A Ninja's Probe

The night was thick as ink.

Lin Feng darted through the alleyways of the Uchiha Clan Grounds, circling and turning, using the shadows beneath eaves and the corners piled with debris as footholds.

He deliberately slowed down twice, even lingering behind an old locust tree for nearly half a minute.

There was no sound behind him. No footsteps. No breathing.

Only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

After confirming that he had completely shaken off any possible watchers, Lin Feng vaulted over the western outer wall of the clan grounds and raced along the ridges between fields toward the entrance to Konoha's back mountain.

The moonlight was sparse, and visibility was poor.

By the time he reached the outskirts of the hidden cave, his heart was still pounding, and a thin layer of sweat coated his back.

Most of the rocks at the cave entrance were covered in moss. Unless someone came specifically looking for it, they would never notice the waist-high crack there.

Lin Feng stopped three meters away.

Rather than approach the entrance directly, he first drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Tonight's wind blows south."

This was the first half of the code phrase he had written on the back of the note to confirm their identities.

After two seconds of silence inside the cave, a gentle yet clear voice replied, "The maple leaves on the back mountain have yet to turn red."

It matched.

Lin Feng loosened his fingers slightly around the kunai's handle, but he did not let go completely.

A figure slowly stepped out from the shadows of the cave entrance. The moonlight barely illuminated his face—Uchiha Shisui.

Short black hair, gentle eyes, and the faintest trace of a smile on his lips.

Shisui was not wearing a Security Force uniform. Instead, he wore an ordinary dark gray robe, with nothing hanging from his waist. He looked like someone who had merely come out for a nighttime stroll.

Lin Feng studied Shisui, and Shisui studied him in return.

"Let's talk inside." Shisui stepped aside from the entrance. "Sound doesn't carry as easily here."

Lin Feng nodded and followed him, ducking into the cave.

The passage at the entrance was narrow enough that they had to turn sideways to pass through. Only after walking seven or eight meters inward did the space widen slightly, barely enough for them to stand straight and speak.

Water droplets seeped down the cave walls, and the air smelled of damp earth.

Shisui took a small explosive tag casing from his robe. After tearing it open, he revealed a thin candle rolled inside, lit it, and fixed it to the cave wall. Its dim yellow glow covered less than two meters around them.

"Were you followed on your way here?" Shisui's voice was soft, yet clear enough to sound as if he were speaking beside Lin Feng's ear.

"No. I circled around three times and stopped behind the locust tree twice. No one was there." Lin Feng answered decisively. "Why did you ask me to meet you?"

Shisui fell silent for two seconds, his gaze landing on Lin Feng's eyes.

Their outlines were hard to make out in the darkness, but Shisui knew they were Sharingan that had only recently awakened.

"I'll be direct." Shisui's tone was calm, but every word carried a heavy weight. "The eldest brother has met with the Hokage aide several times lately. Some people in the Security Force have been privately complaining that the clan head is too stubborn."

Lin Feng's brow instantly furrowed.

The Hokage aide?

That was someone from Konoha's innermost circle of power, not someone ordinary jonin or squad leaders could casually approach.

"The Hokage aide?" Lin Feng repeated in a low voice. "That means going around Clan Head Fugaku directly... What do you think they want?"

"What they want isn't important." Shisui's gaze did not shift. "What's important is that some people in the clan are willing to let them do it."

Lin Feng's heart sank sharply.

The implication was too obvious—members of the Uchiha Clan had already begun secretly seeking outside help, extending olive branches to Konoha's upper ranks, and openly expressing dissatisfaction with the current clan head's direction.

This was no longer just an internal clan conflict.

It was the precursor to a split, the hidden spark of civil war.

"How did you get this information?" Lin Feng stared at Shisui, his tone carrying a trace of wary verification. "It's not that I don't trust you, but information on this level..."

"I have my own eyes." Shisui smiled faintly. There was no pride in that smile, only weariness. "Half the Security Force's squad captains graduated with me. Some of them will tell me the truth in private."

Lin Feng fell silent for a moment.

That explanation fit Shisui's character—he had many friends and was well-liked. His information network did not run on harsh methods, but on trust and bonds.

"Thank you for being honest." Lin Feng nodded solemnly, his tone easing somewhat. "I have something on my end too. It may be heading in the same direction as what you told me today."

Shisui's eyes narrowed slightly.

He did not urge him on. He simply waited quietly for Lin Feng to continue.

Lin Feng did not beat around the bush either. He lowered his voice slightly. "You should know about my visit to Naka Shrine last time."

"I know." Shisui's tone immediately became complicated. "Root has already set its sights on you."

The instant those words left his mouth, the hairs on the back of Lin Feng's neck stood up.

Root?

The independent Anbu organization directly under Danzo, completely outside the Third Hokage's authority, infamous for its absolute secrecy and ruthlessness?

"Though they didn't catch you in the act," Shisui continued, lowering his voice further, "someone in the Third's Anbu recognized your silhouette. The information passed through several hands before reaching me, but it is absolutely reliable."

Lin Feng's fingers clenched unconsciously.

His trip to Naka Shrine had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. He had not scouted the place beforehand, nor had he told anyone. Yet he had still been noticed.

Konoha's surveillance network was denser than he had imagined.

"Looks like I need to be even more careful." Lin Feng drew a deep breath and looked straight into Shisui's eyes. "How did you find out?"

