Chapter 106: The Security Division's Secret & The Calculus of Humiliation
The kunai struck with pinpoint precision, skewering Naruto's orange jacket and pinning him to the tree trunk like a particularly loud, flailing butterfly.
"Hey! Ow! What gives, teme?!" Naruto yelled, dangling by his collar, utterly oblivious to the catastrophe he'd narrowly avoided.
Kakashi Hatake, mid-leap to intercept the falling duo, altered his trajectory with a jonin's fluid grace. His initial target had been Naruto, but Ren's perfectly timed throw had solved that problem. His hand closed around Sasuke's arm, pulling the younger boy into a secure carry.
And then the smell hit him.
Even through the reinforced fabric of his mask, it was an olfactory assault—a pungent, sour, deeply organic stench that spoke of total systemic failure. Kakashi's single visible eye widened a fraction behind his hitai-ate. He didn't need to look down. His years in Anbu had trained him to identify the scent of fear, death, and bodily betrayal. Trauma-induced incontinence. Severe.
To his eternal credit, Kakashi's composure didn't crack. He was a professional. Without a word, without setting foot back on the grove's soil, he reversed his momentum. Cradling the rigid, trembling form of Uchiha Sasuke, he flashed away in a swirl of leaves, heading not for the house, but for the dense cover of the woods upstream. A discreet cleaning and a desperate attempt to preserve the last shards of a clan heir's dignity.
"Wha… Where's Kakashi-sensei going with Sasuke?" Sakura Haruno asked, blinking in confusion from the ground. The sequence had been too fast for her to process—the fall, the kunai, the rescue, the abrupt departure.
"Sasuke-kun's old training injury must have flared up badly," Ren said, his voice a model of neutral concern. "Sensei is taking him for emergency treatment. The smell was… antiseptic. Strong."
It was a bald-faced lie, delivered with such calm assurance that Sakura simply nodded, her worry for Sasuke overriding her confusion.
[Pure Land Live Stream – Chat Log]
[VIP1: Uchiha Fugaku]: Kakashi… he… he preserved my son's honor. He didn't let the others see. Sakumo… thank you. Your son has a noble heart beneath that perverted exterior!
[Regular: Sakumo Hatake]: (A rare, soft smile). He did what a sensei should. The boy's pride is shattered enough without adding public spectacle. Well done, Kakashi.
[Regular: Uchiha Mikoto]: Thank you, Kakashi-kun! Thank you! (Donation: 30 Viewer Points – Message: Please get him clean clothes!)
[VIP5, Admin: Tobirama Senju]: Sentimentality aside, this is a critical mission degradation. The Uchiha asset is psychologically and physically compromised. Probability of effective combat participation within 48 hours: below 12%. The host's deception to the female teammate is tactically sound for short-term unit cohesion.
[VIP1: Uchiha Madara (The Philosopher of Carnage)]: Hn. Pride is a brittle armor. It has shattered. Now we see the soft, worthless flesh beneath. The copy-ninja's 'mercy' only prolongs the inevitable confrontation with his own weakness.
[VIP1: Minato Namikaze]: My boy is still stuck to the tree! Someone get him down! And Sasuke-kun… poor kid. The trauma…
[VIP1: Kushina Uzumaki]: Naruto's fine! He's tougher than that! Focus on the messed-up one! And Minato, stop dripping tears on my spectral ramen!
The chat scrolled, but a new, bizarre thread began to weave through the usual chaos, sparked by Fugaku's earlier, too-revealing lament.
[VIP1: Uchiha Fugaku]: …You have no idea. When I was in charge of the Security Division's detention block, I was the one assigned to purchase… certain feminine hygiene products for injured or indisposed female detainees. Some were unable to care for themselves. The duties… were comprehensive.
There was a profound, resonant silence across the Pure Land.
[Regular: Uchiha Mikoto]: …Fugaku. You personally… assisted other women with… that?
[VIP1: Uchiha Fugaku]: It was the job, Mikoto! A division head leads by example! Do you think I enjoyed constantly needing to visit the Nara clan for their kidney-tonic and longan restoratives?! The chakra drain was immense!
Ren, who was calmly walking over to pry a complaining Naruto from the tree, nearly tripped over a root. The hell kind of workplace hazard is that?
[Regular: Yūhi Maku]: …I suddenly find myself re-evaluating my career choices. The Security Division had… hidden benefits.
