Tobika walked down Konoha's main street, the night cool on his skin, still digesting what he'd just learned from Ohta.
A big fish indeed.He never expected that the female Root operative was… a Nara.
That opened all kinds of doors.
In the old days, gathering intel required bribes, threats, and sometimes a Sharingan or two.Now that he had an Anbu identity to lean on, everything felt effortless. Might as well use it while Minato was still alive—before the Third Hokage returned to power and found an excuse to boot him out.
When he slid open his door, a plump orange cat was sprawled across his bed.
He hung his tool pouch on the wall and waved."Yo, Fatty. Delivery successful?"
The cat cracked an eye open and spoke in an annoyed, distinctly feminine voice.
"Delivered. That old hag Tsunade almost slapped me into a cat pancake. But when I put down the hundred-thousand ryō, she calmed down and made Shizune write a reply."
"What else did she say?"
"That Jiraiya once sent her three hundred twenty-eight letters with over two million characters before she felt even a little tempted. She said your single letter means nothing. Start with five hundred.Oh—each letter should include cash. Otherwise she'll punch me, not you."
The cat flopped onto her back with a groan.
"Tobika, you're wasting your life. Five hundred letters, ten thousand each… that's fifty million. Do you know how many cans of cat food that is? I could learn a Transformation jutsu and keep you company myself."
"You don't get it."
The cat leapt to his shoulders, digging tiny claws into his hair in frustration.
"Then explain. And don't give me that excuse from last time."
Tobika sighed.
"Everyone knows the Senju and Uchiha have been hostile for nearly a thousand years. If news suddenly spreads that the Uchiha clan head wants to marry the Senju clan head, outsiders will naturally think it's fake. But when they hear there are Uchiha supporting the idea, they'll have to take it seriously."
The cat blinked.
Tobika continued.
"Because the will of the clan influences the clan head.Whether the letter is from Fugaku or not doesn't matter—if it looks like it came from the Uchiha, it represents part of the clan's ideology.
I don't like the hawks, the doves, or the moderates.So I'm forming a new faction: the Divorce Faction."
"…What."
"A faction whose core belief is: convince Fugaku to divorce, marry the Senju clan head, unify the two clans, and raise a new generation of Hokage candidates."
The cat stared.
"This isn't a love letter for Tsunade.It's political positioning.It shows outsiders I'm trying to reconcile the clans—that I stand for the 'Will of Fire' in the way that actually means something. Whether Tsunade or Fugaku agree is irrelevant.What matters is that people see the movement. And people who agree will stand with me."
He cracked his knuckles.
"And the letters can't stop. They're the proof of conviction.Worst case, I earn money and support Tsunade financially."
The cat's whiskers twitched.
"So… you're not seriously trying to push Fugaku into divorce?"
"No, I absolutely am. I also want him sterilized."
"Then write under your own name."
"No. Tsunade's too old. I want someone younger."
"I think she's still pretty firm and soft in the right places."
"You've seen it?"
"Not just seen. I slept on her chest once while she was gambling."
"…Get out."
Midnight washed over the village.Dressed in black, Tobika left his home, crossed rooftops, and headed toward the Nara district.
Within a clan as unhinged as the Uchiha, moderate ideas died first. Only extremes survived.
The old fossils pushing their "Protect second place, fight for third, maybe rush fourth" policies had failed the younger generation.If they wouldn't change, he would.
He wasn't sending Tsunade love letters.He was sending a message.
He landed softly on a rooftop and focused.
There.
Moments later, he stood outside an unlit home.
"My first time sneaking into a widow's house," he muttered.
He didn't bother hiding his arrival—he wanted her to notice.
Sure enough, as he stepped inside, cold metal pricked his throat.
"Who are you?"
Tobika raised both hands.
"Me. The Uchiha you attacked last time."
"You—"
She didn't finish.
Her wrist twisted.The kunai clattered to the floor.
"Nara Ryōko, don't press blades against people's necks. That's dangerous."
He flicked the kunai aside and moved toward the desk, reaching for a candle.
"Don't light that!"
Ryōko blocked his hand, staring hard at him.
"You break into my home in the middle of the night and blame me for defending myself?"
"Don't joke. If I hadn't made noise deliberately, you wouldn't have sensed me."
Tobika dropped into a chair, completely at ease.
"Don't overthink it. I came at night because visiting a widow during the day looks bad."
Ryōko's eyes widened.
"And at night it doesn't?!"
"Nobody sees at night."
She clenched her jaw.
"What do you want?"
"To talk."
"I have nothing to say to you."
Outside, a passing Nara woman paused at Ryōko's darkened window, brows furrowing.
She always worried that Ryōko might be lonely since her husband died…
Maybe she should visit more often—
Wait.
Two shadows?Why are there two shadows inside?
She rubbed her eyes, stunned.
Did Ryōko… create a shadow clone shaped like her dead husband?Because she missed him too much?
The woman stood frozen, utterly baffled.