"The war will begin tomorrow."
Uzuki Yūgao's voice was cold, sharp, and without emotion.
She was naturally cold and elegant.
"Yeah."
Uchiha Haru nodded silently. He noticed that Yūgao seemed tense, so he wanted to ease her mind. "Don't worry. I will definitely defeat all enemies and protect Konoha."
"I hope so," Yūgao said calmly.
Haru nodded, and neither spoke for a moment.
The silence felt slightly awkward, especially for two old friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time. Yet even standing together without words, their bond remained unbroken.
After a while, Yūgao suddenly said, "This war is very dangerous for a ninja like me. I don't know if I'll survive it."
"So I wanted to see you."
"Actually, I didn't want to meet you alone. Kurenai is my best friend. I absolutely can't do anything to let her down just for my own sake."
"But now the war is coming. No one can say for sure if they'll survive it."
"After all, not everyone has your strength."
Her eyes locked onto Uchiha Haru's, and her vision blurred slightly, as if time rewound to a few years ago—when Haru was still in Konoha, when they could complete missions side by side.
Thinking back, that must have been the happiest time in her life.
After that, Uchiha Haru left Konoha with the Uchiha clan, and the village's situation changed drastically.
Her heart shattered, and she needed to calm herself.
So she joined Konoha's Anbu to keep busy and avoid thinking about painful memories.
Unexpectedly, this decision overturned her plans.
After joining Anbu, she indeed became much busier, constantly tasked with missions.
At the same time, she was exposed to information ordinary ninjas never saw—especially when she accidentally stumbled upon some news about Uchiha Haru.
This stirred the restlessness already brewing in her heart and nearly drove her mad.
Later, she discovered that the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had secretly sent Anbu operatives to monitor former Anbu captain Kakashi Hatake and her former close friend Kurenai Yūhi.
This revelation shook Yūgao's psyche. During her Anbu tenure, she had often sensed the Third Hokage was not as amiable as the villagers believed.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had secrets—secrets that even the Anbu, the Hokage's trusted operatives, did not fully know.
Because it involved Kakashi and Kurenai, Yūgao paid special attention.
Kakashi Hatake was the Anbu captain.
Kurenai Yūhi was a regular ninja.
Logically, the two had no direct connection, but the Hokage had ordered surveillance on both.
There had to be something behind this.
So Yūgao began investigating in secret.
Soon, she uncovered something unusual.
Kakashi and Kurenai had once gone on a mission to find Tsunade.
The mission failed. They met Tsunade but, for some unknown reason, didn't bring her back.
Later, they learned that Tsunade—one of Konoha's legendary Sannin—had defected to the Hidden Mist Village and become the head of their Medical Department.
This information was top secret in Konoha, but for an inquisitive Anbu ninja like Yūgao, it wasn't hard to dig up.
This discovery led her to many thoughts, so she delved deeper.
After a long investigation, she finally learned what she wanted.
Behind all this was Uchiha Haru.
She didn't know why.
But she was sure of one thing: when Kurenai, Kakashi, Might Guy, Asuma, and others went searching for Tsunade, they must have encountered Haru along the way and gained some crucial information from him.
And this news terrified Sarutobi Hiruzen deeply.
So he made a risky move—sending spies to secretly monitor former Anbu captain Kakashi and ordinary ninja Kurenai.
Between the two, Kurenai's strength was relatively weak; she might not detect Anbu tracking.
But Kakashi was different.
Kakashi Hatake, captain of Konoha's Anbu, was famed as the Copy Ninja Kakashi during the Third Shinobi World War.
Having experienced countless changes, he knew Anbu's habits and rules better than anyone after so many years.
Even if Kakashi didn't immediately detect the Anbu's surveillance, it was impossible for him to remain unaware forever.
Even as a mere Anbu member, Yūgao understood this clearly.
Not to mention Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage himself.
Yet, Sarutobi Hiruzen still insisted on proceeding with this.
That alone sent a chill deep into Uzuki Yūgao's heart.
She realized this was no ordinary matter—behind it all was still that person.
She had always held that person in her heart but never dared speak his name aloud.
Uchiha Haru.
This stirred many thoughts in her mind, foremost among them the truth behind the Uchiha clan's departure from Konoha.
Back then, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had publicly explained some reasons to the villagers and shinobi of Konoha.
Some accepted it, others doubted it, but the explanation seemed plausible enough.
Yet now, Uzuki Yūgao's doubts were deeply rooted.
She began to investigate, but the results were disappointing.
She found nothing about the early events.
And the absence of information was itself terrifying.
It meant someone was working in the shadows to erase all traces, unwilling for others to know.
Something was clearly amiss.
Uzuki Yūgao was almost certain of it.
She also believed that Kakashi Hatake and Kurenai Yūhi were under constant surveillance by Sarutobi Hiruzen because they knew parts of this secret.
Thus, Uzuki Yūgao became the third person in Konoha to know some of the truth about the Uchiha Clan Massacre—besides Kakashi and Kurenai Yūhi.
But unlike them, she didn't even have a partner to confide in.
Over the many years, she had made no friends within the Konoha Anbu.
Even those comrades who had been close at the beginning gradually distanced themselves.
It felt as if she had severed all ties to her past.
Otherwise, with her connection to Uchiha Haru, it wouldn't have been so easy for her to join the Konoha Anbu and become a confidante of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Because of this, she had become the loneliest among all.
She knew many secrets, but there was no one she could trust.
She dared not relax.
The longer she remained close to Sarutobi Hiruzen, the more she understood how terrifying this seemingly kind Hokage truly was.
Sarutobi Hiruzen already controlled the power of all Konoha to a terrifying, almost insane degree.
Yet, in the hearts of the villagers and shinobi, he remained a kind and noble figure.
Whether in terms of his actual power or his reputation, he was flawless.
As an Anbu ninja, Uzuki Yūgao knew that if Sarutobi Hiruzen discovered she knew this truth, she would not only face surveillance and tracking like Kakashi and Kurenai Yūhi—
She might be assassinated.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had not dared to move against Kakashi Hatake or Kurenai Yūhi.
Because Kakashi was a Copy Ninja of Konoha, commanding great respect among the younger generation.
His strength was extraordinary, even within the entire Anbu.
What would happen if the Hokage dared to attack such a person?
If Kakashi managed to escape, he would surely seek terrible revenge.
The secrets that Sarutobi Hiruzen desperately wanted buried would be exposed to the entire village.
He could not take such a risk.
So he did not dare.
As for Kurenai Yūhi, her ability was not as strong—she was even weaker than Uzuki Yūgao.
But Kurenai Yūhi was a childhood friend of Asuma Sarutobi, son of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Asuma's love for Kurenai was almost fanatical, widely known by everyone.
Sarutobi Hiruzen certainly knew this.
And he also liked Kurenai Yūhi very much.
Otherwise, he would not have specially assigned the heirs of the three great families—Hinata Hyūga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka—to be under Kurenai's tutelage.
Given Kurenai Yūhi's original status, she would never have received such support otherwise.
Clearly, Kurenai was regarded as the designated daughter-in-law.
If matters weren't desperate, the Third Hokage would never move against her.
But Uzuki Yūgao was entirely different.
She was an Anbu ninja, a shadow operative.
If anything happened to her, no one would care.
After all, death was the fate of Anbu.
Compared to the renowned shinobi of the world, Anbu were heroes who hid behind the scenes, sacrificing silently.
Even if they died, how many people would know?
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