"I know someone in the Anbu." Shisui did not hide it, and his frank tone was somewhat surprising. "Don't misunderstand. He isn't one of my informants. We carried out missions together a long time ago, and he owes me his life. This time, he warned me on his own. He said a young member of the Uchiha Clan had entered the shrine, and they were investigating it."

Lin Feng slowly let out a breath, and the line of vigilance in his mind loosened slightly.

Shisui's stance was clear—rather than conceal his source, he was using this honesty to earn Lin Feng's trust.

"Then I'll be a little honest too." Lin Feng lowered his voice and slowed his speech, ensuring every word reached Shisui's ears. "I deciphered a fragment of damaged text on the stone tablet. It seems to point to the evolution of the Sharingan."

Shisui's pupils suddenly contracted.

That fleeting reaction, nearly impossible to catch, was seen clearly by Lin Feng.

"Does it require the ocular power of a companion?" Shisui's voice tightened in a rare show of tension. "Or... an even crueler price?"

Lin Feng did not answer immediately. Instead, he first assessed Shisui's current state.

The shock in his eyes was real. The urgency in his voice was real. But hidden within that urgency was not greed, but—concern.

Like someone hearing confirmation of something he had feared all along.

"I haven't fully deciphered it." Lin Feng chose a middle-ground answer. "That section was badly worn away. I can only vaguely judge that for the Sharingan to evolve again, some sort of price must be paid. And that price..."

He paused for a beat.

"Most likely has something to do with someone close to you."

The air abruptly fell silent.

The candle flame flickered, and the glow on the cave walls swayed faintly with it.

Shisui lowered his head, his gaze falling on his clasped fingers. He remained silent for the span of five full breaths.

"You saw deeper than I did." Shisui finally spoke, his voice much lower. "Even the clan head rarely mentions that part. There are indeed legends of the Mangekyo Sharingan among the clan's ancient taboos, but the price... no one is willing to discuss it openly."

Lin Feng's eyes brightened slightly.

Mangekyo Sharingan—he knew the term clearly from memories of his previous life, but hearing it from Shisui gave it a different weight.

It was a taboo that true members of the Uchiha Clan had contemplated before the stone tablet, hesitated over, and ultimately chosen to remain silent about.

"So we found the same direction." Lin Feng continued along that line. "What is written on the tablet truly is a power that can only be gained through sacrifice."

Shisui raised his head and looked deeply at Lin Feng.

For an instant, there was relief in his eyes, as though he had found someone who could share the burden of his secret.

"Next time, we'll talk somewhere else." Shisui's voice returned to calm, but there was noticeably more warmth in his tone. "Deep in the Forest of Death, beside the dead tree at the entrance to Area Three. Seven days from now, at dusk."

He paused, then added, "Root will have difficulty setting up surveillance there, and I need to confirm some things as well."

Lin Feng nodded almost without hesitation.

"I'll be there on time."

After a brief pause, he added, "But you'd better avoid standing out too much these next few days. After the Security Force adjusts its patrol routes, they may find something to use against you."

Shisui froze slightly, then revealed a warm, faint smile.

"You even looked into that?"

"If we're going to cooperate, we have to account for both our lives." Lin Feng's reply was neither arrogant nor servile.

Shisui nodded, his gaze turning solemn in the dim candlelight.

"Remember, go out as little as possible lately, especially at night."

As he spoke, his tone suddenly became exceedingly soft and heavy.

"Someone is already watching you—not necessarily Root. It could also be the clan's radicals."

Lin Feng silently clenched his fist.

He could feel the weight of those words.

This was no longer a probe, no longer an exchange of information, but a warning.

A sincere warning from a potential ally.

"I understand." Lin Feng took a deep breath and looked up at Shisui. "Thank you, Senior Shisui."

Shisui said nothing more. He simply stepped aside from the passage.

"You go first. I'll cover the rear."

Lin Feng did not waste words. He ducked through the passage and paused for a second at the cave entrance. Only after confirming that there was still nothing outside but wind and insect calls did he silently vanish into the night.

He did not return directly to the clan grounds. Instead, he took a more secluded mountain path, circling for nearly fifteen minutes before climbing over the wall back into Uchiha territory.

After landing, he turned back and listened carefully for another twenty seconds.

No footsteps following him.

No concealed breathing.

Safe.

Inside the cave, Shisui stood alone, watching the candle burn down to its last bit of wick.

He reached out and pinched out the flame, and the cave sank back into complete darkness.

Then he murmured something only he could hear.

"So... you saw it too."

Lin Feng's footsteps grew faster and faster in the night.

What he held in his hands was a newly woven intelligence network, a secret line of contact, and a potential high-level ally.

But pressing down on his shoulders was an even heavier shadow—the clan's division, Root's surveillance, and the stone tablet's taboo.

The wind howled between the eaves.

Lin Feng climbed through the window, gently shut the wooden frame, and sat down against the wall.

He closed his eyes and sorted through the key points of everything he had learned tonight.

What he had seen in Shisui's eyes was not merely goodwill.

There was hesitation too.

Shisui knew the taboo written on the stone tablet, but he had not yet made his final decision.

And the only thing Lin Feng could do was make himself strong enough before that thread was completely snapped.

The night was deep.

Lin Feng opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the ceiling beam.

He spoke softly.

"Seven days. The Forest of Death."