[Regular: Hyūga Hizashi]: Ind… indeed. It's not about the… the remuneration. It's about… dedication to a unique, hands-on public service.
[VIP5, Admin: Tobirama Senju]: You are all degenerates. This conversation is an affront to analytical discourse.
[VIP2: Third Raikage]: Nonsense! A warrior does what must be done! If the duty involves close-quarters logistical support, you execute it with vigor and efficiency! As expected of a clan head who understood all aspects of his command!
[VIP2: Yagura Karatachi]: I… I must admit, the administrative burdens of the Kage position seem suddenly less appealing. Paperwork versus… practical field medicine. The dream…
[Regular: Mū (The Second Tsuchikage)]: Ah, a topic I can finally contribute to! I concur entirely! The life of a Kage is a parade of tedious meetings and village budget reports. Utterly soulless. Fugaku-san's former position sounds… deeply engaging.
A ripple of spectral shock ran through the stream.
[Regular: Kondo Mune (The First Tsuchikage)]: Mū? You're here too? And you're agreeing with him?
[Regular: Mū]: I've been here. This topic simply resonates. The grass is always greener, as they say.
[Regular: Reto (The Second Kazekage)]: I, too, support this view. Given another chance, I would delegate the Kazekage title immediately. The sand gets everywhere, and the council is endlessly argumentative.
[Regular: The Third Kazekage]: A sentiment I share. The magnetic release does nothing for diplomacy.
[Regular: Eiji Hozuki (The Third Mizukage)]: The Bloody Mist administration was… particularly taxing. I often envied the straightforward duties of our Hunter-nin. Fugaku-san's former role seems a paradise of simple, solvable problems.
The chat devolved into a surreal symposium of dead Kages lamenting their lofty positions and wistfully envying the hands-on, if mortifyingly intimate, duties of a Konoha police captain. Ren tuned it out, focusing on the immediate world.
He hauled Naruto down. "Go to the house. Tsunami-san has strong tea. Use it. Now."
"But Sasuke—"
"Is being treated. Go."
Naruto went, grumbling about weird-tasting rainwater and bossy friends.
Sakura was sent by a returning Kakashi—now smelling faintly of pine soap and weariness—to locate and monitor Sasuke, with strict orders not to approach if he was volatile.
Finally, alone with Kakashi in the grove, the mask of casualness fell away.
"You saw," Kakashi stated, his voice low.
"The Byakugan provides clarity," Ren affirmed. "He's stable, but broken. A non-factor for the foreseeable future. Haku observed the entire event from the tree line. He withdrew two minutes ago, heading east."
He produced the ice crystal marker. "He left this. It's a chakra beacon. Points to a fortified complex twelve kilometers up the coast. Gato's nest."
Kakashi took the crystal, his eye sharpening. "A gift. An invitation to a trap."
"Obviously," Ren said. "But waiting here turns our psychological wound septic. Zabuza is wounded, not dead. He's buying time. Haku is gauging our weakness. They just saw a critical vulnerability."
He met Kakashi's gaze. "We can sit here, guard Tazuna, and let them dictate the terms of the next attack, which will exploit our fractured team. Or we can change the game."
Kakashi was silent for a long moment, weighing the screaming Anbu protocols against the cold logic of the battlefield. The haunted, soiled look in Sasuke's eyes flashed in his memory.
"What is your calculus, Ren?"
[VIP5, Admin: Tobirama Senju]: The host is correct. Static defense is defeat when the enemy has initiative and intelligence. A surgical, preemptive strike on the financier collapses the mercenary's contract. It is the most efficient solution.
[VIP1: Uchiha Madara]: Finally. Action over anguish. Let the calculus begin.
Ren's lips curved into a thin, sharp smile that held no humor. "My calculus says we don't wait for the demon to heal. We go cut off its head. Let's pay Mr. Gato a visit."
The chapter ended not with a battle cry, but with the quiet, deadly click of a strategic decision falling into place, while in the Pure Land, a chorus of dead Kages continued to bizarrely debate the merits of occupational perks.
[Regular: Shihe (The First Tsuchikage)]: …So, Fugaku-san, these 'products.' Were they standard-issue, or was there a procurement budget for premium comfort?
[VIP1: Uchiha Fugaku]: A true leader spares no expense for the well-being of his subordinates, especially in such… delicate matters. I always opted for the silk-lined premium stock from the Land of Tea…
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