Konoha.
Inside the Hokage's Office.
"Danzo, what have you done?! This is too much!"
The Third Hokage roared, his voice filled with fury.
Danzo, however, remained unfazed. Instead of taking the reprimand seriously, he scoffed inwardly. You have the time to summon me here and scold me, but not to stop my actions?
A hypocrite trying to act righteous.
"Hiruzen, Uchiha Kiyo is an obvious threat. You should understand that suppressing the Uchiha clan is the will of our teacher!"
"No, Danzo, that's not what the teacher meant," Hiruzen shot back, his face grim. "The teacher wanted us to coexist with the Uchiha. There are shinobi like Kagami Uchiha among them—they shouldn't all be treated the same."
Danzo sneered. His single eye locked onto Hiruzen's, his voice low and deliberate.
"Hiruzen, do you really believe what you just said?"
Hiruzen opened his mouth to argue, but then hesitated. His mind drifted to Uchiha Kiyo—the young Uchiha he had high hopes for—now driven into a corner. The truth was undeniable.
---
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kiyo moved toward his supposed mission—rescuing Konoha shinobi. Surprisingly, there were no Sand shinobi blocking his path. Instead of relief, this only deepened his unease.
Of course, this Uchiha Kiyo was just a shadow clone.
His real body was taking a different route. Using Body Flicker Technique at full speed, he avoided conflict, instead scouting around the designated rescue point.
As expected, he spotted numerous unidentified figures. Judging by their chakra signatures, they were all jōnin level.
"How did Danzo manage to gather this many jōnin?" Kiyo mused.
More importantly, the way they were positioned told him everything he needed to know.
"This isn't a mission. This is an ambush. Danzo is determined to eliminate me."
Kiyo continued observing, searching for the perfect target.
Not far away, three Sand Village puppet masters were engaged in a quiet discussion.
"Captain Tetsuya, are we sure about this intelligence?" one of them, a tall, lanky shinobi, asked cautiously. "What if this is a Konoha trap?"
The one called Tetsuya, a calm and medium-built man, didn't answer immediately. Instead, their third teammate, a shorter shinobi, spoke up.
"It doesn't matter. Multiple teams received the same information, and they're all converging on that location." He then glanced at Tetsuya and added with admiration, "Besides, Captain Tetsuya is a direct disciple of Elder Ebizō. He's mastered advanced puppet techniques and can control ten puppets at once—something only the most skilled puppet masters can achieve."
Tetsuya smirked, soaking in the praise. "Hmph! Of course. That Uchiha brat has hunted down far too many of our puppet masters. It's time he learned what real puppetry is."
He then sighed and shook his head. "It's just a pity that I won't get to fight Konoha's White Fang. That man is already close to breaking into the Kage-level. I wouldn't be able to take him alone, so I left that task to Chishio and the others."
"Captain Tetsuya," the shorter shinobi said with a chuckle, "Chishio and his teammate aren't just anyone. One is Elder Chiyo's son, and the other is her personal disciple. Their skills with puppets are unparalleled. They'll handle White Fang."
Kiyo's eyes gleamed from his hidden position underground.
"Chishio? Chiyo's son?"
A memory resurfaced—days ago, his squad had been intercepted by two powerful Sand ninjas. Could they have been…?
"So they're targeting Sakumo now? Interesting."
Fate worked in strange ways.
The last time they had a chance to kill Sakumo, Kiyo had evaded them. Now, they were voluntarily walking into their own deaths.
A smirk played on Kiyo's lips.
"Well then, let's get started."
---
Without warning, Kiyo burst from the ground, hands flashing through signs.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets!"
Chakra-infused wind blasted toward the three Sand ninjas like bullets.
Tetsuya barely had time to react, hastily pulling out a puppet to shield himself. The other two weren't as lucky.
The high-speed wind projectiles pierced their bodies before they could deploy their puppets, ending their lives in an instant.
Tetsuya, still in shock, turned pale.
"B-Blood-Eyed Shura! Why are you here?! You were supposed to—"
Kiyo didn't wait for him to finish.
With a flick of his wrist, he launched several kunai, each weaving skillfully around Tetsuya's remaining puppets.
Tetsuya deflected them just in time.
"Good," Kiyo thought, his Sharingan spinning.
Now that Tetsuya had used all his puppets in defense, he had no choice but to go all out.
The key to impersonating a puppet master wasn't just their appearance or techniques—it was having the right puppets. Without them, deception was impossible.
Kiyo's goal was clear:
Make Tetsuya summon all his puppets. Then take them for himself.
Realizing the threat before him, Tetsuya wasted no time.
With a flick of his fingers, he channeled chakra into his scrolls, summoning fifteen puppets at once.
Five surrounded him for defense, while ten launched an all-out assault against Kiyo.
Kiyo's Sharingan gleamed as he analyzed the formation.
"He's only controlling ten at once. The other five are on standby for defense. A switching technique?"
His opponent was stronger than expected.
But it wouldn't matter.
Kiyo abandoned Wind Release, opting for something more personal.
In an instant, he closed the gap, his kunai slashing through the air.
Tetsuya barely dodged, but Kiyo was relentless. With precision honed through countless battles, he maneuvered past the puppets, closing in on the target.
The final strike came before Tetsuya even realized it.
Kunai met flesh.
Tetsuya's eyes widened in shock. He reached for his throat, his fingers trembling as blood gushed between them.
His mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came.
A second later, he collapsed.
Dead.
---
Kiyo exhaled slowly, wiping his blade clean.
Now, all that was left was to complete the next phase of his plan.
With a smirk, he looked down at his prize—the fifteen puppets that once belonged to Tetsuya.
"Perfect."
His preparations for his 'death' were nearly complete. Now, it was time to vanish from the battlefield… and become a player in the shadows.
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