Kanae followed the logistics officer out of the compound, her steps steady though her chest still burned from the poison of Kōjirō's presence.
She didn't look back, but she didn't need to; she could feel his gaze following her, lingering, dissatisfied, angry.
The thought that he had been interrupted only sharpened her disgust.
Waiting outside were three masked ANBU, black cloaks, porcelain masks, movements precise and predatory.
They didn't announce themselves with rank or reason, only with the weight of inevitability.
"Hyūga Kanae. You're to come with us," one of them said, voice flat and distorted through the mask.
"Understood," she answered, bowing slightly.
Her escort from the clan turned on his heel and left.
The ANBU closed in, one ahead, two behind, guiding her out of sight.
They did not take the main streets.
Instead, they threaded her through narrow lanes and forgotten routes, moving like shadows.
Kanae kept pace in silence, but unease coiled in her stomach.
'This isn't about me. It has to be him.'
Ryusei's name echoed in her mind.
Every oddity of the last months, every suspicion, pointed back to him.
If ANBU wanted her now, it wasn't for praise, it was to question, to measure, maybe even to corner her.
The path ended at the foot of the Hokage Rock.
One ANBU pressed a hand to bare stone, and seals stirred.
A hidden doorway slid open, revealing a narrow tunnel sinking into the mountain's heart.
Kanae's eyes flickered pale for an instant, Byakugan opening reflexively.
She saw branching tunnels, winding passages, and the faint glow of barrier seals etched deep into the rock.
Then she deactivated quickly, masking her curiosity.
Showing too much interest here could cost her.
She thought of the tigers and wolves she had read about as a child: caught by one, only to fall into the jaws of the other.
That was what this felt like.
The ANBU ahead spoke again. "This way."
Kanae stepped forward.
The air in the tunnel was cool, stale, heavy with secrets.
The faint chakra glow from the seals lit the path, while the footsteps of her escort echoed in perfect rhythm.
Every sound reminded her she was being taken deeper, further from her own world, into theirs.
No gratitude, no relief. Only tension.
She had escaped Kōjirō's suffocating arrogance, but now walked straight into something darker.
And for the first time, she realized: this path led directly into the Hokage's building.
Whatever waited for her at the end, it would not be simple.
Her stomach twisted again.
She could feel it; whatever she was about to hear now wouldn't end well for her and Ryusei.
Maybe nothing would ever go back to the way it was lately after this meeting.
Personally requesting her through the patriarch, assigning her an escort, and then leading her into a hidden chain of passages and rooms inside the Hokage Rock, places she had never even heard whispers of, was no small gesture.
It had to mean something. Perhaps they had noticed her unease about her place in the Side Branch and were showing her a kind of "support" by drawing her closer.
But showing her this secret also meant there would be no turning back; they were also warning her.
Kanae was not naïve. All her previous encounters with ANBU had been nothing like this, just idle operatives crossing her path 'accidentally' before or after her missions, exchanging a few words, on the side alleys, no more than a passing encounter. This was way different.
They led her deeper through the tunnels until they reached a chamber closer to the Hokage Building, though still buried within the mountain.
The corridors widened into a larger hall, dimly lit, its walls lined with masked figures. Dozens of ANBU stood silently at attention, a deliberate show of force.
Kanae was guided through them, her footsteps echoing until she reached the center.
Ahead, the space opened into what looked like a training or mission assignment hall, though stripped bare for this meeting.
Only two individuals stood waiting.
Her escort dropped to one knee immediately. "Lord Commander!"
Kanae's eyes flickered in surprise.
Like most in the village, she had always believed ANBU had no true commander, that they answered only to the Hokage himself.
But realization clicked quickly.
If her escort addressed him so, then the chain of command was not as simple as the village pretended.
Her body moved before hesitation could betray her.
She knelt as well, bowing her head, and offered her greeting in the same respectful tone.
The Commander's voice broke the silence, slow and heavy.
"Kanae Hyūga. You were present in Grass Country. Then tell me, why did no one see what the boy was?"
Kanae pressed her forehead closer to the floor.
"Commander. He hid his strength well. My Byakugan caught irregularities, yes, but nothing I could name. I failed to anticipate his true level."
"Failed..." Hisamichi's tone was calm, but the word cracked like a whip, "Or did not wish to see? We are told you grew close to him. That rapport can cloud judgment."
Her stomach twisted.
She knew it must have been Okabe who noticed something and reported her.
They were probing. Testing. She controlled her breath and answered evenly.
"Proximity was duty, Captain. Nothing more. I swear that I faithfully reported everything that I managed to see. "
The air shifted. Killing intent poured down on her, raw and suffocating.
Shinsuke's presence alone pressed her into the floor.
"Nothing more..." he repeated, "A Hyuga with a Byakugan... How convenient..."
Kanae's body screamed to flinch, to break, but she forced herself still, voice steady.
"It was not enough. I will not fail again."
The weight lingered. Then, slowly, it receded.
And Shinsuke spoke words that froze her blood.
"Do you understand what he is? Nishida Ryusei is no mere orphan. He is Senju."
Kanae's breath caught before she mastered it.
She had suspected, yes, from fragments of rumor, from hints in his chakra.
But to hear it here, spoken so plainly, confirmed by the Commander himself, she felt the world tilt.
Her mind raced.
'If they told me this, then I am already bound. If I falter, if I betray, I will be the first silenced.'
Hisamichi's voice followed, deliberate. "The last heir of a dead faction. A remnant that should not exist. Dangerous blood, hiding under your very gaze. You see why trust in you is… delicate."
Shinsuke leaned closer, his words sharp as a blade. "If you hesitate again, Kanae, if you waver in your task, you will not live to regret it. Do you understand?"
Kanae bowed lower, her face hidden. Her pulse hammered, but her voice was flat. "Yes, Commander."
The threat lingered between them like iron.
"Good. Because the war will strip our hands bare to an extent. We cannot shadow him as closely as before, as in the village. Which means his teammates must carry the weight. If his strength was hidden once, it may be hidden still or in the future. This time, you will see it. And if orders change…"
A pause, deliberate. "…you will personally act the next time alongside the other two."
Her stomach twisted. She gave the answer they required. "Understood."
In the shadows beyond the hall, unseen eyes measured her pulse, her tone, the stirrings of hesitation she buried.
Then the tone shifted, the carrot after the stick.
Hisamichi stepped forward with a sealed scroll.
"You are no longer a trainee. From today, a regular ANBU operative. Your reward: the first half of the Rotation Method. The rest will come only with continued service. Prove yourself, and you will have it."
Kanae took it, fingers tight around the paper.
It felt less like a reward and more like shackles.
Shinsuke spoke again, polite, almost formal.
"We know your place in the clan is… complicated. The village does not interfere in such matters. But operatives who serve with distinction often find their burdens eased. Service brings protection. Remember that."
It was all veiled. Support dangled, but tied to obedience. Defiance meant her end.
Kanae lowered her head until the floor masked her face, because her eyes had gone cold and empty.
She answered as expected. "I will not fail."
Inside, she felt something break.
Whatever she had once thought she might choose, there was no choice anymore.
The Commander's final words sealed it.
"Then rise, Hyūga Kanae. And remember, Konoha has no tolerance for another Senju rising. The village has long moved past that era."
Kanae stood, scroll in hand, her heart hollow.
There is no turning back.
If he falls, I will be the hand that pushes.
And if I refuse… then I fall first.
Even before suffering more in the clan.
Whether as a knife at Ryusei's back or as bait before his fall, she understood her fate: she would be the instrument they required this time.