Sarutobi Clan
Inside the Third Hokage's residence—
The light in the crystal ball had been dim for a long time now.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat alone in the dark, rigid as a statue, not a hint of light on his body.
The pipe between his lips had burned out on its own.
He hadn't taken a single puff.
The tobacco inside was cold ash—gray and lifeless.
The last image the crystal ball had shown him…
…refused to leave his mind.
"Haa…"
He tried to draw a deep breath, but it felt like he was inhaling shards of ice.
Cold. Cutting.
The stale breath trapped in his chest didn't leave—it only sank deeper, heavier.
The wrinkles on his face, already stacked upon each other, deepened again—
so much that at a glance it looked like his wrinkles had grown a mouth and nose.
His eyes were almost impossible to see.
"Uchiha Kai…"
"Was the power you displayed… everything?"
"…or only a part?"
That crimson gaze of his—
Hiruzen could no longer read what lay behind it.
Erasing a Tailed Beast Bomb with one hand.
Space–time ninjutsu.
Nine-Tails power.
Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Healing.
How many of those did Kai truly possess?
"Haa…"
Hiruzen exhaled long and leaned back, eyes closed, utterly worn down.
Outside the window, the scattered lights of Konoha drifted in like weak fireflies.
They stabbed at his eyelids.
This time…
…there was nowhere left to retreat.
"Let's hope…"
"…Jiraiya gives me a pleasant surprise."
Outside Konoha's outskirts.
"I'm not going."
Kai's voice was clean and crisp.
No hesitation at all.
No benefits, and you want him to take a trip?
Did Jiraiya think he was Naruto—some saintly savior who'd say yes to anything?
Kai refused—yet the corner of his eye still carried a faint smile as he looked at Jiraiya.
He didn't turn to leave.
He didn't even shift his stance.
That alone told Jiraiya everything.
The toad sage instantly leaned in, dropping his voice.
"Relax. The benefits will be huge."
Kai's gaze stayed on him.
"Like what?"
One sentence.
And Jiraiya's confidence collapsed back into a stiff grin.
"Like… uh…"
His smile froze.
That grand invitation he'd just made was like tossing a pebble into a lake—
a ripple.
And then nothing.
Seeing this, Kai's eyes curved slightly in amusement and he offered calmly:
"I'll go with you once."
"And you'll go with me once."
"Deal?"
Jiraiya's eyes lit up.
"Deal! No problem!"
Kai nodded… and didn't say where.
Because right now, there was only one person he wanted to find:
Orochimaru.
At this point in time, had Orochimaru already defected from Akatsuki?
Or not yet?
Kai didn't know.
And he wouldn't know until they reached Amegakure.
The "Crying Country" wasn't just Akatsuki's nest.
It wasn't only Nagato and Konan's territory.
Most importantly—
Obito.
Or rather…
That man still parading around under the name "Uchiha Madara."
That place was the perfect hunting ground for copying abilities.
And if he could also locate Madara's corpse and "borrow" a few things from it…
Kai didn't even dare imagine it.
He truly didn't.
Besides, since arriving here, he hadn't left the compound once.
Having Jiraiya as a guide?
Not bad.
Kai tilted his head, looking at Jiraiya with a deliberately curious expression.
"Oh? A country that rains all year?"
"Sounds humid."
"…So does it have lots of mushrooms?"
Jiraiya: "..."
His mouth twitched.
This Uchiha kid's priorities were genuinely… weird.
And that topic shift was so abrupt it hurt.
Jiraiya took a deep breath, swallowed the urge to complain, and turned serious.
"It's not just humid."
"The atmosphere there… is wrong."
"I stayed on the outskirts once."
"Just having the rain land on me—made me feel like I was being watched."
"Like the raindrops weren't water…"
"…but countless eyes hiding inside the rain."
He paused, expression unusually grim.
"And that pale thing I mentioned…"
"It seemed to be watching Amegakure."
"Or… guarding something."
Kai understood immediately.
Who else could it be?
White Zetsu.
That walking surveillance fungus that loved burrowing into places it didn't belong.
Kaguya's living weapon.
A reconnaissance specialist.
A creature built to scatter spores and spread itself across the world.
If you needed a scout, White Zetsu was perfect.
Which meant—
Obito's control over Amegakure was tighter than Kai had assumed.
So tight that even Nagato and Konan might not realize it.
He could hide that kind of grip right under their noses.
The two of them fell into a brief silence.
Behind them, members of Konoha's new "financial committee" reacted in different ways.
Fugaku's brows knit together, voice heavy:
"Kai. Amegakure used to be Hanzō's territory."
"He was called the Demi-god."
"Now that the situation is unclear, if you go…"
"It's too dangerous."
That was his honest fear as a father.
And beyond that—Uchiha had already started treating Kai as the pillar holding the clan upright.
If Kai left, the clan's morale would suffer.
After Fugaku finished, Shikaku also spoke after a moment's thought:
"Lord Kai, the internal affairs of Konoha have only just begun to move."
"Financial audits, parasite removal, inheritance redistribution…"
"All of it needs you to sit at the center."
"If you leave now, I'm afraid…"
"Yeah, yeah, I agree!"
Inoichi and Chōza nodded quickly as well.
Reform had just started showing results—
and the leader wanted to walk away?
If chaos broke out, who would suppress it?
So instinctively, they didn't want Kai to leave.
Jiraiya watched them all, and his heart shook again.
He hadn't expected Kai's authority in their eyes to be this high.
It was… absurd.
"So…"
"Hiruzen-sensei…"
"What exactly have you been doing all these years?"
The question rose uninvited in Jiraiya's mind.
His loyalty to the Third hadn't disappeared—
…but a crack had formed.
Kai looked at them and smiled faintly, shaking his head.
"With you here, Konoha won't fall apart."
His voice was low, calm, decisive.
"Shikaku. The financial committee is yours."
"You have the ledger map. You have the flow chart."
"While I'm gone…"
"Investigate what needs investigating."
"Arrest who needs arresting."
"And kill who needs killing."
"If something becomes troublesome, seek help from my father or the Hyūga."
"Don't hold back."
For the first time, real killing intent bled through his tone.
Reform without blood?
That was a fairy tale.
Shikaku's body jolted.
He bowed deeply.
"Yes. Understood."
"Father," Kai turned to Fugaku, "the clan and the police force will continue the purge."
"Anyone who refuses…"
"Kill them."
Kill them.
Fugaku's heart jumped.
Only now did he realize how heavy his second son's murderous aura truly was.
Even now, facing those eyes that looked like a bottomless pit—
Fugaku lowered his head without thinking, unable to meet them directly.
"Understood. Leave it to me."
"As for Inoichi, Chōza…"
Kai's gaze swept across them.
Both men straightened instantly, like soldiers awaiting inspection.
"Yamanaka intelligence."
"Akimichi logistics."
"Full support to Shikaku and Fugaku."
"It's been six years."
"Six years since the Third Shinobi World War ended."
"Konoha's machine…"
"…should be running at full speed again."
"Yes!"
They answered without hesitation.
Everything arranged—
Kai finally turned back to Jiraiya.
On that still-youthful face, a rare hint of amusement appeared.
"Amegakure, huh?"
"I've been looking forward to it for a long time."
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