Uchiha Shisui died in battle during a mission.
When this news spread through the Uchiha clan, there was sorrow, but nothing could be done. Ninjas dying on missions was common—they had long grown used to it.
But the very next day, shocking news broke: Uchiha Itachi had attempted to assassinate Danzō and fled the village.
The reason given was that Itachi suspected Danzō of killing his close friend. Driven by vengeance, he made the attempt—but failed. Injured, he escaped and became a missing-nin.
The Uchiha clan demanded answers—for both Shisui's death and Itachi's betrayal.
Losing two of the clan's brightest talents in such quick succession was something many Uchiha couldn't accept.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to step in personally. Together with Uchiha Fugaku, he worked to calm the situation. Danzō was stripped of his position as a Hokage advisor, retaining only his role as head of Root. Hiruzen also promised a full investigation, vowing not to let any wrongdoer go unpunished—nor to wrongly accuse the innocent.
But the fact remained—Itachi's defection was real. He was listed in Konoha's S-rank bingo book and declared a wanted criminal across the entire shinobi world.
This was unchangeable.
The Uchiha clan had produced a missing-nin. Their reputation took a severe hit, not that it had ever been stellar to begin with.
Using this incident as justification, Uchiha Fugaku voluntarily stepped down from his position as head of the Konoha Police Force. He also proposed opening the force to other ninja, suggesting that the Uchiha should no longer hold a monopoly over such a role.
This was a gesture of goodwill toward the village, a statement that they held no rebellious intentions.
Hiruzen naturally understood what Fugaku was trying to convey and responded accordingly. From then on, the Uchiha would begin slowly integrating into other departments of Konoha, no longer confined to just the Police Force.
Though these departments weren't of high importance, it symbolized the village's growing trust in the Uchiha.
At first, many within the clan were shocked and angry at Fugaku's decision. But in time, they realized their daily lives had improved. Even though the Police Force was no longer Uchiha-exclusive, the clan hadn't declined. Those harboring selfish ambitions began to restrain themselves and took a more cautious wait-and-see attitude.
And so, with Hiruzen's political maneuvering, people gradually forgot about Shisui's death and Itachi's betrayal.
...
That day, Haku officially graduated from the Konoha Ninja Academy. Hiruzen intended for him to join the Anbu.
Kiyosuke didn't object and left the choice to Haku.
Haku chose to join the Anbu and became one of their members.
Respecting his decision, Kiyosuke arranged for him to be placed under Kakashi's Sixth Squad. With Kakashi there, the workload would be much more manageable.
"Kiyosuke-sama."
An Anbu member appeared behind Kiyosuke, removing his mask.
It was Shisui.
He said,
"Itachi has sent intel back."
He handed Kiyosuke a scroll.
Opening it, Kiyosuke saw intel on each member of the Akatsuki. This was the first report Itachi had managed to send since going undercover years ago.
The information matched what Kiyosuke already knew—the Akatsuki lineup hadn't changed.
The Divine Duo: Pain and Konan.
The Art Duo: Sasori and Deidara.
The Shadow Duo: Obito and Zetsu.
The Immortal Duo was not yet fully assembled.
Itachi's partner was Hoshigaki Kisame. According to Itachi's investigation, Kisame was an undercover agent from Kirigakure.
That was a surprise!
Well then—what was once the Power Duo had now become the Double Agent Duo. Who would've thought Kisame was a spy? It seemed to be Karatachi Yagura's doing.
The scroll included details on various members, as well as dangerous missions Itachi had carried out.
He also reported on his physical condition.
After all, if things had followed the original timeline, he would've died from a terminal illness.
But right now, Itachi was in far better shape than in the original story. He wasn't suffering from any major illness, didn't feel torn between his clan and village, and hadn't overused his Mangekyō. His health was solid. Life was difficult—he lived rough, constantly on the move—but overall, he was doing fine.
Itachi also mentioned Orochimaru. After trying to take over his body, Orochimaru had been killed in retaliation.
Kiyosuke didn't care much about that.
The scroll also spoke of the Akatsuki's goal to capture all the tailed beasts in order to seize control of the world.
"I'll be damned. This kid really burned Karatachi Yagura to a crisp."
According to the scroll, Itachi and Kisame had infiltrated Kirigakure for a mission but were discovered by Yagura. Yagura tried to seize Itachi's Sharingan, but Itachi retaliated with Amaterasu, leaving him severely injured.
It was during this incident that Itachi learned of Kisame's true identity as an undercover agent.
"Karatachi Yagura won't live much longer," Kiyosuke said, shaking his head.
Though Amaterasu hadn't killed him outright, the injuries had drastically weakened him. Some ninja who had long resented him would likely take this opportunity to strike.
The Bloody Mist era was finally nearing its end.
Currently, the Art Duo was hunting Orochimaru and had already entered the Land of Wind.
"Well, I suppose I should head to the Land of Wind too, see how my old teacher is doing."
Kiyosuke chuckled softly.
The scroll in his hand ignited and quickly turned to ash.
Shisui asked,
"Are you going to kill Orochimaru?"
"More or less. Oh, right—go find Itachi. Tell him to ease up on the Mangekyō. Unless it's a life-or-death situation, tell him not to use it."
"Yes!"
Shisui departed, off to carry out Kiyosuke's command.
Kiyosuke, meanwhile, sought out Hiruzen to inform him of his trip to the Land of Wind to find Orochimaru.
Before leaving, he looked for Yakushi Kabuto but didn't find him. He figured the boy was probably with Orochimaru.
Scratching his head, he asked Rin to look after Naruto, then headed out toward the Land of Wind.
...
A few days later, beneath a sand dune somewhere in the Land of Wind—
Orochimaru had built a hidden laboratory here. Inside, he was conducting various experiments.
Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing and smiled.
"Oh my, it's been a while, hasn't it? My beloved disciple."
He turned around, licking his lips with his tongue. His golden serpent eyes locked with another pair of golden, vertical pupils.
"Used Sage Mode to find me, did you? What a convenient ability."
The visitor was none other than Kiyosuke. He had spent days using Sage Mode to track Orochimaru's chakra to this location.
But as he looked at Orochimaru, he said,
"Orochimaru-sensei, you've gotten even more twisted. Also… are you a man or a woman now?"
The chakra of this body… it resembled Orochimaru's but wasn't quite the same.
Which meant only one thing—Orochimaru had completed the development of the forbidden technique: Living Corpse Reincarnation, and had transferred into a new body.
"Gender is such a trivial thing. You still haven't broken free from the thinking of ordinary people, have you, Kiyosuke-kun?"
"Ah well, what can I say—I'm just a normal guy."
"With power like yours, yet you choose to wallow in mediocrity… If you would just abandon a few things, you could become so much stronger," Orochimaru said with a hint of regret.
"I still want to remain human. Orochimaru-sensei… haven't you stopped being one?"