Uchiha Kaede returned to the Police Force headquarters in the dead of night. The moment he released the corpse of the Root operative, the entire Uchiha leadership was galvanized. Fugaku Uchiha personally rushed to the station to oversee the matter.
Kaede recounted the entire encounter—from the initial meeting to the killing strike—with blunt transparency. His narrative left Fugaku and the elders looking at one another in stunned silence.
"This man is A-9 of Root..."
A-9? The Wind Style master was personally trained by Danzo? He died at the hands of Kaede?
Fugaku stepped forward, his gaze piercing. "You claim a Root member attacked you without provocation. But how could you be certain he was Root, rather than standard Anbu?"
Root was technically a branch of Anbu, but its actual control lay solely with Danzo. Kaede remained perfectly calm. "I clashed with him using Genjutsu. Through that exchange, I extracted his affiliation to Danzo."
Before a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, even a Genjutsu specialist like A-9 could not resist—this was the absolute pride the Uchiha took in their bloodline.
However, the fact that Danzo had the audacity to send a Root operative to assassinate an Uchiha member sparked a wildfire of rage.
One clan elder clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white. "Danzo is crossing the line. We've had several clansmen go missing over the last few years.
We assumed they were defectors, but now... it seems Root has been busy."
The missing Uchiha hadn't been prominent figures, so Fugaku hadn't prioritized their disappearances.
But this incident acted as a detonator for the powder keg of clan-village relations. A-9 was a notorious Jonin; his unique sonic Wind Style combined with Genjutsu made him a nightmare for Two-Tomoe users.
Even a fresh Three-Tomoe user would usually need to be extremely cautious. To think Kaede had killed him on the spot.
"Evolving to the Three-Tomoe in the heat of battle... Kaede, you have done exceptionally well."
Though some doubts about the combat details remained, Kaede's Three-Tomoe eyes were undeniable proof. In Fugaku's eyes, a survival-driven breakthrough followed by a counter-kill was entirely plausible for a Uchiha.
Per clan regulations, Kaede was granted a massive reward: three B-rank Fire Style scrolls and one A-rank Fire Style scroll.
Fugaku knew Kaede's father, Zhan, hadn't left many scrolls behind, and he wanted to encourage this newly awakened talent.
As Kaede withdrew, Fugaku looked at the corpse. "Send this body directly to the Hokage's office. Let our young Fourth Hokage handle this mess." This was a probe—a test to see how Minato Namikaze would treat the Uchiha after such a blatant provocation.
A Mother's Love and a Shifting Heart
"Kaede, are you alright?"
Upon returning home, Kaede was met by his mother. Her face was pale with terror as she grabbed his arms, refusing to let go.
This unexpected display of raw emotion made Kaede feel incredibly awkward. Though they had been playing the roles of "mother and son" with quiet understanding, the intensity of her reaction caught him off guard.
"Mother, I am fine..."
"I'm going to speak with the Clan Head tomorrow. I'll tell him you're not going to be a ninja anymore! Working a regular job in our territory is better than living every day in fear!"
As she prattled on, Kaede felt his own emotions being stirred. He allowed her to hold him, offering a gentle, warm smile.
"Don't worry, Mother. I can protect myself now. I've awakened the Three-Tomoe; ordinary enemies can't touch me."
Why? Why am I being influenced by this woman's emotions? Kaede wondered. But seeing that rare, genuine smile, his mother broke down into tears of relief. In that moment, she felt as if her son had truly come back to her.
Back in the Hidden Sand, Shiraishi sat alone in his courtyard, feeling the echo of Kaede's emotions.
Having lost his own parents at a young age, Shiraishi felt a sudden, sharp pang of envy. The heart he had sealed away was being pried open by the connection to his split consciousness.
He had intended to keep Kaede's persona purely clinical to avoid complicating his plans, yet he found himself unable to stop the flow of empathy.
Great love is heartless... perhaps I am not yet strong enough if I can be swayed by such trivial sentiment.
"Are you still awake?"
Maki approached through the cool night air, draping a heavy coat over Shiraishi's shoulders.
"Maki, I was just... thinking of my parents."
Shiraishi turned and leaned his head against Maki's lap, acting for a moment like a vulnerable child rather than a formidable Kazekage. He was, after all, only twenty years old. No matter how strong he appeared to the world, he was still a young man.
Maki stroked his hair gently. "Am I not still here with you?"
Shiraishi looked up at his wife. "Promise me... never leave my side."
Maki smiled softly. "Of course. I will never leave you."
The Dragons of the Sand
In the southern seas of the Land of Vegetables, a thick, terrifying darkness loomed.
"Ahead lies the legendary site where the Box of Ultimate Bliss was first sealed," Arashi noted.
To counter the energy pollution, Arashi unrolled a specialized scroll. Under the watchful eyes of Morimoto Ryoji and Souji, the smoke cleared to reveal a Mechanical Twin-Winged Dragon.
Its ferocious, domineering Posture stunned the three men. Even Arashi, who knew of its existence, was taken aback by its craftsmanship.
This is what the Kazekage calls a 'small toy'?
Crafted from Shikotsumyaku-infused materials, Dragon Vein energy, and Shiraishi's latest tech, this flying puppet contained internal seals that generated a Wind Style Barrier to repel natural energy.
As they boarded, the "Regeneration Core" in the dragon's eyes glowed crimson. It leaped into the air with a roar, cleaving a path through the darkness with a localized storm.
Simultaneously, several identical dragons appeared over the Revelation Mountains on the Earth-Wind border.
The dragons initiated a terrifying first strike. Small, red Tailed Beast Bomb-style energy spheres condensed in their maws, firing beams of light that swept across the Stone's mountain fortifications.
Shikasa had originally planned a standard puppet drop, but with this aerial fleet provided by Shiraishi, the strategy shifted to total air superiority.
The Stone shinobi felt as if the world was ending. Trapped in their mountain outposts, they found their defenses useless against these high-altitude predators.
In late Konoha Year 48, a new era of warfare was born, turning the wheels of history in a way the shinobi world had never seen before.
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