At a Konoha border outpost between the Land of Claws and the Land of Rice Fields—
A gust of wind swept past.
The tall wooden watchtower creaked faintly.
Inside the outpost, dim lamplight stretched Danzo Shimura’s shadow long across the rough wall.
His expression was dark enough to drip with malice.
Kneeling before him were Root’s four elite jōnin—
Yamato (Tenzō), Aburame Ryoma, Yamanaka Fū, and Aburame Torune.
All four kept their heads lowered, even their breathing restrained.
“…Useless.”
Danzo’s voice was cold.
“First you lose them at the Red River.
Then you get played by shadow clones.
And now—you can’t even track three hundred people.”
“I wanted Root to show its strength—yet instead, we’ve exposed our own incompetence.”
He paced slowly, his cane striking the wooden floor in a steady rhythm.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Each sound weighed heavily on the four kneeling shinobi.
“Yamanaka Fū—what’s the situation from the village?”
Fū answered immediately.
“Using the outpost’s communication station, we’ve received updated orders.”
“To counter Fugaku’s shadow clone tactics, the Third Hokage has deployed the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
The Hyūga clan has dispatched fifty branch family members led by Hiashi’s brother Hizashi.”
“They’ve formed fifty ninja squads.”
“…Fifty?”
Danzo stopped walking, his lone eye narrowing.
“Yes.
These fifty squads have spread across most of the Land of Fire in a net-like formation.
They’re advancing toward the Land of Rice Fields.”
“So far… no trace of the Uchiha has been found.”
Danzo moved to the table, where a map lay open.
His finger traced across the Land of Rice Fields, then stopped at the Land of Claws.
“To the east—the Land of Hot Water is sealed.”
“To the west—I’m here.”
“To the north—the sea.”
“To the south—those Hyūga squads tightening the net.”
“Fifty Byakugan users, working together… covering hundreds of kilometers.”
“They won’t escape.”
His palm slammed onto the table.
“Which means—”
“They’re still hiding somewhere in the Land of Claws.”
His eye gleamed coldly.
“Mobilize the entire country.
Every town, every caravan, every wandering ninja—report anything suspicious.”
“Put out a bounty.
A heavy one.”
“…Dismissed.”
The four vanished almost instantly.
Meanwhile—
Across the northern Land of Fire—
Fifty ninja squads spread out like nodes in a massive invisible web.
Each squad consisted of one Hyūga member and two chūnin or special jōnin, spaced three to five kilometers apart, connected by radio.
At the rear of this web—
Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi advanced steadily, alongside Hiashi’s brother Hizashi.
“Squad 7 reporting—no anomalies in sector C3.”
“Squad 22 reporting—merchant caravan checked, no issues.”
“Squad 36 reporting—sector A9—”
Radio chatter continued nonstop.
Shikaku sighed as he ran.
“…What a hassle.”
“Shikaku, where do you think they are?” Choza asked, keeping pace effortlessly despite his size.
“No idea.”
Shikaku answered bluntly.
“And I’d rather not know.”
Facing Fugaku—who had already led three hundred people out of Konoha—
No one wanted that fight.
Fortunately, their mission wasn’t direct combat.
Just reconnaissance and containment.
Still—
Shikaku’s mind kept working.
“From Fugaku’s actions…”
“His goal is clear—defect to another village.”
“But to hide which one…”
“He’s been using the Red River to create false trails.”
“First, it looked like he was heading to the Land of Lightning.”
“Then the Land of Earth.”
“But intelligence shows he never actually approached those borders.”
“So my guess is…”
Shikaku traced a circle in the air.
“He’s hiding somewhere near the Konoha–Rice Fields border.”
“He’s waiting.”
“For us to make a mistake… or leave a gap.”
“Could it be Kirigakure?” Inoichi asked.
“Unlikely,” Choza shook his head.
“They’d have to cross the entire Land of Fire.”
“…Nothing is impossible.”
Shikaku’s gaze turned distant.
“That’s exactly what Fugaku might be counting on.”
