Three days had passed since Arashi carved his warning into Root's ranks.
No retaliation. No ANBU at his door. No poisoned letters.
But something far worse had taken Root's place: silence.
The kind that didn't mean surrender—but strategy.
Which made Arashi's next step unavoidable.
He had to pull off the mask—not just symbolically, but literally.
Someone inside Root knew how deep the infiltration ran. Someone with enough clearance to confirm what he suspected: Root was grooming replacements—not just for jonin, but for the future of the clans.
And if he was right… they already had replacements for some of Konoha's youngest prodigies.
Including Kakashi.
—
He spent the next two days tracking surveillance patterns.
Danzo's agents had a habit: they monitored from high blind spots, usually switching positions every 47 minutes. Not a full hour—enough to remain unpredictable, but consistent enough that Arashi's calculated patience could catch them in the shift.
On the second evening, he caught one: perched above the northern administration building, body still, gaze fixed on the Hatake district.
He didn't engage from range.
Instead, he set a false trail using a chakra lure, mimicking his own signature—then waited in the rooftops two blocks down.
The Root agent followed the bait.
Arashi came down behind him like a shadow and hit a paralysis seal to the operative's neck before the man even drew a kunai.
The fight lasted three seconds.
Arashi carried the unconscious body into an old Uchiha warehouse long since abandoned during the last land restructuring.
By the time the man woke up, he was already strapped to a reinforced chair, chakra suppressed.
And Arashi was staring at him, mask held in one hand.
"You've been watching my brother," Arashi said.
The Root agent didn't answer.
Arashi didn't expect him to.
"Do you know what makes me different from my father?" Arashi asked.
Silence.
"He still thinks there's something worth preserving in this village."
He crouched down, mask level with the man's face.
"I don't."
Still, no response.
Arashi opened the drawer next to him. Pulled out three items.
A single senbon. A paper seal. A photo.
He held up the photo—grainy, black-and-white. It showed a classroom. Eight children. A jonin instructor. Kakashi in the front row.
"This was taken yesterday," Arashi said. "Root has agents in the academy, doesn't it?"
Still silence.
But the agent's eyes flicked—barely—toward the seal.
Good.
He was nervous.
Arashi took the senbon and pressed it against the man's shoulder—not to puncture, just to threaten.
"I don't want you to talk," Arashi said. "I want you to react."
And he did.
When Arashi held up a second photo—a group of young clan children including a Hyuga, an Aburame, and a Nara—the agent blinked rapidly.
Hyuga.
That was it.
Arashi leaned back.
"So they're targeting branch members first," he muttered. "Testing obedience. Less chance of clan retaliation."
He dropped the mask into the man's lap.
"You're not the one I need," he said.
Then activated the seal behind the agent's neck—one Arashi had etched himself.
Instant memory wipe of the last hour.
He left the man unconscious in a civilian alley, with a basic sleep seal to delay suspicion.
No blood.
Just confusion.
But it was enough.
He had direction now.
The Hyuga.
—
That night, Arashi approached the only Hyuga outside the clan compound who might still speak to him.
Ko Hyuga.
A branch member. Same age. Quiet. Kind.
And completely ignored by the elders because he didn't show early Byakugan brilliance.
They met under the guise of sparring practice. Arashi invited him to the second training ground.
Ko showed up with wooden practice gear.
Arashi brought none.
"I need answers," Arashi said bluntly.
Ko blinked. "About… what?"
"About Root. About children."
Ko frowned. "You think I know something?"
"I think you were approached."
Ko hesitated. That was enough.
Arashi stepped closer.
"You're branch. They think you're disposable. Or easy to control. Did they offer you something?"
Ko didn't respond.
So Arashi lowered his voice. "Did they threaten someone?"
Ko flinched.
That was it.
"They told you to keep watch on your cousin," Arashi said. "Didn't they?"
Ko's eyes widened.
Arashi stepped back. "It's not your fault. You were scared."
"I—" Ko looked down. "They said if I reported her behavior, I'd get early jonin recommendation. I didn't want to… I just… I didn't think it was real."
"It is."
Arashi placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't go back to the compound for a few days. Tell them you're training in the north forests. I'll handle the rest."
Ko looked like he wanted to say more—but didn't.
He just nodded.
And Arashi left.
—
He returned home that night and found Kakashi reading on the porch. A tiny scroll, half-unraveled, filled with kanji characters well beyond his age level.
Arashi sat beside him.
"You're reading 'Leaf Battle Doctrine'?"
Kakashi nodded. "Father said I should learn about teamwork."
Arashi chuckled softly. "Bit early for that."
"I like it."
A pause.
Then Kakashi asked, "Is it true some ninjas lie?"
Arashi blinked. "What?"
"I heard a man at the academy say shinobi serve the truth. But then someone else said Root ninjas don't speak unless told. So which is it?"
Arashi exhaled slowly.
"Both."
Kakashi looked confused. "That doesn't make sense."
"It will," Arashi said. "One day."
He ruffled his brother's hair gently, even though Kakashi pulled away a bit.
And for a brief moment, Arashi forgot the war.
Just a moment.
But moments mattered.
—
That night, Arashi entered his mental realm again.
He summoned a figure he hadn't dared to before.
Itachi Uchiha.
Not the man as he was—just the form Arashi remembered from old stories. The controlled, calm prodigy with eyes that saw everything but gave away nothing.
The simulation bowed its head slightly.
"You think I'm worth learning from?" the figure asked.
"I think you're what Root wanted me to become," Arashi replied.
"Then why summon me?"
Arashi raised his blade.
"To understand what you chose."
And they fought.
It wasn't flashy.
It wasn't about power.
It was about restraint.
Every blow held back. Every strike angled to disable, not destroy.
The simulation lasted five hours.
And by the end, Arashi wasn't sure if he had defeated the simulation—or if it had let him win.
Before the figure faded, it said:
"You cannot save everyone."
And Arashi replied:
"But I'll make damn sure they know who tried."
—
The next morning, Root found one of their own tied outside the Hyuga compound.
Alive.
But unconscious.
A note pinned to his chest.
"Stay away from the children. Or next time, I take the eyes."
No name.
No signature.
But the village buzzed with rumors.
Because Root had always made others disappear.
Now, someone was making them visible.
And Konoha was watching.
To be continued.