"You—!"
Owl felt the changes racing through his body, and his eyes burned with rage as he stared at Hikaru.
He had been on guard from the beginning. He'd always felt there was something wrong with Hikaru—no, not "felt." He'd never trusted him for a second.
Because this man had the audacity to lay hands on someone inside ANBU headquarters. Back then, he'd even shown signs of wanting to move against Murashima Takumi.
A dangerous element—powerful, ambitious, and bold enough to do the unthinkable.
Owl couldn't trust someone like that. Even now, even after Hikaru became an ANBU captain and seemed to earn the Third Hokage's approval.
Owl still didn't trust him.
And he knew the Third's "trust" was limited too.
Besides, vigilance was an ANBU's instinct. Add in Owl's long-standing friction with Hikaru—and Hikaru's Senju identity—and trusting him was impossible.
Now everything had been confirmed.
This bastard truly had ulterior motives—and he had made his move.
"You're not as shocked as you're pretending to be," Hikaru said calmly, his voice returning to that gentle, soft tone. "You had a premonition. Didn't you?"
His expression remained relaxed, almost warm.
"I can feel how little you trust me. I don't even know why—but it's not strange."
"You damn traitor… are you going to turn on Konoha?" Owl forced the words out through gritted teeth.
That foreign chakra inside him kept spreading. His body grew stiffer by the second. He understood what it meant.
He was going to die.
"Konoha hasn't wronged you! Why would you do this to the village—!"
"No." Hikaru shook his head, almost patiently. "You're misunderstanding something."
His tone stayed light—like he was correcting a minor mistake.
"Why do you assume I'm turning on Konoha?"
He dragged Owl's rigid body into the shadow of a building corner. His eyes flicked to the Nine-Tails' advancing path, then back to Owl.
"Konoha is my village. I won't lay a hand on my village."
A smile curved beneath the mask.
"But I can lay a hand on… certain people. Specific ones."
He released his grip briefly, checked the Nine-Tails' direction again, then returned his gaze to Owl.
Owl's face twisted—because in that pause, he understood.
His expression turned even uglier.
"You did this to me… because your real target is the ANBU Director," Owl said, voice shaking with disbelief and hatred.
"You crippled me so I can't deliver the authorization order."
"And without the order—Murashima Takumi won't move, even with the Nine-Tails inside the village."
"So you can kill him."
Owl's eyes were bloodshot.
"You're insane. You're a real, genuine lunatic. Aren't you afraid you'll be exposed?!"
Hikaru stared at him quietly.
Then—slowly—he removed his mask.
His face was revealed, and it still wore that same pleasant smile.
He stepped closer, crouched in front of Owl, and looked him in the eyes.
Owl had to admit it: he wasn't incompetent. His mind was fast.
He'd reconstructed Hikaru's plan almost instantly.
No wonder the Third Hokage had valued him—no wonder he'd been used as a bridge between the Third and Murashima Takumi.
That role wasn't for fools.
"Clever," Hikaru said softly. "You figured it out quickly."
He rose, looking down at Owl's fully locked body.
"I'll congratulate you. You got it right."
His smile didn't change.
"But there's no reward. You only get to take the secret to the Pure Land."
He took two steps back and began weaving hand seals.
"And you shouldn't imagine this is something that can never be discovered."
"No. It will be discovered."
His eyes were calm—almost indifferent.
"But so what?"
"As long as the Nine-Tails incident is handled properly, everything afterward can be smoothed over."
He spoke like someone stating a simple rule of the world.
"Reality is like this: Hiruzen Sarutobi isn't a good Hokage—not because he doesn't prioritize Konoha."
"He does."
"But he's too confident."
"Years of success convinced him he's always right."
"And that created a belief: Konoha can only improve under his will."
"He's done things that freeze people's hearts."
"The era changed. People changed."
"But Hiruzen didn't."
Hikaru's gaze sharpened slightly.
"He probably knows how many hate him. He just believes he can control everything anyway."
"Like believing I'm 'trustworthy.'"
He didn't deny it.
He also didn't pretend Hiruzen trusted him completely.
"But he never believed I'd go this far."
"And when he realizes it… it'll be too late to move freely—just like right now."
Hikaru stopped talking.
Not because he had nothing more to say—because he didn't need to.
His hostility toward Hiruzen wasn't personal. It was political, positional—rooted in blood and history.
Still, Hikaru never made the mistake of underestimating an enemy.
He always remembered the enemy's strengths.
Because that was how you found their weakness cleanly.
He knew the risk: exposure could come tomorrow, or years later—or not at all.
But as long as his performance tonight didn't crack…
Hiruzen would grit his teeth and accept it.
And if Hikaru displayed overwhelming combat power and influence—and Minato remained alive—
this would be buried.
Covered.
Justified as "for the stability of Konoha."
His hands finished the seals.
"Sage Art—Water Release: Severing Wave!"
A violent surge of chakra erupted.
Water—compressed, sharpened, fused with senjutsu—blasted across the battlefield straight toward the Nine-Tails.
"GRAAAH—!"
The fox shrieked.
