The deep blue in Shigeo's eyes gradually faded to light blue, revealing faint rings within—the hidden Rinnegan slowly emerging. His fingertip, resting against Miko's forehead, began to sense the flow of her memories.
"I just wanted to see my two disciples…" she whispered.
"You're not telling the truth."
"I am, I am!" she stammered.
But as her words spilled out, Shigeo saw that they aligned perfectly with the memories flickering within her mind.
Everything began half a month earlier—when Jyakin and Magu had been subdued by Shigeo and brought into the Nanmo Ninja Village.
After joining Akatsuki, the Demonic Duo had completed several high-level missions.
Their final assignment had been to capture the One-Tail Jinchūriki, Gaara of Sunagakure.
They failed to locate their target, and upon learning that Gaara had been seen near Konoha, they followed.
Unfortunately for them, their movements had already been tracked by Sunagakure's Anbu.
Then came disaster—
The Konoha Crush Plan failed, Orochimaru assassinated the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, and the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi perished inside the Four Purple Flame Formation.
Both villages suffered tremendous losses.
When the chaos ended, negotiations between the two nations fell to their remaining high councils.
But then something strange happened—
Gaara, the One-Tail Jinchūriki, vanished.
Witnesses swore they had seen him escorted away by Sunagakure elders after his battle with Naruto.
However, the village's leadership insisted they had sent no such escort.
So where did he go?
No one knew. It became an unsolved mystery.
Relations between the two villages froze.
Konoha needed a Fifth Hokage, and Sunagakure was in disarray, unable to investigate properly.
Anbu teams were dispatched in all directions to search for Gaara, but months passed without results.
Eventually, suspicion turned toward the Demonic Duo.
When Sunagakure's spies learned that the two had been taken to Nanmo by Hyūga Shigeo, the case reached a dead end again.
The Sand couldn't confront him directly.
Their forces were weakened, and if Shigeo chose to strike, Sunagakure would be defenseless.
Still, fate took an odd turn.
The twins' master—Master Fuji, a wandering shinobi over fifty—was famous not for strength, but for boasting. He adored his three disciples and constantly bragged about them wherever he went.
So, when he and his eldest student, Miko, arrived in Sunagakure to perform and sell trinkets, his mouth got the better of him.
"Ah, my two younger disciples," he declared loudly, "you've never seen such talent! The greatest musical ninja in the entire world!
One plays the Evil Koto, the other the Demonic Drum! Their music can terrify an entire village!
When they perform with chakra, the air itself trembles—terrifying, magnificent, enough to make even ghosts weep! Every time I hear it, I feel sick to my stomach! You ever played so well you made someone vomit? You ever beat a drum so loud it gave people heart attacks? No? Then you're amateurs!"
While he continued boasting, Sunagakure's Anbu quietly surrounded him.
Fuji was skilled—but no match for an entire Anbu unit.
He was captured, and after a desperate struggle, Miko was caught as well.
When interrogated, they revealed everything about Jyakin and Magu.
Sunagakure then demanded that Miko lure her brothers back to the village.
She spent weeks scheming, eventually infiltrating Nanmo under false pretenses—only to discover that the twins weren't there.
After further inquiries, she learned they were training at the southern coast and went there at night—but found nothing.
Now, cornered before Shigeo, she confessed everything.
"Then why did you confess to me?" Shigeo asked coldly. "Don't tell me you 'fell in love'—I don't buy that."
Miko lowered her head, trembling. It took her a long time before she finally spoke.
"Because… if I couldn't find my brothers, then bringing you might be enough to rescue my master. I planned to get close to you… and if you refused to come, I'd capture your girlfriend, Wuqianling, so you'd have to follow me. But I never had the chance."
Shigeo withdrew his hand. Her words matched the fragments of memory he had seen—he knew she was telling the truth.
"Jinshi," he ordered, "send a team to retrieve this Master Fuji. Bring him to Nanmo."
"Yes, Shigeo-sama," Jinshi said immediately.
But before Jinshi could move, Shigeo stopped him.
"Wait. I'll handle this myself."
Based on the twins' memories, Fuji was a master of all five elemental chakra natures.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi was known as the 'Professor of Ninjutsu,' then by their recollection, Fuji could almost share that title.
But without seeing him in person, Shigeo couldn't be sure.
If he rescued Fuji himself, the Demonic Duo, Miko, and their master could all become part of Nanmo.
Currently, Nanmo had about four thousand shinobi, not counting the Lanxiang Gate.
Among them, 159 were special jōnin, 138 jōnin, 700 chūnin, and the rest genin.
Elite talents like Jyakin and Magu were rare.
If Fuji could train more shinobi of that caliber, his worth would be immeasurable.
"You're really going to save my master personally?" Miko asked in disbelief.
Shigeo nodded. "Yes."
He removed his official cloak and changed into travel wear.
Turning to Jinshi, he said, "The chūnin exams here—I'll leave a shadow clone to handle them. The children mustn't be disappointed. Take care of the rest."
"Yes, sir. Be careful, Shigeo-sama," Jinshi replied.
"Good."
With that, Shigeo took Miko's hand. Space twisted around them—and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.
When they reappeared, they stood outside the barrier of Sunagakure.
Golden sand stretched endlessly around them. Shigeo surveyed the area—nothing unusual.
He was about to approach the gate to formally announce his arrival when dozens of figures appeared around them.
"Welcome, Nanmo's Shadow," one of the Sand shinobi said respectfully.
"Please wait a moment. We'll report your arrival to the village."
Around them, ten regular shinobi and twenty masked Anbu surrounded them completely.
(End of Chapter)
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