Swish!
Swish!
Across the rooftops of Konoha...
Small shinobi groups were silently leaping from one building to another.
Each of them carried a bundle of posters.
They would stop for only a moment.
Paste one onto a wall.
Swish!
Then disappear before anyone noticed.
The sun had yet to rise.
Night was slowly giving way to dawn.
A new day...
And a new problem for Konoha.
One small genin quickly pasted a poster onto a wall before vanishing into the darkness.
Only a few seconds later...
Another figure landed nearby who heard the commotion.
It was an ANBU on patrol.
After yesterday's incident, the Hokage and the elders had ordered every ANBU squad to stay on high alert.
The ANBU noticed the fresh poster.
He frowned.
Quickly reading its contents as his face became dark...
"what the...."he almost cursed.
He tore it down and hurried away to report it.
The moment he disappeared...
Another masked shinobi landed in the exact same spot.
Without saying a word...
He pasted another poster onto the wall.
Then left.
"..."
On a nearby rooftop...
Suki watched everything unfold with an exhausted expression.
"Koto..."
"At least let him leave first."
She rubbed her forehead in frustration.
The moment the ANBU left...
Another poster appeared.
It was almost comical.
Her thoughts drifted back to the meeting held the previous evening inside the new Uchiha Shrine.
"Kohaku."
Grand Elder Setsuna placed a large bundle of freshly printed posters onto the table.
"Tell all the Jonin to prepare."
"At dawn..."
"We'll cover every wall in Konoha."
Kohaku picked up one of the posters and read it.
Then he looked back at the Grand Elder.
A trace of doubt appeared on his face.
"I highly doubt it'll be as easy as today."
"They'll stop us no matter what."
Kazuto nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Elder."
"There's a good chance the ANBU and our Jonin will end up fighting."
"No need."
A calm voice interrupted them.
Everyone turned.
Toyoma had just entered the room.
He looked around at the gathered elders.
Raizen.
Uzuku.
Suki.
Kohaku.
Kazuto.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"The ones distributing the posters..."
"...won't be the Jonin."
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
Toyoma continued.
"They'll be the Uchiha genin."
"And the children who have only mastered the Three Basic Techniques."
Silence.
Every elder stared at him.
Even Kohaku looked surprised.
Back in the present...
Suki watched dozens of young Uchiha running across the rooftops with unbelievable enthusiasm.
The reward Toyoma had announced for the ten children who distributed the most posters...
Had turned the entire mission into a competition.
Every uchiha child wanted first place.
Every team of ten had a Jonin secretly watching over them.
Not to help...
Only to step in if things went out of control.
"Let them be, Suki."
Raizen landed beside her with a laugh.
"It's almost morning anyway."
He looked toward the horizon.
The first rays of sunlight were beginning to appear, while the sound of birds echoed across the village.
Just then...
"Hey!"
"I got here first!"
A young Uchiha boy pointed angrily at another child who had just pasted a poster on the wall he had been running toward.
Geto immediately crossed his arms.
"I reached it first."
"But I saw the wall first!"
The other boy refused to back down.
He grabbed Geto's wrist, trying to pull him away so he could paste his own poster.
"No!"
"This is my wall!"
Geto grabbed him back with his free hand.
"My wall!"
"No, it's mine!"
"I said it's my wall!"
"No! Mine!"
The two boys immediately started wrestling.
Their voices became louder and louder.
Bang!
"It's my wall"
The front door suddenly burst open.
"What the hell are you brats doing?!"
An old man stormed out of the house with an angry expression.
The shouting had already woken the neighbours.
One by one...
Doors began opening.
"Can't anyone let an old man sleep in peace?!"
An angry roar came from the next house.
Another door slammed open.
An old granny marched out with a broom in her hand.
Her face was filled with fury.
"Whose evil brats are these?!"
"Just let me catch you!"
The owner of the house looked completely dumbfounded.
"What are you two doing?"
The two Uchiha children were still tangled together.
One boy's leg had somehow wrapped around the other's neck.
The other had both arms locked around his waist.
Neither of them was willing to let go.
"My wall!"
"No!"
"Mine!"
"I said mine!"
Then...
Both of them looked up at the same time.
The old granny was charging straight toward them with her broom raised high.
Her face looked so terrifying that both children froze.
"Yokaiiiiiii!!"
The two screamed together.
"Let go, Geto!"
"You let go first!"
"No, you!"
"You first!"
Even while trying to escape...
Neither of them was willing to lose.
