The last words Aburame Ryōma heard before losing consciousness echoed in his ears like a cruel joke: "Indulge in the illusion of Chicken Mud Taimē." Then the world slipped away.
When Ryōma finally came to, the one responsible for his plight stood before him with an almost casual expression: Uchiha Yato. A faint smirk touched Yato's lips as he relaxed his stance—Ryōma was trapped in the illusion, and for now the threat had been neutralized.
Three men lingered in the street like startled quails, waiting for Yato to return and dreading to move first. They had been rough with Ryōma earlier, and if Yato chose to intervene again they knew they would be courting death. So they stood frozen, eyes darting, desperate for any sign of what would come next.
When Yato returned he carried a small, black-clad figure under one arm: Ryōma, rigid and muttering to himself in his entranced state. The three men straightened reflexively, confusion and alarm replacing the impatience on their faces. One of them whispered, "Why is he carrying him like that? Is he—"
Yato didn't give them time. He announced plainly, "This boy is Aburame Ryōma."
At once the three men bristled; their earlier violence was now the subject of accusation. Yato explained coldly, "He used insects to manipulate the both of you into fighting. That caused the whole scene earlier. From what I can tell, he's connected to Root and Elder Danzō. I'll hand him over to the authorities. Do either of you want to come with me?"
Those words were like a burn to the two ringleaders. They had expected to profit from the chaos; they hadn't expected to be the ones made to look ridiculous. Anger flared in their faces, but Yato merely tilted his head. Uchiha Lian, who had been nearby, asked, "What should be done with him after we hand him over?"
Yato replied without hesitation, "Do they still want to play at 'brothers for life'?"
The two men snapped back simultaneously, offended. They had only pretended to pledge loyalty because Yato had cornered and threatened them. Their protests were hot and angry, but Yato smiled as if he had heard the best joke—then left, Ryōma in tow.
After Yato departed, Hyūga Boya and Sarutobi Kakuya exchanged glances and approached Uchiha Ren. "He asked you to supervise them," Boya said. "Why don't we make this simple—tell him they've stayed at each other's houses for six days and we'll back up the claim."
Uchiha Lian put on a show of righteousness and agreed: "Trust me—no little tricks. You two behave, or I'll report otherwise."
Both Boya and Kakuya felt a prick of guilt and resentment at the same time—embarrassed, yes, but also humiliated by their earlier behavior. Lian added with a touch of theatrical menace, "If you don't behave, you'll find out what happened to that Aburame brat."
The mention of Ryōma snapped their memories back into place: every stupidity that led to the farce of that day. The Uchiha exchanged subtle signals: Yato had left behind a shadow clone, and Lian read the gesture correctly. He would wait and watch as ordered.
…
Inside Konoha's Metropolitan Police Department, Uchiha Kai frowned. He had watched the recording and observed how Yato had broken the illusion. Ryōma's condition—dancing in a bizarre, frenzied way—was disturbing. Yato had placed him in a separate room, left the camera running, and ensured the child could be observed without interference.
Kai turned to Yato. "So Danzō sent this boy?"
Yato nodded. "He was acting as a catalyst. He targeted both the Hyūga and the Sarutobi clans."
Uchiha Kai ran a hand over his face. "Why provoke those two specifically? It only damages clan relations."
Yato's eyes sharpened. "Exactly. If we allow Danzō to get away with these provocations, he will do it again and again. The Uchiha cannot be seen as the sort who lashes out and breaks rules on a whim. We need this matter handled openly, not as a hushed Uchiha cover-up. Let the facts be laid bare. Make it known that we act according to reason, and that underhanded provocations will not be tolerated."
Kai considered that. Yato's method—public, procedural—had a calculated logic to it. "So you want me to contact the Aburame clan leader and summon Elder Shimura Danzō?"
Yato inclined his head. "Yes. Make it public. If it becomes a matter of official record, Danzō's hand in this will be hard to deny."
Just then Uchiha Lian entered. Yato met him mid-speech. "Please make sure those two troublemakers suffer a little over the next several days," Yato said bluntly.
Lian blinked. "Why?"
Yato's reply was low and precise. "Because I want them to hate Danzō. If Boya and Kakuya come to believe that Danzō is responsible for their humiliation, they'll be far less willing to trust him in the future. Keep their lives uncomfortable for a few days—no need to name names—just enough pain that their anger looks outward. When it counts, they'll point to Danzō."
The implication settled into Lian's face. These were not idle pranks; they were carefully chosen levers. Boya and Kakuya were not ordinary footnotes. Hyūga Boya belonged to the main branch of the Hyūga clan—no caged-bird mark on his forehead—meaning being humiliated by Yato would sting Danzō's pride if Danzō was thought to be behind it. Sarutobi Tsuruga was Hiruzen's nephew; disrespecting him would rattle the Sarutobi family. If those two blamed Danzō, the Root leader would be in trouble.
Lian nodded slowly and left to put Yato's plan into motion. Yato didn't vocalize the rest of his calculation—only that Ryōma himself was the primary bargaining chip. Without Ryōma, Danzō had not lost anything. With Ryōma exposed and the chain of custody public, Yato could bite into Danzō's standing.
