Chapter 16: Fourth Hokage, Where Are Your Subordinates?
When Kitahara arrived at the shelter near the Uchiha clan grounds, he saw Uchiha Itachi resting with Sasuke in his arms. Beside him, a little girl was feigning sleep while holding onto his arm.
She looked familiar... seemed to be named Izumi...
No, it should be Uchiha Izumi.
Her mother was an Uchiha clan member, her father from an outside clan... Although the Uchiha were insular, once love arrived, it couldn't be stopped, especially for the emotionally rich Uchiha.
Marriage outside the clan wasn't unheard of. However, if the couple had children, the entire family had to return to the Uchiha... to prevent the Kekkei Genkai from spreading outside.
Fugaku had once mentioned Uchiha Izumi's family. It was said that both parents had good potential, so he personally presided over this family's return to the clan...
The little girl's father became a live-in son-in-law. After changing his surname, his name became Uchiha Hazuki. As for whether they moved back to the clan grounds, Fugaku didn't force it.
Honestly, if Konoha were filled with Uchiha clan live-in sons-in-law, Lord Clan Head would be very pleased; he had immense tolerance for these individuals.
Truly...
Some cubs are just born beautiful.
Some cubs only know how to blow bubbles.
Compared to Uchiha Itachi's feat of escaping to the shelter with his younger brother and incidentally saving Uchiha Izumi... the first thing Sasuke did upon waking up and seeing Kitahara was to try his best to blow a bubble...
A red glint flashed in Kitahara's eyes. Little brat, there will be plenty of opportunities to deal with you in the future. I'll just casually dig a pit, and I guarantee you'll happily jump right in!
"Itachi..."
The little girl woke up at the sound, sleepily calling Itachi's name. Her voice sounded lazy, tear tracks still visible on her face from before she slept. The way her little finger rubbed her eyes was exceptionally cute...
Is this one... latching onto my cub?
Uchiha Itachi didn't think too much about it. Having personally raised his younger brother, he understood how precious life was. He had lent a hand on the way to the shelter and brought the person along.
After learning that his mother was safe, the little boy's tense state of mind immediately relaxed. Then he saw the crow flap its wings and fly out...
"Kitahara!"
"Itachi, it's dangerous outside..."
"Waaah..."
Sasuke in his arms suddenly started crying. Itachi could only softly coax him back to sleep. He didn't know when this night of chaotic battle would end.
"He probably went to find Mom..."
Uchiha Itachi comforted himself. What else could it be?
On his left was an unweaned child, on his right a child without feathers... He himself was still just a child!
Tonight in Konoha Village, besides the disaster, some other terrifying things had happened... like a conspiracy shrouded in thick smoke.
Uchiha Fugaku received a wartime order from the Third Hokage: to accommodate and rescue non-combatants on the spot.
"What does the Third Hokage mean by this? Maintaining the village's safety is also the Police Force's duty!" Fugaku couldn't help but question.
The masked ANBU member was quite individualistic, "ANBU is only responsible for relaying orders. The Police Force only needs to be responsible for executing them!"
"...What about Lord Hokage's orders?"
Fugaku casually threw out a question, his middle-aged cunning displayed to its fullest...
A hint of awkwardness filled the air.
Oh dear, as the Hokage's direct ANBU subordinates, we couldn't find our current leader, but we have the old leader's command, you see...
ANBU Ninja: "..."
They indeed hadn't gone looking for Minato Namikaze, and probably wouldn't find him.
Within the entire ANBU, Minato Namikaze's only direct subordinate was Kakashi Hatake, and he was a newcomer who had just joined ANBU... The others were all ninjas who had grown up under the Third Hokage's influence.
The Fourth Hokage certainly wouldn't care about such a small matter; his relationship with the Third was obvious. However, Konoha's major clans, Jonin, and other advisors would definitely use this opportunity to question and make trouble.
Advisors? Other advisors?
"I am from the ANBU training class directly under Lord Danzo Shimura, directly responsible to Lord Danzo! The order regarding the Konoha Military Police Force was jointly issued by Lord Third and Lord Danzo!"