Senjutsu chakra was among the most lethal forces in the entire chakra system. Even opponents at Six Paths-tier could be harmed by it—let alone a tailed beast.
A massive gash split open across the Nine-Tails' shoulder, and the wound healed slowly—nothing like the shallow injuries Hiruzen had been able to inflict earlier.
The Nine-Tails turned, enraged, and accelerated toward Hikaru.
Hikaru nodded, satisfied.
Then he looked back at Owl, voice soft again.
"Go in peace."
"At least you died protecting Konoha."
"You did your duty."
He took out a kunai and retreated, watching Owl carefully.
ANBU weren't easy to kill. Specialists always had something strange up their sleeve.
Until Hikaru confirmed death, he would treat it as uncertain.
"I'll make sure," he murmured.
Owl's lips trembled as he tried to curse, tried to move—
but his body no longer belonged to him.
He couldn't even speak clearly.
Behind him, the Nine-Tails' presence approached like apocalypse: vile, crushing chakra, the sound of earth shaking under an enormous body.
Despair swallowed Owl whole.
Then a shadow fell over him.
A hurricane roar—
And something slammed down.
BOOM!
The impact shattered nearby structures. Explosions and collapses roared outward.
Hikaru's figure had already vanished.
Far away, on a still-standing utility pole, he stood straight under the moonlight, eyes fixed on the place the Nine-Tails had crushed.
He watched for a long moment.
Then he looked away.
And disappeared again.
BOOOOM—!
The Nine-Tails' tail swept through the district, wiping another swath of buildings away.
At the Konoha Military Police Force, every Uchiha capable of fighting had already assembled.
They'd been on standby for weeks.
The Fourth Hokage's order had been simple:
Maintain alert status. Be ready at all times.
Most of them respected Minato. He had strength—and he didn't seem openly hostile toward them.
For the Uchiha, power mattered. Respect followed power.
Uchiha Fugaku stood at the gate, staring at the towering fox.
He inhaled slowly.
It was terrifying.
But they had to move.
They were part of Konoha, too.
And Sharingan had an advantage against tailed beasts—even if only slightly.
"All of you," Fugaku commanded. "We move out!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Their shout was unified.
Not "Clan Head."
"Captain."
They were going to war as Konoha's police—against the Nine-Tails.
"Good."
Fugaku's eyes flicked briefly toward the elders behind him, then away.
He turned to lead them—fighting not for anyone's pride, but for the village their ancestors had helped build.
"Stop."
ANBU appeared.
Several masked shinobi cut across their path, blocking the entire Uchiha formation.
Fugaku's brow tightened—especially when he saw the old man with a cane stepping forward.
He knew exactly who it was.
Shimura Danzo.
The shadow-king of a dark organization outside ANBU.
A man despised by every major clan.
"Danzo-sama," Fugaku said with forced restraint, "what is the problem?"
"You are not deploying," Danzo said flatly. "You will remain here—under our surveillance—until this incident ends."
Fugaku's expression darkened.
"What… do you mean?"
Danzo lifted his chin slightly, voice cold.
"You saw the Nine-Tails' eyes. Don't tell me you didn't."
Fugaku froze.
He had noticed.
The Nine-Tails' eyes—
Sharingan.
And the old records were clear: Sharingan could control tailed beasts.
But that method had vanished with Uchiha Madara.
Fugaku couldn't do it.
Still…
In a crisis, explanations didn't matter.
Even if the odds were low, suspicion was enough to hang them.
His fist clenched beneath his sleeve.
He calculated.
Then—slowly—he stepped back.
A silent surrender.
The Uchiha behind him stiffened.
Humiliation flooded their chests.
They were prepared to die fighting the Nine-Tails—
yet Konoha didn't trust them.
Didn't respect them.
Instead, it chained them in place like criminals.
Anger rose.
But their clan head had yielded, and they had to follow.
Among the elders, Uchiha Makoto watched with a complicated expression—then something else surfaced beneath it.
Excitement.
Fugaku had retreated.
Fugaku had made the wrong call.
For over a month, Makoto had been waiting for a moment like this.
He'd tried to reform the Police Force—starting with his own squad, trying to implement Hikaru's plan: share positions with civilian shinobi.
Fugaku had vetoed it immediately.
Other elders resisted even harder.
And the speed at which word spread had made Makoto realize something ugly:
Fugaku was actively steering opposition.
Makoto's disappointment had deepened.
That seed in his heart had surged.
And now—
Now he saw it clearly.
A mistake.
A public mistake.
An opening.
Danzo's presence was intimidating, yes—but how many men had he brought?
A handful of Root.
And himself.
What did the Uchiha need to do?
Aid the Hokage. Protect Konoha. Fight the Nine-Tails.
The math was simple.
Makoto stepped forward.
"Danzo-sama."
His voice rang out.
"Is this the Hokage's order… or your personal decision?"
Danzo's face shifted.
A flicker of irritation.
"You…" he hissed. "Uchiha Makoto."
Makoto raised his voice so every Uchiha behind him could hear.
"Then show us the Hokage's written order."
"If you don't have one—by what authority are you blocking us?"
