It was silent—deathly silent.
The Hokage's office had fallen into complete stillness after Tsuchigami finished speaking.
To Reiji, infiltrating Kumogakure didn't seem all that difficult. But to Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, it landed like a bolt from the blue.
Over a week ago, Hiruzen had already received intel about disturbances in Kumogakure.
But those reports came from civilian informants—sources with limited access, providing only fragmented details.
It had left the entire situation murky.
While Hiruzen had a gut feeling that Reiji was behind the chaos, he hadn't imagined the scale of what that boy had pulled off. It was terrifying.
A week ago, the information said:
In the south of Kumogakure, the Temple of Wind and Thunder seemed to have been attacked.
The following day, Kumogakure mobilized a large number of ninja. Their movements were unclear, but there were massive chakra spikes in the south, and Tailed Beast Balls exploded high in the sky.
The Raikage immediately issued a full-scale alert.
Initially, Hiruzen assumed Reiji's infiltration had failed.
Even though he was a ninja and not a professional infiltrator, he knew that infiltration and undercover work should be as quiet and invisible as possible.
But after hearing Tsuchigami's account, he realized just how wrong he'd been.
Ninja infiltration and true undercover operation—
Both were fallback options when overwhelming power wasn't available.
Both aimed to steal intel and cripple the enemy.
But the difference between the two... was wider than the gap between man and beast.
According to Tsuchigami, Reiji had first selected a replacement target through intelligence gathering.
Then he lay in wait, watching from the shadows, preparing endlessly in advance.
Finally, he began manipulating the roles he'd chosen, orchestrating them to play out exactly as he desired on the grand stage.
He gave the Raikage a choice: the Two-Tails or the Eight-Tails?
But it wasn't a real choice. The Raikage had no say.
He gave the Two-Tails a choice: cause a scene or continue lying low?
Again, not a choice—her host had a blade to their throat.
He gave the character of Raimei a choice: rise to glory or stay home?
Still not a choice. Raimei's personality, his companions' taunts—Reiji had calculated it all.
Hiruzen didn't know how Reiji had triggered the Eight-Tails' partial transformation, or how he'd infiltrated Kumogakure, let alone how he'd replaced Raimei.
Then, something struck him.
There had been bloodstains in the archive room!
At the time, Hiruzen—freshly appointed as Hokage—had assumed they came from Tobirama, who might have entered wounded to inspect the Scroll of Seals. So he ordered the stains cleaned up.
But now, thinking back... maybe not.
And then there was that bizarre incident recorded by ANBU while Reiji was imprisoned in their dungeon.
Late at night, he'd stood at the door, staring so intently it was as if his gaze could pierce through solid wood.
Hiruzen had no idea what Reiji had done—but he was now certain of one thing:
That boy had achieved his goal.
The thought made cold sweat break out across his back.
Was Reiji really this terrifyingly calculating?
Hiruzen shook his head, forcing away the string of conspiracies crowding his mind. He looked up at Tsuchigami, who was shifting awkwardly where he stood.
"What is it? Does Reiji Sakuhō have something else to say?"
At that, Tsuchigami fidgeted like he had a thorn in his seat—clearly troubled.
Just then, Danzō Shimura, face dark as soot, snapped.
"If you've got intel, then spit it out! If all ANBU acted like you, how the hell would we get anything done?"
His voice was harsh and sharp.
Tsuchigami flinched slightly, then seemed to steel himself, turning his gaze toward Hiruzen.
"Hiruzen-sama, maybe I should tell you privately?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes narrowed. He almost nodded, but remembering that this was a matter for the upper ranks of Konoha, he shook his head instead.
"No need. Say what needs to be said."
"Yes!" Tsuchigami straightened up immediately, as if he'd just been granted a pardon.
"Reiji Sakuhō said—and remember, this is from him, not me—"
Seeing the annoyed looks from everyone else, Tsuchigami stiffly continued.
