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The Advisor's Shadow
The air inside Kanzō Tokudaiji's private study was still and perfumed faintly with the scent of cedar. The faint hum of bureaucratic chatter from the palace's lower halls didn't reach here. The chamber of the Fire Daimyō's most trusted advisor was built like a fortress of intellect—sealed scrolls, encoded ledgers, and wax seals lined every shelf.
And yet, for all its quiet power, a shadow lingered over the room.
Kanzō Tokudaiji sat at his desk, fingers steepled beneath his chin. A single parchment lay open before him—a document no servant, guard, or shinobi had the right to see.
On it were three words:
"Bounty Request — Subject: Tobi."
He reread them once more, the name echoing in his mind like a whisper from the abyss.
Place a false bounty on my name in the underworld. I will find you.
That was the message the mysterious Tobi had left him weeks ago. It had sounded like madness at the time—an absurd method of communication between a statesman and a ghost. But Kanzō had learned to respect the unpredictable. In the world of shadows and secrets, those who played too predictably never lived long.
He dipped his brush into ink and marked the request's final seal. It wasn't an official order, nor an arrest warrant—merely a whisper meant to drift through the criminal underworld. A "bounty," but not one meant to be collected. A lure.
Kanzō summoned one of his most discreet servants.
"Deliver this to the underground registry in Kagerō Town," he ordered quietly. "Use the black seal. And remember—no public postings. This must not attract true hunters."
The servant bowed low, expression unreadable, and vanished through a concealed passage behind the study wall.
Kanzō leaned back in his chair. The wheels had begun to turn.
Now came the dangerous part.
The second half of Tobi's instructions had been clear, if cryptic:
"Go to the new territory of Chinoike clan in Land of Fire. Speak to their leader. I will make myself known when the time is right."
---
Between Bloodlines and Shadows
Hours later, Kanzō moved through his private quarters, methodically preparing for his journey. He packed light—just enough for three days' travel, a personal cipher key, a small case of seals, and two scrolls marked with the Fire Daimyō's crimson sigil.
To the world, his mission was simple: a diplomatic envoy from the capital to the newly settled territory of Chinoike clan in Land of Fire. After all, the Daimyō had just granted them land and protection—surely his most trusted advisor would oversee their integration.
But that was only the official story.
Kanzō's true purpose was far more dangerous.
Tobi had asked him to arrange a private audience with Raigo Chinoike, the clan's leader—a man as enigmatic as he was feared. The Chinoike, known for their Ketsuryūgan and their history of exile, were not easy allies to earn. Kanzō knew that one misstep could turn diplomacy into bloodshed.
Still, he would go.
Because Kanzō Tokudaiji was not a man who ignored the winds of fate.
He closed the final buckle on his satchel and exhaled slowly. "If you truly exist, Tobi," he murmured, "then let this be the proof of it."
Outside, thunder rolled faintly in the distance—perhaps a storm drifting in from the northern mountains. Kanzō pulled on his traveling cloak and stepped into the corridor, the echo of his boots swallowed by silence.
---
The Phantom in the Shadows
Far away, deep within the Uchiha territory, another man stirred.
Keiji Uchiha—known to a very select few by another name—sat cross-legged in the dim glow of his chamber. His eyes, calm yet alert, were fixed on the spectral display hovering before him:
[System Notification]
Update Detected: Fire Daimyō's Advisor Kanzō Tokudaiji has issued a 'low-priority bounty' on Tobi through the Land of Fire's Underworld Channels.
Analysis: Signal established. Objective — Private meeting arrangement with Raigo Chinoike (Chinoike Clan Head).
Keiji's lips curved slightly.
"So… he's made his move."
Beside him, the faint shimmer of his Shiny Gengar's form rippled briefly before vanishing completely into his shadow. The ghost Pokémon didn't need words; their understanding ran deeper than that.
"Stay hidden, Gengar," Keiji said quietly. "This isn't a night for revealing our cards."
He rose to his feet, the motion fluid and silent. From a hidden compartment beneath the floorboards, he retrieved a folded cloak of dark grey—the same he had once worn during their clandestine encounter in the capital. The fabric shimmered faintly with sealing inscriptions—chakra suppression weaves that made even sensor-nin doubt their senses.
The Tobi Cloak.
Next came the mask.
Orange. Spiral-patterned. A single eyehole is carved at its center.
He held it in his hands for a moment, gazing into its hollow stare. To the world, this mask belonged to a phantom—an identity woven from misdirection and rumor. But to him, it was more than that.
It was freedom.
