Intercepting

Just as rogue ninja appeared even in ninja villages, every faction had people who opposed the mainstream to some extent. Konoha was no exception, nor was the Uchiha Clan.

Not every Uchiha supported the coup, nor did every Uchiha wish to leave Konoha. Before the war began, Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan leader, had arranged for a group of people to be sent out of Konoha as seeds in case the coup failed. The operation was small enough to evade Konoha, which lacked the support of the Byakugan, but it did not escape the notice of others within the Uchiha District.

Some people had sent their families away before dawn, but more remained unmoved.

Their mindsets were difficult to grasp. Some who chose to stay in the Uchiha District were Fugaku's diehard loyalists, convinced that the Uchiha coup would succeed. More were simply clinging to luck, believing that even if the coup failed, the kind Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would not do anything to ordinary Uchiha like them...

But after the Nine-Tails appeared, Sarutobi had gone to restrain it, and command over the fighting within the Uchiha District had fallen to Danzo Shimura and the Root under his command. Danzo, however, was a firm advocate of wiping out the Uchiha Clan.

Because of that, although the battle in the district continued and the Uchiha Clan still resisted tenaciously, the brutality of the fighting had risen by far more than one level. Root was different from ANBU. In their eyes, the enemy was not merely the Uchiha ninja, but every unarmed Uchiha clansman as well.

In a dark alley.

A long blade came down. Blood sprayed, and the man screamed as he collapsed.

Before falling, he shoved his daughter from his arms with all his strength and shouted:

"Run!"

The little girl was thrown several meters away. She turned around blankly, staring at her father lying on the ground and the two Root ninja beside him, whose blades still dripped blood.

Fear, hatred, rage.

Countless complicated emotions spread through her heart. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes as her originally black eyes began to change. Two tiny tomoe, like satellites, revolved around her pupils.

The little girl gritted her teeth, imprinting the figures of the two ANBU ninja in her mind. Then she wiped away her tears, turned, and ran!

"She awakened her eyes at a time like this..." One of the Root ninja was somewhat surprised, then shook his head.

Unfortunately, it was useless.

Just as he was about to give chase, the girl's father suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around his legs. He was only an ordinary Uchiha clansman, selling three-color dango for a living. He was not a ninja and had no Sharingan. The red in his eyes was merely bloodshot from the swelling in his injured face.

The man wept and begged:

"Please... spare my daughter!"

"She's only five. She doesn't know anything..."

"Pfft."

It was the sound of a long blade piercing the man's head.

With that single strike, the man instantly fell silent. The Root ninja tried to kick him away, but even after dying, the man still clung to him tightly. He shook his head, crouched down to pry open the man's hands with force, and said to his companion beside him:

"Firefly, go after her. If we wait any longer, that girl will get too far away."

"She awakened the Sharingan."

Firefly understood what he was implying. It was not that those who had not awakened the Sharingan could be spared. Rather, Danzo's assessment criteria for this mission were based on the number of Sharingan each squad obtained. The little girl they let escape might very well be intercepted by Root ninja from another squad.

"Alright." Firefly nodded.

Because Ning Qi was always so elusive that even Danzo did not know when or where he would appear, the members of Ning Qi's squad had been split up and temporarily assigned to other squads.

Firefly followed the route the girl had taken. Since the trail was so obvious, she quickly found her.

"Come out. I'll give you a quick death."

She entered an empty restaurant and spoke toward the restroom with its tightly shut door.

Bang!

The sound of a window breaking came from inside the restroom. Firefly pushed open the door and entered, only to find it empty. Looking down through the window, she saw the girl still fleeing desperately through the alley.

Firefly shook her head and leaped down.

The girl turned into a corner. When Firefly caught up, the girl was standing in the middle of the alley, looking ahead and behind her with despair on her face.

Firefly's gaze passed over the girl and landed on the person standing at the end of the alley.

"Captain Ning Qi?"

Her tone rose slightly.

"Firefly..." Ning Qi looked somewhat surprised. He pointed at the girl before him and asked, "So, is this your prey?"

"Yes." Firefly nodded.

"Then what are you hesitating for?"

Firefly's grip on her blade tightened. She stepped forward, dodged the kunai the girl threw at her, and cut off her head in one stroke. Then she removed the pair of Sharingan and placed them in a prepared storage container.

"Is that all you got?" Ning Qi asked, his gaze falling on Firefly's somewhat deflated waist pouch. It probably contained only two or three pairs of Sharingan.

Given her strength, that should not have been the case.

"I gave the rest to the squad captain," Firefly explained. She also noticed Ning Qi's bulging waist pouch and asked in confusion, "Captain Ning Qi, are you carrying out this mission too?"

If Ning Qi was also carrying out the mission, then why had she been assigned to another squad captain?

"Me? Hmm... yes. Where is your captain? Take me to see him." Ning Qi suggested.

Though she did not know what Ning Qi intended, she did not refuse her former superior. She led him to the squad captain, who was reading a message.

"Ning Qi?" The squad captain looked at the message, then at Ning Qi before him, then back at the message.

—Then he drew his long blade.

"Ning Qi! You want to steal even my Sharingan?"

Ning Qi narrowed his eyes and stared at the letter.

He had only just arrived and had only stolen two pairs. Word had already spread everywhere?

"By the Hokage's order, I am reclaiming these Sharingan. I hope you do not make this difficult for me," Ning Qi said calmly. Danzo could not possibly seek confirmation from Sarutobi now. As long as he could get his hands on the Sharingan, he could say whatever he wanted.

"You are a Root ninja!" The squad captain reminded Ning Qi through gritted teeth.

"Not anymore." Ning Qi shook his head and drew the short blade at his waist.

ANBU and Root bickered constantly, and there had been countless instances of them killing one another over missions. Danzo had even once sent Root ninja to assassinate Sarutobi.

Ning Qi claimed to be acting under the Hokage's orders while obstructing Danzo's plans. They had already torn away all pretense, their positions completely opposed. Since both wanted the Sharingan, there was nothing left to say. They would settle it with their blades.

Three minutes later, Ning Qi looked down at the Root ninja lying on the ground, removed his waist pouch, and tied it around his own waist.

He glanced at Firefly, who had remained unmoved at the side, and said, "Give me yours too."

So Firefly handed over the three pairs of Sharingan she had obtained.

"Captain Ning Qi, how did you... how did you suddenly become the Hokage's subordinate?" Seeing that he was about to leave, Firefly hurriedly asked.

"What are you trying to say?" Ning Qi glanced at her.

"I... can I... can I follow you?" Firefly chose her words carefully, then gathered her courage and asked, "I want to work for the Hokage too. I want to keep being your subordinate!"

Obviously, she had been thinking about this ever since Ning Qi met her squad captain.

Ning Qi smiled faintly and patted her shoulder. As he turned to leave, his voice stretched through the alley:

"Then keep getting stronger. Changing your fate requires fighting for it yourself. You are not qualified yet."

Not qualified enough for the Hokage to lower his pride and demand her from Danzo.

Nor qualified enough to become Ning Qi's subordinate.

That was the cruel reality.

Ning Qi had already wrested his fate back from the main family, while Firefly was still far from even seeing herself clearly.

The Hokage, or Ning Qi?

She did not know that these were actually two entirely different choices.

And because of her strength, both choices would reject her.

She watched Ning Qi's departing back.

Behind her mask, Firefly's eyes gradually grew desolate.

The next chapter probably will not be out until eleven. Everyone, get some sleep early.