The Sky-High Bounty

"I..." Kakashi opened his mouth, but something seemed to block his throat.

What could he say? That he had never suspected a thing?

That the eye had given him the name Copy Ninja and a heavy burden, but had never shown any sign that its original owner might still be alive?

That the teammate who had given him hope when he had none left was the enemy who had destroyed Konoha and killed his teacher Minato?

He looked at the four senior officials scrutinizing him, suspicion in their eyes, and felt a chill seep through his bones.

This was more than questioning. He was being forced to face a horrifying possibility he could never accept, yet could not completely refute.

"I don't know!" Kakashi finally said, his voice low and hoarse with pain and confusion.

"If... if it's true, then I..." He could say no more. He clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had watched Kakashi in silence. The shock, pain, and confusion in Kakashi's eye were genuine. He could not have been pretending.

Hiruzen sighed, and smoke spread through the room once more.

"Kakashi," Hiruzen said, his tone softer but still grave, "we need to know everything. Every last detail."

"This isn't just about the truth of what happened. Konoha's future safety is at stake."

"The man bearing Obito Uchiha's name and power is extremely dangerous. And you may be the person who knows his past best."

Kakashi Hatake slowly raised his head. The usual indolence had vanished from his visible right eye, replaced by deep hurt and the look of a man on the verge of breaking.

He felt as though he had returned to that rainy night, to the moment he had lost everyone who mattered to him.

Then Hiruzen Sarutobi announced in a solemn voice, "Kakashi, effective immediately, you are relieved of all duties until ANBU has investigated everything."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi's voice was barely audible. "I'll tell you everything I know."

Two ANBU appeared and followed Kakashi out of the Hokage's Office.

Utatane Koharu watched them leave and sighed. "Hiruzen, what are we going to do about Obito Uchiha?"

Before Koharu's words had settled, Danzo's cold voice rose again with a decisive proposal:

"Hiruzen, no matter how unbelievable the truth may be, the threat has been confirmed."

"I propose that we immediately issue an S-rank missing-nin bounty notice for Obito Uchiha, with the reward set at the highest level. Dead or alive. We must eliminate this threat before he causes any more destruction."

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent for a long while. At last, he struck his pipe against the ashtray with a sharp, final tap.

"Agreed. Draft the order immediately. And as of now, remove Obito Uchiha from the Memorial Stone." His voice was filled with helplessness and resolve.

The next morning, ninjas and civilians crowded around Konoha's mission notice board.

A fresh bounty notice bearing a prominent "S" and an enormous reward had been posted in the center. The name and portraits on it caused an uproar.

"Uchiha... Obito?" A middle-aged Chunin scratched his head, baffled. "The mysterious man on the Canopy Screen? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

A young Genin beside him cried out, "Ah! Isn't that the name on the Memorial Stone? I heard he was the Fourth Hokage's student, a hero who died saving a comrade!"

"A hero?" another voice retorted sharply, fear in it. "Look closely! It says he controlled the Nine-Tails! He got the Fourth Hokage and all those other people killed!"

"That can't be right! How could he still be alive? And he was an Uchiha!" The crowd erupted, arguments and questions mingling with frightened whispers.

Not far away, an animal-masked ANBU member silently appeared on a nearby rooftop. He watched the commotion below with cold eyes, recording the crowd's reactions.

The awkward part was that no one had seen Obito Uchiha's face as an adult, so the notice had to use a childhood portrait alongside his masked appearance from the Canopy Screen.

When Hyuga Xiu saw the astronomical bounty notice, he stroked his chin.

You could say this bounty notice is the first major event I've set off in the Shinobi World!

Now that the fire's burning, all I need to do is keep feeding it, on the Canopy Screen and in reality.

Kumogakure — the Raikage's Office. Fourth Raikage A smashed his fist through the desk before him, sending splinters flying.

"Bastard! What did you say?! The one behind the Nine-Tails incident was some Konoha brat who died years ago?!"

His roar made the windows rattle.

His secretary Mabui calmly adjusted her glasses and read from the intelligence scroll in her hands. "Yes, Lord Raikage. Konoha has just issued an S-rank bounty notice. The reward is absurdly high."

"The intelligence has undergone preliminary verification. It's fairly credible."

"Uchiha. Sharingan!" Killer B stood to one side, unusually solemn and not rapping. "Bro, eyes that can control the Nine-Tails are serious trouble~ Yeah!"

Darui's eyelids drooped as he sighed. "That makes things even more troublesome, Boss."

"If the Sharingan really has that kind of power, we'll have to reassess Konoha's threat level."

"And that enormous reward will probably draw plenty of flies with no regard for their lives."

The Raikage's chest heaved. "Get the intelligence division on a full analysis, now! I want to know everything about Obito Uchiha and the Mangekyō Sharingan!"

"And keep a close watch on the Black Market and the Bounty Station! We cannot let that power fall into a madman's hands!"

"One more thing!" The Raikage's tone turned dark. "If necessary, we can 'help' hunt him down."

Iwagakure — the Tsuchikage's Office. Ōnoki floated in midair, frowning at the document in his hands.

"Obito Uchiha?" he murmured. "Never heard the name. Are we sure this isn't a smoke screen from Konoha? Or one of Shimura Danzō's schemes?"

Kurotsuchi leaned over to take a look. "Gramps, that reward really is huge! But controlling the Nine-Tails sounds even wilder than Deidara's art!"

Akatsuchi said guilelessly from the side, "Lord Tsuchikage, do we need to act?"

Ōnoki snorted. "Act? Why would we get mixed up in Konoha's mess? If that Uchiha brat really can do all that, let them deal with the headache!"

"But..." A sharp glint appeared in his eyes. "Tell our agents in the Land of Fire to watch closely for any related intelligence, especially anything about those eyes."

"And have the demolition unit analyze what really happened during the Kannabi Bridge mission. Konoha putting out an astronomical bounty at a time like this... interesting!"