The ANBU ninja silently gave himself a thumbs-up. That group from the ANBU training class now called themselves the 'Root' division. Other ANBU members had disliked them for a long time...
The 'Root' division wasn't large, nor did it have any specific positions. It relied entirely on Danzo snatching responsibilities from everywhere. The Police Force's duties were one thing, but they wanted to snatch ANBU's duties too?
To put it nicely, it was snatching responsibilities; to put it bluntly, weren't they just beggars...
"...You guys..." Uchiha Fugaku could only wave his hand, "I understand."
He didn't answer directly whether he was willing to obey this order.
Before the ANBU ninja left, he said meaningfully, "Senior Fugaku should understand that at this time, the further the Uchiha are from the Nine-Tails, the safer they will be."
Whether it was the huge losses from fighting the Nine-Tails, or... the massive Sharingan in that Tailed Beast's eyes... the Uchiha clan indeed needed to stay as far away as possible to ensure their innocence after the battle.
"The Uchiha's honor cannot be tarnished... I will dispatch Uchiha personnel from outside the clan to confront the Nine-Tails." This was Uchiha Fugaku's final answer.
Personnel from outside the clan didn't possess the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai, nor did they belong to the Police Force. Most were sons-in-law of the Uchiha clan... This seemed like a result both sides could accept.
At the very least, it wouldn't give others the excuse that the Uchiha ignored the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, and it could also be used as an opportunity to investigate who was controlling the Nine-Tails...
"I will report truthfully to Lord Third... and Lord Danzo."
The ANBU ninja disappeared into the moonlit night. Under the starry sky, the Nine-Tails continued its rampage in the distance...
On the other side.
By sensing the fluctuations of space-time ninjutsu, Kitahara finally reached Minato Namikaze's battlefield. This battle concerned the fate of many people in Konoha.
Yet, the only person in Konoha who could intervene, Kakashi Hatake... was perhaps experiencing some story with his lifelong rival.
The enemy before Minato Namikaze... wore a patterned mask.
Attacking the defending ANBU, destroying the seal within Kushina's body, controlling and releasing the Nine-Tails to wreak havoc... all were his doing alone.
Finally, when he attempted to assassinate Minato Namikaze, he was tracked down by Minato... or rather, Minato was essentially being hunted by the Masked Man.
The mysterious Masked Man's right eye was a Mangekyo Sharingan possessing an independent space... He could enter it at any time, making him virtually invincible against anyone.
Minato Namikaze currently seemed to be handling it with ease. He hadn't needed to deploy a Flying Thunder God barrier to divert a Tailed Beast Bomb just now, saving a considerable amount of chakra.
But from a time perspective, Minato had to end the battle as quickly as possible... Both Konoha, being ravaged by the Nine-Tails, and his dying wife were waiting for him!
"Caw..."
The crow's call didn't attract the attention of the two. The duel between space-time ninjutsu and ocular jutsu allowed no room for distraction...
"Kamui!"
Ultimately, the Masked Man was a step faster. The Mangekyo in his right eye activated wildly, the pinwheel-shaped Sharingan sucking in everything before it, perilously close to pulling Minato Namikaze into the Kamui dimension...
Flying Thunder God Technique!
The white Hokage robe instantly vanished... Minato Namikaze, escaping with the Flying Thunder God Technique, reappeared in the distance, letting out a slight sigh of relief.
Now is the time!
"Caw..."
The crimson crow eyes were exceptionally bright... What a great opportunity!
Kitahara instantly condensed a shadow clone, charging into Kamui's attack range. The pitch-black shadow clone disappeared in an instant, sucked into the dimension by the residual power of the Masked Man's Kamui.
It seemed... a crow had entered Kamui. The Masked Man didn't care; his Kamui dimension was omnipotent. It was just a mere crow...
Heh, still young... Then, the rest is waiting. Wait until the Masked Man is forced into the Kamui dimension by Minato Namikaze's attack...
He will see a crow's shadow clone in the Kamui dimension, holding a Tailed Beast Bomb in its beak, shouting "Surprise!" at him.
(End of this chapter)