"Do you think Kenta-kun can succeed?"
On the way back to the Konoha Security Department, Hyuga Aya glanced sideways at Uchiha Kai, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
She hadn't said a word during Kai's earlier conversation with Imai Kenta—opting instead to quietly observe. But she'd learned more than she'd expected in the silence.
It wasn't surprising that Kai wanted to push Orochimaru out of the shadows. Not really. After all, any blow to the Third Hokage's faction would strengthen Kai's political maneuvering.
Back before the Fourth Hokage had taken office, Kai had deliberately used Orochimaru's activities to build pressure. No concrete result had come of it then, but once Minato Namikaze assumed power, the matter had been conveniently buried. Public discourse shifted away from Orochimaru entirely, refocusing on the hopeful future under the Fourth.
Aya didn't believe that shift was natural. Someone had clearly pulled the strings.
Even if Orochimaru had left the village officially, his legacy didn't just vanish. And now, Aya was less interested in that legacy and more in Imai Kenta's role in it. Would that man really be able to sway the elders of his clan?
"I don't know. Honestly, it doesn't matter to me whether he succeeds."
Uchiha Kai's voice was calm and dismissive. "He's the one seeking deeper cooperation. Not me. We'll have our answer tomorrow. No point worrying."
Aya smiled. "Right. Tomorrow it is."
Her tone was casual, but her thoughts were far more reflective.
Back then, their team had been all but written off—a doomed trio assigned a suicide mission during the war. Kai, Kenta, and herself. They'd survived. Barely.
They'd started out mistrusting each other. Sometimes, even hoping the others would be the ones to die. But the Kannabi Bridge mission had forced them to rely on one another.
It hadn't made them friends. Not then.
Later, during their second mission in the Land of Grass, that tenuous relationship had nearly shattered.
Kai, ever calculating, had even considered splitting the team permanently—targeting Kenta for recruitment and Aya for elimination or containment.
But things hadn't gone as planned.
Instead, Aya had stumbled onto one of Kai's secrets—something about his Sharingan, something he hadn't intended anyone to see.
That knowledge, combined with her quiet disdain for the rigid Hyuga clan and her longing for freedom, had led to a new dynamic. A relationship forged not in friendship, but mutual necessity.
Still, it worked.
Now, Imai Kenta—once the outsider, the so-called civilian tagalong—was becoming more entangled in their affairs.
Kai had given him a challenge, though. His conditions were steep, and Aya doubted the Senju elders would agree easily. Especially the final demand—research notes on the Sharingan, compiled from Senju records.
Aya raised an eyebrow as she recalled that. Senju clan notes on the Uchiha's bloodline limit? Kai's nerve really has no ceiling.
It hadn't stopped there. Kai had also offered a cell sample—one he claimed wasn't from Orochimaru's lab. But Aya had her suspicions.
When Kenta left their meeting, his face had been grim.
"You're wondering if I shouldn't have shared my experiment with him?" Kai asked suddenly, glancing at her.
Aya shrugged. "That's up to you. But I figure you wanted to give him something to work toward—motivation. It's the First Hokage's cells, after all."
Kai said nothing, but she could sense his agreement.
Kenta would know, sooner or later, that others were pursuing similar forbidden research. Kai was making a statement: You're not the only one moving forward. Choose your allies wisely.
By the time Kenta caught up, Kai and Aya's work might be complete. There'd be nothing left to take.
"But will he even get to see the source of that sample?" Aya asked lightly, her tone teasing.
Kai smiled faintly. "Who knows? Maybe tonight. Maybe in a few months."
He looked ahead, his expression unreadable.
Obito Uchiha... I haven't changed anything. Just waited. Don't disappoint me.
Kenta Imai Confronts Senju Shojin
"You dare—how dare you!"
Inside a modest home in the civilian quarter of Konoha, Senju Shojin's voice thundered with rage.
Imai Kenta stood silently before him, head bowed.
He wasn't ashamed, though. Not really. He'd expected this reaction.
After leaving the tense meeting with Kai and Aya, he had returned home and laid everything before Shojin.
Uchiha Kai's demands were outrageous.
Expanding the Security Department's authority? Manageable.
Public cooperation with Uchiha research? Risky but tolerable.
But the third demand? A report compiled from Senju Tobirama's research on the Sharingan?
That was pushing it too far.
Kai had hit the mark. The best information about the Uchiha had always been hidden in the files of their oldest enemies—the Senju themselves.
Kenta had read many of Tobirama's restricted scrolls himself. The man had loathed the Uchiha, but he'd studied them obsessively, producing a wealth of material on their chakra structure, ocular evolution, and potential for madness.
And now, Uchiha Kai wanted it all.
What infuriated Shojin wasn't just that Kenta had entertained the offer—it was that he hadn't said anything earlier.
"Why now, Kenta? Why didn't you bring this to me earlier?"
"Because I couldn't be sure. And because I wasn't sure if Kai was lying."
Kenta's voice was calm.
"But now I am. The list he gave me matches up with missing persons reports. No names, but the data lines up. Even if Minato gave him the intel, it doesn't change the facts."
Shojin trembled with fury. "So now we have to bow to him?"
"We don't have to bow," Kenta said. "But we do have to choose. If we want influence, we play the game. Kai already has the upper hand. He's Security Chief. We're… legacy."
Shojin clenched his fists. His breathing slowed.
Legacy.
That's all the Senju had become.
Uchiha Kai was bold. Dangerous. But also necessary. If they didn't adapt now, they'd lose all relevance.
After a long silence, Shojin spoke.
"The Senju once cooperated with the Uchiha for peace. We'll do it again… for survival. But remember this, Kenta—
never forget your name. You are Senju. Your real name is Kenta Senju."
"Understood." Kenta's bow was deep. Respectful.
But inside, something twisted in him.
Senju? Uchiha? Konoha?
He didn't know what he belonged to anymore.
The world had gotten too small. And far too narrow.