Deep within the misty lands of the Land of Water, the night was heavy with the scent of salt and blood. In a damp underground cave, the faint echo of dripping water reverberated endlessly against stone walls.
From the shifting shadows, White Zetsu emerged with his usual grin, half of his body slipping out from the ground. "Madara, the Hidden Mist Village army is collapsing like a mountain. Even the Six-Tails Jinchūriki has been captured."
A chilling silence followed.
Obito—his single Sharingan glimmering faintly beneath the orange mask—stood motionless. Then, his chakra flared with rage, distorting the air around him. "A bunch of useless trash…" he hissed through clenched teeth.
His right hand trembled, the Kamui space behind him flickering like a rippling void. He was on the brink of losing control.
In his plan, the Hidden Mist had only one job—to stall the war. If they had succeeded, they could have pressured Kumogakure from the flank, stretching the enemy's supply lines and breaking their morale. Instead, eight thousand Mist ninjas had been slaughtered. A crucial advantage was gone.
"If they'd held their ground a little longer," Obito muttered bitterly, "we would have been close to victory."
From a deeper corner of the cavern, a low, cold voice rumbled. "So, what do we do now?" It was Black Zetsu, his golden eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
Obito remained silent for a moment, then said coldly, "We regroup. The Fourth Mizukage will personally lead the next assault."
Black Zetsu's eyes narrowed. "Yagura? You mean… you're using him directly this time?"
"Yes." Obito's voice was cold as iron. "It's time."
The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was Obito's most dangerous secret. For years, Obito had controlled him through powerful genjutsu, turning the Mizukage into a living puppet. No one outside of the Akatsuki knew. If that truth ever surfaced, the entire ninja world would erupt in chaos. The Five Great Nations would unite against the unseen manipulator—and the Akatsuki's secret would be revealed too early.
That was why Obito had kept Yagura in the shadows for so long.
But things had changed. The Akatsuki was no longer a whisper in the dark—it had become a storm on the horizon. Nagato had perfected the Six Paths of Pain, defeated Hanzō the Salamander, and turned the Land of Rain into the Akatsuki's stronghold. Their ranks now included monsters like Kakuzu, Hidan, Hiruko, Shinno, and Yomi—a collection of killers and zealots who could each destroy a small country.
The era of quiet manipulation was over.
This war was the first step in a grand conspiracy between Obito Uchiha and Danzō Shimura. Together, they were reshaping the balance of power in the ninja world. Danzō manipulated the Hokage and Konoha's elders, steering their decisions. Obito, from the shadows, spread flames of war through subtle manipulation and deception.
If everything went according to plan, Kumogakure would collapse, the Uchiha Clan would be purged, and the Akatsuki would rise openly to begin gathering the Tailed Beasts.
---
The Cloud Camp
A day later, in a massive tent within the Kumogakure army's base, the air was thick with the scent of ink and parchment. Dozens of reports lay scattered across a wooden table.
Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, sat at the head, her golden eyes sharp yet weary. She exhaled deeply, pushing a lock of blonde hair away from her face.
Across from her, Neji Hyūga crouched down, retrieving a fallen report from under the table. His pale eyes glanced at the paper, and he muttered, "Still too much salt. And it burns."
Yugito covered a soft laugh, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Neji, Raikage-sama has ordered me to lead reinforcements to the Land of Hot Water front. But he didn't give any specific orders for you. What do you plan to do?"
Neji neatly stacked the papers, his expression calm but firm. "The Mist may have been pushed back, but they won't stay quiet forever."
He turned his gaze toward the coastline, where faint mist rolled in from the east. "I'm going to the Hidden Mist Village."
Yugito blinked. "The Hidden Mist? They just lost their Jinchūriki and most of their forces. Do you really think they can mount another attack?"
Neji's silence said everything. His pale eyes glimmered with quiet determination. Yugito frowned, then sighed and dropped the argument. She knew that once Neji made a decision, no one could sway him.
---
A Hidden Message
The next morning, Neji gathered a small team—Samui, Pakura, and a handful of elite Cloud shinobi. Together, they departed toward the Land of Water.
By noon the following day, on a small uninhabited island surrounded by fog, a puff of white smoke appeared. Out of it leapt a strange-looking beckoning cat, waving its paw.
"Two thousand ryō, please!" the cat chirped cheerfully.
