On the eastern edge of the ruins of Uzushiogakure, in the Land of Whirlpools—
The sea wind carried a damp, salty scent as it swept across broken walls and scattered debris, stirring the graying hair at the temples of Mitokado Homura.
He stood atop a relatively flat rise.
Behind him, Konoha shinobi were busily and methodically setting up camp along the western side of the ruins.
Somewhere out of sight, on the opposite end, the Kirigakure forces were likely doing the exact same thing.
This arrangement was no coincidence.
It was a lesson learned by the entire shinobi world—from the incident where Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Kumogakure ambushed Tobirama Senju.
Negotiations required strength backing them.
Hatake Kakashi stood silently beside Homura.
As the only survivor of the previous battle—and someone who had personally experienced Fugaku’s terrifying abilities—he had naturally been assigned as Homura’s guard.
“You’ve been quiet on the way here.”
Homura spoke without turning, his tone calm, almost observational.
“I’ve always been like this.
Not much of a talker.”
Kakashi replied.
Homura nodded, not pressing further.
His gaze drifted toward the distant ruins—remnants of what was once a thriving nation.
“Time really does pass quickly… Back then, this place was lively.”
“I’ve never seen it myself,” Kakashi said, glancing at him.
“But my teacher’s wife mentioned it before.
Speaking of which…”
He paused.
“Do you know the truth behind the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools?”
His eyes instinctively scanned the surroundings before adding:
“I mean… is it something that can be said?”
“There’s nothing that can’t be said.
Among the upper ranks of the major nations, it’s an open secret.”
Homura clasped his hands behind his back, his voice slow and reflective.
“Officially, the story is that the nations feared Uzushiogakure’s sealing techniques.
During the Third Shinobi War, when Konoha was too occupied to intervene, multiple forces united and destroyed it.”
He paused.
“But that’s only part of the truth.
In reality… their destruction was, to some extent, self-inflicted.”
“Self-inflicted?”
“At the time, Uzushiogakure was flourishing.
Their powerful sealing techniques gave them immense confidence.”
Homura continued.
“Their leadership grew dissatisfied with remaining Konoha’s subordinate.
They wanted independence—and more than that, they wanted a tailed beast.
Their own jinchūriki.”
Kakashi’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“At that time, Isobu—the Three-Tails—was nominally under Kirigakure’s control.
But due to their lack of advanced sealing techniques, it remained essentially wild.”
“Uzushiogakure set their sights on it.”
“And that,” Homura said, “gave Kirigakure the perfect justification to act.”
“There was also Kumogakure’s involvement.
It was Kirigakure that contacted them.
They agreed to split the Uzumaki clan’s sealing knowledge afterward.
Otherwise, with Kumo’s poor sealing abilities, how could they possibly manage something like the Eight-Tails?”
Kakashi fell silent for a moment before asking quietly:
“So Konoha… knew about this?
And chose not to intervene?”
“We knew.”
Homura answered without hesitation.
“At the time, the higher-ups unanimously agreed: a Land of Whirlpools seeking independence—and attempting to control a tailed beast—posed a greater threat than it did value as an ally.”
“So we chose not to act.”
He exhaled softly.
“That said, considering the need for the next Nine-Tails jinchūriki, we still acted at the final moment… and rescued the princess of the Uzumaki clan—Uzumaki Kushina.”
Kakashi thought of the red-haired woman—his teacher’s wife, fiery and strong-willed—and a ripple of emotion passed through him.
“Then… what about Lady Uzumaki Mito?
She was also from that clan.
What did she think?”
“At that time…”
Homura shook his head lightly.
“Lady Mito’s body was already on the verge of collapse.
She neither had the strength nor the capacity to concern herself with such matters.”
“That can’t be right.
She was a jinchūriki—her vitality should’ve been—”
“The Nine-Tails is different.”
Homura cut him off.
“Mito was more like a prototype.
