The fire was still raging.
The forest around here was having the worst luck, running into Sogen like that.
His Fire Release techniques, boosted by his unique skill called [Mana Burst (Flame)], were so powerful that even among today's Uchiha clan, he could claim to be the strongest. One move, *Great Fire Annihilation*, didn't just torch a huge chunk of the forest and take out two lives—it left flames that kept devouring the surrounding trees and grass.
Sogen gently laid the unconscious Naruto on the grass.
He hacked a stump out of a tree with his blade, not caring about the dirt, and plopped down on it. No way was he standing around waiting for those big shots to finally show up. And honestly, even though he took down twelve attackers like it was nothing—looking as unscathed as if he'd just whipped up a quick meal—the truth was, the whole fight had him on edge, not daring to relax for a single second.
To be real, his chakra was still above the danger zone, but the mental exhaustion? That was the real killer.
"My Mangekyo Sharingan! Why hasn't it awakened yet?!" Sogen grumbled, sitting on the stump, half-resting, half-ranting about his far-off dream of unlocking the Mangekyo. "Even if the eye powers are kinda lame, I'd deal with it…"
If he had the Mangekyo Sharingan, even if the abilities were weak, it wouldn't matter. Susanoo? Now *that* was the real deal!
But then, a second later—
"Pfft, pfft, pfft!"
Sogen spat a few times, taking it back.
Nah, the eye powers better be strong. If he ended up with something as useless as Shisui's *Kagutsuchi* or whatever, he'd be the one crying.
"Man, are they *this* slow? Nobody's here yet?"
Sogen glanced down at the sleeping Naruto, wondering if he should wake the kid up so they could chat to pass the time. But before he could act, he sensed movement behind him. He whipped around, and there was Shisui, short sword strapped to his back, stepping into view.
"Finally!"
"Sogen, what… what's going on here?"
"Shisui, you're way too slow. The name 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' is probably sobbing right now!"
"Cut the nonsense, Sogen. What's the deal? Why'd you use a Fire Release technique *this* massive inside the village?" Shisui, who'd rushed over, took one look at the scene and froze, his mind going blank for a second. Snapping out of it, he shouted, "What the heck are you doing? The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki… wait, is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki okay?"
"Hey, that's rude, Shisui."
Sogen stepped in front of Shisui, blocking him from getting closer to Naruto. "Nine-Tails Jinchuriki this, Nine-Tails Jinchuriki that… that's no way to talk. This kid has a name, you know—one his parents gave him. 'Nine-Tails Jinchuriki' isn't it."
"Uh—"
Shisui's momentum faltered. He opened his mouth, glanced at Naruto sleeping on the grass, and took a step back. "Right, sorry. That… that was rude of me."
"Now *that's* more like it!"
Sogen nodded, satisfied.
"…" Shisui raised an eyebrow, eyeing Sogen's smug face. Something felt off. Why was *he* the one apologizing? No, the apology itself was fair—calling someone "Nine-Tails Jinchuriki" was pretty disrespectful.
But the issue was Sogen. What did *he* have to do with it? Shisui's apology was for Naruto—er, wait, what was his name again? Uzumaki… Uzumaki Naruto, right. The apology was for Naruto, not Sogen, yet this guy had the nerve to just accept it like it was meant for him.
What a headache!
"Sogen, quit messing around. What happened here?"
"What happened?"
Sogen's smirk turned cold. "Shisui, you really can't tell? Don't kid yourself—I'll lose respect for you."
"…"
Shisui fell silent.
His eyes scanned the area, spotting shuriken and kunai scattered in the grass, traces of ninjutsu attacks on the ground, and headless corpses, mangled beyond recognition due to self-destructing sealing techniques. As the only Uchiha currently in the Anbu, he knew exactly what those grotesque bodies meant. Only dead men rigged with self-destruct seals would end up looking like that after death.
"I was escorting Naruto home when we got ambushed here. Twelve attackers, all top-notch. From what I could tell, four jonin, eight special jonin. They hit us together, and one of them even had a secret technique. I couldn't hold back—I had to go all out to take them down."
"A secret technique?"
Shisui's eyes flicked up.
"A pig, a deer, and a swarm of bugs."
"…You're sure?" Shisui asked, his voice heavy.
"Hmph. You think my eyes are blind? Naruto passed out because of that pig's Mind Body Switch Technique. I got pinned down by the deer's shadow bind, too. If I hadn't reacted fast, Shisui, you'd probably be looking for my corpse right now—and good luck finding it."
Shisui's expression went blank.
He knew Sogen could say some weird stuff or tell obvious lies even a kid could see through. But as comrades who'd had each other's backs on the battlefield, Shisui could tell Sogen wasn't joking.
"And one more thing—the attackers had curse seals on their tongues."
Sogen added that last bit, basically spelling out who the attackers were.
"Curse seals… the Tongue Calamity Eradication Seal?"
"They were Danzo's people. Maybe they were after me, or maybe they wanted to use Naruto to pick a fight with the Third. Could be something else I don't know about. But… this whole thing with the Third…"
Sogen didn't finish his sentence.
More people were coming, this time from the Uchiha clan's direction.
"Sogen!"
"Big bro Sogen!"
"You okay, Sogen?"
It wasn't a big group—just six people, men and women, all wearing the Uchiha's flame fan crest. With their jet-black hair and dark eyes, there was no mistaking it—they were Uchiha. And every single one was a jonin.
Young jonin, too, all around Sogen's age. Even the oldest among them wasn't over twenty.
"Ranzan, Futaba, Chihaya, Jun, Akutaro, Hokuto… why's it you guys?" Sogen's eyes widened in surprise.
"It was Elder Genshi."
The one who spoke was Uchiha Ranzan, Sogen's cousin, three years older and the eldest of the group. Before Shisui and Sogen rose to prominence, Ranzan had been the Uchiha clan's standout genius. But Shisui and Sogen had outshined him, stealing his spotlight.
Still, silver is silver. Even if gold takes the stage, it doesn't turn into copper.
Becoming a jonin at thirteen proved his talent.
"The clan head's not in the compound tonight, so the elders are running things. Elder Genshi heard you were here and sent us to back you up… but looks like with Shisui here, we're not needed," Ranzan said, scratching his head and giving Shisui a quick nod.
Sogen got it instantly.
No wonder it was Ranzan and the others—young faces instead of the veteran jonin he'd have to call "uncle" or "aunt" and struggle to boss around. These guys? They were *his* crew. Every one of them knew Sogen's plan to take over as clan head. They were his die-hard supporters—the "we" he'd mentioned to Shisui.
*Nice one, Grandpa. That's some thoughtful planning!*
(End of Chapter)