Haruma's cottage.
"You're sending me to be Danzo's bodyguard? Aren't you afraid I won't be able to stop myself from attacking him on the way?"
Fugaku looked at Haruma resentfully. "Why not give this mission to Shisui instead?"
Haruma toyed with the solid-gold kunai in his hand and said lazily, "Shisui isn't suitable."
"That Sharingan under Danzo's bandages might react somehow when Shisui gets close."
"If Danzo notices, we'll have to fight him right away."
Yawning, Haruma continued, "It wouldn't be hard to kill him now, but at least let this brother of mine squeeze out the rest of his value!"
"Besides, what you'll be doing hardly counts as protecting him."
"Just stay hidden and watch Danzo's every move. If there's danger, help if you can. If you really can't, just retreat!"
"Those two from Root have marks I placed on them. Carry the gold kunai, and as long as you don't get too far away, you'll always be able to sense their location."
"That good brother of mine definitely won't just let things go and slink away with his tail between his legs."
"If we keep tabs on their intelligence from the shadows, I won't have to waste my ocular power watching their petty little tricks."
At this point, Haruma raised his voice. "Besides! My good brother hasn't paid me back yet! It's not time for him to die!"
Fugaku looked disdainful. "Danzo really is lucky to have you as a brother."
"Of course!"
Haruma was no longer sleepy when this came up. "If you think being my brother would be better, you can sign one too!"
"Oh, give it a rest!"
Fugaku rolled his eyes and snapped, "Forgot who helped you make that stack of IOUs?"
"I made those things myself, with all those layers of hidden clauses, and you want me to sign one?"
"Tch!"
Over the past few days, Fugaku had been busy controlling people to copy those secret techniques. Haruma found it a hassle, so he had Fugaku make and copy a full thousand of these along with them.
Unfortunately, he couldn't add another brother!
Looking at the shameless man before him, Fugaku couldn't help complaining, "Scam outsiders all you like, but don't drag our own people into it!"
Thinking of the interest and repayment dates on those slips made Fugaku shudder a little.
Sign the IOU yourself, become a wandering immortal of the Shinobi World!
Press your handprint down lightly, say goodbye to your brother!
With an IOU like that, coupled with Haruma's attitude of caring about money rather than people...
Fugaku had no doubt that, after someone was tricked into signing one, if they dared not repay it...
The spark that ignited the Fourth Shinobi World War might just appear.
In a small tribal settlement not far from Konoha.
Danzo, Yamanaka Fū, and Aburame Torune gathered in a dark room.
After hearing his subordinate's report, a trace of killing intent flashed through Danzo's eyes.
"That man was probably behind the strange events during this period."
"From exposing the human experiments, to stealing Konoha's secret techniques and framing me, and finally slaughtering the Anbu during the prison break."
"He's forcing me to break with Sarutobi!"
After hearing this, Yamanaka Fū hurriedly dropped to one knee. "Forgive us, my lord! We only wanted to break you out as quickly as possible, so we left quite a few traces of our involvement."
"It doesn't matter."
Danzo's tone was icy. "Even if you hadn't acted, as long as I walked out of that prison..."
"Sarutobi would still conclude that this man had an extraordinary relationship with me."
"The traces you two left merely added another layer of evidence."
At this point, a hint of confusion flashed through Danzo's eyes. "But if he was behind all of it, what about the Wood Release?"
"Could he be a descendant of the Senju Clan left outside the clan back then?"
"Or does he also have the First's cells, and has even managed to figure them out?"
Connecting all the clues, Danzo had come as close to the truth as his analysis allowed. He simply couldn't figure out how the man could use Wood Release.
Aburame Torune stepped forward from the side and asked, "My lord, since we know this man framed you, are we still going to cooperate with him?"
Danzo pondered for a moment before saying coldly, "For now, pretend we know nothing."
"Let that rat feel pleased with himself for a while. We still need his strength right now."
"He actually dared to use me like this. I'll settle that score later."
Afterward, they continued analyzing Haruma's strength. None of them mentioned the IOU.
After all, in Danzo's eyes, that thing was nothing more than a blank sheet of paper. He had no intention of repaying it whatsoever.
Seven days passed in a flash.
The earlier upheavals gradually subsided over the course of that week.
Fugaku's home.
In the clan leader's office, Fugaku lounged comfortably in his chair, both feet propped on the desk.
The pile of clan documents on the desktop, along with some Police Force materials, happened to serve as a soft footrest.
Knock, knock, knock.
Fugaku opened his eyes slightly and said casually, "Come in."
Dressed in casual clothes, Mikoto entered carrying a cup of hot tea, then reached back and shut the door firmly.
"With this many documents, you should at least deal with some of them," Mikoto said in a hushed voice as she set the cup down.
Fugaku yawned. "It's fine, Sis Mikoto. Nobody's nearby. You can speak normally."
Hearing this, Mikoto pulled over a nearby chair and sat down, her voice returning to normal.
"You haven't dealt with quite a few clan matters, and you've hardly visited the Police Force lately."
"Won't this raise suspicions?"
Haruma, who was impersonating Fugaku with the Substitution Technique, said calmly, "Don't worry, Sis Mikoto."
"After what happened with Itachi, nobody will think anything's wrong if I recuperate at home for a while."
"After all, Itachi, who did something so cruel, is my own son!"
Mikoto rolled her eyes at that.
That brat Haruma just loved taking verbal liberties.
If Itachi's his own son now, what does that make me?
Mikoto glanced at the pile of documents beneath Haruma's feet and said with some concern, "Why not handle some of them anyway? Otherwise, Fugaku will probably have to work for several days straight when he gets back."
"Stop worrying, Sis Mikoto. What's there to deal with?"
Haruma lowered his legs and said leisurely, "Now that the Hawk Faction is gone, the clan doesn't have as many troublesome matters as you imagine."
"As for the village Police Force's documents..."
"It's a mixed outfit with all sorts of people, good and bad. Every day brings endless petty nonsense. You could never finish dealing with it all."
"Just let their respective clans play among themselves. No need to interfere. Giving them the cold shoulder is the best approach."
"They're only submitting these documents to follow procedure. If I actually interfered, they'd be unhappy about it."
Looking at Haruma, so young yet so mature, Mikoto momentarily went into a daze.
"Sis Mikoto? Sis Mikoto?"
Seeing Mikoto staring straight at him in a daze, Haruma was rather baffled too.
Don't tempt me into committing a crime. My surname isn't Cao!
Besides, committing a crime with this face...
Hmm...
Hmm...
That really would be far too exciting!
"Huh?"
Coming back to her senses, Mikoto let out a startled cry, her face instantly turning red.
"What were you thinking about, Sis Mikoto? You were so absorbed."
Mikoto turned to look out the window, occasionally stealing glances at Haruma from the corner of her eye, looking as though she found something difficult to say.
No way. No way!
That expression, those movements!
Could Sis Mikoto really...
Ah!
It's all the fault of this handsome face of mine, second only to those of our esteemed readers!
Brother Fugaku, how am I supposed to explain this to you?
Haruma looked troubled, his thoughts tugging back and forth.
Her pretty face slightly flushed, Mikoto said softly and somewhat bashfully, "Itachi really is rather like you, Haruma. Just as precocious."
"Acting like an adult at such a young age, and doing things every bit as well as grown-ups."
Haruma: "???"