The First Hokage and the Second Hokage spent countless trials perfecting the sealing method—eventually stabilizing the Adamantine Sealing Chains within her to suppress the Nine-Tails.”
“But the cost was immense.”
“Her body had long been eroded by that violent power and the complexity of the sealing formula.”
He paused, voice lowering slightly.
“That she managed to hold on long enough to pass the Nine-Tails to Kushina… was already a miracle.”
The sea breeze seemed to grow colder.
Homura looked at Kakashi, a faint, knowing smile forming on his face.
“So… is there anything else you want to ask?” he said lightly.
“For example… about your father?”
Kakashi’s body stiffened—almost imperceptibly.
Then, a flicker of realization passed through his exposed eye.
What seemed like casual reminiscing… what sounded like candid historical truth… had all been leading to this moment.
He took a slow breath, suppressing the surge of emotion in his chest.
When he spoke again, his voice had returned to its usual calm—but carried a sharper edge.
“…Why are you telling me this now?”
“Because Fugaku is a master at manipulating people.”
Homura didn’t dodge the question.
On the contrary, his honesty was almost blunt.
“That man’s words have already thrown Konoha into unrest.
You’ve been quiet this whole way—I could tell something’s been bothering you.”
He turned his head slightly.
“I don’t want to be stabbed in the back by my own people at a critical moment.
And after thinking it through… the best way to deal with someone like him may not be better lies.”
“But simply being a bit more honest.”
He looked directly at Kakashi.
“Politics is built on filth and compromise.
That’s a fact.”
“Take your father’s case.
No blade or enemy could kill Konoha’s White Fang—Sakumo Hatake—except himself.”
“At the time, the rumors that slandered him—questioning his choice of prioritizing comrades over the mission—those came from Danzō.”
“And the Third Hokage… allowed it.”
“Why?”
Kakashi’s voice trembled despite his control.
His clenched fist had already turned pale.
The rain from that day… the day his father died… seemed to fall again in his memory.
“Because your father unintentionally gathered people around him.”
Homura answered calmly.
“A large, loose faction formed—people using his reputation to push for benefits, to promote reforms.”
“For example, that system allowing merit to be exchanged for ninjutsu—it was implemented at the peak of your father’s influence.”
“But that was a good thing!” Kakashi couldn’t help but argue.
“It gave civilian shinobi a chance to learn advanced techniques!”
“It was a good thing.”
Homura nodded.
“But it touched the core interests of the traditional clans.”
“At that time, the clans were the foundation of Konoha.
To appease them, Danzō spread those rumors.
Hiruzen allowed it.”
“The intention was only to suppress your father’s influence… to weaken that faction around him.”
His tone lowered slightly.
“But none of us expected… that he would choose such a final path.”
Kakashi stood there like a statue.
Homura adjusted his glasses.
“I’m not telling you this to shift blame.
Not to say your father was weak, or that the Third Hokage was blameless.”
“I’m telling you this so you understand—what we did, we did.
What we didn’t do, we didn’t do.”
“Right or wrong… you can judge that yourself.”
He paused, then added:
“Or to put it simply—Konoha is a house.”
“If I remove the doors and windows, Fugaku can do nothing but watch.”
“Because most people, faced with cold air and inconvenience, will complain… but they won’t tear down the entire house that still shelters them.”
“…”
Kakashi exhaled slowly.
At that moment, the last trace of anger in his heart found nowhere to land.
His father had loved Konoha.
That was why he chose death.
Kakashi might resent Danzō… the Third Hokage… even Homura.
But he would never destroy Konoha.
“…By the way,” Kakashi said after a pause, “is it really okay for you to tell me all this?
Would the Third Hokage allow it?”
Homura chuckled.
“He’s already going to take the blame and step down.
What’s a little more dirt?”
He pulled out a cigarette, snapped his fingers to light it, and took a drag.
“Besides… he set Danzō up.”
“I set him up.”
“That’s only fair.”
He suddenly raised his head, eyes sharp as blades, turning toward a patch of dense forest shadows.
