Interception

Just as ninja villages produced rogue ninja, every faction had, to some extent, people whose views ran contrary to the mainstream. Konoha was no exception, nor was the Uchiha Clan.

Not every Uchiha supported the coup, and not every Uchiha wished to leave Konoha. Before the fighting began, Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan head, had arranged for a group of people to be sent out of Konoha as seeds for the future in case the coup failed. The operation had been subtle enough to evade Konoha without the aid of the Byakugan, but it had not escaped the notice of others within the Uchiha District.

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

Their thoughts were difficult to fathom. Some of those who chose to stay in the Uchiha District were Fugaku's most loyal followers, convinced that the Uchiha coup would succeed. More were simply clinging to hope, believing that even if the coup failed, the kindly Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would not do anything to ordinary Uchiha like them...

However, after the Nine-Tails appeared and Hiruzen went to restrain it, the battle within the Uchiha District had fallen under the command of Shimura Danzō and his Root. And Danzo was a staunch advocate of wiping out the Uchiha Clan.

Thus, although the fighting within the district continued and the Uchiha Clan still resisted stubbornly, the brutality of the battle had risen by more than one level. Root was different from ANBU. In their eyes, the enemy was not merely the Uchiha ninja, but every unarmed member of the Uchiha Clan as well.

A dark alley.

A long blade came down. Blood sprayed into the air. The man screamed and fell.

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

"Run!"

The little girl was pushed several meters away. She turned around blankly, staring at her father lying on the ground and the two Root ninja beside him, their blade tips still dripping with blood.

Fear, hatred, rage.

For a moment, countless complicated emotions spread through her heart. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes. Her once-black eyes began to transform, two tiny tomoe orbiting the pupil at their center like satellites.

The little girl gritted her teeth, memorized the figures of the two ANBU ninja, wiped away her tears, and turned to run!

"She awakened the Sharingan at a time like this..." One Root ninja sounded somewhat surprised, then shook his head.

Unfortunately, it was useless.

Just as he was about to give chase, the girl's father suddenly clutched his legs tightly. He was only an ordinary Uchiha clansman, a seller of dango. He was not a ninja and did not possess the Sharingan. The red in his eyes was only bloodshot veins revealed by the swelling in his injured face.

The man wept as he begged:

"Please... spare my daughter!"

"She's only five years old. 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 fell silent. The Root ninja tried to kick him away, but even dead, the man still clung tightly to him. Shaking his head, he crouched down and pried the man's hands apart while saying to his companion beside him:

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

"She awakened the Sharingan."

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

"Alright." Firefly nodded.

Because Ning Qi was always appearing and disappearing unpredictably, even Danzo did not know when or where he would show up. The members of Ning Qi's squad had therefore been split up and temporarily assigned to other squads.

Firefly followed the girl's escape route. Since the trail was far too obvious, she quickly found her target.

"Come out. I'll make it quick."

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

Bang!

The sound of a window breaking came from the restroom. Firefly pushed open the door and found it empty. Looking down through the window, she saw the girl still running desperately through the alley.

Firefly shook her head and leaped down.

The girl turned around 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 far end of the alley.

"Captain Ning Qi?"

Her tone rose slightly.

"Firefly..." Ning Qi seemed somewhat surprised. He pointed at the girl before him and asked, "So, she's your prey?"

"Yes." Firefly nodded.

"Then what are you hesitating for?"

Firefly's grip on her sword tightened. She then stepped forward, dodged the kunai the girl threw at her, and cut off her head with a single stroke. She removed the pair of Sharingan and placed them into a prepared storage container.

"Is that all you got?" Ning Qi asked, his gaze falling on Firefly's somewhat deflated waist pouch. There should only have been two or three pairs of Sharingan stored inside.

Given her strength, there should not have been so few.

"I gave the rest to the squad captain," Firefly explained. She had 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, why had she been assigned to another squad captain?

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

Although she did not know what Ning Qi intended to do, she did not refuse her former superior's request. She led Ning Qi 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! Are you going to steal my Sharingan too?"

Ning Qi narrowed his eyes and stared at the letter.

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

"By order of the Lord Hokage, I am here to recover these Sharingan. I hope you will not make this difficult for me," Ning Qi said flatly. Danzo could not exactly go confirm it with Sarutobi now. As long as he could get his hands on the Sharingan, he could say whatever he wanted.

"You're 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 routinely fought each other, and cases of them slaughtering one another over missions were countless. Danzo had even once sent Root ninja to assassinate Sarutobi.

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

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

He looked at Firefly, who had stood by without reacting, and said, "Give me yours too."

Firefly handed over the three pairs of Sharingan she had collected.

"Captain Ning Qi, how... how did you suddenly become Lord 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 before gathering her courage. "I want to work for Lord Hokage too. I want to continue being your subordinate!"

Clearly, she had been considering this ever since Ning Qi met her squad captain.

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

"Then keep getting stronger. Changing your fate is something you have to fight for yourself. As you are now, you're not qualified."

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

Nor qualified to become Ning Qi's subordinate.

That was the cruel reality.

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

The Hokage, or Ning Qi?

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

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

Firefly watched Ning Qi's departing back.

Behind her mask, Firefly's eyes gradually dimmed.

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