Imagine this—
One day, you're hiding inside what you believe is a safe little shelter. Suddenly, your door is blasted open in an instant, and nine pairs of crimson eyes lock onto you at the same time.
The pressure alone is enough to crush your soul.
"U–Uchiha…? All of them are Uchiha?!"
The Iwagakure shinobi hiding inside the earth-style bunker completely abandoned any thought of resistance.
They had been told this was a simple infiltration mission into the Land of Fire. Border patrols were supposedly handled by a few chūnin squads. No one ever said this would happen!
Before launching the attack, they thought they were dealing with a handful of chūnin.
After the attack started, you tell me this is a squad of three-tomoe Uchiha?!
This was the very definition of dying before accomplishing anything.
The Iwa-nin felt like they'd stepped in dog shit—what they thought would be merit had turned them into someone else's achievement instead.
How were they supposed to fight this?
Faced with a wall of spinning three-tomoe Sharingan, the Iwa-nin who had briefly considered resisting made the most sensible decision of their lives—
They gave up.
When you run into the Uchiha, unless you can win or escape, once you're captured, you have no secrets left.
At that point, you either kill yourself… or cooperate.
"I'm Akita Tetsuya," the leader said hurriedly. He was dark-skinned, tall, and heavyset. "A jōnin from Iwagakure of the Land of Earth. The other three are my students. I'll cooperate fully—I'll tell you everything!"
"…Wow."
The surrounding Uchiha all shared the same thought.
This guy really knows when to bow his head.
Akita Tetsuya, meanwhile, felt confident.
I'm being this cooperative—they'll probably go easy on me, right? The Uchiha are terrifying on the battlefield, sure… but scheming and interrogation? That shouldn't be their strong suit…
What he and his three students got in response—
Were spinning tomoe within the Sharingan.
"Damn it… those cursed Uchiha—"
And that was where Akita Tetsuya's memories abruptly ended.
"That's almost funny," Uchiha Ran said calmly to the others behind him. "With the Sharingan, we can extract the most accurate information possible. Did he really think we'd trust whatever came out of his mouth?"
With the four captured Iwa-nin firmly under Sharingan control, Ran quickly obtained their true objective.
Iwagakure had no immediate plans to go to war with Konoha.
After their failed surprise attack on Sunagakure, the Iwa-nin had finally realized the importance of intelligence gathering. As a result, they had begun sending teams to infiltrate and observe Konoha's movements.
Akita Tetsuya's attack had also been for intelligence purposes.
Normally, border patrols really were handled by chūnin. Confident in his own strength, Akita had decided to strike Ran's squad—
Only to run headfirst into disaster.
Not only had he failed, but he'd dragged his own students down with him, turning all four of them into Sharingan-controlled puppets.
"At the moment, Iwagakure's focus is still on gathering intelligence," Uchiha Taka analyzed aloud. "But an attack on Konoha isn't impossible. The disappearance of the Third Kazekage is probably the fuse that lit this whole situation."
The other Uchiha nodded in agreement.
Everyone felt the same way—there was no chance Iwagakure would simply stop here. If they were already gathering intelligence on the Land of Fire and Konoha, follow-up actions were inevitable.
But that raised another question.
Why would the Land of Earth—or Ōnoki—ignore the 'soft persimmon' that was Sunagakure and instead probe the strength of the Land of Fire and Konoha?
Given Konoha's neutral stance, as long as its own borders were secure, it had no intention of interfering in conflicts between Sand and Stone.
The Uchiha gathered together, discussing the issue in low voices.
"Thinking too much won't solve anything," Ran said decisively. "Come with me to the border camp and hand the mission report to the messenger nin. Have them notify the Third Hokage immediately."
He paused, then added, "And ask him to dispatch members of the Hyūga clan as well. If these Iwa-nin are deeply embedded, our sensory techniques alone won't be enough to find them."
With that, Ran brought the discussion to an end.
No one objected.
On the way back to camp, Ran quietly instructed Taka to apply high-intensity Sharingan genjutsu to the four captives before handing them over to the Third Hokage.
After all, Konoha's Interrogation Department was far more effective at extracting memories than even the Sharingan.
Is this the shinobi world?
No.
Isn't this simply reality itself?
Even without shinobi, there would always be warriors and executioners doing the same things.
Peace—between people, between nations—was never easily won.
Receiving Ran's instructions, Taka felt deeply reassured.
Uchiha Ran was an Uchiha blessed with both wisdom and strength.
Though only thirteen years old, his actions were structured, decisive, and calm.
His future was truly limitless.
Whether it was because border patrols were relatively simple—or because the Uchiha were simply lucky—over the next few days, Ran and his team captured several more infiltrating spies.
Konoha — Hokage's Office
Everyone knew that Konoha's so-called "Three Elders" actually numbered four.
Sarutobi Hiruzen.Shimura Danzō.Utatane Koharu.Mitokado Homura.
All four were gathered in the Hokage's office, discussing the intelligence Uchiha Ran had brought back.
Based on Ran's report and the information extracted by Konoha's interrogation team, they reached a unanimous conclusion—
The Land of Earth—more specifically, Ōnoki—was brewing a conspiracy against Konoha.
That said, it was still speculation.
Logically speaking, Sunagakure should have been Ōnoki's ideal target. There was no clear reason for him to view Konoha as his primary enemy.
And yet, all signs indicated that Iwagakure's movements along the border were anything but small-scale.
"Any activity from the Land of Lightning?" Hiruzen asked suddenly.
"None," Homura replied. "Same as usual. Jōnin Namikaze Minato and the Ino–Shika–Chō formation are stationed there. Kumogakure hasn't made any moves."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
Though Jiraiya was notoriously unreliable, Namikaze Minato—the man who had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique—was undoubtedly dependable.
Thinking of Jiraiya reminded Hiruzen of Tsunade.
One was constantly wandering the world. The other suffered from hemophobia.
Neither had been in Konoha for a long time.
Rubbing his slightly throbbing temples, Hiruzen asked, "Do you think we should send someone to oversee the border personally?"
Danzō immediately sensed opportunity.
"Hiruzen," he said, voice low and insistent, "we should send a powerful shinobi as soon as possible. Ōnoki won't act without certainty—he won't stop here."
Koharu and Homura both agreed. Given Ōnoki's nature, it was wise to take precautions.
"It's not like we have many powerful shinobi available to dispatch right now," Danzō added, sounding troubled.
"Orochimaru is free," Hiruzen decided after a moment. "Have him go quietly. Homura, notify him."
Then he continued, "As for Uchiha Ran's request for Hyūga cooperation—send Hyūga Hizashi. Koharu, handle that."
After Koharu and Homura left the office, Hiruzen finally turned his gaze to Danzō.
"Don't think I don't know what you're up to," he said calmly. "I can guess it without effort, Danzō."
His tone hardened slightly.
"Stop making unnecessary moves."