The Uchiha Special Action Unit was officially established.
It was a special force that belonged directly to the Uchiha clan—an independent unit personally approved by the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with authorization to operate separately from standard command structures.
Hiruzen's approval came down to one simple reason:
Uchiha Ran was Orochimaru's disciple.
To Hiruzen, Orochimaru was not just a student—he was once his most cherished disciple. From childhood, Orochimaru had displayed astonishing intellect and talent, earning Hiruzen's deep trust and expectations. At one point, Hiruzen had even viewed him as a potential future leader of Konoha.
Orochimaru, in turn, had once respected his teacher greatly—until he came to understand the true nature of the shinobi world, until he had seen death too many times.
Nothing in this world was eternal.
Human lifespans were too short, their bodies too fragile, to truly unravel the mysteries of science. And so Orochimaru began to pursue immortality.
But Hiruzen knew none of this.
What he did believe was that, under Orochimaru's guidance, Ran's strength would skyrocket—and with it, his loyalty and sense of belonging to Konoha.
Now, Ran commanded the newest Uchiha department: the Special Action Unit.
In Hiruzen's eyes, this symbolized Ran's influence over the clan. He believed that under Ran's leadership, more Uchiha would develop a genuine attachment to the village, willingly contributing their strength for Konoha's future.
Before the unit departed, Hiruzen even had village officials introduce the Special Action Unit to the civilians.
When the villagers learned that this was a force composed entirely of Uchiha, heading to the border to guard the village, a wave of cheers broke out.
It was deeply moving.
Who would have thought that the famously iron-faced, law-enforcing Uchiha would willingly march out for the sake of the village?
While the village celebrated, deep beneath Konoha—
In the Root headquarters, Danzō Shimura was grinding his teeth.
To Danzo, the Uchiha were tools—tools that could be used, but never praised. Even if that tool happened to be his current collaborator, Uchiha Ran.
Only dead Uchiha were "good" Uchiha.
That said, with a great war looming over Konoha, Danzo had no intention of provoking the Uchiha at this moment. On the contrary—he needed their strength.
Soon after, Uchiha Ran, Uchiha Ryūka, and Uchiha Tahō led a nine-man Uchiha squad toward the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth.
"Tahō-uncle," Ran asked as they traveled, "do you know what the current situation is between us and the Land of Earth?"
Ever since being defeated by Ran's genjutsu, Tahō had made up his mind:
He would protect this Uchiha sapling with his life.
At thirteen years old, Ran already possessed wisdom and power far beyond his years. Tahō was convinced—Ran would awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan someday. He would become the pride and hope of the Uchiha clan.
And right now, Ran's survival was the most important thing.
That was why Tahō insisted on accompanying him.
In his nearly fifty years of life, Tahō had seen far too many Uchiha prodigies die before they could bloom.
He would not let that happen again.
"Ran-sama," Tahō replied, "earlier, the Land of Earth sent a force to raid the Land of Wind. They were repelled by the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and Pakura."
Once shinobi reached Kage-level strength, ordinary ninja and chūnin became little more than numbers—especially against wide-range abilities like Rasa's Magnet Release and Pakura's Scorch Release.
To avoid catastrophic losses, the Iwa forces had retreated quickly.
As a result, neither Sunagakure nor Iwagakure had suffered devastating casualties.
"Then how did Iwa end up at the Fire Country border?" Ryūka asked sharply. "Rain Country lies between us. Did Hanzo really allow Iwa ninja to cross his territory so brazenly?"
Tahō glanced at her, his expression strange.
"Hanzo… is no longer the man he once was."
Back when Rain Country detected Iwa's movement—
When Hanzo learned that Iwa forces had crossed the entire nation without permission, heading straight for the Fire Country border, he felt only exhaustion.
Standing before his window, staring into the endless rain, Hanzo felt nothing but desolation.
The Rain Country's golden age was long gone.
One brutal war had crushed all of its hopes and dreams.
He had earned the title Demi-God in that war—but countless young Ame ninja had died alongside it.
Rain Country's war potential had been completely drained.
Once, Hanzo had been fearless—bold enough to challenge all Five Great Nations.
Now?
Now he was a man hollowed out by time.
Though not truly old, his spirit had withered. The fire in his eyes was gone, replaced by confusion and helplessness.
Faced with Iwa's unauthorized crossing, Hanzo could do nothing.
Rain Country was no longer strong.
That day, as enemy forces marched through his land without even notifying him, Hanzo simply closed his eyes and listened to the rain strike the windows.
Humiliation.
"Earth Release: Earth Stone Spires!"
The ground suddenly erupted.
The Uchiha Special Action Unit reacted instantly.
Nine seasoned Uchiha watched as stone pillars burst upward—and their eyes held only cold disdain.
They had seen too much to fear something so crude.
A fireball shattered one spire into rubble.
A roaring fire dragon reduced another to ash.
Stone spears shot upward like javelins, yet the Uchiha flowed through them with effortless grace—dodging, countering, advancing.
Their movements were ghostlike.
Precise.
Merciless.
The Iwa ninja hidden underground began to panic.
"Found you."
Flames tore open an earth bunker.
And reflected in the terrified eyes of the Iwa shinobi—
There were nine pairs of three-tomoe Sharingan.
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