The moment the man in the dark-blue Cloud Village cloak stepped into Ichiraku Ramen, Uchiha Souji raised an eyebrow.
"Cloud Shinobi Village? Here?" he whispered to himself. It made no sense. Cloud and Konoha were locked in conflict. So why would a Cloud ninja casually walk into the Leaf Village as if nothing was happening?
Before he could ask anything, the man turned toward him with a friendly smile.
"Don't worry," he said calmly. "I am indeed from Cloud Shinobi Village. But I'm here for peace talks. By the way, my name is Naki."
Souji nodded politely. "Hello. I'm Uchiha Souji."
Naki's eyes lit up with recognition. "Ah, the young Uchiha who defeated Orochimaru. Impressive. Konoha truly produces genius shinobi."
Souji blinked.
What?
How did a Cloud ninja know that much about Konoha events?
He felt a chill inside. Was Cloud Village spying on Konoha that closely? As if dealing with internal problems wasn't enough, now Cloud had its eyes everywhere too.
Naki laughed softly. "No need to look so shocked. Every ninja village has its… methods."
He couldn't openly reveal everything, but the truth was obvious. Every village had spies. Every village sent people disguised as civilians. The ninja world had no clean hands—only different kinds of shadows.
Souji didn't reply, but inside, he was on full alert.
Why would a Cloud Jōnin suddenly try to chat with him?
There must be a motive. No adult shinobi would casually talk to a child from another clan unless they wanted something.
As for his eyes, Souji wasn't worried. His special dojutsu, though rare, didn't give off the same obvious reactions as the Sharingan or Byakugan. Transplanting it into others wouldn't immediately show visible traits, so people didn't instantly assume he had something valuable. Unlike the Byakugan—which led the Hyuga clan to create the cruel Caged Bird Seal just to prevent their eyes from being stolen.
And unlike Sharingan—where someone stealing an Uchiha's eyes faced dangerous chakra rejection or gene collapse. Only lunatics would try to pluck a Sharingan from an Uchiha's socket. Most people weren't that insane.
Seeing Souji withdraw into silence, Naki didn't push further. Instead, another figure approached—a Cloud kunoichi with silver hair and calm eyes.
Shi.
She gave Souji a long, unreadable look. Souji suddenly felt a cold prick down his spine, like invisible needles crawling along his back. He quickly looked around, half-expecting someone to be watching him.
Nothing.
Just paranoia—again.
He shook his head hard. "I've been stabbed in the back too many times," he muttered. "No wonder I'm jumpy."
He swallowed the last of his ramen in two large bites, tossed away the bowl, and sprinted out of the shop.
"I'm going home. A Jōnin showing up randomly? That means trouble. Big trouble."
He still remembered the last time he ran into Orochimaru.
It looked like a chance encounter, but he was nearly killed.
People call it "acting cool," but Souji knew the truth: he had been one misstep away from death.
He planned to lie low for a while—maybe even pretend to lose his talent over the next few years. If people believed he had peaked early and then declined, no one would watch him too closely. No one would try to kidnap him. No one would test him. He could finally slip away whenever he wanted.
But for now, he needed to avoid doing anything suspicious.
Even if he ran to the Hyuga clan right now and shouted, "Someone is planning to kidnap Hyūga Hinata!", would they believe him?
Probably not.
They might even accuse him of lying and interrogate him.
After all, Hinata was not yet the timid girl she would become. She was still considered a promising future heir. The clan believed she would grow out of her softness.
Days passed. The peace treaty between Konoha and Cloud slowly took shape after endless arguments in the Hokage's office. Souji didn't know the details, but he saw his clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku, return home smiling almost every day.
That meant one thing: Konoha had gained something valuable.
Souji sighed.
Every gift comes with a price.
You receive something, you lose something.
It was a universal rule—one that no treaty could escape.
Night came. Though the war was nearly over, Konoha was bright and lively. Ninjas filled the streets. Some celebrated survival. Others mourned friends who never returned from the Third Shinobi War.
But beneath this joyful surface, something else was moving.
Cloud Ninja—quietly, secretly—began to take action.
---
Cloud Village's Hidden Mission
Inside a dimly lit inn room, Shi knelt on one knee. Several Cloud shinobi stood before her—one Jōnin and two Chūnin.
Shi's expression was calm, but her tone was sharp.
"Nurui, Yurui, and you—listen carefully. You three will execute the next part of the mission according to the scroll."
The three ninjas leaned forward as she continued:
"I will create an opportunity to draw Uchiha attention elsewhere. Once the Uchiha are distracted, you must act immediately."
She narrowed her eyes.
"If you miss the chance… you already know what happens."
The three ninjas exchanged glances. They didn't know the full plan. Their scroll only mentioned a simple objective:
Kidnap Hyūga Hinata, a small girl of the Hyuga clan, with a sketch describing her face and features.
This wasn't unusual—many missions kept the details hidden until action began. Some needed secrecy. Some needed layers of protection. And sometimes, the people doing the mission didn't deserve to know the bigger picture.
The three Cloud shinobi shrugged casually.
They thought it was a minor intelligence job.
After all, this was Konoha Headquarters. If Cloud couldn't beat Konoha on the battlefield, they certainly wouldn't cause major trouble here. Maybe it was just a scouting task or information extraction.
They had no idea they were about to enter a suicide mission.
Shi's eyes softened for a brief second—a flash of guilt—but she quickly buried it. She inhaled deeply and formed rapid hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Boom.
A perfect clone appeared beside her.
The real Shi slipped out the window silently, disappearing into the night.
The clone remained, leaning casually against the window frame, watching the fireworks exploding over Konoha.
The clone smiled faintly.
Everything seemed peaceful.
Everything appeared normal.
But nothing was normal at all.
The trap had already been set.
And tonight—the price for Cloud's "gift" of peace would finally be collected.
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