China's Past

"Bastard!"

"Is that any way to talk to your big brother?"

Uchiha Yoru held China's little hand.

"You were lying to him, weren't you? Even if he'd taken Haku away, no one would have hunted him down!" China said.

"Kirigakure was still recovering from the Fourth Mizukage's rampage! Who had time to chase Zabuza?"

"The Shinobi World was huge. Zabuza could have found somewhere quiet to hide, and no one would have come after him."

"And if Zabuza went back to Kirigakure on his own, I bet they'd treat him pretty well!"

A lot had changed, after all.

"How do you know so much?" Uchiha Yoru asked in surprise.

"Konoha's Intelligence Division should tighten its security. Even I managed to sneak in!" China said with a disdainful look.

"In case you treated me badly, I lined up somewhere else to go. Aside from that unlucky Raikage everyone's targeting, I've made myself known in all the other villages. So you get it, right? Be nicer to me, or I'm gone!" China pulled out a lollipop and spoke as she ate it.

Uchiha Yoru snatched it from her, heedless of the saliva on it.

"That only works in theory. Who knows if you could actually pull it off? And the Intelligence Division's security is already good enough. You're just too much of a freak to blame them!"

"If you left, that wouldn't be so bad. I'd have one less thing to worry about!"

"And no one to share my good food and fun stuff with!"

"This is way too sweet. Watch out for cavities!"

Uchiha Yoru crunched the candy between his teeth and swallowed it.

"Hmph. Big liar!"

An Anbu operative dropped to one knee before Uchiha Yoru. "Something's happened. Lord Hokage wants to discuss it with you!"

"All right!"

"I'm off! If you want to go out, I promise no one will dare stop you!"

Uchiha Yoru said goodbye and vanished in an instant.

Watching him go, China muttered, "Liar, liar, big liar! All you ever do is play with people's feelings!"

That guy had everyone figured out. He knew she wouldn't leave, and he knew how Zabuza felt about Haku. When it came to playing with people's hearts, no one was better than Uchiha Yoru.

He understood what went on in anyone's mind better than anyone else.

Take her clansmen. He had talked every last one of them into coming to Konoha, and they were delighted, convinced they'd gotten a great deal.

Little did they know that Uchiha Yoru simply feared the Chinoike Clan would fall into someone else's hands. That would be a huge threat to Konoha.

So he had appealed to the clan's desire to leave the harsh Hell Valley and live better lives, offering them generous benefits to move to Konoha.

China had seen right through it. She had even wanted to expose the truth, so she found Uchiha Yoru in the middle of the night and denounced what he had done.

After all, if he really wanted what was best for the Chinoike Clan, he could have simply set them free. Why make them move to Konoha?

She was sure that once she exposed the bastard, he would fly into a rage and retaliate!

"I, China, am willing to give my life for the freedom of the Chinoike Clan!"

China waited to be killed, hoping her death would open her clan's eyes.

"Then that guy went and did something like that!"

He brought out a fascinating little toy for her to play with! Then came those delicious Potato Chips, Happy Fat Man Water, and little packs of Mushroom Beef!

She had caved!

Everyone in the Chinoike Clan, don't blame me. It was just too delicious!

From that day on, her thinking changed. If Konoha treated her clansmen badly, she would steal a mountain of snacks and leave with the Chinoike Clan.

After all, she was the only one in the clan who had awakened the legendary Kekkei Genkai! It was her duty to lead the Chinoike Clan away and find the home they dreamed of!

But things seemed pretty good! Her clansmen were all happy with life in Konoha!

China still thought that guy had to be up to no good, though. She sneaked in at night and tried to use her Kekkei Genkai to force the truth out of him.

Instead, he caught her at once and blindfolded her.

"Your mother already told me you'd awakened your Kekkei Genkai!"

My own mother betrayed me.

China was devastated. All she could do was stay by Uchiha Yoru's side until she found something to use against him.

But lately, she had been startled to realize she couldn't leave him anymore. No—that she couldn't leave Konoha. How was she supposed to live without all that good food and those Game Consoles?

"That devil!"

That was what China had always called him in her heart!

I might as well stay here. I'll never get away from you in this lifetime, you big bully! I'll eat you into bankruptcy!

Uchiha Yoru, of course, had no idea what was going through China's mind.

He followed the Anbu operative to the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage!"

Uchiha Yoru spoke with utmost respect.

"Quit fooling around. Something serious really has happened!" Uchiha Itachi said, caught between laughter and exasperation.

"All right, Itachi!"

"What happened? Is it Konoha?"

"Not Konoha. The Raikage and Kazekage, after they left," Uchiha Itachi said gravely.

"Didn't they spend a few days enjoying Konoha before they headed out?" Uchiha Yoru asked.

"The Raikage is recuperating in Konoha Hospital. The Kazekage and Yugito, Kumogakure's Jinchūriki, are missing and may be dead!"

Every one of the escorts had sustained injuries of varying severity.

According to the Kazekage's sister, the attackers all wore Akatsuki cloaks and appeared to belong to the same organization.

"The attackers included Hiruko, Shisui Uchiha, Deidara, Kisame Hoshigaki, and an old man with a hunched back and a raspy voice!"

"It must be Akatsuki. Their targets are the Jinchūriki!" Uchiha Itachi said.

Akatsuki? I never thought I'd be the hunter caught off guard by his own prey. They moved so fast! Uchiha Yoru thought.

He had assumed Akatsuki would sit tight until Naruto returned. Instead, they had thrown out the playbook, beaten four Kage, and taken both Jinchūriki.

They had picked their moment well!

He had let the events of the original story lead him astray.

"Are you listening to me?"

"I'm listening!"

"What should we do?" Uchiha Itachi asked.

"You're the Hokage, and you're asking me?" Uchiha Yoru gave him an odd look.

"Shisui must have sent intelligence too, right?"

"Ten Kage Level members, with their base in Amegakure," Uchiha Itachi said.

"I think we should summon the other Kage for a meeting, find an opportunity to destroy Amegakure, and send a squad to look for Gaara!" Uchiha Itachi said.

Are you an Akatsuki mole? All Pain has to do is show up and hit a village with "A bag of rice must carry how many floors," and that village is done for. And then there's that Masked Man who appears out of nowhere. Want to bet he'll drop by at night to have a real heart-to-heart with you?

But Uchiha Yoru couldn't say any of that! What would he do if Itachi asked how he knew so much?

Itachi's plan made sense from his point of view. Why not strike straight at their base and finish it in one blow?

But he had no idea how far apart their strengths were.

What Uchiha Itachi was actually thinking right then was, What's "a bag of rice must carry how many floors" supposed to mean?

"Konoha already stands out too much. What if they force Shisui to do something? If the others put pressure on us, will Konoha go along with it or not?"

"Let's keep the intelligence to ourselves for now," Uchiha Yoru said.

Itachi wouldn't want to make his best friend a target, would he?

Uchiha Itachi nodded and agreed. As far as he was concerned, Uchiha Yoru had never made a wrong call.