Suddenly—
“Squad 36 reporting!
Enemy contact!
Three kilometers ahead!
Over twenty targets!
Chakra signatures uneven!”
Shikaku stopped instantly.
“All units—listen carefully!”
“Form a U-shaped contraction centered on Squad 36!”
“Squads near the base of the ‘U’ must maintain a three-kilometer distance from the enemy at all times!”
“No engagement!”
Orders spread instantly.
The fifty squads shifted—
Like a tightening web.
“…This should be an elite unit from the moderates,” Shikaku muttered.
“A decoy.”
“To test our response.”
“What are they trying to do?” Inoichi asked.
“…Ignore it.”
Shikaku resumed running.
“As long as we don’t engage and keep them contained…”
“In the Land of Fire…”
“They’re the ones under pressure.”
Time passed.
Reports grew more detailed.
“Squad 35—23 enemies.
3 jōnin-level, 2 near jōnin, 18 chūnin.
All have Sharingan.”
“Squad 37—same as 35.
Confirmed no shadow clones.”
“Squad 41—enemy moving southeast at moderate speed.”
But—
Shikaku’s expression grew heavier.
Fugaku was no fool.
Every move had purpose.
Using an elite squad as bait made sense—
But against this formation?
The net wasn’t fully closed.
It would converge with border forces to form a massive U-shaped encirclement.
So why reveal themselves?
Instinctively—
Shikaku glanced at Hiashi’s brother Hizashi.
Hizashi stood vigilant, Byakugan active, veins bulging, scanning with perfect discipline.
But—
His head moved slightly.
Just a little.
And that—
Sparked a realization.
The Byakugan of the branch family…
Had a blind spot.
Unlike the main family’s near-360° vision, branch members had a tiny gap at the back of the neck due to the cursed seal.
Normally negligible.
But—
Their opponent was Fugaku.
With Mangekyō-level perception…
Observing a squad for hours and pinpointing that blind spot—
Was entirely possible.
“All units—listen carefully!”
Shikaku grabbed the radio, his voice sharp for the first time.
“Check the elite Uchiha squad—look for anyone carrying communication devices!”
A brief silence.
Then—
“Squad 35—confirmed.
One target has a small device at the waist.”
“Squad 37—same.”
“Squad 42—heh…”
A soft chuckle came through the radio.
That single sound made Shikaku’s hair stand on end.
“Shikaku.”
The voice spoke.
“You’re still as sharp as ever.”
“…Fugaku.”
Shikaku inhaled sharply.
Everything—
Was exactly as he feared.
Using an elite squad as bait—hiding one of Fugaku’s shadow clones within it.
That clone, possessing Mangekyō-level perception, observed a single Hyūga squad for an extended period… memorizing their movement patterns, visual habits, and—most importantly—the precise timing and position of their blind spot.
And then—
“Squad 43 reporting… Shikaku, you’re still as sharp as ever… haha…”
“Squad 44 reporting… heh…”
“Squad 33 reporting… hahaha…”
Laughter began to echo through the radios.
One after another.
Out of fifty squads—
More than half had already been compromised.
“…He used that clone to study the Hyūga,” Shikaku Nara muttered, his voice low.
“He recorded their behavior, their blind spots… then relayed everything back to the original body.”
“The original then created more clones… exploiting those blind spots to infiltrate other squads—”
“And in one sweep… neutralized the Hyūga members across the formation.”
He glanced at Hiashi’s brother Hizashi, whose face had gone pale.
Shikaku inhaled slowly.
“…Fugaku.”
“For the sake of being from the same village…”
“…let them go.”
Silence.
Then—
Through the crackling radio—
Uchiha Fugaku’s voice came, distorted by static.
“…Let them go?”
“…Would you… let us go?”
The line fell silent.
Meanwhile—
In Konoha.
Inside the Hokage’s office—
Hiruzen sat behind his desk, Shikaku’s detailed report spread before him.
His pipe glowed faintly as smoke curled upward.
“…The third time.”
