---
"Ye Dou, I think Uchiha Shisui might have committed suicide here."
The mongoose at his side scratched its head with a claw and pointed to a specific area on the old map.
"Why?" Ye Dou frowned as soon as he saw the spot. It was the same location he had initially dismissed during their investigation.
"I'm not completely sure—it's just a guess," the mongoose admitted cautiously. Understanding the gravity of the situation, it didn't dare to speculate without reason. After thinking for a while, it continued, "When you pointed to these two locations earlier, Uchiha Itachi remained calm. But the moment you reached this spot… his heartbeat spiked."
"…What are you trying to say?"
"He was clearly unsettled. His reaction betrayed him—he's not as composed as he appeared."
If there were fluctuations in his heart rate, it meant that this location either held personal significance or was tied to secrets he didn't want revealed.
But how could that be possible?
That area was almost 15 miles from the Uchiha clan's main district. Wouldn't it be too far, especially during the tense period before the massacre?
"…Wait," Ye Dou's eyes narrowed. "They wouldn't need to walk all 15 miles."
He suddenly remembered an old map he had stolen from a local ninja tool shop. Without hesitation, he unsealed a storage scroll and pulled out a weathered parchment.
The old Konoha map, dating back to before the end of the Third Shinobi World War, detailed the village's previous infrastructure—before expansions pushed back the forest lines and reshaped borders.
Ye Dou traced the area between the Naka River and the Uchiha district.
The next moment, his eyes lit up as he muttered, "That sly fox…"
[Trench Inhumanity]
He repeated, louder this time, "That sly fox!" but this time, there was excitement behind his curse.
On the aged map, a hidden path was marked—one that led directly from the edge of the Naka River to a secluded waterfall near the Uchiha clan's Naka Shrine, the site of the Uchiha Stone Tablet.
Although dense jungle and minor rivers littered the path, for shinobi like Itachi or Shisui—both elite Anbu operatives—traversing it would be effortless.
"The path is remote and safe… and that shrine—only the Uchiha can approach it freely. Even among them, few dare disturb it without cause."
Ye Dou rolled up the map. He couldn't confirm it yet, but the pieces were aligning.
"Are we heading there now?" the mongoose asked.
"Not yet. Both Shisui and Itachi are in the Anbu. Even if they're not on a mission, they'll likely be stationed somewhere during the day. It'll be safer to move then."
"For real…" The mongoose nodded, then casually pulled a few rice balls from its pocket. "Wanna eat?"
Ye Dou raised an eyebrow. The rice balls were shaped like little rabbits. His brows twitched.
"…Where did those come from?"
"Hanabi gave them to me. You didn't want 'em, so I took them. Want one? If not, more for me."
Whish! Whish! Whish!
Suddenly, several kunai—previously thrown by Sasuke during training—were caught in Ye Dou's magnetic field manipulation and reoriented mid-air, now soaring toward the unsuspecting mongoose floating in midair with his green pants.
He had wondered why Hyuga Hanabi had been so cheerful earlier, smiling at him all day. It turns out the food she prepared had been handed off and eaten behind his back.
"Hey! I didn't say anything! Why are you so mad?!" the mongoose yelped. It wasn't afraid of pain—it just didn't want the rice balls damaged. As kunai closed in, it twisted and dodged with exaggerated movements, comically shouting,
"Stop! I'm warning you—stop it or I'll… okay fine, you asked for it!"
The system familiar braced itself, held the rice balls between its legs, and started spinning like a buzzsaw, its tail whipping kunai out of the air.
"Wood, big wood, big wood, big wood, big wood…!" it roared as it repelled the flying weapons with impressive precision.
---
The next morning.
Ye Dou moved carefully through the outer grounds of the Uchiha clan's ancestral shrine and tested the hidden route for himself.
The results were clear:
The normal route was 15 miles.
This secret path—barely half that.
Moreover, the area offered excellent visibility. Any major incident—like explosions or signs of a scuffle—would be visible from here.
"There's no doubt. This is the place where Shisui died."
Ye Dou turned and created four shadow clones.
Now that he had likely located the site of Shisui's suicide, all that remained was choosing the best spot for an ambush.
He pulled out another scroll and took inventory:
"Ten thousand explosive tags, thirty thousand shuriken, twenty thousand kunai, forty thousand senbon, ten thousand smoke bombs, thirteen thousand flash bombs… five hundred Wind Demon shuriken. Not quite Konan-level… but definitely enough."
The mongoose had joked before that Ye Dou was the richest shinobi in Konoha.
He wasn't wrong.
The shop they raided was well-stocked—it had just restocked and supplied even elite units.
With enough manpower, Ye Dou could probably arm a squad strong enough to assault a Hidden Village.
Even the system administrator had been speechless.
Konan might be the "Paper Bomb Queen," but Ye Dou was definitely her competition.
---
Back at the Ninja Academy
The scene shifted. After leaving the Naka River, Ye Dou returned to class.
Today, the atmosphere in First-Year Class A was the same—loud and chaotic.
Except for two people.
Both had bandaged hands.
Both had locked their eyes onto Ye Dou the moment he stepped inside.
---