Shinichi and Sakumo had surveyed the area for two days.
But, there were no signs of Akashi.
"Dad, let's go back home," Sakumo groaned aloud. / How long do we need to keep up this act?
"Hmm? I thought you wanted to stay for a week," Shinichi replied, sipping tea. / Target will be here within a week.
"It's boring here! There's nothing fun to do!" / What makes you so sure?
"Ah! You just miss your darling Aiko back home, don't you?" / Chakra signature. Cone hat on the southeast.
"Aiko back home? What are you talking about, IDIOT!" / Cone hat on Southeast. Confirmed.
Their father-son bickering had become a familiar scene in the inn – loud, theatrical, and perfectly distracting.
Then, another cloaked figure entered.
He paused at the entrance, scanned the room, and moved swiftly to the southeast corner.
"I know you miss Aiko, don't you?" Shinichi teased. / Do you want to handle the Cone hat?
"I said I don't like Aiko! I like Shia!" / I'll take on the new comer.
"Ho~! Shia? She's a fine choice. Then I guess someone else will marry Aiko." / Newcomer? He should be the target (Akashi). Then I'll take on the Cone hat.
"Hmph! So, when are we going back?" / When do we move?
"HAH! It's too early to go back!... You two were so close, and now your paths diverge! Its so sad." / Not yet. Wait until they separate.
***
Akashi approached the informant – a woman in a grey kimono, her face obscured by a conical bamboo hat.
"Did you get them?"
"I told you. We need more time."
"You've said that seven times this month."
"You keep coming back too frequently. You're putting us at risk!"
"Nothing's happened. Konoha's peace-loving fools don't even know we exist."
"…Give me a week. Some of our men infiltrated Konoha recently. We'll have intel on the Ninja God soon."
"Is it true he's dying?"
"We're not sure. But if it's true, it changes everything."
Akashi glanced toward Shinichi and Sakumo.
"Who are they? Didn't see them last time."
"Oh, just a father and son traveling the Land of Fire. Came from the capital. The kid's bored and wants to go home."
"Hmmm… Probably nothing. Anyway, let me know when the info's ready."
"That's the seventh time you've said that. And you're the one summoning me! You're the rsik!"
"I scanned the area. No genin or chunin nearby. Konoha wouldn't send a jonin for something like this. They're clueless."
"If you say so…"
"You know, we could pretend to be a civilian couple. Get married. Have kids. Blend in."
"I'll contact you when the intel arrives. Goodbye!"
"..."
They began to part.
***
Shinichi and Sakumo made eye contact.
A nod.
It was time.
"Dad, I'm going out to play!" Sakumo shouted.
"…It's not like I can stop you. GO! Go, you unfilial son!"
Sakumo faltered – Shinichi had improvised. But he recovered quickly and slipped out, tailing Akashi.
Shinichi stood, stretched, and casually followed the informant.
The hunt begins.
***
Akemi slipped through narrow alleys, exiting the inn with practiced ease. Her cloak fluttered behind her as she made her way toward her safe house.
'That bastard Akashi… He's not here for intel. He just ants to get his hand on me.'
Seven meetings. Seven excuses. Akashi's pursuit had little to do with Iwagakure's mission and everything to do with his personal obsession.
Akemi was one of many unofficial kunoichi – sent by Iwagakure to gather intel on Senju Hashirama, whose retirement and absence from public life had stirred unease in the Iwa council. Akashi, recently promoted to chunin and labeled a rogue, had used this mission as a cover to chase his childhood crush.
'If anything goes wrong, Iwagakure will disown us both. I'm not even officially registered.'
She sighed as she entered her safe house, bolted the door, and stepped inside.
Then froze.
She couldn't move.
'What… What is this? I can't breathe… I can't speak… My Chakra–!'
Even her eyes refused to respond.
As she struggled to unravel this situation, a voice echoed form the shadows.
"So, what brought you to this town?"
Footsteps approached.
Akemi tried to resist, to summon chakra, to scream – but nothing worked. A chill ran down her spine, followed by sharp sting across her neck and back.
"Huha…. Huha… ah!" She gasped for air, her diaphragm finally responding – but her voice was barely audiable.
"Now you can speak," the voice said calmly. "I was curious if Keiketsu and tenketsu control would work on trained shinobi. Seems it does."
"Wh-Who are y-you? What do you want?"
"I'm the one asking questions here, miss. What's your business in the Land of Fire? Why did you meet with Akashi today?"
***
Earlier.
Uchiha Shinichi had followed her the moment she and Akashi parted ways.
'She masked her chakra well. But not well enough.'
