Staying inside the barrier with Danzō made Yagami feel utterly uncomfortable.
As one of Konoha's most dangerous men, even being near him meant walking on thin ice.
The entire Anbu division bore Danzō's distinctive mark —
ruthless, utterly indifferent to casualties, and obsessed with loyalty and the so-called Will of Fire.
Teams constantly left the barrier to perform secret missions.
No one knew what those assignments were.
Yagami's luck finally turned after a few days —
Captain Black Ape's squad was also sent out.
At this crucial moment of observing the Hidden Eddy Village,
they were ordered to move to the port at the mouth of the Nanga River.
At last, Yagami didn't have to breathe the same air as Danzō.
Before deployment, Captain Black Ape laid out the mission.
For the next several days, they were to closely monitor all ships coming from the Land of Waves and the Land of Water —
especially those carrying Konoha shinobi.
The squad scattered among the cargo piles along the docks, carefully observing.
A group of Konoha ninja disembarked from one vessel,
relief and joy written all over their faces — the happiness of returning home to the Land of Fire.
Missions in foreign countries were always more dangerous.
Back home, they could finally relax.
This sort of returning Konoha team was common and not among the squad's surveillance targets.
After three long days, something unusual finally appeared.
A small Konoha squad rushed off a ship in panic.
Both men looked terrified as they sprinted up the pier,
knocking over porters in their desperate flight toward Konoha's direction.
Captain Black Ape made his move, and Yagami and the others immediately followed.
In the woods outside the port, the two Konoha ninja raced along the Nanga River.
Suddenly, another Konoha ninja stepped out ahead, blocking their path.
Yagami had already removed his mask and replaced it with a Konoha forehead protector,
posing as a wounded comrade.
Bandages covered his shoulder, faint traces of blood showing through.
He called out hoarsely,
"Hey! I'm a Konoha ninja too! Can you help me change my bandages? My arm and shoulder are too injured to treat myself!"
One of the older Konoha ninja shook his head urgently.
"Sorry! We've got important intel to report back to the village!"
He barely got the words out before blurting the rest in panic—
"Out at sea, we spotted several ships loaded with Cloud and Mist shinobi!
They were sailing toward the Land of Whirlpools!
The Hidden Eddy Village is our ally — they might be—"
"Ah—!"
Before he could finish, several figures shot out of the Nanga River.
The flash of blades gleamed coldly as Mist swordsmen cut down both Konoha ninja in an instant,
water spraying like beads of glass.
Yagami's pupils shrank.
As expected of the Anbu — Konoha's dark side.
For secrecy, they'll even kill their own.
The large-scale mobilization of Mist and Cloud forces couldn't possibly remain unnoticed.
Inevitably, a few Konoha shinobi would stumble across their movements.
But the Anbu would never allow such news to reach the village.
Rather than risk later investigation, they simply eliminated the witnesses on the spot.
After three waves of such "cleansings,"
Captain Black Ape finally seemed satisfied.
"Let's go. Return to the Land of Whirlpools — we report to Lord Danzō!"
Yagami silently calculated the distance between Konoha and the Land of Whirlpools.
Even if the village received a report today,
it would be far too late to send reinforcements.
By the time the Senju's support arrived,
the Hidden Eddy Village would already be ashes.
When Black Ape's squad reached the outskirts of the village,
it was already past midnight.
From afar, flames raged high into the night sky.
Yagami moved as if to rush forward — then froze.
By all logic, the alliance between Konoha and the Hidden Eddy Village meant mutual defense.
If one was attacked, the other was obliged to help.
But logic no longer applied.
"Where are you going? Stop!"
One Anbu had instinctively charged toward the burning village,
only to be barked back by Captain Black Ape.
The captain turned the squad around and led them back up the mountain —
into the same invisible barrier as before.
Inside, it was as crowded as ever, filled with silent Anbu.
At the summit, Danzō sat motionless upon a rock,
staring coldly in the direction of the Hidden Eddy Village.
From this vantage, they could see everything.
Half the village was shrouded in mist;
the other half was lit by countless flickering bursts of lightning —
like a swarm of glowing fireflies.
Fires spread everywhere,
villagers screaming, flames consuming homes in a deliberate pattern —
from the outer edges inward, methodical and merciless.
The two Konoha ninja killed earlier hadn't lied.
Massive forces from the Hidden Mist Village and Hidden Cloud Village were indeed attacking the Hidden Eddy Village.
Yagami's mind raced, analyzing the situation.
Right now, Konoha was facing the greatest political crisis of Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen's tenure —
the transfer of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
This was during the Second Shinobi World War,
but compared to the battles in the Land of Steam, Land of Water, or Land of Rain,
nothing was as critical as the Nine-Tails' host.
Losing a war only cost Konoha some mission rights or territory.
Losing control of the Nine-Tails could destroy the entire village.
In the original timeline, when the Nine-Tails rampaged,
countless shinobi and civilians perished — even the Fourth Hokage himself.
That tragedy marked the true beginning of the Naruto story.
Now, Uzumaki Mito was old and frail.
Her chakra and physical vitality were declining,
and the seal of the Nine-Tails was weakening.
To ensure stability, Konoha planned to select another Uzumaki prodigy —
someone with the same powerful life force and sealing talent —
to become the next jinchūriki.
However, the Uzumaki Clan had their own plans.
After two Shinobi World Wars, Konoha was no longer the overwhelming power it had been under the First Hokage.
Its strength was waning, its losses mounting.
Continuing to rely on the Konoha alliance was becoming dangerously naïve.
To protect their clan's survival and legacy,
the Uzumaki decided to use their powerful sealing arts
to seal away a tailed beast of their own.
With that, they would possess a deterrent strong enough to stand against the Five Great Nations.
Thus, the Hidden Eddy Village refused Danzō's demand
to send Princess Uzumaki Kushina to Konoha.
That was when the first cracks in their alliance appeared.
The Uzumaki dispatched a sealing squad to capture and seal the Wild Three-Tails.
It was true that the Three-Tails currently lacked a host,
but it still belonged to the Hidden Mist.
They had simply not yet selected their next jinchūriki.
It was all the First Hokage's fault —
an idealist who distributed the tailed beasts among the other villages
but never gave one to the Uzumaki.
When the Hidden Mist learned of the Uzumaki's attempt to seal the Three-Tails,
they immediately sent several of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to crush the operation.
The Mist weren't soft targets —
not only did they stop the Uzumaki,
they retaliated with fury.
And the Cloud joined in too.
The Third Raikage was a terrifying man.
Konoha had already been struggling against him on the Hot Water front.
Otherwise, so many Cloud shinobi wouldn't be appearing here.
The combined Mist and Cloud assault on the Uzumaki was immense —
a force strong enough to fight Konoha itself.
Their motive was obvious:
to seize the Uzumaki's sealing techniques
and gain the power to control tailed beasts.
For Konoha, the Nine-Tails was one of its cornerstones.
For the Mist and Cloud, their own beasts served the same role.
What a pity.
Konoha would never send help.
What Konoha truly wanted… was only Uzumaki Kushina.
There was no way they would allow the most talented Uzumaki princess
to become the Three-Tails' jinchūriki.
She had already been chosen as the next host of the Nine-Tails —
and that was something Konoha could not afford to lose.
For the Nine-Tails, Konoha would sacrifice anything.
There were no Senju left among Konoha's high command.
No one cared about ancient alliances anymore.
No one cared about the Uzumaki.
Through his binoculars, Yagami watched the Hidden Eddy Village consumed by fire —
a tragedy unfolding before his eyes.
***
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