Naruto: The Flame That Reshapes Fate

Konoha's situation was far more complex than anything White Zetsu had uncovered. Uchiha Obito had never anticipated that the arrival of the Kirigakure envoy would shake the village this deeply—almost as if the Mist's army didn't even need to land in the Land of Fire. Konoha seemed ready to implode on its own.

"They say Root has begun to move?"

In a park at the heart of the village, Uchiha Obito—disguised with the Transformation Jutsu—sat on a bench. After hearing the latest report from Zetsu, he let out a cold chuckle. "As expected of Konoha. They never forget how to fight amongst themselves. Root is on the move... but judging from Danzō's condition, he's not faking his coma. So the one pulling the strings now—must be the Third?"

Using the intelligence in hand, he quickly deduced the truth.

"So, who's the target of Root? Uchiha Rēn?"

"Uchiha Rēn and Hyūga Hiashi. One of my clones infiltrated Root. Luckily, Danzō wasn't present—otherwise, infiltration wouldn't have been possible."

White Zetsu laughed as he spoke.

His mimicry technique absorbed a target's chakra and perfectly replicated it. Not even those most familiar or sensory-type shinobi could see through the clone's disguises. But the issue was that Danzō had placed curse marks on his subordinates.

The curse marks were derived from foreign chakra. White Zetsu's technique couldn't replicate those. And even if it could—being bound to Danzō's control was unacceptable.

Therefore,

Any institution with curse mark-based controls was nearly impossible for White Zetsu clones to infiltrate.

Furthermore, most White Zetsu clones lacked combat strength. At best, they could spy or cause minor chaos. If lucky, perhaps assassinate a weaker ninja. But neither Obito nor Zetsu held hope for such rare outcomes. Killing powerful shinobi wasn't easy—especially elite ones.

"Hyūga Hiashi? Hmph! Konoha..."

Obito shook his head, clearly unimpressed. "This is good. If this pushes Uchiha Rēn to reveal his Mangekyō ability or drains his dōjutsu, that's a win." As for who would win, without knowing Rēn's powers, even Obito couldn't say for sure.

But either way, he would profit.

"The show hasn't started yet, has it?"

Obito rose from the bench.

"Not yet! But Root's forces have already gone to that restaurant—what was it called—Shōchikutei. Uchiha Rēn and Hyūga Hiashi are having a private meeting there. Shouldn't be long before it starts. If you want to watch the fireworks, now's the time."

Zetsu rambled on, answering Obito's questions.

Shōchikutei?

Obito searched his memory. Thankfully, he knew of the place—an established name in Konoha with over thirty years of history. Of course, back when he was a loser, he'd never set foot inside. He'd only seen it in passing.

The restaurant was located in the village's southwestern corner—

Between the bustling district and the bordering forest. The nearest major clan compound... seemed to be the Hyūga's.

........................

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At Shōchikutei,

After finalizing their alliance, Rēn and Hiashi had spent more time hashing out details. Only after settling those matters did they begin to rest over tea. As a high-end Konoha establishment, Shōchikutei's reputation wasn't just about ambiance—

Its food quality was the core.

Rēn had only just sampled the appetizers, and hadn't yet tasted the signature tea dishes. But a sudden, unmistakable killing intent—bright as a bonfire in the night—made him sigh and put down his chopsticks.

"Our Hokage sure is impatient. Couldn't he wait until I finished eating?"

Naturally, his complaint went unanswered.

Hiashi's face darkened as he activated his Byakugan. Masked intruders approached from every direction, forming a near-impenetrable siege. His heart sank.

This formation was clearly meant to kill.

"Rēn!"

"Clan Head!"

Shisui and Hiashi's attendant, sensing the incoming threat, broke through the paper sliding doors and rushed to Rēn and Hiashi's side.

"Rēn, what's going on? Why... why is this happening?" Shisui's heart was filled with dread. He clenched his fists—even before he could act, sweat trickled down from his temples.

"Shisui, don't overreact. What's strange about this? Last time, I was attacked by Kirigakure spies. Now I'm being surrounded by them in Konoha. Sounds normal, doesn't it?"