"Or are you planning to watch the Nine-Tails rampage through Konoha while you stand here?"
Danzo's response dodged the point.
"The Sharingan in the Nine-Tails' eyes is proof enough. Monitoring you is the best protection for Konoha."
Makoto smiled slightly.
"So it's your decision."
He leaned in with quiet contempt.
"Danzo-sama… you carry yourself with quite the grandeur."
"What rank gives you the right to command us?"
"Do you think you're the Hokage?"
Danzo's face hardened completely.
His cane struck the ground.
Chakra surged.
Root operatives shifted into formation.
Tension snapped tight as wire.
Fugaku stared, stunned, caught between shock and loss of control.
"You intend to defy my order?" Danzo growled. "Uchiha Makoto?"
Makoto answered calmly, firmly.
"Defy your order? You are not Hokage."
"You cannot command the Police Force."
He lifted his fist, voice rising like a battle drum.
"All Uchiha!"
"Will you accept baseless accusations—without a single official Hokage order?"
"We won't!"
The reply erupted—loud, raw, angry.
Makoto pressed harder.
"Will you watch that monster destroy our home and do nothing because of politics?"
"We won't!"
"Will you stand here like prisoners—monitored—while Konoha burns?"
"We won't!"
Their voices grew stronger with each answer.
Danzo's jaw tightened.
He wanted to strike—
But he couldn't.
Not now.
Not with so few men.
Not when Root itself was bound by restrictions: without a Hokage directive, he couldn't mobilize freely.
Makoto's eyes narrowed.
"Danzo-sama," he said, voice sharpened like a blade, "are you truly going to attack shinobi who are moving to defend the village… in the village's most critical hour?"
"With what intention?"
Danzo's silence was the answer.
Makoto turned away from him completely.
He stepped forward—first.
Toward the Nine-Tails.
Toward Konoha's fire.
For a moment the Uchiha behind hesitated, glancing at Fugaku—who still stood motionless.
Then Makoto's own squad moved.
And once they moved, the hesitation vanished.
One by one, then all at once, the Uchiha followed.
Leaving behind only—
Danzo, seething.
And Fugaku, standing in place with a hollow, complicated look.
Hikaru, after confirming Owl's death, moved fast.
He'd waited earlier for safety—watched, sensed, verified the corpse had been crushed into nothing.
ANBU were dangerous. Unknown techniques were dangerous.
He refused "surprises."
Now he had no reason to stay.
He had to do two things:
Mobilize ANBU against the Nine-Tails.
And remove the biggest obstacle inside ANBU.
Yes, it felt ugly—using chaos to eliminate someone.
But opportunities didn't come twice.
And Hikaru wasn't a "thick-skinned" man.
He was simply honest about what he was.
Danzo would hide and hoard forces to protect his own power.
I will fight the Nine-Tails.
That alone made them fundamentally different.
He reached ANBU headquarters quickly.
Every available operative—active, resting, off-duty—had already assembled.
Interrogation units. Reserve squads. Even trainees.
Two other division captains were present, their teams ready.
Everyone was waiting.
And at the center—
Murashima Takumi stood still, unmoving.
The gathered ANBU were masked, but Hikaru could feel their frustration radiating off them.
They were being held in place while their home burned.
Hikaru swept his gaze across the scene.
Under the mask, he smiled.
So you really are waiting for an order.
He stepped to the front and spoke with force.
"All units—listen!"
"By order of the Third Hokage: ANBU deploy immediately. Move out!"
"Wait."
Murashima Takumi's voice cracked down like a gavel.
"Nightingale. What are you doing?"
"Where is the Hokage's written authorization?"
"Director," Hikaru answered, voice controlled, "the Third gave it to Owl. On the way here, Owl was killed by the Nine-Tails. His body was crushed—there was no way to recover the document."
Murashima's brow furrowed.
A missing order. A dead courier. A convenient explanation.
Too convenient.
Questions multiplied instantly.
And when Murashima saw questions, he froze.
Because if something was unclear—
he did not move.
"Then we do not deploy," Murashima said coldly. "Without the Hokage's written authorization, no one moves."
The assembled ANBU shifted subtly—disbelief, anger, pressure rising.
Even now?
Even with the Nine-Tails inside the village?
Murashima didn't blink.
Hikaru's "gentle" tone turned colder, and everyone could hear it.
"Director… the Nine-Tails is rampaging through Konoha. The Hokage is outside fighting for his life."
"As ANBU Director, refusing to act looks… inappropriate."
"Then you will retrieve another authorization," Murashima said. "You have Flying Thunder God."
Hikaru's gaze sharpened.
"And how, exactly, am I supposed to find the Hokage in this chaos?"
Murashima's voice was flat, absolute.
"That is your problem."
"Without an order, ANBU does not move."
He leaned forward slightly, eyes like stone.
"Unless I die—no one disobeys my command."
Silence.
A heavy, suffocating silence filled the headquarters.
Hikaru nodded once.
Slowly.
His voice became soft again—dangerously soft.
"I understand."
Then he lifted his head.
"And…"
His eyes locked onto Murashima Takumi.
"As you wish."
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