The Weight of Blame
Nara Kazama looked embarrassed.
But hearing an Uchiha call his own clan "evil"?
That caught him off guard.
To be honest, he hadn't expected Uchiha Jin to think so deeply just from a few hints.
When did the Uchiha start producing people with brains like this?
And more importantly—Jin didn't seem angry at all. His words carried no resentment, just a quiet exclamation, as if stating a fact.
Even with his sharp mind, Kazama couldn't make sense of it. In the end, he could only conclude: This teammate of mine doesn't feel like an Uchiha at all.
"Ahem… that's just what you thought," Kazama muttered nervously. "It has nothing to do with me. You can't tell anyone else about this. Otherwise, I'm dead!"
His expression twisted in bitterness. He had never imagined Uchiha Jin would be this sharp.
If he'd known, he never would have spoken.
Because if the Uchiha clan—so stubborn, so proud—ever truly realized why they couldn't become Hokage, why the village never supported them…
Hiss.
Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.
But what could he do now? The words were already out. All he could do was pray that Jin wouldn't spread them around.
"Don't worry," Jin said with a small smile. "I'm not the type to meddle in other people's business. It won't affect you."
Unfortunately, even with Jin's reassurance, Kazama couldn't relax. His frown deepened, and he sighed again and again. Clearly, his unease wouldn't fade so easily.
---
Meanwhile, on the front lines—
Guided by a messenger, Kudo Nobuyuki entered the command tent and knelt before Miyamoto Yukie.
"Jonin-sama, forgive me. Our squad encountered two elite Kirigakure teams. Ishikawa Itsuki disobeyed orders, which led to the mission's failure. We only managed to recover a cart of supplies."
He raised two scrolls respectfully. "Here are the full details of the battle, along with the bodies of the enemy shinobi."
Miyamoto Yukie's brow furrowed as he read the scroll. By the time he finished, his hand slammed against the table.
"Useless fool!" he barked. "What did that brat learn at the Academy? Even a genin knows to follow orders! Instead, he charges blindly with no strength to back it up—gets himself seriously injured—and now leaves a stain on my command!"
His voice dripped with fury.
In all his years as a jonin, Yukie had seen arrogant shinobi and cowardly shinobi. But never one this reckless.
Discipline was the bare minimum for a ninja. No matter how proud they were, orders came first in battle.
And now, in Yukie's first frontline command, Ishikawa Itsuki had gifted him such a disgrace. Even if Yukie earned merit later, this failure would follow his record.
If Ishikawa had been from a noble clan, Yukie might have swallowed his anger. But a commoner? There was no reason to protect him.
Taking a sharp breath, Yukie gave his orders.
"Summon ANBU. Chunin Kudo, you'll hand over Ishikawa Itsuki to them immediately. As for the mission—there will be neither rewards nor punishments. From now on, you'll redeem this failure with merit. Once Itsuki is in ANBU custody, your team will rest and await the next assignment."
Kudo Nobuyuki bowed low. Relief washed through him—at least he'd gotten out of this intact.
Inwardly, though, he cursed Itsuki and thanked his luck that his other teammates had been reliable. They'd salvaged supplies and provided someone to take the fall.
Sure enough, being from a wealthy family meant knowing how to survive.
Ten minutes later, an ANBU in a fox mask appeared. Nobuyuki escorted him to the medical camp, where the unconscious Ishikawa Itsuki was officially handed over.
Only then did Kudo return to his squad's tent, utterly drained. He collapsed onto his folding bed, rubbed his temples, and forced a smile at his teammates.
"Don't worry," he said. "Ishikawa's been turned over to ANBU. Our mission won't be rewarded or punished. For now, just rest. We'll wait for the next orders."