After a period of uneasy calm…
Uchiha Hayate and Uchiha Yamakaze patrolled the village, their usual vigilance tinged with boredom.
Hayate:"Man, it's dull without Captain Senjuu around…"
Yamakaze (side-eyeing him):"Weren't you the one always complaining he was 'too extreme'? Said he 'never considered the bigger picture' and 'caused trouble for the clan'?"
Hayate broke into a cold sweat, clamping a hand over Yamakaze's mouth.
Hayate (hissing):"Shut up! You want the captain to hear that?!"
Yamakaze (prying his fingers off):"Tch. Like you're the only one who said it. Even I used to grumble."
A pause. Then, quieter:
Yamakaze:"But I was wrong. Captain's way… it's the right one."
Hayate nodded, gaze drifting toward the Hokage Tower. "Wonder when he'll be back…"
Neither finished the thought.
Then—chaos erupted ahead.
A group of five or six shinobi—faces unfamiliar, yet wearing Konoha headbands—brutally beat a kunoichi in the street. Her screams tore through the air.
Hayate (instinct surging):"STOP!"
He lunged forward. Yamakaze hesitated—something felt off—but followed.
Hayate (furious):"Who the hell are you?!"
One attacker sneered. "Uchiha cops? Mind your own damn business!"
The kunoichi sobbed, bloodied fingers clawing at Hayate's sleeve. "P-please… help…"
Hayate's vision went red. He hurled shuriken, forcing the assailants back, and shielded her—
Yamakaze (roaring):"HAYATE, BEHIND—!"**
Too late.
A blade flashed.
Yamakaze's arm hit the dirt. The knife kept going—plunging into Hayate's back.
Blood sprayed. Hayate collapsed, choking on iron, as the "victim" leaned in, her smile a grotesque slash.
Fake Kunoichi (giggling):"Thanks for playing the hero…idiot."*
She vanished in a swirl of mist.
The "Konoha shinobi" erupted in mock fury.
"You Uchiha morons just let a* Kiri spy *escape! Was this your plan all along?!"
Hayate and Yamakaze understood instantly.
They'd been set up.
Yamakaze dragged Hayate toward the hospital, his severed arm a forgotten ruin. Blood painted the road behind them.
Hayate (weakly):"…Sorry. Should've… learned from the captain…"
Yamakaze (gritting teeth):"Shut up andlive."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke and his ANBU stormed the Uchiha Police HQ.
Shinnosuke (smug):"Clan Leader Fugaku. Your meninterfered with an ANBU op.Let a Kiri spy slip. Explain."
Fugaku's fists shook. "What do youwant?"*
Shinnosuke's mask hid a grin.
"Senjuu's squad is a liability. His 'methods' infected them—reckless, violent. We'redisbanding it.And interrogatingevery member."
The room exploded.
Fugaku (chakra flaring):"Youdare—?!"*
Shinnosuke's voice dropped to a venomous whisper.
"Or… is the Uchiha Clanfinally showing its true colors?"*
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