's hand tapped lightly against the tabletop with a crisp sound. A few drops of tea splashed onto the map.

Kushina's due date.

It was one of Konoha's highest secrets, known only to the Third Hokage, Minato, and a handful of senior Anbu.

But Xuan Shi had guessed it.

And his reasoning made perfect sense.

"You mean..." Minato's voice sounded a little hoarse. "Someone's after the Nine-Tails?"

"The Uchiha don't want to repeat Madara's mistakes."

Rather than answer directly, Xuan Shi offered an even stronger assurance.

"It's a fact that the Sharingan can control the Nine-Tails, and it's the Uchiha's original sin. If someone really tries to undo the Nine-Tails' seal and control it to attack the village, the Uchiha Clan will be the prime suspects."

"To clear our name, and to protect the village..."

Xuan Shi stared straight into Minato's eyes, his gaze burning with conviction.

"The Uchiha are willing to be the first blade to cut down that hidden hand."

"If a 'Masked Man' like that really exists, whoever he is, the Uchiha will make him pay."

Silence settled over the tent.

Only the occasional soft crackle of charcoal sounded from the brazier.

Minato studied the boy before him.

Logic told him that a fifteen-year-old couldn't possibly know so much. But instinct—the instinct he'd honed through countless brushes with death—told him Xuan Shi was telling the truth.

That worry, that hatred for the "Masked Man," wasn't an act.

After a long while,

Minato took a deep breath, as if he'd made up his mind.

He reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out an oddly shaped kunai.

It was shaped like a trident, with special paper wrapped around the handle. Four tiny characters were engraved on it: "Sword of Shinobi Love."

A Flying Thunder God Kunai.

It was the fastest marker in the Shinobi World, and a symbol of the Yellow Flash's power to deter the nations.

Minato solemnly placed the kunai on the table and slid it toward Xuan Shi.

"Xuan Shi."

Minato's voice grew gentle and earnest.

"This information is too important. If an enemy like that really exists, the Anbu alone may not be able to stop them. Besides... you're right. If the Nine-Tails really goes berserk, the Uchiha will face a massive crisis of trust."

"I don't want to see that happen."

Minato looked at Xuan Shi, his eyes filled with trust and a sense of responsibility.

"Keep this kunai safe. It's more than a weapon. It's a promise."

"If the Uchiha discover that person's whereabouts, or something happens in the village... channel your chakra into it."

Minato pointed to the formula engraved on the kunai.

"No matter where I am, no matter what I'm doing..."

"I'll come at once."

Xuan Shi reached out and gripped the cold kunai.

The moment his fingertips touched the paper, he seemed to feel the young Hokage's burning resolve to protect the village.

The gears of history finally locked into place at that moment.

The isolated Uchiha and the Fourth Hokage, whose death had once seemed inevitable, forged an alliance bound by life and death through that kunai.

"I understand."

Xuan Shi carefully tucked the kunai against his chest.

"Rest assured, Lord Hokage."

"The Uchiha's eyes will see everything in the darkness for you."