Expressionless, Neji handed over the payment. The cat placed a sealed scroll in his hand before vanishing in another puff of smoke.
Neji unrolled it. His eyes immediately sharpened.
The intelligence came from Uchiha Mikoto herself. It contained a single revelation—the location of Uchiha Hikari, a legendary Uchiha kunoichi long thought dead.
Neji exhaled slowly, his grip tightening around the scroll. Without a word, he changed direction. His new destination: the ruins of the Uzumaki Clan, deep within the Land of Whirlpools.
---
The Forgotten Shadow
According to Mikoto's message, the truth behind Hikari's disappearance had been buried for centuries.
Two hundred years ago, during the turbulent age when the Senju and Uchiha were still mortal enemies, the Uchiha Clan launched a secret attack on the Uzumaki Clan, who were allies of the Senju. But their plan was discovered. The Uchiha strike force was ambushed and surrounded by Uzumaki sealing masters and Senju warriors.
In that hopeless situation, the Uchiha commander ordered a retreat—but one ninja refused to run.
Uchiha Hikari, a genius of the clan, stayed behind to buy time. Wielding a unique Mangekyō Sharingan and her personal invention—a chakra weapon said to rival the power of the Tailed Beasts—she held off the enemy single-handedly. Her stand allowed her comrades to escape.
When the Uchiha returned for her days later, all they found was devastation—and Hikari's name carved into a sealing altar. She had been sealed away by the Uzumaki Clan.
To the clan, it was a disgraceful defeat. The official records erased her entirely. In the archives, only one vague line remained:
"Fell into an ambush and vanished without a trace."
But Uchiha Mikoto, through secret scrolls once held by the Uzumaki, had uncovered fragments of the truth. And now, Neji held that truth in his hands.
---
The Land of Whirlpools
Three days later, Neji's team arrived at the broken remains of a once-great village. The sea roared against shattered cliffs. Crimson ruins dotted the island, marked with spiraling symbols—the crest of the Uzumaki Clan.
"Stay alert," Neji said quietly. "The barrier seals here may still be active."
Samui nodded, scanning the area with her sharp blue eyes. Pakura raised her guard, her hands glowing faintly with scorching Scorch Release chakra.
As they advanced, they found what appeared to be an ancient temple. The doors were cracked, the wood weathered, but the faint shimmer of chakra still pulsed beneath the surface.
Neji activated his Byakugan. "There's something below," he said. "A large chamber—centered around a sealing formation."
They moved inside.
At the heart of the temple, surrounded by faded sealing marks, was a single stone coffin. Strange red talismans covered its surface, each pulsing faintly like a heartbeat.
Neji stepped closer. "This is it."
Pakura's brow furrowed. "Are you sure we should break the seal? You don't even know what's inside."
Neji closed his eyes briefly. "If Mikoto Uchiha risked sending this information, there must be a reason. Besides…" His pale eyes opened again, glowing like steel. "If this really is Uchiha Hikari, she may hold the key to what's coming."
He pressed his palm to the stone and began channeling chakra.
The ground trembled. The ancient seals flared one by one, turning from dull red to blinding gold. Waves of ancient power burst from the coffin, filling the chamber with crushing pressure.
Pakura and Samui shielded their faces. "Neji! The barrier's collapsing!"
With a sharp crack, the coffin split open. A wave of pure chakra exploded outward, shaking the entire temple.
When the light faded, a figure stood amidst the dust—tall, slender, with long dark hair that shimmered like midnight. Her eyes opened slowly, revealing a pair of scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan spinning silently.
Her voice was soft yet filled with overwhelming authority.
"Who dares break the seal of Uchiha Hikari?"
Neji straightened, his cloak fluttering in the residual chakra wind. "My name is Neji Hyūga. I came seeking the truth buried by history."
Hikari's gaze lingered on him for a moment. Then, a faint smile curved her lips. "Hyūga… So the clan of sight still endures."
Her Sharingan dimmed slightly, and the tension in the air eased.
"Very well, Hyūga. If you seek the truth, then know this—two centuries ago, I was betrayed not by my enemies, but by my own clan."
Neji's eyes widened.
Hikari stepped forward, her chakra rippling like a living storm. "The Uchiha's curse has never been hatred—it's ambition. And that ambition will soon consume the world again."
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To be continued…
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