Nara Shikaku frowned slightly.
Clearly—he wasn't very satisfied with that answer.
But at the same time… he had to admit Nara Kazama's reasoning was sound.
Konoha never cared about those throwaway squads hastily put together to die.
After all—
The whole purpose of such teams was exactly that: to die, to bleed the enemy dry.
To put it bluntly, they were expendable.
In that case,
Who would care if members of a fodder squad built bonds?
So the problem was obvious.
With no emotional ties, being able to cooperate even a little on the battlefield was already pretty good.
Expecting more was unrealistic!
The members of such squads weren't even friends, just strangers thrown together for a mission.
They didn't trust each other, sometimes even eyed each other with suspicion.
Expect Uchiha Kai to confide his heart to someone?
Nonsense!
Sigh…
Once Shikaku realized this, he could only feel helpless.
After a moment of thought, he spoke faintly:
"Mm. I understand.
It doesn't matter—there will be other chances.
Your new squad has been arranged. You'll still be with Uchiha Kai, but now Uchiha Shisui, the clan's prodigy, will lead as captain.
And you'll even have a Hyuga assigned this time.
Do you see?
Unlike your last cannon-fodder squad, this time you're in a true elite squad.
And for elite squads, the missions are dangerous. Bonds between comrades are a necessity!
Kazama, this is very important.
You must keep this in mind. If you succeed, I'll count it as an A-rank clan mission for you."
Hiss—!
Kazama sucked in a sharp breath.
This time, it wasn't an act.
He was genuinely baffled.
Just what on earth had Uchiha Kai done?
How could it be so serious that even his clan uncle cared this much?
No, this wouldn't do.
Once he returned, he had to get to the bottom of it, then figure out a way to handle things.
Otherwise—
If his uncle kept staring at them, how could he and Kai ever carry out their bigger plans?
There was no way they could build a faction of their own under that magnifying glass.
With that thought, he drew a deep breath, then deliberately put on a pleasantly surprised expression.
"I understand.
Don't worry, uncle. I'll do my best."
Kazama's face was firm with resolve.
But he didn't make any detailed promises—such wasn't the Nara way.
Overacting would only cause problems.
This much was just right.
And indeed, Shikaku nodded with a smile.
They chatted idly for a bit longer before he waved Kazama off.
In Squad Seven's tent,
Uchiha Kai sat on his bed, mind spinning furiously.
Why was Shikaku targeting him?
The tent was quiet.
Kudo Shin had already left to meet his new squad members. Unless the war ended, they probably wouldn't see each other again.
And… cursed luck.
He had somehow been assigned to an elite squad.
Seriously—what the hell.
Kazama wasn't there either.
But Kai figured he'd probably been summoned by Shikaku.
That was fine.
When Kazama came back, he could ask.
For complicated matters like this, he had to rely on Kazama.
It was too much of a headache.
Even with two lifetimes' worth of experience, Kai found this hard to grasp.
Time trickled by.
About two hours later, Kazama finally returned.
Kai immediately stood, carefully scanned the tent, and only when he confirmed no one else was around did he speak in a low voice:
"Kazama, you went to see Shikaku, right?"
Kazama nodded.
He also used the clan's Shadow Secret Technique to check their surroundings before asking in a quiet, serious tone:
"Kai.
We're grasshoppers tied to the same rope now, so I'll ask you directly.
What exactly did you do to make my uncle so focused on you?
Do you know?
He's been pressing me to dig into your secrets. He even promised me an A-rank clan mission if I succeed.
You need to tell me the truth so we can plan carefully.
We absolutely cannot let him keep watching us.
My uncle is a sharp man—if he keeps his eyes on us, even the tiniest slip will give us away.
When it comes to strategy, he's at the very top."
Kai's mouth twitched.
He hadn't expected Kazama to speak up first.
But… he was just as lost!
If only he knew the reason.
The problem was—he didn't!
Sighing helplessly, Kai shook his head bitterly.
"I really don't know!
The only time I ever crossed paths with your uncle was when those three Uchiha ended up dead."
Kazama immediately leaned in.
"Tell me everything—down to the smallest detail. I need the truth if I'm to backtrack properly."
Kai nodded.
Since it wasn't exactly a major secret, he thought it over, then simply laid it all out with nothing held back.
When he finished, he looked to Kazama, curious to see just how strong his strategist's mind really was.
He wasn't disappointed.
Almost instantly, Kazama responded:
"I see.
Kai, you overdid it. Killing three Uchiha was one thing—but why leave a Hidden Cloud Village corpse?
The more you do, the more suspicious it looks.
If you had simply left after killing the three, with so few traces, you might have drawn a little suspicion. But since no one knew your strength at the time, it would have blown over.
Three dead Uchiha—Konoha wouldn't have cared.
It would've been brushed aside.
But now it's different.
That Hidden Cloud Village body caused too big a ripple.
If I'm not mistaken, that corpse must have been from two years ago, when Hidden Cloud Village tried to abduct Kushina.
And Kushina is the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.
Anything touching the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is critical—no mishaps are allowed.
That's why my uncle has his eyes on you.
Three dead Uchiha? Meaningless.
But something tied to the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki?
That must be investigated to the very end."
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