The freedom to act where Keiji Uchiha could not.
He fastened the mask, the faint hiss of air echoing in the room.
"Tobi," he whispered under his breath, his tone tinged with irony. "Time to dance again."
With a single hand sign, a clone appeared beside him—his own face, his own attire, perfectly mirrored.
"You know what to do," Keiji said.
The clone nodded. "Keep the illusion alive. Guard the territory."
"Good."
Then, with one last look at his reflection in the darkened window, Keiji stepped back—and vanished into the night.
---
The Journey Begins
The forests between the Uchiha and Hagoromo lands were ancient, their trees towering and gnarled. The moonlight filtered through shifting branches, scattering patterns across the path like fragments of silver glass.
Kanzō Tokudaiji's convoy moved carefully through the dense terrain—three carriages, two dozen guards, and a single advisor who seemed to carry the weight of a kingdom in his satchel.
As the hours dragged on, Kanzō's thoughts drifted to the man known as Tobi.
Who was he, truly?
A rogue shinobi? A revolutionary? A ghost of the old era?
No records existed. No birth name, no clan, no bloodline. And yet, the few interactions Kanzō had with him—fleeting though they were—had felt… larger than life. As though he wasn't speaking to a man, but to a shadow of fate itself.
He remembered that unsettling voice—measured, calm, and cold.
> "The future of the Land of Fire depends not on swords or seals, but on the balance between seen and unseen. You stand in the light, Kanzō. I will move in the dark."
And true to his word, Tobi had moved unseen—his actions subtle yet decisive. Every whisper from the capital, every shift in the underworld, every thread of fate that seemed to benefit the Fire Daimyō's stability… somehow, they all traced back to the ghost in the mask.
Kanzō's hand brushed against the scroll in his sleeve—the one sealed with the Fire Daimyō's personal sigil. It contained permission for the Chinoike settlement to establish official trade routes and recognition of their status as Fire citizens.
A diplomatic gift.
And perhaps, a test.
---
The Hidden Arrival
By the time the convoy reached the border of the newly established territory of Chinoike clan in Land of Fire, dusk had begun to fall. The air was heavy with mist, and faint torches glimmered in the distance—marking the outer sentry posts of the clan's newly built settlement.
Kanzō stepped down from his carriage, his fine boots sinking slightly into the damp soil.
"Prepare our formal announcement," he ordered the lead guard. "We come in peace and under the Daimyō's decree."
The guard nodded and moved ahead with the flag-bearers.
But Kanzō did not follow immediately. His gaze drifted toward the distant hills—dark, jagged, and silent.
Something stirred in the shadows there.
He couldn't see it. Couldn't sense it.
But his instincts—honed by years in the political underbelly—told him he was being watched.
A flicker of movement. A distortion of moonlight.
For the briefest instant, Kanzō thought he saw a shape—humanoid, cloaked, with a single glowing eye.
And then it was gone.
His breath caught.
"…Tobi," he murmured under his breath.
Was it imagination? Or had the phantom truly arrived?
---
The Phantom Watches
From the canopy high above, the masked figure of Tobi—Keiji Uchiha—watched in silence. His single eye gleamed faintly through the spiral mask as he observed Kanzō's every motion.
The convoy had reached the border safely.
The false bounty had been registered.
The stage was set.
Everything was aligning exactly as he'd predicted.
From his vantage, he could see the distant glow of the Chinoike Clan settlement—crimson lanterns shaped like droplets of blood illuminating the misty valley below. The air hummed faintly with chakra.
He could feel it.
The power of a clan that had once been feared across the world.
A faint whisper from the System appeared before him, visible only through the Sharingan's perception.
[Objective Update: Monitor diplomatic meeting between Kanzō Tokudaiji and Raigo Chinoike. Influence future alliance trajectory.]
Keiji's gaze hardened.
"This is the next step," he murmured softly. "The Chinoike Clan must be brought under Fire protection… but not as pawns. As equals."
Gengar's shadow rippled faintly beneath him in agreement, silent and unseen.
He took a breath, letting the night air fill his lungs. The forest around him seemed to pulse with unseen energy.
Then—
a flicker of chakra from below.
Kanzō Tokudaiji had just crossed the threshold into Chinoike Clan territory.
The meeting was about to begin.
Keiji turned his gaze toward the crimson lights and whispered, almost to himself:
"Let's see if Raigo Chinoike is a man of reason… or of blood."
And with that, he stepped forward, his figure melting into the mist, leaving behind nothing but the faint echo of swirling leaves.
---
End of the Chapter
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