Kakashi instantly snapped out of his thoughts.
His body tensed, one hand moving toward his ninja pouch.
“You’ve been listening long enough,” Homura said calmly.
“Come out.”
The leaves rustled.
A figure stepped forward.
At first glance, it looked like a thin man in a hood.
But as the figure approached, its form began to change—cheekbones softening, jawline reshaping, skin turning pale, posture shifting with a subtle feminine grace.
By the time it stopped before them, it had become a gentle-looking blonde woman wearing round glasses.
“‘The Wandering Shrine Maiden,'” Homura said, calling out her codename.
A top-tier infiltrator of Root.
A woman with a unique kekkei genkai—able to perfectly mimic appearance, voice, even habits.
Nono Yakushi bowed slightly.
“It’s me, Lord Homura.”
Her voice was soft, almost soothing.
“With Root wiped out, I had no choice but to contact you directly… to deliver urgent intelligence.”
“What intelligence?”
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she simply looked at him—quietly, steadily.
Homura exhaled smoke.
“So… what do you want?”
“Money,” she said gently.
“Funds to keep the orphanage running.”
She raised three fingers.
“At least… three years.”
Homura clicked his tongue slightly.
“I understand your situation.
But your orphanage is in the ‘Outer Zone.'”
“It’s essentially Konoha’s external interface.
The children there come from everywhere—many with unknown origins.”
“By Konoha’s rules, they shouldn’t even receive funding.
If anything, they should be paying for stability.”
“…Two years.”
Her tone remained calm as she stepped back slightly.
“I was forced by Danzō to work for Root.
Strictly speaking, I’m not even a formal member.”
“…Fine.”
After a moment, Homura nodded.
He had already observed enough.
This negotiation wasn’t about money—it was about verifying her loyalty.
Nono seemed to relax slightly.
“The Kirigakure forces on the east coast… are in chaos.”
“Why?”
“Fugaku used ‘Kotoamatsukami’ to control Mei, then gave her the eye.”
“He’s using her to control the clan alliance.”
“That was the earlier information.”
She paused.
“But yesterday, the first confirmed controlled target appeared-Mizuki Yuki, head of the Yuki clan.”
“Fugaku’s plan is to use these three to four days during negotiations… to control the entire upper echelon of the alliance.”
“…Impossible.”
Homura’s expression twitched.
He bit down on his cigarette, rotating it slightly.
He knew more about Kotoamatsukami than most.
Shisui Uchiha had once said himself—
His left eye could only be used once every fifteen years.
Even with Hashirama cells reducing the cooldown, controlling an entire village in days was absurd.
And yet…
Homura frowned.
Fugaku’s abilities… those eyes that rivaled an Eternal Mangekyō…
Could he really dismiss it as impossible?
“…Any other information?”
“Yes.”
“The alliance members have all gathered in Kirigakure’s camp, but their next move is unclear.”
“What’s certain is—this will cause chaos.”
“There’s also another report, though the source is unreliable.”
“Go on.”
“A fisherman—one of my informants—reported seeing a figure yesterday evening.”
“A man carrying a massive executioner blade… landing on a remote rocky shore on the east coast.”
“He disappeared into the forest shortly after.”
“Carrying a large blade…”
Homura began pacing slowly.
“Kisame himself is already at the harbor.
So it’s not him.”
“That means… one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.”
“So on the surface, they sent Kisame.”
“But in secret… they sent an assassination unit.”
He let out a low chuckle.
“It seems the Fourth Mizukage also has his eyes on that Sharingan…”
Finally, after several laps, Homura stopped.
He looked at Kakashi and Nono.
“I can’t confirm whether the Kotoamatsukami intelligence is true.”
“But if I can’t… Kirigakure certainly can’t either.”
“They’ll assume the worst.”
“The situation right now…”
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
“…is like a bomb ready to explode at any moment.”
“And that—”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“—is our opportunity.”
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