AN : My bad guys!! Wrong chap!!
The Hidden Cloud Village kept its word.
The day after the sparring match concluded, the Konoha ninja were granted access to Training Ground Eleven outside the village. The site was well-equipped and sufficiently secluded—perfect for uninterrupted training.
After witnessing the overwhelming strength displayed by their leader, the Konoha Genin trained with visibly renewed fervor. At the very least, the sting of their defeat in the team competition seemed to fade beneath sweat and exertion.
As for Darui—their opponent—
He likely wasn't affected all that much.
At least, that was Roshi's impression.
As the first day of training drew to a close and the Konoha group prepared to return to their quarters, Roshi noticed a lone figure standing in the shadows at the edge of the training ground.
It was Darui.
He didn't approach, merely standing there in silence.
"The Raikage said I was fortunate," Darui's voice carried over, stripped of its usual languid tone and noticeably steadier, "to encounter a goal strong enough to pursue—at the moment I needed to clarify my path."
He paused, then added quietly, "Thank you for your guidance, Roshi-san."
With that, Darui turned and left without waiting for a reply.
Afterward, the area surrounding Konoha's temporary quarters grew conspicuously quieter. The Kumogakure ninja who had once watched them with subtle scrutiny all but vanished.
Once the Genin's training had settled into a steady rhythm, Roshi finally redirected part of his attention to the matter that had been set aside due to the Chūnin Exams.
—
Uchiha Enjin, having submitted a detailed operational plan—including his intended route, stopovers, and emergency contact methods—finally received permission to leave the Village.
Thus began his solo mission under the pretense of tracking stolen Sharingan.
At first, he adhered closely to the approved route, moving southeast through the Land of Fire as outlined in his report.
On the surface, he appeared to be searching diligently for clues.
Unbeknownst to him—or perhaps exactly as expected—an Anbu squad followed at a distance, ensuring his movements remained under surveillance. In the initial stages, everything proceeded smoothly.
Enjin's actual travel path largely matched the plan he had submitted. There were minor deviations along the way, likely for intelligence gathering, but all remained within reasonable and explainable bounds.
However, this smooth progression did not last.
Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade received an urgent report delivered via summoning beast: Uchiha Enjin had vanished after entering a densely forested region with complex terrain.
The trailing Anbu squad immediately conducted an emergency search—but found nothing.
No clear tracks.
No lingering chakra.
It was as if Enjin had disappeared into thin air.
Soon after, Kakashi and Itachi—both urgently summoned—arrived at the office.
Tsunade placed the intelligence scroll on the desk, her hands folded beneath her chin.
"There were no signs of a struggle at the scene," she said evenly. "The Anbu are investigating the possibility that he was taken by someone using special means."
Her gaze hardened slightly.
"However, if no evidence supporting that theory is found, then Uchiha Enjin will be treated as a suspected missing-nin."
Kakashi considered this in silence before offering a different perspective.
"If he truly intended to defect," he said slowly, "he wouldn't have needed to submit repeated applications and wait for an officially sanctioned mission."
Enjin had served in the Police Force for many years and possessed a three-tomoe Sharingan.
If he had wanted to abandon the Village—
It wouldn't have been difficult at all.
"I believe he deliberately chose to leave under the cover of an officially sanctioned mission," Kakashi said, "precisely so he would retain a legitimate explanation—and a smooth path back into the Village later."
"That's why the emergency contact method he left behind must still be able to reach him. Otherwise, no matter how reasonable his explanations sound, a prolonged and unexplained absence would inevitably trigger a strict interrogation and review before he could re-enter Konoha."
"At that point, whatever he's truly doing outside the Village would be far harder to conceal."
Kakashi paused, then continued evenly, "So we might as well activate the emergency contact protocol he provided. Even if it doesn't bring him back immediately, it should at least tell us whether he's still operating within controllable limits—or give us some useful clues."
After a moment of thought, Itachi spoke.
"There aren't many things Enjin can accomplish only by leaving the village."
"If we exclude the possibility that his primary goal is genuinely to recover the stolen Sharingan," he continued calmly, "then another likely reason is that he needs to make contact with someone outside."
He lifted his gaze slightly. "More specifically—someone who is currently not in the Village."
Kakashi immediately thought of a familiar name.
"The Fire Capital," he said. "Shisui is currently leading an Uchiha squad there on a Daimyō escort mission."
"This group has close ties to Enjin—but it's one he cannot contact directly unless he leaves the Village."
Those remaining radical Uchiha… now under Shisui's supervision.
Moreover, with a jōnin's speed, the distance between Konoha and the Fire Capital could be crossed within a single day. That meant if the Village activated Enjin's contact method now, he would still be able to respond within the designated time limit—if he intended to.
Tsunade frowned deeply.
The thought of a sidelined radical faction reaching out to another radical element operating outside the Village was enough to make her uneasy. There was little chance it would lead to anything positive.
"Do two things immediately," she ordered.
"First, dispatch a messenger to inform Shisui. Tell him to heighten his vigilance and pay special attention to the movements of the Uchiha under his command. Any abnormalities are to be reported at once."
"Second," she continued, "have the Anbu activate Uchiha Enjin's emergency contact protocol. Send a message stating that the Village has obtained new clues regarding the stolen Sharingan and requires his immediate response."
—
"You are not Madara-sama."
Uchiha Enjin spoke with absolute certainty as he faced the tall man wearing a spiral-patterned mask, his long hair falling loosely behind him.
When the eerie pitcher-plant-like creature calling itself Zetsu had silently appeared in his home, Enjin's first instinct had been to incinerate it on the spot.
He would have—if not for what it produced.
A perfectly preserved Sharingan.
It belonged to a comrade who had fallen years ago.
That alone forced Enjin to restrain himself.
The message Zetsu delivered—about the Uchiha Clan's present state, its bleak future, and the so-called "conspiracy" of Konoha's higher-ups—had struck directly at Enjin's long-suppressed anxieties and resentment.
Though he harbored deep doubts about the identity of the so-called "Uchiha Madara" the possibility of uncovering a new path for the Clan—or at the very least, confirming the other party's true intentions—had driven him to take the risk.
That was why he left the Village.
And the moment he laid eyes on the masked man, Enjin was almost certain.
Uchiha Madara would not need a mask.
Nor would he hide his identity.
"Whether I am or not," a deep voice rumbled from beneath the mask, "you can confirm it yourself, Uchiha Enjin."
In the next instant—
The shape of the single visible pupil changed.
Enjin's eyes widened in shock.
This was—The Mangekyō Sharingan.
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