He set the report down and exhaled.
“First—crossing the Red River into the Land of Hot Water, pretending to defect to Kumogakure.”
“Second—moving through underground caverns into the Land of Rice Fields.”
“Third—crossing the Red River again, returning into the Land of Fire…”
“And this time…”
“He exploited the Byakugan’s weakness.”
Hiruzen rubbed his temples.
“…What do you think?”
After a long pause, he looked at his two advisors.
“…Danzo is going to lose his mind again.”
“Capturing over thirty Hyūga branch members in one move…”
Homura leaned back, his expression grave.
“Before the second transfer, Fugaku deliberately mentioned the Hyūga in front of Danzo… this was likely his intention all along.”
“Now, with those Hyūga… he effectively has surveillance over hundreds of kilometers.”
“This is all Danzo’s fault,” Koharu sighed.
“He’s not like the other Uchiha.”
“Most of them burn like fire—everything visible on the surface.”
“But Fugaku…”
“…is a bottomless abyss.”
“Every step calculated.
Every move linked.”
“…Enough pessimism.”
Hiruzen stood and walked to the map again.
“There is some good news.”
He pointed.
“To the east—the Land of Hot Water is sealed.
His path to Kumogakure is cut off.”
“To the north—Danzo has already repositioned his forces, forming a defensive line along the Konoha border.”
“To the west—I’ve contacted Asuma Sarutobi.
With the Daimyō’s approval, the Guardian Twelve’s forces have deployed east of the capital.”
“And with Shikaku regrouping the remaining forces…”
“We now have enough strength to confront the Uchiha directly.”
“In short—”
“Even though he’s gained the Hyūga’s vision…”
“…he’s completely trapped within this region.”
“…But Hiruzen,” Koharu said slowly, “there’s something in Shikaku’s report.”
“He said Fugaku is a smart man.”
“And smart men don’t act without purpose.”
“If he’s done all this…”
“…there must be something we haven’t seen.”
“…What else could it be?”
Hiruzen gave a faint, dismissive smile.
“Reverse summoning.”
“As long as he has that, he doesn’t fear encirclement.
If encirclement worked, he wouldn’t have escaped Konoha in the first place.”
“…But Hiruzen…”
Homura straightened slightly.
“Danzo has already destroyed the summoning markers of the ninja cats.”
“Those aren’t simple seals—they require massive materials.
Recreating them while on the run is nearly impossible.”
“Without proper coordinates, summoning won’t work.”
“Not every technique is like Flying Thunder God.”
“…Unless…”
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
“…someone delivers a new summoning contract.”
“The northern region is vast.
There are bound to be spies from other villages.”
“Now that Fugaku has the Byakugan’s vision, he can monitor hundreds of kilometers.”
“If he wants—he can intercept those messengers.”
“And once he passes the information out…”
“All he needs is one village to send him a new summoning contract—”
“…and he can establish a new escape route.”
Silence filled the room.
After a long moment—
Hiruzen spoke again.
“This is a race.”
“Either we find him and eliminate him before he gets a new contract…”
“…or he receives ‘aid’ from another village first.”
“So what will you do?” Koharu asked.
“…What will I do…”
Hiruzen sighed.
“I underestimated Fugaku.”
“In small-scale combat, very few can stand against the Uchiha.”
“If Root truly clashes with him…”
“…the outcome is uncertain.”
“But that only proves my earlier point.”
“Inside Konoha—the Uchiha are dangerous.”
“Outside Konoha—they’re even more dangerous.”
“No one understands the threat of the Sharingan better than we do.”
“This is no longer a simple rogue ninja situation.”
“This requires overwhelming force.”
He tapped his pipe lightly against the desk.
“At most… we can mobilize ten thousand shinobi without disrupting larger strategy.”
“I will send them all into the encirclement.”
“And within this region of several hundred square kilometers…”
“We will wage a war.”
Hiruzen’s gaze hardened.
“No matter how you look at it—”
“Ten thousand against three hundred.”
“The advantage… is mine.”
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