The strategist's reverse deduction: a fatal overcomplication

Shikaku Nara's brow furrowed.

The answer did not sit well with him. He still could not quite accept it.

That said.

He also knew, deep down, that Kazama Nara had a point.

Konoha had never truly cared about these hastily assembled teams sent out as cannon fodder.

To put it plainly.

The whole purpose of teams like these was to throw lives into the grinder, replacing one dead batch with another until the enemy's fighting strength was exhausted.

To put it brutally, these people were expendable.

With things already like that.

Who higher up would care whether the members of a team were close?

And therein lay the problem.

For people with no real ties to one another, even lending a little help on the battlefield was more than anyone could reasonably hope for.

Expecting anything beyond that was pure fantasy.

Their teammates did not even qualify as ordinary friends. There was no attachment whatsoever; they had only been brought together for a mission.

None of them trusted the others, and they all kept their guard up.

And he expected Jin Uchiha to bare his heart to Kazama?

What a load of crap.

Ah.

Once Shikaku Nara had thought it through, all he could do was shake his head with a bitter smile.

After a brief pause, he lowered his voice and spoke.

"All right, I understand."

"It's not a problem. There'll be opportunities later."

"The members of your new team have been decided. You'll still be paired with Jin Uchiha, but your leader will be replaced by an Uchiha prodigy. Shisui will be your captain."

"This time, someone from the Hyuga Clan will be joining you too."

"See what that means?"

"Unlike those suicide squads from before, this reorganized team will be a proper Vanguard Team."

"Elite teams take on dangerous assignments. You can't manage without teammates you can trust with your life."

"Kazama, you need to take this seriously."

"You must get to the bottom of that boy's secrets for me. If you succeed, the clan will credit you with an A-rank mission."

Kazama sucked in a breath.

After hearing that, Kazama Nara felt cold air rush straight down his throat.

Yes.

This time, he really was not acting.

For the life of him, he could not understand what unspeakable thing Jin Uchiha had done.

What could have made his clan uncle fixate on this so relentlessly?

No. This absolutely could not go on.

As soon as he got back, he had to get to the bottom of it and find a way to resolve things.

Otherwise.

With his clan uncle constantly scrutinizing them, how were they supposed to move their grand plan forward?

He did not believe that he and Jin Uchiha could build up their own power base right under his clan uncle's nose.

His thoughts churned as he let out a long breath.

Kazama Nara put on a look of barely contained delight, even adding a slight tremor of excitement to his voice.

"Got it. I understand."

"Don't worry, Uncle. I'll get it done."

Kazama Nara looked utterly earnest, his gaze never wavering.

He did not thump his chest and make any grander promises. Members of the Nara Clan never did that sort of thing.

Overacting would only expose him.

This was just the right amount.

And in fact, that really was the case.

Only after hearing his response did Shikaku Nara finally show a hint of a smile and nod.

Afterward.

The two chatted about a few other things before he waved Kazama Nara out.

Inside Team Seven's tent.

Jin Uchiha leaned against his bunk, his thoughts spinning endlessly.

Why was Shikaku Nara so determined to keep an eye on him?

The tent was utterly silent.

Shin Kudo had already left to meet his new teammates.

Unless the war ended, the two of them probably would not see each other again.

What could he say?

He could only blame his rotten luck for landing him in the Elite Team.

What fucking awful luck.

Kazama Nara was not in the tent either.

Jin Uchiha figured Shikaku Nara had probably summoned him.

That was not a bad thing.

Once Kazama returned, he could ask him about it face-to-face.

For tangled matters like these, he really needed Kazama's brains.

It was exhausting.

Even after living two lives, there were still things he could not figure out.

Time ticked by.

About two hours later, Kazama Nara lifted the tent flap and walked in.

Jin Uchiha sprang up from his bunk.

First, he listened carefully for any sounds around the tent. Only after confirming that nobody was outside did he lower his voice.

"Kazama, you just went to see Shikaku Nara, right?"

Kazama Nara nodded.

He also discreetly activated his clan's Shadow Techniques to check their surroundings before lowering his voice and asking gravely.

"Jin."

"We're in this together, so I'm going to ask you straight."

"What exactly did you do to make my clan uncle take such an interest in you?"

"Do you have any idea?"

"He keeps telling me to dig up your secrets. If I can do it, he's willing to credit me with an A-rank mission from the clan."

"You need to give me the truth. We have to think this through together."

"We absolutely cannot let my clan uncle keep watching us like this. If he keeps us under constant scrutiny, we won't be able to accomplish a single thing."

"You have no idea how sharp my clan uncle is. If he really fixes his eyes on us, the tiniest move we make will let him see right through us."

"When it comes to brains, he's among the very best."

The corner of Jin Uchiha's mouth twitched hard twice.

He had truly not expected Kazama Nara to spill everything before he even had a chance to speak.

The problem was, he was just as confused himself.

It would have been fine if he knew what was going on, but he did not.

Ah.

He sighed, his face full of misery, and shook his head.

"I honestly don't know." Jin Uchiha collected his thoughts and continued, "The only time I ever met your clan uncle was when those three members of the Uchiha Clan died."

Hearing that, Kazama Nara urged him, "Tell me what happened in detail. The more detail, the better. I need the whole truth before I can work backward."

Jin Uchiha nodded.

On reflection, it was not much of a secret anyway. After a moment's consideration, he laid everything out.

He told Kazama everything he knew, leaving nothing out and holding nothing back.

Then.

He looked at Kazama Nara, eager to see just how capable this strategist of his really was.

Kazama did not keep him waiting.

Almost in the blink of an eye, Kazama Nara spoke.

"Now I understand."

"Jin, that move was unnecessary. Killing three Uchiha was one thing, but why did you have to leave a Kumogakure corpse there?"

"The more you do, the more openings you leave."

"If you'd simply walked away back then, there would have been fewer loose ends. Even if a few things about you didn't add up, nobody would actually have taken you seriously."

"Because at that point, nobody knew what you were capable of."

"In the end, the whole thing would most likely have been left unresolved."

"With only three Uchiha dead, Konoha wouldn't have bothered putting in the effort."

"But now it's different."

"That Kumogakure corpse you left behind has enormous implications."

"From what I can tell, that corpse must have come from Kumogakure's attempt to abduct Kushina two years ago."

"And who is Kushina? The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki."

"When a jinchūriki is involved, no amount of caution is excessive. They can't afford even the slightest mistake."

"I suspect that's the real reason my clan uncle refuses to stop watching you."

"Three Uchiha died, and that could have been the end of it."

"But once there's any connection to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, they have to investigate it down to the very last detail."