Land of Fire.
Konoha, under an enchanting night sky.
After a busy day, Uchiha Cong was still bursting with energy, as though he had been pumped full of stimulants.
Life had been going so well for him lately that he was practically riding high on success.
First, he had beaten the Raikage senseless at noon and, thanks to his captain, successfully awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Then he had been promoted to squad leader.
Now, even when he ran into Deputy Captain Uchiha Shanyue in the Konoha Military Police Force, the man had to politely call him "Brother Cong"!
In a word: awesome!
Granted, the Mangekyō's side effects were pretty severe, leaving his steps unsteady, his back aching, and his legs weak.
But none of that mattered!
Humming some nameless tune, Uchiha Cong smiled as he toyed with a little glass medicine bottle.
Inside, a thick pink liquid flowed slowly in the moonlight, exuding an eerie allure.
He had spent a fortune to get this top-quality stuff from a black-market pharmacy.
It was called "Divine Water," supposedly indispensable for restoring a man's virility and taking on all comers in bed.
To afford this bottle, he had even swallowed his pride and borrowed a considerable sum from Deputy Captain Uchiha Shanyang to make up the difference.
Tonight, he was determined to show Xiaohong, the brothel's star attraction, what a truly iron-blooded tough guy was.
Even if his body was weak now, he absolutely could not forget his sacred duty as a police officer!
Namely, sparing no effort to support the brothel's revenue!
After all, Konoha's pleasure district was the biggest payer of protection money within the police force's jurisdiction. Since the boys took their money, going there a few extra times in private to stimulate the economy was a perfectly reasonable win-win.
"I hear this stuff packs one hell of a punch. It's way better than those cheap potency pills."
Uchiha Cong happily shook the little bottle.
The pharmacist had thumped his chest and guaranteed that rubbing just a few drops onto his hands before getting down to business would instantly awaken both partners' most primitive hidden urges. The effects would be immediate, with pleasure guaranteed to send them over the edge.
Of course, this sort of aphrodisiac potion was basically useless against high-level ninja.
After all, ninja faced the threat of covert poisoning at any moment during missions. Once they noticed anything wrong with their bodies, they only needed to mold chakra and circulate it through their bodies to neutralize the drug, much like dispelling ordinary genjutsu.
But if both parties were willing, and even actively cooperated in using it, this little potion's potency would be downright explosive.
"Should I use two drops later, or just pour out half the bottle...?"
Uchiha Cong strolled down the street, rubbing his chin as he seriously weighed his options.
Whoosh!
While he was pondering the dosage, a dark figure suddenly descended from above and landed squarely in front of him.
"Holy shit!"
Lost in his fantasies, Uchiha Cong shuddered in fright, his hand jerking violently.
"Uchiha Cong, Lord Hokage orders you to go to his residence immediately and wait. He has important confidential matters to discuss with you."
The Anbu ninja wearing an animal mask issued the order in a cold, businesslike voice.
"The Hokage wants me? I don't have fucking time..."
Furious, Uchiha Cong was about to refuse when he glanced down and instantly froze.
The Anbu's sudden appearance had startled him into instinctively squeezing the medicine bottle, popping the stopper right off.
And that wasn't even the worst part.
Every last drop of the precious pink Divine Water had now spilled onto his right hand!
It's over!
All that money I borrowed, down the drain!
Uchiha Cong's heart bled. He nearly flew into a rage on the spot.
He stared fixedly at the masked Anbu before him, his expression shifting darkly.
If he hadn't wanted to spend the walk figuring out how to get this bastard back with a sneaky blow, he would have refused outright.
"Fine. Lead the way!"
Uchiha Cong suppressed his fury, plotting how to smear the potion on the Anbu and make him thoroughly humiliate himself in the street.
However, the Anbu leading the way was extremely vigilant and maintained a safe distance from Uchiha Cong throughout.
Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the gates of Hiruzen Sarutobi's residence.
"Lord Hokage will be here shortly. Go in yourself."
The Anbu ninja coldly left him with those words, then vanished with a Body Flicker Technique, giving Uchiha Cong no chance to approach.
Fuck!
His plan to sabotage the man had completely fallen through.
Uchiha Cong stood at the courtyard gate, grinding his teeth.
He had planned to enjoy a pleasant evening at the brothel. Now, not only had he spilled his potion, but he had also been dragged to the Hokage's home.
What the hell was this?!
"Who's outside?"
Just then, someone pulled the courtyard gate open from within.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's wife, Biwako Sarutobi, came out with a coat draped over her shoulders, looking puzzled.
Because of the butterfly effect caused by Xuanye's transmigration, Kushina hadn't asked Biwako to help deliver her baby back then. As a result, the Hokage's wife had fortunately escaped her fatal encounter during the Nine-Tails' Rampage and survived to this day.
"You're... from the Uchiha Clan? Here to see Hiruzen?"
Although Biwako ordinarily stayed out of political affairs, she was the Hokage's wife, after all, and recognized the fan-shaped clan crest on Uchiha Cong's clothes at a glance.
Why would Hiruzen send someone to bring an Uchiha clansman to the house in the middle of the night?
"Don't stand out there. Come in and wait."
Despite her doubts, Biwako stepped halfway aside and politely invited him in.
But was Uchiha Cong the sort of person who would casually betray his organization?
He had only followed the Anbu here in the middle of the night to find a chance for revenge.
As Captain Xuanye's most loyal henchman, how could he meet privately with the Third Hokage late at night?
If word reached his captain, he wouldn't be able to explain himself even if his entire body were covered in mouths!
He had no desire to lose his bright future in the police force over something so stupid.