"Old man!"
"Grab those brats!"
The granny shouted while running after them.
"Run!"
The two instantly released each other.
Without another thought...
They threw the posters into the air and sprinted away in opposite directions.
"Come back here, you little devils!"
The old granny chased after them with her broom.
The nearby villagers watched the scene with speechless expressions.
Then...
One of the floating papers slowly landed in front of them.
Someone picked it up.
Soon...
Several others caught the remaining posters.
Curious, they began reading.
[ The Fire Times is here!
Available now at your nearest Uchiha-affiliated store!
Inside today's issue:
The latest news from across the Land of Fire! Which noble has taken a new wife? The love lives of Konoha's young shinobi! Rumors, gossip, and much more!
Note: Some articles are rumors, while others are based on confirmed facts. Get your fact's clear before believing everything! ]
The villagers stared at the paper with bewildered expressions.
"...What is this?"
One man scratched his head.
"A new Uchiha product?"
Another looked over his shoulder.
"They're selling gossip now?"
Several women immediately became interested.
"Wait..."
"It says it has stories about the young shinobi's love lives."
They quietly looked at each other.
"...Where can we buy this?"
The curiosity sparked by the posters quickly spread throughout each one.
Almost every villager who read one wanted to know what The Fire Times actually was.
At the same time...
Every village elder also received a copy.
The moment Koharu read it...
A bad feeling rose in her heart.
"...Stop them immediately."
She looked at the nearby ANBU.
"Take down every single poster."
The ANBU disappeared without another word.
Homura remained silent.
He simply nodded in agreement.
"They're planning something."
Koharu frowned.
"I'm sure of it."
Meanwhile...
Jiraiya and Orochimaru also walked out of their houses after reading the poster.
The moment they stepped outside...
They froze.
Near Kushina's house...
Several ANBU were wrestling with a group of Uchiha children.
"Don't take my posters, you bastard!"
One little Uchiha boy hugged a bundle of posters tightly against his chest.
An ANBU kunoichi had one foot planted on his face while desperately trying to pull the papers away.
The boy refused to let go.
Not far away...
A similar scene was happening everywhere.
"Leave it, you old lady!"
Three little Uchiha girls were locked in a tug-of-war with another ANBU kunoichi.
Half the bundle was in the ANBU's hands.
The other half remained with the girls.
Neither side was willing to let go.
The shouting echoed throughout the street.
One after another...
The villagers opened their doors to see what was happening.
The entire street quickly became crowded.
Even so...
None of the ANBU dared attack the children.
After everything that had happened with Root...
No one wanted another incident involving innocent civilians or kids.
"What kind of chaos are these Uchiha brats causing now?"
Tsunade rubbed her aching forehead.
She had barely gotten any sleep.
Her hangover from last night hadn't completely faded yet.
Kushina also stepped outside.
She blinked several times before looking at the strange scene.
"...Are they playing tug-of-war?"
She asked with genuine confusion.
Beside her...
Minato stared at the street.
"ANBU..."
"And Uchiha children..."
"What exactly is happening?"
"I don't care."
Tsunade suddenly disappeared.
Boom!
She landed between one ANBU and an Uchiha child.
The ground cracked beneath her feet.
"Both of you!"
"Shut up!"
She grabbed the ANBU with one hand.
The Uchiha boy with the other.
The little boy blinked.
Then looked at Tsunade's sleepy face.
"...Where did this gorilla come from?"
Silence.
Tsunade slowly turned her head toward him.
"...What did you just say?"
Her smile twitched.
The veins on her forehead bulged.
The little Uchiha instantly shut his mouth.
Sweat poured down his forehead.
"I didn't say anything..."
He muttered weakly.
"Hmph."
Tsunade snorted before looking at the bundle of papers in his hands.
She casually threw the ANBU aside.
Bang!
The ANBU rolled across the ground.
Tsunade grabbed one of the posters.
"Leave me, old lady!"
"I still have to get into the top ten!"
The little Uchiha struggled with all his strength.
Unfortunately...
He couldn't even move her arm.
Tsunade ignored him completely.
She unfolded the poster and began reading.
"...What are you Uchiha plotting this time?"
She glanced at the frightened boy.
The child looked at Tsunade's face, which was only inches away from his own.
Cold sweat covered his forehead.
He didn't dare answer.
Not far away...
Raizen and Suki quietly watched everything from a rooftop.
"Should we step in?"
Suki asked.
Raizen folded his arms.
"No."
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"Not yet."
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