"Everyone calm down and don't leak my identity. If you mess this up, don't blame me for defecting to Big Brother Raikage!"
He turned his head slowly—almost robotically—and locked eyes with Danzō Shimura.
Danzō shot to his feet like his chair had caught fire.
"What the hell are you looking at me for?! I would never betray Konoha!"
Tsuchigami shrank back, sounding genuinely aggrieved.
"Danzō-sama, I wasn't trying to. He specifically told me to say that, and then look at you."
Damn it!
That bastard's not even in the village and still manages to piss me off!
In that instant, Danzō looked like he'd just swallowed a whole bag of nails.
Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed twice, barely suppressing a laugh as his face twisted in amusement.
"Er... ahem... Tsuchigami, anything else? If not, go get some rest."
Tsuchigami gave a pitiful nod, hoisted the giant backpack onto his shoulders, and turned to leave.
But Danzō, fuming, stormed up to him, glared, and yanked the pack from his hands.
"He brought this back, didn't he? Check everything!"
Without waiting for permission, he violently pulled out a copy of Happy Summer Vacation, nearly tearing it in half.
If Rie had been there, she'd have probably jumped with joy.
He opened the book.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Danzō went completely silent. His face, flushed with rage, turned pale and sickly.
Watching his face change color like a festival lantern, Tsuchigami felt a strange, wicked satisfaction.
What a moron... even worse than me!
With that in mind, his eyes gleamed behind the mask. He put on a timid voice and suggested:
"Danzō-sama, maybe... turn the page~?"
Danzō's ghostly pale face turned red again. He snorted coldly and tossed the book away in disgust.
"These can't leave the office. Everything must be inspected."
Tsuchigami nodded rapidly—he had no intention of lugging that massive pile all the way to the Senju estate for the girl.
If she threw a fit, the whole village would be whispering about Tsuchigami-sama bullying a little girl.
With that absurd thought swirling in his head, Tsuchigami bowed politely and left the Hokage's office.
...
Hiruzen quickly swept his gaze across the room. Most faces were grim—except for Kagami Uchiha, who was eagerly eyeing the scrolls on the desk.
Without wasting time, Hiruzen picked one up and began reading.
Reiji had been careful. None of the three scrolls contained any sensitive intel—not even his name appeared. Extremely cautious.
The one for Rie was incredibly simple: reminders to eat well, sleep well, and do her homework every day.
The words were plain, but Hiruzen could see the care behind them.
As a father himself, he understood—real concern always showed in the little things.
He smiled faintly, then picked up the scroll addressed to Kagami Uchiha.
One glance, and his expression darkened.
In the letter, Reiji bluntly and simply told Kagami Uchiha to find a chance to ditch his surname and just go by 'Kagami Sharingan' or something.
The rest was filled with pure nonsense—so absurd it made Hiruzen's forehead vein twitch.
He forced himself to read to the end, then quickly passed it to Kagami.
Kagami snatched it eagerly and began reading with a grin.
Then, for a brief moment, his hand paused, and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
The next second, he resumed reading like nothing had happened, expression calm and composed.
None of the others noticed the change.
Kagami might act silly, but when it came to scheming, he was second to none.
Unaware of the moment, Hiruzen opened the third scroll—the one for Mito Uzumaki.
This time, Reiji's tone was completely different: every word polite and respectful.
After a few lines asking after Rie's well-being, the scroll ended with a surprising request—
Reiji asked how he could seal a Tailed Beast into himself.
Hiruzen's brow furrowed deeply.
That wasn't a question Reiji would ask without reason.
Could it be... he had his sights on the Two-Tails?
His first instinct was to send a message telling Reiji to drop whatever dangerous idea he was brewing.
After a moment of thought, Hiruzen firmed up his decision—this couldn't be left to chance.
Tailed Beasts were among a village's most powerful weapons. What right did a deep-cover agent have to even think about them?
No, he would deliver the scroll to Mito Uzumaki personally—and ask her to stop Reiji before he did something reckless.
...
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