A Hyūga ninja from the Rat Division spotted a target three kilometers away, Senju Hai.
"Captain! Target sighted!"
Inside his mask, Captain Rat's eyes sharpened. "We're only a few kilometers from the command post. We can't alert Senju Nawaki. We must stop Senju Hai here!"
Three squads under Rat Division immediately surged forward toward Hai.
Pursuers ahead, interceptors behind, he was surrounded.
Senju Hai took out a secret medicine.
It was an Akimichi clan pill, a red pepper pill, a gift from a fallen teammate long ago.
Once swallowed, it burns one's very flesh and blood to create a massive surge of chakra. But if the user loses control, their body is consumed, dying from overdrawn chakra.
With no hesitation left, Senju Hai, resolved to die, swallowed the pill.
Every cell in his body screamed. He was squeezing every ounce of potential out of himself.
His chakra raged wildly. Before the ANBU could reach him, he unleashed his final technique.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
An explosion of water burst around him like a fountain.
Captain Rat, now within range, was startled, Hai's strength was far beyond the intelligence reports. Quickly, he formed seals to defend.
At that scale of Water Release, he was no match.
Even so, he did not retreat. Even if it cost him his life, Senju Hai must not be allowed to reach the command camp.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
A solid wall of earth rose before Captain Rat.
Beyond Hai, in the distance, Captain Yellow Dog Captain appeared in his vision.
But Hai's Water Release wasn't aimed at Captain Rat at all. The water dragon shot straight into the sky.
Its long body barely curved or wavered, a nearly perfect, vertical column of water piercing the heavens. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the bright azure pillar stood out strikingly.
Captain Yellow Dog Captain, still two hundred meters away, felt a sudden unease.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"
A blazing orb of fire tore through the air, spanning more than two hundred meters, flying straight toward the ascending water dragon.
From the side, Yoru clicked his tongue silently.
That fire release… what insane range.
But the fireball was just a second too slow. It struck the lower section of the water dragon.
The water dragon reached the clouds, then suddenly burst apart. Dozens of smaller water dragons spread outward, and in midair, they formed the crest of the Senju Clan.
Even with Yellow Dog's seasoned willpower, he froze for an instant, dread creeping into his chest.
The others continued their charge toward the source of the water pillar.
At the command camp, Senju Nawaki was sparring with Orochimaru when he suddenly turned toward the sky, confused.
There, high above the clouds, shone the Senju clan symbol.
"That's… the Senju clan's distress signal! Enemy attack! The Hidden Stone Village ninjas have reached the forward camp!"
Before his words finished, Nawaki vanished in a flicker, Body Flicker Technique.
Orochimaru frowned slightly.
Even if it's an enemy attack… why use the Senju clan's private distress signal instead of Konoha's standard one? That symbol hasn't been used in decades.
But following his philosophy of training Nawaki through experience, Orochimaru simply followed, not too close, not too far.
Nawaki was a prodigy. Orochimaru wanted him to learn judgment, to make his own calls. If everything was spoon-fed, he would never surpass his teacher.
As Nawaki left, every Senju ninja in the camp also rushed out in alarm.
Seeing the glowing water-formed clan emblem in the sky, Yellow Dog turned to his subordinate.
"Fox! Take your squad and locate Nawaki. Don't interfere, just monitor him."
"Yes, sir."
Yoru (Fox) nodded and left with his unit.
Meanwhile, Senju Hai's body trembled. His technique complete, he let the water fall freely.
A flood exploded outward; within a radius of dozens of meters, it looked like a sudden natural disaster.
Hai himself was submerged in the torrent. Through the rushing water, Captain Rat's blade pierced Hai's chest.
He blinked, surprised, That was too easy…?
When the water subsided, he saw the truth: Hai's veins had all burst. His body was thin as bone, skin split and clinging to the skeleton, neither man nor ghost.
A minute later, Konoha ninjas from the forward camp arrived. They found numerous ANBU… and a single charred corpse.
Senju Nawaki stepped forward, frowning.
The corpse wore a Hidden Mist Village headband, body burned into an oval lump.
Facing Nawaki's puzzled gaze, Yellow Dog said calmly:
"ANBU intercepted a Hidden Mist spy. He specialized in Water Release and had tortured information out of a Senju ninja, including the Senju distress signal. He tried to infiltrate our base, but we killed him."
Nawaki said nothing.
The explanation made sense… yet something in his heart felt wrong.
After a moment's hesitation, the Senju left the scene.
Yoru approached Yellow Dog. "Captain, Senju Nawaki didn't encounter anyone on the way. No incidents."
Yellow Dog exhaled deeply. "Good. The mission is finally over."
Yoru thought silently, If you're relaxing, Captain… that's good. For me.
Ten minutes later.
A middle-aged Senju ninja, sent to reinforce patrols after the commotion, moved through the woods.
He suddenly froze.
On a nearby tree trunk was a symbol, an ancient communication mark between the Senju and Uzumaki clans.
He had only ever heard his father speak of such signs, symbols from the Warring States era, long before the founding of Konoha.
Only the Uzumaki clan would use that cipher when contacting the Senju.
He approached, knelt, and found a scroll hidden beneath the mark.
Judging by the disturbed grass around it, it had been placed there two days ago.
Who…?
The Uzumaki clan was annihilated… wasn't it? Who left this here two days ago?
According to the village, only one Uzumaki remained alive, Uzumaki Kushina.
He unrolled the scroll for a quick glance, and his pupils contracted sharply.
What?!
The scroll said…
His breath caught. Dizziness struck him.
The destruction of the Uzumaki clan, Konoha already knew? They even participated?
The reason Uzumaki fell so quickly, without even time to escape, was because Konoha's ANBU leaked their coastal defenses to the Hidden Mist Village?
The "rescue" of the Uzumaki princess… was only a performance?
All of it… to give Konoha a new Nine-Tails vessel?
He steadied his breathing, forcing calm. Then he thought of Nawaki.
A jet of fire consumed the scroll.
He stomped on the tree trunk, erasing the Senju–Uzumaki mark.
At over forty years old, he was a seasoned veteran. He did not panic.
If this truth spread, the Senju would have to break with the village.
A civil war inside Konoha, in the middle of a great ninja war, would be catastrophic.
The village built by the First and Second Hokage, others might destroy it, but the Senju must not.
He resolved to report only to Lady Tsunade or Young Master Nawaki.
Tsunade was away on a mission; he would reach Nawaki first.
Days later, on the road back to Konoha.
Captain Yellow Dog unit moved swiftly through the forest when a messenger hawk flew overhead.
Perched on a branch, Yellow Dog's heart sank with unease.
The hawk descended, delivering a scroll.
From afar, Yoru saw it, and saw the sweat pour suddenly from beneath Yellow Dog's mask.
Whatever message he had just read, it was something he was never meant to see.