At this moment, Kōtaro Akiyama felt that it was his fault that Shōgetsu Uchiha and Masahi Yūhi could no longer remain in the same squad. He believed he had become a burden to the team.
If only he hadn't withdrawn from the Chūnin Exams to join the Konoha Hospital as a full-time medical-nin...
If only he hadn't stepped down, Hoshino Sarutobi might not have faced Roy from Kumogakure—and might not have died.
Now, his heart was not only filled with self-reproach, but even more so, with profound guilt.
Having experienced partings himself, Masahi Yūhi understood Kōtaro's turmoil. He had once been separated from his own comrades too. He offered comfort in a calm voice:
"Kōtaro, me stepping down as squad leader has nothing to do with you."
"The truth is, the mission I've been assigned will likely take a long time to complete, so I won't be able to stay on as your jōnin instructor."
"As for which squad Shōgetsu will be joining next—I've already made arrangements. I'll make sure he ends up with a good team."
"But you—now that you're at Konoha Hospital, don't forget your dream. Keep working toward becoming a great medical-nin."
"I believe one day, both of you will make me proud."
In Masahi's words, both Shōgetsu Uchiha and Kōtaro Akiyama heard nothing but earnest hope. In unison, they replied with determination:
"Yes, we will give it our all!"
...
That evening, after finishing a date, Minato walked Kushina home, finally returning to his own house.
Having stayed awake for two days and nights straight, Minato looked visibly worn out. His date had been a strange mix of bliss and suffering—clearly, Kushina had decided to punish him in her own mischievous way.
"Welcome back, sensei!"
"You look exhausted… Was the date with Oku-sama not very fun?"
Veigar Koshima asked with a straight face, though he was quietly snickering to himself.
Minato, of course, couldn't say that the date had been anything but enjoyable—unless he was looking for trouble.
He let out a sheepish laugh and replied:
"No, it was great. We had a good time."
Then, shifting the topic away from himself, Minato turned to Veigar:
"Veigar, the Cloud ninja have left Konoha. You don't need to worry anymore."
"That said, stay indoors and rest for the next few days. Try not to go out."
"I've got a mission coming up that will require you to leave the village with me."
The moment those words left Minato's mouth, Veigar noticed something was off. He could tell something must have happened—something serious enough to make Minato worry.
His expression turned serious.
"Sensei, did something happen?"
But Minato didn't elaborate. His tone remained steady as he offered a vague reassurance:
"No, nothing happened. Just get some rest for now."
"I'm exhausted—I'll head to bed."
Veigar could tell his teacher was hiding something. But if Minato didn't want to talk about it, there was nothing he could do. He dropped the subject and nodded.
"Alright, then… goodnight, sensei."
Minato returned to his room, collapsing into bed with a weary sigh, troubled thoughts still lingering as he drifted off into sleep.
...
Minato hadn't told Veigar the real reason he was being kept home. It wasn't just about keeping him safe—Veigar had recently been promoted to chūnin, and thus didn't yet have the clearance to deal with Root operations.
Minato simply wasn't in a position to tell him the truth.
As Minato lay resting, Veigar sat in his own room, lost in heavy thought. He didn't believe for a second that there was truly nothing wrong. If all was well, why had Minato specifically told him to stay indoors?
"The Cloud ninja have left… then what else could it be?"
He continued racking his brain, running through every possible reason Minato would be worried.
Yet no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't make the connection to Danzō Shimura or Root. There were simply too many missing pieces.
"What's really going on…?"
"There's not enough intel…"
Gazing out his window at the misty night sky, Veigar felt a strange weight settle on his shoulders—like an invisible pressure was slowly crushing him.
...
One day passed. Then another.
In the blink of an eye, five days had gone by.
During that time, Veigar had faithfully stayed indoors, just as Minato instructed. Other than reflecting deeply, he immersed himself in intense training.
Ironically, his seclusion became a major obstacle for Root.
Bird, the agent ordered by Danzō to capture Veigar and bring him to Root's underground base, found himself helpless—he couldn't find a single opportunity to strike.
This was Minato Namikaze's home. No one dared barge in recklessly. Sneaking in and kidnapping Veigar without alerting anyone? Not even Root could pull that off easily.
...
Meanwhile, a Cloud delegation escorted a prominent dignitary from the Land of Lightning, exiting the Land of Fire and heading into the Land of Hot Water.
The journey had been uneventful—almost too quiet. Most of the Cloud shinobi felt no danger.
But one man did: Renchi Furuyama—who had killed three Root operatives inside Konoha—was filled with unease.
As night fell, a field camp was set up along the Fire-Hot Water border. Over twenty tents dotted the moonlit terrain.
The wind whispered restlessly, and Renchi couldn't shake the creeping dread that gnawed at him. Gazing up at a distant mountain bathed in moonlight, he saw a looming shadow—like a beast baring its fangs in the night.
And there, upon that very mountain—
Over 150 Root operatives, masked and silent, lay hidden in the dark, ready for combat.
These elite ninja had gathered under Danzō's direct orders, lying in wait for their target: the Cloud delegation about to leave the Land of Fire.
As the moon hung half-high in the sky and the surrounding silence became absolute—even the night insects were still—the firewood crackled in the eerie hush.
Chitora, commander of the operation, finally broke the silence with a cold command:
"Begin the operation. Follow the original plan."
"Leave a few genin alive to return to the Konohagakure. Everyone else—kill on sight."
His words rang with finality.
"Yes, sir!" came the chorus from the Root agents.
"Commence."
At that moment, the 150-plus operatives, organized into squads of three, began to move stealthily toward the Cloud encampment.
Within moments, the Cloud ninja were completely surrounded.
The battle was about to erupt.
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