Late at night.
"Mom, you should go to sleep. Why are you still staying up when you're so sleepy..."
On the sofa, Ryun lay with his head on Asuka's lap as they chatted idly all evening.
"I can sleep anytime, but you're leaving for battle tomorrow... Who knows how long you'll be gone this time."
Asuka gently stroked his forehead, her voice filled with reluctance and worry.
"It probably won't take too long..."
Ryun murmured quietly. In truth, the war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind would drag on, since one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations couldn't be compared to a minor country like the Land of Rain.
"You..."
A knock at the door interrupted Asuka. Ryun immediately sprang up from the sofa.
"Uchiha Ryun, the Hokage summons you!"
Outside the gate, the Anbu squad leader spoke tersely. Surprisingly, he was accompanied by two other Anbu jonin.
"!!!"
Ryun was shocked. Why would Hiruzen summon him in the middle of the night? Moreover, three elite Anbu jonin coming together suggested something unusual was happening.
"Can you tell me what this is about?" Ryun opened the iron gate and asked casually.
The Anbu squad leader remained silent for a moment before shaking his head slightly.
"Son, what do they want with you so late?" Asuka came out from inside the house.
"It's nothing. Probably just about tomorrow's deployment. You should get some sleep... Don't stay up worrying..."
Ryun waved helplessly, signaling for her to rest.
"Okay then..."
On the way.
Ryun lowered his head, pondering the Third Hokage's intentions.
His first thought was that it concerned the next day's deployment, not the possibility that killing the Cloud ninja had been discovered.
He hadn't given much thought to eliminating the three Cloud kidnappers, since only he and Kushina had been present. He assumed no third party knew what happened and had no idea that Madara Uchiha had already exposed everything through White Zetsu!
Sometimes, gaining power leads to overconfidence. Though he wasn't quite that arrogant yet, he subconsciously believed no one could spy on him undetected for long.
After all, his dual-soul nature gave him sensory abilities surpassing even the Yamanaka clan.
Madara's targeting was something he never anticipated. He had assumed Madara would focus on Nagato first, only later seeking an executor for the "Eye of the Moon Plan," eventually settling on Obito Uchiha...
While he knew his rising fame might draw Madara's attention, he didn't think he'd be considered a candidate yet. Nagato was still inexperienced—it would take years for him to awaken the Rinnegan and begin collecting tailed beasts.
The timing of the "Eye of the Moon Plan" depended entirely on Nagato's growth, not the executor. So Ryun believed even if Madara might eventually target him, it wouldn't happen now.
This assumption was naive... Originally, Madara had only intended to secretly provoke war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. But Kushina's involvement as the Nine-Tails' vessel made him decide to include Ryun in the scheme, leading him to personally orchestrate events.
Ryun had no idea he was already marked.
'No, if this were about the deployment, they wouldn't call me so late... And sending three elite Anbu to fetch me suggests something major happened tonight...'
'Could someone have stumbled upon the crime scene? But even if they found the bodies, so what? Who could prove I killed them...'
Ryun's mind raced. He considered the possibility but dismissed it just as quickly.
He thought eliminating three insignificant thugs would let him depart the next morning without consequences...
Yet the late-night summons felt ominous, and an uneasy premonition grew in his heart.
Hokage Building.
"Report! Lady Mito refused our request to bring Kushina, citing the late hour and safety concerns!"
An Anbu ninja relayed the troublesome situation to Hiruzen.
The Hokage had ordered him to retrieve Kushina from the Senju compound, but he'd been firmly turned away... Given Mito's status, the Anbu didn't dare insist and could only return empty-handed.
"Lady Mito also stated that Kushina will remain in the Senju compound indefinitely. Konoha is not to assign her any missions and must keep those damned Cloud ninja in check..."
The Anbu repeated Mito's words verbatim.
Notably, Mito had directly cursed Hiruzen with harsh language, though the Anbu omitted the profanity, only conveying that she was furious...
Hiruzen visibly stiffened before falling into thought.
"It seems Lady Mito already knows the full story," Danzo remarked.
Hiruzen nodded. Mito's refusal to release Kushina clearly showed her dissatisfaction with Konoha's leadership.
After all, the Cloud delegation had stayed in Konoha for so long, yet the village failed to prevent them from causing trouble—even allowing them to kidnap the future Nine-Tails jinchūriki and smuggle her out of the village.
Where were Konoha's patrols? The Anbu? Root? None of them had been effective when it mattered.
Mito acknowledged her own oversight, but in her eyes, Konoha's leaders were utterly incompetent fools.
She was old now, her senses dulled, yet the village's so-called elites couldn't even protect the future jinchūriki without her intervention.
When her husband Hashirama or brother-in-law Tobirama ruled, who would have dared kidnap someone from the Senju compound?
This incident was a disgrace. Mito even considered storming into the Hokage Building to confront the useless Hokage directly.
Now Hiruzen wanted to take Kushina away? She would never allow it.
"Report! Uchiha Ryun has arrived!"
As the Anbu announced this, Ryun entered the Hokage's office.
"What does the Hokage need from me so late at night?"
Without waiting for Hiruzen to speak, Ryun took the initiative to ask.
"You don't know why? After Kushina was kidnapped and you killed those Cloud ninja, why didn't you report it to me?"
Hiruzen's voice was heavy with suppressed anger, his expression dark. Ryun could clearly sense his fury.
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