"Today," Yato muttered under his breath, a thin smile like a drawn blade crossing his face, "Danzō won't lose meat—he'll lose face."
It wasn't long before the Aburame clan leader arrived, brisk and austere. Danzō, however, was busy with his Root duties and could not attend immediately. Yato strode into the Aburame leader's presence with shameless energy.
"Head," he called, acting indignant, "that boy tried to kill me!"
Uchiha Kai, standing nearby, felt his internal script get flipped. He had not expected Yato to be quite so theatrical. "You're taking liberties with the performance," Kai thought, and yet he could not deny the effect. The Aburame leader's composure cracked, just a fraction, at the accusation. Even he—always so reserved and composed—wavered.
Kai cleared his throat. "Please, step into my office. Let us discuss this matter in private."
Inside the interrogation room the scene was carefully orchestrated. Ryōma—still under the residue of the illusion—muttered fragments, his eyes darting beneath half-shut lids. There was no visible physical harm, but the psychic manipulation was clear. Yato had the camera feed running and had taken pains to ensure every relevant witness could be called upon to corroborate the story.
Yato sat across from Ryōma as if they were in a mundane conversation. "You'd best tell the truth," he said quietly. "Who sent you?"
Ryōma's response was sluggish, clouded by the hallucination's aftereffects. He babbled half-phrases about bugs and commands, about someone with authority giving orders. It was enough—if Vakue statements were later corroborated by other evidence, the chain would be difficult to deny.
Outside, the Aburame leader pressed his expression into a bored mask, but his voice held the stiffness of a man who had listened to too many excuses. "If Root is involved," he said, "this is serious. I will need to confer with Danzō. But Danzō must be told the exact facts—without embellishment."
Yato smiled: "Of course. We intend to present the evidence plainly. The difference is that this will be public. No behind-closed-doors settlements. The Metropolitan Police Department will handle the matter, and the documentation will be available."
Kai watched this exchange and nodded. It was a careful balancing act: expose Danzō's tactics while preserving the Uchiha's image as law-abiding and precise. Yato's approach made sense on paper, and Kai trusted his instincts—strange and reckless as they might be.
Yet there was more to Yato's smile than strategy or righteousness. There was a hunger for consequence—a desire to set gears in motion that would complicate Danzō's position. If those gears could tear at Danzō's influence among the clans, so much the better. If the Aburame leader became suspicious and the Hyūga and Sarutobi blamed Root, Yato's chance might come sooner than anyone expected.
After the meeting, Yato escorted the Aburame leader out with all due politeness, and Uchiha Kai turned to the footage again. "We'll have the Yamanaka clan do further interrogation—safely, with mind-transfer protocols—so there's no question about coercion," Kai said. "If we keep the process transparent, the blame will lie where it belongs."
Yato exhaled, satisfied. "Good. And make sure to keep an eye on Boya and Kakuya. Let them feel enough pressure to direct their ire outward. Not too much—just enough to nudge them toward Danzō."
"Isn't that manipulative?" Kai asked, a frown forming.
Yato's voice was patient. "Politics is always manipulative. This is not cruelty for its own sake. It's defense. If we don't expose Root's patterns when we see them, Danzō will keep pulling strings from the shadows. Better to cut off a few tendrils now before they strangle everyone."
When the Aburame leader left to contact his own people, Yato stayed behind and watched Ryōma through the observation glass. The boy slept fitfully, haunted by residual images of insects and shadowy commands. Yato's expression softened for the briefest moment. He was not a martyr; he was someone willing to use other people's pain to craft leverage. Even so, he had no intention of letting the boy suffer unnecessarily—Ryōma's testimony would be handled according to procedure, and the Yamanaka would extract the truth without causing more harm.
Later, as he walked through the police headquarters corridors, Yato allowed himself to think of the larger picture. Danzō's network of manipulation had reached into the city. If the Uchiha could demonstrate Danzō's interference, it would serve two purposes: first, to discredit Danzō's methods publicly; second, to highlight the Uchiha as guardians of order rather than as hotheaded clan bullies.
It was a dangerous move. But Yato's appetite for danger had always been oddly calibrated—he did not seek chaos for its own sake. He sought outcomes. And tonight, as the neon lights of Konoha flickered outside and the city hummed with a thousand small lives, Yato allowed himself to savor the feel of a plan falling into place.
He was not naïve; he knew powerful men like Danzō did not fall easily. They ground their enemies out in slow, patient ways. But by making the issue visible—by creating witnesses, recordings, and a trail—Yato had given Danzō an enemy that could not be dismissed as mere rumor. The Root's choices, once exposed, would need to be justified in the stark light of official scrutiny.
"And if Danzō retaliates?" Kai asked later, voice low.
Yato's smile grew just a little sharper. "Then he makes himself louder. And the louder he is, the easier it is for others to hear him and decide whether they want to be near that sound."
Uchiha Lian, Hyūga Boya, Sarutobi Kakuya, the Aburame leader—they were all pieces now on a board Yato had rearranged. Some would suffer small indignities, others would feel the weight of suspicion. Yato knew the game was ruthless. He also knew one thing more plainly than most: in the end, power that hides in shadow grows thin when exposed to light.
Tonight the lights had been turned on.
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