For days, Shinichi had monitored her form a distance. Her chakra capacity exceeded that of a typical genin, yet she feigned as a commoner. While Sakumo kept eyes on her from outside, Shinichi remained in the inn, playing the role of a chatty traveler.
When Akashi appeared, the trap was sprung.
Shinichi had shunshined into her safe house moments before she arrived, blending into the shadows. As she entered, he struck – launching chakra-infused needles with surgical precision.
He targeted Keiektsu points to paralyze her muscles and vocal cords, and tenketsu near the heart, disrupting her chakra generation.
'The heart is the core of chakra synthesis. Without it, she can't combine spiritual and physical energy. She can only use what's already stored – and she was suppressing everything.'
She never stood a chance.
***
Shinichi activated his Sharingan, but held back from genjutsu. He wanted to test her resistance first.
Akemi trembled.
She knew the stakes.
Before entering the Land of Fire, she and her colleagues had been implanted with Iwagakure's secret explosive clay technique – a self-imploding seal triggered by betrayal or capture.
'If I reveal my identity, I die. If I say nothing… I die slower.'
Watching her evident hesitation, Shinichi made the choice for her.
Bzzzttt!
"KYAAAAH!!" Akemi convulsed as electricity surged through her body. Her scream was muffled, contained within the room.
She collapsed – unconscious.
Shinichi examined her body with Sharingan.
Her earth chakra had been neutralized. He removed the needles, releasing all suppression except the tenketsu blocking her heart's chakra channel.
He hoisted her over his shoulder like a sack of grain.
'She won't be able to resist. Not until I say so.'
Without a sound, Shinichi exited the building – heading toward Sakumo's location.
The mission wasn't over. But the silence had begun.
***
Akashi moved swiftly through the trees, putting distance between himself and the town.
"Niichan! Where are you going?" a child's voice called out. "The forest is dangerous! Dad says there are bad guys in there!"
"?! A kid?" Akashi turned, startled. "Shoo! Shoo! Go away!"
He scanned the boy and sensed no chakra signature. Civilian. But the child was already too close.
"???!!! What–"
Akashi lashed out with a kick.
"GUAAAAGH!!!!"
The moment his leg connected, a surge of lightning chakra exploded across his body.
Raiton: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu 雷遁・影分身の術 (Lightning release: shadow clone technique)
The clone dispersed in a flash.
Sakumo appeared instantly, blade already in motion.
SHRINNGG~!
"KUAAACK!!!"
Askashi screamed as his right shoulder was cleaved open. Blood sprayed, and he dropped to one knee, clutching the mutilated stump to stem the bleeding.
Sakumo stood calmly with his blade dripping.
"Akashi. Surrender now. And you might live."
He flicked his sword, sending an arc of blood across the forest floor. His stance was low and balanced, ready to strike at any moment.
Akashi trembled.
'How? I sensed no chakra. None. His control… is it that refined? Is this kid… a jonin?'
He looked at Sakumo, who looked barely thirteen. Akashi was eighteen and newly promoted to chunin. And yet this boy moved like a seasoned elite.
Whoosh.
Wind rustled as a figure arrived, carrying a limp body over his shoulder.
Shinichi.
"My side's done. Yours?"
"About done."
Akashi's heart sank. Although not registered, Akemi's strength was at chunin level, just as strong as himself.
'Two jonin-level shinobi… Konoha sent them for me?'
He gritted his teeth, eyes burning with defiance.
"To think Konoha would send two jonin after us… I am HONORED! BUT THIS IS THE END!"
He began gathering chakra, triggering the self-imploding clay embedded in his body.
But Nothing happened.
Only blood dripped from his mouth as he coughed violently.
"????!!!"
"Your self-imploding technique won't work." Shinichi said flatly.
"Don't bother explaining. Let's go."
Akashi's eyes widened.
'The lightning clone… it must've neutralized the clay. Some activated, but not all…'
Desperate, he reached for an explosive tag in his pouch.
Then he saw it.
Crimson light.
"Sh-Sharin…gan…"
His body slumped.
The fire in his eyes extinguished.
He knelt, drooling, as his will shattered.
Shinichi approached, pressed his palm to Akashi's shoulder, and released a burst of fire chakra, cauterizing the wound.
Shinichi pointed to Sakumo.
"Carry him."
Sakumo grimaced.
"Ugh. You're carrying a woman, and I have to haul this guy?"
Shinichi raised an eyebrow.
"Wasn't it you who chose to chase him? I gave you the option."
"…Tch." Sakumo had no comeback.
He hoisted Akashi over his shoulder.
The mission was complete.