As he spoke, Rēn laughed at his own sarcasm.

Shisui opened his mouth but had no words. The last ambush—over ten jōnin-level Mist agents—had already been absurd. He couldn't believe it was Kirigakure again. A hundred Mist agents infiltrating Konoha? Even as a joke, it made no sense.

This was Konoha, not Kirigakure. Not even self-delusion could explain this away.

"They're Root agents. The one leading them is Aburame Torune," Hiashi revealed, his face grim. He was furious at himself—for being arrogant. He hadn't expected the Third to act this fast, or this forcefully. Upon seeing Torune, he instantly knew who these attackers were. Clearly, the Third had emptied out Danzō's stockpile.

This time—

There might be no escape.

"Aburame Torune?"

Shisui repeated the name.

The faint light in his eyes vanished. As one of the Uchiha's top prodigies, he had no lack of intellect. But his naive ideals had blinded him from seeing the obvious.

Now, he had to admit—Rēn's outlook was more realistic.

It wasn't that the clan couldn't fit into the village.

It was that the village—no, the Third Hokage and his faction—who refused to let the clan belong.

"Rēn, should we fight our way out?"

Shisui's mindset had shifted.

After realizing how foolish his idealism was, Rēn's path seemed like the only one left. His love for the village hadn't faded—but the Third and his supporters had utterly fallen from grace in his heart. What had once been respect had turned into deep-seated loathing.

Killing intent welled up naturally.

He too had walked through mountains of corpses.

Before, he couldn't bear to turn his blade on fellow villagers. But now that he understood "comrade" didn't necessarily mean "ally," the blade long sheathed under transparency was finally freed.

"Of course we fight. What, you want to sit here and be chopped into mincemeat?" As he spoke, Rēn formed hand seals and summoned Samehada from the Police Force. Once it landed in his hand, he immediately used The Knight Does Not Die Empty-Handed to erase all lingering marks from the blade.

Unless he allowed it—or someone stronger than him intervened—no one could take Samehada from him.

He gently soothed the excited blade,

Then turned to Hiashi.

"Hiashi-senpai. Do we move together or split up?"

With Samehada resting on his shoulder, Rēn waited for Hiashi's call. They were on the same side now. It was only polite to coordinate before the battle.

"Together."

Hiashi didn't pretend to be tough.

He knew he couldn't handle this many elite Root agents alone. Splitting up would be suicide. Sticking with Rēn might offer a way out. Judging by the looks on Rēn and Shisui's faces—there wasn't a trace of despair.

If Rēn had truly awakened eyes not seen for decades within the Uchiha clan—

Then following him was the only path to survival.

"If possible, head southeast. That's Hyūga territory. If we can break through, we'll be safe," said Hiashi.

"Southeast, huh? We'll see when the time comes."

Rēn was noncommittal.

The Third might be vile, but his capabilities seemed to surge whenever it came to dealing with internal threats. If he dared act now, he surely had a way to delay the Hyūga from aiding Hiashi. After all, Shōchikutei wasn't far from the Hyūga compound.

"What we need now is to test these guy's strength. Maybe... we won't need to break through at all!"

As the battle at Shōchikutei was about to erupt, the Third Hokage walked alone into Hyūga territory. He approached a branch elder—second in authority only to Hiashi. Few knew that the two had once been close friends in their youth.

"Hiruzen, times have changed. Leave. The Hyūga do not welcome you."

Though Hiashi hadn't returned yet, the elders were already aware of what had transpired at the Hokage's meeting. They had also noticed Hiashi's recent actions. They knew what he intended.

A Hyūga elder in traditional robes stood at the veranda, coldly watching the Third from atop the stone path.

"Masayuki, the Hyūga are a noble clan of Konoha. As an elder, turning a blind eye to young ones straying off course will only invite disaster. If the ANBU's intel is correct, Hiashi intends to abolish the main-branch system."

The Third Hokage's eyes gleamed with meaning as he stared at Masayuki—whose face had gone pale.