So, faced with the Hokage's wife's invitation, Uchiha Cong raised his potion-covered right hand without a second thought, waved it vigorously twice in front of Biwako, and righteously refused:
"Nope!"
"No need to go inside. I'll just wait here..."
Before he could finish, his voice caught in his throat. His eyes widened like saucers as he stared at Biwako's face.
He had waved a little too broadly when refusing her just now.
A crystal-clear drop of pink liquid had flown off his finger and landed directly beneath Biwako's nose!
"All right. Suit yourself."
Biwako yawned indifferently, then gave a sharp sniff.
Slurp.
Just like that, the powerful drop of pink Divine Water traveled through her nasal passage and was quite naturally drawn into the Hokage's wife's stomach.
Holy shit!
It's over!
It's over, it's over!
Lord Hokage was going to be utterly drained tonight!
Could the Third's old bones, already halfway into the grave, withstand such a ferocious drug?!
Scared out of his wits and terrified of being implicated when the potion took effect, Uchiha Cong hastily retreated three or four steps as though he had seen a ghost.
Why back away so far?
Was this old woman that frightening?
Biwako gave him a baffled look and shook her head. Not bothering with this twitchy Uchiha clansman, she turned and went back into the courtyard.
But Uchiha Cong had no idea that tonight's melodrama had only just begun.
In a dark alley less than a street away from the Sarutobi residence.
A Root ninja knelt on one knee, rapidly reporting to a figure in the darkness.
"You're certain that Uchiha Cong entered Sarutobi's courtyard?"
Leaning on his cane, Shimura Danzō's lone eye gleamed with a cold, sinister light.
"I saw it with my own eyes. However, the Third Hokage appears to still be handling official business and has not returned home yet," the Root ninja answered respectfully.
Excellent!
Good thing I had the foresight to have people secretly keep close tabs on Sarutobi's movements!
Danzo nodded in satisfaction.
As long as Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't made personal contact with Uchiha Cong yet, he still had a chance to snatch him away first!
Moreover, he was one hundred percent confident he could spirit Uchiha Cong out of the Sarutobi home without anyone noticing.
After all, the only person in Sarutobi's house right now was Biwako, an old woman too weak to truss a chicken.
Admittedly, in his youthful days decades ago, Shimura Danzō had passionately pursued the young and beautiful Biwako. Sometimes, in the dead of night, he still reminisced about those passionate days they had spent together in a little grove beneath the flowers and moonlight.
But they were all getting on in years. For the sake of supreme power in Konoha, he, Shimura Danzō, would never again concern himself with that insignificant old affection!
With that thought, Danzo straightened his clothes and strode toward the Sarutobi compound.
"Who's there?"
Meanwhile.
Made exceptionally cautious by the Anbu's sudden appearance earlier, Uchiha Cong was crouching beside a pond in a corner of the Sarutobi courtyard, desperately washing the potion residue off his right hand with cold water.
Completely ignoring the ornamental carp that had begun thrashing wildly and biting one another after coming into contact with the potion, he quickly rolled away and hid behind a thick tree.
What's this scheming old bastard doing here?
Recognizing the visitor, Uchiha Cong looked utterly bewildered.
Shimura Danzō had actually come knocking on the Hokage's door in the middle of the night?
Knock, knock, knock.
Without any attempt at concealment, Danzo knocked directly on the Sarutobi family's gate.
The gate creaked open.
"You?"
Biwako was the one who answered.
But something was clearly off about the Hokage's wife now.
Her aged face was flushed crimson, her breathing rapid, and two blazing flames seemed to burn in her hazy eyes.
As he grew older, Hiruzen Sarutobi had indeed become increasingly unable to perform in certain respects.
He also frequently stayed out all night handling his duties as Hokage. Left alone in an empty bedroom year after year, Biwako had long since accumulated a bellyful of pent-up frustration.
The moment she inhaled that drop of potent black-market special, it went straight to her head, instantly bringing the old tree's withered roots bursting back into spring!
"I came to see Saru-"
Danzo kept a stern face and was about to explain why he had come.
But before he could finish, a fragrant breeze suddenly rushed at him, and Biwako threw her arms around him!
"Danzo..."
Biwako clung tightly to Danzo's neck, her voice trembling with sweetness. "Brother Zang..."
Brother Zang?!
Hearing that intimate nickname again after decades, Danzo shuddered violently, his lone eye suddenly widening.
Those youthful days, sealed deep within his memories, surged madly into his heart like a tide.
"Biwako... what are you...?"
Though Danzo voiced objections, his body remained rooted to the spot, showing no intention of pushing her away.
As the saying went, women were wolves at thirty and tigers at forty. Now that Biwako had reached an age where she could suck the earth dry sitting down, how could she have any patience for polite chatter?
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't manage it. Since you, Shimura Danzō, had delivered yourself to my door tonight, I was damn well going to have a taste!
She gave Danzo no chance to change his mind.
Biwako abruptly exerted her strength with both hands and hauled the half-resisting, half-willing Danzo into the house like a sack, slamming the door shut with a bang.
"Holy shit..."
Hidden behind the tree, Uchiha Cong watched, dumbstruck.
He had just washed his hands clean by the pond and was preparing to make himself scarce, only to turn around and witness a staggering scandal worthy of being called the biggest scoop in the shinobi world!
Uchiha Cong stood frozen for a full half minute before finally managing to swallow.
He reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out a miniature digital camera he normally used to collect evidence.
He glanced at the camera in his hand, already on standby, then turned to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi's figure hurrying home from the far end of the distant street.
A sudden gleam of realization flashed through Uchiha Cong's eyes.
No wonder...
No wonder Lord Hokage's eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, looked nothing like the Third!
He'd been getting cuckolded for decades!
Before you continue