Naruto: The Shattered Eyes

[This bonus chapter was once again sponsored by the honorable Godphaze. The third one already! Blessed be this being.]

"So..."

Suguru pursed his lips, vaguely unamused by the situation before him.

"Konohagakure has become one of the few places I cannot sneak into." He looked at the nigh-invisible wisps of chakra floating about the village. If not for the fact that he could borrow a Byakugan again, he wouldn't have been able to see them.

From what Suguru could tell, these wisps were all connected. Forming a web-like structure, they covered every nook and cranny to absorb information from everything and everyone around them.

'Will my Chakra Field Hacking work?'

Suguru couldn't be sure because of the uniqueness of Kurama's chakra and the delicate nature of the formation. As for whether he was going to test it out or not...

'Should I risk it?'

A moment of thought was all it took for Suguru to decide.

'...I shouldn't.'

Actually...

'Maybe I should?'

Hmmm...

Suguru fell into thought as he regarded Konohagakure's formation with intrigue and wariness.

***

While Suguru was stuck just outside of Konoha's walls, another individual waltzed right in, unaware of the chakra wisps scattered about. Still wearing his mask, Isao wondered why the vibe in the village was so different from when he had last been.

There was this sense of oppression on his shoulders. An invisible pressure that he could not locate.

Isao was surrounded by a great sense of discomfort.

A frown thus formed on his face when he felt four rapidly approaching chakra signatures. Looking over, he spotted their masks.

'Anbu...'

It was highly likely that they were unaware of the Senju clan's current state of existence. Thus, Isao opted to hide his presence.

He silenced the flow of his chakra and blended into the shadows.

However...

A flash of darkness caught Isao's attention. His eyes shrank, realizing the lethality of those projectiles.

'Shurikens!'

Isao poured chakra into his feet and flickered away. Yet he could feel even more shurikens following after him. Despite hiding his chakra, he was still discovered in the blink of an eye.

"Tsk!"

Clicking his tongue, he formed several hand seals.

[Tiger » Boar » Ox » Dog » Snake].

Isao's eyes flashed as he flickered once more. This time, someone had been waiting for him to act. It was another Anbu shinobi, appearing in front of him with a ninjatou already in swift motion.

The sword was swung, making instant contact with his body. With a single swing, he was essentially bisected. His brain would thus be preserved for memory reading.

The Anbu shinobi applauded himself for a moment, given the easy kill. However, a puff of smoke dashed his victory. The two human halves crumbled to dust.

'Substitution Jutsu! Since when?' The Anbu shinobi was stunned.

Receiving a signal, he sensed the location of his target.

'What?'

Isao was already a kilometer away, dumbfounding his pursuers.

Left with no choice, they hurried to give chase, alerting other patrolling squads of the suspicious individual.

***

"..." Suguru was stunned by what he had just seen. 'Isao...'

From their recent clash, Suguru had realized that his old teammate had gotten a little reckless. As they disengaged, Suguru was even tempted to give Isao a warning when they met.

'To think that he would just walk in...'

Suguru shook his head.

'Well, I guess it's fair since the formation is more or less invisible... But he should've at least sensed that something was wrong, right?'

Unfortunately, the truth was right before Suguru's eyes.

Isao was being chased around the village by different groups of masked shinobi. Although they were all having difficulty catching him, it was only a matter of time before Isao would be cornered.

In fact...

'That should happen in a few seconds if Isao still doesn't realize what's going on.'

Suguru watched as a different squad appeared around Isao. Although they still wore the same animal masks, this group of Anbu had a different demeanor about them. They stood with a certain lethality within their gaze.

Like sharp blades that have known much blood.

Unlike the ones assigned to roam about the village — newbies, most likely — this group instantly recognized the wooden mask on Isao's face.

Suguru activated his Shinrakugan to eavesdrop on what was going to happen next.

***

"Shinobi of the Senju... What are you doing inside Konohagakure at this time? We haven't been alerted of any messengers."

Hearing these words, Isao exhaled both a sigh of relief and a breath of wariness.

Since when were Senju shinobi treated as such? As far as Isao was aware, Konoha would welcome them with open arms, either in disguise or out in the open.

Their chakra signatures should've been recorded within the village's formation.

"I'm here to visit friends. Is that so much to ask?" Isao spoke with a careful approach. "As for having to notify the village... Is my clan not one of its founders? Since when did we have to go to such lengths?"

"Things have changed," said the Anbu shinobi, "Given that the Senju haven't been residing within the village, it is only expected that you younger lot have yet to be informed."

Isao's brow twitched. "What do you mean, us younger lot? I'm still a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf!"

"Ask your elders, Senju. This should also be a signal for them to expedite their decision-making. Please turn back for now, or we will have no choice but to eliminate you."

A trace of sadness had laced the Anbu captain's tone.

Sensing this, Isao reluctantly stepped back. For it to be an issue that concerned his elders, it must be significant. He had realized that the situation was indeed above his pay grade.

"Alright... I'll inform them." After taking one look at the kitsune-masked Anbu, Isao flickered away.

***

Watching this occur, Suguru realized what it meant to be backed by one of Konohagakure's founding clans. The more informed individuals within Konoha's circle of elites treated them with a certain level of due respect.

A temptation thus appeared in Suguru's heart, as well as a possibility he had not been able to think of. 

'The Senju Clan is a variable, just like me...'

After all, there was no secret clan of Senju in the original. Either they were never shown in the story, or something had happened to them behind the scenes.

'I'm not quite sure...'

It was never explained.

However, even though Suguru was unsure as to what manner they existed in, he knew that there was a lot to gain if he could meet them. With only Uchiha Tatsuya and Uchicha Sasuke being the last of their bloodline...

'Along with Obito,'

...The Senju should be the most powerful clan in the world.

Furthermore, given the risks involved in sneaking into Konoha at the moment, Suguru felt that it would indeed be wise to meet with Isao first.

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