After a round of introductions, it was finally confirmed — Uchiha Taidachi, Rokuro's father, had indeed once signed a summoning contract with the Ninneko clan. Among the cats he frequently summoned was none other than the large feline now sitting before them—Nyanrokurō.
However, compared to combat, the ninja cats were far more skilled in reconnaissance and infiltration. So after Taidachi had risen to the rank of Jōnin, he rarely summoned the combat-oriented Nyanrokurō again.
That was why Tahara Rokuro had never met this cat before.
"Wow, it's been years, and your cooking's improved so much, Ashikaga!"
Nyanrokurō ate heartily, devouring the grilled fish until his whiskers were slick with oil and sauce.
After finishing, the large cat licked his fur clean, then opened the massive scroll strapped to his back and handed it to Rokuro.
"Since the fish was this good, I'll make an exception and let you sign the contract," he said lazily. "But I still need to keep observing your strength. You'll summon me once every day—around this time. Got it?"
Rokuro squinted at him.
"'This time'? You're here to observe my strength—or my mom's cooking?"
"Enough chatter. Just sign the damn thing already—I've got places to be."
Rokuro couldn't be bothered to argue. He sliced his finger open and pressed down a bloody fingerprint on the scroll. Nyanrokurō rolled it back up with his tail and, without another word, disappeared in a puff of smoke as the summoning contract was released.
"What a sly old cat," Rokuro muttered. "Ah well, the ninja cats' missions are interesting enough. Guess that just means one more bowl in the house."
"Rokuro, what on earth happened earlier? We could hear you shouting from here!"
His mother, Uchiha Ashikaga, approached in worry, alongside Uchiha Kei.
Rokuro told them everything — how he and Anko had been assigned to eliminate the bandits, only to walk straight into Kakuzu's ambush. He spared them the gruesome details of the battle but covered everything else.
Ashikaga and Kei's faces drained of color as they listened.
"That man named Kakuzu… did he really have the strength of a Jōnin?"
"More than that," Rokurō said with a sigh. "You could call him Kage-level and it wouldn't be exaggerating. He just can't compare to the Fourth Hokage, that's all. But if he fought the current Third one-on-one… I'm not sure who'd win."
Ashikaga's chopsticks slipped from her hands. Her son had faced someone on par with the Hokage—that realization was enough to make her tremble.
Rokuro then shared his suspicions, pointing straight to one man—Shimura Danzō, the so-called "First Root."
"Why would Lord Danzō do something like that?"
Kei knew of Danzō—after all, she belonged to the Dove Faction, and many within the Uchiha clan tried to curry favor with him.
"It's simple," Rokuro said flatly. "He thinks I'm a genius. And in his eyes, a genius born of the 'evil' Uchiha clan will inevitably threaten Konoha's peace and stability. So he wants to eliminate me before I grow strong. A genius who never matures… is nothing but a waste."
Ashikaga slammed her fist against the table, shaking with anger. Kei opened her mouth to argue—but couldn't. Rokuro's reasoning was painfully sound.
"And what does Lord Hokage think?" Kei asked quietly. "Once they uncover the truth, will they go after Danzō?"
Rokuro shook his head.
"Not a chance. For years, Hiruzen Sarutobi's 'righteous' image has only survived thanks to Danzō. All the dirty work falls on him. He's the Hokage's black glove. He's done plenty of nasty things before, and he'll keep doing them.
"As long as Hiruzen stays Hokage, Danzō won't ever step down. If I'm right, they'll pin everything on some intelligence officer—kill him off, toss in a written confession, maybe even an apology letter for good measure. Just wait. We'll see the headlines in a day or two."
Reality, as usual, had a cruel sense of humor.
Three mornings later, ANBU arrived at Rokuro's door, saying the case had been "resolved" and that he was to come see for himself.
This time, Ashikaga went with him. When they arrived, they found only a corpse—and a confession letter.
Their contact was Kakashi Hatake, unmasked this time as a sign of respect.
"According to the confession," Kakashi explained, "this intelligence officer, Inoue, had racked up heavy gambling debts. To pay them off, he began leaking information to underground brokers for commission. He's been at it for some time, even building a quick transmission route for classified data.
"This time, it was one of those leaks that triggered the incident. He just didn't expect the fallout to be so severe."
As Kakashi spoke, Ashikaga picked up the confession note, scanned it, and then—furious—threw it onto the corpse's face.
"You expect us to believe that? Even if he did sell intel, how do you explain Kakuzu? How could a mere bandit leader, with the strength of a Chūnin at best, afford to hire a Kage-level assassin? Kakashi, is this what you call an investigation?"
By seniority, Ashikaga outranked Kakashi—she was a veteran sealing master, a rare profession in Konoha—so her scolding hit hard. Kakashi could only bow his head.
"Ashikaga-senpai… as for hiring Kakuzu, that's… simple. The man recognizes only money. He has no pride as a strong shinobi. Pay him enough, and he'll do anything.
"As for the money—this bandit leader, Blackhand, may have been weak, but his base sat right along a major trade route. His group pulled in tens of millions every year from raids and tolls.
"And one more thing—Kakuzu isn't Kage-level. At most, he's an elite Jōnin."
The way Kakashi recited it—like a report memorized word-for-word—made Ashikaga's face flush red with rage.
"Mom, don't get mad," Rokuro said lightly. "The angrier you get, the happier they'll be. Think about it—your son pulled off an ultimate counter-kill against an elite Jōnin. The puppet master behind it all just lost big time, and I gained precious battle experience. We came out ahead."
"Anyway, Kakashi-senpai, you've got it rough. If it were me, I'd have quit this mess ages ago. You're truly the son of the White Fang—a tiger father breeds no… oh wait, I almost said 'dog son.' My bad, I mean you're definitely not that!"
Rokuro's poisonous tongue left Kakashi's blood pressure spiking. Fortunately, his mask and forehead protector hid most of his expression, so no one noticed the color rising in his face.
"Oh? Seems like I've got another job request. Mom, you handle things here. Burn the body—don't give anyone the chance to fake their death. A traitor like this doesn't deserve to be buried in Konoha anyway. Right, Kakashi-senpai?"
Kakashi gave a slight nod. A puff of smoke followed—and Rokuro was gone.
Ashikaga didn't hold back. She pulled out a sealing scroll and stored the corpse inside, leaving Kakashi speechless and without grounds to stop her.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, Danzō began executing his next plan.
That same night, several men dressed as ordinary citizens started shouting in the busiest street of Konoha. Once a crowd had gathered, they dropped a bombshell revelation.
"My brother died on a mission not long ago! But last night, I found his belongings in the eastern valley—and when I dug there, I found his corpse! But his body… it's missing all the organs! My poor brother, what a terrible death you've suffered!"
"Why was his body buried in a Konoha valley when he clearly died outside the village?! There must be a conspiracy! I'll demand justice from Lord Hokage himself!"
END OF CHAPTER
35 CHAPTERS AHEAD!!
Forbidden Java Jutsu - MrBehringer's Secret
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