Setsuna's Plan

Time flowed especially slowly inside Uchiha Setsuna's home.

After seeing Shaoyu and the others off, he didn't rest. He simply sat motionless before the stone table, his cloudy eyes shifting between the heavy darkness outside the window and the spot where Shaoyu had just been sitting. His fingers absently traced the rim of the cold teacup.

The room still seemed to hold the young people's resolute, burning spirit. Now, only he remained, accompanied by endless silence.

He was calculating the time.

The length of the secret passage, the group's pace, the minor delays they might encounter, the precise moment they would need to leave Konoha's barrier...

He went over every detail repeatedly in his mind.

This old man had lived through the end of the Warring States period, witnessed Konoha's founding, and endured decades of factional strife within the clan and pressure from Konoha. Now, he devoted all the patience and cunning he had accumulated in his life to securing the most precious "time advantage" for that flock of fledglings leaving the nest.

"It's been almost two hours..."

He murmured to himself, his voice barely audible in the empty stone house.

By his estimate, three hours would be enough for Shaoyu and the others to make their way through the secret passage and get far from Konoha's central area. They might even have already slipped into the rugged forests along the Land of Fire's border.

Once they reached that point, it would become exponentially more difficult for Konoha to pinpoint their location and intercept them.

It was time.

He couldn't wait any longer.

With every passing moment, the chances increased that someone in the clan would discover Lianhuo and the others were missing, or that a patrol would notice something amiss.

He had to take the initiative and bring the "defection" into the open in a way that worked to Shaoyu and the others' advantage.

At the same time, he had to completely distance himself from the role of "accomplice" and even... play the "victim" and "loyalist." Only then could he preserve some room to maneuver and some channels of information in Konoha's treacherous waters, for the Uchiha and perhaps for Shaoyu and the others on their long journey.

Uchiha Setsuna's gaze gradually grew resolute.

He slowly rose and walked to the corner of the stone house, where a clay water jar used for watering flowers sat.

He lifted the jar and, without hesitation, smashed it hard against his temple!

"Thud!"

The impact sounded dull.

The jar shattered, splashing cold well water and a few shards of pottery over him.

A sharp pain lanced through his temple. Warm liquid trickled down his aged cheek. Blood.

He controlled the force carefully. The wound wasn't deep, but it looked alarming enough.

Then he staggered a few steps and deliberately knocked over a wooden rack beside the stone table. Old scrolls and objects clattered to the floor, creating clear signs of a struggle.

He tore at his sleeve and rolled on the ground, smearing dust and blood across his once-neat clothes.

Finally, he chose a spot near the doorway where he would be easy to spot from outside, and collapsed onto the floor. He closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing until it became faint and erratic, as if he had been gravely wounded and lost consciousness.

He made sure the wound on his temple continued to seep blood slowly, staining a small patch of the cold floor dark red.

When he had finished, he lay perfectly still, as if truly unconscious. Only his chest rose and fell almost imperceptibly. All that remained was to wait.

He didn't have to wait long.

Perhaps someone had heard the faint noises from inside the stone house. Perhaps it was simply time for a routine inspection or delivery.

Less than three minutes after he had "passed out," cautious footsteps and a low call came from outside.

"Elder Setsuna? Are you there? I've brought tonight's patrol report..."

The visitor was a young Chunin in charge of miscellaneous duties within the clan. He wasn't one of Setsuna's trusted inner circle, but his position gave him access to the elders.

There was no reply.

The young man called out twice more. When he sensed something was wrong, he hesitated, then gently pushed open the stone door, which hadn't been locked from the inside.

Moonlight mingled with the corridor's lamplight as it spilled into the room, illuminating the wrecked floor, the overturned rack, the shattered clay jar, and... Elder Uchiha Setsuna, lying unconscious in a pool of blood!

"E-Elder Setsuna!"

The young Chunin went pale with shock and rushed inside. He frantically tried to examine the elder, but didn't dare move him.

He saw the wound on the elder's temple, his disheveled clothes, and the signs of a struggle around him... This was clearly the scene of an attack!

"Someone! Help! Elder Setsuna has been attacked!!!" His shrill, terrified cry instantly shattered the relative quiet of the Uchiha Compound at night.

The alarm was raised.

The first to arrive were Uchiha clan members from nearby, followed by members of the Uchiha Military Police Force who had heard the news. Soon, the clan's leaders, including its head, Uchiha Tiandao, and several powerful elders, arrived at the wrecked stone house, their expressions grave.

A medical ninja, one of Setsuna's trusted followers, quickly examined the unconscious elder and administered first aid.

The wound was bandaged, and his vital signs were checked. Though weak, they were stable.

As everyone waited anxiously and pressed him for answers, the young Chunin who had discovered the scene stammered out what he had seen.

"When I came in... it was already like this... The elder... he'd lost so much blood... It looked like someone had fought here..."

Uchiha Tiandao furrowed his brow, his sharp gaze sweeping over every detail of the room.

The signs of a struggle were obvious, but it didn't seem to have been particularly fierce. It looked more like one side had been caught off guard or quickly subdued by a much stronger opponent.

Nothing of value seemed to be missing... Was Elder Setsuna himself the target? Why?

Just then, members of the Military Police Force who were inspecting the room and searching for clues made a discovery.

"Clan head! Elders!"

A Jonin approached, his face extremely grim.

"While gathering everyone, we discovered that many young ninjas are missing from the clan—about a dozen. They're all promising members of the younger generation. Among them are Uchiha Shaoyu, Uchiha Lianhuo... and Uchiha Shisui..."

"What?!" "Shaoyu?!" "Shisui, too?!"

The stone house erupted in an uproar. Those missing were all exceptional members of the clan's younger generation. Most were dissatisfied with the status quo and had been labeled as "Hawk Faction" members or potential threats!

Uchiha Tiandao's face instantly darkened. He abruptly turned toward Uchiha Setsuna, who had just been roused with Medical Ninjutsu by the medical ninja and was weakly catching his breath.

"Elder Setsuna!"

Tiandao's voice was urgent, his anger tightly restrained.

"What happened? Who attacked you? What's going on with Shaoyu and the others?!"

Uchiha Setsuna struggled to open his cloudy eyes. His expression was full of "shock," "grief," and "weakness."

He parted his lips as if every word cost him dearly, then rasped out, his voice full of "anger" and "disbelief":

"It was... it was Shaoyu... that wretch!"